Category Archives: Fantasy

Fantasy, Reviews

THE SPHERAE OF ARKIMEDDON – a Review

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(Part 2 of a 6-Part Series)

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~I… I don’t think I can go any further,” she stammered as all turned back to her. “I’m sorry. I wish to remain here.” Rhoye strode back, holding his lantern close to her face, the panic in her eyes plain to behold. “She is terrified,” he said evenly, without judgement.~

 

Several reasons that I can mention as to why this second tale found in The Girl with The Fire in Her Hair is worth our praise:

 

ASTROPHO

First of all, this entire story originates from a mission accepted by Astopho–Rhoye’s best friend–from Crown Prince Antaxerces VI of Akhaemunsaar. Rhoye decides to tag along because he adverts his friend will need his help, or to at least keep him out of trouble. So in a sense we can say that Astropho is our main character while Rohye cordially takes up the role of supporting character. Which is great, given that the former possesses enough depth to carry on the leading role, which I pointed out ever since his appearance in The Isle of The Shrine of the Sick’ning Scarab.

SHIMEQA

A new character of particular interest is the Golemancer Shimeqa, a young and attractive girl ‘of ebony skin’ who joins team Astropho in their quest for the coveted Spherae of Arkimeddon. Here is where modern narrative would want us to somehow elevate this character among all others in the name of DEI based on gender and skin tone, but Mills takes the ‘sane’ approach instead, giving this girl a full spectrum of traits and emotions: tenderness, fear, doubt, courage. From the beginning to the end of the story we see her take her own path of growth and development in a way that feels organic and natural. This is character building at its best!

 

THE GOLEMS

These are more animated stones than humans, literally, and they can only come to life via the Golemancers, who have the superpower to control them. What the author accomplishes here is very interesting. He wants readers to acknowledge that these Golems are things devoid of human life, yet the situations he puts them through stir up emotions as for a beloved and loyal pet. We know they’re just ‘rocks that move’ yet we want them to make it through this adventure unscathed. Only a great writer like Mills could have pulled it off!

 

To wrap this up, The Shperae of Arkimeddon is vintage Wandered Lands action-packed adventure with a twist. Well thought-out characters, a traditional storyline, and sublime prose to tie it all up!

Another 5 stars for Mr Mills!

 Coming up in the next two weeks: The Giant’s Purse

Non-Fiction/Documentary, Sci-Fi, Superhero

One Detour from the Great American Novel

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I’ve mentioned before some of the reasons I took so long to finish the rough draft for Paradox. One interruption was what appeared to be an opportunity to write graphic novels:

 

For those who don’t know, I’m a novelist. I’ve had ideas for some comics & graphic novels for a long time—including many superhero stories which take place in a “world” I built as a boy and has evolved as I sporadically brainstormed about it in subsequent years.

My first creative efforts were pictures of superheroes, and later my own comics, panels drawn on whatever scrap paper I could find, plotting and character development handled on-the-fly, and assembled slapdash with staples, Elmer’s Glue, or whatever binding method I could improvise. My writing experience began as a necessary adjunct of those efforts.

My drawing was pretty good for somebody who was self-taught and seat-of-the-pants. I can honestly say I was a better freehand artist than anyone I ever met, until I went to college. I wasn’t in the same league as any comic artist from the Bronze Age on, but had I developed better habits and techniques, maybe I could have gotten there. I’ll probably elaborate in the future.

In my late teens, I drifted away from “kid stuff” (comic books) and began aspiring to more “serious” creative efforts (text-based fiction). I gradually quit drawing and began concentrating on writing–which, at the time, was a bigger challenge.

My shift to prose solidified over the years and the old sequential art ambitions collected layers of dust on the back shelf. Even so, the seeds of that superhero saga germinated in my mind and never completely faded away.

The old dream languished, increasingly resembling a pipe dream as the years stacked up and life took me further and further away from ever having the time to make a serious effort at that partially-developed idea on the shelf.

And then…

One day on Gab, a publisher who I’d never met or heard of (he was from Europe) DM’d me out of the blue. He said he liked my prose and asked if I’d ever considered writing a graphic novel before.

