Wesley Britton's Blog - Posts Tagged "sci-fan"
Enjoy a short excerpt from Douglas Brown's new "The Orizon" here-
Here is an extract from the middle of the first episode of Douglas Brown's serialise novella, "The Orison".
The full episode ("A Hole in the Sky") can be found at
https://www.dwbrownlaw.net/stories/th...
As Da had said, Yona had better be quick, because the Eye of Heaven would soon shine its light on those who preferred the shadows. The Eye’s light was so bright, people were able to read by it, with only slight eye-strain; thieves would be easy to spot.
Gouta glanced both ways along the deserted avenue and thought about the Eye. She allowed herself a smug smile for being, as everyone said of her, “especially smart”. Though only six, she had worked out that the Eye was not an actual eyeball. It did not have an iris, nor a pupil, nor even any eyelashes; it was nothing like an eye.
She had once sprinkled a handful of sand onto the corner of her cloak, pretending that the grains were stars and the near-black oilskin was the night sky. She was pleased to see how the grains spread around in the same sorts of patterns as the stars in the night sky. But then Yona nudged her deliberately, making her drop the remaining sand to form a small pile off to one side of her star field. Yona had gone away laughing, but Gouta noticed how the mound of grains was more-or-less round, had a fuzzy edge and completely hid the dark cloth underneath. Exactly like the Eye of Heaven. From that moment she knew that the Eye was just a part of the sky where the stars piled up so much they completely covered that part of the blackness in a dazzling mound of stars, wider than two of her Da's hand-spans at arm’s length.
So, why call it an eye?
Grown-ups were stupid sometimes.
Douglas Brown
Pen name: DW Brownlaw
Author of the science fantasy series: The Metaverse on https://www.dwbrownlaw.net
Email: dwbrownlaw@gmail.com
Follow me on Facebook: @DWBrownlaw, or https://facebook.com/DWBrownlaw
The full episode ("A Hole in the Sky") can be found at
https://www.dwbrownlaw.net/stories/th...
As Da had said, Yona had better be quick, because the Eye of Heaven would soon shine its light on those who preferred the shadows. The Eye’s light was so bright, people were able to read by it, with only slight eye-strain; thieves would be easy to spot.
Gouta glanced both ways along the deserted avenue and thought about the Eye. She allowed herself a smug smile for being, as everyone said of her, “especially smart”. Though only six, she had worked out that the Eye was not an actual eyeball. It did not have an iris, nor a pupil, nor even any eyelashes; it was nothing like an eye.
She had once sprinkled a handful of sand onto the corner of her cloak, pretending that the grains were stars and the near-black oilskin was the night sky. She was pleased to see how the grains spread around in the same sorts of patterns as the stars in the night sky. But then Yona nudged her deliberately, making her drop the remaining sand to form a small pile off to one side of her star field. Yona had gone away laughing, but Gouta noticed how the mound of grains was more-or-less round, had a fuzzy edge and completely hid the dark cloth underneath. Exactly like the Eye of Heaven. From that moment she knew that the Eye was just a part of the sky where the stars piled up so much they completely covered that part of the blackness in a dazzling mound of stars, wider than two of her Da's hand-spans at arm’s length.
So, why call it an eye?
Grown-ups were stupid sometimes.
Douglas Brown
Pen name: DW Brownlaw
Author of the science fantasy series: The Metaverse on https://www.dwbrownlaw.net
Email: dwbrownlaw@gmail.com
Follow me on Facebook: @DWBrownlaw, or https://facebook.com/DWBrownlaw
More Douglas Brown "Orison" fantasy--
Following up our short post yesterday featuring an extract from Douglas Brown's serialized novella, "The Orison," we thought we'd post a much longer passage, the opening to the first episode of that yarn.
The full episode ("A Hole in the Sky") can be found at
https://www.dwbrownlaw.net/stories/th...
Gouta Ricci, six years old, knew how to pout. “S’not fair, Da! Yer never let me do what Yona does.”
She stood with her father Da and older sister Yona on the Master Burgher Adeyemi Avenue, their worn cloaks and britches at odds with the flawless, cobbled street. It was past midnight and they stood with their backs to a flint wall in the dark space between pools of street lighting. Da had been particular about staying out of sight of the Watch Tower so they had kept close to walls on this side all the way up the avenue to where they now stopped.
