While I've discussed James Schmitz in general elsewhere, some of his works warrant individual discussion,and this is one of the best. The Witches of Karres is undoubtedly James Schmitz' best-known work, and certainly deserves its fame. Originally a short story (basically the initial portion of the novel), many fans consider the novel to be a somewhat lesser work than the shorter version, but I don't agree. The Witches of Karres is a … peculiar work. It's not quite like any other story I've ever read, [ Continue reading... ]
Women and the Adventurer’s Census (Kicking Ass and Taking Names)
August 19, 2013 By 9 Comments
I've on occasion been asked "what made you decide to have a woman as your main action character?", or something to that effect. Honestly, I don't really work that way. I don't sit down and say "Hey, I should write a story with a character that is X". I think of some neat story idea, and the characters I create are the ones that fit the story. That said, I suppose the fact is that it would never have occurred to me NOT to have at least some of my stories with truly kickass heroines. Looking over my books published thus [ Continue reading... ]
Under the Influence: James Schmitz
May 14, 2012 By 5 Comments
Back in the ancient days of the year 2000, it was mentioned that Baen Books was preparing to re-issue the works of James Schmitz. And on Usenet, a (quite out of context) quote from Eric Flint indicated that there would be some… editing. Modernizing. Fixing. And I proceeded to leap to the attack against this monstrous butcher, Eric Flint. The upshot of that was my getting published. But that's a different story, told on the About Ryk E. Spoor page. This is about why I was Very Concerned about the (as it turned out, mostly [ Continue reading... ]
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