Dan Wright's Blog, page 5
July 30, 2012
Help needed for Sponsume Campaign
To remind you of the project that I have current going, here is the link to the video and Sponsume page.
http://www.sponsume.com/project/legac...
It would be a HUGE help if you guys could help me get the word out about this campaign so that we can raise the funds for it. Remember, all funds made from this will go towards the artwork and printing costs of the book, as well as other publicity materials. Not only that, but there are lots of presents available for you if you do it!
What I'd love would be if you guys could share this blog, retweet it, or just give it a little mention on your FB, blog, etc, just to spread the word about it a little more. If you'd like to donate money towards it that would be great. Every little helps. And just remember, even though the money is mentioned in British Pounds, you can donate in any currency as far as I'm aware. I am trying to push this as much as possible in the hope that I can make Legacy of the Dragonkin as good a novel as possible.
Once again a huge thanks to those who have supported this so far - let's see if we can hit our target!
Thanks a lot and have a great week!
July 10, 2012
Legacy of the Dragonkin in full swing!
If you have a couple of moments, please follow the link below and check out the video I made about the campaign, which will tell you all about it. And if you like it, please feel free to support it anyway you can!
http://www.sponsume.com/project/legac...
Thanks guys! Hope you will support this project as this upcoming book is something that I am really passionate about and hope that it will be as popular as my first one. If you read Trapped on Draconica and enjoyed it, then this one is for you!
June 22, 2012
Legacy of the Dragonkin - Crowdfunding Campaign
Exciting news! Today (and for the next 60 days) I am running a campaign on Sponsume to help raise funds for my up coming sequel novel - Legacy of the Dragonkin.
You guys have already seen me talk about it on my blog a number of times - now I'm giving YOU guys the chance to take part in it's creation. I'm aiming to raise £1000 to help with the creation of my novel - and there are plenty of perks available for those who wish to donate.
For more information about how to donate, please see the following link. You can also view some more of the artwork and some of the perks that you will recieve.
http://www.sponsume.com/project/legac...
Thanks for reading and please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about it!
June 6, 2012
Guest Post - A bit of a background ramble about One Hundred Years of Vicissitude by Andrez Bergen
It's that time again when I host a very exciting guest post from a writer who is keen to post a little something on my blog (I love it when people guest post on my blog!). Today, I'm joined by Andrez Bergen, the author of Tobacco Stained Mountain Goat.
I mentioned this novel in my Top Five Indie Books You Should Be Reading (original link
HERE
) and I once again am going to suggest that you go out and read this book! It is by far one of the most entertaining and original reads I've read in a long time. If you love a bit of Blade Runner and Mad Max, mixed with some Japanese cinema and Humphrey Bogart - all blended with Australian slang and humour, then you will love this book!
I was recently contacted by the author Andrez Bergen about his upcoming novel, One Hundred Years of Vicissitude and suggested that he drop by some day and do a post on my blog to let my readers know about it. He pretty much sent me one the very same day! Thankfully my schedule was clear for Wednesday so I automatically made plans to post it.
So I present to you today - the guest post of Andrez Bergen, where he talks a little bit about the thought process behind One Hundred Years of Vicissitude. He is a very intelligent writer and geuninely nice guy that has a wealth of knowledge and I am always interesting in hearing the process behind the creation of a novel. Hope you enjoy reading it!!
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A bit of a background ramble about
ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF VICISSITUDE
by Andrez Bergen
In around 2007, I was fishing about for a concept for a new novel to get my teeth into, preferably something related to Japan since I'd lived here for six years already by that stage.
That was when I read about identical twin sisters from Nagoya - Kin Narita and Gin Kanie - who were born in 1892 and lived to be over 100. I found myself wondering about the relationship of these two women, mirror-image centenarians, and how they might perceive one another.
I’m an old fan of Shakespeare’s Othello - Frank Finlay’s interpretation of Iago in the 1965 film version rocked my socks in high school - and the thought occurred to me that possibly, just possibly, an identical twin living a hundred years with a sibling may harbour feelings other than love and devotion - perhaps baser emotions like envy or hatred might develop. Being Japanese, however, they’d hardly exhibit these feelings to the outside world. Or would they?
At the time I was still working on my first novel, Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat, and there’s a scene in there in which a geisha is involved. Somehow the two threads connected: identical twin geisha beating out a living for a century. I did a small amount of research into the period around World War 2, and then I shelved the concept, instead breaking my back finishing off Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat.
Last year I published that novel and began thinking seriously about novel #2.
I’m not sure why, but I picked up the notes I’d made for the twin geisha story, and mixed and matched these with an earlier idea I had for an update of the medieval yarn about Tristan and Iseult. At the same time, I had Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat sitting in my brain, fresh still, perhaps even hard-boiled, and I decided to make one of the twin geisha the grandmother of a central character in that book, Nina ‘Laurel’ Canyon - she was, after all, half Japanese - even though the link is not fully explored and isn’t essential to the elements of the new novel - which I decided to call One Hundred Years of Vicissitude, in a respectful wink at Gabriel Garcia Márquez.