Little did he know the depth of my appreciation for the medium and my abandoned dream. The dream had never completely died, though my drawing ability had.

This would have been flattering, but at first I didn’t think the dude was serious; or I must have misunderstood him or something. But no: after exchanging messages for a while, it became clear he wanted me to write a graphic novel for him. He had published a couple (illustrated) based children’s books; which I checked out. Amazon banned one of them, which is a badge of honor in my view. I did buy and read one that survived.

Anyway, I dusted off another idea I’d been nursing for years (a sci-fi aviation adventure in another galaxy) and pounded out a rough draft. I had some experience writing screenplays, and comic scripts aren’t too terribly different.

The experience effectively gave me a jump-start. I got the bug to chase that old dream.

 

Read the whole article on Substack.
Feel free to comment here, there, or both.
Fantasy, Reviews, TEOTWAWKI

THE GLOOM OF THE GRAVE by Kevin G. Beckman

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THE WEIRD TALES OF SILAS FLINT (THE FLINT ANTHOLOGIES BOOK 1)

~ Review by

Here we are folks: once again we get to follow Knight Templar Captain Silas Flint and his associate Supernumerary Ricardo Navarro on yet another adventure! What’s ironic is that this was the perfect occasion for our heroes to finally take some time off as no cases needed particular attention. But of course that is not bound to happen!

When Flint receives a letter from Professor Johansson he decides to go visit Johansson at a newly found air force base from before the war that ended all civilization. Being a student of history himself, he decides to take Navarro and Ms. Fletcher (you might remember her from The Witch’s Repentance) along for the ride, all three looking forward to seeing an actual military base from the old world.

Without giving any spoilers, we quickly find out that evil forces lurk at the air force base, and our power trio (Fletcher included ) is tested to their limits!

Beckman once again treats us to a fun ride that has good pace and good characters that come off as likable and relatable. Particularly, Fletcher brings a breath of fresh air, being herself a former witch. She is not allowed to use magic but life and death situations will test her to the limit. Will she be able to refrain from using her magical powers and keep her word, even though she is tempted to use them for good? Pick up a copy of The Weird Tales of Silas Flint today and find out!

This tale is fun and suspenseful, and again, it’s a clear example that a writer doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel to write 5-star stories that we can all enjoy!

 

Join us in two weeks for the next tale: The Deepest Circle

🦀

Fantasy, Reviews

The Girl with the Fire in Her Hair

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Legends of the Wandered Lands: The Girl with the Fire in Her Hair by Robert Victor Mills

~ A 6-Part Review Series by

Note from INFAMOUS🦀: 

After breaking down Man of Swords in our previous 6-part series, and given how much we loved and enjoyed that first collection of Legends of the Wandered Lands, it was only natural to go ahead and tackle Mills’ second official book featuring our fierce hero Rohye of Kethaine. I’m curious and excited to see how Mills will manage to keep a narrative that is compelling yet not repetitive.

Writing good stories about the same character and the same world can only get more challenging, so it will be interesting to see how this new collection of legends was handled. 

I hope you will join us on this ride back into the Wandered Lands!

 

THE GIRL WITH FIRE IN HER HAIR (Part 1 of a 6-Part Series)

 

~The delicate profile of her nose, the alabaster of her cheek, and the rich raven ringlets of her hair, which tumbled wantonly about her shoulders, impressed of her singular beauty~

 

I’ve said this many times, but when writing multiple stories revolving around the same main character in the same world, there’s a fine balance to be established between writing something new without losing the essence of what made that main character and that world appealing in the first place. Write too much of the same stuff, and readers will say it’s gotten boring; write something too far departed from the original, and readers will say that it’s lost its original appeal. I think Mills understands that, based on this first opening tale, which is named after the book’s title: The Girl with Fire in Her Hair.

The Challenge:

Going back to my opening statement, keeping things fresh and exploring new realms is key when further expanding on an established character. And this is EXACTLY what we witness in this first tale. To begin with, I can tell you that-for the most part-not one single fist is thrown and not one single sword is swung. But instead, Mills focuses on dialogue that is rich, compelling, and enthralling. 

