Nav Logan's Blog, page 41
April 7, 2014
April 4, 2014
Review of Agency Woman by John A. A. Logan- a compelling read.
This is a book that drags you down into the abyss. It is like the main character, Jim, dark and filled with hidden terrors. The book is a compelling read and filled with many emotions: Love, confusion, delusion, obsession, hatred, compulsion.... the list goes on and on. Dragged back into a world that he thought he’d left behind, a personality he thought he’d left behind, Jim faces his own demons, and the demons of the agency he used to work for.
And yet, he is seduced, and walks willingly into the Hell of his nightmares by green eyes and soft silky flesh. A great read...
As always, I find myself comparing John A. A. Logan’s work to the likes of James Herbert or Stephen King. He has the ability to make you wonder, Am I reading a thriller or a horror story? Brilliant.
And yet, he is seduced, and walks willingly into the Hell of his nightmares by green eyes and soft silky flesh. A great read...
As always, I find myself comparing John A. A. Logan’s work to the likes of James Herbert or Stephen King. He has the ability to make you wonder, Am I reading a thriller or a horror story? Brilliant.
April 1, 2014
Paperbacks finally arrived
The missing batch of paperbacks for Maerlin's Storm has finally arrived. I'd nearly given up on them. I've nearly finished the final tweaks on the paperback version of The Gathering of the Clans too, so this will be out shortly. Anyone looking for a copy can PM me for a signed copy or link through my website: http://navlogan.com/my-books/ to order copies.
March 28, 2014
March 25, 2014
March 23, 2014
Book review
Book Review: The Prophecy of the Kings by David Burrows.
This is a book that slowly builds into a great epic tale of adventure. Like a good stew, it takes time for the full flavour to be revealed but it is well worth the wait. It builds and builds as the story is revealed until it becomes a masterful piece of fantasy. It is a long read, but well worth the effort and you will be well rewarded for your perseverance. I know I was.
In particular, I loved the dark psyche of the dragons, which was very cleverly thought out and presented within the second part of the story. By the time you get to the third book of the trilogy, where you are transported into the realms of hell and fight demons, as well as feasting with dwarves, and many other adventures, the tale has you well and truly hooked, and there is no getting off until the final, explosive finale. Brilliant read.
This is a book that slowly builds into a great epic tale of adventure. Like a good stew, it takes time for the full flavour to be revealed but it is well worth the wait. It builds and builds as the story is revealed until it becomes a masterful piece of fantasy. It is a long read, but well worth the effort and you will be well rewarded for your perseverance. I know I was.
In particular, I loved the dark psyche of the dragons, which was very cleverly thought out and presented within the second part of the story. By the time you get to the third book of the trilogy, where you are transported into the realms of hell and fight demons, as well as feasting with dwarves, and many other adventures, the tale has you well and truly hooked, and there is no getting off until the final, explosive finale. Brilliant read.
March 20, 2014
Snippet from Book Two
Conal was rudely awoken by a foot in the ribs. Bleary-eyed, he looked up and scowled at Taliesin. “Remind me to fire you later!”
“You’d have to start paying me first, your Highness. That’s usually part of the agreement. You hire someone to do some work for you, and then, you pay them their wages so that they can feed themselves and buy stuff that may or may not be useful to them. If you get fed up with them, then and only then, do you fire them. You’ve missed a few steps along the way, Conal.”
“I was just saving time and skipping to the good bit,” Conal declared and pulled the covers back over his head.
The boot in the ribs was firmer this time.
“Ouch! What was that for? If I had an executioner, you’d be walking on thin ice right now.”
“You’d have to pay him first. Should I just go out and cut my own head off? I could send you the bill afterwards.”
Resigning himself to being awake, Conal looked balefully at Taliesin. “Was there a point to this conversation?”
“...There are two, actually.”
Conal waited. Clearly, Taliesin was out to annoy him today. “…And what would they be ...?”
“The first is to make sure that you’re fully awake as I know full well that you’d turn over and go back to sleep if we didn’t have this little chat …”
“… And what is the second?”
“Ah, yes … the second. Well, seeing as Cull isn’t here to look out for you ...”
“You mean pester, nag, and generally bully me into doing what he wants me to do …”
“…Exactly! Well, seeing as he isn’t here to pester, nag, and generally bully you into doing what should be done, then I figured someone else has to ...”
“Someone has to what, exactly?”
“… Get you to do what needs to be done, of course. Let’s face it, there isn’t anyone else around here that’ll do it, is there? They’re all just as pleased as punch to have the Dragan prince back, and none of them want to rock the boat, but Cull was right. You need to face up to your responsibilities, and since it’s partly my fault that Cull left, I feel that it’s up to me to take up the slack.”
“Tal ... Did someone hit you on the head?”
“No … why?”
“I can arrange it, if you’d like? I’m sure I can do that.”
“Not until you start paying them their wages, you can’t.”
“You’re getting quite a fixation for money, you know. It can’t be good for your health.”
