Flights of Dark Imagination – Bibliostrumpet 29 September 2011

I love the title of this review – Flights of Dark Imagination.

I have to be honest and say this review has some criticisms of the book, saying there’s too much detail about flight (a criticism I’ve had a few times but also something many readers have told me they’ve loved). There’s some vivid thoughtful praise and the link’s below if you’d like to see the reviewer’s caveats:

“I confess that when I began reading this book, a tiny, scornful voice in my head kept repeating the words, ‘winged humans, this is ridiculous’. But Corbett renders her world in such thorough and vibrant detail that even I was convinced. With lucid, evocative prose, she weaves a wonderfully vivid sense of place, a world of rich colours, sharp contrasts, and soaring perspectives: when Peri flies, it’s ‘sheer giddy pleasure to skim through air, transparent blue and gold,’ and see ‘fields strict as tiles, squares of raw red earth ripped into furrows and laid next to rectangles of emerald pasture, the joins shocking as cuts.’ ….

But When We Have Wings is still a remarkably original and well-executed novel. What’s most striking is how Corbett uses a fantastical concept to reflect our own world so starkly back at us: human wings (or lack thereof) become a metaphor for the dangers of power and privilege, and the human cost of technological advancement. The dilemmas faced by the characters in Corbett’s novel are not, after all, so far removed from our own, although we may not be soaring through the skies for a while yet.”

Mars Rover Launch only a few days away

Just over a week until I attend the first ever CSIRO Tweetup as part of NASA’s launch of the Mars Curiosity Rover. This is going to be so fascinating.

From the CSIRO website: “The CSIRO Tweetup will provide @CSIROnews and @CanberraDSN followers with the opportunity to go behind-the-scenes at CDSCC and speak with scientists and researchers. This CSIRO Tweetup will run for 24-hours and will include a “meet and greet” session to allow participants to mingle with fellow Tweeps and the people behind CSIRO’s and CDSCC’s Twitter feeds. Participants will get a special tour of CDSCC, hear from guest speakers, watch the launch and tracking activities, enjoy a telescope night-sky viewing (clouds permitting), and a tour of CSIRO Discovery Centre, plus more.”

Access to this site is normally restricted so this is a wonderful opportunity. I will definitely be writing something about this experience and will let you know where to find the piece when I do, so please check back!

The Story of My Book – Readings Blog

The fourth post in my blog tour is a post for the Readings Blog, which asks the question, would you give your child wings?

“I thought about the history of plastic surgery and of fertility technology while writing the slightly futuristic ‘When We Have Wings’. I say slightly futuristic because these technologies of the self are already here, they show us what will happen as our power to alter ourselves colludes with economic power: we will stop at nothing to get what we want, especially for our children.”

On Reading Like a Writer – 3rd Post on Blog Tour

The prolific fantasy author Ian Irvine is very generous with his knowledge and has made a vast amount of information available on his site about writing and publishing.

I’ve contributed a post on his writing series:

 

http://ianirvine.blogspot.com/2011/11/on-reading-like-writer-claire-corbett.html

Toowoomba Chronicle – 3 September 2011

Although a little baffled initially, this reader persisted with the novel and was rewarded for that persistence as Ms Corbett has written a compelling, even mesmerising and imaginative novel…

When We Have Wings is a captivating and unusual story about sacrifice, motherhood and betrayal. It is beautifully written and a great read.

– Terri Roser