Plot & Characters:

Rohye finds work at a smithee in yet another town far away from his mother land of Kethaine. The well he goes to get water daily leads to a fence which divides the smithee’s property from the next, where a mansion with a luscious garden in blossom presides. And everyday, a beautiful woman is seen tending the garden. This is where Rohye and the beautiful woman strike a conversation and quickly the two grow feelings as they get to know each other from across the fence.Soon though, a harsh truth will  be revealed to Rohye, as things are not always what they seem.

This story also features faithful companion Astropho, a bard/poet/thrill-seeker whose lack of physical prowess he more than makes up for with cunningness and primal intuition. Astropho does not appear in Man of Swords but he does in The Isle of the Shrine of the Sick’ning Scarab which we already reviewed. Astropho is much more than a sidekick, in fact his character is complex enough to have his own series of stories written. 

 In a series of surprising revelations, Rohye is confronted with challenges that don’t necessarily require the use of his fists or a sword. Astropho plays a key role here when he tells his best friend: “perception of virtue oft bears little relation to truth. And, though she has doubtless earned your anger, perhaps she has not yet earned your hate”.

Conclusion:

In closing, I am excited to say that if this first story is any suggestion of what we can expect from the rest of the book, we’re in for a treat! It feels fresh but without losing the key elements that have made the Wandered Lands so special to us!

🦀

See you in two weeks for: The Spherae of Arkimeddon

Fantasy, Reviews

The Hunter by K. Aagard – a Review

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(The Hunter of Fareldin Series Book 1)

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~Her eyes watered with tears as she took the first bite. The mere taste of the food seemed to give her body strength. It was nothing like the fine dishes she was used to, but at the time it tasted better than anything she’d ever eaten~

What it’s About:

As I read and analyzed Book 1 of The Hunter of Fareldin, I couldn’t help but keep comparing it to another book we recently reviewed on Virtual Pulp based on certain similarities. Both stories revolve around two seemingly different and polar opposite characters-a young girl and a brooding ranger (or hunter)-caught up in a life and death situation that involves a long journey on foot and on horseback while being hunted by dangerous foes. The big difference is that in The Hunter of Fareldin the writer doesn’t bore us to death and doesn’t create incoherent character behavior as things unfold.

Flow:

Let’s face it, when most of the story consists of marching/setting up camp/building a fire/repeating, keeping things interesting can be quite the challenge. But I’m happy to say that Aagard manages to do so and in a very astounding fashion. Not only does the story hardly ever get boring, but we slowly start feeling invested in the two main characters just as they slowly start building strong emotional ties toward one another!

Plot:

Our adventure starts when a failed kidnapping attempt of young noblewoman Adeline of Fenforde (Addy) finds our young protagonist lost and alone in foreign land. When she tries to steal a sword from a strange man, she strikes a most unusual deal with Strider (aka The Hunter) and his giant wolf pet Greer. She promises that if he can deliver her back home to her family he’d be generously compensated for it by her father. Although Strider accepts the offer, little is he concerned with monetary compensation, but this mission rather gives his life some temporary meaning, which it had none left ever since his family was murdered.

This is a story of powerful but dangerous magic, of spies and inside jobs, but most importantly of lives being restored to hope.

Craft:

If I have to use a word to describe the work the author does here, that word would be BALANCE. Aagard always finds that perfect balance between character development, action scenes, compelling plot lines, and solid prose. And so, just when we feel like the story is getting too slow she gives it a boost with something that gains our attention right back, and when we feel that we should know more about a character she slows things down, taking the time to dig into their minds and hearts.

Although a Book 2 is in the making, the reader turning to the last page will feel satisfied knowing that they read a complete story whether or not they decide to pick up the next book. But given the quality of this first story, I don’t see how anybody wouldn’t want to read more of The Hunter of Fareldin!

🦀

Alternate HIstory, Fantasy, Reviews

The Dweller in Drury Lane by Paul Leone

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THE DWELLER IN DRURY LANE AND OTHER CURIOUS CHRONICLES

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“Above all, she remembered the first time she saw Him, the first time she heard His words. These were good memories, holy ones. Ya’el tried to bury the other memories this place carried with it beneath them. As ever, she failed.”