Gouta tried to concentrate on her Da's reply, but Yona was pulling faces at her from behind his back, trying to distract her and get her in trouble. It was not fair But then, Yona was never fair to Gouta.
“Keep yer voice down Gouta, or yer’ll wake all the Nobs in the avenue”, her father breathed. “I told yer: Yona gets to climb tonight ’cos yer sister is a big girl”.
And that was the nub of it. Gouta did not understand why Yona was allowed to enjoy a more exciting life just because of a few years’ age difference. Why did Yona get all the good things in life? And why, with these advantages, was Yona still so mean to her?
She tried again. “But, Da…”
“Nah. Listen. Yona ’ad to wait ’til today, when she is ten, to do a job. Yer’s lucky, coming wiv us when yer’s only six.”
Her Da's face adopted a look that Gouta hated; the one that meant that she was about to lose the argument.
“Anyway, d’yer remember? I promised yer a purse of pennies after dis job, right? An’ what did yer say yer want ta buy wiv it?”
Yona poked out her tongue at Gouta from behind Da's back. Gouta wanted to yell at her but knew she dare not lose her focus on what Da was saying; he did not like that. She brought to mind the market stall, remembering the finished figures lying in rows on the table and, standing behind, the owner painting an infant’s face on an egg-shaped piece of wood.
“A dolly, Da.”
“Dat’s right. But if we ’ave to go ’ome ’cos yer can’t do yer part of the job, dere won’t be a purse an’ yer can’t buy dat dolly. So, as yer’s such a smart kid, tell me: is yer in or out?”
The familiar feeling of unfairness welled up inside her, but she wanted the dolly more. She clenched her teeth but a despairing moan still escaped. “Oh!”
Yona gave a wicked grin at Gouta’s agony then pulled a silly face, crossing her eyes and stretching her cheeks with her fingers.
Gouta was outnumbered. Da was being clever and Yona was being distracting. It was hopeless; she knew she had lost and hung her head.
“Aye, Da.”
“Good girl, Blackie. Said yer was smart. Now get in, do what yer practised an’ yer’ll be da best lookout da Thieves Guild ’as ever seen.”
He gestured at a pair of large night-soil barrels nearby, set against the wall. She remembered from one of Da’s lessons for Yona that a good burglar could climb up night-soil drain pipes to reach unlocked windows, and the pipes would never rattle thanks to being clamped to the barrel tops with tight leather seals. But tonight, her Da was not interested in the building above them. Instead, he would use these barrels and the avenue’s nearby star lamp for a hidden lookout post.
Gouta hesitated as she approached the barrels, fearing their stench, but found it was nowhere near as bad as the reeking cesspit below their alley’s communal privy back home in Dockside. For her whole life, no one had ever paid to have it emptied. She wished their privy smelled as little as these barrels and thought it must be nice to afford someone to collect them and take the poop away while it was still fresh and not so smelly. Da had also taught that Nobs used night-soil barrels because they were “the last word in hygiene” and, knowing Nobs, perhaps because they were so expensive.
Gouta squeezed between the barrels and Da crouched down to help her disappear into the shadows behind. Once settled, she checked that she could peep out both ways along the avenue from her place behind them.
“Oh dat’s good, Blackie. I can ’ardly see yer in dere, an’ I know where ta look. Night time, dark shadows, an’ a black-as-black lookout; it don’t get no better.”
Gouta smiled up at him. Maybe Yona did get all the good things in life, but it was nice to get some praise for doing well.
Da sucked his teeth in appreciation. “I dunno why yer was born black ‘cos it weren’t from me or yer Ma. But it’ll ’elp yer a lot on night jobs. When yer grow up yer’ll be better’n me an’ Yona ’cos of it.”
Yona’s raised fist showed Gouta what she thought about that.
“Right, Blackie. Got yer whistle?”
Gouta pulled a polished wooden whistle out of her pocket and wrapped her hand around the small gemstone halfway along the shaft.
“Dat’s my smart Blackie. We don’t want dat ta sparkle an’ draw attention, do we?”
He straightened, ready to leave, and inserted a matching wooden item, gem first, into his ear. With its gem hidden in his ear canal and its wooden body almost the same shade of dark brown as his ear, it was no longer possible to see it by starlight.
