James Pyles's Blog, page 16

Movie Review: “Arrival” (2016)

I watched Arrival (2016) starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner last night. I’m doing some research for a short story I’m writing and trying to talk to aliens is a big part of it. The original novel and screenplay were written by Ted Chiang, whose name I recognized because I recently reviewed his short story […]

Junk

“What are you doing with that big stick, Mike?” Then Jessie saw what he was doing. “Wait. Those were Mam’s favorites. She paid a lot for them.” “Mam is dead and she willed this junk to me. Now get out of the way, Sis.” “She loved all her little pieces of junk. At least you…” […]

Film Review of “Godzilla Minus One” (2023)

If you like my work, buy me a virtual cup of coffee at Ko-Fi. Yesterday, I heard that Godzilla Minus One (2023) was on Netflix starting June 1st. I don’t have Netflix, but I checked and it was available to rent and stream elsewhere so I watched it last night. Lucky me. This was one […]

Book Review of “Captain Video: The New Adventures” (2024)

When I saw that Jason Russell at Starry Eyed Press had written a new Captain Video book I was a little surprised. I guess I shouldn’t have been. After all, they were the ones who had asked me to write my Tom Corbett, Space Cadet serial (which, by the way, is picking up more traction […]

Kickstarter for “Zehlreg A. Grindstone’s Spectacular Western Oddity Emporium” Launches Tomorrow!

Remember when I said that my western/horror short story “Blood Trail” was accepted for publication by End of the World Pubishing? Well, the kickstarter starts tomorrow morning, Friday, May 31st! According to the publisher, the final word count will be around 125K, which is huge. Also, reaching for the stars, they also want to raise […]

Revenge of the Geek Show

If you like my work, buy me a virtual cup of coffee at Ko-Fi. Willard looked up from beneath the discarded canvas at the base of the ride. He heard the squeals of the happy rubes spinning and twisting, hoping they’d vomit. The sound of tinny calliope music, the sickening smell of cotton candy, or […]

Mime Fabriek

He was the only one who didn’t have a name. He was the one who had to choose the other names who were right for the job. The inside cover of the folder said: We encounter so many inspiring makers and performers, each one of them so rich in their work, so specific in their […]

Review of “Exhalation: Stories” (2019) by Ted Chiang

I became aware of Ted Chiang‘s book Exhalation: Stories (2019) when it was recently promoted on Bookbub (I get an email from them daily). I was curious, so I looked the book up on Amazon. First of all, 90% of its Amazon reviews are four and five stars. That’s pretty impressive. Secondly, under “Editorial Reviews,” […]

“The Last Oasis of Mars” to be Published in High Tower Magazine

My steampunk science fantasy short story “The Last Oasis of Mars” has been accepted for publication in the brand new periodical High Tower Magazine. So far, the publication is entirely digital, so I don’t have any promo art from them. That’s why I posted some of my AI art (the story is 100% me) above […]

The Mad Priest of Melrose Abbey

That it was a converted church made the former Abbot queasy, but the vane on the steeple didn’t look too much like the Christian symbol. After his humiliating defeat at Stains Castle, he needed a place to lie low. The war had been going poorly lately, what with the arrival of those cursed lawful dragons. […]