Wesley Britton's Blog, page 5
December 14, 2020
New interview, new newsletter . . .
You can now read Phoebe Darqueling's brand-new blog interview with Wes Britton and find out about her new Fairy Tales Punk: An Illustrated Mythpunk Collection you might want for Christmas at:
https://wp.me/p8hyqd-2wp
If you haven't yet subscribed to Wes Britton's Beta-Earth newsletter, you can still sign up before the December issue is sent out tomorrow (the 15th) at:
http://eepurl.com/dwvfQr
It's a special holiday edition with a Christmas trivia contest, lots of stuff on Sherlock Holmes, a special excerpt from a forthcoming story featuring one of the most popular characters in the Beta-Earth canon and, well, lots of cool stuff!
Happy Holidays! All of them!
https://wp.me/p8hyqd-2wp
If you haven't yet subscribed to Wes Britton's Beta-Earth newsletter, you can still sign up before the December issue is sent out tomorrow (the 15th) at:
http://eepurl.com/dwvfQr
It's a special holiday edition with a Christmas trivia contest, lots of stuff on Sherlock Holmes, a special excerpt from a forthcoming story featuring one of the most popular characters in the Beta-Earth canon and, well, lots of cool stuff!
Happy Holidays! All of them!
December 11, 2020
Book Review: The Strange Case of Eliza Doolittle by Timothy Miller
The Strange Case of Eliza Doolittle
Timothy Miller
Publisher : Seventh Street Books (January 19, 2021)
Paperback : 256 pages
ISBN-10 : 1645060217
ISBN-13 : 978-1645060215
https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...
Sherlock Holmes pastiches, of course, are nothing new. In stories penned by literary descendants of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the fictional detective has encountered actual historical figures from Aleisteir Crowley to Winston Churchill to the Dalai Lama. He has been portrayed alongside literary characters created by other authors like Count Dracula, Fu Manchu, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
I admit, when I first saw that Timothy Miller was merging the realms of Holmes and Watson with the characters George Bernard Shaw introduced in his play, Pygmalion, later adapted by Lerner and Loewe into their classic musical, My Fair Lady, I suspected I was about to experience a real stretch. At best, a humorous mash-up. I couldn't have been further off the mark.
In fact, The Strange Case of Eliza Doolittle is a inventive pastiche true enough, but it's no laughing matter. Mostly. I must say Miller did a very credible job at capturing the well-known and oft-imitated cadence of Dr. John Watson as demonstrated in all the original Sir Arthur Conan Doyle yarns. Miller does mix into that well-established style comic touches, especially his use of similes and metaphors. one humorous scene featured actual American actor William Gillette. Known for his portrayal as Holmes in the London theatre (it was Gillette, not Conan Doyle, who gave Holmes the trademark of wearing a deerstalker hat), Gillette plays Holmes in a scene where Holmes bemusedly looks on and Watson is surprised to see the real and fictional detectives together in the same living room with Henry Higgins.
Throughout, Miller shows a very detailed knowledge of the historical milieu when the Victorian era was giving way to the Edwardian period when motor cars were replacing hansom cabs. There's a strong tone of danger as Holmes and Watson try to find out just how Eliza Doolittle had been so transformed. Was she in fact a continental princess taking on a secret identity to avoid assassination? Had the original Eliza Doolittle been replaced by a doppelganger? Or had something sinister happened to completely transform a flower girl into a proper English lady beyond phonetic tutoring?
Along the way, we don't just see Holmes and Watson being inserted into Henry Higgins cantankerous environment where we might expect Rex Harrison breaking into song. Not for the first time in the Holmes canon, we see the transformative formula of Dr. Henry Jekyll and his alter ego Edward Hyde, sort of, becoming a major thread of the complex plot. Because of that plot line, we have many dark and bloody scenes.
In short, The Strange Case of Eliza Doolittle is full of surprises and no shortage of twists and turns in the multi-layered plot. The book has a rich vitality with it's inclusion of many tones and in-depth characterizations and vivid descriptions. In addition, there are many passages, notably the fast-paced chase scenes, that show a strong influence of more recent high-octane screen versions of Holmes adventures.
You don't have to be a Sherlock Holmes aficionado to enjoy The Strange Case of Eliza Doolittle although Doyle fans will get to see many references to events and characters from the Holmes canon updated into a sort of sequel to the original stories. So, on many levels, the novel is a lot of fun. I enjoyed this book more than many a title I've read of late. A perfect diversion from the weird world of 2020.