“Blow good an’ ’ard, Blackie. An’ remember yer signals.”
He pointed up the avenue and away from the city centre.
“Just as a game, pretend yer see a Watch patrol coming right now from way up dere. Quick! Blow me da signal for it.”
A test! She liked to show Da how smart she was. Still behind him, Yona was making another attempt to distract her by poking a hand out between Da’s legs, bunching her fist and letting the limp middle finger hang down.
Drawing his attention to what Yona was doing would only be a waste of effort; easily denied by Yona. Instead, Gouta grinned. The contest was on and she was going to beat her sister in this silly game.
She glanced to her left and imagined a patrol squad marching round the distant corner, on their way back to their city-centre station. With the correct patterns of short twits, long woos and pauses, she blew a barrage of silent twit-woo signals for:
Alert!
Watch!
Out-of-town!
Far!
Coming!
The enthusiastic force of it made Da raise a hand to his ear.
“Aye! Dat’s loud enough,” he said with a smile which was in part from pleasure, part from pain. “I reckon yer ready for dis. Just don’t blow like dat while I’m climbing, aye? Or yer’ll make me fall off in surprise.”
I hope you find this extract / episode of interest.
Douglas Brown
Pen name: DW Brownlaw
Author of the science fantasy series: The Metaverse on https://www.dwbrownlaw.net
Email: dwbrownlaw@gmail.com
Follow me on Facebook: @DWBrownlaw, or https://facebook.com/DWBrownlaw
The full episode ("A Hole in the Sky") can be found at
https://www.dwbrownlaw.net/stories/th...
Gouta Ricci, six years old, knew how to pout. “S’not fair, Da! Yer never let me do what Yona does.”
She stood with her father Da and older sister Yona on the Master Burgher Adeyemi Avenue, their worn cloaks and britches at odds with the flawless, cobbled street. It was past midnight and they stood with their backs to a flint wall in the dark space between pools of street lighting. Da had been particular about staying out of sight of the Watch Tower so they had kept close to walls on this side all the way up the avenue to where they now stopped.
Gouta tried to concentrate on her Da's reply, but Yona was pulling faces at her from behind his back, trying to distract her and get her in trouble. It was not fair But then, Yona was never fair to Gouta.
“Keep yer voice down Gouta, or yer’ll wake all the Nobs in the avenue”, her father breathed. “I told yer: Yona gets to climb tonight ’cos yer sister is a big girl”.
And that was the nub of it. Gouta did not understand why Yona was allowed to enjoy a more exciting life just because of a few years’ age difference. Why did Yona get all the good things in life? And why, with these advantages, was Yona still so mean to her?
She tried again. “But, Da…”
“Nah. Listen. Yona ’ad to wait ’til today, when she is ten, to do a job. Yer’s lucky, coming wiv us when yer’s only six.”
Her Da's face adopted a look that Gouta hated; the one that meant that she was about to lose the argument.
“Anyway, d’yer remember? I promised yer a purse of pennies after dis job, right? An’ what did yer say yer want ta buy wiv it?”
Yona poked out her tongue at Gouta from behind Da's back. Gouta wanted to yell at her but knew she dare not lose her focus on what Da was saying; he did not like that. She brought to mind the market stall, remembering the finished figures lying in rows on the table and, standing behind, the owner painting an infant’s face on an egg-shaped piece of wood.
“A dolly, Da.”
“Dat’s right. But if we ’ave to go ’ome ’cos yer can’t do yer part of the job, dere won’t be a purse an’ yer can’t buy dat dolly. So, as yer’s such a smart kid, tell me: is yer in or out?”
The familiar feeling of unfairness welled up inside her, but she wanted the dolly more. She clenched her teeth but a despairing moan still escaped. “Oh!”
Yona gave a wicked grin at Gouta’s agony then pulled a silly face, crossing her eyes and stretching her cheeks with her fingers.
Gouta was outnumbered. Da was being clever and Yona was being distracting. It was hopeless; she knew she had lost and hung her head.
“Aye, Da.”
“Good girl, Blackie. Said yer was smart. Now get in, do what yer practised an’ yer’ll be da best lookout da Thieves Guild ’as ever seen.”
