Christopher Kellen's Blog, page 5

Dual Review: Kobold’s Guide to…

This is a first for me… non-fiction reviews!

So, a couple of weeks ago, I saw the announcement that the Kobold’s Guide to Worldbuilding had gone on sale. Now, this book is comprised of essays written by some illustrious names of game design, including Michael A. Stackpole, Keith Baker (the guy behind the Eberron campaign setting) and Wolfgang Baur, who created the Midgard campaign setting. These are some high-profile guys, and for the meager amount they were asking for the wisdom they wished to impart, I was more than willing to part with my money for the Kindle edition.

Shortly after finishing the Worldbuilding guide, I discovered that many of the same guys (plus some others) had contributed to the Kobold’s Guide to Game Design, which has a slightly different focus.

I’m going to keep this short and sweet. If you’re a game designer (specifically with a tabletop focus, but much of the knowledge could be apply to video game design as well) you should buy these books. The information contained in both is indispensable. The Worldbuilding guide is clever, funny, insightful and really makes you think about how to create a “powder keg” of conflict, ready for anyone to jump in and set off an explosion that would become a new RPG campaign. The Game Design guide contains advice for getting started, developing your ideas, and an introduction to making your way as a freelancer in the industry.

These books have already given me the inspiration for a new side project to work on, and lots and lots of things to think about.

If you’re thinking about designing a world, an RPG or other kind of fiction-based property, you should read these books. They will make you think, stoke the fires of creativity, and get you on your way!

Highly recommended!

 

 

Tell A Story Day: Part 4

The Genre Underground’s Tell A Story Day event has arrived! 

Click here for Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3!

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The inside of the Cloak and Dagger tavern was less reputable than the outside. Given the miserable, run-down, barely-standing condition of the exterior, this was quite a feat.

Chairs and tables were upended, scattered in every direction. Broken wood lay in pieces near the center of the room, beneath a large heap of a hairy monster. The victor of the brawl which had put him there–an even larger, hairier monster–laughed and guzzled ale, paying no attention as more than half of it made it nowhere near his lips, instead vanishing into the dark fur.

“This is not the kind of place I’d spend my time,” the elf muttered.

“You appear to possess less than one-tenth the required amount of hair,” the android answered, looking around.

Indeed, it seemed as though each creature was hairier than the last. There were monsters of all sorts here, gathered from all over the world. Trolls, ogres, (small) giants, bugbears, hagbears, dire bears and even regular bears. (The last one might have been a rug.)

The lawyer spotted the creature who stood behind the bar, rubbing a filthy rag into what looked like a shotglass–but was, on closer inspection, a rather large glass stein which only looked like a shotglass compared to the size of its hands. He motioned to his companions, and they threaded their way across the broken floor, trying not to meet any eyes.

The beast-tender looked up at them through one giant yellow eye, barely visible beneath the shaggy brown fur. It made a horrific sound, and for a moment the lawyer’s heart rate spiked, but then it spat into the stein and continued rubbing the cloth on the glass.

“What d’you want?” the beast-tender asked.

“Pardon the intrusion, good sir,” the lawyer said, doing his best not to stammer. “We’re here to deliver a summons to a Ms. Gratzgia Snulgrithn. May I say that she is in?”

The elf was certain that he could see the yellow eye become more bloodshot as they stood there. “I’m Gratzgia Snulgrithn,” the creature snarled. “And I ain’t no ‘sir’.”

Review: The Dragon Bone Flute by M. Todd Gallowglas

Full Disclosure: M. Todd Gallowglas is a founding member of the Genre Underground, a friend and colleague. That hasn’t stopped me from reviewing his work before, and it won’t stop me now.

I’ve read several of Mr. Gallowglas’ works by this time, starting with his Tears of Rage sequence and moving on to his Halloween Jack stories and others. However, it wasn’t until I was recently reminded that he’s soon to be releasing a new entry following The Dragon Bone Flute that I remembered that I already had a copy, and it was in my Kindle Cloud Reader, waiting to be read.

As a genuine fan and regular reader of Mr. Gallowglas’ work, I know that he has a sense of humor (Halloween Jack) and a sense of drama (Tears of Rage) but until I picked up this novella (novelette?) I didn’t really quite have a grasp on his sense of wonder. This is a fairy tale with an edge, back like they used to have before Disney sanitized them and robbed them of their real impact. Elzibeth’s tale is short, poignant, and filled to brimming with emotion, music and a true sense of wonder.

Editorially speaking, I found the version of The Dragon Bone Flute that I read to be polished and free of errors. The writing was smooth and unblemished, drawing the reader into the story and not letting go until the conclusion.

I am very happy to give this book a full five stars, with no caveats or qualifications. The Dragon Bone Flute is a beautiful short tale of music, love, fantasy, loss and adventure that deserves a place at the top of any fantasy lover’s reading list.

