Wesley Britton's Blog - Posts Tagged "fantasy"
Guest Post: Barbara Barnett unleashes The Apothecary’s Curse
Note: I admit being very surprised learning Barbara Barnett was publishing a sci fi novel, The Apothecary's Curse, coming Oct. 11. I knew her as one of the main motors who were at the helm of BlogCritics.org when I used to write for them. I not only reviewed her non-fiction history of TV’s House, M.D., I interviewed her about the book on online radio’s “Dave White Presents.”
While I haven’t read The Apothecary’s Curse yet myself, here’s what I’ve learned about it:
"Anne Rice meets Michael Crichton" in this genre-bending historical fantasy-thriller mixes alchemy and genetics as a doctor and an apothecary try to prevent a pharmaceutical company from exploiting the book that made them immortal centuries ago.
In Victorian London, the fates of physician Simon Bell and apothecary Gaelan Erceldoune entwine when Simon gives his wife an elixir created by Gaelan from an ancient manuscript. Meant to cure her cancer, it kills her. Suicidal, Simon swallows the remainder--only to find he cannot die.
Five years later, hearing rumors of a Bedlam inmate with regenerative powers like his own, Simon is shocked to discover it's Gaelan. The two men conceal their immortality, but the only hope of reversing their condition rests with Gaelan's missing manuscript.
When modern-day pharmaceutical company Transdiff Genomics unearths diaries describing the torture of Bedlam inmates, the company's scientists suspect a link between Gaelan and an unnamed inmate. Gaelan and Genomics geneticist Anne Shawe are powerfully drawn to each other, and her family connection to his manuscript leads to a stunning revelation. Will it bring ruin or redemption?
“Anne Rice meets Michael Crichton in this fever dream of a fantasy. . .will keep readers up well past their bedtime. Highly recommended!” —Jay Bonansinga, New York Times–bestselling author of The Walking Dead: Search and Destroy
“An irresistible blend of fairy folklore, science, and suspense that’s sure to keep you reading late into the night.” —Shanna Swendson, author of Enchanted, Inc.
“A new narrative world lovingly created with an Old World touch. . .” Jane Espenson, Writer/Producer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Battlestar Galactica, Once Upon a Time
“Myth, medicine, and immortality, braided together like the border of an illuminated manuscript.” —Doris Egan, screenwriter, novelist, and writer and co-executive producer of House
Pre-order from Amazon.com
Visit BarbaraBarnett.com
While I haven’t read The Apothecary’s Curse yet myself, here’s what I’ve learned about it:
"Anne Rice meets Michael Crichton" in this genre-bending historical fantasy-thriller mixes alchemy and genetics as a doctor and an apothecary try to prevent a pharmaceutical company from exploiting the book that made them immortal centuries ago.
In Victorian London, the fates of physician Simon Bell and apothecary Gaelan Erceldoune entwine when Simon gives his wife an elixir created by Gaelan from an ancient manuscript. Meant to cure her cancer, it kills her. Suicidal, Simon swallows the remainder--only to find he cannot die.
Five years later, hearing rumors of a Bedlam inmate with regenerative powers like his own, Simon is shocked to discover it's Gaelan. The two men conceal their immortality, but the only hope of reversing their condition rests with Gaelan's missing manuscript.
When modern-day pharmaceutical company Transdiff Genomics unearths diaries describing the torture of Bedlam inmates, the company's scientists suspect a link between Gaelan and an unnamed inmate. Gaelan and Genomics geneticist Anne Shawe are powerfully drawn to each other, and her family connection to his manuscript leads to a stunning revelation. Will it bring ruin or redemption?
“Anne Rice meets Michael Crichton in this fever dream of a fantasy. . .will keep readers up well past their bedtime. Highly recommended!” —Jay Bonansinga, New York Times–bestselling author of The Walking Dead: Search and Destroy
“An irresistible blend of fairy folklore, science, and suspense that’s sure to keep you reading late into the night.” —Shanna Swendson, author of Enchanted, Inc.
“A new narrative world lovingly created with an Old World touch. . .” Jane Espenson, Writer/Producer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Battlestar Galactica, Once Upon a Time
“Myth, medicine, and immortality, braided together like the border of an illuminated manuscript.” —Doris Egan, screenwriter, novelist, and writer and co-executive producer of House
Pre-order from Amazon.com
Visit BarbaraBarnett.com
Book Review: Mark Twain & The River of Timeless Temptation by John Kerr
Mark Twain & The River of Timeless Temptation
John Kerr
Publisher: Old Man River Press (March 15, 2017)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
ASIN: B06XF37J6H
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XF37J6H
Reviewed by: Dr. Wesley Britton
As if the life and work of the historical Mark Twain doesn’t provide enough fodder for countless literary and film adaptations, Samuel Clemens has been used by a seemingly endless parade of authors, artists, and filmmakers who send him to more and more fantastic places where he has more than improbable adventures. In comics, Twain was teamed with Nikola Tesla to defeat the evil plans of Thomas Edison, and in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Twain took on the crew of the time-travelling crew of the Enterprise. In the stop-action claymation Adventures of Mark Twain (1985), along with a number of his characters, Twain, split into two parts, captained a fantastic airship to travel to Halley’s Comet. In 1971, Philip Jose Farmer transported Twain to Riverworld in The Fabulous Riverboat where Twain battled, among other formerly dead souls, England’s King John. There are many novels in which Twain lives in alternate realities as when Sesh Heri sent Twain, Harry Houdini, and Nikola Tesla on a journey to Mars in 1893. And that’s just a short list of Twain’s appearances in sci fi projects. Just last month, he figured prominently in The Grandfather Paradox: A Time Travel Story by Steven Burgauer.
Now, John Kerr joins this Twain/sci fi/fantasy mash-up procession by having Twain in the watchful gaze of young Satan, the nephew of Lucifer. The devil’s nephew, calling himself Mr. Brown, is the narrator of the story as he takes “Sammy” around space in time in the quest to get Clemens to sign on the dotted line and give the demonic family his soul. Brown claims to be the one giving Clemens inspirations and story ideas, beginning with the author’s breakthrough short story, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. The demon has few compliments for Clemens, noting the writer’s many annoying personal complaints and shifting perspectives on moral issues and philosophical ideas. It’s interesting Brown would be so focused on Twain as Lucifer’s minions are constantly busy manipulating the world, especially geopolitical concerns.