He gestured at a pair of large night-soil barrels nearby, set against the wall. She remembered from one of Da’s lessons for Yona that a good burglar could climb up night-soil drain pipes to reach unlocked windows, and the pipes would never rattle thanks to being clamped to the barrel tops with tight leather seals. But tonight, her Da was not interested in the building above them. Instead, he would use these barrels and the avenue’s nearby star lamp for a hidden lookout post.
Gouta hesitated as she approached the barrels, fearing their stench, but found it was nowhere near as bad as the reeking cesspit below their alley’s communal privy back home in Dockside. For her whole life, no one had ever paid to have it emptied. She wished their privy smelled as little as these barrels and thought it must be nice to afford someone to collect them and take the poop away while it was still fresh and not so smelly. Da had also taught that Nobs used night-soil barrels because they were “the last word in hygiene” and, knowing Nobs, perhaps because they were so expensive.
Gouta squeezed between the barrels and Da crouched down to help her disappear into the shadows behind. Once settled, she checked that she could peep out both ways along the avenue from her place behind them.
“Oh dat’s good, Blackie. I can ’ardly see yer in dere, an’ I know where ta look. Night time, dark shadows, an’ a black-as-black lookout; it don’t get no better.”
Gouta smiled up at him. Maybe Yona did get all the good things in life, but it was nice to get some praise for doing well.
Da sucked his teeth in appreciation. “I dunno why yer was born black ‘cos it weren’t from me or yer Ma. But it’ll ’elp yer a lot on night jobs. When yer grow up yer’ll be better’n me an’ Yona ’cos of it.”
Yona’s raised fist showed Gouta what she thought about that.
“Right, Blackie. Got yer whistle?”
Gouta pulled a polished wooden whistle out of her pocket and wrapped her hand around the small gemstone halfway along the shaft.
“Dat’s my smart Blackie. We don’t want dat ta sparkle an’ draw attention, do we?”
He straightened, ready to leave, and inserted a matching wooden item, gem first, into his ear. With its gem hidden in his ear canal and its wooden body almost the same shade of dark brown as his ear, it was no longer possible to see it by starlight.
“Blow good an’ ’ard, Blackie. An’ remember yer signals.”
He pointed up the avenue and away from the city centre.
“Just as a game, pretend yer see a Watch patrol coming right now from way up dere. Quick! Blow me da signal for it.”
A test! She liked to show Da how smart she was. Still behind him, Yona was making another attempt to distract her by poking a hand out between Da’s legs, bunching her fist and letting the limp middle finger hang down.
Drawing his attention to what Yona was doing would only be a waste of effort; easily denied by Yona. Instead, Gouta grinned. The contest was on and she was going to beat her sister in this silly game.
She glanced to her left and imagined a patrol squad marching round the distant corner, on their way back to their city-centre station. With the correct patterns of short twits, long woos and pauses, she blew a barrage of silent twit-woo signals for:
Alert!
Watch!
Out-of-town!
Far!
Coming!
The enthusiastic force of it made Da raise a hand to his ear.
“Aye! Dat’s loud enough,” he said with a smile which was in part from pleasure, part from pain. “I reckon yer ready for dis. Just don’t blow like dat while I’m climbing, aye? Or yer’ll make me fall off in surprise.”
I hope you find this extract / episode of interest.
Douglas Brown
Pen name: DW Brownlaw
Author of the science fantasy series: The Metaverse on https://www.dwbrownlaw.net
Email: dwbrownlaw@gmail.com
Follow me on Facebook: @DWBrownlaw, or https://facebook.com/DWBrownlaw
Book Review: Dragon Chronicles Book 3, The Hunted, by Andrew Wichland
Dragon Knight Chronicles Book 3: The Hunted
Andrew Wichland
Publication Date: July 14, 2019
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
ASIN: B07V9C1PPJ
https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/hz/...
Reviewed by Dr. Wesley Britton
There's a certain breed of science-fiction/ fantasy that's mostly non-stop action-adventure set out in a galaxy far, far away with the intent of entertaining readers with none of the warnings or alarms in so many dystopian
futures.