“Ah, you see! That’s the sort of thing I’m talking about. If you’re going to rebuild this sorry excuse for a fortress, then you’re going to need to start thinking about commerce and trade, and all of that. Those sorts of things don’t handle themselves, you know, and I’m sure someone, somewhere, is making a tidy profit by doing this stuff for you. For instance, all the horses out in the paddocks, and the sheep and cattle for that matter… have you looked into what they’ve earned you yet? Before the spring fair, you’ll need to have all of that sorted out. Once you get to the fair, you’ll be too busy to handle all those tiny details yourself. This brings me to another point, and the real reason that I got you up so early.”
“Finally, we get to the point … I’m all ears.”
“Well … you’ve been lolling around here for over a week now. As you know, I’ve never been one for physical exercise, but I’m not the one with my Rites of Manhood coming up. To be blunt, you’ll need to put on a good show at the trials, if you’re going to drum up support for your Kingship, and you aren’t going to do that if you are huffing and puffing after the first mile of the big run.”
“Taliesin, I’m the only heir to the throne. It’s not as if I’m going to have a younger brother come along and boot me off the throne.”
“Conal! As your friend, let me just say … don’t be such a cloth-eared, spawny-eyed prat. You know full well what I mean. It’s not Clann Na Dragan I’m worried about. It’s the throne of the High King. You’ll need powerful friends to keep Lord Boare at bay, while you rebuild your Kingdom. Otherwise, come springtime, this place will be swarming with Boarites again. You can’t rely on the Brocians to keep them away. You need to win the respect of the other Clans.”
Conal blinked in surprise. He had never heard Taliesin say anything like this before. The bard was usually too busy composing sonnets to worry about his next meal. With a sigh, he threw back the covers and started searching under the bed.
“What are you doing?” Taliesin asked, after watching him for a moment.
“I’m looking for my socks. I had them on last night.”
“Why don’t you wear a clean pair?”
Conal’s hand came up with a threadbare blue patterned sock. “It’s alright, I’ve found one!” A further rummage found another sock. This one was red and longer than the first.
“Conal, your chambermaid puts your laundered socks in that small cupboard over there.”
“She does … since when?” Conal got up and flipped open the cupboard. “That’s a stupid place to put them!”
Taliesin shook his head. “…As opposed to storing them with your bellybutton fluff collection under your bed, is that it? Conal, you really need to get your act together. Get some socks on, and we’ll go and see Declan. I’m sure he can arrange a suitable training regime to get you fit.”
Conal sighed and silently relinquished his life of luxury. Taliesin seemed determined to make up for Cull’s departure, and knowing Declan, he’d be only too happy to oblige.
“You’d have to start paying me first, your Highness. That’s usually part of the agreement. You hire someone to do some work for you, and then, you pay them their wages so that they can feed themselves and buy stuff that may or may not be useful to them. If you get fed up with them, then and only then, do you fire them. You’ve missed a few steps along the way, Conal.”
“I was just saving time and skipping to the good bit,” Conal declared and pulled the covers back over his head.
The boot in the ribs was firmer this time.
“Ouch! What was that for? If I had an executioner, you’d be walking on thin ice right now.”
“You’d have to pay him first. Should I just go out and cut my own head off? I could send you the bill afterwards.”
Resigning himself to being awake, Conal looked balefully at Taliesin. “Was there a point to this conversation?”
“...There are two, actually.”
Conal waited. Clearly, Taliesin was out to annoy him today. “…And what would they be ...?”
“The first is to make sure that you’re fully awake as I know full well that you’d turn over and go back to sleep if we didn’t have this little chat …”
“… And what is the second?”
“Ah, yes … the second. Well, seeing as Cull isn’t here to look out for you ...”
“You mean pester, nag, and generally bully me into doing what he wants me to do …”
“…Exactly! Well, seeing as he isn’t here to pester, nag, and generally bully you into doing what should be done, then I figured someone else has to ...”
“Someone has to what, exactly?”
“… Get you to do what needs to be done, of course. Let’s face it, there isn’t anyone else around here that’ll do it, is there? They’re all just as pleased as punch to have the Dragan prince back, and none of them want to rock the boat, but Cull was right. You need to face up to your responsibilities, and since it’s partly my fault that Cull left, I feel that it’s up to me to take up the slack.”
“Tal ... Did someone hit you on the head?”
“No … why?”
“I can arrange it, if you’d like? I’m sure I can do that.”
“Not until you start paying them their wages, you can’t.”
“You’re getting quite a fixation for money, you know. It can’t be good for your health.”
“Ah, you see! That’s the sort of thing I’m talking about. If you’re going to rebuild this sorry excuse for a fortress, then you’re going to need to start thinking about commerce and trade, and all of that. Those sorts of things don’t handle themselves, you know, and I’m sure someone, somewhere, is making a tidy profit by doing this stuff for you. For instance, all the horses out in the paddocks, and the sheep and cattle for that matter… have you looked into what they’ve earned you yet? Before the spring fair, you’ll need to have all of that sorted out. Once you get to the fair, you’ll be too busy to handle all those tiny details yourself. This brings me to another point, and the real reason that I got you up so early.”
