Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip is a fantasy novel about a female sorceress who faces a huge dilemma. Sybel lives alone on her mountain with only her magical beasts for company. Lord Coren brings her a baby for her to raise. Twelve years later, he came back to retrieve the boy. Raising the boy has brought Sybel into the affairs of the people who live below her mountain. Having learned what she learned, can she walk away from the people who need her most?
Summary
[Insert Summary Here]
Recommendation
[Insert Recommendation Here]
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip.
A fantasy novel that is like The Forgotten Beasts of Eld is The Last Unicorn.
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle is a fantasy novel about a female unicorn’s search for the rest of her kind. She faces an evil carnival owner, a creepy king in a lonely castle, and a scary red bull. Is she the last unicorn?
Another fantasy novel that is like The Forgotten Beasts of Eld is Eyes of the Dragon.
Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King is a traditional fantasy. King Roland of Delain has two sons. Prince Peter is his heir, who is the perfect prince and ready to lead. His younger son is Prince Thomas, who is too young and malleable for Flagg, the court advisor and magician. Flagg secretly assassinates the King and frames Peter for the murder. How will Peter clear his name, defeat the ancient Flagg, and claim his rightful throne?
Mad Ship by Robin Hobb is the second book in the Liveship Traders trilogy.
Introduction
Mad Ship by Robin Hobb is the second book of the Liveship Traders trilogy and book five of the Realm of the Elderlings saga. The novel follows six main plot arcs. The groups are the sailors Althea and Brashen, headed to Bingtown; the Vestrit family of Bingtown, owners of the Liveship Vivacia; the Khuprus family from The Rain Wild River; Wintrow and pirate captain Kennit on the Liveship Vivacia; Paragon, a blinded and derelict Liveship near Bingtown; and a group of sea serpents traveling north. These groups interact, leading to something special happening to the Mad Ship.
Summary – Prologue
The prologue has one point-of-view character.
Shreever is a sea serpent. She follows the prophet Maulkin, who seeks She Who Remembers. They follow a dark provider that drops food for them.
Summary–Main Plot Arcs
Mad Ship by Robin Hobb has six main plot arcs.
Kennit is a pirate captain who turns slave ships into pirate ships under his control, but then he captures the Liveship Vivacia. He is supported by his first mate Sorcor and his paramour Etta. On the Liveship Vivacia is Wintrow Haven (the son of Keffria Vestrit) who is connected to the Liveship and necessary to keep the ship running. His father is Kyle Haven, the former captain of the Liveship Vivacia.
The Vestrit family in Bingtown are Ronica Vestrit, her daughter Keffria, and her granddaughter Malta. They have drama involving Rain Wild Traders and the running of the family finances. They own the Liveship Vivacia but owe debt payments to the Khuprus family.
The Khuprus family took over the debt of the Liveship Vivacia. Jani Khuprus takes the note because her son Reyn intends to wed Malta Vestrit. Reyn is involved with the excavations of the Elderlings along the banks of the Rain Wild River. He looks to learn the secrets of the Elderlings.
The Liveship Paragon, who is a derelict on Bingtown beach. Amber wants to buy him from the Ludluck family and restore him.
Althea Vestrit and Brashen Trell have a hot and cold romance. They were sailors on the Liveship Vivacia and later The Reaper, a slaughter ship taking cargo from the barrens with a home port of Candletown. They come to Bingtown. Althea to help her mother and Brashen to help Amber and Paragon.
The sentient sea serpents search for She Who Remembers.
Recommendation
Mad Ship by Robin Hobb is a fabulous middle novel for the Liveship Traders trilogy. It is set in the same universe as the Farseer trilogy and there are a few references to those books, but no direct connections. There are many points of view characters. Each chapter has multiple points of view, though there is no head hopping.