 

If you follow me on social media and/or are subscribed to the INFAMOUS🦀 YouTube channel, you would have noticed the ample use of terms such as ‘NEW LEGENDS’ or ‘LEGENDARY’. And that is simply due to the essence of what I (and Virtual Pulp) do on a daily basis: exhorting authors to write good stories that resonate through time and that have, for lack of better terms, no expiration date. 

There is a point when a good story is no longer just a good story but becomes a LEGEND. Paul Leone’s The Dweller In Drury Lane is all that, and then some! If there is a work of fiction literature today that encompasses everything I always ramble about, this book right here embodies all those elements to their fullest! 

Before we dive in, I want to officially welcome Paul to our elite group of Virtual Pulp LEGENDARY authors, and look forward to a very needed Q&A interview later on!

What it’s About:

But what is this book with such a long title really about? And what makes it so special? To answer that question we need to mention what author/youtuber Bonsart Bokel stated some time ago: fiction writers should focus more on history while applying new and exciting concepts to it. 

Regurgitating good content that has already been written only creates predictable and boring books. 

We covered a good few authors recently who have adopted the alternate history approach with excellent results. The Dweller in Drury Lane can be categorized as alternate history based on the fact that everything we read is historically accurate, and it’s within this historically accurate environment that Leone works his magic (pun intended!).

The book is a collection of short stories divided in two groups: the first group of stories follows the adventures of Immortal Champion Ya’el, circa 65 AD Jerusalem. The second group follows the adventures of Lady Renee De Launcey and her Puritan maid-servant Innocence circa XVII England.

Characters:

Make no mistake, even though both main characters are female, they are far removed from the modern image of ‘strong independent WAMEN’ portrayed in our modern western pop culture. In fact, Ya’el is constantly torn by two seemingly polar opposite commandments, whereas Renee and Innocence are aware that they need the aid of men when dealing with powerful and dangerous foes.

As soon as we flip to page 1 we are immediately transported to another world thanks to Leone’s prose. There are virtually no traces of modern euphemisms and in fact at times I had to wonder if the author was someone who lived centuries ago. Every chapter  in the first half of the book feels like reading an ancient manuscript translated from Hebrew, Roman, and Greek into old English: think of Homer, Virgil, and of course the Holy Bible itself.

Secondary characters are as rich and complex as the main characters. I particularly loved the character of Coem, a young girl from Hibernia (Ireland) in search of vengeance for the murder of her family by the hands of another Immortal Champion of Sheol. THIS is how you write characters that resonate with us hours and even days after we close the book. Young Coem wasn’t able to kill her family’s murderer because mortal weapons cannot kill a Champion of Sheol. Ya’el decides to aid Coem and tells her of a weapon that can harm a Champion called Aurichalcum-the alloy of Atlantis. To which Coem replies:  “Then will that slice her skin?” How can you not LOVE that delivery!

Prose:

When we move to Part 2 of the book, we are now in XVII England and I’m not kidding when I say that I haven’t been this enthralled ever since reading Jane Austen’s prose! The choice of verbs, adjectives, nouns, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, modifiers, syntax, the subtle expressions typical of the period, are all top notch here!

The attention to the historical aspect also deserves great praise. Whether we are walking through Jerusalem in 65 AD or we find ourselves in the countryside of Great Britain in 1665 AD, we keep getting fed captivating historical data as the narrative unfolds. 

In closing, I encourage you all to grab a copy of The Dweller. If this interview doesn’t motivate you to do so, maybe the fact that you can download the entire book for FREE will.

 

Note from INFAMOUS:

This review will be followed up by a Q&A with author where we will uncover even more about all this, and I will also mention how a few years ago I read another book by Leone and wasn’t at all impressed by it!

🦀

Fantasy, Reviews, Speculative

EVIL NEVER RESTS by Kevin G. Beckman

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The Weird Tales of Silas Flint (The Flint Anthologies Book 1)

-a Review by

This is the third story we find in the Weird Tales, and it seems like Beckman continues to pleasantly surprise us with outstanding storytelling that is well thought-out and well written.

