Rob J. Hayes's Blog, page 23

Book Reviews!

So this year I made a sort of resolution type thing. I didn't read a lot in 2015. It was bad of me. I'm ashamed. Part of it was struggling through a few books I really didn't like, part of it was chronic headaches for roughly 6 months (not a lot of fun). In 2016, I decided I would read at least 1 book a month (yes, I'm a horribly slow reader). I also decided I would review them all... at least the ones I can.

So let's start in January.


Twelve Kings in Sharakhai - Bradley P. Beaulieu



I'm torn with this one. Partly because I REALLY wanted to like it, and partly because I did like it... but not as much as I wanted to.

Twelve Kings is the start of a series of books that follows our main protagonist Ceda, as she struggles to uncover the truth behind her mother's past, her own lineage, and attempts to fulfill an impossible vow to kill the twelve immortal kings of Sharakhai.

So the reason I wanted to like this book so much was the setting and the world building that surrounds it. I love the desert feel to the book and the feel that Sharakhai gives off. Bradley really makes it feel like the city is a shining oasis in the middle of a vast ocean of sand, and that it is also hard fought over.

I loved the idea that the gods were real and walked the earth and made pacts with humans, and the same with demons. Also that they weren't the first gods. It's a complex and deep world that draws you in and makes you want to learn more and Bradley does an excellent job of drip feeding the info, always giving you just enough to wet your appetite.

He also does an excellent job with the antagonists. The kings really do feel powerful, immortal, and dangerous. It's clear they have more going on than Ceda ever learns of in the first book and that's another big draw. Plots within plots within plots.

Ceda herself is a rich and interesting character. She's clearly an excellent swords-woman, but Bradley makes a point of not portraying her as invincible. As good as she might be, she's not infallible, she makes mistakes, gets knocked down, but always gets back up again. He also makes the relationship between Ceda and her best friend Emre, to feel very natural and believable. Ceda drives the story onwards well, like a dog with a bone unable to stop pulling on threads and seeing what unravels.

So onto the problems. First off the book occasionally feels quite long-winded. There are bits where it drags and drags hard. It's not that the plot isn't moving along nicely, but more that Bradley has a habit of treading the same ground a few times, telling us things we've already learned.

There's also the problem with the timeline. There are flashbacks, zipping us back to Ceda's childhood, but that's not my issue. From time to time, more so towards the finale, the book gives us a chapter leading up to a shocking reveal... and then the next chapter explains how a different character got to the same shocking reveal. It almost feels like the editor moved chapters around to make said reveals more shocking, but that leaves chapters feeling very out of place. It also drags the pace down and bumps you out of the narrative. It feels heavy handed, as though things could have (and should have) been cut, but were left in and moved around instead.

Lastly is this. The book doesn't feel complete. It feels very much like the first in a series. And it is. And that's OK. But I felt the finale wasn't big enough and there were far too many threads left loose at the end. Maybe it's just greed, I wanted more, but the open-ended ending felt more like a second in a trilogy and less like a first.

Twelve Kings in Sharakhai earns itself a solid 3.5 (I always round up). It was a good book, with excellent characters, and intriguing plot, and wonderful world building. I really like it. Just not as much as I wanted to like it.


Wraith Knight - Charles Phipps

So I can't really talk about this one because it's not released yet. Suffice to say I have described it as Lord of the Rings meets World of Warcraft.

Crowley: Episode One The Ravensblack Affair - Eddie Skelson

One Line Review: Dream boats and drugs, open robes, peril, more peril, death, blood, potatoes, fire, madness.

So I'll start by saying that I really enjoyed this one. Eddie Skelson does an excellent of making his main protagonist, Crowley, a thoroughly likable, yet intensely unlikable character. And that's where the strength of the novel lay for me. The interactions between the characters were a lot of fun with the witty dialogue coming at the right times to relieve some (not all) of the tension at the right times.

The plot zips along at a quick pace and does a good job of explaining the Lovecraft-ian mythos and jargon to a complete noobie like myself. I never felt out of depth due to not having ever read any Cthulu-based literature.

The only real issues I had with the book were to do with the PoV switchings often being un-signposted. Sometimes we'd have a paragraph of Crowley's thoughts, followed by a paragraph of the monster's thoughts, without any indication that we were changing. This is fine, but I struggled probably because my brain isn't wired that way.

And the actions scenes tended to use a lot of past tense instead of present tense which dragged me out of the action a bit and interrupted the flow.

All in all episode one of Eddie Skelson's Crowley is a thoroughly enjoyable read with some real gems when it comes to dialogue and a story that leaves you wanting more... which there is in episode 2.

I give Crowley a solid 3.5 stars, but as always I round up so 4 it is.

The Crown Tower - Michael J. Sullivan
OK, honestly I was bored most of the way through this one.

I should start by saying I've not read Sullivan's first trilogy, only a short story of his (featuring Hadrian and Royce) in the Blackguards anthology. I liked it, thought I'd give his larger works a try. I have not read the original trilogy, The Riyria Revelations because I thought I'd start with the prequels. I will also say I 'read' this by way of audiobook.

The Crown Tower follows 2 story threads. One of Hadrian Blackwater as he struggles to find a place in the world after becoming tired of the soldiering way of life. And one of Gwen as she struggles against an abusive pimp.

The story starts off slow. VERY slow. And to be honest, I don't feel it ever really picks up. It's not just a lack of action, it's a lack of anything seemingly important going on at all. The first half of the book feels like Hadrian on a side-quest, and Gwen crossing the street (both literally and metaphorically).