In the opening chapters, for example, Twain has been transported to Central America before the Civil War where several actual historic figures, William Walker and Cornelius Vanderbilt, vie for power in Nicaragua. While still on the San Juan river in that country, Brown takes Twain further back in time where they are captured by a young Captain Horatio Nelson, then pirate Henry Morgan, and then Christopher Columbus. Along the way, Brown is constantly worried about violating his uncle’s Prime Directive, that of not altering the existing timeline. It’s often Twain who complicates this matter because of his confusing comments and anachronistic observations uttered in front of figures from the past, unintentionally suggesting actions that Brown knows these personages must not take.
Then, the book abruptly shifts gears and presents Twain’s original account of his actual Nicaragua trip which he described in a series of letters to the Alta California newspaper in 1867. These letters came out in book form in 1940 titled Travels with Mr. Brown, the inspiration for Kerr’s fantasy. The original Mr. Brown is largely considered an imaginary character who Twain described as a boring, irritating travel companion. Beside the time travel passages, much of Kerr’s material is lifted directly from Twain, merely given a different narrative slant. Notably, Kerr’s Mr. Brown is obviously speaking from a contemporary point-of-view, mentioning the internet, K-Marts, Walmart, and Woodstock. Still, while Kerr admits “any plagiarism is entirely intentional,” one wonders if he has the permission to publish so much of Twain’s original work.
The first half of Timeless Temptation is clever and quirky, even if readers are left hanging in terms of what Mark Twain’s future with Mr. Brown and Satan will be. For Twainians and those interested in forgotten chapters of American literature, the book might prompt curiosity about a part of the Twain canon that’s rarely discussed or read. In short, this odd book is for a niche market willing to accept some unorthodox spins on the biography of Mark Twain.
This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on March 8, 2017 at:
goo.gl/kvMxGm
John Kerr
Publisher: Old Man River Press (March 15, 2017)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
ASIN: B06XF37J6H
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XF37J6H
Reviewed by: Dr. Wesley Britton
As if the life and work of the historical Mark Twain doesn’t provide enough fodder for countless literary and film adaptations, Samuel Clemens has been used by a seemingly endless parade of authors, artists, and filmmakers who send him to more and more fantastic places where he has more than improbable adventures. In comics, Twain was teamed with Nikola Tesla to defeat the evil plans of Thomas Edison, and in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Twain took on the crew of the time-travelling crew of the Enterprise. In the stop-action claymation Adventures of Mark Twain (1985), along with a number of his characters, Twain, split into two parts, captained a fantastic airship to travel to Halley’s Comet. In 1971, Philip Jose Farmer transported Twain to Riverworld in The Fabulous Riverboat where Twain battled, among other formerly dead souls, England’s King John. There are many novels in which Twain lives in alternate realities as when Sesh Heri sent Twain, Harry Houdini, and Nikola Tesla on a journey to Mars in 1893. And that’s just a short list of Twain’s appearances in sci fi projects. Just last month, he figured prominently in The Grandfather Paradox: A Time Travel Story by Steven Burgauer.
Now, John Kerr joins this Twain/sci fi/fantasy mash-up procession by having Twain in the watchful gaze of young Satan, the nephew of Lucifer. The devil’s nephew, calling himself Mr. Brown, is the narrator of the story as he takes “Sammy” around space in time in the quest to get Clemens to sign on the dotted line and give the demonic family his soul. Brown claims to be the one giving Clemens inspirations and story ideas, beginning with the author’s breakthrough short story, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. The demon has few compliments for Clemens, noting the writer’s many annoying personal complaints and shifting perspectives on moral issues and philosophical ideas. It’s interesting Brown would be so focused on Twain as Lucifer’s minions are constantly busy manipulating the world, especially geopolitical concerns.
In the opening chapters, for example, Twain has been transported to Central America before the Civil War where several actual historic figures, William Walker and Cornelius Vanderbilt, vie for power in Nicaragua. While still on the San Juan river in that country, Brown takes Twain further back in time where they are captured by a young Captain Horatio Nelson, then pirate Henry Morgan, and then Christopher Columbus. Along the way, Brown is constantly worried about violating his uncle’s Prime Directive, that of not altering the existing timeline. It’s often Twain who complicates this matter because of his confusing comments and anachronistic observations uttered in front of figures from the past, unintentionally suggesting actions that Brown knows these personages must not take.
Then, the book abruptly shifts gears and presents Twain’s original account of his actual Nicaragua trip which he described in a series of letters to the Alta California newspaper in 1867. These letters came out in book form in 1940 titled Travels with Mr. Brown, the inspiration for Kerr’s fantasy. The original Mr. Brown is largely considered an imaginary character who Twain described as a boring, irritating travel companion. Beside the time travel passages, much of Kerr’s material is lifted directly from Twain, merely given a different narrative slant. Notably, Kerr’s Mr. Brown is obviously speaking from a contemporary point-of-view, mentioning the internet, K-Marts, Walmart, and Woodstock. Still, while Kerr admits “any plagiarism is entirely intentional,” one wonders if he has the permission to publish so much of Twain’s original work.
The first half of Timeless Temptation is clever and quirky, even if readers are left hanging in terms of what Mark Twain’s future with Mr. Brown and Satan will be. For Twainians and those interested in forgotten chapters of American literature, the book might prompt curiosity about a part of the Twain canon that’s rarely discussed or read. In short, this odd book is for a niche market willing to accept some unorthodox spins on the biography of Mark Twain.
This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on March 8, 2017 at:
goo.gl/kvMxGm
Announcing: The Tercentennial Baron By Will Damron
Press Release:
The Tercentennial Baron
By Will Damron
Narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds
Coming October 20th in print and ebook and October 27th in audiobook from major retailers everywhere.
Will Damron has narrated over 200 audiobooks, all with his own idea for a novel brewing in his head: a young boy in Scotland meets 300-year-old supernatural being, who introduces him to a secret and deadly paranormal world.
After extensive research into Scottish culture and history, as well as Celtic mythology, the bones of the novel began to take shape. What began as a spooky encounter between Percival, a boy of 13, and the Tercentennial Baron, an ageless warrior who fought his way through famous battles, evolved into a sweeping historical fantasy, built from actual defining moments in Scottish history.
At its heart, it is simply a tale of two very different young men trying to find their way in a dangerous world. And Percival happens to be armed with a secret stash of books on the supernatural. With these books, and the Baron’s help, he fights to save his home of Bonnybield from an ancient, demonic evil.
Will became aware of Tim’s work as a fellow voice artist, and after hearing him perform fantasy-adventures like Jonathan Renshaw’s Dawn of Wonder, decided he was the man to narrate The Tercentennial Baron. Tim brought the authenticity of his upbringing in the Celtic isles, as well as his formidable knowledge of the French and Italian the book required, to his performance. Together, Tim and Will collaborated to create a true sense of the historical setting for the fantasy world of the audiobook.