Somewhere along the line over the following months the Iago-Geisha-Medieval potboiler segued into a deeper tale of love, death, redemption, and poor judgment when it comes to marriage partners. I inducted another character from Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat - the antagonist, Wolram E. Deaps - and made him the narrator, with the opportunity to thus flesh him out, rather than the principle twin I was developing.
Along the way I took a much-needed trip to Kyoto thanks to the generosity of a group of wonderful students-cum-mates I teach English to, and the novel became a beast unto itself. Some of its ideas and directions came from listening to music, from long walks through back-streets of Tokyo - as well as, of course, the visit to Kyoto - and I was as inspired by my wife Yoko and daughter Cocoa as I was by the cinema of great Japanese film makers like Akira Kurosawa, Satoshi Kon, Kon Ichikawa, Seijun Suzuki, Masahiro Makino, Mikio Naruse, Kenji Mizoguchi and Yasujiro Ozu.
Some manga-ka you might know also get a respectful nod - including Osamu Tezuka - along with actors like Toshiro Mifune, Meiko Kaji and Takashi Shimura.
Thrown into the mix are the Japanese Red Army, the only visit to Tokyo by the Graf Zeppelin, saké, sumo, The Tale of Genji, James Bond, Lewis Carroll, Raymond Chandler, the Brothers Grimm, American comics from the '60s, and the 1945 fire-bombing of Tokyo by 300 B-29s.
Finally, there's the homage to my grandfather Les, an Australian soldier in New Guinea during World War 2, a man I barely knew but cherish the memory of all the same.
The novel will be published through new publisher Perfect Edge Books in around August this year. The publisher has been incredibly supportive from the moment they got whiff of the project, and this will in fact be their first publication.
Fingers crossed that the whole caboodle works for others outside my own headspace.
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Not sure about you guys but I'm looking forward to reading it already! Anyone who makes references to Kurosawa is ok in my books!
A huge thanks to Andrez for taking the time to post on this blog and I hope you'll all join me in wishing him luck for the new release. Be sure to also check out his blog at this
LINK
. Please do leave a comment
Want to host a guest post on this blog? Send me an email at
PandragonPublishing@gmail.com
to discuss.
Until next time!
Pandragon
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June 4, 2012
Legacy of the Dragon - More Teaser Artwork!
Hey guys. Hope you are all enjoying the extended Bank Holiday Weekend (those in the United Kingdom that is). Today I thought I'd treat you guys to some more teaser artwork for Legacy of the Dragonkin, which is gradually getting prepared for the 2012 release.
Below is a little piece that is actually a completed piece of artwork (i.e inked) for your viewing pleasure. This is a new idea for some "comic book" layouts that will be appearing in the next book. Artwork is by Alexis M Centeno.
You may be wondering what's going on here. Basically, in the scene, Zarracka (in her "black ice" form - it will make sense in the book) is using her new and improved ice breath against Mordak and pummeling him with ice shards. And for those who thought that Mordak was dead in Trapped on Draconica - you may be wondering how he survived. Well all will become clear in the next book!
There will be a few pages like this in the next book as a way of adding a bit more action orientated pictures in it. The single pics will still be used, but this is a new thing that I'm trying out.
Please feel free to leave a comment below to let us know what you think. I'll be posting some teaser chapters for it very soon. In the meantime, you can also check out my other works at the following links (don't you just love shameless self promotions?
Trapped on Draconica, The Wandering Valkyr and All Hail Emperor Gothon
Thanks for reading. Check back on Wednesday when we'll be having a VERY special guest blog from a talent author. Check back to find out who!
Pandragon
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June 2, 2012
Top Five Most Likeable Characters In A Song Of Ice And Fire
Last Saturday I looked at the
Top Five Most Hateable Characters in A Song of Ice and Fire
– so this week I’ll be looking at the most likeable characters within the series. Like I said last week, A Song of Ice and Fire doesn’t really have any heroes or villains, just people with their own motives and personalities. These are the characters that have traits which make them stand out as being some of the most honourable and likeable. They don’t have to be perfect or clean cut – just have enough interesting traits to make the audience like them as a character.
For this list, I am setting some ground rules. First of all, like last week’s Top Five THERE WILL BE HEAVY SPOILERS – at least up until A Feast for Crows, simply because I haven’t read A Dance of Dragons yet, but it is next on my list. So if you don’t want any spoilers, please look away now.
Secondly, this list is purely based on POV characters within the series that are still alive. Therefore, with regret, Eddard and Robb Stark won’t be making any appearances. Don’t get me wrong I think that they are amazing characters, but for the purpose of this list they won’t be appearing.
Ok, here we go! EDIT: Characters listed in no particular order - just the order I choose to show them.
1. Arya Stark
Many consider Arya the “heroine” of the series. I don’t necessarily think that is true – but she certainly is one of the strongest characters and one that has one of the most incredible journeys of all the characters.
Arya Stark completely goes against the conventions you’d expect of a Highborn girl. Whereas most ladies of high birth in Fantasy stories tend to be little more than just pretty maidens, Arya is a fighter and wants to learn how to fight and defend herself. She’s feisty, sometimes reckless, but she knows what has to be done and will always try to find her way out of a situation – even if it involves death.
