Category Archives: Reviews

Fantasy, Reviews

Dawn of Chaos by Tony Andarian

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DAWN OF CHAOS: Sanctum of the Archmage 

by Tony Andarian 

(and a word from the author)

A review by INFAMOUS🦀

 

~“What is this place?” she breathed in wonder.

Lenard chuckled, but his eyes didn’t waver from what he was doing at the mysterious table.

“Welcome to the Sanctum of the Archmage, my dear,” he said simply.~

 

Dawn of Chaos is the culmination of a long and passionate project by indie author Tony Andarian. This latest edition was the result of several revisions and changes Andarian felt were needed as a result of growing and developing as a writer:

 

“I took the book down at the end of ’18 with the intent to release the rewrite in ’19, but escalating craziness at work forced me to put it off until after I retired at the end of ’21.”

 

And it follows:

 

“I revised the version of Dawn of Chaos that I’d published in 2017 for re-release in 2021 and 2022. But the changes were primarily cosmetic, and had mostly to do with improving my writing style. Story-wise, it was identical except for very minor changes, and the addition of a few scenes.”

 

This is an approach I admire and strongly suggest to all writers out there, but particularly to those writers with limited experience or just now contemplating publishing for the first time. Producing a novel that is professional, competitive, and worth buying is no easy task, and it takes more than just ‘a good story’ to make it all work. So pace yourself, make adjustments when needed, and DO NOT rush the process.

CONTENT:

Dawn of Chaos is a collection of three books:

  • Book 1 – Prologue to Chaos
  • Book 2 – Hell Gate
  • Book 3 – Aftermath

 

The original concept was created for a D&D game, which Andarian eventually felt needed to be transferred into novel format. If this book immediately comes across as very thorough and professional now you know why. This is not something that just spurted overnight and it took many years to refine and perfect.

 

PLOT:

The action takes place in the mythical kingdom of Kalara, with the capital being the great city of Carlissa, center of a prosperous civilization. The royal family consisting of the king (man), queen (elf), two sons, and a daughter reigns with fairness and honor and people enjoy a time of peace and prosperity… Until a hellgate opens up one day over the center of the city through which an army of demon monsters steps through to kill and conquer all. 

In fact, as we learn:

 

“Many thousands of years ago, a great war between the Gods and the Demons came to the world. The Demons had opened a door from the realms of Hell itself, and their armies threatened to overrun the earth.”

 

Now, thanks to a ‘rogue wizard’ named Zomoran, the demon hordes have found a way through that gate again, and the kingdom is  certainly not prepared for this massive and surprising attack after enjoying a long era of peace.

 

CHARACTERS:

The story is rich in characters which are divided into groups, each one going through their own perils and challenges but all ultimately serving the same cause: delivering a particular magic ring to the Archmage Lenard which will give the kingdom a hope of victory.

 

PACE:

There’s never a dull moment or wasted page in this book. The action is relentless but also well written; the sense of immediate danger, ever present at every corner. But what I found worth mentioning-and what makes this a legit 5-star book-is that amidst all the action the author never misses an opportunity to keep readers in the loop when it comes to the lore of this world and the reason behind everything that takes place. The attention to details, whether that be the city’s layout, the geography of the region, or the social structure of this civilization, is all impeccable and works perfectly well with the breath-taking action scenes.

 

MORAL/PHILOSOPHICAL ASPECTS:

The seemingly straightforward storyline holds compelling moral questions which some readers might miss while being caught up in all the action and epic battles. The author mentions one of his major influences as being Ayn Rand:

 

“I first read Ayn Rand decades ago, and have been heavily influenced by her ideas for most of my adult life. The way they show up in the Sanctum Saga has a lot to do with how they’ve influenced my thoughts about the nature of civilization, what makes it possible, and what causes it to collapse. 

The major influence of Rand’s ideas on Dawn of Chaos shows up in the recurrent theme of independence vs. obedience to authority. Zomoran’s ideology, as revealed in the first chapter, is that he believes in elite rule over freedom and individual choice. Independence and the right to individual choice were among Rand’s cardinal virtues, and that’s represented in the battle against Professor Zomoran and his demons.”

 

CONCLUSIONS:

The author informs readers this saga is not over yet with this book, and announces that Wrath of the Peregrine King will be in fact the next installment where this epic D&D story will continue. 