Tim remarked about narrating the book: “The paths of both these protagonists come together in a spectacular and thrilling fashion that practically leapt off the page for me. There's nothing quite so satisfying than narrating a tautly written story such as this — the ending floored me!”
About the author:
Will Damron is an award-winning audiobook narrator who has recorded books in virtually every genre, from fantasy to sci-fi, YA, romance, thriller, nonfiction, and literary fiction. He was raised on a 350-year-old farm in southern Virginia, where reading was just about the only reliable pastime. His narration work has earned him multiple AudioFile Magazine Earphones Awards, two Voice Arts Awards, and an Audie Award.
About the narrator:
Tim Gerard Reynolds has received multiple AudioFile Magazine Earphones Awards, and has been named as one of best narrators of the year in 2014, 2015 and 2016. In 2016, three books he narrated were among the highest grossing audiobooks in the country. Tim has been nominated for both Audie and Voice Arts Awards. A native of Ireland, he has performed onstage Off-Broadway and throughout the US and Europe.
Press Release:
The Tercentennial Baron
By Will Damron
Narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds
Coming October 20th in print and ebook and October 27th in audiobook from major retailers everywhere.
Will Damron has narrated over 200 audiobooks, all with his own idea for a novel brewing in his head: a young boy in Scotland meets 300-year-old supernatural being, who introduces him to a secret and deadly paranormal world.
After extensive research into Scottish culture and history, as well as Celtic mythology, the bones of the novel began to take shape. What began as a spooky encounter between Percival, a boy of 13, and the Tercentennial Baron, an ageless warrior who fought his way through famous battles, evolved into a sweeping historical fantasy, built from actual defining moments in Scottish history.
At its heart, it is simply a tale of two very different young men trying to find their way in a dangerous world. And Percival happens to be armed with a secret stash of books on the supernatural. With these books, and the Baron’s help, he fights to save his home of Bonnybield from an ancient, demonic evil.
Will became aware of Tim’s work as a fellow voice artist, and after hearing him perform fantasy-adventures like Jonathan Renshaw’s Dawn of Wonder, decided he was the man to narrate The Tercentennial Baron. Tim brought the authenticity of his upbringing in the Celtic isles, as well as his formidable knowledge of the French and Italian the book required, to his performance. Together, Tim and Will collaborated to create a true sense of the historical setting for the fantasy world of the audiobook.
Tim remarked about narrating the book: “The paths of both these protagonists come together in a spectacular and thrilling fashion that practically leapt off the page for me. There's nothing quite so satisfying than narrating a tautly written story such as this — the ending floored me!”
About the author:
Will Damron is an award-winning audiobook narrator who has recorded books in virtually every genre, from fantasy to sci-fi, YA, romance, thriller, nonfiction, and literary fiction. He was raised on a 350-year-old farm in southern Virginia, where reading was just about the only reliable pastime. His narration work has earned him multiple AudioFile Magazine Earphones Awards, two Voice Arts Awards, and an Audie Award.
About the narrator:
Tim Gerard Reynolds has received multiple AudioFile Magazine Earphones Awards, and has been named as one of best narrators of the year in 2014, 2015 and 2016. In 2016, three books he narrated were among the highest grossing audiobooks in the country. Tim has been nominated for both Audie and Voice Arts Awards. A native of Ireland, he has performed onstage Off-Broadway and throughout the US and Europe.
The Tercentennial Baron
By Will Damron
Narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds
Coming October 20th in print and ebook and October 27th in audiobook from major retailers everywhere.
Will Damron has narrated over 200 audiobooks, all with his own idea for a novel brewing in his head: a young boy in Scotland meets 300-year-old supernatural being, who introduces him to a secret and deadly paranormal world.
After extensive research into Scottish culture and history, as well as Celtic mythology, the bones of the novel began to take shape. What began as a spooky encounter between Percival, a boy of 13, and the Tercentennial Baron, an ageless warrior who fought his way through famous battles, evolved into a sweeping historical fantasy, built from actual defining moments in Scottish history.
At its heart, it is simply a tale of two very different young men trying to find their way in a dangerous world. And Percival happens to be armed with a secret stash of books on the supernatural. With these books, and the Baron’s help, he fights to save his home of Bonnybield from an ancient, demonic evil.
Will became aware of Tim’s work as a fellow voice artist, and after hearing him perform fantasy-adventures like Jonathan Renshaw’s Dawn of Wonder, decided he was the man to narrate The Tercentennial Baron. Tim brought the authenticity of his upbringing in the Celtic isles, as well as his formidable knowledge of the French and Italian the book required, to his performance. Together, Tim and Will collaborated to create a true sense of the historical setting for the fantasy world of the audiobook.
Tim remarked about narrating the book: “The paths of both these protagonists come together in a spectacular and thrilling fashion that practically leapt off the page for me. There's nothing quite so satisfying than narrating a tautly written story such as this — the ending floored me!”
About the author:
Will Damron is an award-winning audiobook narrator who has recorded books in virtually every genre, from fantasy to sci-fi, YA, romance, thriller, nonfiction, and literary fiction. He was raised on a 350-year-old farm in southern Virginia, where reading was just about the only reliable pastime. His narration work has earned him multiple AudioFile Magazine Earphones Awards, two Voice Arts Awards, and an Audie Award.
About the narrator:
Tim Gerard Reynolds has received multiple AudioFile Magazine Earphones Awards, and has been named as one of best narrators of the year in 2014, 2015 and 2016. In 2016, three books he narrated were among the highest grossing audiobooks in the country. Tim has been nominated for both Audie and Voice Arts Awards. A native of Ireland, he has performed onstage Off-Broadway and throughout the US and Europe.
Press Release:
The Tercentennial Baron
By Will Damron
Narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds
Coming October 20th in print and ebook and October 27th in audiobook from major retailers everywhere.
Will Damron has narrated over 200 audiobooks, all with his own idea for a novel brewing in his head: a young boy in Scotland meets 300-year-old supernatural being, who introduces him to a secret and deadly paranormal world.
After extensive research into Scottish culture and history, as well as Celtic mythology, the bones of the novel began to take shape. What began as a spooky encounter between Percival, a boy of 13, and the Tercentennial Baron, an ageless warrior who fought his way through famous battles, evolved into a sweeping historical fantasy, built from actual defining moments in Scottish history.
