Eoghann Irving's Blog, page 18
March 21, 2015
Dragon Hoard Part 6: Food Fight
This is post #6 of 6 in the series “Dragon Hoard”
Depending on when you get to the casino the atmosphere can vary from one of excitement to a general sense of desperation, all covered by lots of loud noise. That evening it was different, there was tension in the air.
The smiles on the waitresses face looked a little more fixed than usual, the patrons seemed even more obsessed with their slot machines than ever. On my initial wander round for the evening I noticed several incidents of shoving and raised voices. These were people who really needed to let off steam, which is ironic considering where they were don’t you think?
Wayne seemed more than usually nervous too. His hands wouldn’t stay still, tugging at his ear or smoothing down what little hair he had left. Not that I could blame him, what with the Casino owner being on site. Even on a good day that could make you nervous, and this was clearly not a good day even to someone without a wizard’s perceptions.
“Hey Wayne.” I greeted him. “Have you seen Rick?”
“No.” He practically spat the words at me. “He hasn’t shown, and neither has Jim.” Which explained the anger, being understaffed was never a good thing.
“I’d better get out there then.” I said. Jim wasn’t going to be in the mood to speculate about Rick or much of anything else right now.
“Keep an eye on things Doug.” Jim said. I suppressed a wince and forced myself to nod. My name’s Douglas, not Doug.
Back out on the floor, the tension in the air had an almost physical presence. The noise can get to you any day, but I had just got here and already I could feel a headache building. It felt unnaturally hot and the air seemed to close in around me, making my skin itch. I strongly suspected something mystical at play, but as short staffed as we were though I couldn’t just go wandering off to investigate.
Instead I did what I was supposed to do, wandering the floor, greeting the guests and offering help where I could. Normally I could expect to receive some thanks, or maybe a smile, this evening I was lucky if I didn’t get knocked out of the way.
I figured I’d go and check in on Lee Anne, see what she could tell me about the strange behavior. Sure enough, she was sitting in her usual spot, playing the slots.
“How’s it going?” I greeted her, but she didn’t even look up from her game. “So, what’s the scoop.” I tried again, reaching out to rest a hand on her shoulder.
Now strictly speaking we’re really not supposed to lay our hands on the guests, unless they get physical themselves, but it was Lee Anne. I certainly wasn’t expecting the response I got. She turned her to look at me, her expression one of irritation bordering on outright anger. With a hiss she batted my hand away and turned right back to the slot machine, completely dismissing me.
That’s not exactly normal behavior for anyone, but for Lee Anne, it was unthinkable. If I’d needed more proof that someone or something was manipulating the casino guests, I had it. But who, or what and why?
I left Lee Anne to her machine and headed for the back office area. I needed somewhere quiet in order to investigate what was going on here. Magic requires concentration and that is not something you can achieve while standing on the floor of a casino with bells ringing and music playing and people talking. Actually when you put it like that, it’s a miracle I can even walk and talk while out there.
As usual though my plans were thwarted by a strange compulsion to keep my job. The radio squawked a Code Chartreuse. I have no idea who picked the color codes or why they thought chartreuse would be a good fit, but in short it means “Everybody hurry up and get here the guests are fighting!”. So I went running for the food court!
The excitement was mostly over by the time I got there. There was still some shouting going on and a couple of people were being bodily removed from the scene, but mostly what was left to do was clean up.
I mean that literally because the gentleman in question had apparently been grabbing food off the plates of the other guests, knocking most of it to the floor in the process. The place was a mess and it was full of highly disgruntled guests. Wayne was wandering round frantically offering free food vouchers to everyone within eyeshot of the events.
I watched him for a moment, wondering how much worse his day could possibly get, when I caught sight of Sante Drago and his entourage. The whole group of them had emerged from whatever private room he was occupying and were observing the scene. That couldn’t be good.
I took the opportunity to study Mr. Drago from a distance. I could sense the mystical power within him, concealed by that human form. He was a formidable presence. Instinctively I tried to make myself smaller and less obtrusive. But the expression on his face disturbed me. If Drago had been a regular human being I would have sworn he was worried.
Could he sense what I was sensing in the air at his casino? And if so, what did it take to worry a dragon?
It was a good half hour or more before I was able to extract myself from the food court disaster and return to Lee Anne and the sight of her shocked me. She was still sitting in front of the slot machine, but must have left it at some point because next to her were piles of food and a giant sized drink.