This is how you create a well laid out epic adventure with relatable characters and interesting villains. I can’t praise this book enough or recommend it enough if you like the genre. The stellar editing makes this exactly what we need in the indie sphere right now. When an author aims for excellence and nails it, we as readers can’t ask for more, and Dawn of Chaos is an excellent book indeed!

🦀

Crime, Espionage, Reviews

Affair in Trinidad (1952) – a Review

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It’s tempting for some to assume that all the idiocy and incompetence in Hollywood is recent. Like maybe it only began in the last decade or two.

It’s actually been around for quite a while. Historically, it’s been outweighed by consistent competence and occasional bursts of genius. Only in the last 30 years or so has Hackneyed Hollywood’s creative bankruptcy hit critical mass.

It didn’t come out of the blue.

One phenomenon that’s always been there was corporate bean-counters trying to cash in on the success of any hit by pretty much just duplicating it after tweaking a few details.

I can picture the Board Room meeting at Colombia: one cigar-smoking suit says they need an inexpensive-yet-money-making film noire to pump their profits up. Some nerdy little suckup suggests they repeat the success of Gilda, some eight years ago.

“It’s a cinch, Boss! Same setup, see? Femme fatale is an American nightclub singer working in South America. We give her a couple song-and-dance scenes. A rich gent owns the club; has his fingers in some dirty pies maybe; carries a torch for the singer. Hero is streetwise and handsome, but a regular Joe. There’s a murder. But here’s the kicker: We bring in Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford to team back up again–you remember the chemistry they had on the screen last time. But this time, instead of ex-lovers, they’ll be connected through the murder victim and fall for each other fresh!”

And there you have it.

This time, the Glenn Ford character is the brother of the murder victim. He mailed his brother a letter on the very day he was murdered. Or was it suicide?

What about Hayworth–did she murder him? Is she helping the police to catch her boss? To frame Ford? Is she making suckers out of everybody?

I found the aforementioned song/dance scenes rather underwhelming and unnecessary. There were some noticeable plot holes, too. But the acting was solid and the cinematography was superb.

Personally, I’m a sucker for films about Yankee expatriates in Latin America during the age of fedoras and suits as everyday fashion. I must have seen a great film with those ingredients once, but just forgot what it was. This one was set in the titular country, of course.

Trinidad was apparently still a British territory/colony/protectorate during the postwar years, as the leading investigator is a British officer, rarely seen without some bureaucrat from the US consulate in tow. Trinidad also has a measure of mystique because of the Andrews Sisters’ risque classic “Rum and Coca Cola.”

With all it’s weaknesses, Affair in Trinidad is more worth your time than the garbage Hollywood’s been defecating in recent decades.

Historical, Military, Reviews

Dudley’s Fusiliers by Harold R. Thompson

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DUDLEY’S FUSILIERS – Empire and Honor Book 1 by HAROLD R. THOMPSON

A review by INFAMOUS🦀

 

~We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he today that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother.

~William Shakespeare: Henry V

War-based novels can be a slippery slope for different reasons. The challenge usually consists of striking that fine balance between 1) historical accuracy and 2) a compelling story that comes off as captivating and rich in relatable characters.

I feel like Dudley’s Fusiliers manages to achieve success in certain aspects while failing (and I use ‘failing’ very loosely here) in others. Canadian author H. R. Thompson has definitely brought us a story of honor, glory, and sacrifice that pays homage to those men on the battlefield who kept marching forward against all odds and-let’s be frank-against all sanity at times!

 

NO POLITICS, JUST WAR + MAIN CHARACTER:

Thompson doesn’t focus much on the politics of mid-XIX Europe or the ins and outs of why the Crimean War took place. He rather looks at the unfolding events from the point of view of the common soldier. 

Our protagonist is young British lad Dudley, who from a young age adopts a romanticized view of the ‘art of war’. The Duke of Wellington being his all-time hero, Dudley even names a tin soldier of his ‘Wellington’. Wellington becomes his best friend well into his adult life and through the war.

STRENGTHS:

Thompson is outstanding at describing the battles of the Crimean War, particularly the Battle of Alma. We see everything from the point of view of main character Dudley in vivid realism and in all the fine details of military strategies, tactics, and pre-WWI trench warfare.