At its heart, it is simply a tale of two very different young men trying to find their way in a dangerous world. And Percival happens to be armed with a secret stash of books on the supernatural. With these books, and the Baron’s help, he fights to save his home of Bonnybield from an ancient, demonic evil.
Will became aware of Tim’s work as a fellow voice artist, and after hearing him perform fantasy-adventures like Jonathan Renshaw’s Dawn of Wonder, decided he was the man to narrate The Tercentennial Baron. Tim brought the authenticity of his upbringing in the Celtic isles, as well as his formidable knowledge of the French and Italian the book required, to his performance. Together, Tim and Will collaborated to create a true sense of the historical setting for the fantasy world of the audiobook.
Tim remarked about narrating the book: “The paths of both these protagonists come together in a spectacular and thrilling fashion that practically leapt off the page for me. There's nothing quite so satisfying than narrating a tautly written story such as this — the ending floored me!”
About the author:
Will Damron is an award-winning audiobook narrator who has recorded books in virtually every genre, from fantasy to sci-fi, YA, romance, thriller, nonfiction, and literary fiction. He was raised on a 350-year-old farm in southern Virginia, where reading was just about the only reliable pastime. His narration work has earned him multiple AudioFile Magazine Earphones Awards, two Voice Arts Awards, and an Audie Award.
About the narrator:
Tim Gerard Reynolds has received multiple AudioFile Magazine Earphones Awards, and has been named as one of best narrators of the year in 2014, 2015 and 2016. In 2016, three books he narrated were among the highest grossing audiobooks in the country. Tim has been nominated for both Audie and Voice Arts Awards. A native of Ireland, he has performed onstage Off-Broadway and throughout the US and Europe.
Book Review: The Lerewood by Andrea Churchill
The Lerewood
Andrea Churchill
Print Length: 75 pages
Publisher: Kellan Publishing (June 20, 2015)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
ISBN: 978-1514645901
ASIN: B0104XBP1K
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0104XBP1K/...
Reviewed by Dr. Wesley Britton
Andrea Churchill’s The Lerewood is, in the main, a new fable, a new parable for modern readers. From the get-go, clearly we’re not expected to see the horrible town of Lerewood nor the haunted forest that surrounds it as plausible settings that could exist sometime, somewhere.
In this novelette, Lerewood is an isolated village filled with impoverished, starving people closer to primitive savagery than anything resembling civilized humanity. Strangely, these filthy and always angry townspeople never seem to die from disease or starvation. They don’t think there is any sort of outside world, have no idea where their town came from, and most importantly, they don’t know whether or not a glowing green-eyed creature in the woods named Ilere is real or a myth. In either case, the people live in fear of Ilere, terrified of her killing anyone who dares to go into the woods.
We meet one depressed middle-aged man named Uallas who is so tired of abuse from his more than shrewish wife that he decides to commit suicide by entering the woods. From that point forward, Uallas learns everything he was raised to believe was lies and that evil doesn’t live in the forest but instead lives in the people of Lerewood. He meets and befriends the strange, cloaked creature called Ilere before he must make choices about his future. Ilere too finds she must make hard choices as her mission isn’t the murderous crusade the unkind townspeople think.
Obviously, perhaps, this is a story full of symbolism as it explores themes like just what is the nature of evil, how can the natural world co-exist with a destructive mankind, how can we sort out physical and spiritual identity, and determine the meaning of sacrifice when balancing the fate of a world against the life of one man.
What gives this story an extra measure of readability is Churchill’s gift for moody, gloomy, and often spooky descriptive language that personifies a strange forest, its trees, its creatures, its ground and leaves. Here’s a very brief sample:
The trees seemed to get taller as he walked further along. The trees that surrounded him were covered in vines to the point where the bark could not be seen. He felt the different vines that hung before him; one tree had sticky vines, another had rotting vines, and another's vines were ashy. Nothing was barren, yet nothing was fresh and new. All the vegetation of Lerewood had some kind of murkiness to it, as if it was all infused with haunted souls or, more likely, exposed to the presence of an unnatural and evil being.
You could classify The Lerewood as YA as its readability would suit any age-range. But it’s the sort of fable that should appeal to a wider audience, especially readers who like their fantasies with a dark edge. And readers who don’t normally read fantasies should easily follow a story that reads like a yarn we all might have read long ago. But we didn’t.
This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on Nov. 4, 2017:
http://dpli.ir/WnTiDW
Andrea Churchill
Print Length: 75 pages
Publisher: Kellan Publishing (June 20, 2015)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
ISBN: 978-1514645901
ASIN: B0104XBP1K
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0104XBP1K/...
Reviewed by Dr. Wesley Britton
Andrea Churchill’s The Lerewood is, in the main, a new fable, a new parable for modern readers. From the get-go, clearly we’re not expected to see the horrible town of Lerewood nor the haunted forest that surrounds it as plausible settings that could exist sometime, somewhere.
In this novelette, Lerewood is an isolated village filled with impoverished, starving people closer to primitive savagery than anything resembling civilized humanity. Strangely, these filthy and always angry townspeople never seem to die from disease or starvation. They don’t think there is any sort of outside world, have no idea where their town came from, and most importantly, they don’t know whether or not a glowing green-eyed creature in the woods named Ilere is real or a myth. In either case, the people live in fear of Ilere, terrified of her killing anyone who dares to go into the woods.
We meet one depressed middle-aged man named Uallas who is so tired of abuse from his more than shrewish wife that he decides to commit suicide by entering the woods. From that point forward, Uallas learns everything he was raised to believe was lies and that evil doesn’t live in the forest but instead lives in the people of Lerewood. He meets and befriends the strange, cloaked creature called Ilere before he must make choices about his future. Ilere too finds she must make hard choices as her mission isn’t the murderous crusade the unkind townspeople think.
Obviously, perhaps, this is a story full of symbolism as it explores themes like just what is the nature of evil, how can the natural world co-exist with a destructive mankind, how can we sort out physical and spiritual identity, and determine the meaning of sacrifice when balancing the fate of a world against the life of one man.
What gives this story an extra measure of readability is Churchill’s gift for moody, gloomy, and often spooky descriptive language that personifies a strange forest, its trees, its creatures, its ground and leaves. Here’s a very brief sample:
The trees seemed to get taller as he walked further along. The trees that surrounded him were covered in vines to the point where the bark could not be seen. He felt the different vines that hung before him; one tree had sticky vines, another had rotting vines, and another's vines were ashy. Nothing was barren, yet nothing was fresh and new. All the vegetation of Lerewood had some kind of murkiness to it, as if it was all infused with haunted souls or, more likely, exposed to the presence of an unnatural and evil being.
