Oh my

[ed_rex]

By damn, there it is at last, making a cranky debut as a Globe book reviewer. (Yes, it's a bit of a thrill.)

Buy Saturday's paper, or click here to read it without recourse to paper.

Comments

[geonarcissa.livejournal.com]

Hey, that is exciting! Congrats!

Yes, it is ...

[ed-rex.livejournal.com]

Thanks for that. It is exciting. So far, I've only seen it online; I suspect it will feel even more real when I get my hands on the actual paper-product.

[pakaboori.livejournal.com]

yay! congrats!

Yay!

[ed-rex.livejournal.com]

You're still around! I've been wondering how you are recently. You should start posting again.

[emperor3d.livejournal.com]

Congratulations man, Imma buy a copy in your honour.

I thank you ...

[ed-rex.livejournal.com]

... and the Globe thanks you. The Fifth Estate needs all the help it can get these days.

[curiouslittleme.livejournal.com]

A very helpful review, and I can tell you believe what you are writing. I have always felt a little wary of actually reading these novels, and I will really have to consider my other fantasy options before ever picking up Wicked.

Cheers to work well done!

...book reviewer...I could love to do that job.

So would I

[ed-rex.livejournal.com]

I definitely believed it; if anything, I tried to tone it down. Truth is, I doubt I'd have even finished reading it were I not being paid to do so.

But yeah, I love the job too — I can only hope that I get commissioned to do more.

congratulations

[mijopo.livejournal.com]

That's pretty cool and a very good review too.

Re: congratulations

[ed-rex.livejournal.com]

Thanks, it is cool, I won't pretend otherwise. And the cheque (if it actually arrives this week as promised; I was initially told it would take six weeks — about three months ago) will come in handy, considering I've had to ask a friend to buy a copy for me.

[miyyu.livejournal.com]

Bravo! Congratulations! It must feel incredible to see your name and your words in print.

It's pretty sweet

[ed-rex.livejournal.com]

Thank you. Funny thing is, I think I'm less excited now than I was when they first sent me a copy of the book; I suppose waiting three months for the reality has kind of diminished, or at least smoothed out the thrill.

We're not worthy...

[sooguy.livejournal.com]

Congrats.

Did they edit down the original much?

More importantly did they PAY already?!

Re: We're not worthy...

[ed-rex.livejournal.com]

Surprisingly (but to my pleasure), they barely edited it at all. They even used the title I'd provided. Well, half of it. The original was "A Man In Lion's Clothing: Mistaking Allegory for Fantasy", but I'm leaning towards thinking they were right in pulling the second part.

As for the important matter, no, they haven't. Apparently my invoice was lost in the shuffle, but I've been told they'll be issuing a cheque that should arrive this coming week.

We'll see.

[sabotabby]

Yay! Congrats.

Thanks, man

[ed-rex.livejournal.com]

It's been a long time coming, but the ego-boost (not to mention the financial) comes at the right time.

[onefixedstar.livejournal.com]

Fantastic! Congrats!

Aw shucks ...

[ed-rex.livejournal.com]

To hell with that — thank you, I'm feeling rather pleased about this!

[paul-carlson.livejournal.com]

Hey, that is awesome. Congrats, Geoff.

And what a byline for your resume!

Quite an example of the 'shared world' spec-fic subgenre, too. I suppose there are more Baum/Oz-related books than those based in Pratchett's worlds, eh?

Shared worlds

[ed-rex.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Paul.

It is a nice byline, a bloody good one. The Globe is roughly Canada's equivalent to the New York Times, so this feels doubly-good as my first sale.

Funny thing about Oz as a shared-world — until you said so, I thought the Wicked series was the only one playing in Baum's sandbox.

Another amusing note: I'm not sure I've ever read the original. Seen the 1939 movie (more than once) of course, but it's just possible I've never read the book.

Re: Shared worlds

[paul-carlson.livejournal.com]

My sisters and I read several of the Oz books as children, and watched the movie countless times.

"Oz" became one of the first popular Fantasy-genre series, and when Baum passed away, quickly became a shared-world one as well, as Ruth Thompson then other authors took up that official mantle.

As it's passed out of copyright, the whole thing has become a free-for-all.

BTW, there's a great made-for-TV biopic starring John Ritter as L. Frank Baum.

[sirs-littleone.livejournal.com]

Congrats! That's really cool.

[stolen-identity.livejournal.com]

Congratulations, sir!
That is so cool! :)

[candypants-x.livejournal.com]

That was lovely to read! Good Job!