In his Dragon Knight Chronicles, Andrew Wichland shows he's got as good a handle on this sub-genre as anyone. Throughout The Hunted, book 3 of this series, Wichland juggles many of the familiar formulas and tropes of such yarns like inexplicable instant armor that can grow on a Dragon Knight's body in but a moment. Dragon Knights can suddenly be armed with arsenals of weapons that can take out fleets of pursuers in seemingly overwhelmingly powerful starships. In this case, there's an occasional nod to fantasy with Knights wearing bracelets that can tap into mystical powers when the occasion calls for them. Along the way, dwarves and minotars help populate the conversations.
When stories zip along like The Hunted, there's not much character development and it seems obvious reading the previous two volumes might fill in many of the unanswered or under-explained elements of The Hunted. For example, plot-twisting characters pop in and then quickly disappear. Some have apparently played key roles in the saga in previous stories. Some of them were very intrigueing, enigmatic, and quickly gone. Never to be seen again? The ending of the tale is one of those open-ended episodes setting the stage for volume 4. Perhaps some of those characters will make return engagements?
It seemed clear Wichland wanted readers to associate his main protagonist, Robin, with earth's Robin Hood, but that connection seemed very thin to me beyond some character names--Little John, Tuck, the like. This Robin Hood is on a quest to protect members of his people, track down a missing brother after finding a long-lost sister, and I'm not clear what else. We don't see much of the forces of the Black Dragon whose evil empire dominates the galaxy.
The Hunted is light, very fast reading that will send you out into outer space for a summer evening or two. It's not meant to seriously engage your mental engines but rather to get your blood racing and your eyes popping. And what's wrong with that?
This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com On Aug. 9, 2019:
https://waa.ai/3saC
Andrew Wichland
Publication Date: July 14, 2019
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
ASIN: B07V9C1PPJ
https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/hz/...
Reviewed by Dr. Wesley Britton
There's a certain breed of science-fiction/ fantasy that's mostly non-stop action-adventure set out in a galaxy far, far away with the intent of entertaining readers with none of the warnings or alarms in so many dystopian
futures.
In his Dragon Knight Chronicles, Andrew Wichland shows he's got as good a handle on this sub-genre as anyone. Throughout The Hunted, book 3 of this series, Wichland juggles many of the familiar formulas and tropes of such yarns like inexplicable instant armor that can grow on a Dragon Knight's body in but a moment. Dragon Knights can suddenly be armed with arsenals of weapons that can take out fleets of pursuers in seemingly overwhelmingly powerful starships. In this case, there's an occasional nod to fantasy with Knights wearing bracelets that can tap into mystical powers when the occasion calls for them. Along the way, dwarves and minotars help populate the conversations.
When stories zip along like The Hunted, there's not much character development and it seems obvious reading the previous two volumes might fill in many of the unanswered or under-explained elements of The Hunted. For example, plot-twisting characters pop in and then quickly disappear. Some have apparently played key roles in the saga in previous stories. Some of them were very intrigueing, enigmatic, and quickly gone. Never to be seen again? The ending of the tale is one of those open-ended episodes setting the stage for volume 4. Perhaps some of those characters will make return engagements?
It seemed clear Wichland wanted readers to associate his main protagonist, Robin, with earth's Robin Hood, but that connection seemed very thin to me beyond some character names--Little John, Tuck, the like. This Robin Hood is on a quest to protect members of his people, track down a missing brother after finding a long-lost sister, and I'm not clear what else. We don't see much of the forces of the Black Dragon whose evil empire dominates the galaxy.
The Hunted is light, very fast reading that will send you out into outer space for a summer evening or two. It's not meant to seriously engage your mental engines but rather to get your blood racing and your eyes popping. And what's wrong with that?
This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com On Aug. 9, 2019:
https://waa.ai/3saC
Book Review: Dragon Bone Soup Edited by DW Brownlaw and P. C. Darkcliff
Dragon Bone Soup
Edited by DW Brownlaw and P. C. Darkcliff
Publisher: Independently published
Release date: December 9, 2019
ISBN-10: 1673703976
ISBN-13: 978-1673703979
https://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Bone-So...
When I reached the end of Dragon Bone Soup, I realized I had just finished my favorite short story anthology I have ever read. As a writer of sci-fi short stories myself, I knew I was going to have to up my game to compete with all these folks. Especially regarding preciseness and word economy.