You could classify The Lerewood as YA as its readability would suit any age-range. But it’s the sort of fable that should appeal to a wider audience, especially readers who like their fantasies with a dark edge. And readers who don’t normally read fantasies should easily follow a story that reads like a yarn we all might have read long ago. But we didn’t.
This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on Nov. 4, 2017:
http://dpli.ir/WnTiDW
Book Review: Tenth Avatar: A Quest for Answers by Dr. Kanchan Joshi
Tenth Avatar: A Quest for Answers
Dr. Kanchan Joshi
Paperback: 246 pages
Publisher: Kanchan Joshi (August 24, 2017)
ISBN-10: 069293314X
ISBN-13: 978-0692933145
https://www.amazon.com/Tenth-Avatar-D...
Reviewed by Dr. Wesley Britton
Reading Tenth Avatar is like reading two books in one. At the same time, the book is one of a rare breed in science fiction. I don’t know about your reading list of contemporary sci fi novels, but the vast majority I’ve read are darkly pessimistic and dystopian. Not so the Tenth Avatar. It’s not only optimistic and utopian, but even proposes a path for humanity to follow to achieve a new level of spiritual, economic, political, and social evolution.
The structure of the book is built on two parallel, alternating stories that take place thousands of years apart. One occurs In ancient India where we meet Hanuman, a noted warrior and mystic living in the forests. The setting is full of many mythological and fantasy elements. While there are many humans running about, there are also very intelligent ape-like creatures and their greatest enemy, the demons of a nearby region ruled by the evil Raven. There are all manner of strange, anachronistic weapons including radiation-bearing arrows and missiles as well as powerful flying machines and a monstrous giant robot-like killing machine.
But this world also has warriors using powerful bows and arrows, wooden chariots, and primitive maces. There are important mystical teachers, or “yogis,” who teach wisdom to Hanuman and others in the orbit of powerful, noble king-in-exile, Ram. He’s seeking his wife who was kidnapped by Raven. In this world, the forces of good gain superhuman power through meditation which leads to an awareness of what is beyond a person’s body and self including an understanding of how we fit into, well, everything.
Alternating with this saga is the modern tale of theoretical physicist Krish,
a brilliant mathematician living in California. Trying to seek out the workings of life and the universe using advanced mathematical formulas, he inexplicably hallucinates vivid images of existence beyond his physical self very like what the ancient yogis experienced. Why? He doesn’t know.
Told with a very different style from the tales of Hanuman, the author’s seemingly more grounded, more realistic odyssey of Krish has an intriguing flow with some puzzling plot holes. In the beginning, Krish discovers something he calls Quantum Communication which uses particle streams that can’t be hacked. Very quickly, the military shows interest in Krish’s unproven theories. At the same time, agents of unknown countries or organizations start trying to kill Krish. The FBI assigns protection for the scientist, but apparently not for very long. After his first bodyguard is killed on a plane, we don’t see any signs anyone is watching over Krish even if he did turn over his research to the Department of Defense. By himself, he travels home to India seeking out the lost notes of an important Indian mathematician. Any reader of spy novels will tell you this is ideal territory for more assassination attempts. Or at Krish’s wedding. And who was behind two terrible nuclear bombings in the U.S., over both California and New York? We’re never told. The adventures of Hanuman and Krish are brought together in the end, and I suspect most readers will have picked up on the clues to the ultimate resolutions long before the final reveals.
I have to admit, the use of intense meditation to be the key to gaining overwhelming cosmic awareness sounds better than I suspect it would really work in the real world. I say that as someone who has practiced various kinds of meditation for decades. Still, I am no authority on what meditation technique would make someone a Yogi and/or guru who could transform countless lives.
Nonetheless, it’s very nice to read a novel that projects the possibility that an enlightened humanity could be transformed under the tutelage of the tenth avatar. It’s a story, well, two stories that can serve as antidotes to the typical sci fi futures of genetic manipulation, global warming, biological disaster, or alien invasions that serve as constant warnings of what our futures might be.
This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on Dec. 4, 2017:
https://is.gd/JNbitp
Here’s an especially cool book trailer for the Tenth Avatar:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=my8r7...
Dr. Kanchan Joshi
Paperback: 246 pages
Publisher: Kanchan Joshi (August 24, 2017)
ISBN-10: 069293314X
ISBN-13: 978-0692933145
https://www.amazon.com/Tenth-Avatar-D...
Reviewed by Dr. Wesley Britton
Reading Tenth Avatar is like reading two books in one. At the same time, the book is one of a rare breed in science fiction. I don’t know about your reading list of contemporary sci fi novels, but the vast majority I’ve read are darkly pessimistic and dystopian. Not so the Tenth Avatar. It’s not only optimistic and utopian, but even proposes a path for humanity to follow to achieve a new level of spiritual, economic, political, and social evolution.
The structure of the book is built on two parallel, alternating stories that take place thousands of years apart. One occurs In ancient India where we meet Hanuman, a noted warrior and mystic living in the forests. The setting is full of many mythological and fantasy elements. While there are many humans running about, there are also very intelligent ape-like creatures and their greatest enemy, the demons of a nearby region ruled by the evil Raven. There are all manner of strange, anachronistic weapons including radiation-bearing arrows and missiles as well as powerful flying machines and a monstrous giant robot-like killing machine.
But this world also has warriors using powerful bows and arrows, wooden chariots, and primitive maces. There are important mystical teachers, or “yogis,” who teach wisdom to Hanuman and others in the orbit of powerful, noble king-in-exile, Ram. He’s seeking his wife who was kidnapped by Raven. In this world, the forces of good gain superhuman power through meditation which leads to an awareness of what is beyond a person’s body and self including an understanding of how we fit into, well, everything.
Alternating with this saga is the modern tale of theoretical physicist Krish,
a brilliant mathematician living in California. Trying to seek out the workings of life and the universe using advanced mathematical formulas, he inexplicably hallucinates vivid images of existence beyond his physical self very like what the ancient yogis experienced. Why? He doesn’t know.