She still had one hand on the slot machine handle, but the other was cramming an entire burger into her face, heedless of the dripping sauce going all down her front. As soon as her hand was free she reached for the soda and gulped on it, while still chewing.
Her body seemed strangely altered, bulging and misshapen so that her clothes didn’t fit properly any more. As I got closer I detected a faint odor of corruption and rot about her. Paying no attention to me she shoved a handful of fries into her already full mouth, most of them falling onto the seat and floor around her.
Before she could reach for yet more food, the machine lit up like a jukebox and tokens clattered out of the bottom. With a cry of glee she grabbed for them and shoveled them greedily into her large cup, her face contorted into a look of painful ecstasy.
Something had possessed Lee Anne.
Next: Part 7 - Gluttony
Dragon Hoard is a weekly serial sequel to The Wolves of West Virginia, which is available on Kindle.
by Eoghann Irving [-]
Price:
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March 20, 2015
Sword in the Storm by David Gemmell
David Gemmell has been writing popular fantasy books for years now and anyone who has read any of his previous works will have a rough idea what to expect from this one. In this first book of the “Rigante” series we follow the childhood of Connavar, a member of one of the Rigante clans. As he grows to adulthood he shows considerable natural talents and certain mystical beings take an unusual level of interest in him.
There is nothing really new in this book. It features many of Gemmells favorite themes all mixed together with a healthy dose of tragedy. One thing I’ve noticed about Gemmell’s writing is that with each book the deaths and tragedies seem to increase.
There’s plenty to enjoy about this story. Its an easy read, well written and flows along nicely. Theres a nice range of characters most with a little bit of depth to them. It doesn’t take long before you start to care about what happens to them.
My biggest criticism would probably be that it is rather bitty. In many ways it reads like a series of short events all linked together rather than an ongoing narrative.
This book is really just a lead up to the “main event”, the invasion of the Armies of Stone. An event which is repeatedly foreshadowed throughout the story.
So another solid and entertaining read, but Gemmell isn’t really stretching himself here. He’s written better.
Sword in the Storm (The Rigante Series, Book 1)
by David Gemmell [Del Rey]
Price:
$6.33
£5.19
CDN$ 2.97
EUR 7,53
EUR 6,00
March 19, 2015
Book Review: Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds
GoodReads recommendation engine has been suggesting Alastair Reynold’s Revelation Space to me for a couple of years now and it’s not hard to see why, after all it’s epic scaled science fiction written by a British author, and that is kind of my thing. Well it finally made it to the top of my to read pile and I’m glad it did. While it starts slow by the end it’s gripping stuff.
So What’s It All About?
Nine hundred thousand years ago, something annihilated the Amarantin civilization just as it was on the verge of discovering space flight. Now one scientist, Dan Sylveste, will stop at nothing to solve the Amarantin riddle before ancient history repeats itself. With no other resources at his disposal, Sylveste forges a dangerous alliance with the cyborg crew of the starship Nostalgia for Infinity. But as he closes in on the secret, a killer closes in on him. Because the Amarantin were destroyed for a reason — and if that reason is uncovered, the universe—and reality itself — could be irrecoverably altered…
Slow and Confusing Start
Revelation Space didn’t get off to the best of starts. The early chapters were quite slow moving and the disparate characters and timelines made it hard to keep track of exactly who was where and why.
To make matters worse Dan Sylveste spends the first half of the book essentially reacting to things and in many cases the major events happen off-stage and are simply related to us.
There’s a reason for that as it turns out, which is that those major events maybe aren’t so major in the end, but we don’t know that while we’re reading so it’s a bit off-putting that all the action seems to be happening elsewhere.
A Slowly Tightening Noose
Once the threads of the story come together though things change. The pace gradually increases, the number of characters and locations shrink and as this happens there’s a palpable change in the level of tension and paranoia as this group of manipulative and frequently unlikable people find their options ever more limited.
It becomes clear that someone, or something is directing their actions and it seems that no matter what steps they take it always ends up in the best interests of the alien entity. The final sections of the book are a strange mix of Alien and 2001 as the group find themselves simultaneously hunted and exposed to alien artifacts beyond their understanding.
They’re Not Very Nice Are They?
