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March to Other Worlds Day 9: Run Like Hell by Elliot Kay

Day 9 Run Like Hell by Elliot Kay

There’s a lot of marching—ur, walking in this next book as Elliot Kay’s cast of misfit antiheroes attempts to escape a dungeon ahead of the adventurers who are clearing it.

 

In Run Like Hell, Kay takes the current trend toward writing stories that are really simply roleplaying adventures and turns it on its head. The monsters are the good guys—but here’s the twist—they really are. Our “heroes” are a group of outcasts who band together to try and survive a group of adventurers who are overrunning the dungeon they are currently employed in. Most of the monsters in that dungeon are nasty bullies but our heroes are the ones who were getting kicked around by them so in addition to avoiding the adventurers they have plenty of trouble with their supposed allies. And of course, there are the legions of undead who inhabit the lowest levels of the dungeon (an old dwarf stronghold) who are a threat to everyone.

 

As the novel advances, Kay does an excellent job of drawing out the backstories of these misfits making them even more likable and sympathetic. He also shows us that they aren’t wimps. Their problems largely resulted from having no one to watch their backs in the survival of the fittest atmosphere of the barbaric monstrous society. We also learn that the humans, elves and dwarfs are not so likable either (or at least their governments aren’t). The humans have broken a treaty with the monster races that had kept the peace for three generations and appear to have done so for the basest of motivations—greed and racism. Even the adventurers (who would normally be the heroes of this tale) show themselves to be the worst kind of mercenaries.

 

This is a fun series all around and I look forward to the next installment. I’m particularly grateful that Kay avoided all the leveling up and character statistics that usually dominate this subgenre. The novel was much better for concentrating on story and characterization than on character sheets.

So if you can spare the time from looking over your shoulder to see if that group of adventurers is catching up with you, why not pop over to Facebook and join in the discussion of this great book: https://www.facebook.com/GilbertStack...

 

March to Other Worlds Day 8: The Andorra Pett Series by Richard Dee

March 8 The Andorra Pett Series by Richard Dee

 

There are lots of different ways to explore the solar system and Richard Dee has chosen the whodunit as his vehicle of choice in the zany mysteries starring Andorra (Andi) Pett. Andi suffers from terminal niceness. She can’t be mean to people even when they do her wrong. Yet this quality is quite endearing and attracts to her a wonderful cast of loyal friends who would move heaven and earth to help her if she gets in trouble—which is all the time. You see, in addition to terminal niceness, Andi just can’t stop poking her finger into little mysteries which other people would definitely prefer to remain unsolved.

 

So if you enjoy a good mystery and would like to see it set in an exotic locale, you should give Andorra Pett and the Oort Cloud Café and Andorra Pett on Mars a try. Dee plays fair with the clues so you have a genuine chance to solve the mystery and his imaginings of the future make a lot of sense, but mostly, these books are just an awful lot of fun.

And speaking of fun, why not join the discussion on this series at https://www.facebook.com/GilbertStack...

 

March to Other Worlds Day 7: Wearing the Cape by Marion G. Harmon

March 7 Wearing the Cape by Marion G. Harmon

 

For our next series, we’re going to march into what I believe is the premier superhero series anywhere: Wearing the Cape by Marion G. Harmon. I first encountered this series through a free snippet (the first ten chapters or so of book #1) and the moment I finished I bought the full book and I haven’t stopped reading yet. I love it so much that I’ve also listened to it in audio format.

 

Wearing the Cape is the story of Astra—a young woman who undergoes her “breakthrough” when a supervillain drops an expressway on top of her car. She survives, but she can’t sit still waiting to be rescued when other people are dying all around her. So she pushes a few tons of concrete off of her vehicle and changes the world.

 

On the surface, that’s not very different than most superhero series out there. What makes Harmon’s books stand out head-and-shoulders above the rest is his attention to world building, continuity, and character development.

 

World Building: Wearing the Cape is the most realistic super hero world I’ve ever encountered. A lot of that realism is based on the politics Harmon has so carefully crafted. Marvel and DC have built their empires on the vigilante but he explicitly explores what the rest of us have always intuitively understood—there is no way the government would ever permit vigilantes to act the way they do in the comic books. In Harmon’s world, each state has developed its own policies regarding breakthroughs—and those policies seriously impact the ability and the willingness of supers to operate within their territory. And if that isn’t enough, Harmon shows a lot of sensitivity to how culture (like in Japan or New Orleans) would impact the breakthroughs and their relationships with the public and the authorities.