Though each story is its own, there is also a bigger picture in this world and events that keeps opening wider as we go along. And so we find once again witch hunter Silas Flint and supernumerary Ricardo Navarro exactly where the last tale left them.

What it’s about:

When a messenger delivers an urgent message that their aid is needed at a town where supposedly ‘werewolf’ attacks have been reported, the choice for our duo is easy: go investigate and possibly kill some werewolves!

Along the way, we have the chance to briefly meet Charles, Flint’s evil brother, and three very enigmatic witch sisters who will play a major role in the unfolding of the following events. Who are the three sisters? And why do they seem to aid Flint in his mission? 

When our heroes deduct that the murders were not random but strictly connected to key names in the current local political circle,  the story takes on a sort of mystery/detective tone which, coupled with some very captivating characters like Mr Oglethorpe, propels the story to new heights of fun, action, and inspiration. Why do I mention inspiration? You might ask. Well if a character like Oglethorpe doesn’t inspire you at some level I don’t know what will. His faith, resolution, conviction, and toughness, despite his advanced age, is only matched by Silas Flint’s himself! Love the guy and he definitely steals the spotlight!

To conclude, I want to again point out how these tales fully embody the spirit of classic pulp fiction while taking on their own shape and form. Needless to say, see you in two weeks with the next tale: The Gloom of the Grave.

🦀

Adventure, Fantasy, Reviews

MAN OF SWORDS: The Beast Beneath Druihmkirk

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(Part 6 of a 6-Part Series)

Review by

~She could not stand, no matter how desperate her desire to do so. “Please,” she shrieked in distress, “I cannot.” “Nor do you have to,” soothed the warrior, quite gentle. And he caught her up, handling her as if her frame were a feather.~

 

The Beast Beneath Druihmkirk is the final tale we find in R.V. Mills’ Man of Swords, and I’m happy to say it is yet another memorable read! Mills never ceases to delight us with these legends in the making!

What It’s About:

Our hero Rohye is wanted by the evil city Provost (think of it as a city Mayor) on the charges of freeing a defenseless woman from the cruel shackles unjustly put on her for basically rejecting the advances of the city Provost himself. He and the girl need to find a way out of town, but it seems like the only way to escape is by taking the sewage route where no man dares roam due to the legend of a mighty beast that has been inhabiting the underground for years.

What I like about this story is that-similarly to The Isle of the Shrine of the Sick’ning Scarab– some of the most deciding and crucial scenes take place with Rohye not being in them. This is a fresh take and makes the plot development more organic in a sense, and not as predictable.

Once again, chivalry, loyalty, courage, perseverance are all displayed and highlighted throughout this ordeal. There is GOOD and there is BAD, no gray areas. Modern  narrative today is leaning more towards the concept of the ‘misunderstood’ or ‘alienated’ character, but in actuality all that does is blur the lines of morality. Not in Mills’ book! He is pretty firm on the values he puts forth and THAT is what makes Man of Swords a true classic of our current fiction literature.

Not to mention the superb prose, the attention given to secondary/supporting characters, and the plain realization that this is not just your next book on your TBR list.

To conclude, I want to encourage my man Robert to keep writing and never feel discouraged or swayed by the winds of modernism and progressive trends. This series was a true blessing for me personally, and I hope that more folks will pick this up and come to appreciate these amazing stories. True legends in the making!

INFAMOUS 🦀

This concludes this 6-part series. Hope you enjoyed it and that you will leave us your feedback. Virtual Pulp and Robert V. Mills will be back soon with another 6-part series, this time to cover Robert’s latest work The Girl With Fire In Her Hair! Stay tuned and thank you!

Adventure, Fantasy, Reviews

THE HOLLOW REALMS/BOOK 2: ASHES OF NECROPOLIS

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By Jordan Allen

Review by

I walked into Ashes of Necropolis while already being familiar with Book 1 of the Hollow Realms Series. And although not a perfect work, Book 1 overall was pretty good in my opinion.

Book 2 left me with more mixed feelings and overall I thought it to be a step down from the previous story.

What I’m referring to is mainly the overall dialogue, some of the plot lines, and characters we find along the way.

