AMAZON
ON BEING A WRITER
( formerly HOW TO WRITE AND MORE IMORTANTLY HOW TO BE A WRITER)
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nice book
Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2020
Verified Purchase Dion H.
Nice writing book. Found in Amazon Kindle.
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 2, 2017
Verified Purchase
Very good
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow! The mind of a writer...
Mario MJ Perron
Reviewed in Canada on November 7, 2017
Verified Purchase
I love this book!
When I read the introduction telling me it would be filled with years of personal reflections, I almost didn't read it. I'm glad I turned the page and walked into this writer's mind.
You will find so many reflections on the writing process, the science of getting a book published, and the mysteries of character creation.
This has been a deeply enjoyable read.
My suggestion is that you let go of everything you think you know, every preconception of writing, and all expectations of what you want to learn. Just go with the flow and enjoy the ride through the mind and imagination of this awesome author.
Did I say I love this book?!?
I hope you do to .
M
By deb on September 24, 2017
Verified Purchase
I enjoyed the book. Right to the point.
SINKRONISITY
Gregor
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very funny . Possibly Closest to Douglas Adams world I could find.
May 12, 2019
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
This story is fully of witty one liners and funny lines that will make you laugh out loud. You can read the synopsis elsewhere .. the characters are really great to follow. Now the drawback : it’s too long for this type of satire comedy .. it’s like chaining two Douglas Adams books together without any in between ending or watching 120 minutes of South Park.. Comedy needs to be shorter and the story needed to be in two volumes .. I would encourage the author to carry on writing but keep the books to 200 or 250 pages .. to any readers I recommend reading half way try and put it down for a good 2 months and carry on. Don’t worry the story comes together in the end nicely. Halfway through the book there are way too many loose ends for a book of this genre with time travel in it and you start wondering which is the main story you should focus on, if there is one and how they are related. It is a positive that the author does manage to put it all together in the last third of the book.
YELLOW PERIL
Futuristic Romantic Thriller With a Strong Message, August 11, 2013
by Sophia Rose "Guest Reviewer for Delighted Rea... (Southeast, MI, United States)
This review is from: Yellow Peril (Kindle Edition)
On rare occasions, I end up with a book in my hands that isn't my usual fare. I'm not one that typically reads books that are strong on social commentary because I prefer my recreational reading to be escape stuff. When it came to this book, it was actually a little of both blending social commentary with a futuristic romantic thriller set in Australia.
Edgar is a librarian's assistant which might sound like a humble career, but in the 2160s of Australia with his higher education and white collar position, he's reached the highest tiers that a Caucasian can achieve. It's the Chinese at the top of the economic chain with the Indians behind them. In between working at the library and working on his Master's level thesis, snorkeling at the reef is his only form of leisure. He loves the reef and it is there that he meets Stephanie, an Asian Australian who in spite of her upbringing surrounded by wealth is not prejudice.
Edgar and Stephanie tentatively enter a taboo inter-racial relationship while at the same time they begin a project to save their reef from a wealthy businessman who wants to develop the reef into a private marina. Stephanie's parents are not pleased about the relationship and her dad shuns them. Their reef project proves perilous to them as they go up against their wealthy opponent and things go from bad to worse costing them more than they can imagine.
The plot was engaging and fluctuated between pauses comment on how the situation in Australia got the way it did and picking up the pace to reveal a nice strong storyline that offered thriller elements with romance. The voice of the story took some getting used to, but after a bit I didn't find it as distracting. It's mostly told from Edgar's point of view and switches to Stephanie's on occasion.
The main characters were engaging and I really enjoyed getting to know them and I liked them together as a team both to protect the reef and romantically.
In the end, it was unique and different, but a good read. Those who enjoy books that challenge their thinking while offering up a decent story should give this one a try.
Jasmine Doyle
Such an eerily probable future if things keep going the way they are... Loved the forbidden romance too! A very enjoyable read :)
http://www.stephenfaulds.com/yellow-peril.html
http://www.amazon.com/Yellow-Peril-ebook/dp/B00D17Y78A
LANDSCAPE
Landscape breathes fresh air into the sometimes murky realms of travel fiction. Not only does it appeal to the inner globe-trotter but it also seeks to unearth the connections between body and mind, sex and love. Stephen Faulds expertly narrates this life-affirming novel as the ever-challenging protagonist Mark Brooker seeks to consolidate his midlife crisis with a spiritual quest that knows no boundaries.
