Just when I need encouragement...

[dancinghorse]

From Ye Ed this morning, amid a slew of reviews for Rite of Conquest, which is officially due out in October:

"How does Tarr do it? She writes scrupulously researched historical fiction
that blends myth, mystery, historical fact, and page-turning-good action. .
. . . her work's fascination derives as much from the solidly grounded,
multifaceted backdrop she weaves as from the magical elements, inspired by a
masterful storyteller's imagination, that she injects into her scenarios. .
. . Oh, this is irresistible!" --Booklist (starred review)


And I thought the book would be a bust. Tells you what I know.

Also got another rave for The Mountain's Call, which seems to be making romance as well as fantasy readers very happy.

Almost done with sequel to Rite of Conquest--I'm in the final couple of days, brain is fried, energy levels rock-bottom low, Must. Finish. Book. before all gears grind to a halt.

Comments

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

Awww, thanks. For the sake of research, and without naming names, can you say why you don't read the others any more? Part of why I'm asking is, the market for historicals has tanked, and I've gone to romantic stuff not just becauase I badly need a break--but because publishers don't want historicals any more.

So, as a reader, any idea why?

TMC is a fantasy novel with sexy guys and a cool girl and HORSIES!. It just happened that LUNA won the auction. We were aiming it at DAW, but they are very cranky about sharing authors with other publishers, and I'm not about to give up my other husbands--er, publishers, thankyouverymuch.

[wintersweet.livejournal.com]

Well, I got kind of tired of it around the same time I quit reading high fantasy and fantasy in general. I started feeling like I'd read everything already. Only unusual fantasy interests me anymore--things that don't duplicate either Tolkien or medieval Europe, for starters. (Like your Avaryan books--and I didn't realize there's a second trilogy, so I'm all over those!) Also, as I got older, and got a history degree, I started getting grumpy about sloppy research. (Obviously, one of the reasons I still read your books is for your research standards.)

So I guess part of the problem for me is that it seemed like a lot of historical fiction authors were mining the same territory over and over, because (perhaps?) for a while it seemed like you could slap a Celtic/Irish/Scottish label on anything and sell it.

I've spent hours talking about my long-dead love for high fantasy with other readers, because when the burnout set in I figured it was temporary. I wish I could put my finger on it better

The only other quasi-historical fantasy I've enjoyed recently is Kij Johnson (kijjohnson)'s books that are more or less set in Heian Japan: _Fox Woman_ and _Fudoki_. But they're very unusual, both in setting and storytelling method.

That reminds me--I need to find the Hound & the Falcon trilogy and _Ars Magica_ for a friend, as he's running a 7th Sea RPG. It's more of a 17th-18th century analogue, but the 7th Sea version of the Catholic church plays a huge role, so I think those would be great for him to read. :)