In truth they aren’t a particularly nice bunch. The most compassionate of the viewpoint characters is after all a hired assassin and the point is made that some of them have developed themselves to the extent they are barely human, even the ordinary humans are strangely muted in their empathy.
One of the many topics that Reynolds touches on in the book is the notion of body augmentation and what that might do to people. In some cases it is relatively minor tweaks like Sylveste’s electronic eyes, but at the extreme end there is the Captain who is slowly succumbing to a virus that has mutated his largely mechanical body.
What is Human?
Although he does not flat out ask the question, Reynolds certainly poses it. We are presented with body augmentation, artificial intelligence, the imposing of mind patterns on another’s brain and even cloning is mentioned.
This is a society where certain fundamental understandings about what a human being is really no longer apply and that affects how people behave.
But What About?
There are a lot of dangling plot elements in Revelation Space. A lot of the stuff and some of the people we are focused on early in the book essentially fade into the background as the true scope of the peril becomes clear. Normally I might find that quite frustrating, but Reynolds handles it cleverly.
The tradeoff is that some of those early chapters are a bit of a slog, but if you can hang in there until you see the larger picture, it will pay off. And those dangling plots suddenly don’t seem that important, not when you’re dealing with something this grandiose and immediately life threatening.
Did You Like It?
Yes I really enjoyed it once the scope narrowed down to the ship and its small crew. From about half way on the tension just kept ratcheting up.
Buy, Borrow or Skip?
This one gets a buy from me.
by Alastair Reynolds [Ace]
Price:
$8.99
£0.01
CDN$ 4.64
EUR 8,47
EUR 6,90
March 18, 2015
Book Review: Foundation’s Fear by Gregory Benford
I approached this book with considerable trepidation. I’m a big fan of Asimov’s original Foundation Trilogy but was not overly impressed by his later additions to the series like Foundation’s Edge where he attempted to tie the Foundation stories in with his robot stories.
So, knowing that this book took place prior to the setting up of the Foundations, that it featured robots and that it was written not by Asimov (for obvious reasons) but by Gregory Benford, who’s books I had never read…..
I was, however, pleasantly surprised. This didn’t strike me as a great original story, nor is it an Asimov Foundation book. What it is though is an entertaining story set in the Foundation universe and using familiar characters.
The story itself concerns the events in Hari Seldon’s life just prior to his becoming First Minister. Specifically, his continuing development of psychohistory (which appears to be at a fairly advanced stage at this point) and the political machinations he becomes embroiled as he is drawn into politics
Various secondary strands pad out the book and the importance of some of them may not become completely clear until I have read the other two books in this trilogy.
Particularly intriguing to me was the initial appearance of the “sims” Voltaire and Joan, who engage in a most dramatic public debate. However, the rest of their plot arc was rather dull and the tie in with the main story seemed unconvincing.
Benford has a much more wordy writing style than Asimov and we get far more of what characters are thinking. We also get a fair amount of repetition. I’m not sure whether this is down to bad editing or was done because Benford thought the reader might have forgotten certain theories mentioned 100 pages earlier.
Purists may be upset by certain liberties that Benford has taken. For example the introduction of modern computers and cyberspace. The most glaring update must be replacing hyperspace ships with travel via wormholes.
To me getting upset about this sort of thing is rather missing the point. Asimov wrote roughly according to the science of the time and did update the Foundation universe himself in later stories. Not only that but as Benford notes in the afterword, Asimov was not terribly consistent about many aspects of the Foundation universe anyway.
This book does what it sets out to do, namely setup a trilogy of books which will try to answer some of the open questions about the Foundation universe. Already I am curious about just how the two Foundations get set up and exactly what role the robots play in this.
There are hints that the Robots “overseeing” isn’t perhaps as snowy white and pure as one might have thought.
Foundation's Fear (The Second Foundation Trilogy)
by Gregory Benford [HarperPrism]
Price:
$6.11
£0.01
CDN$ 9.92
EUR 8,03
EUR 7,54
Book Review: Foundation's Fear by Gregory Benford
I approached this book with considerable trepidation. I'm a big fan of Asimov's original Foundation Trilogy but was not overly impressed by his later additions to the series like Foundation's Edge where he attempted to tie the Foundation stories in with his robot stories.
