Monthly Archives: December 2024

Crime, Reviews, Sci-Fi

Murder on the Stellar Schooner

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Illustrated Detective Sci-Fi

by Brian Heming

 

I’ve read some of these genre mash-ups written in the heyday of pulpy paperbacks. Whether written for laughs or not, it was obvious that the authors had a good time taking a hardboiled P.I. character and giving him a case to solve on an extraterrestrial planet or a futuristic Earth. Bladerunner is the most popular such mash-up (based on Phillip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?), and was not played for laughs.

Murder on the Stellar Schooner is not exactly played for laughs. That is: no jokes are cracked by the narrator. The humor is there for the eye of the beholder, spawned simply by the scenario of a hardboiled detective from 1930s Los Angeles solving a murder on a space ship.

The attitude, lingo, and illustrations are lifted from a Depression-era noire milieu–only the technology is different.

A freshly-minted widow hires our hero to solve the murder of her erstwhile boyfriend. He was snuffed shortly after winning big in a card game. There’s a short list of suspects and it doesn’t take long for the murderer to be identified.

Honestly, that’s my only complaint: I wish there had been more. I didn’t check the word count beforehand, and was expecting a novella. That length would have served this story well. The “facts of the case” wouldn’t even need to change much, if at all. Simply fleshing out the characters and action would have done the trick. Nevertheless, an enjoyable read.

 

Speaking of mash-ups, check out my Paradox Series, which blends time travel with conspiracy thriller, sports fiction, a little coming-of-age, and a whole lot of men’s adventure!

 

 

Adventure, Reviews

Quest for the Lost Sword by Andy Flattery

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As a boy, I was a voracious reader. I don’t know how many Hardy Boys books were published by the time I outgrew them, but I had probably read most. (But in a public library I frequently haunted, I discovered The Three Investigators, which I liked even better.) Tom Swift and His Rocket Ship is a book I have managed to hang onto over the decades, and sits on my shelf today.

As a poster child for Generation X, I would trade childhoods with a dude from pretty much any other generation. However, one advantage my cohort had over the Millennials and Homelanders was that masculinity wasn’t considered “toxic” in the mainstream back then. You could still find literature for boys and men on store shelves. Boys today are mostly outa’ luck.

Mostly, but not completely outa’ luck, because small publishers like Raconteur Press and authors like Andy Flattery are producing books specifically for boys. Flattery set out to create a sort of pastiche of the Hardy Boys, Tom Swift, and young Indiana Jones. I’ve heard that imitation is the most sincere form of…wait for it…Flattery.

Couldn’t resist.

Quest for the Lost Sword is a lightning-quick read for an adult. The author does not take much time at all setting up the mystery. It’s all bang, bang, boom, done. Which may be perfect for the preteen and early teen demographic (which Leo and Henry, the two young protagonists, fit). The more I ponder it, the more I believe a story of this length and pace might be the perfect gateway to literature for boys.

Our two young heroes are growing up in a stable, traditional Catholic family. Their father is a globetrotting antiquarian, while their mother seems to be a stay-at-home mom. Their house is an historic building with a secret hideout underneath. The parents are a bit indulgent–trusting the boys to behave as responsibly as adults most of the time. In other words, the Kelly boys have a nearly ideal childhood.

Their priest comes to visit one day while Mr. Kelly is away on business. A family heirloom–the titular sword–has been stolen, after being in the priest’s family for centuries. The sword (and some other items) are spiritually charged objects–so there is a touch of the supernatural to the story.

Don’t ask me how the boys are able to book and pay for an international flight, but after dredging up a clue from an old Latin book, they are off to Europe to find and recover the sword. Their bravery and resourcefulness will be put to the test there, because there are people who don’t want the boys to succeed.

This story is simple, yet fantastical. As such, it’s a good one for boys. If you know a young boy, particularly one who doesn’t voluntarily read yet, buy him this book. It could just repair some of the damage public education has wreaked on the male of the species.