From the depths of Australia to the peaks of the Annapurna Circuit, Faulds leads you on a trek like no other as you are guided through beautiful landscapes and tragic encounters.
A highly recommended read for anyone seeking to explore the raw truths of humanity and the fine lines that separate desire and love.
4.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing fiction, 14 Jun 2011
By Lottie Chase - This review is from: Landscape (Kindle Edition)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004OR1UEU
Ian’s Story – a review
By acflory
I finished reading Ian’s Story almost two weeks ago now and resisted the urge to review it straight away – not because I did not enjoy it but because I wanted to do it justice.
Quite frankly, my initial reaction to Ian’s Story was a sort of stunned ‘oh my god’. It really is that good. Not until later did my brain kick in to tell me why it was so good. Not since reading Crime and Punishment have I read a psychological novel that delved so deeply into the psyche of a flawed man or made me feel so much compassion for a fictional character.
Ian is flawed and he does end up making an awful mistake, one that teeters on the edge of legal paedophilia, yet in exploring how and why he got to that point, Stephen Faulds makes it possible for us to forgive Ian even though he cannot seem to forgive himself.
Do no make the mistake of thinking that this novel is a justification or apology for paedophilia – it’s not. Just as Crime and Punishment is not a justification for murder, Ian’s Story is not a justification – its a journey, a journey that explores the crime, the punishment and the salvation that can result from such a descent into hell.
Following Ian on this journey is not a casual read. You will not dip into this book on a rainy weekend when you have nothing better to do. It will grab you and it will not let you go until the very last page because, for all his flaws, Ian’s life will resonate with anyone who has ever searched for meaning in life, anyone who has ever been trapped by duty and the desire to ‘do the right thing’, anyone who has ever been lonely or fallen in love with an unattainable mirage. In short, anyone with a heartbeat and human DNA.
On the technical side I might argue with Stephen Faulds about how he structured the story yet when I sat down and thought about how I would have restructured it [were I an editor] I found that I could not really think of a ‘better’ way of doing it. So I have to say that the structure is a little quirky but will make sense at the end. I should add that this quirkiness does not detract from the story or my enjoyment of it.
I cannot fault Stephen Faulds in the area of prose either. His words flowed effortlessly from start to finish with no jarring ‘what the…?’ moments. To be honest I stopped being aware of the ‘prose’ after the first few paragraphs because it did what all good prose should do – it drew me in and carried me along without drawing attention to itself. I did not read about Ian, I saw him, I saw his poor troubled wife, I saw the emotionally impoverished life they lead. Only when I put the book down for the last time did I become aware of how beautiful the words had been.
There is nothing indie about Ian’s Story. It is the work of a mature writer who knows what he’s doing and does it extraordinarily well. More importantly, Ian’s Story has a depth that will appeal to anyone interested in what makes us all human.
Very highly recommended.
http://acflory.wordpress.com/2012/03/15/ians-story-a-review/
http://www.amazon.com/Ians-Story-ebook/dp/B0052DNENU
5.0 out of 5 stars Ian's Story - A modern day Crime and Punishment, March 18, 2012
This review is from: Ian's Story (Kindle Edition)
Ian is a good man who strives to do the right thing - by his clinically depressed wife, by the troubled kids he works with and by the friends he loves too much - but no-one is perfect. Like Rashkolnikov in Dostoyevsky's famous novel, Ian commits a crime and does the time but his punishment goes on. Is forgiveness possible? Trust me, you will not want to put this novel down until you find out. Ian's Story is a must read for anyone interested in what it is that makes us all human. Simply brilliant.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully Told!, June 27, 2012
This review is from: Landscape (Kindle Edition)
Mark Brooker is an art teacher, existing in middle-age. His wife, Alison, informs him that she would like out of their marriage, forcing Mark to make some mid-life choices. He decides, after an unexpected monetary windfall and a similarly unanticipated intimacy with a young woman, to pursue his ambition as a landscape artist. Landscape is a beautifully told tale of mid-life crisis and the surprising new worlds that can open for anyone at anytime, plus the complications that can arise. The Australian countryside and mystery of India are fantastic and wild backdrops that illustrate the main character's life changes as well as Author Faulds relates the journey Mark takes in picking up the pieces of his life.