Let’s just look at the journey that Arya’s had since she came to King’s Landing in
A Game of Thrones. She was trained by a Braavosi swordsman, watched her father executed, sent to the Knights Watch, kidnapped by the Lannisters along the way, then became a slave of the Boltons before escaping and being picked up by the Brotherhood Without Banners, then kidnapped by the Hound and finally escaping to the Free Cities to join the Faceless Men. All this – and she’s only just a kid! But through this, Arya is forced to grow up quickly if she hopes to survive.
Through her hardships, Arya seems to pick up a rather unhealthy obsession with death – to the point where she recites a list of all the people that have wronged her and prays for their death. Some of which she has even killed herself. But given how most of the people on her list do deserve to die in some way then we can still vouch for her as a character.
We love Arya because of the incredible journey that she has had and the fact that she’s come out from it a much stronger person than she was before. Sure, there are times when she does show fear occasionally, but then she remembers her mantra – Fear cuts deeper than swords. Now that she is part of the House of Black and White, I am very interested to see where she goes from here – and whether her obsession with death will have any ill effects on her.
2. Sansa Stark
Poor Sansa Stark. She is the character I feel the most sorry for. She really has gone through a lot of crap during her life.
When she was to marry Prince Joffrey Baratheon she couldn’t be happier – after all, it’s always been a dream of her to marry a handsome prince. But boy does her life quickly descend into hell when Joffrey shows his true colours. Not only does he force her to watch when her father is executed, but he constantly has his guards beat her, strip her and humiliate her for his own amusement. And yet Sansa never does anything wrong!
Though she may be a kind of damsel in distress, Sansa is a very sweet and somewhat naive character that doesn’t mean harm to anyone. The fact that she is constantly beaten up as “punishment” every time her brother Robb Stark wins a battle in the War of the Five Kings really makes us feel for the poor girl. She’s trapped in a marriage that she cannot escape from, a prisoner of the Lannisters through no fault of her own.
She does eventually escape from the Lannisters thanks to a cunning plan by the treacherous Petyr Baelish, aka Littlefinger, but even then it doesn’t seem like she’s out of the woods just yet. He takes her to the Vale, dyes her hair and renames her Alayne Stone so that her true identity is hidden (given that Joffrey had been poisoned at this time and Sansa was the prime suspect) and reveals to her a plan to retake Winterfell and reveal her secret identity. Given Littlefinger’s track record, I’m suspicious of this.
Sansa is a character that we desperately want to turn out ok given the horror she has been forced to endure. I do wish that she would stand up for herself a bit more, but I reckon that she’ll show her strength soon enough and prove she’s not a punching bag.
3. Samwell Tarly
Samwell’s another character that I do find myself feeling sorry for – but unlike Sansa he actually has proved himself to an extent.
Sam is the son of Lord Randyll Tarly, a fierce military warrior. However, Sam is a fat, cowardly and incompetent fighter of which his father was disgraced with – so much so that he sent him to the Knight’s Watch so that he could not disgrace the family name. Under the Knights Watch he serves no better and ends up getting beaten up and bullied by the other members. Only Jon Snow shows Sam any kindness and the two do become close friends. It’s because of Jon Snow that Sam remains in the Knights Watch, although he still remains a bumbling coward.
Despite this, Sam is highly intelligent and of great knowledge. He becomes the steward to Maester Aemon and eventually does join the Knights Watch in a ranging quest to stop the wildings. It’s through this that Sam befriends a young wilding girl by the name of Gilly, whom he starts to get a bit of a crush on.
Sam is your typical “bullied” character that has little self esteem and constantly put down by others due to his ineptitude, so we do feel sorry for him. But Sam does actually show acts of bravery through the course of the book. He even slays an Other using a dragonglass dagger that he found – and there are few that can say they faced an Other and lived to tell the tale! I also love the relationship and “unspoken love” between him and Gilly, Sam really wants to be with her, but knows that he can’t break his vows (as those who take The Black have to forsake all others in duty to their brotherhood).
Sam has absolutely no malicious features about him and I think is one of the nicest people in the series. Maybe too nice for the world of Westeros. He’s a very likeable character and one that I really hope goes onto do well in the series.
4. Brienne of Tarth
Nicknamed “Brienne the Beauty” as an ironic statement, Brienne isn’t a lady known for her looks. In fact, she’s described as rather ugly and a source of a joke by many men – some of which make wages as to who will take her “maidenhead”. However, Brienne is an accomplished fighter and eager to prove herself as a knight to the naysayers.
Originally part of Renly Baratheon’s Rainbow Guard during the War of the Five Kings, she was in love with Renly and wished to prove her worth to him. However, when he was killed she swore revenge. At the request of Catelyn Stark, she swore an oath to protect her and rescue her daughters, who they believe are both being held captive by the Lannisters. Brienne swears her loyalty to her and makes it her mission to save Sansa Stark.