 

And speaking of all that, my Paradox series had a similar purpose, though the target audience is more young men than boys, after the first book.

Reviews, Speculative

A Song of Bones by Isaac Anderson

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A Song of Bones by Isaac Anderson

A review by INFAMOUS🦀

 

“When the rats come, you run. If you can’t run, you hide. If you can’t hide, you bow. You can always bow.”

 

A Song of Bones is a high-octane, action-packed rollercoaster ride featuring some not-so-adorable rats and some ‘oppressed’ mice as main characters. As the author Isaac Anderson tells us:

 

“I was a big fan of the Redwall books as a kid and I wanted to write something that a younger me would have enjoyed discovering on the library shelves.”

 

This is book one of a series. Anderson wrote the whole thing over the course of several years but quickly realized it was too big to fit into just one book. The ‘ending at the window’ (read the book for more on that scene) was the cleanest break between parts. 

The next book will be released in the summer/fall of 2025, according to Anderson.

 

PLOT:

Naturally, when we think of a story with talking animals who act and behave very human-like, we immediately think of some of the most popular Disney or WB characters and their general features: cute, clumsy, light-hearted, and fun-loving…

Not these fellas! 

The rats and mice featured in A Song of Bones are very jaded, stoic, and at times very bitter characters overall.

 

Basically the story can be summarized as a ‘mice prison outbreak’ by a group of our little furry friends. 

Several mice have been kidnapped and put to slave labor in the caves of Dorgue’s Tree, an infernal system of caves and caverns where a group of mean rats lead by rat Dorgue are forcing these mice to dig, dig, and dig some more for reasons that are slowly revealed as we keep reading  further.

Our main character, Richard, finds himself at the head of a small group of insurgents and slowly a plan forms to escape and regain their freedom.

JADED:

I think the approach (talking animals that act human, use tools, wear clothes, and build equipment) can work, but in this case I felt like even the backstories of these rats at times felt too grim and death-filled. Even when Richard recalls his childhood there’s very little joy to speak of, overall. Death is the main theme no matter which way we look. 

It was a bit awkward to visualize these talking mice but to also see them being so jaded and really not having a good time overall.

I think there could have been a little more of a balancing act, but they are mostly doing hard labor in deep caves and in horrendous conditions so this aspect is not a deal breaker. I just felt like at least their memories of the outside world would have been more filled with joy and cheerfulness.

 

WHERE THE STORY SHINES:

When we look past the talking rats, the breath-taking action scenes, the claustrophobia of the deep caves: 

 

“Ultimately this is a story about singing over your loved one’s bones. About remembering them.”

 

as Anderson puts it.

This driving concept is present from the very opening scene all the way to the closing scene, and it is delivered efficiently through the intense action that will keep you on the edge.

Also credit to the author for succeeding at ingraining the images of the characters as rats and mice in the reader’s mind even when they act and behave very human-like. At no point was I picturing humans trapped in dark caves. All I envisioned was RATS!

 

CONCLUSIONS:

If you want one reason to pick up this book here it is: the story is a rich example of honoring our loved ones who are gone. As Richard recalls the passing of his mother first, then his father, and now some of his newly acquired friends, we can feel the sense of loss along with him.

I’d say Book 1–though not perfect–can be the beginning of fantastic things to come, the door to a fascinating world similar to what former Disney animator Don Bluth did with some of his animated characters. I would certainly recommend the book to both children and adults alike and hope you’ll pick up a copy and discover this new and exciting universe of rats!

🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀

Adventure, Fantasy, Reviews

Relentless Blades by Russell Carroll

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Relentless Blades – Volume 1 of The Prophecies of Zarune by Russell Carroll (and a word from the author)

A review by INFAMOUS🦀

 

If there was one thing author R. Carroll wanted to accomplish with Relentless Blades that would be to present a story that even though might not be everyone’s ‘favorite cup of tea’, that it would at least come across as an undeniably well-written, professional, and competent work of fantasy literature. 

