J. Hamlet's Blog: Scarred Earth: A Serial Novel, page 6

Gourder Fall 2013: A Journey (Homebrewing)

Because I hate myself, I decided to homebrew two batches of beer during November in addition to NaNoWriMo. Yeah, not smart. At least the first batch, ready now, tastes mighty fine. I call it The Gourder, as it is a porter made with pumpkins and acorn squash, along with a dash of allspice. Roasty, dark, and with a slight kiss of hops. 

The Herald of Autumn (Book Review)

The Herald of Autumn by J.M. Guillen

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The Herald of Autumn really has that American Gods feel, and because of that I liked it from the beginning. It follows the titular character, The Herald of Autumn, as he awakens to face a dark, backwoods force that swallows and possesses all the magical essence and life it can find. The Herald also has to deal with the puzzling circumstances of his awakening, brought on by a trickster-type named Coyote.

There's world-building here, but it is achieved in a way that avoids infodumps and seems familiar, even if it builds on but deviates from a lot of folklore. Much of it is kept vague, which works to the story's benefit in establishing an air of mystery and suspense. A very good read in that it is engaging, provides a lot of very poetic language, and then is over before it wears out its welcome. It blends fantasy with some elements of horror very skillfully.

Only downsides are that it ends abruptly and the often heavy use of italics during some of the storytelling sections is somewhat confusing. J. M. Guillen has a very interesting style of writing, if occasionally overwrought, but in this case it fits the mood and atmosphere of the material quite well.



View all my reviews













The Herald of Autumn

By J M Guillen

#NaNoWriMo2013 - Winner - 50,616

It was hard.  But I made it happen. This was quite possibly the ugliest 50K I've ever soldiered through, and will probably require about a billion hours of editing to make into something useful, but I did it. In the end, that's what matters. 

#NaNoWriMo - 40018 Words

A 5K day, and I'm almost caught up. You can't get me, 2013. You can't get me! In honor of all the ways in which I've filled so much of my word count with unnecessary action sequences and gratuitous gun battles, I'll just have the Black Angels take it away for me. 

#NaNoWriMo - 31,577 Words and Rising

Still behind this NaNoWriMo, but Scarred Earth, my flash fiction epic about an alien invasion is gelling more and more. I know it will have to be edited heavily. I know some chapters are absolute shit and will have to be scrapped entirely, but I'm not going to let that stop me! Words on the page, words on the page, words on the page. Still going to have to pull off a 3K plus word day every remaining day this month, but it's easily doable. I will not let 2013 be the first year that breaks my winning streak. 2013, you will not pass. I summon the Magic Clap against you! 

 

Why You Must Go to Daikaya

Source: DCist

Last night I tried out Daikaya's Ramen bar. It was magnificent. The choices of stock all looked paralyzingly good, but I finally went with the dark Shoyu Ramen. It was like drinking gravy made of umami. I want a gallon milk container of the stuff so I can pour it over all of my meals. The marinated, soft-boiled eggs will also murder you with tasty. 

And now I find they do rice bowls for lunch? I have to go back at least once to try the Izakaya, but now I also think I have to find a way to hit it for lunch and try this concept out. If DC's not careful it might just blunder its way into a downtown that's actually worthwhile during non business hours. 

Permalink

#NaNoWriMo - 22,221

I thought NaNoWriMo might have me beat this year, ending my undefeated streak. But then, lo and behold, a 5,000 plus word day. I'm at 22,221 words now. Nanowrimo 2013 may not be the one that breaks me after all. Still have a lot of catching up to do, but this actually looks possible now. 

Kirkus Review in for Hand of Chaos

 

The Kirkus review for my debut novel has been posted: 

"In this rollicking debut novel, Hamlet successfully transforms bureaucratic infighting into an apocalyptic struggle between good and evil.

At the heart of the action is Anna Wei, a member of the National Security Agency’s Division of Unconventional Weaponry and Tactics, a kind of supernatural SWAT team. Like too many young women in the Washington, D.C., area, Wei is married to her job, although she hooks up occasionally with a striking half-vampire. Hers is not the most healthy lifestyle, as she and her Chaos squad mates employ black magic and enchanted weapons to battle the undead, such as ghouls and vampires. Her co-workers include an immortal and cursed paladin, a Nigerian shaman, a bookish shape-shifter, a brilliant, cranky wizard and an inept summoner. DUWAT members often find themselves at odds with the “Churchies,” such as the Department of Defense’s Defense Intelligence Agency, who use white magic to combat similar paranormal threats. Both secret groups are soon targeting Ethan Morgan, a former Chaos agent who is now using death magic. Morgan is seeking revenge for the death of his younger brother, a soldier killed in a secret DOD “Perfect Cleansing,” and he doesn’t care who else dies in the process. He has an intricate plan to make himself so powerful that all the forces of good can’t stop him. The novel focuses on the search for Morgan, leading to a pitched conflagration at Arlington National Cemetery, from which few walk away unscathed. Hamlet, an admitted, longtime slinger of red tape, does a masterful job of transforming mundane bureaucracy into a supernatural battleground. He has ably fused the disparate genres of political thriller and zombie apocalypse into one book that will satisfy fans of either—no mean feat. Best of all, Hamlet has set himself up to write more such tantalizing hybrids.