Review: Deja Vu by Ian Hocking

Déjà Vu by Ian Hocking is best described as a techno-thriller, a type of book that I’ve enjoyed from time to time (most notably with last year’s review of WIRED and my more recent review of The Cestus Concern).

The plot begins with a twist, and as things go along, it gets stranger and stranger. Set in the not-too-distant future, Saskia Brandt is told only that she needs to capture one David Proctor. She doesn’t know how or why, just that she needs to.

Déjà Vu doesn’t give you a moment to rest as the author’s style carries smoothly along, following the twists and turns of this story deeper down the rabbit hole. When the final plot twist finally comes, you’ll realize just how little you were expecting it… but how perfectly it all comes together.

Déjà Vu also has the notable honor of standing among the finest and most professional indie ebooks I’ve read, with zero typos, grammar errors or questionable punctuation. I must applaud this author for showing a dedication to professionalism and proving that he deserves to be a #1 bestseller.

Although Déjà Vu doesn’t break any new ground when it comes to its chosen subject (you’ll have to read it to see what I’m talking about, because anything else would contain spoilers) it explores a relatively-disused subject in a fun, engaging and thoughtful manner. Recommended.

(Side note: I’m giving this book 4.5 stars, but I’ll be rounding it up on sites that don’t allow half-star ratings, because that’s my chosen policy.)

The Long Road to WorldCon

Hello friends and fans,

One of my big goals for the year is to make it to LoneStarCon13 in San Antonio at the end of August, but right now it’s not looking good. If you’ve read my books and enjoyed them, I hope that you will help send me to the biggest sci-fi and fantasy writer’s convention of the year.

How can you help, you might ask? If you’ve read any of my books, please leave a review on Amazon or the venue that you bought it from. Recommend your favorite to one or two of your friends. I’m going to be doing lots of work here on my end, too, planning promotions and finding more places for my books to be discovered, but as we all know, an author’s best advocate is a reader who likes their work.

Thank you for being part of this process. Your readership is half the reason I do this crazy writing thing (the other half is that I can’t really help it!) and I appreciate every page of my stories that you’ve read.

- Chris Kellen

Announcement: Sorcerer’s Blood

Amazon (Kindle)

B&N (Nook)

In Sorcerer’s Code, Edar Moncrief came face-to-face with the spectre of death in the form of the Arbiter, D’Arden Tal–and barely escaped with his life.

In Sorcerer’s Crime, Moncrief stumbled headfirst into the problems of a tiny village in the middle of nowhere, and uncovered a horrifying evil lurking there.

Now, Moncrief believes he has found respite in Selvaria, the City of Sorcerers… that is, until he’s murdered unceremoniously in an alley. Desperate to save his own life, he turns to the only thing which can hold back the tide of darkness–the Arbiter’s heartblade.

For the hapless sorcerer, solving his own murder is just the tip of an iceberg of lies, politics, deceit and backstabbing as war brews between the shadowy Circle of Thorns and Selvaria’s aristocracy. Does Moncrief have the guts to stop it before the streets run red with blood? Can he handle the sudden changes sweeping over him, thanks to the heartblade?

It just gets worse and worse…

SORCERER’S BLOOD is the third installment in the Amazon.com best-selling ELEMENTS OF SORCERY mini-series. If you enjoy fantasy with a bleeding edge of humor, pick up the ELEMENTS OF SORCERY and discover what lengths a sorcerer will go to just to preserve his own life…

Review: Down Among the Yla by Stephen Mellor

(Full disclosure: I received a review copy of Down Among the Yla from the author via the Genre Underground Goodreads group.)

Down Among the Yla is a new fantasy novel by an author whose science-fiction work I have previously enjoyed (see this post for my review of The Long Sleep) so I was excited to get a chance to read his venture into the fantasy genre.

Though I’m not a raving fan of the “epic-quest” fantasy much these days, Down Among the Yla ranks highly in the indie fantasy books that I’ve read. The exploration of Yla society was genuinely engaging, and the mysteries intriguing. Though I was skeptical at times that the author could bring a sprawling story like this to a satisfactory conclusion, he does so, and with aplomb.

Editing issues were rare; the occasional typo popped up, but overall the (pre-release) edition I read was clean. I can only assume that this carried over into the final edition.

Down Among the Yla is a fun, engaging epic fantasy with a unique mythology, strange monsters and interesting characters. What more can you ask for?

Vanna Smythe: Tour Interview and Excerpt

Today as part of the tour, I’m over at Vanna Smythe’s blog with a great interview and the giveaway. I also have for you an excerpt of her newest book, Decision Maker!

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An excerpt from Decision Maker (Anniversary of the Veil, Book 2) by Vanna Smythe

Prologue: The Search

“Something is happening. Amorannyn calls for you.” His father’s voice was harsh and breathless. It still held reproach, even though thousands of years had passed in the Lessers’ world since Rhyssa left. Kraytan had learnt to live with the pain, accept the anger.