Told with a very different style from the tales of Hanuman, the author’s seemingly more grounded, more realistic odyssey of Krish has an intriguing flow with some puzzling plot holes. In the beginning, Krish discovers something he calls Quantum Communication which uses particle streams that can’t be hacked. Very quickly, the military shows interest in Krish’s unproven theories. At the same time, agents of unknown countries or organizations start trying to kill Krish. The FBI assigns protection for the scientist, but apparently not for very long. After his first bodyguard is killed on a plane, we don’t see any signs anyone is watching over Krish even if he did turn over his research to the Department of Defense. By himself, he travels home to India seeking out the lost notes of an important Indian mathematician. Any reader of spy novels will tell you this is ideal territory for more assassination attempts. Or at Krish’s wedding. And who was behind two terrible nuclear bombings in the U.S., over both California and New York? We’re never told. The adventures of Hanuman and Krish are brought together in the end, and I suspect most readers will have picked up on the clues to the ultimate resolutions long before the final reveals.
I have to admit, the use of intense meditation to be the key to gaining overwhelming cosmic awareness sounds better than I suspect it would really work in the real world. I say that as someone who has practiced various kinds of meditation for decades. Still, I am no authority on what meditation technique would make someone a Yogi and/or guru who could transform countless lives.
Nonetheless, it’s very nice to read a novel that projects the possibility that an enlightened humanity could be transformed under the tutelage of the tenth avatar. It’s a story, well, two stories that can serve as antidotes to the typical sci fi futures of genetic manipulation, global warming, biological disaster, or alien invasions that serve as constant warnings of what our futures might be.
This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on Dec. 4, 2017:
https://is.gd/JNbitp
Here’s an especially cool book trailer for the Tenth Avatar:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=my8r7...
Book Review: Rising Vengeance (The Anarian Chronicles Book 1) by Stephen Trolly
Rising Vengeance (The Anarian Chronicles Book 1)
Stephen Trolly
Format: Kindle Edition
Print Length: 333 pages
ASIN: B01MQ0JZUN
https://www.amazon.in/Rising-Vengeanc...
Reviewed by Dr. Wesley Britton
“The metallic smell of blood was overwhelming. The
dull crash of steel striking wooden and steel shields and
ringing off of enemy swords was loud enough to all but
drown out other noise. The twanging of bowstrings could
just be heard at the edge of the city as the defending archers
desperately tried to hold what remained of the walls from
an army that more than ten times outnumbered the meager
forces still inside of the city. The gate of the city was broken
and hanging on its hinges, and large portions of the walls
had fallen down, the results of the combined efforts of
Deshika siege engines and sappers, letting Deshik warriors
pour into the city by the thousands. No matter the number
of defenders elsewhere in the city, the Deshika were still
laying siege to the hundred foot tall battlements from both
sides in an attempt to take away the last high ground that
the defenders still had. And louder than anything were the
roars of gigantic beasts, like small, wingless dragons with
hard blue scales and long sharp teeth. “
The above opening sentences of Stephen Trolly’s Rising Vengeance perfectly set the stage for what is to follow, even if the scene is just a prescient dream by the main character, the human despising Taren Garrenin.
Taren is one of 10 a Morschcoda, the ruling council of the Ten Nations of Anaria, head of Drogoda, Lord of the Mordak, and Prince of House Garrenin. Hundreds of years old, he is one of the greatest swordsmen who ever lived. When we don’t see him in battle with the multi-limbed nine-foot tall monsters called the Deshika, we see him sitting with the council of the Morschcoda who meet annually anywhere from a week to two months discussing trade, war, treaties, governance. Because of his power and mental agility, Taren is, in many ways, the glue that binds the northern nations with those from the south, especially in strategizing how to mutually fight the relentless Deshika before many of the 10 nations begin fighting each other.
If the above description sounds like an elaborate and bloody epic of world-building, that’s certainly a large part of the picture. Anaria is a world where armies use normal weapons like swords and arrows, occasional futuristic science fiction devices like the portals that can transport people across long distances, flying dragons bearing riders, and magically-enhanced weapons and powers like special swords and rings and hitting an enemy with hot water geysers.
Trolly is quite vivid painting visual portraits of many of his characters, especially the members of the Morschcoda. What is missing from this canvas is much in the way of personal interaction. For much of the book, no one seems filled with passions, emotions, motivations or desires that might arise from any human relationships. Not until we spend time with Queen Guinira in her short captivity do we really learn much about a character’s inner depths, and that section reads like a turning point as a very different novel follows. From that point forward, the relentless clashes and battles become very personal indeed.
In other words, Trolly gives us a planet he describes with broad strokes and wide sweeps, but we’re not given many memorable characters to invest in or care about. So Rising Vengeance is a multi-faceted chess game that keeps reader interest by taking us deeper and deeper into the machinations, conflicts, and wars taking place all across the wide scope of the 10 nations of Anaria. And the saga has just begun.
This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on Jan. 31, 2018:
http://1clickurls.com/rk6PfUT
Stephen Trolly
Format: Kindle Edition
Print Length: 333 pages
ASIN: B01MQ0JZUN
https://www.amazon.in/Rising-Vengeanc...
Reviewed by Dr. Wesley Britton
“The metallic smell of blood was overwhelming. The
dull crash of steel striking wooden and steel shields and
ringing off of enemy swords was loud enough to all but
drown out other noise. The twanging of bowstrings could
just be heard at the edge of the city as the defending archers
desperately tried to hold what remained of the walls from
an army that more than ten times outnumbered the meager
forces still inside of the city. The gate of the city was broken
and hanging on its hinges, and large portions of the walls
had fallen down, the results of the combined efforts of
Deshika siege engines and sappers, letting Deshik warriors
pour into the city by the thousands. No matter the number
of defenders elsewhere in the city, the Deshika were still
laying siege to the hundred foot tall battlements from both
sides in an attempt to take away the last high ground that
the defenders still had. And louder than anything were the
roars of gigantic beasts, like small, wingless dragons with
hard blue scales and long sharp teeth. “
The above opening sentences of Stephen Trolly’s Rising Vengeance perfectly set the stage for what is to follow, even if the scene is just a prescient dream by the main character, the human despising Taren Garrenin.
Taren is one of 10 a Morschcoda, the ruling council of the Ten Nations of Anaria, head of Drogoda, Lord of the Mordak, and Prince of House Garrenin. Hundreds of years old, he is one of the greatest swordsmen who ever lived. When we don’t see him in battle with the multi-limbed nine-foot tall monsters called the Deshika, we see him sitting with the council of the Morschcoda who meet annually anywhere from a week to two months discussing trade, war, treaties, governance. Because of his power and mental agility, Taren is, in many ways, the glue that binds the northern nations with those from the south, especially in strategizing how to mutually fight the relentless Deshika before many of the 10 nations begin fighting each other.
If the above description sounds like an elaborate and bloody epic of world-building, that’s certainly a large part of the picture. Anaria is a world where armies use normal weapons like swords and arrows, occasional futuristic science fiction devices like the portals that can transport people across long distances, flying dragons bearing riders, and magically-enhanced weapons and powers like special swords and rings and hitting an enemy with hot water geysers.
