Assaph Mehr's Blog, page 10

TV Series Review: Domina (Season 1)

I’m a sucker for Roman-era fiction, so no surprises that I’d watch TV series set on the same background

What to expect

The series follows the life of Livia Drusilla, Augustus’ wife and first empress of Rome. She was one of the most influential figures in politics and civic life of the early empire, and her importance for the whole rule of the Julio-Claudian dynasty can’t be overstated.

The series focuses on her and the other women, and their level of indirect involv...

Tallis Steelyard (of A Fear of Heights, by Jim Webster)

Dear readers, tonight with us is a poet, a man of inconsistent careers and a somewhat vagrant lifestyle. He’s here to tell us about his latest adventure, involving the Idiosyncratic Diaconate, night soil carts, Partannese bandit chieftains, a stylite, a large dog and some over-spiced food.

Tell us a little about where you grew up. What was it like there?

I’m Tallis Steelyard, Port Naain’s finest living poet. I live and practice my art in Port Naain, the greatest cit...

Mary Carpenter Renbourn (of Return To Alpha, by Wesley Britton)

Dear readers, tonight with us is a woman from a near-future dystopia, where aliens have landed on our planet — now decimated by the effects of global warming and waves of weaponized plagues.

Tell us a little about where you grew up. What was it like there?

Hi everyone! You sure got me in a good mood!   I’m holding up my laughing baby and who wouldn’t be in a good mood holding up a laughing baby?

Anyway, I grew up in Dallas Texas after being conceived and born...

Book Review: For a Breath I Tarry by Roger Zelazny

Every so often I like to read something from the classic grandmasters of SFF, and Zelazny has always been a favourite of mine. This came up during a conversation with a friend, so I just jumped on it.

What to Expect

After the extinction of man, the machines he has set in place are trying to rebuild and maintain the earth. They have differing opinions, though, on what man might have wanted.

In the midst of this, one of them becomes obsessed with understanding man, and...

Angule (of Genesis – The IX Series, by Andrew P Weston)

Dear readers, tonight with us is an antagonist, a most intimidating character. This creature is here to tell us about its existence as a member of the Kresh – or as we call them, the Horde – a rampaging legion of mutated horrors that managed to overthrow an advanced space faring civilization at the height of its power.

The interview is set during the interval between the end of the prequel and the beginning of the main series itself, and reveals surprising details as to what makes...

Tayrel Kan Trever (of Octopus Song, by Natalie J. Holden)

Dear readers, tonight with us is a powerful sorcerer on a mission: to find the elusive, underwater race and secure their help in colonizing one of the newly discovered worlds. He’s here to talk about fast ships, pretty sailors, and giant tentacled monsters.

Tell us a little about where you grew up. What was it like there?

When I was born, Dahls was not the superpower it is today. It was just a tiny world, already stretched to the brink of its capacity and connected ...

Book Review: A Year in the Life of Ancient Greece, by Philip Matyszak

I adore Matyszak’s works for bringing daily life in antiquity to the modern reader. Our perceptions of life in the classical era are influenced so much by contemporary writers that were from and concerned with the 1% plus Hollywood’s misappropriation and misrepresentation, that Matyszak’s works are a breath of fresh air.

What to Expect

The intertwined stories of eight everyday people – from a runaway slave to a diplomat, from a farmer to an international trader – in the yea...

John Ringo (of Writ in Blood, by Julie Bozza)

Dear readers, tonight we go to a Queer Weird West, to listen in on a conversation between a gunslinger haunted by a demon and Doc Holliday. They’re talking about murder, Wyatt Earp, and about the strange life in Tombstone, Arizona, in 1881.

“The Protagonist Speaks…” John Ringo pondered this, then cast a sharp look at Doc Holliday. “That’s you, I suppose…”

“I am indeed the protagonist of my own life.”

John huffed a laugh. “And I’m my own antagonist?”

“H...

Lexi (of Toxic, by Karina Kantas)

Dear readers, tonight with us is a woman from a faraway planet, craving adventure against her people’s drag existence. She is here to tell us about acid rains, desolate lives, friends, emotional scars, and independence.

Tell us a little about where you grew up. What was it like there?

You can’t have much of a life when you’re stuck living in a mountain, ruled under a Committee of Tyrants. Sorry for sounding bitter. But I was bullied most of my childhood because I ha...

Book Review: NPCs, by Drew Hayes

I was in the mood for something light and quick (and fantasy), and found NPCs languishing in my TBR pile. Now I’m glad I pulled it out

What to Expect

When a group of careless adventurers dies in a local pub from mushroom poisoning, a few of the locals decide to impersonate them rather than risk the ire and retaliation from the mad king. What makes this book different, is that the adventurers are from a role-playing group from our world, while the main focus is on the ‘NPCs...