Previous SFF Author: Marjorie Bowen
Erin Bow studied particle physics in university, eventually working at the CERN laboratory near Geneva, Switzerland. Lucky for us, she then decided to leave science in order to concentrate on her writing! Her poetry has won a CBC Literary Award, among others. She lives in Kitchener, Ontario. Read the first chapter of Plain Kate at Erin Bow’s website.
Click here for more stories by Erin Bow.
Today we welcome Erin Bow whose novel Plain Kate (which I loved) made our BEST OF 2010 list. Her second YA novel, Sorrow’s Knot was released this week and I can’t wait to read it. Since it’s Halloween, Erin’s here to talk about creepiness and to give away a copy of Sorrow’s Knot to one random commenter with a U.S. address.
Happy Halloween, fantasy readers and writers! Let’s talk about how to make monsters creepy.
There’s a curious thing I call the Sauron paradox,
Plain Kate is the orphaned daughter of a master woodcarver, and a skilled woodcarver herself. She lives in the town of Samilae, whose inhabitants are a superstitious lot; when the crops fail or disease strikes, they cast around for someone to blame. A Roamer (Rom), perhaps. A person with a deformity. Or, maybe, someone with a skill they think is uncanny. An enigmatic stranger arrives in Samilae with a terrible plan, and vulnerable Kate is just the right person to serve as the linchpin in it. He frames her for witchcraft,
Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4.5 | Erin Bow | Stand-Alone, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Sorrow’s Knot had some big footsteps in which to follow, since Erin Bow’s debut novel Plain Kate was pretty terrific. But I’m pleased to report that Sorrow’s Knot not only lived up to my expectations but exceeded them. This is a fantastic novel, and better than Plain Kate.
Sorrow’s Knot is set in a world that feels a lot like the Pacific Northwest,
Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 5 | Erin Bow | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow
Sit down, kiddies. Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, humans were killing each other so fast that total extinction was looking possible, and it was my job to stop them.
Well, I say “my job.” I sort of took it upon myself. Expanded my portfolio a bit. I guess that surprised people. I don’t know how it surprised people — I mean, if they’d been paying the slightest bit of attention they’d have known that AIs have this built-in tendency to take over the world.
Tadiana Jones and Jana Nyman´s rating: 4.5 | Erin Bow | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 7 comments |
Previous SFF Author: Marjorie Bowen
Thanks for the kind words, Marion! Coming as they are from a professional writer, they are much appreciated!
Wonderful review, Sandy.
The "body count" bothered me a bit less because being dead seemed more like an inconvenience than anything else... unlike…
Detailed, thoughtful review, Bill. I'm going to read it for two reasons. First, Karen Russell wrote it, and second, it…
this sounds like a fun one