Trolly is quite vivid painting visual portraits of many of his characters, especially the members of the Morschcoda. What is missing from this canvas is much in the way of personal interaction. For much of the book, no one seems filled with passions, emotions, motivations or desires that might arise from any human relationships. Not until we spend time with Queen Guinira in her short captivity do we really learn much about a character’s inner depths, and that section reads like a turning point as a very different novel follows. From that point forward, the relentless clashes and battles become very personal indeed.
In other words, Trolly gives us a planet he describes with broad strokes and wide sweeps, but we’re not given many memorable characters to invest in or care about. So Rising Vengeance is a multi-faceted chess game that keeps reader interest by taking us deeper and deeper into the machinations, conflicts, and wars taking place all across the wide scope of the 10 nations of Anaria. And the saga has just begun.
This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on Jan. 31, 2018:
http://1clickurls.com/rk6PfUT
Book Review: Fairies, Robots and Unicorns?--Oh My!: A Collection of Funny Short Stories by Sarina Dorie
Book Review: Fairies, Robots and Unicorns?--Oh My!: A Collection of Funny Short Stories by Sarina Dorie
Fairies, Robots and Unicorns?--Oh My!: A Collection of Funny Short Stories
Sarina Dorie
Print Length: 158 pages
Publication Date: April 29, 2016
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
ASIN: B01F06DFDW
https://www.amazon.com/Fairies-Robots...
Reviewed by Dr. Wesley Britton
While I’ve read more than my fair share of sci-fi, I haven’t read all that many short stories in the genre and even fewer intentionally humorous SF yarns. Some have stuck in my mind, such as one tale in which a female author had a group of “Wendys” rebelling from the adolescent chauvinism of Peter Pan and his Lost Boys expecting the Wendies to forever take care of all their domestic needs.
Excluding one anthology of Harry Harrison stories, Fairies, Robots and Unicorns was the first collection of light-hearted offerings I ever sat down to read. I’m glad I did. I don’t plan on it being the last collection of such fare I spend time with. In particular, Sarina Dorie is often wickedly clever, laugh out loud funny, and extremely original, one of my favorite characteristics from an author in any genre.
For example, “Five Tips for Slaying a Unicorn” is a bit of humorous advice told in a list, a literary device the author wanted to experiment with. “Speed Dating Books” is about a trip to a bookstore where books try their seductive best to get buyers to take them home. “Debbie Does Delta Draconis III” plays with thinly-disguised characters from Star Trek, or at least alien surrogates for them, who invade a lawyer’s dreams.
Some stories aren’t so much comical as offbeat or simply quirky.” Eels for Heels” is a weird modern fairy tale where a woman is cursed by a sea witch who gives her eels magically attached to her heels until she finds her true love. Not every tale tries to be comic. In one of my favorites, “The Quantum Mechanic,” a more straight-forward sci-fi story features some hiccups in the space-time continuum with happy results, at least for one soon to be involved romantic couple. Likewise, “Cinderella’s Holo-Wand” is a cautionary tale about wanting to use technology to transform from an undesirable body into hopeful physical perfection.
In such a collection, few readers are likely to like everything. I wasn’t too fond of “Red as a Pickle” which has aliens draining away all the colors on earth until they are outwitted by a housecat. “The Office Messiah” is a rather underdeveloped play on the philosophy of Jesus as juxtaposed against workplace realities. “Blackboard Galaxy” is a simply odd tale of a human teacher trying to deal with alien children who expect to be eaten when they are bad. Eaten but restored to health unlike digested human food.
Some yarns are obvious parodies as with “The Optimist Police” where negative thoughts are criminalized. I’m certain every reader who’s ever tried to work with tech support from any company you can think of will emphasize with a starship captain under attack from aliens unable to get help until he extends his warranty in “Interstellar Tech Support.” Speaking of parodies, “Lady Chatterly’s Computer” is a very clever take-off of the D.H. Lawrence novel.
Some titles, like “Confessions of the Orgasm Fairy” and “Robo-rotica,” might suggest the collection isn’t intended for YA readers. But the content really isn’t anything too heavy for most teenagers. “Robo-rotica” is the most explicit of the fantasies, describing hot sex between two machines. If that titillates you, then be concerned. Be very concerned.
Among the many characteristics we learn about Sarina Dorie is that she has a background of classroom teaching, that she has an Italian mother, she likes food, and, of course, enjoys sex. At least invoking it in her writing. This collection is but a thin slice of her 100 or so short stories which you can learn more about at—
http://sarinadorie.com/
Fairies, Robots and Unicorns is entertaining, light reading with its occasional social commentary delivered with more than a spoonful of sugar, sometimes just silly, often simply twisted, sometimes wickedly funny. It’s the sort of collection you can read in short sessions as some of the tales are extremely short indeed.
This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on April 7, 2018
https://waa.ai/zLIh
Fairies, Robots and Unicorns?--Oh My!: A Collection of Funny Short Stories
Sarina Dorie
Print Length: 158 pages
Publication Date: April 29, 2016
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
ASIN: B01F06DFDW
https://www.amazon.com/Fairies-Robots...
Reviewed by Dr. Wesley Britton
While I’ve read more than my fair share of sci-fi, I haven’t read all that many short stories in the genre and even fewer intentionally humorous SF yarns. Some have stuck in my mind, such as one tale in which a female author had a group of “Wendys” rebelling from the adolescent chauvinism of Peter Pan and his Lost Boys expecting the Wendies to forever take care of all their domestic needs.
Excluding one anthology of Harry Harrison stories, Fairies, Robots and Unicorns was the first collection of light-hearted offerings I ever sat down to read. I’m glad I did. I don’t plan on it being the last collection of such fare I spend time with. In particular, Sarina Dorie is often wickedly clever, laugh out loud funny, and extremely original, one of my favorite characteristics from an author in any genre.
For example, “Five Tips for Slaying a Unicorn” is a bit of humorous advice told in a list, a literary device the author wanted to experiment with. “Speed Dating Books” is about a trip to a bookstore where books try their seductive best to get buyers to take them home. “Debbie Does Delta Draconis III” plays with thinly-disguised characters from Star Trek, or at least alien surrogates for them, who invade a lawyer’s dreams.
