Three Influential Books
I know a lot of authors will often talk about their influences. If you’ve been following me a while you may have noticed that I don’t. At least not as much as other authors. This is because somewhere in the back of my tiny little mind, I worry that folks will somehow figure that my entire writing style/stories will be like the books and authors I name.
Logically I know it’s not true. I know most readers will not assume that of me and my work. Every once in a while I need to remind myself though. Thus, today I figure I’ll talk about three books that had a tremendous impact on me and my writing in no particular order.
First up we have…
The Dresden Files; Dead Beat by Jim Butcher -
So I feel like most people who are into urban fantasy are Dresden fans, or have at least read it. I got into the series when Dead Beat, book seven was brand new.
I remember being at the bookstore looking for something new to read and coming across it. I thought, okay, it looks like a series, but if the writer’s any good I should be able to jump right in at any point and understand what’s going on. So based on that thought alone, I purchased it. Since the bookstore was in the mall, I figured I’d read a bit while I had lunch. The humor had me chortling through my entire meal and out the mall doors. Naturally, I went back and read books 1 through 6 after that.
If you’re NOT familiar with it, think Sam Spade meets Gandalf. Or just a less edgy, more funny American version of John Constantine. It takes place in modern-day Chicago.
Now, I know that Harry Dresden, as a character has said and done some cringe things. I can’t really judge the author because I’m younger than he is and I’ve said and done some cringe things in the past as well. I’m trying to be better, every day. Hopefully, he is too. I mean, for me that’s why I find the character of Harry Dresden relatable; he wants to be the best version of himself and tries to learn from his mistakes.
A lot has changed just in the time since the release of his last book, Battlegrounds, and I haven’t yet read the short story Little Things or the novella The Law. I guess we’ll see how things go.
The next big influence on my list is…
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson -
Oh lawdy! What a surprise this book was! This book is the reason that I realized that the Chloe Stewart Novels are best written in the present tense.
Snow Crash is one of those books that manages to be both entertaining and visionary at the same time. If you like Cyberpunk, Neuromancer, Johnny Mnemonic, or Ready Player One, you’ll like Snow Crash.
The book also kind of predicted a lot of what the modern internet would become, although some simply exist just because of the book. For example, as I understand it Facebook’s Meta is based on Stephenson’s Metaverse.
What’s it about? The World’s greatest hacker has a crap real-world job, but on the internet he’s elite. But he and a skateboarding kid named YT stumble on a sinister plan to trap people with a terrible drug called ‘Snow Crash’. Along the way, they discover it connects to an ancient civilization, a powerful media magnate, and a crazy man with a nuke wired to explode if his heart stops beating.
I need to go back and read this one again. I always enjoy it.
And finally for today…
Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb -
Assassin’s Apprentice is book one of the Farseer Trilogy which is, by the way, a phenomenal read. Robin Hobb creates characters that I got so invested in I would actually get mad when things didn’t work out for them.
The story follows Fitz, a bastard child of the crown. Rather than be left to become a liability to the royal family, he is brought in to learn to become the family’s royal assassin, but first, he has to survive his teacher, his own wild magic, and some members of the royal family who were happier without Fitz in the world.
And it’s just the first book. Of the first Trilogy.
Robin Hobb uses her writing to explore themes of ‘Othering,’ self-discovery, sexuality, and being beholden to the will of another. Her world had me clamoring to find out more. I would come up with theories about why certain events happened or who orchestrated what scheme. She managed to even write political intrigue that held my interest in a way that Game of Thrones struggled to do. I heartily recommend it.
So there you go, three of my favorite books. I would go into more detail about all of these novels but I don’t want to spoil anything. Have you read any of these books or plan to? Let me know your thoughts. I’d love to talk about them.
