October reads

I managed to get a bit of reading done recently.


Rage of the Behemoth

Heroic fantasy, geared more toward the sub-genre of sword-&-sorcery, with a theme of giant monsters and those who combat them.

Many people have been saying this, and I’ll say it too – this is a great anthology. If you enjoy heroic fantasy and sword-&-sorcery, Jason M. Waltz has pulled together a wonderful collection here. I won’t bother going into standouts, of which there are many, versus lesser tales. The balance on whole is very strong. If you enjoy Andrew Offutt’s Swords Against Darkness series, then Rage of the Behemoth is right up your alley.

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Doctor Who: Prisoner of the Daleks

It had been a long time since I’d read a Doctor Who novel, and this was my first read of the new hardcover tie-ins with the new series. This novel features the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant’s character) and, naturally, his old enemies, the Daleks. Yes, the Daleks were all wiped out, but like any good time-traveling aliens, they keep altering histories allowing the Doctor to stumble into their past. Or something – time travel is fuzzy, as even the Doctor would testify.

This was a fun read, and a fast read that moved along at a quick clip, as with the pacing of the updated series. If you like the series and/or Dalek stories, this one should be added to your library. Nice Dalek scheming, gains and counter-gains, and Dalek dialog rendered in its own Dalek font. All good stuff.

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Dragonslayer

The epic doom of Gotrek, berserker ‘Slayer’ dwarf continues with human Felix Jaeger at his side. This time out, the duo faces a deadly dragon along with a host of other dangers, including orcs and bandits.

This was solid entry for both the Gotrek and Felix series and Warhammer. A tight tale in and of itself, it also opens threads into bigger things in future novels (such as an impending invasion of the hordes of Chaos.) I liked the lighter use of goofy humor in this one compared to some of the previous entries, though it feels like Warhammer dwarf tales should be read while consuming ale to truly appreciate the effect.

Dear Black Library (open letter)

Dear Black Library,

You can stop now. Really. I just don't have time to follow two universes with multiple self-contained series. I have other books to read. I have too many of your books on my shelf unread, as it is.

Really. Please stop with the interesting cover blurbs and the eye catching art on the new stuff.

Please.

Also, please stop dropping all these damn good-looking omnibuses on me. It's bad enough I'm interested in your new titles. Then you turn around and create opportunities for me to 'catch up' with reasonably priced, three-for-one omnibuses of previous titles which triples my to-be-read pile in an instant.

Insidious.

Then to top it all off, you provide incredible cover art that makes me drool. It is very hard not to buy an omnibus like the Witch Hunter series. I already have the novels, but then you add a bonus story! Please stop.

Now you've gone and done this. And even though I have these novels, well, ... that cover. If there's a bonus story in this one, all is lost.



Damn.

Alien planet?

Alien planet?

No, it's Earth. China, to be exact. I got this from TIME.com

Out of This World
This unique geological phenomenon, known as a Danxia landform, can be seen in several places in China. This example is located in Zhangye, Gansu Province. The color is a result of millions of years of accumulated red sandstone and other sediments that have dried and oxidized.

A little sword-&-planet inspiration, though, eh? ;)

A smattering of movies, misc

I've managed to squeeze in a few movies over the past weeks.

The Last Legion - sword-n-sorcery crammed into a "fall of Rome" tale with ties to Arthurian legend. Yeah, it not only sounds like a mess, it plays like one, too. Might have been better without the Arthurian shoehorning. At least Aishwarya Rai was easy on the eyes.


Last of the Mississippi Jukes - Documentary on the Subway, one of the last original juke joints in Jackson, MS. Good take for a blues fan. Enjoyable performances, though personally I preferred Alvin Youngblood Hart and Chris Thomas King over the smoother electric stuff that dominates the movie. But that's really just personal taste.

The dilapidated hotel that housed the Subway was ultimately demolished after the movie was released, though. :(


Hellboy II: The Golden Army - enjoyable sequel to Hellboy. If anything, the character of Prince Nuada might be an early run of what Elric of Melnibone could look like in a live action movie.


Finally, the direct-to-DVD feature from DC,Green Lantern: First Flight. Don't cringe when you read "direct-to-DVD". These DC Universe animated movies have been enjoyable to outstanding, and this was a solid entry in the series, and a good Green Lantern tale.