Brienne is a very headstrong, yet somewhat naive character in the series that is determined to prove herself as a knight. She has a slightly more idealistic view of what a knight should be and is often mocked for her values. Ironically though, she ends up being a better and nobler knight than many of the others in the series – to the point where even Jamie Lannister seems to gain a kind of mutual respect for her. He even gives her a sword of Valyrian steel when she continues her quest for Sansa alone.
At the end of
A Feast for Crows, she is captured by the Brotherhood Without Banners, now lead by an undead Catelyn Stark (killed during the Red Wedding and brought back to life by Beric Dondarrion) who has now become a shell of her former self and believes Brienne to be a traitor working for the Lannisters. Brienne’s fate is unknown at this point – but I do hope that she survives (like I said I haven’t read
A Dance of Dragons yet, so if anyone knows anything, please don’t spoil it for me!)
5. Tyrion Lannister
Hands down, Tyrion is my favourite character of the entire series. I love his wit, his cunning and generally the fact that he can often turn most situations round to his advantage. In fact, I like this character so much that I was most upset when he didn’t make any appearance in
A Feast for Crows.
Born a dwarf, Tyrion Lannister was always hated by his father Tywin and his sister Cersei (mainly because he was responsible for the death of his mother). As such, Tyrion is often looked down upon (if you pardon the pun) by the rest of his family and even other members of Westeros society, a common nickname for him is the Imp. But what he lacks in size (and respect from his peers), he makes up for it in brains. He is a shrewd, cunning little man with high intelligence and believes that he has a lot to prove to gain his families respect. When he becomes the Hand of the King, he is able to manipulate members of his own household and family to gain power, knowing that his sister plans to do him harm and able to keep one step ahead of her – to start with anyway. But like any Lannister, he is capable of great cruelty to anyone who crosses him, even going so far as to torment Grand Maester Purcell when he realises that he betrayed him.
Of all the Lannisters, I think that Tyrion is the one with the most honour. He does show kindness to those who are mistreated and is also one of the few to stand up to King Joffrey, even rescuing Sansa from a beating. However, he isn’t completely a good guy and does look out for himself for the most part – even using the Lannister name and fortune to try and buy his way out of trouble, as he did when he was a prisoner at the Vale. That being said, when he meets Shae (a prostitute), he does genuinely care for her and does try and protect her, so he isn’t entirely selfish.
In the TV series, he is played by Peter Dinkage and I have to say this is one of the reasons why I love the character of Tyrion. More often than not I end up bursting out with laughter at one of his witty lines. He doesn’t play Tyrion for laughs necessarily, but his delivery of the lines are so brilliant and quick that you can’t help but chuckle. That being said, Dinkage also is able to portray the human element of Tyrion and I couldn’t help but feel really sorry for him.
Tyrion displays a much more harsher version of himself near the end of
A Storm of Swords. Blamed for the death of Joffrey and sentenced to death, Tyrion is freed by his brother Jamie and Varys – but not before he confronts his father. In another of A Song of Ice and Fire’s most shocking scenes, he discovers Shae in his father’s bed (with his father on the privy), and then goes on to strangle Shae and then shoot his father. Now on the run, Tyrion’s future remains uncertain. But knowing this little guys cunning, I think he’ll find a way round it.
One of the more honourable members of the Lannister househould, Tyrion has a lot to prove and show that “size doesn’t matter.” He may be small in stature, but big on brains and usually able to turn things round to his advantage. He also is extremely witty and can put even the king down in just one word. And THAT is why, in my opinion, he is the most likable character in
A Song of Ice and Fire.
So there we have it. I am aware that I did leave out some other popular characters, such as Bran Stark, Jon Snow and Catelyn Tully – but I wanted to try and mix up the Houses a little bit otherwise this list would be nothing but characters from House Stark. Also, I don’t really like the change in Jon Snow’s character in A Feast For Crows, and Catelyn Tully... well, let’s just say she’s under the name Lady Stoneheart from now on.
Please feel free to leave your comments below if you think I missed out another likeable character. We’ll have another Top Five next week!
Have a great weekend!
Pandragon
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All characters in A Song of Ice and Fire are copyright of George R.R. Martin, but the above artwork are copyright of their respective owners. I claim no ownership of any of the above.
June 1, 2012
My Little Manatee - Behind The Myth Of Mermaids
Of all the mythical creatures from the numerous folk tales, mermaids are arguably one of the most popular. The legends of alluring, half-human/half-fish creatures has captured the imaginations of many artists/writers out there (not forgetting the film with Cher). Mermaids have been portrayed in many versions over the years, whether they be the innocent, child friendly (like Disney’s The Little Mermaid) or occasionally a most disturbing, monstrous look (like in the recent Pirates of the Caribbean film or H.P Lovecraft’s Deep Ones). But usually they are portrayed as a seductive, almost perfectly formed female capable of seducing any man. Just type “mermaid” into Deviant art and you’ll see what I mean.