So, knowing that this book took place prior to the setting up of the Foundations, that it featured robots and that it was written not by Asimov (for obvious reasons) but by Gregory Benford, who's books I had never read…..
I was, however, pleasantly surprised. This didn't strike me as a great original story, nor is it an Asimov Foundation book. What it is though is an entertaining story set in the Foundation universe and using familiar characters.
The story itself concerns the events in Hari Seldon's life just prior to his becoming First Minister. Specifically, his continuing development of psychohistory (which appears to be at a fairly advanced stage at this point) and the political machinations he becomes embroiled as he is drawn into politics
Various secondary strands pad out the book and the importance of some of them may not become completely clear until I have read the other two books in this trilogy.
Particularly intriguing to me was the initial appearance of the "sims" Voltaire and Joan, who engage in a most dramatic public debate. However, the rest of their plot arc was rather dull and the tie in with the main story seemed unconvincing.
Benford has a much more wordy writing style than Asimov and we get far more of what characters are thinking. We also get a fair amount of repetition. I'm not sure whether this is down to bad editing or was done because Benford thought the reader might have forgotten certain theories mentioned 100 pages earlier.
Purists may be upset by certain liberties that Benford has taken. For example the introduction of modern computers and cyberspace. The most glaring update must be replacing hyperspace ships with travel via wormholes.
To me getting upset about this sort of thing is rather missing the point. Asimov wrote roughly according to the science of the time and did update the Foundation universe himself in later stories. Not only that but as Benford notes in the afterword, Asimov was not terribly consistent about many aspects of the Foundation universe anyway.
This book does what it sets out to do, namely setup a trilogy of books which will try to answer some of the open questions about the Foundation universe. Already I am curious about just how the two Foundations get set up and exactly what role the robots play in this.
There are hints that the Robots "overseeing" isn't perhaps as snowy white and pure as one might have thought.
Foundation's Fear (The Second Foundation Trilogy)
by Gregory Benford [HarperPrism]
Price:
$6.11
£0.02
CDN$ 9.92
EUR 8,03
EUR 7,54
March 17, 2015
Book Review: The Barbed Coil by J. V. Jones
I hadn’t read anything by J.V. Jones previously but there have been a number of positive comments on the mailing list so when I saw this book in the bookshop I decided to buy it. The plot as summarised on the back of the book is fairly traditional. Villainous King bent on conquering the world. Three disparate individuals brought together to stop him.
But of course it's not the bare outline of a story that makes the book, it's the details. The villain is a strangely caring man warped by fate and supernatural forces. At points you are left feeling quite sorry for him.
Likewise the three heroes are somewhat flawed individuals who approach the situation and others with preconceptions which colour their judgement.
The author writes extremely vivid prose without bogging the book down in long descriptive passages. At times she seems to almost revel in the squalor and unpleasantness of this fantasy world.
This is very much new style fantasy writing. Where as the old school didn’t worry about the unpleasant details of life in a low tech environment, more recent fantasy writers have tended to emphasise it. Thus we have:
“The smell didn’t bear thinking about. Neither did the soft and bulging floaters that kept bobbing past her face.”
Wounds, illness and death are described with equal relish.
Despite the war looming in the background, the focus of the book remains squarely on the central characters and a number of very memorable secondary characters. Resolution is achieved through painting not through battle.
Indeed if the descriptions of blood and death are vivid then so too are the descriptions of the scribing. A considerable amount of reasearch and attention to detail shows through in these sections and they are made every bit as interesting as the “action” scenes.
The book is self contained, a pleasant change for the Fantasy genre these days, but there is (as always) room left for a sequel.
by JV Jones [Orbit]
Price:
$11.85
£27.19
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March 14, 2015
Weekly Free Fiction Roundup — March 14th 2015
There's a lot of high quality fiction available on the internet these days. So much that it's hard to keep up with it, never mind read it all. Each week I publish a roundup of science fiction, fantasy or horror stories that I've read and think are worth a few minutes of your time:
Night Blooming by Jason Nahrung
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Deborah Brown—Jazmine Nocturna to her friends—had it bad for the unliving. Shane stood in the teenager’s bedroom, taking in the nu-vamp celeb posters, the black lace, the incense.
