NextRead

Dark Hollow
John Connolly
Coronet Books
£6.99
Published 2000

Charlie Parker isn’t a lucky man. A simple job of getting child maintenance for a client turns into a hunt for a killer that’s linked to an old lady’s fear of a man called Caleb Kyle and  pile of money that a lot of people are eager to get there hands on. It’s a mess that Charlie can’t avoid stepping in.

Connolly puts you in the action from the very first page as he sets up the events that snowball throughout Dark Hollow. The plotting is tighter than a washing line on a windy day. Just when you think you know what is going on the action snaps in another direction.

Added to that, Connolly is a well read and intelligent writer who doesn’t shy away from the details and doesn’t dumb down for the reader. This can make for a challenging read, not because it’s complicated in anyway, it’s more the depths of darkness he descends as he explores the more disturbing parts of human nature.

Parker’s world isn’t one you’d see on your average cop show on TV. It’s one where you kill or be killed and that’s another thing that is different about Connolly’s detective. He isn’t pure and greater than the criminals. He’s only just about on the right moral side.

This first person-tale is well worth reading. I’d suggest reading Every Dead Thing first as it explains why Parker is so haunted by the dead and what fuels his actions.

Death Ray
ISSUE 2 JULY 2007 (on sale now)

Going from strength to strength this mag. A wonderful job they’re doing. The format has had a little tweaking. No more orphaned pages containing the ends of interviews. The writing is intelligent and engaging and doesn’t dumb down for its readers. The only disappointing thing I can find so far is that I really wanted to read The Eternal Champion after reading a feature but it seems to be out of print.

There are two-sides to being a writer – writing and reading.

Writing is the hard part. It’s the bit we avoid by finding other things that must be done before we can possibly put pen to paper (fingers to keyboard or whatever transference method you choose). Then when we do eventually start we don’t really want to stop not if we’re having a good time but if we are having a bad time we can’t wait for it to be over.

Writing also includes rewriting – correcting simple errors of punctuation, grammar, spelling and common sense, which, rightly, get shoved to one-side as we get into the flow, along with the bigger stuff like making sure that the plot is coherent, the characters are believable and everything is working the way that a good novel should.

And once we’ve finished writing we need someone who isn’t us to read it. The temptation is to go, as they are reading, if you are lucky enough to be in the same room, I’m going to fix this and I know about that but I just want to know if it works. And they say it works wonderfully there are just a couple of points.

And the lovely reader will come back with a list of suggestions that you can cope with and will be immediately doable and will be the finishing touches to a perfect piece of work.

Though I think that is a little bit too much of an idolised fantasy, at least for beginning writer out to master the craft.

It’s rare that you’ll present a perfect bit of writing to a reader at the first go, not unless you’re a one in a billion writer. So you have to be prepared for not so good reactions when people read your work.

When I read a friends stuff I try to remain positive with my feedback pointing out what does and doesn’t work for me. It’s very rare for me to say. ‘It’s brilliant. Don’t change a thing.’, as I usually get a work-in-progress to read and they are looking for feedback. If it’s a finished piece I might query a few points and leave it at that unless it’s really not working.

In work there is no interaction. It’s either a yes or a no as I’m judging and not offering suggestions. And that’s what happens when we submit to publishing houses or agents. They are looking for an excuse to say no.

So before you let anyone else read it deal with all the things you know you need to fix. Give it a good work over with a red pen spotting anything that needs polishing. And finally think about why someone is reading what you’ve written. Does it actually convey your story to the reader in the way that will make them keep reading? If you don’t know – send it but don’t be surprised if you get it back. If you’re totally convinced it’s wonderful. Good luck. You might find the reader – whoever they are – is in a good mood that day.

I’ve got to say from the start that my favourite Doctor is Sylvester McCoy as he’s the one I grew up with and that Ace is an outstanding companion. Not that it’s relevant to anything I’m about to say. I just want you to know that my opinions on the current Doctor Who might not match yours (as no-one seems to like McCoy as much as me).

Anyway, we’re now on season three of a run overseen by Russell T. Davies. It’s being made a couple of miles down the road by BBC Wales. And I know someone that’s played a Cyberman. How cool is that? None of this matters that much as all that matter is how it comes across on screen and if it’s worth watching.

And it is, just. Season one was an emotional ride that left me feeling sorry for Rose, and Jack and everyone else in the end of season finale. And all the threads they’d laid down were cleverly pulled tight. Season two had its moments. Like the clockwork men and the parallel worlds storylines.

Season three is much a mixed bag. The Taxi story was cleaver though flawed. The monster of Dr Lazarus was ridiculously ill-conceived as looked like a reject of the Scorpion-King from The Mummy. Last night however was amazing. It definitely shows the power of storytelling and how it can be used to take the audience on a journey. I can’t wait to see what happens next.