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5.0 out of 5 stars A Lyrical Narrative of the Human Spirit!, July 3, 2012
This review is from: Ian's Story (Kindle Edition)
Stephen Faulds narrates Ian's fall from grace and Maureen's descent into mental illness in a lyrical style reminiscent of Australian writer Tim Winton. In Ian's Story, the reader finds a man who is troubled by life, who attempts to find solace in his writing, reading, spirituality, his best friend, and the woman he describes as his "soul mate." Told from many points of view, the characters are humanly flawed, with raw emotions and tragic failings clearly depicted. As in Landscape, Faulds has a knack of getting to the core of his characters' motivations and desires and paints a portrait of each one into the mind of the reader. Faulds is more than a writer; he is an artist as well, using the backdrops of the environment to illustrate the actions of his characters.
SINKRONISITY
5.0 out of 5 stars
5.0 out of 5 stars
5.0 out of 5 stars bravo! August 23, 2012
if you adore works by douglas adams, terry pratchett, & tom holt.... you will find this a real gem combining time travel, fantasy, epic quest & satire ahoy!
This is a book that does what is says: it is a satire on many recognizable themes and holds each of them up to the razor blade of humor. There are many characters striving to keep their place in the limelight in this book which makes for a lot of scene jumps. This is clearly part of the charm and it is remarkable that the plot stays together under the strain. The clue is in the book title of course.
There are a number of important questions asked in the book: namely, what happens to heroes whose stories are not finished and what will happen when robot lawn mowers become self-aware? Beware the Lawnminator!
"Sinkronisity" is a fun book with multiple interesting levels and a good read.
http://www.amazon.com/Treuth-Stephen-Faulds-ebook/product-reviews/B00FLABA5S/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1
http://littleebookreviews.com/2013/07/04/sinkronisity-by-stephen-faulds/
About the author: Stephen Faulds is a fantasy author based in Perth, Australia, and describes his approach: “My writing explores the search for truth and self-actualisation in a variety of genres and styles”
Another instructive quotation taken from Faulds Facebook page: “When a character says or does something you don’t approve then it is safe to assume you have given your creation a life of its own and it will now have an interesting story. A character is not a mouthpiece of the writer; it represents itself.”
From the dust cover: “A satirical science fiction fantasy about time travel and destiny. Old Rang lives in a cave on the edge of a time warp. His visitors include the Nottle villagers who believe he makes the sun rise every morning and a time traveller called Vince Yaga who is the least superstitious man in the universe. Vince Yaga discovers Ruce Lemming, a character from an unfinished epic fantasy novel by Seferin Fane. Ruce is being stalked by a mutant lawnmower named Victor. After a variety of erroneous misadventures which involve an array of characters including Buggeroni, an inventor from Florence; his wife Florrida; Belinda Nort, an out of work actress; an old Fakir and Rod Singlet, a Nostralian Itinerant, Seferin is helped to finish his novel so that Ruce and everyone in the immediate vicinity, including the lawnmower can fulfil their respective destinies.”
My Ebook review: this is a book that does what is says: it is a satire on many recognizable themes and holds each of them up to the razor blade of humor. There are many characters striving to keep their place in the limelight in this book which makes for a lot of scene jumps. This is clearly part of the charm and it is remarkable that the plot stays together under the strain. The clue is in the book title of course.
There are a number of important questions asked in the book: namely, what happens to heroes whose stories are not finished and what will happen when robot lawn mowers become self-aware? Beware the Lawnminator!
“Sinkronisity” is a fun book with multiple interesting levels and a good read.5.0 out of 5 stars
A brilliant satire, January 23, 2014
Verified PurchaseAmazon Customer "weepopstar" (NJ United States)
This review is from: Treuth (Kindle Edition)
This is the second book in a hopefully growing series. I highly recommend you read the first in the series, Sinkronicity, first. That aside, there are so few satirical comedic sci-fi and fantasy books out these days, and less that are absolutely stellar. Stephen Faulds has managed to write two hilarious satires that will definitely appeal to Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett and Robert Rankin fans. Faulds manages to just skirt the line between parody, satire and bizarre-without going overboard. This is one case where the sample definitely gives you the idea of the flow and humour of the story. (As opposed to those samples that are great but then the book goes downhill fast, or a sample which didn't seem funny, but you hope it gets better). If you don't like that "British sense of humour", or can't appreciate the authours I've mentioned above, then this is unfortunately not the book for you. If you're interested, don't forget to read Fauld's book, Sinkronicity first!