We also witness the ill conceived notions and romanticism of not just the British army, but those of the French and Russian army as well. This is very important because we don’t need those fundamental aspects to be thwarted by some progressive agenda to make 19th century soldiers think like 21st century Orange county residents, if you catch my drift.

 

WEAKNESSES + SUPPORTING CHARACTERS:

Where I think Dudley’s Fusiliers falls short is in creating a substantial supporting cast for Dudley. His fellow soldiers could be more fleshed out but instead they’re all given just a few lines here and there and very general descriptions:

 

“He felt closer to them than to anyone he had ever known. Closer than to Isabelle, closer than to Martha. Closer even than to his family.”

 

That’s great, but we as readers don’t get to fully share that experience because of thin characterization. What that does is that when some of them perish in battle, we are robbed of the full emotional impact because we never get to know them as well as Dudley does. Thin characterization reduces an otherwise brilliant war story to a good but not GREAT war story.

 

BARKER STEALS THE SHOW:

The only secondary character we encounter that in my opinion ‘steals the show’ is Barker, a giant of a man even feared among his own ranks. A seemingly remorseless bully who we’ll find out has a great story to tell which explains why he behaves the way he does, and why his ‘dehumanization’ has taken place to begin with. In fact, I’d even dare say that most readers will be more eager to follow the whereabouts of Barker than Dudley’s. He’s just that cool cat, somewhat rough around the edges, but who you will want to be by your side when all hell breaks loose in battle.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

If it wasn’t for the outstanding fashion in which the author brought this all home in the closing chapters, I might have been dubious on whether to read Book 2 (Guns of Sevastopol). But if you, like me, have 1) a heartbeat and 2) a passion for keeping the memories alive of not just the war heroes but of war events in general, then reading the next book is certainly in our queue.

Thompson is not just a good writer but the real deal when it comes to the subject of history and wars with the experience to back it up:

 

“While attending university, he spent his summers working at the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site, a Victorian- era fort in his native Halifax, Nova Scotia. There, he was a member of the 78th Highlanders, an historical re- enactment of the fort’s British Army garrison.

 

Dudley’s Fusiliers brings forth the brutality, death and mayhem of the period of the mid-19th century with glory, respect, and accuracy. And I applaud that!

🦀

Reviews, TRENDS DIE OUT; LEGENDS LIVE ON

Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake

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TRENDS DIE OUT/LEGENDS LIVE ON:

Gormenghast Book 1: Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake

A review by INFAMOUS🦀

 

Mervyn Peake was not only a unique writer but a very accomplished artist (painter and illustrator). We can say that his keen sense of vivid visuals and details displayed in his artistic work spilled over into his writing–the Gormenghast series representing the culmination of that endeavor.

The Gormenghast series is a trilogy (the fourth book was left incomplete due to Peake’s death–later on finished by his wife) that is so original as to be impossible to compare to any other stories. We might say that there is a faint connection in style to Charles Dickens, but that’s a stretch in my opinion.

 

TITUS GROAN:

The first book of the series is called Titus Groan, and that is also the name of the newborn son of the aristocratic Groan family portrayed in the story, the lords of Gormenghast. This abbey includes a massive structure of towers, walls, parapets, including the entire surrounding region where villagers (the Mud Dwellers) live off of the fruit of the fields and artisamery. The entire first book revolves around the birth of heir Titus, and his significance for the Groan dynasty to carry on after the count and countess had given up all hopes to birth a male descendant.

CHARACTERS:

This is not a story-driven book by any accounts, but rather a character-driven book. The magic of Peake’s writing is found in his characters and how they come to life from written page to our minds. 

Whether it be Countess Gertrude with her army of adoring white cats; or  Aunts Clarice and Cora, with their awkward mannerisms and distorted view of reality; or daughter Fuchsia with her secret hiding place in the attic; or old Nanny Slagg who feels under-appreciated for all she does…every character gets pages and pages of rich descriptions in  order to define them in depth both physically and mentally.

Mervyn Peake was indeed very descriptive in his writing. Not just when describing physical traits but when describing the inner state of a person. He could write pages about the emotional state of a character before even mentioning what that character is doing.