The girl’s mother stood at the bedroom door. Ms Brown wore a pencil skirt and heels, a crisp white blouse, but stray hairs were pulling free from her tight bun, and the shadows under her eyes showed through her makeup. Early to mid-forties. Gym toned, suntanned, a gold cross above her modest cleavage. No wedding ring, but a pale line where one had been. She radiated anxiety.
Join the club, sister.
Seven Stones: Part Nine by David Higgins
Genre: Fantasy
Previously on Seven Stones: After tying a mud-soaked rag around her face, Anessa gets close enough to see the Korha without falling asleep. Her bolt bursts the Korha’s eye, but she is horrified to see the flesh reforming. Wondering if the Korha has a closer connection with the mist than merely hiding in it, she tries to burn the mist off. Her improvised torch drives away the venom in the air, but doesn’t stop a massive tentacle from attacking her.
Without the swirling mist to explain away the oddities, Anessa’s mind rejected the sight before her. Her eyes instinctively clamped shut.
She retched as a bitter stench filled her nostrils. Something slammed into the swamp next to her, spattering her with more filth. She cracked open one eye as another fit of retching overcame her.
Wearing the Hat by Mike Reeves-McMillan
Genre: Fantasy
“Look, Mistress Rose,” said the Gryphon Clerk, “we can do this one of two ways.”
She wore a dark suit, and the bead above her silver gryphon seal, hanging round her neck on a plain cord, was black with a thin white stripe. I didn’t know much about Gryphon Clerks—they’re a southern thing, or had been until the war—but I thought that meant she wasn’t very senior. She acted like she was in charge, though.
“Either,” she said, “you become our local warden and postmaster, or we send in some young soldier from the south to do it for you. And I have to warn you, we’re running out of good ones.”
Operation BLACK FLAG by Richard Kendrick
Genre: Monster Movie
Walter Renford sat on a bench in the park with his cane leaning between his legs, hands clasped, one over the other, atop the handle. This bench, his bench, had the best view of the old park fountain and the recently restored shop-fronts across the street. It had the the most comfortable shade, with just a hint of mid-day sun filtering through the leaves of the tree behind it, which was even more advanced in years than he was. The air was sweetly scented with the aroma of fresh cut grass. Beside him, Fred, another fixture of the city park, tossed popcorn to a flock of pigeons. They cooed appreciatively.
And then there was that gleaming, metal monstrosity the city built, crouching right in the middle of his view. The sunlight glinted blindingly off the polished, twisted metal. Heat waves undulated above its surface. An 'art installation,' they'd called it. Those idiots wouldn't know art if it bit them in the ass.
Chrono Virus by Aaron Crocco
Genre: Science Fiction
Everything was cold. Each console, every button, all of it. If he looked close enough at the plastic buttons used to engage each of the ship's systems, he could swear frost was starting to form. Ken Mallory reline back in the captain's chair, trying to catch even a few minutes of sleep under his fleece blanket. The chair wasn't his, but given that he was the only person awake he was in charge.
Not that there was much to be in charge of. The three member crew of the Raven had the glorious responsibility of overseeing its current cargo: energy coils for Faster Than Light drives. It wasn't the most interesting haul, but FTL coils were in high demand since ships burned through them so quick. Ken's mind drifted back to sleep when a console let out a soft repeating beep.
The Way Home by Linda Nagata
Genre: Military Fantasy
The demon, like all the others before it, appeared first in the form of a horizontal plume of rust-red grit and vapor. Almost a kilometer away, it moved low to the ground, camouflaged by the waves of hot, shimmering air that rose from the desert hardpan. Lieutenant Matt Whitebird watched it for many seconds before he was sure it was more than a mirage. Then he announced to his squad, “Incoming. Ten o’clock from my position. Only one this time.”
But even one was deadly.
Sergeant Carson Cabuto, some six meters to Whitebird’s right, huddled against a jut of rock, black as obsidian, a stark contrast to the gray-brown camo of his helmet and combat uniform. “Okay, I see it,” Cabuto said. “That’s fifty-six minutes since the last one. I was starting to get worried.”
Sing Me Your Scars by Damien Angelica Walters
Genre: Body Horror
This is not my body.
Yes, there are the expected parts—arms, legs, hips, breasts—each in its proper place and of the proper shape.
Is he a monster, a madman, a misguided fool? I don’t know. I don’t want to know. But this is not my body.
And that's it for this week. If you're on Google+ keep an eye on the #DailyFiction hashtag for regular free fiction recommendations.
