by Zinta Aistars
for WMUK 102.1 FM
Southwest Michigan's NPR affiliate
Between the Lines is my weekly radio show about books and writers with a Michigan connection. It airs every Tuesday at 7:50 a.m., 11:55 a.m., and 4:20 p.m. (or listen anytime online), on WMUK 102.1 FM, Southwest Michigan's NPR affiliate. I am the host of Between the Lines.
This week's guest: Jim C. Hines
Southwest Michigan's NPR affiliate
Between the Lines is my weekly radio show about books and writers with a Michigan connection. It airs every Tuesday at 7:50 a.m., 11:55 a.m., and 4:20 p.m. (or listen anytime online), on WMUK 102.1 FM, Southwest Michigan's NPR affiliate. I am the host of Between the Lines.
This week's guest: Jim C. Hines
 |
Jim C. Hines
CREDIT COURTESY JIM HINES
|
Librarians are magic. Any bookworm or someone with a well-worn and tattered library card knows that. And Michigan author Jim C. Hines knows it better than most, having created Isaac Vainio, a character who is a librarian and a magician. He's a "libriomancer" who can literally pull magical beings into the world from the written word.
“Isaac Vainio is a libriomancer from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula,” Hines says. “At the start of the "Magic ex Libris" series, he's gotten himself into trouble and has been put into a kind of magical time-out. Over the course of the series, various magical things get loose— well, I don’t want to spoil that!”
Hines is the author of twelve fantasy novels, including the "Magic ex Libris" series, the "Princess" series of fairy tale retellings, the humorous "Goblin Quest" trilogy, and the Fable Legends tie-in Blood of Heroes. He’s won the 2012 Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer. Hines’ newest book is Revisionary, the fourth book in the "Magic ex Libris" series (DAW, February 2016).
Hines says Revisionary takes a different turn from most fantasy books: “So many urban fantasy books and series have the assumption that magic exists but it’s a secret. I look around at how well we as a species keep secrets—and I have a really hard time believing we would be able to hide this. We’re not that good. Over the course of the four 'Magic ex Libris' books, the secret starts to come out.”
With his ability to pull what he needs from books, Isaac Vainio, the librarian, borrows from Star Trek, the Narnia books, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and others. How fun is that?
But Hines does more than just play with magic and create fascinating worlds. He brings in contemporary issues like sexism and turns them on their head. Sometimes he even has a bit of fun with ...
LISTEN TO THE COMPLETE INTERVIEW. (26:30)
No comments:
Post a Comment