 

DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS:

This acute sense of details Peake had for his characters also applied to the environment his characters move about. We learn that Gormenghast is a massive and oppressive place, its halls are damp, moat ridden, and dusty for the most part. It’s cold and dark during winter while hot, muggy and oppressive in the summer. This is basically an independent world within the world, like an independent nation, self-sufficient and cut away from the rest of civilization; its citizens just as peculiar and extraordinary as the inhabitants of far away planets.

 

Mervyn Peake remains a most extraordinary writer, unmatched to this day in certain aspects.

His complex and rich prose might not be for everyone, and his characters at times are so minutely described both physically and psychologically that today’s ‘instant-gratification/get-to-the-point’ audience might quit after reading a few pages. A lot of reviewers have written that this book is slow, boring, with lots of descriptions but no essence…but I couldn’t disagree more.

I believe it takes a certain level of maturity to enjoy Peake’s writing. It is not an easy read, for sure, and many readers cannot stick with it for long.

Sometimes I wonder if Mervyn’s thinking process was too far ahead for some of us to fully appreciate his content. His tragic passing left a void that has not been filled yet to this day.

Who knows what this mind would have achieved if he lived longer? What treasure of human literature he would have left us? 

As I mentioned earlier, his passing at age 57 left us with an unfinished series, as he was working on Book 4.

To this day, there are paragraphs from the Gormenghast Trilogy that I read and reread that leave me in awe for their beauty, richness, and introspection, and make me wonder if we will ever see the likes of such marvelous genius again.

A true LEGEND.

🦀

Reviews, Sci-Fi

The Waking Nightmares by M.D. Boncher

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THE WAKING NIGHTMARES by M. D. Boncher (and a word from the author)

Reviewed by Infamous 🦀

This is the third volume of the Tales from the Dream Nebula, and truth be told, at this point it feels like Boncher is truly spoiling us with great book after great book. What’s scary is that what he is creating can only get BETTER as he keeps exploring this universe.

But more on that later in this review!

 

CHARACTERS:

By this stage in the plot development we are clearly beginning to see a more defined outline of a team, and I use the word ‘team’ very loosely here:

 

  • Winston – our ‘flyboy’ and main character
  • Billy Joe – the ‘mechoid’ and Winston’s best friend/co-pilot
  • Mother – the AI entity who guides Winston and his team
  • Doctor Amanda – wealthy and knowledgeable ally to Winston
  • Professor Quentin – passionate about history preservation and with the ‘funds and resources’ to make things happen

 

PLOT:

In this third installment we find Winston and Billy Joe as guests of Amanda and Quentin, who own the entire island-planetoid of Puala’Lolo. This place is not just a lush and beautiful 5-star resort but it’s also headquarters to the most advanced R&D in all of the Dream. Here, Dr. Amanda and Prof. Quentin have the funds, tools, and resources to study, research, and create. Amanda even provides Winston with nano implants to enhance his fighting skills and aggression in combat and she rebuilds Winston’s ship after it was  badly damaged beyond hope (see Book 2).

When an unknown package is delivered by an anonymous sender, a creepy alien infestation breaks out on the island and things get out of control.

WRITERS TAKE HEED:

One thing I need to always mention is how professional this whole series comes across, which is rare in the indie circles. The sharp prose, the witty dialogue, the attention to detail with bulletproof plot lines…This is how a product should be presented to customers to make them feel confident in their purchase. 

INDIE should NOT be synonymous for poor writing/editing, and Boncher is a true professional.

 

ONLY SCRATCHING THE SURFACE: 

As infectious, compelling, and fascinating this world of The Dream has been in these first three volumes, the pace and relentless action scenes  have perhaps pushed some of the other elements on the back burner for the time being. We might have caught glimpses of the overall atmosphere, feel, and look, but for the most part we’ve taken for granted that this must be a ‘Star Trek’ kind of world, which can’t be further from the truth. Our assumptions are mostly a result of how sci-fi and futuristic tropes in general have been presented to us in the past, generally speaking.