“Finally, we get to the point … I’m all ears.”
“Well … you’ve been lolling around here for over a week now. As you know, I’ve never been one for physical exercise, but I’m not the one with my Rites of Manhood coming up. To be blunt, you’ll need to put on a good show at the trials, if you’re going to drum up support for your Kingship, and you aren’t going to do that if you are huffing and puffing after the first mile of the big run.”
“Taliesin, I’m the only heir to the throne. It’s not as if I’m going to have a younger brother come along and boot me off the throne.”
“Conal! As your friend, let me just say … don’t be such a cloth-eared, spawny-eyed prat. You know full well what I mean. It’s not Clann Na Dragan I’m worried about. It’s the throne of the High King. You’ll need powerful friends to keep Lord Boare at bay, while you rebuild your Kingdom. Otherwise, come springtime, this place will be swarming with Boarites again. You can’t rely on the Brocians to keep them away. You need to win the respect of the other Clans.”
Conal blinked in surprise. He had never heard Taliesin say anything like this before. The bard was usually too busy composing sonnets to worry about his next meal. With a sigh, he threw back the covers and started searching under the bed.
“What are you doing?” Taliesin asked, after watching him for a moment.
“I’m looking for my socks. I had them on last night.”
“Why don’t you wear a clean pair?”
Conal’s hand came up with a threadbare blue patterned sock. “It’s alright, I’ve found one!” A further rummage found another sock. This one was red and longer than the first.
“Conal, your chambermaid puts your laundered socks in that small cupboard over there.”
“She does … since when?” Conal got up and flipped open the cupboard. “That’s a stupid place to put them!”
Taliesin shook his head. “…As opposed to storing them with your bellybutton fluff collection under your bed, is that it? Conal, you really need to get your act together. Get some socks on, and we’ll go and see Declan. I’m sure he can arrange a suitable training regime to get you fit.”
Conal sighed and silently relinquished his life of luxury. Taliesin seemed determined to make up for Cull’s departure, and knowing Declan, he’d be only too happy to oblige.
March 19, 2014
Competition Idea
Hi there everyone.
I'm banging my head against the kitchen table here, trying to think of a way to increase my reviews for The Gathering of the Clans: - Book Two of the Storm-Bringer Saga. The book has been out now for a few months and apart from one review on Amazon.co.uk (many many thanks Ava) it has got no feedback whatsoever. Apart from anything else, I am curious as to what people think of the book, as it is slightly different than the first one. It's grittier and some scenes of a sexual and violent nature as well as being, in my humble opinion, rather funny. But that’s just my view, and I would like to know what other people thought of it.
The book is currently getting an overhaul, thanks to David Wailing’s proofreading and editing skills at http://storywork.co.uk/ and I hope to soon have the book available on paperback, so I would welcome some reviews to see what the readers thought of it.
Therefore, I am trying to think of ways to solve this problem. Here is the idea that I’ve come up with...
I am going to offer up a signed copy of the newly released paperback version of Book One of the Storm-Bringer Saga: - Maerlin Storm as a prize to anyone who writes a review for the book. All legitimate entries will be admissible, whatever the rating you give to the book, so you will have had to actually read the book and include something within your review to make this clear: most or least favourite character in the book, scene etc.
All legitimate reviews will be considered an entry no matter what the rating given and a winner will be picked at random. Ava, obviously, your review will be included.
Before launching this competition, I thought I’d throw it by a few people, to see what they think, so I welcome your thoughts. Is this a good idea, or not?
I'm banging my head against the kitchen table here, trying to think of a way to increase my reviews for The Gathering of the Clans: - Book Two of the Storm-Bringer Saga. The book has been out now for a few months and apart from one review on Amazon.co.uk (many many thanks Ava) it has got no feedback whatsoever. Apart from anything else, I am curious as to what people think of the book, as it is slightly different than the first one. It's grittier and some scenes of a sexual and violent nature as well as being, in my humble opinion, rather funny. But that’s just my view, and I would like to know what other people thought of it.
The book is currently getting an overhaul, thanks to David Wailing’s proofreading and editing skills at http://storywork.co.uk/ and I hope to soon have the book available on paperback, so I would welcome some reviews to see what the readers thought of it.
Therefore, I am trying to think of ways to solve this problem. Here is the idea that I’ve come up with...
I am going to offer up a signed copy of the newly released paperback version of Book One of the Storm-Bringer Saga: - Maerlin Storm as a prize to anyone who writes a review for the book. All legitimate entries will be admissible, whatever the rating you give to the book, so you will have had to actually read the book and include something within your review to make this clear: most or least favourite character in the book, scene etc.
All legitimate reviews will be considered an entry no matter what the rating given and a winner will be picked at random. Ava, obviously, your review will be included.
Before launching this competition, I thought I’d throw it by a few people, to see what they think, so I welcome your thoughts. Is this a good idea, or not?