By the second half of the book Hadrian has met his long time life partner, Royce, and the two are thrust together in the hope that they will one day learn to work with each other and teach each other. The problem is, while I can see that one day they will be a fun buddy-cop pair, they just annoyed the hell out of me. Both of them whine and moan... and then moan and whine. And they keep moaning about the same things over and over again. The plot struggles to move forwards. And when they finally do decide to trust each other, it seems rushed (at least on Royce's part). A lifetime of well-earned mistrust and skepticism and suspicion seems undone by one selfless act on Hadrian's part.

Gwen's entire story (while interesting) only actually intersects with Hadrian and Royce's on the penultimate chapter. It feels like two separate stories, not one. And there are too many threads left completely unfinished. We have a chapter from Gwen's nemesis' point of view at one point and then he's foiled once by her (fairly easily) and we never hear from him again. That particular plot line felt a lot like filler.

The problem is, I wanted to like the book. I loved the short story (Professional Integrity) in Blackguards and wanted to read more of Hadrian and Royce. Perhaps I should have started with Revelations because it feels like this book is written for fans of that series rather than potential new readers. If I already knew the characters well and loved them I'd probably be giggling with joy over every sarcastic interaction... but I don't. Maybe I'll give Revelations a try after the sour taste has faded.

Overall I give this one 2 stars because it's well-written and Gwen's story is very interesting.

That's it so far. This month I'm reading King of Thorns by Mark Lawrence and The Emperor's Blades by Brian Staveley. I will review them when I'm finished.
I will point out that the artwork to Brian Staveley's trilogy is some of the most beautiful ever to grace a book cover in my opinion.
Rob J. Hayes is the author of the acclaimed  The Ties that Bind trilogy  and the upcoming Best Laid Plans duology. You can find out more on his  website here .

All the Best Ideas Come Out of the Toilet

So I was thinking about something the other day. I used to do a lot of story planning on the toilet. Plotting. Character building. World building. So much of it used to come to me as I was sitting on the porcelain throne. Some readers have already clicked away by now. Some writers are busy nodding along to the sentiment. You see, I know I'm not alone. Many of us come up with some of our best ideas while on the can. Why, I bet Conan is a product of particularly rowdy curry the night before. OK, that claim is completely baseless, but I hope it's true.
There's a reason for it. It probably has some sort of fancy scientific terminology. It's the same reason we often come up with awesome ideas in the shower. It's to do with performing a task that's easy, that requires little to no real thought or concentration. That prevents you from doing others things thus giving you the time to be creative.It's a time when you're (typically) alone and therefore away from the distractions that others present.It's a sort of ritual and those are good for helping people to focus their minds.
None of this is a new concept. The TV sitcom Scrubs even did a whole episode on it. The epiphany toilet.
I'm not really sure the toilet being on the roof and open to the air would help with generating those awesome ideas, but maybe with the stench. Fresh air helps the creative mind... toilets help the creative mind... put them together and you have a criminal offence.
So where am I going with this? Well if all (yes, it's maybe more like some) of the best ideas come out of the toilet, then I have a problem. Because I've stopped using my toilet time to think of awesome creative ideas. These days I sit down on the bog and... Never search Google for images of using the phone on the toilet... just don't... not worth it.
Sad but true. I sit down and whip out the phone. I then proceed to browse my Facebook feed, or check my email, or load up a little mobile game. The last one is particularly bad because I sometimes find myself sitting on the toilet for a while even after I've finished because I really really REALLY want to finish a level of * insert generic match 3 game name here *.
Yes, I realised the other day that I had willingly sacrificed one my best (and daily) creative times to the electronic deity we all worship: our phones. Now I'm not about to hate on smartphones. I love mine. It goes everywhere with me, even the toilet. Probably not very hygienic now I think about it, but BAH!you all do it too. What I am about to do is make a change to my lifestyle.
From now on, I'm reclaiming that time of my life dedicated to pooping out awesome ideas. I'm taking back the john from my electronic overseer. No more phones on the toilet!
Say it with me:

NO MORE PHONES ON THE TOILET!
Or down it for that matter... even if it is the best place for an iPhone...



Rob J. Hayes is the author of the acclaimed The Ties that Bind trilogy and the upcoming Best Laid Plans duology. You can find out more on his website here .

9 Things You Might Not Know About It Takes a Thief...

It Take a Thief to Catch a Sunrise is a year old today! Happy birthday to my fantasy-steampunk heist caper.
To celebrate, I'm going to take a leaf out of fellow authory type Seth Skorkowsky's book and give you a list of things you might not know about It Takes a Thief to Catch a Sunrise.
…To Catch a Sunrise was originally released under the title of The Northern Sunrise with a different cover. It was suggested to me that both cover and title were not catchy enough. My wonderful sister suggested the new title and BOOM! the series was born.
The world is older than you think. A long time ago I originally had a YA series planned for the world. It was going to be based in the country of Great Turlain and was going to centre around a group of young elementals as they graduated from their academy to find the world isn't as nice and happy a place as their sheltered lives had taught them.
Sassaille culture and language is based on France. Great Turlain on Germany. Arkland on England. And there's another country across the Brimstone seas which is based on another European country... but I'm not yet telling which.
Originally I was going to have Sassaille use electricity quite a bit more and have the airships charge capacitors by flying into lightning storms. Then I was informed that Neil Gaiman had already beaten me to that idea so I scrapped it and decided Sassaille would focus more on alchemical power.
Jacques Revou and Isabel de Rosier are based a little bit on Bonnie and Clyde only without the violence. I wanted a thieving couple so deeply in love that their connection bemuses people around them.
The first chapter of ...To Catch a Sunrise started life as a short story. I decided to adapt it into a full novel after readers asked for more.
The schematic of The Northern Sunrise was originally based of a 19th century Ironclad warship. The artist heavily modified it with drawings of the Vinet crystals and a bunch of annotations that I provided.
...To Catch a Sunrise was originally designed as a stand alone book. I needed a palette cleanser, to write something a lot lighter, after finishing The Ties that Bind. However, I left it open for a sequel because I wanted the characters to live on. A number of avid readers contacted me and asked when the sequel was coming... so I started to plan one. Which leads me to...