This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on Dec. 11, 2020:
https://waa.ai/tHuR
Timothy Miller
Publisher : Seventh Street Books (January 19, 2021)
Paperback : 256 pages
ISBN-10 : 1645060217
ISBN-13 : 978-1645060215
https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...
Sherlock Holmes pastiches, of course, are nothing new. In stories penned by literary descendants of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the fictional detective has encountered actual historical figures from Aleisteir Crowley to Winston Churchill to the Dalai Lama. He has been portrayed alongside literary characters created by other authors like Count Dracula, Fu Manchu, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
I admit, when I first saw that Timothy Miller was merging the realms of Holmes and Watson with the characters George Bernard Shaw introduced in his play, Pygmalion, later adapted by Lerner and Loewe into their classic musical, My Fair Lady, I suspected I was about to experience a real stretch. At best, a humorous mash-up. I couldn't have been further off the mark.
In fact, The Strange Case of Eliza Doolittle is a inventive pastiche true enough, but it's no laughing matter. Mostly. I must say Miller did a very credible job at capturing the well-known and oft-imitated cadence of Dr. John Watson as demonstrated in all the original Sir Arthur Conan Doyle yarns. Miller does mix into that well-established style comic touches, especially his use of similes and metaphors. one humorous scene featured actual American actor William Gillette. Known for his portrayal as Holmes in the London theatre (it was Gillette, not Conan Doyle, who gave Holmes the trademark of wearing a deerstalker hat), Gillette plays Holmes in a scene where Holmes bemusedly looks on and Watson is surprised to see the real and fictional detectives together in the same living room with Henry Higgins.
Throughout, Miller shows a very detailed knowledge of the historical milieu when the Victorian era was giving way to the Edwardian period when motor cars were replacing hansom cabs. There's a strong tone of danger as Holmes and Watson try to find out just how Eliza Doolittle had been so transformed. Was she in fact a continental princess taking on a secret identity to avoid assassination? Had the original Eliza Doolittle been replaced by a doppelganger? Or had something sinister happened to completely transform a flower girl into a proper English lady beyond phonetic tutoring?
Along the way, we don't just see Holmes and Watson being inserted into Henry Higgins cantankerous environment where we might expect Rex Harrison breaking into song. Not for the first time in the Holmes canon, we see the transformative formula of Dr. Henry Jekyll and his alter ego Edward Hyde, sort of, becoming a major thread of the complex plot. Because of that plot line, we have many dark and bloody scenes.
In short, The Strange Case of Eliza Doolittle is full of surprises and no shortage of twists and turns in the multi-layered plot. The book has a rich vitality with it's inclusion of many tones and in-depth characterizations and vivid descriptions. In addition, there are many passages, notably the fast-paced chase scenes, that show a strong influence of more recent high-octane screen versions of Holmes adventures.
You don't have to be a Sherlock Holmes aficionado to enjoy The Strange Case of Eliza Doolittle although Doyle fans will get to see many references to events and characters from the Holmes canon updated into a sort of sequel to the original stories. So, on many levels, the novel is a lot of fun. I enjoyed this book more than many a title I've read of late. A perfect diversion from the weird world of 2020.
This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on Dec. 11, 2020:
https://waa.ai/tHuR
December 10, 2020
More on sci-fi and disabilities
A few days ago, I posted here a reply from a reader responding to my essay on sci-fi and disability in my November newsletter.
Well, Keith had more to say so here are a few more titles he suggested that might interest some of you:
. . . These both deal (in different ways) with disabilities. The first is very unusual, and is probably hard for a lot of people to read due to the way it is written. The author is William Horwood and the book is Skallagrig. It deals with cerebral palsy, and if I remember rightly, one of his children has the condition. The story is on several levels including someone writing a computer game, and collecting stories from asylums about the character known as Skallagrig. The different levels all come together in the end.
The other book is by Thom Satterlee, called The Stages. It deals with a character who has Aspergers. One of his work colleagues is murdered. The story masquerades as an investigation by this character into the murder, but it is actually about him and his life.
I'm sure I am not selling any of these books particularly well, but given we were talking about disability in books, it seemed worthwhile flagging them up. The Genevieve Lenard books by Estelle Ryan are lighter and a form of crime series, but could be worth a look.