Dragon Hoard Part 5: Coffee Break (1st Draft)
This is post #5 of 5 in the series “Dragon Hoard”
I gazed at the medallion, absentmindedly flipping it from side to side. I was supposed to be unravelling it's mysteries, but my mind was elsewhere. The revelation that Blue Ridge Casino is owned by an actual, genuine, true life, dragon was not an easy one to process, but it was unmistakably true. Right now there was a silver dragon in residence no more than ten minutes from my house.
Yes, dragons can take human form, do you think they'd have stayed hidden this long if they couldn't, and yes, it's possible to tell a dragon's color even when they are in human form. Thinking about it after the fact it did rather make sense, dragons in general have a fondness for gold, or failing that money in general and silver dragons, well, they're the smart ones in the family. Actually calling himself Drago though, that was just arrogant.
I wondered idly if he was the cause of the strange behavior at the casino. But it didn't really fit, not least because all of that behavior had happened before he got there. Which suggested there was more than one form of magic at work. I had no doubt it was magic, some things are too ridiculous to be explained any other way.
My phone buzzed. It was Mercedes, performing another miraculous research feat.
Mercedes: Sante Drago, AKA the Silver Dragon. 65 yrs old. Emigrated to the US thirty years ago. Rich. Secretive. People who cross him disappear.
Well that wasn't very encouraging was it? Not that I really wanted to cross a dragon, I mean just the whole fire breathing thing makes a person a little nervous. I made a note to do a little research into fire resistance, you never know.
Mercedes: Dragons, magical creatures. Short tempered. Physically strong. Dangerous.
Brodie: Stating the obvious Mercedes.
Mercedes: In human form they're only a little stronger than a regular human, but they still have access to some magic. Older dragons are claimed to be able to mentally dominate people.
Well that was something I could work with. After all Drago couldn't exactly turn into a mystical creature in full view all the customers at his casino could he? I wondered how old he really was. Dragons lived hundreds of years, even I knew that, if he looked sixty he must be five to ten times that old. Maybe I could conduct my investigation without involving him? Yeah, sure.
Of course it would be a lot easier to figure out what was going on if I had a better feel for the pulse of the magical community round here. Up to now though I'd deliberately steered clear of that, it's hard to maintain a low profile when you're attending weekly meetings.
But, it was time to admit that hiding just wasn't going to work. Stuff was happening here and elsewhere. Sticking my head in the sand wasn't going to protect me. Before I could change my mind I flipped over to the Facebook page I'd been looking at earlier.
It didn't outright call itself a group for practitioners of magic, because that would be crazy, but there are code words that have grown up over time and this one used them all. They met every Wednesday, time to introduce myself.
Charles Town doesn't offer a lot of choice when it comes to coffee, if you don't like the major chains or purchasing at a gas station. The Coffee Ground isn't fancy, but they are at least able to serve me a coffee that tastes like coffee. They have all the fancy options too mind you and probably have the biography of the person who ground the beans, but they know to get out the way and give me a black coffee when I ask for one.
Which is why I arranged to meet Charles Allen there. Well, that and the fact I certainly wasn't going to let him in my house, I might never get him to leave again. Charles was an expert in dead languages, he was also an expert in boring people to death.
"An unusual piece this." Charles waved his hand at the photo in front of him. "No chance I could see the original?" His voice took on a faintly wheedling tone.
I shook my head firmly. "It's a little too valuable to be moved around."
"Well, quite. I remember a few years ago when I was doing some research for the British Museum. We were cataloging and transcribing some Egyptian hieroglyphs. Anyway one of the others, Stephen I think it was, he drops the tablet."
"Quite." I said, trying to bring him back to the topic at hand. "So what does it say?"
"Hmm? Oh I'm not sure. It's Elamite certainly, you're right about that, probably Middle Elamite, though it could be Old Elamite, it's not always easy to tell the difference and the further back you go the less references we have to draw on." He picked up the photo and peered at it more closely.
"The Persian's really were a remarkable society. I had a colleague some years back, an Iranian, very bright man."
"Would he be able to translate this?" I asked.
Charles blinked. "Oh, no." He said dismissively. "It's not his field at all." He put the photo down and took a sip from the pale coffee like substance he had purchased. I had counted at least four spoonfuls of sugar being added after he got it.