I enjoyed the Althea and Brashen romance, Wintrow’s struggle with his past and future, and the mystery of Paragon. I like the Malta story better than in the earlier novel because of the addition of Reyn. Reyn’s story is intriguing because of how it relates to the dragons and the Elderlings. The Kennit story was interesting in his horribleness. Is he a protagonist or a villain? We learn more about him in this novel, but the rest of the story will tell. The sea serpents were easier to read in this novel because I understood more about them. I think I know how the sea serpents are related to the Liveships, so that will be important later. Overall, I loved it and will soon read Ship of Destiny, Book #3 of the Liveship Traders.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of Mad Ship by Robin Hobb
Review of Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb. Liveships are sentient and bonded to their owners. This is the story of the Liveship Vivacia and the Vestrit family.
I attended the Confluence Pittsburgh 2026 Conference from July 24 to 26, 2026. The conference was held at 1160 Thorn Run Road, Coraopolis, PA, at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Airport Hotel. I also attended the conference in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025. COVID-19 changed the conference to a virtual event called C’monfluence in 2020, which I attended online. The Parsec organization of Pittsburgh runs this literary science fiction, fantasy, and horror conference. The events included panels, author readings, interviews, writing workshops, and filk concerts. I attended the opening ceremonies, five panels, the Guest of Honor interview, an improv comedy show, and a concert.
They held the Confluence SF Conference Pittsburgh at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Airport.
Confluence SF Conference Pittsburgh 2026 Program Guide Cover
Picture of my badge from Confluence SF Conference Pittsburgh 2026
[insert picture here]
Summary
Friday,July 24th at 6 PM
Possible New Earths: Habitable Zones in Star Systems, a lecture by Dr. Melanie Good.
[Insert Summary Here]
They held the lecture in Commonwealth West with 27 attendees.
Friday,July 24th at 7 PM
Opening Ceremonies
[Insert Summary Here]
They held the ceremonies in Ballroom 1 with 46 attendees.
Friday,July 24th at 8 PM
Book to Movie: Movies Based on SF Books with Barbara Doran, Stephen Fisher, Alan Irvine, and Electra Hammond.
[Insert Summary Here]
They held the panel in Commonwealth East with 21 attendees.
Saturday,July 25th at 12 PM
Fantasy before Tolkien and Horror before Lovecraft with Darrell Schweitzer, Stephen Fisher, Eric Leif Davin, and Lawrence C. Connolly.
[Insert Summary Here]
They held the panel in the Commonwealth West Room with 23 attendees.
Saturday,July 25th at 1 PM
It was 50 years ago today: The Science Fiction of 1976 with Rich Horton, Charles Oberndorf, and Marie Vibbert.
[Insert Summary Here]
They held the panel in the Commonwealth West Room with 30 attendees.
Saturday,July 25th at 3 PM
Writing Guest of Honor interview of Andy Duncan by Marie Vibbert.
[Insert Summary Here]
They held the interview in Ballroom 1 with 48 attendees.
Saturday,July 25th at 4 PM
Writers to Remember: John Varley and Other Major Writers Who No Longer Get the Attention They Deserve with Charles Oberndorf, Mark Painter, Albert Wendland, and Rich Horton.
[Insert Summary Here]
They held the panel in the Commonwealth East Room with 15 attendees.
Saturday,July 25th at 7 PM
Featured Saturday evening entertainment with the Select Start Comedy Group.
[Insert Summary Here]
They held the show in Ballroom 1 with 28 attendees.
Saturday,July 25th at 8 PM
Musical Guest Quicksave
[Insert Summary Here]
They held the show in Ballroom 1 with 48 attendees.
Recommendation – Conclusion
I’m glad I attended the Confluence SF Conference Pittsburgh 2026. My star of the con was Marie Vibbert. Marie Vibbert conducted a great Guest of Honor interview and was memorable in the 50 years ago panel I attended that she was on. Based on the information she explained in the opening ceremonies, she was the editor of the 2026 Triangulation anthology, which she presented. She also ran the writing workshops at the con. I attended the opening ceremonies, five panels, the Guest of Honor interview, an improv comedy show, and a concert. It was a full weekend. I also attended the conference in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025. I hope to attend Confluence in 2027.