 

Continuity: Each novel builds seamlessly on what has come before. That’s important in and of itself, but Harmon is especially adept at finding ways to fix weaknesses that become apparent in earlier stories by enhancing, not destroying, his continuity. My favorite novel in the series, Recursion, cleverly reinterprets everything that happened in the early books in a way that strengthen the whole Wearing the Cape universe.

 

Character Development: On the most obvious level, this is simply making amazing and lovable characters that matter even after they’ve died. Harmon does this very well, but so do a lot of authors. But in the supers genre, the super abilities themselves also make a kind of character that often drives the plot and peoples’ actions, and Harmon develops the coolest of super powers both among his heroes and his villains. I never know what to expect when a new cape shows up on the scene. What’s more he’s found a way to incorporate supers with magical abilities and super science capabilities that doesn’t totally alter modern America from anything we can relate to.

 

So if you’re looking for a superhero series that gets it right every time unlike Marvel and DC, you should take a look at Marion G. Harmon’s Wearing the Cape. You can read my reviews of the individual books in the series here: https://www.gilbertstack.com/wearing-... And you can join in the conversation on Wearing the Cape on my Facebook Page here: https://www.facebook.com/GilbertStack...

 

March to Other Worlds Day 6: Fierce Girls at War by Mike Adams

Day 6 Fierce Girls at War by Mike Adams

Marching to Other Worlds naturally brings military-themed fiction to mind and Mike Adams’ Fierce Girls at War is one of the best military SF series I’ve ever read. It holds its own with top series like David Weber’s Honor Harrington and John Ringo’s Troy Rising. Stylistically, it’s a mix of serious infantry action and behind the behind the scenes know how of a W.E.B. Griffin novel. The result is an often gritty, always fascinating, exploration of earth’s first colony and its run in with a peculiar alien species called the Rift.

 

In addition to the tight military action, politics plays a very important role in this series, but not the traditional high level presidential-style politics. In the Earth of the future, terrorism continues to be a significant problem and much of the anger of the terrorists is focused on the growing interstellar economy. Adams deftly uses this movement not only to establish the foundation of his series, but to add plausible tension at every level of the interstellar enterprise.

 

Another of the strengths of the series is the multiple points of views from which the reader gets to explore Earth’s first interstellar colony. Not only are their multiple POVs in the colony of New Hope, but Adams gets the reader into the nitty-gritty of life on a starship as the great ships transit the vastness of space. There is also usually a couple of chapters in each book grounded in the cast members still located on earth.

 

The cast is the greatest strength of the novel. Adams opens the series by introducing three generations of the O’Brien family. The matriarch, Kelly O’Brien, is in charge of firearms training for the NYC Police Department. Her children are almost preternaturally gifted marksmen, the beneficiaries of a training technique invented by their deceased father. Rick O’Brien and Sergeant Molly Bennett quickly run afoul of the Hassan Gul terrorist organization by killing several of the chief terrorist’s sons and are eventually forced to leave the planet to keep from being assassinated. From this very exciting beginning the whole series unfolds.

 

At New Hope Colony, Rick and Molly carve out a place of influence for themselves in the colonial logistics office while the alien Rift begin taking covert steps to reclaim the planet they feel the humans have stolen from them. The Rift are an advanced, economically focused, alien species with very little experience of war. They do their fighting with primitive mercenaries who are physically durable and are indiscriminate carnivores. Over the early books of the series, the reader watches the colony and an approaching starship begin to pick up hints that something is wrong, but not quite putting the facts together before the invasion begins in earnest.

 

From this moment forward, the series moves into overdrive, as the invasion advances, the colony struggles to respond, and Rick and Molly, together with a group of some fifty high school girls, find themselves marooned in the dangerous back country of New Hope Colony, hundreds of miles from civilization and unable to contact the colonial authorities for help. With their communications satellites rendered inoperative, the colony can’t even communicate with the starships slowly making their way into system. The already high tension continues to ratchet up as the war continues.

 

If you’re looking for a well-thought-out military sf series with plenty of action, you should take a look at Fierce Girls at War. In the meantime, why not join in the conversation at: https://www.facebook.com/GilbertStack...