Mermaids have many symbolic meanings to different people. For me, a mermaid has always kinda symbolised forbidden love, given the myth that mermaids often dragged men to their underwater lair and drowned them. This doesn’t always mean that mermaids were malicious creatures (although some myths depicted them as so), they just didn’t understand that humans couldn’t breathe underwater. Either way, mermaids are often shown as a sign of beauty and sometimes perfection of the human body – so they are usually portrayed in a sexual kinda way. I also think that these are one of the few mythological creatures to appear in almost EVERY Fantasy story ever written (although I deliberately avoid using any like this in my story).
Now, there is not one real way to determine where the myth of the mermaid first started, given that they are often put in the same category as sirens and undines, etc. But what would you say if I told you THIS creature was one of the main inspirations behind the mermaid myths?
Yup. This creature, the manatee (also known as the sea cow) is the inspiration behind the myth of folklore’s most beloved creatures.
Actually, this might not be news to many of you and I think it this connection is pretty much common knowledge, at least to the best of my knowhow. But this is something I myself have only just discovered. Ironically, it was during an episode of The Simpson’s where I discovered this, in the episode of Marge becoming friends with a manatee lover. It was here that my dad commented about how they inspired the myths of mermaids. To be honest, my first reaction was “Really? How could THAT inspire a mermaid?”
Once I got over that initial surprise, I actually did a little bit of research on this (and by that I mean numerous wiki pages and some DA pages – what? That counts as research doesn’t it?) and began to understand why these creatures could have been mistaken for mermaids.
From what I understand, mermaids (like any sea based creature) started off as sailor stories. If you think about it, sailors would often spend months (sometimes years) at sea, travelling the world and often at the mercy of the elements – and isolated from land. It was not uncommon that many sailors would come down with some kind of fever or would go mad from the isolation. Not to mention they were often off their heads on alcohol (or was that just pirates?) so this obviously affected their mental state. It was also known that sailors often spent most of their time at sea so they – er, how can one put this without sounding chauvinistic – didn’t get much “action” with the ladies, hence why they were always rather abrupt and rude with women. Given all this, it’s possible that a sailor (either mad with fever or off his head) saw a manatee and mistook it for some kind of sea female.
Looking at the picture above, I can’t exactly blame them for thinking this – after all, the creature is vaguely human shaped (albeit a very large shape) and if you look at their tail it does have a kind of fish like shape. Also, let’s not forget that I mentioned the sailors mind was addled by either drink or fever. Generally, when you’re under these conditions, your senses are often not under your control and in some cases run on a kind of “instinct”. As most sailors were often starved for female attention, I guess it only makes sense that their hallucination would be a thing of beauty. However, given that manatees are generally gentle creatures, I can’t see how the “dragging men to their death” myth came about. Perhaps some sailors were just so taken with fever that they jumped in after the manatee and ended up drowning.
It seems strange that something so bizarre could inspire a myth – but then, as is always the way of stories, details can sometimes get overlooked and changed over the course of a few (or several hundred) years. After all, would you believe me if I told you that the unicorn is actually based off a type of extinct rhinoceros?
Maybe mermaids were created as a kind of warning to sailors so that they could keep their eyes on their journey and the manatee just happened to be the right kind of animal to use as a template. Or, maybe a more likely reason, something to help satisfy their lust during the long journeys at sea. After all, we humans are obsessed with sex and if you look at a lot of mythological creatures, there is usually some kind of hidden sexual subtext behind it. Still, mermaids have played a very important part of human culture for many years and some places in the world have it as their coat of arms (the city of Warsaw for instance). Regardless of their background, mermaids are, and will continue to be, a very popular folklore, especially around Fantasy authors and artists.
And not to leave the poor manatee out, I will say that, yes, I think this creature is kinda adorable in its own way. Sad that I found out that these creatures are often hunted and killed in the sea. Thankfully there are many organisations and charities that are helping these poor creatures out, so it’s nice to know that people do care about them.
Comments? Suggestions? Please leave a comment below if you enjoyed reading this or if you want to add anything to it. Have a great weekend peeps!
Pandragon
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All the above pictures were taken from Wikipedia and are copyright of their respective owners.
May 30, 2012
Pandragon Reviews - Medusa A Love Story
Anyone who has read the description on my websitewill know that I am a huge fan of Greek Mythology and I am always interested in anything to do with it. I even quite liked the films Clash of the Titans and Immortals – although I wouldn’t go so far to say that they were classics of the genre – and of course the classic stop motion films of the old days.
So I must admit I was very interested in hearing about a love story set around Medusa, seeing as most stories portray her as a monster. Having her as a kind of tragic character sounded like an interesting take on it – so I decided to give it a go. I therefore present my review of Medusa – A Love Story by Sasha Summers.
