Assaph Mehr's Blog, page 5

Book Review: After 1177, by Eric H Cline

I’ve previously read and recommended 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed, so was excited to see a continuing volume on the subject.

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 for others. If you care about social justice, you owe it to yourself to check it out!

What to expect

Having dealt with the collapse of the networ...

Book Review: Beast Be Gone, by A L Billington

I came across this via an interview on The Protagonist Speaks, and it looked like a fun read.

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 for others. If you care about social justice, you owe it to yourself to check it out!

What to Expect

Light-hearted fantasy, pitting a sensible pest-control guy against hordes of violent adve...

Speculating about Social Justice

Unless you really aren’t paying attention to this blog or my newsletter, you should know that the amazing team at Purple Toga just published a new anthology about care, compassion, and social justice. Since it included two of my stories, I thought I’d share some teasers with you (those of you still reading

The first story I wrote was about what you’d expect from me, involving Roman myths and gods:

But, well, not quite. It doesn’t involve Felix, and is set in our modern days. In f...

New Publication!

I’ve been talking about resuming writing, and now it’s time to reveal my latest publication!

The fine fellows at Purple Toga Publications have set out to issue speculative anthologies. The first is dedicated to the meaning of care and compassion, to imagining worlds where taking time off work to care for others is not a career suicide (like many women feel today), where the duty of care between leaders and their communities is more than lip service, and where the merit of compassion is recogn...

Books Review: Black City Tales and Black City Angel, by Richard A. Knaak

What’s not to love about this series? Roaring 20’s, mythological creatures, and a hard-boiled noir gumshoe.

What to Expect

Black City Angel is the fourth full-length novel in the series (and it’s been a while since the previous). This one sees Nick dealing with an increasing number of refugees from Feirie. Trying to investigate affairs draws him deeper into the ugly politics of the Feirie court, and brings him in contact with old and new acquaintances. Most notably, we see a lot more o...

Tasmanian Crime Fiction – or is it?

My backyard on a misty morning. Certainly spooky enough for a shallow grave.

Since moving to Tasmania and embracing the scene, I have naturally started to toy with an idea about a modern-day, Outback-noir style, fantasy (duh) crime mystery. So for the sake of ‘research’ I’ve been reading a few police procedurals and crime fiction set in Tasmania.

Or so I thought.

This post collects several reviews in one, and my observations on the genre. Must say, I’ve been caught by surprise with som...

Book Review: Fated, by Benedict Jacka

The Alex Verus series of urban fantasy has been recommended to me repeatedly, so finally got around to it.

What to Expect

Expect a well-written, original take on urban fantasy themes. TRhe story is told from the point of view of Alex, a mage living in London. While he’d like nothing more than to run his magical shop in peace and quiet (and avoid the unavoidable demons from his past), he naturally gets drawn into power struggles between light and dark mages as their forces struggle to g...

Book Review: A Specter Raps on My Windowpane, by Douglas Lumsden

I love the urban-fantasy noir-detective blend of this series, and have followed it from the start – it maintained its high quality throughout.

What to Expect

Trigger warning: Alex doesn’t get paid for this case. Well, OK, that’s not that atypical of gumshoe detectives – but most cases don’t start with being ‘hired’ by the ghost of the deceased. When Alex is woken up by a spectre of an old lover at his window looking for closure, he decides to investigate her death. Poking his nose wher...

Fun with Latin

You might have noticed there’s a certain Latin flavour around here that has nothing to do with salsa. As Roman life makes one of the “Three-R” pillars of this blog (Reading, Writing, and Romans), this also seeps in to the language.

Now, I’m the first to admit my Latin is atrocious, but that doesn’t mean I don’t find Latin fun (on the occasion I can make sense of it). So here are a few non-stuffy resources to learn Latin — including the use of Lego!

legonium.com

The above is made by L...

Book Review: Shattered (Iron Druid #7), by Kevin Hearne

I’ve read an d enjoyed the previous books – now it’s time to finish the series

What to Expect

Shattered starts soon after Hunted (the previous novel in the series), with Granuaile getting a call about her father which takes her to India, and Atticus bringing his recently-revived former archdruid Owen up to speed on the modern world and then sending him to Tir na nOg to be presented to the fae court.

To add complications, some loose threads from previous novels keep surfacing up and...