It Takes a Thief to Start a Fire is coming this year. It's set in Great Turlain (home of the elementals) and will see Jacques and Isabel encounter another thieving crew with some interesting magic. AND... there is a 3rd book in the series planned which will take place across the Brimstone seas.
Rob J. Hayes is the author of the acclaimed  The Ties that Bind trilogy  and the upcoming Best Laid Plans duology. You can find out more on his  website here .

Is The Walking Dead Sexist?

OK. It's time for a rant about a popular TV show. No, not Game of Thrones, the other one I rant about. Awesome shot, Rick... but you're clearly running... not walking.The Walking Dead is pissing me off a little bit now and it's not for the reason you probably think it is... It's for gender diversity reasons. See, here's the way it works:
All bad-guys are guys. The bigger the bad, the more guys the bad-guy surrounds himself with.
Good-guys are allowed to be... what's the opposite of guys? Gells? Pretty sure that's just Yorkshire for girls. Lasses? OK. Good-guys are allowed to be lasses and they can be interesting and fleshed characters. Bad guys have to be manly and evil because men are... I don't know... better at being evil? Fairly certain that ain't true. See! Woman. Evil. I pretty much just chose this picture to remind people that The Emperor's New Groove exists.So far, the show has given us 1 female antagonist (I'm talking real bad-guy here, not lacky... and, to be honest, not many of those are women). And she lasted a few episodes and wasn't really all that evil, just a bit naughty. Yes, she can be called a bit naughty when compared to the likes of the Governor. Christine Woods as Lt. Dawn Lerner... she definitely has the 'bad-guy' stare.Now we're not counting zombies here, because zombies basically cease to be one gender or another. They're generic teeth-gnashing plot devices for the most part. The real villains of TWD are the living... and that's kind of the point really, isn't it.
I'm going to break down the series villains (as I remember them). Spoilers will follow:

Season 1 – no real villains. Zombies are bad.
Season 2 – Arguably the only real human villain was Shane. He was nuts. Not truly evil, but certainly unhinged.
Season 3 – This was the one that gave us the Governor, right? Yeah, he was evil from start to end. Even when he was being good... he was clearly still evil.
Season 4 – Still the Governor. Still evil. David Morrissey as the Governor. He lasted 2 series so deserves a picture.Season 5 – Terminus. While not a person but rather a place and a community of cannibals, the mouthpiece for the group was a bloke... they were also quite evil.
Then we have the hospital. Finally a villain who is a woman. Not as evil as the others, and only lasted a few episodes.
The final bad-guy in season 5 is Rick. We'll come back to Rick.
Season 6 – Started with the Wolves(?). Basically a bunch of folk who... um... yeah I'm vague about the whole thing. Their mouthpiece was a bloke again though and he was nuts. Evil nuts. Murdering folk nuts.
Negan... don't really know much about him, but I've been told he makes the Governor look all cute and fluffy. He's definitely a bloke and definitely all sorts of evil.
Back to Rick. Rick is arguably the biggest villain of the entire show. He's insane. There's no arguing that Rick is insane. He regularly goes on insane rants and has even been attacked by his own crew before because of his insanity. He is willing to kill without mercy or hesitation and he always justifies those murders, at least to himself if no one else. To be honest, his first idea whenever he's confronted by anyone he doesn't know is to kill them. He's a villain. A bad guy. Only he's the good guy. Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes wearing one of many crimson masks.So what brought on this little rant today? Well, I watched the latest episode. Season 6 Episode 12 – Not Tomorrow Yet. (We're still in spoiler territory). In this episode we see Rick and his murderous gang sneak into the Saviour's camp and murder folk in their sleep, before then having to battle folk while they're awake. I counted 21 bad guys that they killed. This, along with the 8 they killed in Episode 9 – No Way Out, comes to 29 confirmed Negan cronies... all men... and one disembodied woman's voice at the end of Episode 12.
Now, maybe I'm talking out of my arse (I often do), but I would like to see a few more women as villains in TWD. Women with lines of dialogue and actual characters beyond having a gun and pointing it at Rick's crew.

What do people think? Is there a reason all the bad guys in TWD are men? Are there any bad-ass women villains in the comics you'd like to see come to the show?



Rob J. Hayes is the author of the acclaimed  The Ties that Bind trilogy  and the upcoming Best Laid Plans duology. You can find out more on his  website here .

