I’ve said before that I prefer books to a Kindle, but it's a no-brainer when I'm holidaying abroad. I can pack dozens of books into my Kindle without incurring excess baggage charges.
I also love a bargain, and every now and then, Facebook offers me a Kindle book for .99p. What’s not to like? This is how I discovered the work of S.J. Parris with her special offer book, “Alchemy.”
Parris is the pseudonym of author and journalist Stephanie Merritt. As a student at Cambridge, she became fascinated by the rich history of Tudor England and Renaissance Europe. This led her to create the character of Giordano Bruno, part detective, part philosopher, part heretic-turned-spy.
Alchemy was a great read, and, joy of joys, I discovered it’s part of a series. Books 1-4 were immediately ordered on World of Books (WOB); I was back in England, so there was no need for a Kindle.
So far, number 3, “Sacrilege,” is my favourite, but here’s the problem. Bruno gets into some extremely sticky situations, but only a tiny part of me is bothered because I know he survives. I’ve already read book 9, after all.
Serial writers need to take a tip from Game of Thrones, which changed films forever by killing off famous actor Sean Bean at the end of the first series. Nobody was safe after his execution. How thrilling was that?
It’s years since I read the first book of George R R Martin’s series “A Song of Ice and Fire,” and any memories I have of it are overshadowed by the television series. I assume the character of Ned Stark is killed off in the book, but I don’t remember being as shocked as I was by the death on-screen.
I must admit that I didn’t read any more of Martin’s books. I’m sure they are engaging, but I couldn’t read them now without seeing the characters from the film.
Anyway, I digress. I advise serial writers to be brave and kill off their creations occasionally. It would make your readers sit up and take notice instead of being rather blasé about the hero. Bruno could have a sidekick who takes over his role, and the reader could never be sure what would happen to them.
When I wrote “After,” I wasn’t sure at the beginning what would happen to my protagonist, Heinz Bauer. Don’t worry. I’m not going to spoil the ending for people who haven’t read the book yet. (And why haven’t you?).
It was interesting to learn how readers reacted to the ending. Several were disappointed but for quite different reasons. I can’t explain more without giving the game away.
Read the book and tell me what you think.