This Crooked Way

James Enge: The Tension between Invention & Realism

Michael A. Ventrella has conducted a wonderful interview with James Enge, talking about his background, his influences, his thoughts on fantasy literature and classic myth, and, of course, his novels Blood of Ambrose and This Crooked Way. Here’s a taste:

VENTRELLA: Creating a fantasy world is never easy, because it must be rooted in believability. What have you done to make your world both fantastic and believable? Have you found it difficult?

ENGE: I try to maintain a certain tension between free invention and concrete realism. My favorite bits in my own writing are physical descriptions which are probably invisible to everyone else. In my first story, the hero has occasion to peer through “a dark shoe-shaped patch of nothingness”. It makes perfect sense in the world of the story, but it’s not something that you’re likely to see on the street on your way to work.


Meanwhile, C.S.E. Cooney has posted a great review of This Crooked Way. 

In this book, the monsters are satisfyingly juicy and crunchable. The villains are terrifying – hardly less so when they’re desperate and likable than when they’re cackling and self-assured. The heroes are… wonderful. They bleed on everything. And Morlock’s main nemesis (why spoil it?) is utterly charming and wholly horrible and occasionally sympathetic. Egad, I liked this book.

What’s even better is she starts out saying the “episodic novel” might not be the form for her, and ends up loving the book. Nice.

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Two Great Reviews for Enge and Shepherd

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“Readers who are game for a different approach, and a main character who’s neither a misplaced savior-prince or a sassy huntress of things that go moan in the night, will likely find much to enjoy in the niche Enge has fashioned between traditional sword-and-sorcery and the ‘New Weird.’ Whereas old-school S&S heroes battled in maelstroms of ‘blood and thunder’ (or ‘thud and blunder,’ in the less-stellar tales), the cerebral, taciturn Morlock — a blend of Solomon Kane, Gandalf, Mr. Spock, and something wholly his own — survives by both “blood and ponder(ing).) Like Blood of Ambrose,This Crooked Wayis an intelligent and unique example of modern sword-and-sorcery fiction. It won’t appeal to everyone, but fans of sword-and-sorcery or non-stereotypical fantasy should definitely give it a look.” Fantasy Literature

“Sashareads like a pleasant melding of Lord of the Rings, medieval-style warfare and intrigue mingled with the political and religious wranglings of Dune. In fact, Sasha makes a nice female parallel to Dune’s Paul Atreides. With a galloping plot and plenty of swordplay, honor, dishonor, treacheries, and victories, Sasha is a worth addition to the heroic fantasy genre.” – Michelle Kerns for the San Francisco & Sacramento Book Review 

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Looking for Some Holiday Gift Ideas….

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The Silver Skull (Swords of Albion) by Mark Chadbourn


“…The Silver Skull has such an array of complex characters, deeply involved in their interesting times and guarding so many painful memories and secrets, there’s something here for anyone who wants more than a bunch of cardboard figures going through the motions while the body count keeps rising.”-Locus, November 2009

“Chadbourn’s plot moves swiftly, from London to Scotland to Spain, with surprises galore along the way, and with memorable heroes and villains, especially the Faerie prince Cavillex, who is a worthy adversary for Swyfte, and a promising young playwright and sometime secret agent by the name of Christopher Marlowe.  Smart, fun, at times surprisingly moving, and occasionally downright shocking, The Silver Skull is impossible to put down.”-Realms of Fantasy, February 2010 issue

“Combining the best elements of a spy thriller, heroic fantasy and Elizabethan mystery, Chadbourn deftly mixes gruesome brutality, a shadowy world of plots and counter-plots and a vivid cast of characters.  Seamlessly weaving historic figures and events into his fictional world, the author creates an alternate reality as tangible and authentic as the history we think we know.  Not just a lightweight adventure novel, this book forces the reader to confront timely issues like the value of torture and the use of evil in the pursuit of good, bringing a level of verisimilitude so fantastic and yet believable, you keep asking yourself if it might be true.  In a year of outstanding fantasies, The Silver Skull may just be one of the best so far.” –Monsters and Critics, November 19, 2009


Diving into the Wreckby Kristine Kathryn Rusch

“Rusch pulls it all off very well, with strong psychological insights into both Boss and those around her, from old friends to the latest enemies.”-Locus, November 2009