Review Blog – Killjoys

On the recommendation of friend and fellow authory-type, Charles “The Great Devourer”Phipps, I decided to give Syfy's Canadian Space Adventure a go. Some slight spoilers may follow. I'm not saying the marketing guys tried to copy Guardians of the Galaxy with the promos... but they totally did.So the premise is that out there in space somewhere, humans are living on a system of planets called the quad. These planets (and their populations) are heavily segregated into traditional class roles. Some planets are basically just hard labour planets for mining and such, while others are veritable paradise where ruling aristocrats live. The Company (yes, very vague and ominous) seems to basically own everything and also employs pretty much anyone with anything approaching a job.
Separate from them all are the Killjoys. Killjoys are basically bounty hunters/security/delivery folk working for the RAC (Recovery and Apprehension Coalition). They accept warrants (regardless of the source) and send their agents to retrieve/apprehend/deliver/kill/whatever else needs doing, and get paid Joy (the fictional currency) in return.
The story focuses on three such Killjoys. Dutch, the sexy-ninja-femme-fatale-leader of the group. John Jaqobis, the charming-funny-genius engineer-heart of the group. And D'Avin Jacobi, the ex-solider-gun-loving-hardman-thug of the group. Together these three attempt to carry out their jobs and serve warrants, only to find themselves embroiled in a much larger plot which appears to threaten the entire quad.
Right then. Premise over, time to get to grip with a bit of reviewing.
There were some very interesting concepts hidden within the show (and I do mean hidden). One episode saw the crew board a deserted interrogation ship where a mad AI was continuously breaking people down and rebuilding them for information. What made this episode so interesting was actually the method of torture, using nanobots to cause physical pain and then repair the damage to do it all over again.
Another episode saw them all embroiled in a tale of political politics as they were hired to rescue a girl who was being used as a 'breeder' for one of the ruling families. That particular episode had a very by-the-numbers finale shoot-out with about a dozen things that made no sense, but the idea behind the episode was an interesting one, as was the political ambitions of the character who actual issued the crew their warrant. This scene made NO sense. This girl sacrificed herself because they were out of bullets... Dutch does not look out of bullets.Unfortunately, many of the episodes came down to a very basic set of premises. The crew are given a warrant to go to a place and do a thing, only to find out that not everything is not like it seems, and then they have to work within the rules of the warrant to save the day and ruffle as few a feathers as possible.
In the shows defence, it is new, it is an interesting, though not entirely original concept, and its future was uncertain from the get-go. It has a very standard Monster-of-the-Week formulae (honestly each episode contains at least 1 gun-fight and at least 1 sexy-time scene), with occasional hints at a bigger story, and individual character mysteries. It does what it can within the confines, and ends up being fun, but flawed.
For our characters we'll start with Dutch (played by Hannah John-Kamen). She's kicks a lot of ass and those scenes never seem like the actor is taxed doing it. She has a mysterious past, with bits hinted at here and there over the course of the series. She changes outfits and hairstyles a lot, as do most female leads in shows like this. She's perfectly serviceable as the captain of the group. One very strange thing is her lines often sound as though they were spoken off-set and at those times the shot always cuts away so we can't see her face. I'm not sure if there was a problem with her remembering her lines, or they decided to change her lines after the fact, but its quite jarring once you notice it.
John Jacobi (played by Aaron Ashmore) is the star of the show as far as I'm concerned. He's witty and charming and thoroughly likeable. He's the least mysterious of the group and is played as a heart on his sleeve kind of every man. His relationship with Dutch is a highlight as they aren't romantic in the slightest, but are obviously very close. It's a pleasure to watch the two play friends instead of lovers.
D'Avin Jacobi (played by Luke Macfarlane) is... a big, pretty guy. He has strong facial features and rugged haircut. He's got a bit of a mysterious past, but who really cares? Honestly I just wasn't impressed with the character or the portrayal. Dull and lifeless. What made it worse was the way the show shoved him and Dutch together into a romantic entanglement. REALLY shoved. From the very first episode characters kept mentioning that they shouldn't get together... and they shouldn't have. There seemed to be no reason for it other than she's a woman, he's a man, they have interlocking parts so they should... interlock... for tension's sake. It was awkward and unbelievable... much like the character.
The other character worth mentioning is Lucy (voiced by Tamsen McDonough). Lucy is the (sentient?) AI aboard the ship and, other than the occasional ex-machina moment, is there to try to give the ship some personality. It fails. This is Lucy. She is a ship.... with fairly poorly defined dimensions.Here's why it fails: Name a space ship with personality... You probably thought of the Millenium Falcon, or Serenity, of Gallatica. These ships have personality and not one of them has a little voice on-board trying desperately to mimic Hal 9000. They have personality of the little quirks each ship has, because they are held together by the love and companionship of the crew, not by some disembodied voice. It worked in 2001: a space odyssey because Hal was a murderous nut-bar. It works in Star Trek because the computer is just a computer.
Anyways... Everything else aside the show builds up and up into an interesting finale and... despite any misgivings I have about it... It's fun. I enjoyed watching it. I cringed at places. I laughed at places. I enjoyed the action scenes despite never being wowed by them. It's fun and worth a watch if you like action-adventure sci-fi shows. If you like a bit more thought and intrigue, watch The Expanse instead. Actually, just watch the Expanse instead.

Have any of you watched Killjoys (or the Expanse)? What did you think? Leave a comment below.
Rob J. Hayes is the author of the acclaimed The Ties that Bind trilogy and the upcoming Best Laid Plans duology. You can find out more on his website here .