Characters:

Our main character is mercenary Erde who travels to the city of Furcht where his friends have last been seen, to rescue them. Right there I found issue with the fact that Erde shows on several occasions that he is willing to give his own life for his three friends but we never get to see what made his relationship with them so special. We just have to accept the fact that Erde is a very altruistic man. 

Speaking of the main character, I noticed that although Erde is a fearless warrior, he sounds like he must not be the ‘brightest bulb on the Christmas tree’ if you catch my drift. He kinda’ reminds me of the ‘clueless’ Keanu Reeves performances on the big screen, if you know what I’m referring to.

Example: he gets a brand new magic sword branded by a powerful spider/woman hybrid and all he can say is: 

“It looks pretty and shiny,” said Erde, twirling the blade effortlessly, “but what does it do?”

Another thing that I found odd plot-wise is when Erde finds his first friend Troye trapped in a cell, and Troye tells him that the key to the lock of the cell is none other than one of the fingernails belonging to the big Pig Warden outside. How does Troye even know that? No clue.

Cohesion/Craft:

Alrich is another character that has been stuck in this extra-dimensional town for years and he has healing powers. We learn that he was just another knight who wandered into this town so how does he have healing powers? Did he already possess them or somehow gained them in Furcht? No clue.

Lastly, and worth mentioning, I noticed the use of modern terminology that just doesn’t vibe well within the context of the story. Example: Erde needs a great Master Smith in Furcht to forge him a mighty and magical armor to defeat the enemy. But when he shows impatience, the Master Smith’s response is: 

“My time does not revolve around your schedule, human.”

Schedule is not exactly a word an immortal demigod would use…but that’s just me!

To conclude, I still enjoyed some of the elements this book shares with book 1. I like the atmospheric vibes the author builds and surrounds the reader with. At times you really feel like you’re walking in the thick fog with the MC, and the sense of mystery and adventure still makes this a fun read, if you can just turn away in indifference to the points I mentioned above.

🦀

Fantasy, Reviews, TEOTWAWKI

The Witch’s Repentance – a Review

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The Weird Tales of Silas Flint (The Flint Anthologies Book 1)

A Review By

“You used your powers to commit crimes against the laws of man, however, in addition to the laws of God. God will forgive you, but that does not excuse you from the consequences of your criminal activities in this world.”

 

After reviewing the first tale of Book 1 of The Weird Tales of Silas Flint, we were so impressed with this pulp fiction narrative that we decided to jump right into the second tale!

What it’s About:

As the title suggests, this time we find Flint dealing with a witch who claims repentance and seeks forgiveness for her transgressions against God and against the laws of man. And speaking of repentive thoughts, this now seems an ongoing theme in the Silas Flint tales. Witches are evil and corrupt, and yet even they were at one point just normal human beings and thus even they sometimes long for that lost sense of humanity. 

Zelda Fletcher was a woman who was seduced and corrupted by a master of evil sorcery, Francisco. But when she realized that Francisco was aiming at more nefarious deeds than just robbing the local stores by ways of witchcraft, she had enough and left him. Now Flint must decide how to apply the full power of the law to Zelda’s case, while also dealing with a possessed Francisco who is about to hit town with a vengeance!

Reviewer’s Take:

Once again Beckman manages to create the ‘classic’ pulp fiction vibes we fell in love with by reading Solomon Kane, yet creating something NEW. 

Concepts of Truth, Righteousness, Good vs Evil are all valued and taken quite seriously rather than scoffed at (see a lot of mainstream ‘reinterpretations’ of classic characters). The relationship between Flint and his associate, Navarro, breathes just enough lightheartedness into the story in a tasteful and balanced fashion.

The other pattern I noticed in both tale #1 and #2 is that unlike other similar franchises, where bystanders and townsfolk seem just an inconvenience for the hero to keep out of the way, here everybody is welcome to aid Flint in fighting evil. In fact, we see Flint himself oftentimes encourage every able body to pick up a weapon and stand against evil, rather than tell them to get lost. This is a very interesting choice and one that I can appreciate for different reasons.

Needless to say, friends if you haven’t picked up a copy of the Weird Tales yet I strongly suggest to do so, and follow us as we move on to tale #3: Evil Never Rests!

🦀