There Is No Place Like Home

Yay, after much swearing, pounding of the keyboard, and a ton of coffee, I have finally gotten my technology to behave again!  In celebration of this, let's take a look at a short story collection I have recently finished.  The book is Oz Reimagined: New Tales from the Emerald City and Beyond, by  John Joseph Adams (Editor), Douglas Cohen (Editor).  I picked it up because I love all things Wizard of Oz, and it had some great authors contributing to it.  Here are some of my favorite stories.

The Great Zeppelin Heist of Oz by Rae Carson and C.C. Finlay - The first story in the collection was a witty little bit of fun.  It puts the witches in the role of smart ladies and the wizard in a more bumbling, conniving role, loved it.

The Lost Girls of Oz by Theodora Goss - This story is all about girl power in its best form, making Oz a haven for abused girls and giving them a way to fight back.  Nell, the reporter and main character in this story is a perfect voice to let us all know what is going on.

The Boy Detective of Oz: An Otherland Story by Tad Williams - This was a strange and cool little story that placed Oz in a virtual world, making it a sort of program.  This scifi take was cool in itself, and makes me want to go pick up the Otherland novels, which is always cool.

Off to See the Emperor by Orson Scott Card - This was a twisty little story about a little boy and a girl and how the story of Oz came to be.  The idea of a snarky 9 year old girl was written to perfection, adding just the right note to this story.

The Cobbler of Oz by Jonathan Maberry - This is probably my favorite story in this collection.  It is a sweet story about a little monkey girl with stunted wings who gets a great reward after a great risk.  It also gives a potential origin for the coveted Silver Slippers.

Over all the collection was a bit meh, but a lot of the stories were really dark and I was not in the mood for dark, so that may have had something to do with it.  In the beginning they say that you do not have to have read the original books to enjoy this collection, but I must say, it definitely helps if you have.  It did make me want to read the originals again and since they are free or cheap on the e-reader you may be seeing some original ramblings pop up. Be warned that this collection is not for children, more for the over 15 crowd.  As much as I liked a few of these stories the over all feeling was a 6 out of 10 silver slippers, but your mileage may vary, depending on your style preferences.
What do you think of short stories based on classics?  Does it feel like professional fanfic?  What type of story would you write about Oz?

Dragonwriter

Wooohoooo my blog has made it to the terrible two's!  I think it is only fitting that on this second anniversary of this rambling blog that I talk about a wonderful book/tribute I just finished called Dragonwriter.  It is a collection of essays/stories/remembrances of the beloved Dragonlady of Pern , Anne McCaffery.

This collection edited by her son Todd McCaffery is a lovely tribute to his late mother who left for sunnier skies in November of 2011.  This book includes pieces by her children, her fellow authors, songwriters, Con gatherers and just people in general who were and are all personally touched by this astounding author.
When it comes to books, I rarely judge the book by its author, but rather its content.  Unless an author does something pretty heinous, as long as I like the books, then I try and ignore some of the less savory aspects of being a human being that authors like any other human may have.  I know for a lot of people separating the author from their work is not always possible (see the Orson Scott Card controversy going on right now) and that is fine, each reader has to choose for him or herself.  For me personally as I realize that very few people are going to hold all the same views as myself, especially when we get into genre hopping, and

creative types everybody is going to have vastly different views, beliefs, and standards.  As long as this does not creep into their books (aka preaching at me, or blatantly advocating something I don't agree with) I can usually overlook it and just enjoy the book.  For me this is the only way I can read anything because being the judgmental person I am, I am pretty sure I could find something to disturb me in just about anyone (as well as myself).
This being said, when I hear of an author being pretty awesome, it does increase my enjoyment of their books.  Reading Dragonwriter and learning about all of the amazing things Ms. McCaffery did for her fellow men, women, animals, and publishers was pretty awesome.  The stories told are by people who actually knew this woman, who had been to her house, conversed with her, corresponded with her, wrote with her, and in some cases even lived with her.  I loved reading about little personal things that crept into her stories, like how she loved music and tried to train as an opera singer until a burr was discovered in her voice...which then got written into her book Crystal Singer which just makes that book even more awesome then it already is.  The stories of her sense of humor, her temper, her designation as "Universal Mum", her impulse to see
other (especially fledgling) authors as her friends, and people who needed a boost vs competition is refreshing and wonderful.  Our lady of the dragons (and other amazing characters and settings as well) was without a doubt human, with human flaws, but when you can get a book chock full of people who's lives are better, not just because of her books, but because of the person behind the books as well then you know you have surpassed being just a phenomenal writer, but a great human being as well, which is sometimes the harder thing to be. Between the personal stories and the bonus artwork of Michael Whelan who did most of the cover art for the Pern series makes this a must read for any Anne McCaffery fan...and now I have to go reread all of her books.

What author inspires you outside of their books?  How much does an authors outside life affect your enjoyment of their books?   Is there such thing as too much Anne McCaffery?