My Experience in Publishing So Far

Back in early 2011 I sat down and wrote my first book. It was called A KNIGHT'S DUTY and it was to be part of THE RIGHT OF SUCCESSION trilogy, followed up by A PRINCE'S HONOUR, and A KING'S RIGHT. I had the entire trilogy planned out and by late 2011 I had the first book down. It was to be the first story set in FIRST EARTH, the same setting of THE TIES THAT BIND and BEST LAID PLANS. It told the story of Jackt Veritean competing against his brothers for the Five Kingdom's crown. The problem was it just wasn't good enough.
When I wrote A Knight's Duty I hadn't found my voice (as writerly types say), and I hadn't quite got to grips with the world I was writing in. So in early 2012 I shelved the trilogy and went to work on a new book, one revolving around a trio of unlikely protagonists. That book became THE HERESY WITHIN and, though it was originally intended as a stand alone, as I neared the end it became clear it was going to be more. THE COLOUR OF VENGEANCE and THE PRICE OF FAITH quickly followed and The Ties that Bind was born. In this trilogy I found what the last was missing, a touch of humour to lighten the oppressively dark nature of First Earth.
I received a few rejections from agents as I sent The Heresy Within around. Though I probably didn't receive as many as I should have. I was ultimately very new to the game and rejections hit me hard. My decision to self publish was a defiant one. I wanted the world to read more story and meet my characters and I'd be damned before I let those agents get in the way.
So I found an artist who could do me some covers for... well pretty damned cheap to be honest. The rest of the production was done In House so to speak. That is to say that the cover design was done by myself and my father on a 5 year copy of Paint Shop Pro. The layout of the book was done with a similar treatment, and the marketing (upon eventual release) was pretty much just a social media spam by family members. The original The Ties that Bind artwork by Julio RealIn mid 2013 I released The Ties that Bind to the world. It did pretty well. Actually it did very well considering it was fairly rough and unpolished. At this point it had never been seen by a professional editor, and that was the biggest criticism folk had of it. It felt unpolished. OK, there was that 1 reviewer who said I was likely a 13 year boy who had never seen a pair of tits in my life, but those types of review were few and far between. Mostly they were very positive. Not only that, but my little trilogy sold better than I had hoped... much better.
Soon I had folk emailing me about foreign rights and even 1 fairly well-known publisher interested, although they were going through a fairly rough time and that swayed my decision against them. The Russian cover for The Heresy WithinI soon decided it was time for a re-skin, to up the quality of the covers. I hired an exceptional artist and the new cover for The Heresy Within looked fantastic (it's actually still my favourite of the covers). Originally I had hoped for the same artist to do covers for The Colour of Vengeance and The Price of Faith, but that unfortunately never happened. Still my favourite The Heresy Within cover. Artwork by Sigbjorn PedersenAfter releasing my debut trilogy I decided to take a break from First Earth and I wrote THE NORTHERN SUNRISE, a alchemypunk heist caper with a much lighter tone. After my success with The Ties that Bind I decided to self publish this one as well. It didn't do nearly so well and I have since been informed by a few agents that steampunk literature simply doesn't sell very well... unless you have a much bigger name than my own. Eventually I renamed this book IT TAKES A THIEF TO CATCH A SUNRISE and gave it a new skin because, even though it's never sold particularly well, I love it and I love the world and those fans it does have want a sequel... so they're getting one. IT TAKES A THIEF TO START A FIRE is well on its way. The Northern Sunrise artwork by Real Tidy Design. It Takes a Thief to Catch a Sunrise artwork by igreen Graphics.So back to The Ties that Bind. In mid 2014 Mihir Wanchoo of Fantasy Book Critic put me in touch with the young but fast rising Ragnarok Publications helmed by Joe Martin and Tim Marquitz. They seemed like a good fit and I decided to go ahead and give them the rights to The Ties that Bind. The old copies of my trilogy came down and in late 2014 The Heresy Within was re-released under Ragnarok with another new skin and touch more editing. The Colour of Vengeance and The Price of Faith quickly followed in 2015. The Ties that Bind (Ragnarok Publications release) artwork by Alex Raspad.Now Ragnarok Publications have been through a bit of turmoil recently. They'd be the first to admit they grew too large, too quickly and didn't have the experience necessary to properly deal with that. But, as one of their authors, I have never felt un-looked after and I actually feel I've been treated quite fairly. So with this in mind I mentioned to Joe Martin that I had a number of short stories set in First Earth. It's fair to say he was excited. THE BOUND FOLIO was born, collecting these short stories into 1 anthology and it's releasing soon. The Bound Folio artwork by Shawn (the Purple Wizard) King.So what did I do in 2014 and 2015? You may ask. I may have been busy with re-releases and attempting to keep up to date with blogs, and watching Star Wars films, but that doesn't mean I've been slacking off. Well I've been writing.
First off we have Best Laid Plans. It's a sequel to The Ties that Bind... of sorts. It's actually another stand alone series of books set in First Earth. It follows on pretty directly from The Ties that Bind, but requires no knowledge of that first trilogy. They're both part of a much larger story I'm telling within the world, but that's a blog for another day.
I presented Best Laid Plans to Joe Martin and he jumped at the chance to publish them and I'm more than happy to stick with Ragnarok. The first book in that series WHERE LOYALTIES LIE is releasing this year and the second, THE FIFTH EMPIRE OF MAN, will surely follow soon after. Even better, with the new distribution deal Ragnarok have signed with IPG, my books will soon be available to book stores world wide... such as here in England! Where Loyalites Lie artwork by Alex Raspad.That's pretty much where I am right now and this has been a brief history of my own experience in publishing so far. There's been a few bad days, but for the most part I've found it to be a positive experience. The best thing about it is this. I'm following my dream. I'm a published author and my dreams and insane ramblings have been read by people all over the world.

Rob J. Hayes is the author of the acclaimed The Ties that Bind trilogy. Find out more on his website here.

