Damn you Michael Stackpole. Damn you to hell.
I have written before about this, but, for those who missed it; many years ago, I attended a short lecture by Michael Stackpole on writing, and writing speculative fiction (that’s the cool term for sci-fi/fantasy these days, right) in particular. It was valuable, and probably would have been more valuable if I was a little older and a little better focused, but such is life.
One of the most explicit things I remember from that lecture is that Stackpole described one of his recurring nightmares as being “stuck in an airport where the bookstore only stocks the second book in a trilogy.” His advice was that each book in a series should be reasonably self-contained, so that a reader could comfortably pick up a book and start reading without feeling as though something was lacking.
And here I am, reading the second book of his Age of Discovery series, Cartomancy.
Let me say, straight up, that there is a lot to recommend Cartomancy. If you enjoyed a Secret Atlas, Cartomancy takes many of the events from that book and revs them into high gear. Unlike some authors, Stackpole doesn’t introduce too many new characters here, but rather, keeps on with ones he’s already established, building on the plot threads that were present at the end of a Secret Atlas. The pacing of Cartomancy felt like it was much faster, though I think I may be taking that impression more from the latter half of the book. The first half is still some build up, and Stackpole does a fine job of refreshing the reader on critical points and ideas, to the point where, yes, you probably could pick this book up and read it without having read a Secret Atlas.
So why the damnation?
Because while the book is a great read, it’s definitely not self-contained. In fact, it ends on a cliffhanger that, while not quite as bad as “Frodo was alive but taken by the enemy” it’s pretty close. If I was in the airport, I would be mighty pissed to discover that they didn’t have a copy of a New World close on hand.
Which, I guess, is a pretty strong recommendation for this book, and the series thus far. A New World will be going onto my Kindle DX ASAP.
Fantasy fans, give this one a look.