Archive for January, 2010
What’s your favorite stage-to-screen adaptation?
Monday, January 11th, 2010Casablanca? Henry IV? Ordet? (more…)
I’m coming to Spokane – January 26.
Sunday, January 10th, 2010Spokane, I’m coming to visit!
I’ll be speaking about faith, film, and fantasy… and signing books… at the luncheon for the Spokane College Women’s Association on January 26.
A couple of Whitworth students got word of this and asked if I would be speaking at the school as well. There’s been no invitation from Whitworth – maybe that’ll happen someday – but here’s the good news: (more…)
Five Auralia’s Colors Confessions: “Night on the Lake”
Sunday, January 10th, 2010David Brooks on Avatar
Friday, January 8th, 2010David Brooks in The New York Times turns his attention from America’s occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan to humanity’s occupation of Pandora: (more…)
Books by Jeffrey Overstreet
Thursday, January 7th, 2010
About Raven’s Ladder
Thursday, January 7th, 2010ABOUT THIS BOOK
A DEADLY MENACE IS BREAKING THROUGH THE GROUND. THE PEOPLE OF ABASCAR MUST ABANDON THEIR STONE REFUGE AND FLEE INTO VULNERABILITY IN THE FOREST. BUT THEIR KING HAS HAD A VISION…
Following the beacon of Auralia’s colors and the footsteps of a mysterious dream-creature, King Cal-raven has discovered a destination for his weary crowd of refugees. It’s a city only imagined in legendary tales. And it gives him hope to establish New Abascar.
But when Cal-raven is waylaid by fortune hunters, his people become vulnerable to a danger more powerful than the prowling beastmen––House Bel Amica. In this oceanside kingdom of wealth, enchantment, and beauty, deceitful Seers are all too eager to ensnare House Abascar’s wandering throng.
Even worse, the Bel Amicans have discovered Auralia’s colors, and are twisting a language of faith into a lie of corruption and control.
If there is any hope for the people of Abascar, it lies in the courage of Cyndere, daughter of Bel Amica’s queen; the strength of Jordam the beastman; and the fiery gifts of the ale boy, who is devising a rescue for prisoners of the savage Cent Regus beastmen.
As his faith suffers one devastating blow after another, Cal-raven’s journey is a perilous climb from despair to a faint gleam of hope––the vision he sees in Auralia’s colors.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jeffrey Overstreet is the author of The Auralia Thread, the fantasy series which begins with Auralia’s Colors, a thrilling adventure twice-nominated for a Christy Award, and Cyndere’s Midnight. He is an award-winning film critic and columnist, his work appearing in many publications including Image and Paste. He is also the contributing editor for Seattle Pacific University’sResponse magazine.
An excerpt from Raven’s Ladder, Chapter 1: Cal-raven in Four Kinds of Trouble
Thursday, January 7th, 2010Auralia reached out to Cal-raven. As he approached, the flame of the candle he carried flapped like a flag in a hard wind. …
That’s how Chapter One of Raven’s Ladder begins. And now… you can read the whole chapter. (more…)
Readers like the view from the top of Raven’s Ladder
Thursday, January 7th, 2010
Here are some of the reviews and endorsements for Raven’s Ladder from book reviewers, bloggers, and authors:
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Where Auralia’s Colors spoke of the promise of enlightenment, and Cyndere’s Midnight told a tale of new hope born from the depths of despair, Raven’s Ladder reveals both the power and the fragility of vision.
- Fred Warren
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Raven’s Ladder … is a book that dares to be beautiful.
- S.J. Deal:
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I am in awe of this man’s ability to imagine a whole world and then create it in words. I’m also in awe of his ability to hold so many story lines, keep them all in the air and full of tension – all at the same time. And I’m really in awe of the beauty of his prose, which often reads like poetry.
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I really enjoyed this book. I thought that the characters were authentic and you could see their struggles inside and out. It’s the third book in this series, but it did a great job on explaining the background and could stand on it’s own.