Chewbacca is the Real Hero of Star Wars The Force Awakens

 
Hero!This post will contain spoilers for Star Wars Episode 7 The Force Awakens (TFA).
By now we've probably all seen some of these memes going about. Here's one below... right in the feels. Right in the Goddamned feels!It got me thinking and I'm thinking this: Chewbacca is the real hero. That big Wookiee badass is everywhere in TFA. He delivers both funny and heartfelt one-lines and does it while speaking a completely foreign language that (I would assume) at least most of the audience can't understand. I'm guessing there's folk somewhere who have learned to speak Wookiee.
Lets just go through a list of his accomplishments in TFA.
Pretty much EVERYTIME someone needs saving in TFA, from the moment Chewie is introduced, he is there to do just that. Hero!
Back on the cargo ship when shit breaks loose and Han needs to open a door, Chewie takes a blaster shot for his best friend while covering Han's old, wrinkled ass. He shrugs it off pretty handily after a piss-poor job of bandaging. Seriously, most folk die from a blaster shot, Chewie requires a plaster. Hero!
He gets left behind to looks after the Falcon while Han, Rey, and Finn go to the bar. Does he complain about being left behind? No. Do any of them offer to bring him back a drink? No. He lets it go. Then when shit starts kicking off and the First Order shows up, Chewie runs right the hell into the thick of it to help out. That's pretty much the definition of a Hero!
Despite the fact that he has no other weapon and Han is already packing a blaster, Chewie readily lends his Bowcaster to Han, leaving him fairly defenceless in a fire fight. He actually does this twice and never complains. Why? Because he puts his friends well-being ahead of his own. Hero! Friends for life.With minimal planning from the group (by the looks of it Finn just says he has a plan and rushes off, hoping the others will know their parts), Chewie moves with more stealth than Solid Snake and captures the biggest badass the First Order Stormtrooper division has, Captain Phasma. This girl is so hardcore she runs around with shiny armour... in a battlefield situation that is called painting a target on yourself. And Chewie captures her, easily... barely a fight. Then Finn pretty much takes the credit for the whole thing while Chewie sits back and lets him gloat. No big deal. Just another day for the galaxy's most heroic Wookiee. Hero! She's badass. Chewie is badder...ass...On their way back out into the freezing temperatures outside, Chewie (despite being cold himself), picks up Han's jacket and hands it to him, reminding him to dress against the chill. Selfless. Hero!
Here's the feels one right here. Chewie watches his best friend and heterosexual life partner try to mend bridges with his nephew (we all know he was uncle Chewie to little Ben Solo). He doesn't get involved. He watches, hoping it all works out. Then Han is betrayed and stabbed through the chest with a lightsaber before being thrown into an abyss... Chewie lets out a scream and activates HERO MODE. He takes a well-aimed shot and injures Kylo Ren (not even Chewie has it in him to murder his own nephew), a calculated move which will give them all time to escape... hopefully. He then dodges a hail of blaster fire and takes out a unit of Stormtroopers before blowing the charges (allowing Poe Damoren to detonate Star Killer Base and take all the credit), and manages to escape. HERO! You may think he's on fire, but no! That's Chewie going Supersayain.Then, holding in emotions that would cripple most people, Chewie treks ALL the way back to the Falcon (this is not a short trek either and it's through freezing snow). Does Chewie run? Fly away? Not a chance. Despite the planet blowing up around him with the force of a supernova, Chewie flies the Falcon and manages to find his new friends lost and injured in a frozen forest. He then lands the Falcon long enough to go and fetch the injured friend, AND THEN flies them all the hell out of there before the planet explodes. Hero!
Lastly, and I will point out again that this is despite the fact that his best friend and life partner has just been murdered. At this point Chewie would be forgiven if he faded away into a bar and drank the rest of the trilogy away. But no. Chewie is too much of a hero for that. This giant walking carpet is the Jack Bauer of the Star Wars universe, always in the fight no matter how much of a shit storm is going around in his head and heart. Lastly, when one of his new friends sets off to find the long-lost Luke Skywalker... Chewie is the first to sing up on that mission and even takes her on the Falcon. Hero!

So that's it. There's been a lot of shit on the internet about how Rey isn't featured in as much merchandise as she should be. How she doesn't have a Monopoly figure and how her action figure is sold out due to inadequate supplies.... But the real hero of The Force Awakens is Chewbacca and he doesn't have a monopoly figure... his action figure is under-supplied AND under-demanded. Do you hear him complain? Of course not. He's Chewbacca. He's a Hero!
Heroes can also be cute. In this case too cute not to share.
Rob J. Hayes is the author of the acclaimed The Ties that Bind trilogy. Find out more on his website here.

Writerly Problems: One WIP is Never Enough

Seems pretty accurate.Now I like to think I work fairly quickly. I've written roughly 2 and a half books this year, 2 of which are on their way soon, and 1 which may never see the light of day if I can't figure out what to do with it. I'm not a patch on the likes of Stephen King or Brandon (I own all the words)Sanderson, but I'm no slouch.
One of these men is a cyborg sent from the future to use ALL the words.The problem is I sometimes (like today) look at the work ahead of me, of all that I want to write, and I feel a little lost. There's just too much to do and not enough time, not with gaming addiction and the need to spend at least SOME time with my better half (yes, it's usually in that order and I really hope she's OK with that).
I'm not joking, it's an addiction.
To put things into perspective:I have just finished BEST LAID PLANS (my upcoming piratical duology) and submitted it to the publishers for editing. I have just started to write IT TAKES A THIEF TO START A FIRE (the sequel to IT TAKES A THIEF TO CATCH A SUNRISE). I'm in the planning stages of a project so ambitious it scares me just thinking about it.I have 2 more trilogies set in First Earth to write, which will eventually finish off the project I started about 15 years ago.I have begun world building and plotting for an entirely new trilogy in an entirely new world which I am entirely in love with and can't wait to start writing in.I'm trying to keep up a blogging presence both on my own site and on my publisher's (and anyone else who may want a guest post writing... :D ).I have a bunch of short story ideas swimming around my head and if my next release, THE BOUND FOLIO, does well I'll be forced to get them written down.I have a tax return to fill out.
It's a lot to do... it's a lot to even think about doing. I looking forward to it (most of it), but I am also daunted by it. Just looking at it in list format sends me a little cross-eyed.
I've written 5 full length novels and 1 collection of short stories set in First Earth and I have that much to do again. 11 full length novels in all... 3 trilogies and a duology... and that's not including the trilogy I started and cancelled. Sorry, I'm rambling. But that's what tends to happen when I think about it in one big collection.
I made these! I know I'm fairly new to the game and have (hopefully) my whole career ahead of me. I know there's a lot of writers who have a substantial catalogue of dozens upon dozens upon dozens of books. And I know I'm not the first to look at the pile of work I have ahead of me and think “How the crap am I gonna do this?” But this is the first time it's really felt real to me, this task I have set myself.
So what do I do about it? Well my father once said to me something along the lines of:
When you've got a long way to go, don't look at the destination. Look at the path ahead.
And it makes sense. Sure, it's wise to glance up every now and then to make certain you're still headed in the right direction, but if you look down at the path in front of you, the trip doesn't seem nearly as impossible and progress in steps always feels more than progress in miles.
The horizon always looks so far away.So that's what I'm going to do. I have started IT TAKES A THIEF TO START A FIRE and by the Maker, the Creator, and the Ruiner I am going to finish it. The last thing I want is to leave the poor novel sitting, half-finished, by the roadside while I march on unto the next project. After that? Well after that I'll see where I am, see which story is loudest in my head.
Sequel imminent.I think this is the way it works best for me. Choose one story and finish it before starting another. One at a time or I become too unfocused and jumbled. Some authors may well be able to write 5 WIPs at once but not me. Too many WIPs spoil the broth.



