Niall Teasdale's Blog, page 35

Progress Report – Release Dates

So, books 9 and 10 are basically written. I need to find about 5000 words to slide into book 9 before I’ll be happy with it, and I very heavily need to go through both books and make sure everything is tied together properly and all the dates make sense, and all the usual stuff that needs doing. However, my brain is going ga-ga right now so I’ve put things to one side to do some random writing projects before I loop back into Thaumatology land.

It’s late September and I’m planning to write book 11 for NaNoWriMo (or the bulk of it anyway). Book 11 is going to be the one which tells Twill’s backstory.

So, at this point I’m planning to release book 9 on December 8th and book 10 on December 22nd this year. As previously revealed, book 9 is going to be called Dragonfall. Book 10, which follows on tightly from the events of Dragonfall will be called The Other Side of Hell.

Film Review: Dredd 3D vs Dark Knight Rises

Today I went to see my first ever 3D movie, Dredd 3D. This is a review of that and the recently release The Dark Knight Rises. I find it interesting to compare two comic-based movies and also one 3D movie against one 2D movie. So here we go…

Well, I enjoyed both of them for starters. Both were quite good adaptations of the characters, both fall down in their adaptions in some respects. Both were quite enjoyable action movies, and I like action movies.

Dredd is living in the shadow of Stallone’s Judge Dredd a movie which many fans found distinctly lacking. Judge Dredd is a character from the 2000AD comic. He has his own strip and has spawned a few off-shoots. He’s popular and has a long history in a detailed world which should be ripe for cinematic adaptation. Neither movie has got it quite right, though the new one is probably closer to the comic than the first was. For starters, Dredd doesn’t take his helmet off, a bone of contention in the first movie. Judge Anderson, a psychic, is the female protagonist in this one; she’s done well and I think most people will enjoy seeing her on screen.

What Dredd lacks is the humour of the original comics. Like a lot of science-fiction, the comics are there to make something of a point about modern society. They are political satire as much as over-the-top sci-fi action. There’s no real humour in Dredd 3D, and that, I think, was a mistake. (Sorry, there was one almost-joke. It was clearly meant to be ironic at the very least.)

Dark Knight Rises is a good movie, well acted, with interesting characters and I enjoyed it, but… This movie is 3 hours long and based on Knightfall, a sequence of Batman comics from which the character of Bane comes. The trouble is that the writers took that story’s basic elements and melded them into the arc they created with the first two recent Batman films. While Bane is much better handled here than in his first cinematic outing, he still does not get the treatment he should have got for a man able to out-think and out-perform The Batman. Three hours is far too long; in my opinion they should have made it two shorter movies and expanded the story. More believable too; Bruce Wayne’s recovery from what Bane does to him is just ridiculous. In the comics it requires “magic,” but the film setting is a non-magic world so instead we get unbelievable.

Now, 3D vs 2D… It was pretty clear to me that 3D is still very much a gimmick. If anything, the 3D tended to detract from the realism of Dredd; long scenes looked manipulated, especially the CGI scenes of the city where flying drones appeared to be in a different visual plane rather than flying over a city. Dark Knight looks just as spectacular, just as realistic, just as emersive, and I didn’t need to watch it through a pair of dumb, plastic glasses. Maybe, when film makers stop treating 3D as the next new thing to make a film special, 3D will have something over 2D. Currently it doesn’t.

It’s My Birthday and I’ll Cry if I Want to

Actually, I won’t, though my eyes are watering a bit since I just got up. I intend to do nothing much today. I’ve had the lost week off work (more of a question of having too much holiday left than it was my birthday today) so I’ve got a lot of writing done on book 10. It’s coming together nicely. I may even have the bulk writing done before I go back to work if I try hard.

My friend, proofreader, and sanity checker, Ellen has written a little birthday meta-fiction over on her blog. Read it here: http://withthatshewrote.wordpress.com...

If I’d known about the story, I’d have done a render of Lily in a cheerleader outfit, but I didn’t. I have, however, done a pin-up of Lily in her new pole-dance outfit, which you can see after the cut.

As usual, a full-size version is available over at http://tharcion.deviantart.com/art/Not-At-My-School-325985410

Belated Labour Day Pinup

Just because… Lily, ready for some labour.

Ancient in the Shops

Thaumatology book 8, Ancient, is up on Smashwords and Amazon. You can purchase it half-price until September 9th using the coupon code AM37F at the Smashwords checkout.

Ceridwyn Brent has invented a way of creating an artificial ley line and is planning to use it to generate free, clean electricity. To do that, however, she needs to start the line in an area of high magical energy and in Europe that means the German Rift. At the end of World War II, a series of huge explosions in German cities cracked open the world, letting demons and fae run rampant, and that rift line is still a huge area of high magic. So, Ceri and her friend, Lily Carpenter, must walk into what is left of Hamburg to initiate the ley line.

Something is wrong in the ruins of Hamburg, however. Sensitives are having strange dreams of some old evil rising from underground and the shadows seem to move on their own. Something bad has woken up and it seems to be fascinated by Ceri. It also has far more extreme motives and, when it follows Ceri and Lily back to London, blood and chaos are not far behind.

 

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00923F8AS
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00923F8AS

Ancient Cover Art

This is the cover for Ancient. As usual, the larger version is available on my DeviantArt page: http://tharcion.deviantart.com/art/Cover-Art-Ancient-322951354

Ancient: Easter at the Jade Dragon

As promised, some exerts from the upcoming eighth Thaumatology novel, Ancient.

