Guest Post by Worldmaker trilogy author Lucy Hounsom

Tomorrow sees the release of Firestorm, the 3rd and final volume of Lucy Hounsom's (rather excellent) Worldmaker series. 
As part of the promotional blog tour Lucy is stopping by The BlogCave today to tell us about the playlist she had while writing the series.
So, without further ado, "heeeeere's Lucy"



Worldmaker Playlist

I don’t tend to listen to music while I’m writing. Songs with lyrics are too distracting, while soundtracks remind me too much of the film or series they’re from. But since beginning Starborn, I’ve amassed a playlist for the trilogy: tracks that pick up on elements of character, others I’ve found inspiring, and some that just seem to fit the atmosphere of Acre. You know when you stumble across a track that seems to sum up whatever you’re writing or reading at a particular moment in time? Yep, that’s how this playlist chiefly came about.

Loreena McKennitt gets the top spot since at least three of her songs appear on my playlist: All Soul’s Night, The Mystic’s Dream and Night Ride Across the Caucasus. As you can probably tell from the titles, McKennitt’s songs sit half in the realm of fantasy already. In its three-part verse structure, for me All Soul’s Night resonated with Kyndra’s three trials in Starborn and actively inspired the scene where she inherits her power. Night Ride is a long track with an epic-sounding middle eight; I listened to it a lot during the dream-plan stage of Heartland. (Dream-plan is my name for the ephemeral stuff that goes on in my head before I make the real notes). The Mystic’s Dream I’ve long associated with Solinaris, as there’s an ethereal, ghostly echo about it that reminds me of bygone days of glory. The time travel thread in Firestorm, while a huge pain to write, gave Kyndra the opportunity to visit Solinaris, something I’ve wanted to do since starting Starborn.

Knight Moves, Suzanne Vega

My colleague introduced me to Vega and as soon as I heard this song, it made me think of Brégenne and the fragility she hides beneath a stone-faced façade. Vega’s album has that ‘honest’ feel of music that’s not been overproduced.

The Alchemist, Bruce Dickinson

So many of the lyrics in this song resonate with the character of Medavle, my haunted immortal Yadin. Medavle has had a dark life, driven by heartbreak and rage; I think Dickinson’s raw-sounding vocals really capture some of his hatred, his contempt and his unflagging pursuit of revenge on the man who murdered his people.

Running Wild, Roxy Music

I’ve long associated this track with Nediah and Kait and their shared history. It’s warm and nostalgic, seeming to encompass both the days they ran wild as young lovers and the new days after they’re reunited as much-changed adults.  

Hunter, Dido

This is definitely a song for Kait and her struggle to regain both her independence and her purpose in life, which she feels she’s lost.

Iris, Goo Goo Dolls

I love my angsty-relationship tracks and this was one of the first I found that worked for Nediah and his feelings about his mentor, Brégenne.

Let Her Go, Passenger

Angsty-relationship track number two! This is the mushiest song on my playlist. Brégenne and Nediah form my trilogy’s core romance and they don’t see each other for a whole book. This song was great for when I needed to get into that mind-set of what it meant to separate them and how their relationship would develop if they could no longer rely on each other.  

Through Glass, Stone Sour

This is probably Heartland’s core song and it’s really one for Char. He has to deal with assassins hunting him, his own waking power and Kyndra, who repels and attracts him in equal measure.

C’Hoant Dimein, Cécile Corbel. I believe this song is sung in Breton, so lyrics don’t exactly play a part. It’s hard to put my finger on why I’ve included it here except that I once saw it used in a YouTube fan video of Ronja Rövardotter (Ronia the Robber’s Daughter), a 1984 Swedish fantasy film, which for me evokes innocence and adventure with just a hint of first love. Heartland and Firestorm are both darker than Starborn and perhaps this song reminds me that true comradeship can be fostered in adversity.

If I Didn’t Have Your Love, Leonard Cohen

Ha, my mum hates this song, thinks it’s boring and bleak, but I like it because of its darkness. All the stuff about the sun losing its light reminds me of Hagdon, my tortured soldier.  He really is one of my favourite characters and it’s always a joy to write his scenes.

There you have it: short but – bittersweet now that the trilogy is done and the fellowship broken. Even so, these songs will always play a part in the story and I know I’ll think of it whenever I hear them. 

A full review of the series will be up on here soon.

The Night Market by Jonathan Moore

It starts with a particularly nasty murder! When Detective Ross Carver and his partner (Jenner) go to investigate they are not long on the scene before 6 FBI agents turn up in Hazmat gear and take over. Carver and Jenner are quickly removed, sent to a mobile decontamination unit and...

Ross wakes up in his apartment 3 days later to find his neighbour, Mia, sat by his bed, reading aloud, and that he has no memory of what has happened since before the murder scene.

Trust me, this book is a weird one. Set in the near future there are enough Sci-Fi elements to almost qualify it for that genre but what it is in its heart of hearts is Future Crime Noir. From the very beginning Carver doesn't know what is happening and the reader is very much in the same boat. Things get a bit clearer around the 60% mark but I was still left guessing right up to the very end.

Moore paints near future San Francisco with a very black brush, very seedy and derelict but also makes it interesting. I found myself at several stages of the story just begging someone to film this, it needs to get the big screen treatment, it really does.