"Elamite is an isolated language you see." He began his lecture again. "That makes it harder for us to translate. But I think I may be able to do something, with a little time."
"Take as long as you need." I said, just keep me posted.
Charles beamed at me. "Oh I will." He said happily. "You can expect frequent reports!"
"I look forward to it." I said as I stood and made to leave, but Charles was apparently immune to sarcasm. He was staring at the photo again, his lips moving silently. I shook my head in amusement and walked out the shop and back into the bright sunshine.
I hadn't made it back to my car when the phone rang. I didn't recognize the number and did what I always do, ignored it. By the time I was sitting down in my car the phone buzzed again, this time with a voicemail notification.
"Brodie." It took me a moment to place the voice, but then I realized it was Doug the werewolf. "Rick's missing. Call me."
Not even a please, typical. I had no intention of calling Doug back, it set a bad precedent, but Rick's absence was more than a little disturbing, what with all the other weirdness going on at the casino. I made a mental note to ask Wayne about him this evening.
Next: Part 6 — Food Fight
Dragon Hoard is weekly serial sequel to The Wolves of West Virginia, which is available on Kindle.
by Eoghann Irving [-]
Price:
-
-
-
-
-
Greed is Good Part 5: Coffee Break (1st Draft)
This is post #5 of 5 in the series “Greed is Good”
I gazed at the medallion, absentmindedly flipping it from side to side. I was supposed to be unravelling it's mysteries, but my mind was elsewhere. The revelation that Blue Ridge Casino is owned by an actual, genuine, true life, dragon was not an easy one to process, but it was unmistakably true. Right now there was a silver dragon in residence no more than ten minutes from my house.
Yes, dragons can take human form, do you think they'd have stayed hidden this long if they couldn't, and yes, it's possible to tell a dragon's color even when they are in human form. Thinking about it after the fact it did rather make sense, dragons in general have a fondness for gold, or failing that money in general and silver dragons, well, they're the smart ones in the family. Actually calling himself Drago though, that was just arrogant.
I wondered idly if he was the cause of the strange behavior at the casino. But it didn't really fit, not least because all of that behavior had happened before he got there. Which suggested there was more than one form of magic at work. I had no doubt it was magic, some things are too ridiculous to be explained any other way.
My phone buzzed. It was Mercedes, performing another miraculous research feat.
Mercedes: Sante Drago, AKA the Silver Dragon. 65 yrs old. Emigrated to the US thirty years ago. Rich. Secretive. People who cross him disappear.
Well that wasn't very encouraging was it? Not that I really wanted to cross a dragon, I mean just the whole fire breathing thing makes a person a little nervous. I made a note to do a little research into fire resistance, you never know.
Mercedes: Dragons, magical creatures. Short tempered. Physically strong. Dangerous.
Brodie: Stating the obvious Mercedes.
Mercedes: In human form they're only a little stronger than a regular human, but they still have access to some magic. Older dragons are claimed to be able to mentally dominate people.
Well that was something I could work with. After all Drago couldn't exactly turn into a mystical creature in full view all the customers at his casino could he? I wondered how old he really was. Dragons lived hundreds of years, even I knew that, if he looked sixty he must be five to ten times that old. Maybe I could conduct my investigation without involving him? Yeah, sure.
Of course it would be a lot easier to figure out what was going on if I had a better feel for the pulse of the magical community round here. Up to now though I'd deliberately steered clear of that, it's hard to maintain a low profile when you're attending weekly meetings.
But, it was time to admit that hiding just wasn't going to work. Stuff was happening here and elsewhere. Sticking my head in the sand wasn't going to protect me. Before I could change my mind I flipped over to the Facebook page I'd been looking at earlier.
It didn't outright call itself a group for practitioners of magic, because that would be crazy, but there are code words that have grown up over time and this one used them all. They met every Wednesday, time to introduce myself.
Charles Town doesn't offer a lot of choice when it comes to coffee, if you don't like the major chains or purchasing at a gas station. The Coffee Ground isn't fancy, but they are at least able to serve me a coffee that tastes like coffee. They have all the fancy options too mind you and probably have the biography of the person who ground the beans, but they know to get out the way and give me a black coffee when I ask for one.
Which is why I arranged to meet Charles Allen there. Well, that and the fact I certainly wasn't going to let him in my house, I might never get him to leave again. Charles was an expert in dead languages, he was also an expert in boring people to death.