… the trick with excellent fantasy is to build a world that is more than the context for beloved characters. The world itself is a subtle character and parallels in important ways our experience; it is full of political and cultural commentary. The society is thick. Balancing this thickness without prostituting characters to score pet cultural points is not easy. Few authors manage it. The too-common tragedy in contemporary fantasy involves a thick political subtext which turns more on the author’s partisan axe-grind than on letting good characters find their own battles. It’s knife’s-edge work to create masterful tales that take not only great skill, but quiet conviction.
This is what makes Jeffrey Overstreet great, and that is why his work is paralleled in review after review with the greats of the fantasy world.
The conclusion will leave you begging for more…. And after finishing this book, you may feel the urge to read the first two books to enjoy the world Jeffrey Overstreet has created to its fullest extent.
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I can’t wait to read the final book in what has been one of the best Fantasy stories I’ve read since Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. It not only captures the imagination, but also takes hold of the heart.
- fantasy lit blogger Amanda Makepeace
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While Overstreet writes with a poetic touch that few authors are capable of achieving, he also writes a fantasy that engulfs the imagination and keeps the reader entranced as they turn the pages. Never have I found myself wanting to jump over the slow parts in the Auralia Thread epics because they don’t exist.
- Melissa Meeks, Bibliophile’s Retreat
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… the rich details, well-developed characters, and complex story will make this a new favorite among fantasy readers …
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Take everything you know (or think you know) about the genre … and throw it out the window. Forget conventions, stereotypes, and Tolkien/Lewis ripoffs. The Auralia Thread is a genuinely original work of fiction — no easy task these days. With unpredictable situations, believable dialog, and characters with motivations we can relate to, Raven’s Ladder draws the reader in and keeps him or her guessing.
- Aaron White, FaithandGeekery.com
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… better than the first two books, if that’s even possible.
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Jeffrey Overstreet’s imagination is peopled with mysteries and wonders, and his craft continues to mature. Reading Raven’s Ladder is like staring at a richly imagined world through a kaleidoscope: complex, intriguing, and habit-forming.
—Kathy Tyers, author of Shivering World and the Firebird series
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A darkly complex world populated by a rich and diverse cast of characters, in which glimpses of haunting beauty shine through. Sometimes perplexing but always thought-provoking, Raven’s Ladder is the work of a fertile and striking creative imagination.”
—R.J. Anderson, author of Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter
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With Raven’s Ladder, Overstreet does what the best fantasy writers do: he opens a door into a new world—a beautiful, dangerous world, and one that stayed with me long after I closed the book.
— Andrew Peterson, singer/songwriter and author of North! Or Be Eaten and On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness
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In Raven’s Ladder, Jeffrey Overstreet continues what he began with his first two novels, Auralia’s Colors and Cyndere’s Midnight, crafting a world rich in detail, purpose, and wonder. Each page reveals new threads of a complex, interwoven story that excites and entertains while provoking deeper thought. It has been a long time since I’ve read a series as captivating, meaningful, inspiring, and beautiful as this one.
— Aaron White, writer and editor of FaithAndGeekery.com
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Raven’s Ladder is a fantasy gem. The story is imaginative and truthful, the characters authentic and complex. Jeffrey Overstreet has given us a gift—a fully realized world teeming with life and wonder. It is a fully human tale, with a penetrating glory throughout. Here is a heaping portion of truth, beauty, and goodness.
— S. D. Smith, author of The Fledge Chronicles serial
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In Raven’s Ladder, Jeffrey Overstreet weaves a brilliant tale of intricate layers, inviting his audience into a story of deeper meaning. Not mere fiction that ends with the shutting of the book, it sneakily tiptoes into your thoughts, challenging you to ponder a little more.
— Esther Maria Swaty, Seattle City Guide Examiner
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Where’s Christopher Guest when you need him?
Wednesday, January 6th, 2010Best film of 2010 so far: The new Domino’s Pizza video. (more…)