“Why me?”

“Do not question so much. The time when your questioning could still do any good is long past,” his father said and walked away. Kraytan followed.

Amorannyn was an enormous tree, the branches twinkling with light glowing in its core. Many of the Highers were gathered around him. “The Lessers will hold the Joining soon, using the one which can bring down the wretched Veil. This will give me a brief glimpse of the power of creation I once had in that world.”

Amorannyn spoke directly at Kraytan, as if this had anything to do with him. “That is great news for you. I suggest you take their Life Force and finally return it all back to the way it was.”

“Not so simple, my child, not so simple. I need your help.”

“Why would I be able to help?”

“It is your Forever Wife they mean to Join this time. They will use her essence to reinforce the Veil. I need you down there to help steer the flow into my hands, help me destroy the Veil and take away their Life Force.”

“Just as you needed Brea when the Lessers erected the Veil in the first place? That didn’t go so well, if I recall correctly,” Kraytan said.

His father grasped Kraytan’s arm and reprimanded him for his insolence. But Amorannyn just laughed his booming laugh. “You miss your Forever Wife, you must. It is how I created you. I can put you next to her from the very beginning of your lives in the Lessers’ world, like I could not do with Brea and her Forever Husband. This time it will be different. You will be able to succeed where she failed.”

Other Highers had gone into the Lessers’ world in search of their Forever Wives, their Forever Husbands, as the time passed and the Lessers began to force Joinings more and more viciously. Catalysts, the Lessers called them, but Amorannyn couldn’t place them into the weave with any kind of precision. Most never found their loves, were forced to rip the essences from their friends’ bodies, Join wrong halves, live their long lives in the Lessers’ world feeling all the pain of longing. Return to the Lands of the Higher to even greater yearning. No, Kraytan could wait for Rhyssa to regain her senses and return on her own.

“I refuse to go. You should clear up this mess by interceding directly,” Kraytan said. The creator could do that, Kraytan was certain of it.

“I cannot, else I would have done it by now. I create worlds, I do not govern them. But this Joining will release enough of the Life Force for me to make some corrections in the weave of the Lessers’ world. This will be the final Joining down there. Then all of your brothers and sisters, friends and lovers will be brought back home!” Amorannyn bellowed for all those gathered to hear.

A thunderous cheer erupted all around Kraytan. How could he refuse now?

“Very well. What do you need me to do?”

“I will place you into the weave directly. Therefore, you will have absolute use of the Life Force in the Lessers’ world, yet will have to learn to use it according to the rules of that world. I will place you near your Forever Wife. Even though you will not know her for who she truly is, her essence will call to you. Your essences are a match, and you will be able to feel her even in the Lessers’ world. You will yearn to be with her, to save her. But you must allow the Joining they plan at this Anniversary of the Veil, as they call it, and release the flow of her Joined essence to me.”

“The Anniversary? One thousand years had passed in the Lessers’ World? You deliberately waited to remove the Veil?” Kraytan asked, his essence body consumed by flames of anger and frustration. Games upon games.

“The Lessers had a lesson to learn. But now their punishment has been sufficient.” The tree Amorannyn assumed as his body turned black and threatening. “I will use the energy released as your Forever Wife is Joined to right the Lessers’ world and put an end to all separating and Joining. I will block the Lessers’ ability to use the Life Force from which they were created. You will assist me in this.”

“Will she know me?” Kraytan asked. “Will I know her? How will I know what to do?”

“You will have no memory of this world, but the pull you feel to be with your Forever Wife will guide you to her. Next to her you will know what to do when the time for the Joining comes. She will likely not know you as her Forever Husband at all, the pull to rejoin the Other Half of her own essence is great and unyielding.”

“I do this, I give you the control of her essence as she becomes whole and all will be as it was?”

“Yes, just as it was.”

“Do it then! I am ready!”

For the first time since Rhyssa left, Kraytan dared wish to be reunited with her, dared hope. One of the branches of the black tree that was the Hand of Fate grabbed Kraytan and thrust him into the terrible black void. There wasn’t even a pedestal to stand on in all that dark nothingness as Kraytan was placed into the Lessers’ world.

Buy Now @ Amazon

More About Vanna Smythe:

Website: www.vannasmythe.com

Twitter: twitter.com/ – !/Vanna_Smythe

Facebook: www.facebook.com/VannaSmytheAuthor

The Tribunal of Edar Moncrief with @MGallowglas

Yesterday marked my first time publishing a collaborative work effort; where the world of Eisengoth briefly intersects with M. Todd Gallowglas’ creative works, and everything gets a little strange… at the TRIBUNAL OF EDAR MONCRIEF.

Building A World with Karin Gastreich

I’m running a little behind on the tour stuff, but last Friday I stopped by Karin Gastreich’s Eolyn Chronicles and talked about world-building!