Assaph Mehr's Blog, page 4

Book Review: The Ibbur’s Tale, by Lenny Cavallaro

This is a novella combining history (20th century) with Jewish paranormal folklore, so an interesting mix for me.

In case you missed it, In Victrix is now available! Come join Felix on his latest adventure, a tales of Races, Curses, and Forbidden Places!

What to Expect

A short read, from the point of view of an aging professor assisting a former student trace her family’s connections and a cross-generational curse. Considering the student had died in a car crash some time ag...

Book Review: Claws of the Collector, by Douglas Lumsden

I had the pleasure of reading an advance copy of this novel, something I looked forward to with glee considering how much I loved Lumsden’s previous series.

In case you missed it, In Victrix is now available! Come join Felix on his latest adventure, a tales of Races, Curses, and Forbidden Places!

What to Expect

A new protagonist in the same world as Alexander Southerland. Shade is after the Demon’s Dagger (first mentioned in the similarly named novella) — but so are a lot of...

GenAI is like an Angle Grinder

There’s a lot of froth about AI — specifically Generative AI — these days.

I have been a creator (author) for nearly a decade. I’ve also, in my day job, been building software products for 25 years, managing and launching new products for 15, and had AI modules in their products for about 6 years (long before it was cool).

I’ve been around enough to be a cranky old product manager, and be frustrated by the misunderstandings on both sides.

Think on AI is an angle grinder. It’s a power ...

Unusual Crimes Squad – a new series

As of last weekend, I finished an introductory novella in the new Unusual Crimes Squad series! I am super excited for you to meet Detective Inspector Jack Finkel, as he works through a most unusual crime

This was written as a response to the prompt of colours as a central theme in Purple Toga’s call for short stories, for the Rainbows Aren’t Just For Leprechauns anthology. (Submissions still open, if you you’d like to try).

Photo by the author, around the corner from where the story takes...

Announcing In Victrix!

Publication day is finally here! In Victrix, the third novel in the Togas, Daggers, and Magic series is finally available!

It’s been a very long journey, but the novel has already received some AMAZING endorsements!

Want to know more? Keep reading! Can’t wait? Then:

Get a copy!

Grab your copy here on Amazon, or treat yourself to your very own signed and dedicated paperback directly!

The Journey

This book has been a while in the making — over 5 years! I had the first d...

Tassie Fiction round-up

Again with the Tasmanian Crime Fiction The last round up was Australian Outback Noir in general (with some really good examples of this intriguing genre!), and we’re back to Tasmania-specific novels in this post, because apparently “Tasmanian Gothic” is a thing. (First post is here — showcasing some wonderful books).

This is all in preparation for my next series, a police procedural dealing with occult crimes. You’ll get to meet DI Jack Finkel of the ‘Unusual Crimes’ squad pretty soon — I’m ...

Laughing at Ancient People

No, I don’t mean making fun of the elderly (get off my lawn!). I mean that, since the divine social media algorithms have finally figured I respond best to memes about antiquity, here are some of the funniest I’ve seen recently

Parenthood hasn’t changed One for the ages Greek mythology in a nutshell. Pet peeve: The evolution and transferral of mythology is a fascinating subject, but thinking Roman mythology is just Greek with Latin names is just wrong. Speaking of book reviews…

Hop...

Book Review: Ancient Magic: A Practical Guide to Spells, Potions, and Power, by Philip Matyszak

I love Matyszak’s way of non-fiction story-telling, making antiquity highly accessible. The subject of this particular work is also very dear to me, and I can’t believe I missed it. Come to think about it, looking at the publication date, I can’t help but wonder if he wrote it specifically for me after an online conversation we had about ghost stories, around the time I wrote In Numina. (I know he didn’t, but it certainly feels like it )

Quick aside: did you know that two of my short ...

More Outback Noir (4 reviews in one!)

As mentioned on my previous post on the subject, I’ve been somewhat binging Outback Noir (crime fiction set in rural Australia) with a view to writing a Magical-Realism novel along similar lines. Below are condensed reviews of two novels and a TV show, all being excellent examples of the genre.

Quick aside: did you know that two of my short stories have been published in the just-released anthology It Takes A Village? Two stories, one sci-fi and one fantasy, about the meaning of caring fo...

Mountain View (a short story from It Takes A Village)

Readers of this blog (and stories and novels) know that I’m fascinated by Roman culture and mythology, and antiquity in general.

So naturally, when my publisher put out the call for short stories on the theme of the Merit of Care, I came up with a story that revolved around those themes. This one does not involve Felix, but I still think you’d enjoy it. I include below the opening scene.

Interestingly, I wasn’t the only one to involve old gods with care and compassion. Doug Lumsden (wh...