About The Author
Sasha is part gypsy. Her passions have always been storytelling, history, romance, and travel. She writes lyrical romantic fantasy, steamy contemporary, and sci-fi romance. Her first play was written for her Girl Scout troupe. She's been writing ever since. She loves getting lost in the worlds and characters she creates; even if she frequently forgets to run the dishwasher or wash socks when she's doing so. Luckily, her four brilliant children and hero-inspiring hubby are super understanding and supportive.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sasha-Summers/213036208773108
Twitter: @sashawrites
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5759214.Sasha_Summers
Blog: www.sashasummers.com
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/sashasummers/
You can buy Medusa, A Love Story on Amazon:
OR
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/medusa-a-love-story-sasha-summers/1110296522?ean=9781937254513
Cover
I must say that I like this cover. Simple but effective. A rotting temple with snakes and a fallen statue – foreshadowing the events of the book. It’s nicely put together and, whilst it doesn’t really leap out, it does show the events of the book very well. Subtle, but effective.
Overview
This is actually the third book I’ve read from Crescent Moon Press (the others being Wasteland and The Curse of Gremdon) and I had to be honest I wasn’t too swayed by either of those books. However, I did enjoy this book very much and loved the interesting take on a classic myth. Whereas Medusa is often portrayed as a monstrous character that Perseus has to overcome, here she is portrayed in a more sentimental and tragic light.
For those who know the story of Medusa (and minor spoilers here if you don’t) Medusa was actually once a beautiful maiden that was raped by Poseidon in Athena’s temple and then transformed into a beast by Athena as punishment. That is how the story kinda goes for Medusa here and it really works well. Miss Summers is able to really capture the emotion of the piece and we feel for the character. I felt so sorry for Medusa – she never does anything wrong and yet she always seems to get punished for it. Used as a plaything for the god Poseidon and then betrayed by Athena (a goddess whom she loves and worships), you can’t help but hope some good comes for her. All she wants is to fall in love but everything seems to work against her. I don’t think it’s giving away too much to say what her eventual fate is, but even so I thought her punishment was really harsh.
Ariston is the hero of the piece, a Greek soldier whom falls in love with Medusa and he truely is a heroic and likeable character. This is a man that is willing to go through hell (literary) to save the woman he loves. Even when he learns of her curse, that still doesn’t stop him going to her. I won’t say too much – but the scene where Ariston and Medusa meet again after she has been cursed will definitely break a few hearts.
The subplot involving the Gods was well put together and never once felt like a distraction to the main plot. Poseidon is a really d*** that wants nothing more than to outdo Athena. And even Athena is a treacherous cow. I liked the way that they were portrayed as humanly as possible (after all, the Gods did have the emotions of humans) and that made them more realistic for me.
If I did have ONE complaint with the book it would be the formatting. It just didn’t look right to me and the pages were laid out like a word page, meaning that there was a lot of empty space at the end sometimes. It’s kinda hard to explain – but write a few sentences on a word document and then justify the words and you’ll see what I mean. But that’s the only negative comment I can really make about this book and it really didn't hammer my enjoyment of the story.
PROS (if looks could kill):
Interesting take on the Medusa myth.
Story is tragic and has great pathos.
Strong characters and God’s feel believable.
Excellent read for those who enjoy a good romance.
CONS (snake eyes):
Not overly impressed with the page formatting of the book.
Summary
Speaking as someone who isn’t actually an expert in romance (although I am prepared to accept it), I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was an interesting take on the myth of Medusa and one that will not disappoint. Whether you know the story or not, I recommend this book if you want a good, sometimes heart wrenching, romantic read.
FINAL SCORE: 5/5
Pandragon
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May 28, 2012
My own personal cosplay!
Just for the sake of people that don't know what "cosplay" means - it's when people dress up as their favourite characters from Manga, Anime, Video Games, Comics and the like. I decided to do my own cosplay a while ago - based around a character in my books! (What do you mean I'm cheating?)
Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you my own cosplay of a character of my own creation - The Man in Shadow!
The Man in Shadow is the villain of the next Draconica novel Legacy of the Dragonkin (out next year), but his motives are somewhat shrouded in mystery. He is a demented, darkly humourous character that is prone to vicious mood swings. He can be laughing his head off one moment, then turning extremely violent the next! He is also prone to terrible coughing fits and requires the usage of an unknown chemical that he injects through his neck. He is called "Man in Shadows" as he tends to work "behind the scenes" as it where. HIs motives may not be noticable at first - but trust me, when you realise his true identity you will know that the world of Draconica is in deep trouble!
Image and personality wise, he's a mixture of the characters Psycho Mantis from Metal Gear Solid, Alucard from Helsing and The Joker from Batman. He's kinda a mixture of the two kinda villains I like - sorta campy and over the top yet really sinister and evil
The costume was put together from various costume pieces over the years, they were all brought from the website Joke.co.uk. I kinda like the way it turned out and hopefully will get a chance to promote it a little more. I like the gas mask especially - very creepy!
Oh and I should point this out even though it should be taken as read - the weapons are NOT real! They are made from plastic and are completely harmless (where am I going to get a real scythe like that anyway? lol). But I think they are pretty cool and fit his demented character perfectly.
This is more an experiment that I hope went well. Please feel free to leave a comment below and any tips you can suggest to improve on it. I'm hoping to have a sketch of him done in the near future.
Thanks for reading guys and have a great week.
