Christine Cody

Christine Cody is the author of the new postapocalyptic supernatural Western Bloodlands series. The first book, Bloodlands, launched July 26, followed by Blood Rules on August 30 and In Blood We Trust September 27.

Not so long ago I asked her what she was reading. Her reply:

This summer I was on a mission: to catch up with the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin.

I had watched the first season of Game of Thrones on HBO, and I was so transfixed by the “what-comes-next” that I absolutely had to read ahead. The trick was, I had to experience all five books before I became utterly spoiled by the Internet. Unfortunately, there are people out there who delight in posting spoilers even under the most innocuous-seeming message boards, but I was going to arm myself against them, daggonit.

I read the books all in a row—A Game of Thrones through A Dance with Dragons, and the beauty of my experience was that I didn’t have to wait years and years for the next release. (I now join the ranks of the fans who have had to endure the sharp pins and needles of anticipation while wondering how long it’ll take Martin to publish the next book. Already, a month after his latest novel was released, I’m jonesing for more. This won’t be fun.) Truthfully, I haven’t been so involved in a cast of characters for a long time. Martin’s use of point of view is masterful, although I have to say I’m not a fan of most of the Greyjoys…except for one.

And that brings me to my favorite part of these books: Martin can write a redemption arc like no other. There’s a certain character in particular who I would’ve loved to have seen put to a justified death before A Dance with Dragons came along. Now, after the hell he’s been put through, I actually want to see him be a little happy before… Well, before he’s put to that justified death. If you’ve read the books, you know exactly who I mean. But the thing is, this once-reviled character has a story that is so moving that I can’t help but root for him a bit. My opinion about a character hasn’t been so completely turned around since I read Lolita, in which Nabakov was such a witch with his point of view skills that I found myself thinking that Humbert Humbert made some sense at times.

It’s fun to be put through the emotional wringer with a series. The “RW” sequence (I’m avoiding total spoilers here.) in A Storm of Swords still haunts me, and I’m sure the event will do that for a long time. I hate some things that happen in this series, but I have an awed respect for Martin because he had the juevos to subject his characters and readers to such brutal twists. These books reach the level of Greek tragedy, and the outcomes resonate.

The only bad part about reading this series is that I feel sorry for the next books I pick up. How can anything match my summertime experience?

Learn more about the book and author at the Bloodlands wesbite and on Twitter.

My Book, The Movie: Bloodlands.

The Page 69 Test: Bloodlands.

--Marshal Zeringue