 

March to Other Worlds Day 5: The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny

Day 5 The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny

I doubt that there is any other character in fiction that does as much marching as Corwin, Prince of Amber. I first discovered him when I was in ninth grade and joined the Science Fiction Book Club. The club offered five-books-for-a-dollar to lure new members. I picked The Chronicles of Amber because it had a cool cover and the two volume set counted as one book. At the time I had never heard of Roger Zelazny, but after racing through the two-volume set, I would try and get my hands on everything he’d ever written. Yet even as I devoured his other works, I kept coming back to Amber. I’ve read the books a dozen times, listened to the audio version narrated by Zelazny, himself, played the RPG both in person and in an extended email version, composed my own stories imagining what would come next, and finally happily bought the e-book versions so I can continue to enjoy them again and again. This is one of the greatest adventure stories in science fiction and fantasy and if you haven’t yet read it you should stop reading this review right now and go get yourself a copy.

 

Like J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, Amber is really one novel broken into many parts, but unlike Tolkien’s masterpiece, Roger Zelazny took advantage of the publisher’s decision to present the work as five separate books to tell five different types of stories. Nine Princes in Amber is a Who Am I? tale. The Guns of Avalon is a straight adventure piece. The Sign of the Unicorn is about politics and intrigue. The Hand of Oberon is a story of manipulation. And finally The Courts of Chaos wraps up the adventure with an epic journey which completes the hero’s growth while simultaneously providing an exciting and highly satisfying ending.

 

So take a visit to Amber, or, if you’ve already read it, return as if you’re seeking out an old friend. In honor of March to Other Worlds, the Written Gems group on Goodreads has decided to discuss Nine Princes in Amber in early April. We’d love to have you drop in and join us.

 

You can find the discussion of Nine Princes in Amber at Written Gems: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

In the meantime, why not pop over to my Facebook page and join in the discussion there: https://www.facebook.com/GilbertStack...

 

 

 

March to Other Worlds Day 4: Heroically Challenged by P. T. McCordic

Day 4 Heroically Challenged by P.T. McCordic

While we’re marching, why not trek into an excellent parody of the fantasy adventure, Heroically Challenged by P.T. McCordic? There are four things I really like about this novel. First is the world building. This is a story that really fits solidly in the LitRPG genre, but unlike most of those books it is not about a bunch of people playing a game (or trapped in a game). Instead its about people who live in a world where people can level up in a host of adventuring professions. McCordic actually found a way to make “ascending” make sense by having this new ability have entered the world alongside magic when the Blight started to devastate the land. Before this, there were no monsters, no magic, and no adventurers. Now, the new wizards of the world are trying to understand their newfound magic while the adventurers try and keep normal people alive.

 

Second, there’s an awful lot of humor in these pages. Most of it comes from the absurd situations they characters find themselves in, but a lot of it is generated by McCordic’s dry wit. It makes the whole book a lot of fun because you really don’t know what bizarre twist McCordic will inflict upon his helpless cast.

 

Third, the character Alyx was absolutely wonderful—so much so that I wish the book had started with his situation instead of that of the reluctant farmer, Erik. Erik’s not a bad guy, but he’s a little dry in the beginning where as Alyx has a gift for getting right into the middle of things from the moment he first appears on the page.

 

Finally, the thing that puts this book over the top is the absolute incompetence of the characters. They are the Stephanie Plumbs (inept bounty hunter from the Burg) of the fantasy world and their hopeless efforts added a lot to the overall humor of the story. Yet, at the same time, it was easy to empathize with them. They are all courageous, trying to do their part to save their world, but their inability to do even the simplest things without mishap makes their adventures priceless. To tell the truth, I wonder how many of us might find ourselves similarly challenged if we were forced to pick up a sword and try to chop a skeleton to pieces.

 

If you’re looking for something that takes a humorous look at the LitRPG genre, you should give Heroically Challenged a try. I know I’m looking forward to the sequel. In the meantime, why don't you join in on the coversation about this book at https://www.facebook.com/GilbertStack...

 

March to Other Worlds Day 3: Atlas of the Serpent Men by Chris L. Adams

Day 3 Atlas of the Serpent Men by Chris L. Adams

 

I think most fantasy readers have a soft place in their heart for Robert E. Howard’s Conan. He’s a character with a surprising amount of depth who has inspired dozens (if not hundreds) of authors to try their hand at penning a tale of the archetypal barbarian marching across the nations of his world.

 

In today’s offering, Chris L. Adams provides an excellent take on everyone’s favorite Cimmerian in a free tale titled, Atlas of the Serpent Men. It’s got all the action one expects from Conan, but it also captures the feel of that long ago era that was so important to the success of Howard’s original tales. To make matters even better, there’s a surprise piece of flash fiction at the end of the story that should delight every reader.