"An unusual piece this." Charles waved his hand at the photo in front of him. "No chance I could see the original?" His voice took on a faintly wheedling tone.
I shook my head firmly. "It's a little too valuable to be moved around."
"Well, quite. I remember a few years ago when I was doing some research for the British Museum. We were cataloging and transcribing some Egyptian hieroglyphs. Anyway one of the others, Stephen I think it was, he drops the tablet."
"Quite." I said, trying to bring him back to the topic at hand. "So what does it say?"
"Hmm? Oh I'm not sure. It's Elamite certainly, you're right about that, probably Middle Elamite, though it could be Old Elamite, it's not always easy to tell the difference and the further back you go the less references we have to draw on." He picked up the photo and peered at it more closely.
"The Persian's really were a remarkable society. I had a colleague some years back, an Iranian, very bright man."
"Would he be able to translate this?" I asked.
Charles blinked. "Oh, no." He said dismissively. "It's not his field at all." He put the photo down and took a sip from the pale coffee like substance he had purchased. I had counted at least four spoonfuls of sugar being added after he got it.
"Elamite is an isolated language you see." He began his lecture again. "That makes it harder for us to translate. But I think I may be able to do something, with a little time."
"Take as long as you need." I said, just keep me posted.
Charles beamed at me. "Oh I will." He said happily. "You can expect frequent reports!"
"I look forward to it." I said as I stood and made to leave, but Charles was apparently immune to sarcasm. He was staring at the photo again, his lips moving silently. I shook my head in amusement and walked out the shop and back into the bright sunshine.
I hadn't made it back to my car when the phone rang. I didn't recognize the number and did what I always do, ignored it. By the time I was sitting down in my car the phone buzzed again, this time with a voicemail notification.
"Brodie." It took me a moment to place the voice, but then I realized it was Doug the werewolf. "Rick's missing. Call me."
Not even a please, typical. I had no intention of calling Doug back, it set a bad precedent, but Rick's absence was more than a little disturbing, what with all the other weirdness going on at the casino. I made a mental note to ask Wayne about him this evening.
Next: Part 6 — Food Fight
Greed is Good is weekly serial sequel to The Wolves of West Virginia, which is available on Kindle.
by Eoghann Irving [-]
Price:
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March 13, 2015
Book Review: The Sum of All Men by David Farland
Right its the first part of a fantasy series. So lets get out the checklist:
Our Hero is a Prince……………………….CHECK
Our Heroine is a Princess………………….CHECK
The villain is a powerful sorceror…………..CHECK
A “great evil” is about to sweep the land…….CHECK
Only our hero can prevent it………………..CHECK
The cover art depicts a scene from the book wrongly and in a terribly clichéd manner…………………….CHECK
But you know what they say about judging a book by its cover. This book is actually rather good. I’m certainly looking forward to part two of the series.
For a start the author David Farland has come up with an interesting twist on how magic works. “Rune Lords” literally leach the power from other people leaving them weak or slow or stupid or ugly.
This may well strike you as a rather abusive magic system. And our heroes are inclined to agree having far fewer endowments than most Rune Lords. Farland takes great pains to show you the effect that taking endowments has on the people who grant them. And also the political realities of his world. Nor does he allow Rune Lords to easily become supermen. The most powerful endowments have some unexpected side effects.
The story itself seems fairly routine. The Wolf Lord Raj Ahten is on the rampage. Having conquered all the southern countries he is looking to the north. Prince Gaborn Val Orden finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.
But there is something bigger going on in the background. Little by little we discover about elemental magic, about an Earth King, about the reavers, and just what the title of the book means.
The book isn’t perfect. The publishers really need a better proof reader for a start. On several occasions people were actually called by the wrong name, which confused me no end. And author makes this worse by referring to both King Orden and Prince Orden as Orden on a few occasions.
Farland is also a little inclined to wander off and explain certain customs or events in his world. As they say in all the best writers books show, don’t tell.
Those points aside this is an enjoyable read that takes familiar fantasy elements and combines them in a refreshing way.
The Sum of All Men (The Runelords, Book One:)
by David Farland [Tor Fantasy]
Price:
$8.61
£0.01
CDN$ 9.99
EUR 8,48
EUR 8,60