Links
Confluence Pittsburgh 2025 Conference Recap from July 25 to 27, 2025, at the Sheraton Hotel. I also attended Confluence in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, and 2024. I attended the opening ceremonies, five panels, two readings, and a concert.
Confluence Pittsburgh 2024 Conference Recap from July 26 to 28, 2024, at the Sheraton Hotel. I also attended Confluence in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, and 2023. I attended 2 panels, 1 reading, and a concert.
Recap of the Confluence SF Conference in Pittsburgh on July 30, 2022, at the Sheraton. I also attended Confluence in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020. I attended 3 panels, two readings, an improv comedy show, a concert, and the guest of honor presentation
Recap of the Confluence SF Conference Pittsburgh, held virtually from 10-02-20 to 10-04-20. I attended the opening ceremony, five panels, three readings, one presentation, the guest of honor presentation, and the conference breakdown.
Recap for the Confluence SF Conference Pittsburgh on July 27 & 28, 20, at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Airport Hotel. I also attended Confluence in ‘16, ‘17, and ‘18. I attended five panels, two fiction writing workshops, and the guest of honor presentation
They held the Confluence Conference from July 27, 2018, to July 29, 2018, at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Airport Hotel. I attended two lectures, two panels, one fiction writing seminar, one author reading, and the guest of honor presentation.
They held the Confluence Conference from August 4 to August 6, 2017, at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Airport Hotel. I attended seven panels, one writing workshop, one author reading, and the guest of honor presentation.
Recap of the Confluence SF Conference on July 30 and July 31, 2016, at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Airport Hotel. I attended 15 panels and the U.S.S. Improvise improv sketch comedy routine.
I attended the Confluence Conference, held near Pittsburgh, PA, from July 24, 2026, to July 26, 2026. They held the conference at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Airport Hotel in Coraopolis, PA.
Writing Progress from July 2026.
I wrote five blog posts for my website, garydavidgillen.com. Including my writing progress report for July 2026, linked below.
In July 2026, I presented the revised Chapter 4 of my expanded short story, titled Chemithurgy, to the Advanced Fiction Writing Workshop via Zoom.
I wrote short stories in January, February, and March. Last year I completed the novelette version of Chemithurgy. I plan to expand the story to novella length in 2026 and 2027.
I made five posts on my Goodreads account in July 2026.
Events from July 2026.
I attended the Confluence Conference, held near Pittsburgh, PA, from July 24, 2026, to July 26, 2026. They held the conference at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Airport Hotel in Coraopolis, PA. I took part in the Confluence conference in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 (they canceled 2021 because of COVID), 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.
In August 2026, I plan to write four blog posts for garydavidgillen.com. Including my Writing Progress Report for August 2026.
I plan to work on Chapter 5 of the revised and expanded story, Chemithurgy, for the Advanced Fiction Writing Workshop via Zoom in August 2026.
In August 2026, I plan to make five posts on my Goodreads account.
In the past, I sent the stories Four Humors, Space Station Sunyata, and Grognard to magazines.
The seven flash fiction stories I sent out in 2020 and 2021 were Space-Dog Confession, Sleeping Sickness, Caliburnus, Popular Mechanics Re-brewed, Wormhole Generator, Runs with Scissors, and Principled Rogue.
Magazine submissions for 2021 were 4 unique stories sent 4 times, with 0 accepted, 0 pending, and 4 rejections. I had no submissions for 2022, 2023, 2024, or 2025.
I plan to send short stories in 2026.
Planned Events for August 2026.
ConFusion in Novi, Michigan, from January 31, 2027, to January 24, 2027, is the next conference I plan to attend. The conference is at the Novi Sheraton. The Ann Arbor Science Fiction Association sponsors ConFusion.
