Original Fiction, Xena

[leavethesky]

I'm usually very hesitant to rec original fic from the Xena fandom. Particularly fic that is 'published'. As much as I enjoy a good novel-length fic, I don't feel that most are worth my hard-won $15 when they're typically not edited at all. In fact, the couple that I've bought have been enjoyable, but pretty much fic. They're not polished, the story tends to feel like it's wandering aimlessly, and the whole thing sort of doesn't hang together the way a book should. There's a reason the publishing world employs editors. Books are a collaboration. They're simply too immense for one person to 'author' alone.

There's also the issue of the questionable nature of this kind of publishing. These are POD (print on demand) books, which means that the authors receive very little money and since these books receive no marketing budget and no in-store placement anywhere, they have to rely on the Xena community to support them, which cuts into the writer's cut even further. The only people making a living off these books are the people who work at the POD publishing company.

That said, I was happily surprised by Catherine Wilson's When Women Were Warriors trilogy. Although there were some issues with the work, mainly a meandering story that took a bit too much time to get moving and really find itself (although this is typical of most first books in trilogies because they have to do the heavy lifting of info dump, character intro, etc), these are very well-written, well-conceived, polished books. The world-building is solid, the characters feel true, and (shockingly!) I actually found myself surprised more than once by story developments. The story felt like it had been conceived and carefully plotted as a whole rather than someone simply sitting down and churning out pages that go wherever the story (which typically relies heavily on melodrama and unconvincing obstacles) kind of goes. You can feel the writer's presence and intelligence on every page of these books. They are slow though or methodical is probably a better way of stating it. The pace of the books fits the personality of its main characters, Tamras and Her Warrior. There is action, but it's not the kind that inspires CG, heart-stoppingness.

I'll use ein_myria summary of the story for Book I: Tamras is to be fostered with Lady Merin, her mother's shield-mate, in order to learn how to be a warrior. When Tamras learns that her stature is too small to be apprenticed immediately, she becomes the companion to a sullen foreign warrior. Lady Merin has asked her to keep an eye on the warrior, as if she does not fully trust the woman...


These are fantasy books, but there's no ring of power or glowing sword of specialness; the magic, like the tone of the book, is quiet. It feels real and tangible. I haven't read Book III, but I find myself looking forward to it the way I do with any good book.

If you're interested, you can get Book I online for FREE. Book II and III are available through amazon.

Comments

[ein-myria.livejournal.com]

I'm guessing from your comments that you've bought Book II? LOL Damn, my amazon wishlist gets longer and longer. :/ lol