James Pyles's Blog, page 3

Coming in December 2025…

My short story “Awash on Titan’s Shores” has been accepted into this anthology. Marketing won’t officially start until October for publication in December. I haven’t even started editing the story with the publisher yet. All I’ll say is the anthology requires the story be set on or around Saturn’s moon Titan and military SciFi was […]

Homecoming

“Home.” Gerald had dreamed of going home for so long. He’d had an idyllic childhood. From the white picket fence, to the front pouch where Grandpa would swap tall tales with neighbors, to the family backyard barbecues. He stood outside drinking it all in. His dress uniform was crisp, the duffle he’d been carrying which […]

Book Review of “Turn Coat” (2009), a “Dresden Files” Novel

Last night I finished Jim Butcher’s 2009 novel Turn Coat, the 11th book in “The Dresden Files” series. You’d think that in eleven books, Butcher would turn in a turkey now and then, but he is the gift that keeps on giving. That said, there’s always the danger things will start to get repetitive, especially […]

Review (and Commentary) of “Treasure Island” by Robert Louis Stevenson

At the ripe old age of seventy (soon to be seventy-one), I don’t believe I’ve read Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel Treasure Island before. It first appeared in book form in 1883 and before that, was serialized in a children’s magazine from 1881 to 1882 under the title “Treasure Island or the Mutiny of the Hispaniola.” […]

The Patchwork Man

“What the hell is this?” Matthew’s new eyes flickered across the macabre collection of “get well” gifts by his hospital bed. “I would think it’s obvious, Sir.” He called her “Big Nurse” but the woman’s nametag said “Louise.” “I’m back from the dead and my friends send me crap?” He tried to sit up in […]

“Short Fantasy Stories” Coming Soon!

Short Fantasy Stories: Fantasy in 100 Words from Shacklebound Books is now available for pre-order from Amazon. It will be delivered to your kindle device when it’s published on July 4, 2025 (very patriotic). It contains a number of my fantasy drabbles for your reading pleasure. The Amazon blurb says: Short Fantasy Stories is an […]

Bad Art

“This is just like before. Look at the image and tell me what you see.” Ron sat across the table from Dr. Anita Smythe in the mint-green examination room, his blue eyes staring at the photo. “Bad art.” “Does it evoke any particular thoughts or emotions?” she asked. “Only that I’m getting tired of this […]

Something Old, Something Stolen, and a Dead Cat

Fifteen-year-old Daphne plopped herself down on the chair next to the table. “This is stupid.” She blew a random cluster of hair out of her eyes. “We’re looking for an old book, not old junk. What is this crud?” The backpack at her feet stirred and Skinner’s head lolled awkwardly to the side. “That ancient […]

Book Review of “To Sleep in a Sea of Stars” (2020)

I just finished reading To Sleep In A Sea Of Stars (2020) by Christopher Paolini and was really impressed. One of the biggest points for me is that the book is over 800 pages long and it didn’t drag at some point. From the blurb on Amazon: Kira Navárez dreamed of life on new worlds. […]

Geoffrey’s Secret

The female attendant politely asked to verify Geoffrey’s identification. Something was wrong. Of course, something was wrong. He was traveling under false documents on the Beijing to Xi’an bullet train at 350 kph. If he was discovered, there would be no jumping off like in some fanciful old spy movie. His synthetic biology let him […]