Russell wrote Relentless Blades because of his love of ‘everything fantasy’ and Dungeons & Dragons in particular. It’s no exaggeration to say that the book was twenty-years in the making and a ‘love letter to his teenage-self’. In Russell’s own words:

 

“Remember, you’re never too old to pursue your dream!”

 

As for an author who inspired Russell? R. A. Salvatore and his Legends of Drizzt series is at the top of his list, and it clearly shows all throughout this first and exciting debut publication.

IN A NUTSHELL/CHARACTERS: 

What is this book really about? And why should we be excited to read it?

 Russell shares that:

“I determined to tell a fairly linear, character-driven story, that hints at a bigger picture and world, but without focusing on trying to explore the intricacies of multiple kingdoms.

As a debut author I was aware not to bite off too much.”

This is in fact part of the charm of RB. It’s easy to follow and because it is so well written we can quickly start to identify various relatable characters who don’t come across as dull or forgettable in the least. For example Grimlock, a skron halfbreed (skrons are kinda like blue-skinned orcs with orange hair), immediately becomes one of our favorite characters because although he is this apparently selfish hunter-for-hire, mountain of a humanoid, he has a conscience, and deep inside he values life and is resentful when a life is lost on his watch.

We have brothers Mathias and Val Braunstone, who on the surface couldn’t be any more different, the former being an esteemed Valadian Knight-Lieutenant while the latter choosing to put his abilities at the service of local crime lord Henshawe.

These are not your typical one-dimensional characters and the reader will feel easily drawn to the story thanks mostly to them.

 

PLOT:

When some ancient artifacts are found while mining near the Fractured Crags, a dispute for possessions of such items ensues between the Valedians, who claim such artifacts belong to them as they were found within their territory, and the Vragoths, who claim that the artifacts found are clearly of Vragothian origins.

We will quickly learn that the Mazzinoth’s Eggs are more than meets the eye, and they can become potentially a most devastating weapon in the wrong hands. If the Vragoths acquire the recently discovered scepter, they will unlock the way to awaken the dragons within the eggs.

A seemingly unorthodox group of heroes led by Grim and Vig are the only chance to stop the unleashing of dragons by the Vragoths. Find the enchanted scepter and stop the ritual before it’s too late. This is their mission.

A FRESH OUTLOOK:

Beyond the very well-written action scenes and suspenseful fights, where this book really stands out is in tackling noble virtues like altruism, courage, and kindness but in ways that feel very organic within the story and not forced into the narrative.

When Vig, who has dealt with dyslexia all his life, finds the compassion and the support of Everleign all he can say is:

“My whole life, I’ve felt ashamed of my problem, but you didn’t make me feel bad about it.”

To which Everleigh replies:

“Why would I do that? Acknowledging your limitations and seeking help to overcome them shows bravery. I’d never mock someone for that.”

And THAT is where this story really shines and becomes more than just another forgettable fantasy/action trope. In showing strength but also vulnerability in his characters, Russell manages to hit a home run with this debut publication.

 

CONCLUSIONS:

I always felt that fantasy literature had gotten more nihilistic in the last decade. The YA books are literally polluting the market and the ‘Game of Thrones’ types of books are a bit too much for my taste with their grey areas of morality.

Relentless Blades reminds me of the Dragonlance books and Salvatore’s D&D books we used to read decades ago. This is a story ‘with soul’: friendship, courage, honesty and perseverance in the face of adversities is what makes this relevant and it leaves an impression on the readers. 

Russell communicates with vivid images that life is precious and fighting for others is a just and righteous cause.

The prose is snappy and concise without giving in to the insufferable modern-day euphemisms that pollute our everyday social media. A smart choice that always pays off in the long run. 

It is exciting to see how this new fantasy realm will further unfold and I sure look forward to it! 

🦀