“I have not enjoyed a science fiction book this much in many years.  This book reads like great Asimov, Heinlein, Herbert, Pohl, or any of the great masters of science fiction.  The book had all the attributes that make a book great: great characters, great plot, great adventure and most of all great fun.  This book harkens back to the best of classic fiction, and I hope it is a major success, because I want more books like this from Rusch. Read the book and join the adventure; you will not be sorry.  A 10 out of 10. This book will be around for a long time.”-Catches at the Beach, The News Guard, November 18, 2009

“Rusch’s writing transcends the genre. If you enjoy complex characters in a unique environment, suspense, and a rollicking good story, you’ll enjoy this book, and you’ll undoubtedly be hoping to run into Boss again, and soon! ” –Monsters and Critics, November 22, 2009

This Crooked Wayby James Enge

“So could This Crooked Way possibly be equal to what’d come before? It is. It’s the same only different. James Enge is an interesting thoughtful writer. You see him do these little things all the time in the writing that show either off-the-cuff genius or a lot of rewriting, no way to know which…This Crooked Way is definitely a keeper. I read it in two days. And now it’s going to be a YEAR before the next one comes out. Blah.” –Dragons and Swords, November 9, 2009

“…pleasantly reminiscent of the old Lancer/Ace Paperback Conan series edited by L. Sprague de Camp. Through his continuing adventures, Enge’s Morlock is seen to grow and mature into the kind of hero that while capable and deadly, retains a spark of vulnerability and pathos that endears him to readers.”-Realms of Fantasy, February 2010 issue

Noonshade (Chronicles of the Raven 2)by James Barclay

“From the dragon allies fighting a battle in their own dimension to the mages trying to save the home of their magical lore, the story builds layer upon layer and reveals significant growth in Barclay’s use of characterization. What had seemed to be an abundance of ideas that were loosely tied together now comes across as a well-plotted fantasy full of originality. Fans of the first book will be pleased as this sequel and eagerly looking to pick up the next volume.” –Monsters and Critics, November 22, 2009

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Tom Lloyd and James Enge Podcasts

Tom Lloyd, author of The Grave Thief,is the latest guest on the Dragon Page Cover to Cover podcast, episode #379A. Tom talks about the politics and religion of his fantasy quintet, as well as what it’s like to begin your writing career with such a mammoth undertaking. The pocast is on iTunes and also has a direct link.

Meanwhile, This Crooked Wayauthor James Enge is interviewed on The Sci-Fi Guys Book Review. Enge talks about Morlock’s origins in Tolkien and HG Wells, and his dislike of elves. This one isn’t on iTunes that I can find, but has a direct link.

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Morlock comes to the Inner Worlds

Last night, Blood of Ambrose author James Enge participated via phone call with the Inner Worlds Sci-Fi/Fantasy Reading and Discussion Group.

Enge talked via phone to a group of about 11 folks, who meet once a month in Barnes & Noble. While there, he spilled some beans about the direction his novel-in-progress The Wolf Age is taking:

“It’s getting a little dark. I thought it would be a lighthearted romp–Morlock, werewolves, ghost-powered zeppelins–how could you lose? And I think it will be. Well, I don’t want to go into too many details because I’m still in the thick of it, but there are some very dark passages in that book so far.”

This lead to a discussion about authors who can be funny and horrific in the same context (as he can):

“I was thinking of Dorothy L. Sayers just the other day. She does that in the Lord Peter Wimsey books. They are about murder–she takes murder as a moral act very seriously; some of those sections about the murders are really grim–but its awfully laugh out loud funny. It’s like PG Wodehouse sometimes, and Raymond Chandler, I think, is the same way in the US though. In the middle of this dark case where everything is evil and everyone is bad and Philip Marlowe just got beat up again, he makes some wisecrack that just makes you laugh out loud. Detective novels are good at that sometimes.”

From there they went on to discuss crows as Enge’s favorite bird.

“They are the only bird that will talk back to me. I can imitate a crow pretty well, and they’ll talk back to me. I don’t know what they are saying, of course.”

Good time had by all.

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Books Sold: James Enge’s The Wolf Age

As SFScope, agent Michael Kabongo, and the author himself have already reported, we’ve just completed an agreement with James Enge (via the OnyxHawke agency), to publish a third Morlock Ambrosius novel, this one titled The Wolf Age. The Wolf Age is a third stand-alone adventure featuring his wandering swordsman/master maker Morlock, after the forthcoming This Crooked Way, and the coming-really-soon Blood of Ambrose.

These novels are swords & sorcery at its best, and I’m eager to unleash Morlock on the wider world. Meanwhile, there are a host of Morlock Ambrosius shorts and previews online and aggregated here.

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