 

If you’ve read some of the other novels you’ll know that the waitresses at Carter Fleming’s premiere nightclub, the Jade Dragon, get put in special costumes for special events. Carter has quite a taste for body paint, but for Easter 2012 he has had a slightly different idea…

The full moon was in the sky outside the Jade Dragon and inside the werewolves were in high spirits. Being dressed as a rabbit was, perhaps, not the best thing under the circumstances, but Ceri was rather enjoying it.

Well “dressed” as a rabbit was probably the wrong term. The outfits were white; white six-inch, platform pumps, white push-up balconette bra, white satin, high-hipped thong with a little white puff-ball tail on the back, and, of course, white rabbit ears on a hairband. The four waitresses were basically naked rabbits dodging the paws of a bunch of horny wolves.

Still, there was a good atmosphere. It was a national holiday and people were out enjoying themselves. Boy were they enjoying themselves! The good humour of the werewolves seemed to be rubbing off on the humans more than usual, the drink was flowing freely. Carter was looking a little concerned that someone might get over-excited, right up until the point where Cheryl walked in in a pale yellow, halter-necked gown which flowed around her figure like water and left little to the imagination.

‘Business first,’ Cheryl said as Ceri walked up to the bar with a tray of empty glasses. ‘You know I’m going over to Amsterdam for a project meeting?’

‘Sunday, coming back Tuesday, right?’ Ceri replied.

Cheryl nodded. ‘I know it’s really short notice, but do you think you and Lily could come over with me? The Dutch project manager would like to meet you so he can talk over the ley line construction, and here’s a guide they’d like us all to meet.’

Ceri glanced at Lily, receiving a shrug in reply. ‘How would we be getting there?’

‘Car to Felixstowe, high-speed ferry to Rotterdam, train to Amsterdam.’

Ceri took in a deep breath. ‘I flew all the way back here from America on an airship, I can handle a few hours on a boat.’

‘Ship, Ceridwyn,’ Carter corrected. ‘They get annoyed if you call them boats.’

‘Whatever floats your boat,’ Ceri replied.

‘We’ll be there two nights?’ Lily asked.

‘Yes,’ Cheryl said. ‘Monday will be fairly busy, but we’ll be there from about seven pm on Sunday and we aren’t leaving until ten am on Tuesday.’

‘I wonder if Tawni has a contact number for Lia?’

Ceri grinned. ‘Probably. I’d imagine she’ll be happy to show us ‘round the town if she isn’t busy. I’ll call Tawni tomorrow.’

‘Business concluded?’ Carter asked.

Cheryl gave him a broad smile. ‘You’re driving us to the dock, yes?’

‘Indeed. I’ll pick you ladies up from High Towers at… around midday?’ Ceri nodded; that should work. ‘Excellent. Alec, wine for our lady.’

Grinning, Ceri turned to scan the room and immediately started across the floor. Table sixteen was looking ready for the next round, another six Wolfsbanes if she were any judge. Cranking her strut up to “high,” she headed out to satisfy their need.

Ancient will be hitting the stores this weekend.

A Small Search Term Aside

“Erotic succubus”

Look, it’s a redundant phrase, right? How can a succubus be anything other than erotic. I don’t get it. Seriously.

Thaumatology Book News

I’m aiming to have Book 8, Ancient, out to Smashwords and Amazon by the end of the month, assuming I can come up with a cover for it by then. I’ve had some ideas, but nothing has worked out right yet. I’ll be dropping a few exerts here over the next few weeks and, of course, you’ll be the first to see the cover art when I finally do figure it out.

I have also settled on a title for Book 9. I just decided to go for it, so this is breaking news, or something like that. Thaumatology book 9 will be called Dragonfall. Make of that what you will. (That evil laughing noise you hear isn’t me, honest.)

As an aside, I already know what the cover for Dragonfall will look like, maybe because I’ve been working toward this one for nine months or so.

HyperbOlympics

We are now a few days into the 2012 Olympics in London. (Actually, it’s not all in London, but I’d be surprised if most people outside the country realise that.) I just watched the first gold being won by Great Britain and once again something struck me: the hyperbole.

I could go on about how the Olympics is not what it used to be (and sound old), but I won’t. What is (and has) driving me nuts is the hype. Hype usually drives me nuts, but this is hype about what is supposed to be an amateur sporting event! What are we doing?!

The worst infraction I’ve encountered is the use of the word “historic.” Last week, every time I walked past a TV with commentary on the Olympics, someone was describing something as historic. Someone described it as a historic event when Sir Bruce Forsythe (an old game show host for those unaware) did a stint carrying the Olympic flame. What? How is that “historic”? And today’s medal win was “historic” because it was the first time Britain has managed to get a gold in women’s rowing. Huh? (Don’t get me wrong, these girls did fantastically well. They wiped the floor (lake) with the opposition. They deserve all the kudos they can get. But “historic”?)

Historic is 9/11. Historic is the elimination of smallpox. Historic is the moon landing or even the arrival of intelligent aliens (should that ever happen). Historic is not an old comedian running with a burning stick. Hype-culture is killing my enthusiasm for just about everything and I think it may be atrophying people’s brains.

Say No to the HyperbOlympics!