C.T. Phipps's Blog, page 109

Round Table Discussion on Grimdark with James R. Schmidt

I had a good discussion with James R. Schmidt on his blog about the subject of grimdark and its various manifestations. We jokingly called this our "Round Table" discussion of the a subject and got to tackle the idea of grimdark as a subject, what it means to the genre of fantasy, and whether it's here to stay or not.

Good stuff.

You can read the article here.

C.T. Phipps' Writing Projects for 2015/2016

Hey guys,

    I thought I would give you an update upon what I've been working on, writing wise. It's been awhile since I've done one of these posts and I figure it'd be great to give people a sense of what my current projects are.

    Sales-wise, I'm very happy about what we've been doing for The Rules of Supervillainy and Esoterrorism. Esoterrorism's sales have been strong and are well on their way to reaching their year-end goal. No news yet on whether or not we...

The Bookie Monster Spotlights Rules of Supervillainy

The Bookie Monster, one of my favorite review sites on the internet, has done me a delightful favor of spotlighting The Rules of Supervillainy. It has an excerpt from the first chapter which, hopefully, will give some undecided readers an idea of what they'll find within the work.

Gary Karkofsky is an ordinary guy with an ordinary life living in an extraordinary world. Supervillains, heroes, and monsters are a common part of the world he inhabits. Yet, after the death of his hometown's residen...

Demon Squad: Aftermath review

    The ninth of Tim Marquitz's Demon Squad novels, Aftermath has a hefty task ahead of itself as it not only has to re-establish its lead character after the traumatic events of the last three books but rock the foundations of the setting by moving from a Judaeo-Christian worldview to a more all-encompassing mythology involving the deities of multiple pantheons.

    For those who don't know anything about the series, Demon Squad follows the adventures of Frank T...

Hitman (2007) review

    Having reviewed Hitman: Agent 47 very positively here, I decided to check out the original movie starring Timothy Olyphant. I was a big fan of Justified and while I think he's a peculiar choice for the role of 47, I knew he had the acting chops to pull off a complicated role. On the other hand, Hollywood has a very mixed record with video game movies due to their inability to capture the sense of over-the-top silliness with epic drama that most popular franchises run on.

&nb...

Hitman: Absolution review

    I don't have much experience with the Hitman series. I knew the iconic character from cultural osmosis but never played any of his games. I decided to give them a try after the enjoyable Hitman: Agent 47, though. I was so enthusiastic, I actually moved my Xbox 360 back into the bedroom to play Hitman: Absolution and the remastered versions of the three games preceding it.

    So what did I think of Absolution (which I played first)?

    It's a re...

Awesome Q&A session with Ragnarok Publications

My publishers, Ragnarok Publications, were kind enough to sit down and have a talk with me about my books. They asked a lot of really fun questions which I had a great time answering. We got to talk about WRAITH KNIGHT, ESOTERRORISM, and other books which are on my schedule for working on.

My favorite question from the Q&A?


Name one fantasy character your protagonist could best in battle and explain why.
Why restrict myself to one? Here's a short list of fantasy match-ups!
Harry Dresden:...

Exclusive interview with Edward M. Erdelac

We're in for a real treat here at the UFOC today. Edward M. Erdelac, author of With Sword and Pistol, has decided to give us an interview about his work.

With Sword and Pistol is a Sword and Sorcery historical fantasy collection containing four of his previously-published novellas detailing adventures ranging from feudal Japan being invaded by zombies to a story of Sinbad the Sailor battling an ancient demon for an incalculably valuable treasure. Recently released by Ragnarok Publications, you...

The Wolf Among Us review

    I am a great lover of urban fantasy, Telltale games, noir, and fairy-tales. I'm not, however, a big fan of Bill Willingham's Fables. Bluntly, there's just something about his writing which pushes me away and I was never able to get past the first two of his graphic novels despite the absolutely gorgeous art.

    So, I entered this with a kind of trepidation.

    I shouldn't have.

    The Wolf Among Us is better than its source mater...

The Riyria Revelations: Theft of Swords review

    The Riyria Revelations are a series I was introduced to by Michael J. Sullivan's story in Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Thieves. Starring a pair of thieves named Hadrian and Royce, they exist in a Tolkien-esque fantasy world with elves, dwarves, and a long-dead Empire. Far from grimdark, they're of the much more lovable rogue sort of bent and do their best to make the world slightly more tolerable for the little guy ala Robin Hood.

    Thef...