Pandragon
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May 26, 2012
Top Five Most Hateable Characters in A Song of Ice and Fire
Hands down, this is my favourite book series that I am currently reading. Alongside Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, A Song of Ice and Fire is by far the best written series of recent years – not just in Fantasy, but in ANY genre. I love the expansive history, the multiple plot lines that don’t always seem significant but always impact on the story in some way. I love the medieval setting, the battles, the political deception and, most of all, the characters.
I honestly think that the characters in A Song of Ice and Fire are some of the most complex in any Fantasy I’ve read. They show that Fantasy characters don’t have to always be typical archetypes and that they can stand out and be multi-layered as much as any other character in fiction. They are amazingly complex – even the secondary and background characters seem to have a personality to make them believable. Now THAT is a skill. There are no real heroes or villains, just people with their own motivations. Of course there are characters that you love and characters that you just love to hate! And that’s why I think this series is so great.
So today, in the first of a two part Top Five, I’m looking at the top five characters that I HATE or just DESPISE. These are five characters that have something about them I just can’t stand, but I still appreciate them as characters. So let’s dive in.
SPOILER WARNING: This Top Five is VERY spoiler heavy – if you haven’t read any of the A Song of Ice and Fire series or seen the Game of Thrones TV series, you might want to check that out first before reading.
1. Theon Greyjoy
Talk about being a “Judas” of the series. Theon was Robb’s most trusted friend during the War of the Five Kings – and he stabbed his friend in the back by attacking his home of Winterfell.
In many ways, you can kinda see why Theon would want to betray them – he was taken as a child by Eddard Stark during the Greyjoy Rebellion and raised by the Stark family as a ward. Although he never really fit in with them. During the way, he went back to the Iron Islands to try and broker a deal with the Greyjoys, which they refused. Seeing how much his sister has gained a reputation as a strong soldier (and desperate to prove to his father that he is still a Greyjoy at heart), he takes Winterfell with but a few men, hoping to show his father that he is still strong. This, however, proves to be his undoing.
Theon is a character that just wants to be accepted, but he found none at either the Stark family or his own people. He is desperate to prove himself as a strong warrior and try and win his father’s affection. But this causes him to make rash decisions. What I hate most about Theon is that he is such a whinny little b**** that stamps his foot like a petulant child if he doesn’t get his way. Not only that, but when Bran and Rickon escape Winterfell, he kills two other children and burns them alive when he fails to capture them. That I think makes him pretty hateable.
Now a prisoner of the Bolton’s, it looks like Theon is reaping what he sowed. And given that the Greyjoy’s motto is We do not sow, the irony is not lost on him!
2. Viserys Targaryen
Even though he only lasted one book, that was still long enough to know how much I despised him as a character. This guy was a petty, spiteful man that would abuse his sister and even tried to sell her off in his quest to become king – you gotta admit that makes him a d***!
One of the last descendants to the Targaryen bloodline (the true kings of Westeros), along with his sister Daenerys, Viserys is determined to win back his claim to the Iron Throne. To this end he arranges a marriage of his sister (against her will) to Khal Drogo, leader of the Dothraki, who promises him 10,000 soldiers to help him take back the Iron Throne – this earns him the title of Beggar King. Even though Daenerys is not comfortable with this, he forces her to do it, completely blind to her own suffering.
Amazingly, his actions seem to have the opposite effect. Daenerys becomes accepted within the Dothraki and Khal Drogo is a gentle and loving husband to her. Over time, Viserys is practically forgotten about – and Daenarys even gains the courage to stand up to her brother. After suffering numerous humiliations, Viserys threatens to kill Dany if the Dothraki don’t honour their bargain. Khal Drogo lives up to his end of the bargain by giving him a crown – of boiling hot gold! This ends up killing him, meaning that Daenerys is now free of his tyranny – and the sole heir to the Iron Throne.
Surprisingly enough, even though Viserys was a real monster, Daenerys does attempt to reclaim her birthright as revenge for her family. So in some ways, Viserys was a kind of inspiration for Daenerys, however cruel he was. Since then, Daenerys has been gathering support in the Free Cities, freeing slaves and raising an army – along with her three dragons.
3. Vargo Hoat
Leader of the Brave Companions, who are described on Wikipedia as “a particularly unsavoury sellsword company”. Personally, I think a better way to describe them would be the “scum of the planet”. All members of the Brave Companions are sick, twisted criminals who delight in torturing people – and Vargo Hoat is no exception.
I actually laughed at first at this character, because he talks in a lisp due to a swollen tongue – but he is no joke. He will kill or even maim you just because he feels like it, even if you did nothing wrong. He also has no sense of loyalty as when Tywin Lannister pays him to burn and pillage to draw out Robb Stark, he quickly turns coat when the Bolton’s get involve and he helps them take Harrenhal.
Perhaps his most hideous act is to cut off Jamie Lannister’s hand when he is their captor. I was shocked when this scene happened. Ok, so Jamie Lannister was a completely arrogant git, but even what he went through was too much to bear. This one act alone stays with Jamie for the rest of his life and diminishes his skill with a sword somewhat. Even though Vargo does eventually meet his end at the hands of Ser Gregor Clegane (in a manner most suited to him), Jamie is forever haunted by the crippling injury that Vargo Hoat gave him. Something he can never forget.