As Boncher put it:

“I’m fighting against a cultural idea about sci-fi. The audience generally believes that nothing they have in the current world is going to be there in the future. That people won’t think about the past, have even minorly recognizable slang or enjoy the simplest pleasures without it being some advanced level technology that replaces it. Meanwhile, I’m going to a society that is very traumatized and fragmented so it looks back to the old days, romanticizing them despite it being inherently flawed as a coping mechanism” 

 

And it follows: 

 

“Everyone has access to something like the holodeck as well as still watching entertainment the old fashioned way because they have a desire to connect with what had been taken from them. So movie theaters would still exist, even vaudeville. People still construct their homes in the ways they find in ancient re-discovered media. There will be people who want from the 1980’s Miami art deco inspired mansion to the Tudor revival house”. 

This world called The Dream and ruled by Emperor Xiao, though advanced in technology, shouldn’t be viewed as a gray, aesthetically industrial-looking environment. People still have a sense of beauty, a sense of taste for the classic styles of the past. For example when our friends arrive to Puala’Lolo, Prof. Quentin takes them to visit one of his research centers and says:

 

“It’s a reconstruction of the Chateau de Sceaux, a rescued art museum from the late nation of France.”

As this series progresses we should be able to further admire these original aspects. We often have these preconceptions of what a futuristic society should look like but Boncher is trying to avoid cliches:

 

“And that’s where my fault comes in. I did not set the universe well enough to make this seem natural. In my head, it tracks perfectly. But that’s my error. I didn’t explain it well.”

 

I  cannot express how gratifying it is to witness authors like Boncher putting out such high-quality content yet never getting too complacent and always striving to improve on their craft. 

If you haven’t picked up this series I recommend buying all three volumes at once since they are quick 5-star reads and I am confident that Boncher will continue to fascinate and awe us with more original content soon. And THAT is the exciting part! 

🦀

Fantasy, Historical, Reviews, TRENDS DIE OUT; LEGENDS LIVE ON

Ghost King by David Gemmell

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TRENDS DIE OUT/LEGENDS LIVE ON:

GHOST KING by David Gemmell

A review by INFAMOUS🦀

 

David Gemmell might not be one of the most popular sword and sorcery writers perhaps, but his work truly has been a gift to those of us who admire captivating characters, well thought-out plot lines, and the ‘magic’ of fairy stories of old,  combining  history and fantasy uniquely.

Ghost King in many aspects could be loosely compared to the legend of King Arthur, but only on the surface. Once we take a deep dive into the core of it we realize that this is an original and exquisite tale that should be shared and praised throughout the ages.

PLOT:

The kingdom of the Romano-Britons finds itself without a king when Brigante King Eldared murders King Aurelius in a hunting ambush. However, Prince Thuro, son of Aurelius, manages to escape and with the aid of very powerful and unexpected allies regroups to regain his father’s kingdom and take back the throne.

As you can see, the general plot line is pretty straightforward but where Gemmell excels is in making this story unique by presenting characters that are not flat or one-dimensional and sub-plots that we might not expect, yet  ‘make sense’.

 

TEEN CHARACTERS: 

Prince Thuro and Laitha are first introduced as teenagers. Commonly teen characters, as written in modern times, come off as insufferable due to either being portrayed as exceedingly talented and self-confident for their age or as nitwits with low self-esteem. Not here!

For example, when Thuro is asked who he really is, his answer is:

 

“I am a young man, barely of age, who needs wise counsel from trusted friends”

 

How could we not get to side with a character like Thuro? He is ignorant/innocent, inexperienced, and he knows it. While he does not quit on his task to regain the throne from the usurper he realizes he can’t do it alone and he is conscious of his age and limitations.

 

SECONDARY CHARACTERS: 

Other characters that we will find intriguing and well defined throughout the story are:

  • The three retainers Victorious, Gwalchmai, and Caradoc, who manage to survive the ambush on their king and ride back to their homeland to regroup and raise an army.
  • The Enchanter Maedhlyn, who allegedly inspired the building of Troy and took Alexander “to the brink of domination”. A ‘Merlin’ character who seems to have had influence over several historical figures according to the lore of Ghost King:
  • Demigod Culain, who turns out to be Thuro’s grandfather and makes the critical decision to give up his immortality out of sheer love
  • King Eldared who engages the Soul Stealers, terrible wraiths of doom with invincibility and great speed to usurp the throne
  • Prasamaccus the crippled brigante who saves Victorinus from the threat of the Atrols (giant creatures sent by Eldared)
  • Goroien the Witch, who constantly requires the sacrifice of pregnant women in order to maintain her eternal youth

 

And of course we gotta have a legendary sword… The Sword of Cunobelin, lost when the king was murdered. Thuro must rescue it in order to reclaim the throne.