Thanks Keith! Some folks out there might indeed want to check out these titles (after they investigate the Beta-Earth Chronicles, of course--)
Don't forget our December newsletter is coming out next week with some new cool stuff, so if you want to be first on the block to check it out, sign up here--
https://drwesleybritton.com/newsletter/
(If any of y'all would like to contribute to this discussion, please drop us a line here and carry on the chat--)
Well, Keith had more to say so here are a few more titles he suggested that might interest some of you:
. . . These both deal (in different ways) with disabilities. The first is very unusual, and is probably hard for a lot of people to read due to the way it is written. The author is William Horwood and the book is Skallagrig. It deals with cerebral palsy, and if I remember rightly, one of his children has the condition. The story is on several levels including someone writing a computer game, and collecting stories from asylums about the character known as Skallagrig. The different levels all come together in the end.
The other book is by Thom Satterlee, called The Stages. It deals with a character who has Aspergers. One of his work colleagues is murdered. The story masquerades as an investigation by this character into the murder, but it is actually about him and his life.
I'm sure I am not selling any of these books particularly well, but given we were talking about disability in books, it seemed worthwhile flagging them up. The Genevieve Lenard books by Estelle Ryan are lighter and a form of crime series, but could be worth a look.
Thanks Keith! Some folks out there might indeed want to check out these titles (after they investigate the Beta-Earth Chronicles, of course--)
Don't forget our December newsletter is coming out next week with some new cool stuff, so if you want to be first on the block to check it out, sign up here--
https://drwesleybritton.com/newsletter/
(If any of y'all would like to contribute to this discussion, please drop us a line here and carry on the chat--)
December 8, 2020
International interview now available
Here's the link where folks can see the interview Wes Britton and Karina Kantas shared on Dec. 8 with Jasveena R Prabhagaran of International Book Promotions on her "Your Next Page Turner" show:
https://www.facebook.com/419892524804...
It is a lively and very interesting hour, if I do say so myself. Friends of Wes Britton will learn a lot about him, especially from Karina's perspective. I regret how craggy my voice was, I call it my "Old man's voice." I hate that, even if I am an old man.
--
https://www.facebook.com/419892524804...
It is a lively and very interesting hour, if I do say so myself. Friends of Wes Britton will learn a lot about him, especially from Karina's perspective. I regret how craggy my voice was, I call it my "Old man's voice." I hate that, even if I am an old man.
--
December 5, 2020
Beta-Earth News and Updates
On Tues., Dec. 8, wes Britton and Karina Kantas will be interviewed by Jasveena R Prabhagaran of International Book Promotions. The show will be streamed live via Facebook at 9:00 am Eastern time:
https://www.facebook.com/419892524804...
What will we be talking about? You can contribute to the conversation and ask questions yourself! Simply click
http://www.streamyard.com/facebook
That will allow Facebook to display your comments made or questions asked during the stream on screen for everyone else to see.
Looking forward to chatting with everyone--including you!
Speaking of Karina, a few days ago she stopped by my Amazon Author Central page and translated my profile in to French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese. My author page is now seen all over Amazon sites.
https://www.amazon.com/Wesley-Britton...
Now, for those of you who subscribe to my free newsletter, you were able to read some of my current thoughts on disability in sci-fi in our November edition . Here, I'm posting one response I got from a subscriber. I'm not including the writer's name here as I don't know if he'd like me to or not. Anyway, I thought some of y'll might find this of interest:
. . . thought you might be interested in knowing of a series by Tanya Huff. The Blood series is urban fantasy, and may not be the sort of thing that you like. Personally I think it's great. The reason for pointing it out is that one of the main characters has retinitis pigmentosa, but in an earlier stage. She had to retire from the police service due to effectively being blind at night. She has become a private investigator, but still has a volatile relationship with her old partner, who is still a police officer. The other main character is an illegitimate son of Henry the Eighth, and a vampire. He is also an author who writes bodice rippers. This may give you an idea of the humour to be found in stories that deal with the various horror genres.
Have fun
If you're curious to read the essay that inspired this response, you can subscribe to my newsletter and be on board for the December edition coming soon!
http://eepurl.com/dwvfQr
Till next time--
https://www.facebook.com/419892524804...
What will we be talking about? You can contribute to the conversation and ask questions yourself! Simply click
http://www.streamyard.com/facebook
That will allow Facebook to display your comments made or questions asked during the stream on screen for everyone else to see.
Looking forward to chatting with everyone--including you!
Speaking of Karina, a few days ago she stopped by my Amazon Author Central page and translated my profile in to French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese. My author page is now seen all over Amazon sites.
https://www.amazon.com/Wesley-Britton...