Rob J. Hayes is the author of the acclaimed The Ties that Bind trilogy. Find out more on his website here.

Waging in on Star Wars - Rey's Parentage

Having now seen Star Wars The Force Awakens twice, I feel comfortable enough to wage into the internet discussion. This will not be a review. I loved the film and felt it was a true Star Wars film, and I don't feel the need to review it. Instead I'm going to post a few of my own theories.

So to get it out of the way. This post WILL contain spoilers. IT WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS.
Now I may not be the first to post this particular theory, but damnit it's been rolling around in my head for a while now.
I think Rey is a Kenobi!
Now before you all shout me down with the popular “She's clearly Luke's daughter” theory.... shut up! I don't care. She's not a Skywalker. Star Wars is not ALL about the Skywalkers and there's already far too many of them around. It's too easy an answer, it wouldn't be a surprise or a twist, and it would be a pretty non-impact of a revelation.
First things first. The parallels drawn between A New Hope (ANH) and The Force Awakens (TFW) are undeniable. Evil empire running the shot, resistance fighting back trying to free the galaxy. Big space station capable of destroying planets, big planet capable of killing star systems (let's not get started on the complexity of that little weapon of mass destruction). Dark lord in a black mask and big holographic evil controlling him, dark lord in a black mask and big holographic evil controlling him... OK, that parallel is drawn with Empire Strikes Back (ESB), but you get the point.
Now in a ANH we followed along with Luke Skywalker. Luke was strong with the force, but was untrained. He had been hidden from the dark lord by Obi-Wan Kenobi. Luke went off to find Obi-Wan and then Obi-Wan ended up being Luke's first teacher in the ways of the force. Obi-Wan was then cut down by the dark lord.
In TFW we follow along with Rey (Kenobi). Rey is strong with the force, but is untrained. Slight speculation here, but it seems she might have been hidden from the new dark lord by Luke Skywalker. Rey then goes off to find Luke and it certainly looks like Luke will end up being Rey's first teacher. It's also not beyond the realms of possibility that Luke will eventually be cut down by the new dark lord.
Now for a bit more substantial evidence. I've watched TFW twice now, with my other half both times and her hearing is a lot better than my own (something to do with my love of metal played at loud volumes probably). Now after the first viewing she turned to me and said she heard Obi-Wan's voice both during Rey's flashback-y vision when she touches Luke's lightsaber, and also when she's trusts in the force during her battle with Ren.
I did a little bit of research and it appears that both Ewan McGregor and Alec Guiness are both credited as voice parts in TFW. So during my second viewing I paid a bit more attention and it does appear as if Rey hears Obi-Wan's voice during both scenes.
Let's flashback to ANH again and after Obi-Wan is struck down by the Vader Luke hears his voice. At this point Luke is largely untrained and unfocused. It's only when he becomes stronger with the force that we see Obi-Wan appear as a force ghost. It's entirely possibly therefore that Rey can hear Obi-Wan at this point, but not see his force ghost yet. Maybe in the second film we'll be getting some Ewan McGregor Obi-Wan ghosty (seems fairly unlikely we'll be getting Alec Guiness back unfortunately).
The last bit of information which might help support the theory is that Kylo Ren's real name is apparently Ben. Now it would make sense that he is named after Obi-Wan Kenobi who was also known as Ben Kenobi. Not really evidence, but it would certainly make for an interesting little wink towards a character who is arguably just as influential as any of the Skywalkers.
Now I'm a little invested in this theory, I won't lie, because Obi-Wan has long been my favourite character in the Star Wars universe and I would love to see his legacy live on in the future of the franchise, rather than disappear into obscurity. That being said there are a few issues with this theory.
Rey's parents... If Rey is a Kenobi then she has to be Obi-Wan's granddaughter or maybe even great granddaughter. The Jedi are meant to be celibate if the prequels are to be believed, but that's a rule of the Jedi Order which was destroyed by Anakin and Palpatine. It's quite possible that Obi-Wan slipped on a few of his vows after the end of the order. Of course then we also have to ask who and where are Rey's parents?
On the other side of Rey's parents, I find it hard to believe that Luke had a daughter and not even his closest friends and loved ones knew anything about it.
Luke's lightsaber flies to Rey instead of Kylo. Some people might say this is because Rey has a more direct blood link to Luke than Kylo does. Of course it's also quite possible that it's because Rey has a more direct link to the light side of the force than Kylo does. Who knows what makes the larger impression on a lightsaber. Besides, Obi-Wan may not have built the lightsaber, but he owned it for longer than Anakin ever did, even if it was just a relic.

So there's my thoughts on the question. I think it would be very cool for Rey to be a Kenobi instead of a Skywalker and it would also be a bit out of left field. Either way, it's just one of the many questions The Force Awakens posed that I can't wait to be answered.
And here's a picture of Crix Madine.