A rampaging read with memorable characters that proves to be a promising first installment of a planned series."

 

Hand of Chaos (Chaos Theology)

By J. Hamlet

Oatbombs (Recipe)

Bombs of oats and such

These are intense oatmeal cookies with big flavor. They lean on some spices, dark brown sugar, dried tart cherries, and bittersweet chocolate. It also makes use of the creaming technique, which if you know your Alton Brown, is not a sex act described in urban dictionary but a method of baking usually used for cakes. 

Ingredients3/4 cup dark brown sugar1 stick (or 1/2 cup) salted softened butter (that's right, you thought I was going to go unsalted didn't you? nope. I like salted more for oatmeal cookies)1 1/4 (that's 1.25) cups rolled oats (quick - not instant. never instant).1 egg2 tbsp milk1 tbsp whiskey1 cup all purpose flour1/2 teaspoon baking soda1 teaspoon ground cinnamon1/2 teaspoon ground cloves (this is especially key)1/4 teaspoon salt1/2 cup ground nuts (unsalted nuts or you will have a salt bomb on your hands. I prefer cashews, but walnuts and pecans are good too. You can do this by hand or in a food processor)1/4 cup dried tart cherris1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips1/2 teaspoon vanilla extractGearCookies sheetsParchment paperMixer (stand or hand, preferably stand)DirectionsPreheat oven to 375Add sugar and butter to bowl. Mix on low until combined (if stand mixer, just leave on "stir"). Probably around 1 minute. Add oats, egg, milk, whiskey to bowl mix until combined (if stand mixer, just drop this stuff right in while still on "stir"), about 20-30 seconds. Assemble the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt) in a small mixing bowl. While mixing on low, add slowly to oat mixture assembled in steps 1 and 2 to allow cookie dough to form. Should take around 20-30 seconds. Add chopped nuts, dried tart cherries, vanilla extract, and bittersweet chocolate chips to mixture, continue to mix until incorporated. Again, about 20-30 seconds on low.Put parchment paper over cookie sheets.Drop dough by tablespoonfuls (thereabouts) onto parchment-paper-covered cookie sheets. Bake in oven for 10-12 minutes. Remove cookie sheets from oven. Allow to rest for 1-2 minutes, then remove from cookie sheets and allow to cool on cooling rack for several hours before eating. 

 

 

 

The Mongoliad Book One (Goodreads Review)

The Mongoliad: Book One by Neal Stephenson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This collaborative alt-history project between Neal Stephenson and friends is satisfying, but a touch convoluted and shaggy at times. The alt-history in question is one where the Mongols pushed deep into Europe under the banners of Genghis Khan's heirs, certainly an interesting twist and variation on the standard medievalist fair of The Crusades. The narrative follows a few different plotlines that I assume are going to come closer together over the subsequent volumes. Since this is the first, its main purpose seems to be to introduce the characters, give us a flavor for this Mongol-dominated world, and begin a series of story arcs. The principals are a woman named Cnan who is a "Binder" (though there's no real definition of what that means other than a collection of vows and some vague mysticism) and has met up with a group of rogue but fierce knights/monks (seems they are a little of both) intent on doing something dramatic to stop the Mongol advance. Palace intrigue around Genghis Khan's heir and his massive drinking problem and erratic behavior is the other main story, but that doesn't really go much of anywhere in this volume. Another arc involving two of the Mongols' best gladiators is introduced near the end, but that also doesn't really take off before the volume comes to a cliffhanger ending.

The main problem here is the lack of focus on where this is headed. The story of Cnan and the Knights really picks up steam at the end when they arrive in the ruins of Kiev and it becomes apparent that possibly magic holy relics might be involved, but much off getting there is a slog. The palace intrigue story also doesn't help much as it reveals only a couple of mysteries involving a captured thief or assassin that it seems to be in no rush to pursue. I did enjoy the flavor of this altered medievalism, though, and will eventually pick up the second volume to see if there are any payoffs. The worldbuilding done has a lot of interesting stories it could tell, it just remains to be seen if Stephenson and Co. plan on telling them at any reasonable pace.



View all my reviews