All in all, a particularly horrible character and not one I’m likely to miss.
4. Lord Roose Bolton
I gotta be honest, there is just something about this character I find very creepy. Maybe it’s because the sigil of his house is a flayed man (which is pretty sick in and of itself), maybe it’s the fact that he takes regular leechings to improve his health (which has given him the title of Leech Lord), or maybe it’s just the fact that the Bolton’s are sick people that delight in skinning their opponents. Either way, this guy gives me the chills as much as reason to hate him.
Though he is mild mannered and never raises his voice, he is chillingly cold and calculated. Also, he seems to take great pride in his son Ramsey, even though he’s a bastard. Ironically, he is one of the Stark’s bannermen that come to Robb Stark’s aid during the War of the Five Kings. A worthy ally in many ways, after all he does make a strong blow against the Lannisters by taking Harrenhal and his son is able to retake Winterfell (only to later betray the Northmen and take it for himself).
But what makes me hate this character so much is that he is one of the conspirators of the Red Wedding – one of the most horrific events in the book series that results in the death of some of the most loved characters. Orchestrated by Lord Walder Frey as punishment for Robb Stark’s breaking of a marriage pact with them, Lord Bolton is the one to slay Robb Stark in one of the most coldest of executions possible. After this, he is granted Warden of the North by Tywin Lannister, granted a gift by the very person he was fighting against. That makes Lord Bolton one of the biggest monsters in the series – he promised to help Robb Stark and yet stabbed him in the heart afterwards.
I have to be honest though, Lord Bolton is one of the few characters in the Game of Thrones series that I don’t think was cast very well. I’m not saying the actor playing him is bad, I just don’t think he fits the description of the book. He just looks a little to thuggish and not the kind of sickly noble that he’s described in the books. I honestly think that they could have kept to his appearance a little better – but that’s just my opinion.
Certainly one of the most underrated villains in the series, Lord Bolton is a cold hearted and wicked man that is responsible for one of the most horrific events in A Song of Ice and Fire. He’s one of the few villains yet to get his comeuppance – and I really hope that he does soon.
5. King Joffrey Baratheon
I really don’t think I can begin to describe how much I HATE this character. He is possibly not only the most hateable character in A Song of Ice and Fire – but possibly one of these most hated villains in fiction, essentially the Adolf Hitler of the Fantasy world.
Born of a secret incest between his mother Cersei and her brother Jamie Lannister, Joffery has always been mothered a lot as neither his true father or his supposed father (King Robert Baratheon) ever showed him much attention. Determined to prove himself, Joffrey rose to become king after his mother arranged for her husband to be killed on a hunting trip. He quickly gained a reputation as one of the most hated kings of all of Westeros.
Even before coming king, Joffrey was plain annoying. He was just a spoilt little rich kid with a rather nasty streak – even having one of Arya Starks friends killed just because he didn’t like him. Betrothed to Sansa Stark, he did come across as a charming prince at first – but when his true colours showed.
Joffrey has a horrific streak that no other character had in A Song of Ice and Fire and seemed to get off on seeing people hurt. On becoming king, he becomes hard to control and goes wild with power, even ignoring the advice of his mother. His first act as king (in one of the most shocking moments in A Game of Thrones) is to have Eddard Stark executed even after promising Sansa mercy. During his rule, he has Sansa beaten by his Kingsguard, stripped down and even left her to be raped by an angry mob! Seriously, this boy has no morals whatsoever – yet he gets away with it as he’s king. Only Tyrion Lannister has the courage to stand up to him and even tries to save Sansa from his clutches.
Overall, Joffrey is a character that is utterly despicable. He has no redeeming features and I just wished something bad would happen to him. Thankfully, near the end of A Storm of Swords, I got my wish. And let me tell you, Joffrey’s ultimate fate is one of the most satisfying deaths of any villain ever. It’s just a pity his death ends up putting Sansa and Tyrion in trouble.
If there is one good thing I can say about Joffrey is the actor Jack Gleeson, who plays him in Game of Thrones, the TV series. Jack Gleeson is a brilliant actor that plays him with such sneering hatefulness, yet also very petulant and whinny. He got the character down perfectly (and yet ironically, Jack Gleeson is supposed to be one of the nicest people on the planet) and I honestly think that this guy is destined to go onto play some great roles in the future as he is a brilliant actor.
Hands down the most hateable character in all of the series, Joffrey is a king that the people of Westeros would soon forget. Even members of his own family consider him a worst king than the Mad King himself. He’s a great villain, but one of those characters that you just love to hate.
That’s my list. Feel free to let me know your comments as to whom YOU love to hate within the A Song of Ice and Fire series. Next well, I’ll be looking at the Top Five likeable characters within A Song of Ice and Fire.
Until next time!
Pandragon
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All above mentioned characters are copyright of George R R Martin. Images drawn by Amoka.
No ownership is claimed for the above.
Oh, and have I mentioned that A Song of Ice and Fire is AWESOME!