On the reading front, still working Rage of the Behemoth. Also checking out the latest Ray Gun Revival (incredible cover!)


And reading some old Jonah Hex (collected Volume 1) for some quick-n-dirty Western fixes.

September update

Not much to report, but I did finish, rewrote, polished and submitted the sword-n-planet story to the editor. I haven't heard back yet, so I hope he likes it.

On the heels of finishing that, we went into house improvement mode with new carpets (our daughter is crawling and the update was long overdue) and painting to match the new carpets before they arrived, etc. So I haven't done any writing, though I am thinking about my next story (a submission for Rogue Blades Entertainment's Roar of the Crowd anthology, I hope.)

For reading, I'm also behind, working my way through RBE's Rage of the Behemoth. Interesting seeing some of the stories from the slush pile (that I read) making it to the final product.

Weather is cooling off already - we barely had a summer. But that means pumpkin ales can't be far away!

Cheers!

Empire of the East

For my last two readings, I entered Fred Saberhagen’s Empire of the East. I tore through The Black Mountains and continued on with Changeling Earth. (I had read the first novel, The Broken Lands a year or two back.)

I am not entirely clear on the history of this work. Like Moorcock’s Elric stories, Saberhagen had Empire of the East repackaged and edited a few different times (and some of his Berserker stories apparently fall into that camp, as well.)

The third novel, originally entitled Changeling Earth (the DAW edition I read) was re-titled to Ardneh’s World when Baen took it over. I don’t know if there were any changes

After that, Baen yet again repackaged the entire trilogy into an edited omnibus, Empire of the East.

In my web travels, I have seen Ardneh’s Sword which I believe is a later fourth novel, but could be yet another rework, I don’t know.

Anyway…

I enjoyed the books. The trilogy is a bit different to me, as it uses a post-Apocalyptic setting where both magic and science/technology operate. I.e.: unlike most science fantasy pieces where super-science is the equivalent of magic, here they are two separate entities. For the most part Saberhagen makes it work if you just allow yourself to go along for the ride.

I have only recently started reading Saberhagen and I’m really enjoying his work. There are touches of Bradbury without the purple prose. He has a natural storytelling ability that flows through the tales. I miss these types of fantasy where you can visit well-crafted worlds and characters and yet do it without slugging through a thousand page novel.

There are some nice descriptions of demons and conjuring, an interesting reveal in the last book (as to how the magic came to exist with the technology) and just enough lost technology to keep a reader interested.

I recommend them. They are quick reads, but have nice depth. Choose an edition to your liking and budget ;)

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On the writing front, things are going well, if not quickly. I am about 1000 words away (a scene or two) from finishing my current short story. It will definitely need a polish draft after this – I’m really shaking the rust off. And now I have the lump of raw clay in hand to sculpt. I don’t know how many details can be revealed this early, but the story is for a specific upcoming anthology in which I was invited to participate. It was just the sort of real (non-self-made) goal I needed for a kick in the pants to get back on the writing wagon.

It feels good! :) (So good, in fact, I want to get this one finished and start on another one for a possible second anthology!)

Furlough on Mars

I spent last week on unpaid furlough. I wasn't crazy about lack of pay, but I sure enjoyed the time off with my wife and daughter. We went to a local farm & wildlife sanctuary, had a cookout and other fun things. A few home projects were in the mix, too. (Stained some woodwork in our living room, little bit of garage cleanup, fixed a sprinkler head.) The weather was great for the entire week.

I did not read or write nearly as much as I hoped - but I did read. And yes - I wrote!

I am now 2000 words into a story. I'm back on the wagon and shaking off the rust! I'm sure it will need good editing when the rough draft is done, but at least I am writing and have been getting my a.i.c. time. (ass-in-chair [in front of computer])

For reading, I finished Otis Adelbert Kline's The Swordsman of Mars.



It was good, solid sword-n-planet. It hits all the s-&-p notes; body transference, swordplay, a princess & a savage girl, baridium mines & quirky inventions and scary, large creatures that have dog-like loyalty to their heroic masters. Technically I found it more appealing than E R Burroughs Mars tales. But I'll admit ERB certainly populated his setting with more imaginative creatures.

Definitely worth reading if you like sword-n-planet. Paizo has also published the sequel, The Outlaws of Mars, which I have already purchased and will be reading in future.


That's all for now, (few) loyal readers!