Now, for those of you who subscribe to my free newsletter, you were able to read some of my current thoughts on disability in sci-fi in our November edition . Here, I'm posting one response I got from a subscriber. I'm not including the writer's name here as I don't know if he'd like me to or not. Anyway, I thought some of y'll might find this of interest:
. . . thought you might be interested in knowing of a series by Tanya Huff. The Blood series is urban fantasy, and may not be the sort of thing that you like. Personally I think it's great. The reason for pointing it out is that one of the main characters has retinitis pigmentosa, but in an earlier stage. She had to retire from the police service due to effectively being blind at night. She has become a private investigator, but still has a volatile relationship with her old partner, who is still a police officer. The other main character is an illegitimate son of Henry the Eighth, and a vampire. He is also an author who writes bodice rippers. This may give you an idea of the humour to be found in stories that deal with the various horror genres.
Have fun
If you're curious to read the essay that inspired this response, you can subscribe to my newsletter and be on board for the December edition coming soon!
http://eepurl.com/dwvfQr
Till next time--
November 28, 2020
November Newsletter now available!
The latest edition of the Beta-Earth Chronicles newsletter is now available! It's full of exciting news and surprises for all readers--it's free and you can subscribe at this link-
https://drwesleybritton.com/newsletter/
In this aedition, Wes pulls back the curtain to let you into some private seeds to his work--
https://drwesleybritton.com/newsletter/
In this aedition, Wes pulls back the curtain to let you into some private seeds to his work--
November 24, 2020
Check out a new "World Building" panel discussion
You can now see the November 15 LitCon "World Building" Zoom panel featuring sci-fi authors Wes Britton, Theresa Halvorsen, Chris Lodwig and moderator Phoebe Darqueling at one of the following links:
Short link for blog post:
https://wp.me/p8hyqd-2vu
If you want to link directly to youtube, here's that link too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af4Wp...
Short link for blog post:
https://wp.me/p8hyqd-2vu
If you want to link directly to youtube, here's that link too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af4Wp...
November 20, 2020
Vote for me! And then vote again!
Help Wes Britton earn $500.00 by going to the "Show Us Your Tech" photo contest sponsored by the Pennsylvania Assistive Technology Foundation and click on the vote button below my picture. No need to sign in or leave your name or anything like that. Right now, I'm the first photo you'll see:
Oh, unlike other voting rules, you are encouraged to vote for me every 24 hours, or at least wait 24 hours before voting again. And then again. And then again . . .
https://patf.us/2020-photo-contest/
Oh, unlike other voting rules, you are encouraged to vote for me every 24 hours, or at least wait 24 hours before voting again. And then again. And then again . . .
https://patf.us/2020-photo-contest/
November 8, 2020
Book Review: The Ascension Machine by Rob Edwards
The Ascension Machine
Rob Edwards
Publication date : September 1, 2020
Publisher : Shadow Dragon Press (September 1, 2020)
ASIN : B089HNNVFM
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089HNNVFM/...
Reviewed by: Dr. Wesley Britton
Maybe I'm showing my age, but my first thoughts when meeting the lead character of Grey in The Ascension Machine, I thought of Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat series.
That's because, like Harrison's Jim Di Griz, Edward's Gray starts out as an amoral con artist on the run from one space station to the next. He's very good at finding hiding places to elude capture all over the galaxy. Like Di Griz, Gray's yarn is told in the first person, allowing for his personality to be expressed in nearly every sentence of the saga.
Like the Rat books, Edwards' story is full of clever humor. For example, when we begin meeting the young students wanting to be "space alien super heroes," one is named Gadget Dude. Another calls herself Sky Diamond, born simply Lucy. But these young would-be heroes aren't in Sgt. Peppers' Lonely Hearths Club Band. Nor are they candidates for Professor Charles Xavier's Institute where young mutants learned teamwork, how to use super-powers, and how to combat bigotry.
Gray isn't anything like an X-Man. He only goes to the super-hero school to pretend to be a student, has no obvious powers, and has no drive to benefit anyone other than himself. Well, he spends much of the novel in a wheelchair and ultimately becomes the leader of a team of young super-heroes out to save a planet from nasty invaders. I must admit, beyond the main baddie, Gravane/ Dr. Gravestone, those powerful invaders aren't especially well-defined. I confess, the contrivance of villains being constant bad shots, even with super-weapons, is a trope rather overused by now.