I also realized trying to point out the highlights of the sixteen diverse fantasy and light science fiction stories would result in a very long book review. After all, writers from three continents take readers to dystopian futures populated by dragons, witches, spirits, elves, trolls, and magicians. But no matter how non-human these beings might seem, every story explores the humanity of even the most exotic of characters. This includes the first-person narrative, "I, Dragon" by David Bowmore.
I would like to call special attention to the first two stories in the collection, "LA EMBRUJADX" by Carmen Baca and "The Witch of Wickershaw" by Brandy Bonifas as they both hooked me into this collection straight-away. Other contributors include Steve Carr, P.C. Darkcliff, R.A. Goli, Shawn Klimek, Mark Kodama, Giuseppina Marino Leyland, Zhen Liu, Lynne Phillips, Sam M. Phillips, Daniel Craig Roche, Copper Rose, L.T. Waterson, and G. Allen Wilbanks.
For readers who like to know about the authors they experience, the editors added a section of interviews at the end of the book with each of the writers describing their craft. Some might think of this section as padding as each story is indeed short, most around 3,000 words or so. (The editors provide a word count for each story in their introductory notes. ) Well, if you're not that interested in all the biographies and writing approaches of the creators, or maybe only interested in a few of the contributors, the interviews are not essential reading. I wager, however, that most fellow writers will appreciate the opportunity to read sixteen windows into the creative process. For non-writers, you could think of the interviews as icing on the cake, if you can imagine icing on bone soup.
If you like sci-fi or fantasy, you won't want to pass up this collection. Perhaps not every entree will be your cuppa tea, to mix metaphors again, but there will certainly be enough offerings you'll consider special treats.
This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on Feb. 16, 2019:
https://waa.ai/TxOJ
Edited by DW Brownlaw and P. C. Darkcliff
Publisher: Independently published
Release date: December 9, 2019
ISBN-10: 1673703976
ISBN-13: 978-1673703979
https://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Bone-So...
When I reached the end of Dragon Bone Soup, I realized I had just finished my favorite short story anthology I have ever read. As a writer of sci-fi short stories myself, I knew I was going to have to up my game to compete with all these folks. Especially regarding preciseness and word economy.
I also realized trying to point out the highlights of the sixteen diverse fantasy and light science fiction stories would result in a very long book review. After all, writers from three continents take readers to dystopian futures populated by dragons, witches, spirits, elves, trolls, and magicians. But no matter how non-human these beings might seem, every story explores the humanity of even the most exotic of characters. This includes the first-person narrative, "I, Dragon" by David Bowmore.
I would like to call special attention to the first two stories in the collection, "LA EMBRUJADX" by Carmen Baca and "The Witch of Wickershaw" by Brandy Bonifas as they both hooked me into this collection straight-away. Other contributors include Steve Carr, P.C. Darkcliff, R.A. Goli, Shawn Klimek, Mark Kodama, Giuseppina Marino Leyland, Zhen Liu, Lynne Phillips, Sam M. Phillips, Daniel Craig Roche, Copper Rose, L.T. Waterson, and G. Allen Wilbanks.
For readers who like to know about the authors they experience, the editors added a section of interviews at the end of the book with each of the writers describing their craft. Some might think of this section as padding as each story is indeed short, most around 3,000 words or so. (The editors provide a word count for each story in their introductory notes. ) Well, if you're not that interested in all the biographies and writing approaches of the creators, or maybe only interested in a few of the contributors, the interviews are not essential reading. I wager, however, that most fellow writers will appreciate the opportunity to read sixteen windows into the creative process. For non-writers, you could think of the interviews as icing on the cake, if you can imagine icing on bone soup.
If you like sci-fi or fantasy, you won't want to pass up this collection. Perhaps not every entree will be your cuppa tea, to mix metaphors again, but there will certainly be enough offerings you'll consider special treats.
This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on Feb. 16, 2019:
https://waa.ai/TxOJ
Book Review: Lumina, Volume 1 The Dragonlite Legacy by Paddy Tyrrell
Lumina, Volume 1 The Dragonlite Legacy
PADDY TYRRELL
Publication Date: December 1, 2019
Sold by: Amazon.com Services LLC
ASIN: B0827TDXQM
https://www.amazon.com/LUMINA-Dragonl...