 

Adams is an expert on the Pulp Era and the flavor of those long ago stories comes through strongly in his own works. They’re like a cask of whiskey that’s aged for decades ready to be opened and this story is a great way to taste his work.

 

So if you'd like to rediscover your taste of Conan, why not try Atlas of the Serpent Men and join in the conversation at https://www.facebook.com/GilbertStack...

March to Other Worlds Day 2: Shards of Light by WIlliam L. Hahn

Day 2 Shards of Light by William L. Hahn

Continuing our march through fantasy literature brings me to Shards of Light by William L. Hahn, which I believe is one of the best heroic fantasies on the market today. It’s set in and round the city of Cryssigens as it confronts a crisis of leadership. The emperor whom the city reluctantly serves has just been overthrown and replaced by a dwarven adventurer whom no elf wants to follow. To make matters worse, the new emperor had the utter gall to conclusively demonstrate that the former Overlord of the city was secretly leading a cult of demon worshippers. Now it’s time to pick a new Overlord who will determine whether or not the city will rediscover its peace and stability or erupt into chaos in a futile effort to gain its independence.

These four books are simply wonderful. As you would expect in heroic fantasy, there are great characters struggling to accomplish the near impossible. But the thing that sets Shards of Light apart from the typical fantasy trilogy is the remarkable distinctiveness with which Hahn draws his three primary characters. Captain Justin, Feldspar, the adrenalin-crazed stealthic (quite possibly the most unique hero in all of fantasy literature), and the mysterious priestess, Altieri, are each written in a different person (third, first, and second respectively) and this greatly personalizes their exceedingly different style adventures. I have never read anything quite like this before or since.

So if you love heroic fantasy and you haven’t read Shards of Light yet, I strongly suggest you download a copy of The Ring and Flag and get reading.

If you’re interested in Shards of Light, why not join the discussion on my author page at Facebook?

https://www.facebook.com/GilbertStack...

March to Other Worlds Day 1: Legionnaire by Gilbert M. Stack

Day 1: Legionnaire by Gilbert M. Stack

Welcome to March to Other Worlds—a 31-day exploration of some great fantasy and science fiction novels and series. I hope you’ll check in every day to comment on the stories if you’ve already read them or to tell us what you thought about them if you read them after today.

 

To open the march I’m going to start with my own series which pretty much inspired the event. Legionnaire is all about marching as Prefect Marcus Venandus and his loyal followers rush from one trouble spot to another to protect the border regions of their beloved Republic of Aquila. Aquila takes its inspiration from Rome in the two generations preceding the birth of the empire, but there is magic in this world and the legions have had to incorporate it to maintain their edge in these very dangerous times.

 

Here’s the series blurb:

 

Legionnaire is a gritty High Fantasy series set on the borders of the far-flung Republic of Aquila. While political in-fighting and scheming are the order of the day in the heart of the Republic, the borderlands are awash with dangers only kept in check by the might of the legions. Fell magics, savage peoples, and scheming empires all threaten the country Patrician Marcus Venandus has sworn to defend using his wits, military strategy and his small command of highly disciplined legionnaires.

 

Legionnaire has come a long way since its beginnings in the Fire Islands. Now with eight books published and a ninth book expected for April, the war in the Jeweled Hills is fully under way and getting increasingly nasty and dangerous. Amatista, friend of Marcus’ native Aquila, is about to be crushed by a coalition of jealous rivals and only Marcus stands between it and disaster. Yet Amatista is not united against the threat. Competing ethnic groups make every problem Marcus faces a hundred times more complicated, and even as Marcus struggles to bind the groups together for the common good, the mighty Qing Empire is pulling strings to use this new war as an opportunity to better position itself in its struggle for dominance with Aquila. If you’re looking for a military fantasy that’s a little different than the traditional knights in shining armor trilogy, why don’t you try Legionnaire?

 

If you’re interested in Legionnaire, why not join the discussion on my author page at Facebook? https://www.facebook.com/GilbertStack...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

March to Other Worlds Starts Tomorrow--March 1

The first annual March to Other Worlds event starts tomorrow. Each day of March I will spotlight a great fantasy or sf book//series right here on my blog, on my webiste and on my Facebook author page. Check in each day to comment on a book you've already read or get great ideas about the next one you'd like to read. For those of you who don't know it, my website is at gilbertstack.com and my Facebook Author page is at https://www.facebook.com/GilbertStack...  Hope to see you at the March.