Some stories aren’t so much comical as offbeat or simply quirky.” Eels for Heels” is a weird modern fairy tale where a woman is cursed by a sea witch who gives her eels magically attached to her heels until she finds her true love. Not every tale tries to be comic. In one of my favorites, “The Quantum Mechanic,” a more straight-forward sci-fi story features some hiccups in the space-time continuum with happy results, at least for one soon to be involved romantic couple. Likewise, “Cinderella’s Holo-Wand” is a cautionary tale about wanting to use technology to transform from an undesirable body into hopeful physical perfection.
In such a collection, few readers are likely to like everything. I wasn’t too fond of “Red as a Pickle” which has aliens draining away all the colors on earth until they are outwitted by a housecat. “The Office Messiah” is a rather underdeveloped play on the philosophy of Jesus as juxtaposed against workplace realities. “Blackboard Galaxy” is a simply odd tale of a human teacher trying to deal with alien children who expect to be eaten when they are bad. Eaten but restored to health unlike digested human food.
Some yarns are obvious parodies as with “The Optimist Police” where negative thoughts are criminalized. I’m certain every reader who’s ever tried to work with tech support from any company you can think of will emphasize with a starship captain under attack from aliens unable to get help until he extends his warranty in “Interstellar Tech Support.” Speaking of parodies, “Lady Chatterly’s Computer” is a very clever take-off of the D.H. Lawrence novel.
Some titles, like “Confessions of the Orgasm Fairy” and “Robo-rotica,” might suggest the collection isn’t intended for YA readers. But the content really isn’t anything too heavy for most teenagers. “Robo-rotica” is the most explicit of the fantasies, describing hot sex between two machines. If that titillates you, then be concerned. Be very concerned.
Among the many characteristics we learn about Sarina Dorie is that she has a background of classroom teaching, that she has an Italian mother, she likes food, and, of course, enjoys sex. At least invoking it in her writing. This collection is but a thin slice of her 100 or so short stories which you can learn more about at—
http://sarinadorie.com/
Fairies, Robots and Unicorns is entertaining, light reading with its occasional social commentary delivered with more than a spoonful of sugar, sometimes just silly, often simply twisted, sometimes wickedly funny. It’s the sort of collection you can read in short sessions as some of the tales are extremely short indeed.
This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on April 7, 2018
https://waa.ai/zLIh
New "Cozy sword and sorcery" for your spring reading
Jack tyler’s news this week is the release of his new book, The Stone Seekers. This is his first foray into fantasy, and is what he is calling a work of “cozy sword & sorcery.” Here’s a blurb:
The Settlements clung precariously to a hostile shore where the very ground opposed them. The people, fleeing a vicious tyrant, had crossed an ocean to get here, and had nowhere else to go. They bore with them a parting gift from a powerful mage, the Wellstone, an artifact that could locate clean water among the vile poisons their new land offered. When it is stolen in a raid by creatures of the surrounding forest, there is no choice but to go in pursuit. But with who? The entire combined militia of all the towns haven’t the power to overcome the forest denizens, so a skilled tracker and a savage warrior are sent to achieve through stealth what cannot be accomplished by force. What possible chance could two people have?
The cover is one of over 15,000 photographs displayed on Richard Schulte’s Cool San Diego Sights blog. Richard takes pictures of San Diego County, a widely diverse region with everything from snowy mountains to surf-washed shores. Some of these pictures are of famous landmarks, but many others are of cozy nooks and out-of-the-way sights like fountains, parks, and unusual buildings. The picture on my cover was taken from a hiking trail in our nearby Laguna Mountains. The site looks remarkably like the river crossing in Chapter Five, and is used with the kind permission of the photographer. Richard is friendly and approachable, not at all unreasonable, and Cool San Diego Sights is definitely a must to visit if you need a picture for a project.
The Stone Seekers is available on amazon.com in print or e-book. Not sure whether it’s for you? Three chapters are available as a sample at https://blimprider.com, so dig in, check it out, and see whether it’s a read you might get into.
~ Jack Tyler
Visit Jack on-line at https://blimprider.wordpress.com/
The Settlements clung precariously to a hostile shore where the very ground opposed them. The people, fleeing a vicious tyrant, had crossed an ocean to get here, and had nowhere else to go. They bore with them a parting gift from a powerful mage, the Wellstone, an artifact that could locate clean water among the vile poisons their new land offered. When it is stolen in a raid by creatures of the surrounding forest, there is no choice but to go in pursuit. But with who? The entire combined militia of all the towns haven’t the power to overcome the forest denizens, so a skilled tracker and a savage warrior are sent to achieve through stealth what cannot be accomplished by force. What possible chance could two people have?
The cover is one of over 15,000 photographs displayed on Richard Schulte’s Cool San Diego Sights blog. Richard takes pictures of San Diego County, a widely diverse region with everything from snowy mountains to surf-washed shores. Some of these pictures are of famous landmarks, but many others are of cozy nooks and out-of-the-way sights like fountains, parks, and unusual buildings. The picture on my cover was taken from a hiking trail in our nearby Laguna Mountains. The site looks remarkably like the river crossing in Chapter Five, and is used with the kind permission of the photographer. Richard is friendly and approachable, not at all unreasonable, and Cool San Diego Sights is definitely a must to visit if you need a picture for a project.
The Stone Seekers is available on amazon.com in print or e-book. Not sure whether it’s for you? Three chapters are available as a sample at https://blimprider.com, so dig in, check it out, and see whether it’s a read you might get into.
~ Jack Tyler
Visit Jack on-line at https://blimprider.wordpress.com/
Free Sci-Fi Stuff from Wes Britton
The first issue of Wes Britton’s new newsletter debuts tomorrow, June1!
https://mailchi.mp/ca42bf76277c/welco...
Try your hand at the contest and try to win a free e-book!
Speaking of free stuff, sign up on our mailing list form and get a free short story!
http://eepurl.com/dwvfQr
Win a $30 gift card from the Explore Science Fiction and Fantasy promo at Book Cave:
https://mybookcave.com/g/b6a46df2/
https://mailchi.mp/ca42bf76277c/welco...
Try your hand at the contest and try to win a free e-book!
Speaking of free stuff, sign up on our mailing list form and get a free short story!
http://eepurl.com/dwvfQr
Win a $30 gift card from the Explore Science Fiction and Fantasy promo at Book Cave:
https://mybookcave.com/g/b6a46df2/
Wesley Britton's Blog
This just came in. My favorite two sentences of all time!
“The Blind Alien is a story with a highly original concept, fascinating characters, and not-too-subtle but truthful allegories. Don’t let the ...more
“The Blind Alien is a story with a highly original concept, fascinating characters, and not-too-subtle but truthful allegories. Don’t let the ...more
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