I did nearly put this book down early on, mainly because I was constantly thinking WTH am I reading, but thankfully the story got it's claws into me and before long I was reading into the early hours.

4/5 stars

Stay Happy by James Josiah - A Review

 This, even several weeks after finishing it, has not been an easy book to review. Mostly because whatever I say carries the risk of spoilers and although I will try my best you may want to read the book first... and you will want to read this book!

It starts with the birth of Ryan AndErsen's daughter and goes through the challenges of coping through Ryan's eyes. The first part of the book is quite humorous in places and goes along at a pleasant pace but you get the idea there is a 'game changing moment's coming and it approaches with the inevitability of a slow motion car crash. You can see what is coming but, much as you may want to, you cannot look away.

 From that moment the story changes a lot as Ryan tries to cope with the aftermath.

Stay Happy is a well written tale that will drag you through the emotional wringer, a story with all the 'feels'.

I will certainly be looking out for more from James Josiah

4.5/5*

In The Post Today

Interesting postal delivery to The BlogCave today

Now, that's a very nice envelope, not anything I was expecting, so I eagerly opened it up and found...

           What a pleasant surprise then to see it contained the author's preferred text version of one of my favourite novels of all time - Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere. And it is gorgeous. Chris Riddell has done the illustrations. I am a big fan of CR's artwork anyway, so, added bonus.

And,to top it all, even the press release is a lovely thing to look at

 So, thank you very much to Katie at Headline,  and to Headline Books. You've made this Blogger very happy indeed.

Starborn by Lucy Hounsom - A Review

Right, first things first, this is likely to only be a short review. I finished Starborn yesterday afternoon and am already a good way into the sequel, Heartland. Also yesterday, I was offered a Netgalley 'treat' review copy of the final volume, Firestorm. (Needless to say I fair snapped the publisher's hand off). For this reason I plan on doing a short review for each book and a more in depth look at the series as a whole after.

So, Starborn... as the first in a new series by a debut author it certainly ticks all the right boxes

Young person living in the middle of nowhere ✔

Mysterious strangers in town as a pivotal day approaches ✔

Lead character leaves home with strangers ✔

Adventure and discovery of Destiny ensues ✔

Yes, as a storyline it feels like nothing new at first, but be patient...

Where a story or series like this can stand or fall is on things like characterisation, world building and the magic system and on these 3 points Lucy Hounsom stands tall.

The Characters - this was a strange one for me. All came across as realistic, believable etc but none stood out. By which I mean, all were equally (ish) effective. I was interested in all but none really above others.

The World - I do like a good map, which this book has, to follow the journey but I also like to be able to 'see' the places visited in my reading mind and not every author can quite pull it off. Lucy Hounsom does - really well.

The Magic - I like my magic to be a bit different to usual, or a new twist at least and I thought LH pulled this off quite well with her Solar and Lunar magic.

So, yeah, I really enjoyed this and, as I say, am already well into book 2.

For this debut I am giving 4/5 stars. I would have gone higher but I expect Heartland and Firestorm will be even better so I have to give myself room to mark up.

Empire of Time by Daniel Godfrey - A Review

It is 15 years after the events of New Pompeii, Nick Houghton is now Decimus Horatius Pullus and the Romans are carrying on in their typically brutal Roman way and the outside world doesn't like it.

When an artefact is uncovered at the real Pompeii that has Nick's name on it it becomes obvious that someone in the future has control of the time travel device (currently held by the Romans in New Pompeii). But who? and how will it affect things?

As with New Pompeii this is a baffling (in a good way) tale that all becomes clear eventually. Swapping scenes between Ancient Pompeii, the modern world and ancient Romans in the modern world took a bit of getting used to but doesn't get in the way of a cracking story.

I previously compared Dan Godfrey's work to that of Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park with Romans) and after reading this I see no reason to change that opinion. I read this book on holiday and got through it in a couple of days but it was the perfect poolside read, a good mix of Sci-Fi and Mystery - what more could you ask for.

Age of Assassins by RJ Barker

As a long time reader of fantasy fiction I am often looking for someone to do something a little bit different, to stir the pot a little. With this fantasy/whodunnit RJ Barker has done just that.

Throw in a protagonist with a disability (but not a disability that is dwelt on overly long) and a well realised locale and you have something a bit special.

Our hero is Girton Clubfoot, a trainee assassin who, with his master Merela Karn we first meet sneaking into Castle Maniyadoc through the sewage gate. Inevitably they are caught but it turns out they are there for a reason - somebody has murder in mind and our assassins are to find out who.

The story is very character driven and, thankfully, Barker does a great job here. I cared about Girton and an event later on in the story, which could have gone either way for his future development was handled really well. Sometimes young characters can be a tad annoying, all full of angst and hormones but not so much here.

The story is interspersed with flashbacks that fill in Girton and Karn's backstory, which again works well as we see that Karn is not what might often be expected.

So, did I enjoy this? I don't think there's any real doubt about that is there?

A cross between Robin Hobb's Farseer novels and tv's Merlin this is a fine start to a series I eagerly await more of. A very strong debut in a year of strong debuts - 5/5*