Review by: Dr. Wesley Britton
The first pages of Paddy Tyrrell's Lumina are a perfect model for how to start a novel. First, we're dropped into the middle of an action scene. Second, we are vividly introduced to two of the book's primary characters. Third, we immediately get insights into one of the main conflicts of the book, a cultural clash that defines a world in turmoil.
In but a few pages, we get striking samples of Tyrrell's descriptive gifts and begin to see the themes of intolerance and prejudice that are analogous to too many eras of our earth's history. I liked the fact this is the breed of science-fiction where character, world building, and cultural interaction are the thrust of the story and not exotic weaponry, space flight, or really strange creatures, although we get no shortage of the latter. I admit, these days I dread the idea of yet another overused dragon in my reading, but I have to say Tyrrell has a number of clever ways to play with dragons and baby dragons in her yarn.
Very quickly in Lumina, we can see the various paths of various distinctive characters in what opens up to be an other-worldly epic although many of the plots seem very grounded in earth lore. For example, one storyline involving the royal court of one country seems based on the life of concubines in an ancient Asian country. Other stories are obvious takes on the heroic quest involving the search for a lost brother, finding unlikely allies in a brewing war, and overcoming intolerance between humanoid species, especially against the golden-skinned genetically-engineered "Bronzites" who are excluded from human society.
So many characters in this book are memorable, some extremely admirable, such as Davron Berates who has to choose between friendship and his people along with his internal conflict over accepting his love for a strange Bronzite woman, the magical Chrystala who transforms in ways no one expected. Then there's my favorite, the lovely Salazai who suffers from the slowest-acting poison ever conceived. These characters and their friends and enemies are all center stage as war explodes in a multi-layered conflict spreading over a very wide and bloody canvas. The carnage of the climatic battle scenes is so epic it's amazing how this volume of the series could end on such a gentle note.
While this volume is a very long read, it's a welcome thought to know there is more to come that will hopefully resolve issues set up in the final chapters of book one. I want to know what will happen to the survivors of the war that left many heroes dead on the battlefield.
This review was first published at BookPleasures.com on May 16, 2020:
https://waa.ai/eesh
PADDY TYRRELL
Publication Date: December 1, 2019
Sold by: Amazon.com Services LLC
ASIN: B0827TDXQM
https://www.amazon.com/LUMINA-Dragonl...
Review by: Dr. Wesley Britton
The first pages of Paddy Tyrrell's Lumina are a perfect model for how to start a novel. First, we're dropped into the middle of an action scene. Second, we are vividly introduced to two of the book's primary characters. Third, we immediately get insights into one of the main conflicts of the book, a cultural clash that defines a world in turmoil.
In but a few pages, we get striking samples of Tyrrell's descriptive gifts and begin to see the themes of intolerance and prejudice that are analogous to too many eras of our earth's history. I liked the fact this is the breed of science-fiction where character, world building, and cultural interaction are the thrust of the story and not exotic weaponry, space flight, or really strange creatures, although we get no shortage of the latter. I admit, these days I dread the idea of yet another overused dragon in my reading, but I have to say Tyrrell has a number of clever ways to play with dragons and baby dragons in her yarn.
Very quickly in Lumina, we can see the various paths of various distinctive characters in what opens up to be an other-worldly epic although many of the plots seem very grounded in earth lore. For example, one storyline involving the royal court of one country seems based on the life of concubines in an ancient Asian country. Other stories are obvious takes on the heroic quest involving the search for a lost brother, finding unlikely allies in a brewing war, and overcoming intolerance between humanoid species, especially against the golden-skinned genetically-engineered "Bronzites" who are excluded from human society.
So many characters in this book are memorable, some extremely admirable, such as Davron Berates who has to choose between friendship and his people along with his internal conflict over accepting his love for a strange Bronzite woman, the magical Chrystala who transforms in ways no one expected. Then there's my favorite, the lovely Salazai who suffers from the slowest-acting poison ever conceived. These characters and their friends and enemies are all center stage as war explodes in a multi-layered conflict spreading over a very wide and bloody canvas. The carnage of the climatic battle scenes is so epic it's amazing how this volume of the series could end on such a gentle note.
While this volume is a very long read, it's a welcome thought to know there is more to come that will hopefully resolve issues set up in the final chapters of book one. I want to know what will happen to the survivors of the war that left many heroes dead on the battlefield.
This review was first published at BookPleasures.com on May 16, 2020:
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“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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