Rob J. Hayes is the author of the acclaimed The Ties that Bind trilogy. Find out more on his website here.

Review Blog: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Yup, that's right. This here blog post is a review of a computer game. That being said, my review focuses more on the story being told than the game being played.
This is Geralt. He's awesome. He's also a bit of a dick... which makes him more awesome. 
So last night I FINALLY finished The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Why do I say this like it's an achievement? Because it is. This game is big. Ridiculously big. TOO big. Honestly I sunk over 200 hours of my life into this game (and enjoyed... most of them). I had to do it in 2 runs though. I picked up the game on release about 3 months ago and I hit it hard. About 100 hours in I ran out of steam. I couldn't face it anymore. I put the game down. Then a couple of weeks ago I saw a friend of mine playing it and thought “I should really finish that game.” So I did... another 100 hours of it.
This truly is my first gripe. The game was just TOO big. There was too much to do. Too much to see. It exhausted me. Would I have it any smaller? Hell no. I've been programmed as a gamer to come to the conclusion that more is always better. Take anything out and I accuse you of holding back content for paid downloadable content(dlc). Money grubbing bastards. Speaking of dlc, I intend to pick up Heart of Stone soon because I loved this huge, bulbous, behemoth of a game. I appear to be rambling. Back on track.
The Witcher games are based on literature written by Andrzej Sapkowski and follow the lead character Geralt of Rivia (the White Wolf). Geralt is a Witcher, which is very much like a Witch Hunter only he mostly hunts monsters. Witchers are mutants created through some pretty harsh rituals. They have heightened senses, the ability to use rudimentary magic, and can survive shit that would cut most folk in half. This is a Wyvern... or a Basilisk... or a Fork Tail... They all looked a bit similar when flying around dive bombing my face.
The Witcher 3 opens much like a third book in a trilogy. MOST of the main players (and their relationship to our hero) have already been established in the previous games, and it really does seem as though Geralt knows EVERYONE. The game opens with Geralt chasing long time love interest and sorcerous, Yennifer of Vengerberg who is in turn chasing after Geralt's estranged daughter (though not by birth) Ciri... I'm going to leave it there for setting because it starts to get weird.
So it opens like the third book in a trilogy. Kind of makes sense given that it is the third game in a trilogy. Only one problem with that. Games and books are completely different formats. Now I played the Witcher 2. I really enjoyed it. I can't really remember it that well though. I never played the Witcher and honestly don't even know how I would get my hands on a copy, nor the system to play it. The information I need to know about these character's prior relationship is there (in the extensive journals), but the game is already 200+ hours and I don't have time to sink another 100 hours into reading everyone's back stories.
There is another problem with this game being the third in a trilogy and it's this: After a little bit of research it appears neither Yennifer, nor Ciri appear in either of the other Witcher games. These 2 are arguably the two most important characters in the game after Geralt. The entire plot revolves around Ciri. We're told they all have a deep connection and we get hints of it throughout the game... but no more than that. Despite this, the relationship between Ciri and Geralt is quite heart-warming once they eventually meet up. It really does feel like a doting father and a wild, wilful daughter. This is Yennifer. Geralt loves her and so do we. She's a bitch. A glorious bitch.
So it's a game. I should probably talk about the gameplay a little. It's fun. The explorable areas are HUGE. The side quests are beyond numerous. The combat is... awkward at times. Camera angles have a habit of flying about the place, especially during fist fights, and my most infuriating moments arose from this issue. I died quite a few times as the camera decided to stare lovingly into Geralt's cat-like eyes while some beasty flattened my with a fist the size of a melon.
Geralt picks up Witcher contracts along the way to rid the world of nasty monsters and some of these provided some of the most intriguing moments. I really enjoyed wandering around the countryside hunting monsters. There's stunning vistas, roaming packs of wolves, the odd Wyvern attack. Loved it. However, much of the game is also set in the large city of Novigrad. The game lost a lot of its shine for me there. It simply wasn't as fun in a large city, surrounded by folk. It felt less mysterious, less wonderous.
There's one more thing I would like to point out and I'm going to say this first. I loved the game. I played it for over 200 hours and I intend to play it a bit more once I pick up the first dlc (Heart of Stone). That being said, I feel it fails in its attempt to tell a story.
The big bad is a group of marauding elves (somehow different to other elves?) called the Wild Hunt. They come from another world... that's really about all I know of them. They were horribly underdeveloped as a villain. They turned up, chasing Ciri, to use some power she has to... um... do something. This is the Wild Hunt. They have evil plans... probably. Maybe even reasons for those plans. They also have powers... sometimes.
Ciri as well was another issue. She is the point the entire plot revolves around. We even play as her from time to time. She has some big power that derives from her “Elder Blood”. This power lets her travel through worlds and use teleportation. It also allows her to do other things like scream really loud. Her powers are never truly explained and also present quite a few continuity errors. This is Ciri... she can do things... for some reason.
The White Frost. This had something to do with the end of the game and is mentioned quite a bit throughout. It appears to be some sort of Armageddon. Possibly a nuclear winter of sorts. I don't know. Another thing that was poorly explained, but apparently has a great impact on the world and the story.
So the game fails in story telling because I know more about how Jane Doe can place a curse on John Doe that will cause ghouls to flock to him, than I do about what the hell actually happened in the finale to the game.
Despite its obvious failings, I will happily recommend this game to people. It has a rich, deep, well-imagined world with characters that are interesting and complex. I've rarely played a game with characters who felt so real.

I give The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt a solid 3.5 out of 5. It's good, but never quite manages to be great.


Rob J. Hayes is the author of the acclaimed The Ties that Bind trilogy. Find out more on his website here.