Bitterwood

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I’ve been interested in reading Bitterwood for a while now.  I enjoy James Maxey’s blog, and we have mutual friends who’ve recommended Bitterwood.

But I stopped talking about reading it and finally read it because I don’t want to sound like a dweeb if I run into James Maxey at Trinoc this weekend.

So what did I think of the book?  It was difficult to tell.  In the beginning, I was impressed with the fast hook and enjoyed the fantasy world structure, but wasn’t thrilled with the pov switches.

In the middle, I was getting annoyed with the inundation of characters and pov switches, bored with the hippity-hoppity plot line, and hanging in there cause the prose was great, the world fabulous, and I didn’t want to look like a dweeb.

By the ending I was a little confused as to who I was supposed to identify with, but was embracing the schezophrenic scattering of characters.  By then each individual pov had been built up to the point that I knew them all and cared about them all, so I didn’t mind that so much.  I was also surprised to find myself content with the closure of the ending.  I still wasn’t sure why this book was generating chatter, though.

A day or so passed.  The characters continued to linger in my mind, I found myself taking the story/plot out and turning it over to look at again, and I was feeling more than content with the ending.  Satisfied, like sitting back to look at a large and complex puzzle after placing the last piece.

I may or may not bump into James Maxey this weekend, and my general dweebishness is in the hands of fate, but I can unequivically join the ranks of people who smile and chatter about Bitterwood.

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7 Comments

  1. James Maxey

    Reply

    Suanne,

    Thanks for sticking it out on what sounds like a less than satisfying read. Glad that it paid off in the long run. For what it’s worth, when I was editing the galleys on the book this spring, I worried whether I’d crammed in too many minor character POVs. The draft I sold to Solaris was about 80k words long, but they thought I should expand it to 120k words to flesh out the world a bit more. One tool I used to do this was to try to give a little more depth to minor characters.

    For instance, in the first draft, the human slaves Cron and Tulk simply disappear from the book after they escape. I decided that following their story a bit further would give me a good scenes showing Vendevorex helping humans and Zanzeroth hunting them, adding depth to both characters. Plus, the new scenes with the slaves meant I could dramatize the religious conflicts that prevent the humans of the world from banding together to resist the dragons. The down side, of course, was it added additional POV characters to a book that already had a dozen or more.

    Overall, I think the additional material makes the book a better work, but it does add a layer of complexity to what was already a fairly intricate plot.

    My previous novel, Nobody Gets the Girl, has only one POV character, and he’s plainly the character to root for. So, Bitterwood is definitely a more tangled read, given the multiple POVs and decentralized heroics. There really is no single protagonist… I can’t even claim that the “good guys” of Bitterwood, Vendevorex, Jandra, Pet, and Zeeky are even working together as team. I just hope that when all the peices of the jigsaw puzzle come together (to use your analogy), it makes for an interesting picture.

  2. Suanne

    Reply

    I wouldn\’t call it unsatisfying–far from. Just a complex read that requires an investment from the reader.

    I\’m glad you filled out the supporting pov\’s, (not that you really need my approval ;)), as it added to their reason for existence in the story, and further illustrated the character of Zanzeroth.

    My mulled-over conclusion was that this story belonged to all of them, humans, dragons, and the land itself, and therefore had to be told by them all. If it had been claimed by one character, the focus would have been much narrower and the broader issues not given the same attention.

    Your second/first novel sounds intriguing, too. I\’ll have to check it out.

  3. Tim

    Reply

    I am about half way through the book and I find myself yearning for more Bitterwood storyline, which is a good thing I guess. So, far I think the book is quite good and uniquely different. It’s not just straight, here is the hero, here is the goal, and you know it will come to a conclusion type stuff. The book and its characters are all over the place, but do cross paths in unique ways. I look foward to finishing the book soon. Wonder if there will be another Bitterwood book? If so I hope it focuses more on him as he seems like a great character.

  4. Suanne

    Reply

    Hmm…any answer to that, James?

    Tim, I’d agree that Bitterwood is unique and unpredictable. And I think that statement would be true of both the book and the man, now that I think of it. I was pleased with the satisfaction I got from the end, but seeing as you haven’t finished yet, I’ll still my fingers and say no more.

  5. Tim

    Reply

    Well…I’m done with the book. Enjoyed the ending…wonder if there will be future travels for Bitterwood? He says maybe he will be young again one day…maybe he goes to the advanced city and they regen him a bit. Just a thought. Favorite character outside of Bitterwood would be Hezekiah. I got to say I like the imagery of the fight scenes with him and the description of the gore. Often times I find that most novels try not to be so descriptive in their fight scenes. Morbid maybe, but lets us see the true picture of battles. So what’s next James? Would love to tell you what ideas I have been writing and working on in the past.

  6. James Maxey

    Reply

    Tim and Suanne, I am indeed writing a continuation of the adventures of Mr. Bant Bitterwood. The first novel was written to tie up all the major plot threads because as a reader I appreciate having these things wrapped up. Still, there were some threads left dangling that I’ve picked up again.

    For instance, what was the fate of Bitterwood’s son, Adam? What was the source of Zeeky’s strange power over animals? Where did Vendevorex get his amazing abilities from, and how will Jandra learn to master them in the absence of her mentor? (Very well is the answer… she really kicks ass in her fight scenes the second time around.) Why are there no female sky-dragons in the first book? I really didn’t delve that deeply into the culture of the dragons the first time out. In the sequel, we’ll get to find out how alien and strange some of their practices are in comparison to our own. Finally, the first book ends with Shandrazel promising to make nice with the humans, and the humans seeming to agree to it. Hah! I could write a sequel, I suppose, where dragons and humans sit down around a table and peacefully work out thier differences. Or, I could have the humans raid the king’s armory and launch an all out war of independence. Take a guess which direction I choose to go…

    Keep watching my blog and the Solaris website (www.solarisbooks.com) for more information.

    Tim, fill to write me anytime about your own writing. My email address can be found at my blog.

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