If it sounds like I'm describing a comic book in novel form, that's pretty much what Ascension Machine is. Nothing wrong with that. Ascension Machine is intended to be light reading, straight-ahead action-adventure, and is quite suitable for YA readers. For example, it has a character arc where a young grifter finds his identity, finds a purpose greater than himself, and we see how important teamwork is in solving complex problems. In short, the very sort of comic book I'd be happy to give the grand-kids to read, knowing they'd enjoy the colorful ride.
Me too. Reading the final coda in this debut novel, it seems clear we're going to be seeing more of the young heroes taking on new super-villains. Here's your chance to get in on the ground-floor of an entertaining new series. With any luck, Edwards will spark up some romances among the new "space alien super-heroes" and the team will encounter some memorable new opponents.
This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on Nov. 8, 2020:
https://waa.ai/tj1r
Rob Edwards
Publication date : September 1, 2020
Publisher : Shadow Dragon Press (September 1, 2020)
ASIN : B089HNNVFM
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089HNNVFM/...
Reviewed by: Dr. Wesley Britton
Maybe I'm showing my age, but my first thoughts when meeting the lead character of Grey in The Ascension Machine, I thought of Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat series.
That's because, like Harrison's Jim Di Griz, Edward's Gray starts out as an amoral con artist on the run from one space station to the next. He's very good at finding hiding places to elude capture all over the galaxy. Like Di Griz, Gray's yarn is told in the first person, allowing for his personality to be expressed in nearly every sentence of the saga.
Like the Rat books, Edwards' story is full of clever humor. For example, when we begin meeting the young students wanting to be "space alien super heroes," one is named Gadget Dude. Another calls herself Sky Diamond, born simply Lucy. But these young would-be heroes aren't in Sgt. Peppers' Lonely Hearths Club Band. Nor are they candidates for Professor Charles Xavier's Institute where young mutants learned teamwork, how to use super-powers, and how to combat bigotry.
Gray isn't anything like an X-Man. He only goes to the super-hero school to pretend to be a student, has no obvious powers, and has no drive to benefit anyone other than himself. Well, he spends much of the novel in a wheelchair and ultimately becomes the leader of a team of young super-heroes out to save a planet from nasty invaders. I must admit, beyond the main baddie, Gravane/ Dr. Gravestone, those powerful invaders aren't especially well-defined. I confess, the contrivance of villains being constant bad shots, even with super-weapons, is a trope rather overused by now.
If it sounds like I'm describing a comic book in novel form, that's pretty much what Ascension Machine is. Nothing wrong with that. Ascension Machine is intended to be light reading, straight-ahead action-adventure, and is quite suitable for YA readers. For example, it has a character arc where a young grifter finds his identity, finds a purpose greater than himself, and we see how important teamwork is in solving complex problems. In short, the very sort of comic book I'd be happy to give the grand-kids to read, knowing they'd enjoy the colorful ride.
Me too. Reading the final coda in this debut novel, it seems clear we're going to be seeing more of the young heroes taking on new super-villains. Here's your chance to get in on the ground-floor of an entertaining new series. With any luck, Edwards will spark up some romances among the new "space alien super-heroes" and the team will encounter some memorable new opponents.
This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on Nov. 8, 2020:
https://waa.ai/tj1r
November 3, 2020
New Review of the Blind Alien!
Just saw this new review of the Blind Alien today:
four stars
4.0 out of 5 stars Alien world and language
Reviewed in Australia on 3 November 2020
Verified Purchase
If you are a lover of interesting language then this might be the one for you. Not only is this a “human cast into an alien world” story but much of it is told by the aliens using dialects. Interesting grammatically and conceptually! When you consider the main human character is blind, the reader is reliant on the alien’s thoughts to make sense of this other world. Nice twist!
For an action adventure that is out of this world, give Blind Alien Beta Chronicles a try.
https://www.amazon.com.au/Blind-Alien...
four stars
4.0 out of 5 stars Alien world and language
Reviewed in Australia on 3 November 2020
Verified Purchase
If you are a lover of interesting language then this might be the one for you. Not only is this a “human cast into an alien world” story but much of it is told by the aliens using dialects. Interesting grammatically and conceptually! When you consider the main human character is blind, the reader is reliant on the alien’s thoughts to make sense of this other world. Nice twist!
For an action adventure that is out of this world, give Blind Alien Beta Chronicles a try.
https://www.amazon.com.au/Blind-Alien...
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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