I wanted to run this by folks before I send it in to my editor on Monday. This would be either on the back of the dust jacket or, more likely, in the cover flap for Codex Born [Amazon | B&N | Mysterious Galaxy]. Any and all feedback is welcome.
And thanks!
—
Isaac Vainio’s life was almost perfect. He should have known it couldn’t last.
Living and working as a part-time librarian in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Isaac had finally earned the magical research position he dreamed of with Die Zwelf Portenære, better known as the Porters. He was seeing a smart, fun, gorgeous dryad named Lena Greenwood. He had been cleared by Johannes Gutenberg to do libriomancy once again, to reach into books and create whatever he chose from their pages. Best of all, it had been more than two months since anything tried to kill him.
And then Isaac, Lena, and Porter psychiatrist Nidhi Shah are called to the small mining town of Tamarack, Michigan, where a pair of septuagenarian werewolves have discovered the brutally murdered body of a wendigo.
What begins as a simple monster-slaying leads to deeper mysteries and the discovery of an organization thought to have been wiped out more than five centuries ago by Gutenberg himself. Their magic rips through Isaac’s with ease, and their next target is Lena Greenwood.
They know Lena’s history, her strengths and her weaknesses. Born decades ago from the pages of a pulp fantasy novel, she was created to be the ultimate fantasy woman, shaped by the needs and desires of her companions. Her powers are unique, and Gutenberg’s enemies mean to use her to destroy everything he and the Porters have built. But their plan could unleash a far darker power, an army of entropy and chaos, bent on devouring all it touches.
The Upper Peninsula is about to become ground zero in a magical war like nothing the world has seen in more than five hundred years. But the more Isaac learns about Gutenberg and the Porters, the more he questions whether he’s fighting for the right cause.
One way or another, Isaac must find a way to stop a power he doesn’t fully understand. And even if he succeeds, the outcome will forever change him, the Porters, and the whole world.
Mirrored from Jim C. Hines.
My Books
(August 2013)
Page Summary
socchan : (no subject) [+1] - deborahblakehps : (no subject) [+4]
- cat_collector : (no subject) [+1]
- aberwyn : (no subject) [+6]
- controuble : (no subject) [+1]
- sraun : (no subject) [+1]
- allmuzedup : (no subject) [+3]
- temporus : (no subject) [+1]
- cloudscudding : (no subject) [+1]
- stillnotbored : (no subject) [+1]
- sleightly : (no subject) [+1]
- marina_bonomi : (no subject) [+1]
- phantom_wolfboy : (no subject) [+1]
- anderyn : (no subject) [+1]
- nevacaruso : (no subject) [+1]
- richlayers : (no subject) [+0]
Comments
Petty editor question: Shouldn't part time be hyphenated?
Sigh.
You and the universe. Always with the "patience." Gah.
I like the suggestion in the second to last paragraph that Isaac may begin having doubts about Gutenberg and the Porters. I seem to remember a hint of that in the first book; glad to see the theme continues.
And that's about all I can say without spoiling things ;-)
And do you want to give away the killer's identity? I don't know if it matters that the readers know upfront.
I'd punch up that first sentence a little. "Isaac had the perfect life. Of course it couldn't last." Something like that.
I don't know how much feedback you want, so I'll stop now. :-)
There's a lot about the identity of the various antagonists I haven't given away here. Does it feel like I'm spilling too much?
And I'll take whatever feedback you've got. Thank you for this :-)
Re: the recap, I'm torn. My thinking is that people who know the first book will hopefully want to read the sequel regardless, but those who haven't might need a quick bit of info to fill them in on what's going on.
Edited at 2013-02-03 02:17 am (UTC)
Also, Copper River, huh? Thinly veiled Copper Harbor?
FYI, I finally got around to reading Libriomance a couple of weeks ago. First book in several (many?) years that kept me up until the wee hours of the morning - WAY past my bed-time!
Oh well - the article is on the Smithsonian web site, and is entitled "Most of What You Think You Know About Grammar is Wrong". That should make it findable...
Edited at 2013-02-03 02:35 am (UTC)
Yeah, I'd buy a book on that teaser.
By the way, if you need to make secure, offsite backups of your book files, feel free to email them to me as I have plenty of storage in my email. :)
Possible example: "He had been cleared by Johannes Gutenberg to do libriomancy once again, to reach into books and create whatever he chose from their pages" => "He had been cleared by the Porters to once more reach into books and create whatever he chose from their pages"
I was really engaged at the "They know Lena's history" paragraph, and I liked the "the outcome will forever change" last sentence (if true).
[Edited for correct thumb pluralization.]
Edited at 2013-02-03 04:46 am (UTC)
The way it read to me before was that the body was murdered and not the wendigo. Which might just be me.
The rest rocks. I'm looking forward to this book.
Oh, and that's nothing to be embarrassed about!
Oh, new follower here, pleased to 'meet' you. :)
Cheers,
Neva
I felt like the 5th paragraph (They know Lena's history...) was surprisingly detailed for what I'd expect on a dust jacket. Almost too spoilery for the back of a book. But on the other hand it was more intriguing than what you normally get from a dust jacket.... How's that for a balanced and unhelpful comment?? :)