PROSE:

Gemmell is very clear with the prosaic style he decided to adopt in the foreword:

 

“The language used is relatively modern, and undoubtedly there will be some students who find it jarring to read of arrows being ‘fired’, when of course the expression evolved only after the introduction of matchlock muskets.”

 

This is the best move any author can make when choosing a style of language for a similar epic fantasy tale. When unsure, write in the most neutral style you can manage. Don’t try to be Shakespeare and don’t try to use modern XXI slang either. When you use a neutral language you let the reader’s imagination take the driver’s seat, and that’s a good thing.

 

CONCLUSIONS:

If you don’t know David Gemmell, grab a copy of Ghost King and be delighted with high quality epic fantasy that is compelling, imaginative, but also well thought-out and professionally presented. The blend of history with fantasy is exactly what I personally appreciate more than anything, and that’s why we will cover book 2 soon:

The Last Sword of Power

Don’t miss it!

🦀

Reviews, Time Travel, TRENDS DIE OUT; LEGENDS LIVE ON

Bid Time Return by Richard Matheson

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TRENDS DIE OUT/LEGENDS LIVE ON:

Bid Time Return (Somewhere in Time) by Richard Matheson

A review by INFAMOUS🦀

 

Author Richard Matheson’s novels have been adapted for the big screen with relatively good success since the ’80s. His most popular title remains I am Legend (1954) but in my honest opinion the peak of his storytelling is represented by a time travel/love story little masterpiece originally titled Bid Time Return (1975).

Bid Time Return was adapted to the big screen in 1980 under the name Somewhere in Time starring the late Christopher Reeves. The movie was so successful that further publications of the novel saw the title officially changed to that of the movie.

It is important to know that though the movie is pretty good overall, it has some major elements that differ from the book, and ironically those differences are crucial in fully defining the true greatness of the original concept. Let me explain:

 

CRITICISM:

Over the years, the book has received some good criticism but also a lot of negative criticism. Some critics felt like this story was about a stalker who was willing to travel back in time to be with a woman he didn’t even know outside of a photo from 1896. The movie unfortunately lacks a very important element which is found in the book and that totally makes for a valid argument as for the behavior of the main character Richard Collier. 

Keep reading…

PLOT:

Richard Collier is a 36 year-old screenwriter in 1971 who is diagnosed with a malignant tumor and doctors inform him that he might have only months left to live. THIS is very important to keep in mind because it will completely change the narrative (in the movie Richard has NO tumor).

His parents already passed and, left with a brother of almost the same age and his sister-in-law, he decides to hop in his car and go on a road trip heading nowhere and everywhere. Never having been married or experienced love, with a career that now means nothing, he drives off feeling like he would only be a burden to his brother and his brother’s wife.

When he makes a pit stop at Hotel del Coronado he sees the framed photo of 1800s theater actress Elise McKenna and something about her aura pierces his heart and mind and he feels like he cannot leave the hotel, drawn to Elise and feeling this incredible need to meet her.

 

PLAUSIBILITY FACTORS:

Going back to the ‘health status’ of Richard, this is very important to grasp because without that, the whole narrative would crumble.

The tumor Richard was diagnosed with has a double impact on his persona:

  1. Psychological
  2. Physical

 

Psychological: Unless we ourselves experience a deadly ailment like a terminal tumor, with only a few months of life left, we can only assume how that might impact the psyche of a man. Particularly that of a man who has regrets about never having experienced true love and a wife. THAT alone makes Richard’s infatuation with Elise all the more conceivable.

 

Physical: as Richard’s own doctor later on told his brother:

 

“Dr. Crosswell’s words complete the picture. He told me that the sort of tumor Richard had could cause “dreaming states” and “hallucinations of sight, taste, and smell.”

So we see that we have two theories here: one where Richard’s tumor enabled a mental state where he believed to travel back in time through hallucinations, and a second theory where the tumor allowed for Richard to break through the 4th dimension and ‘travel’ in time or rather ‘exist’ in 1896. Either way we look at it, you CANNOT take the health status and mental stability of Richard away without the whole story falling apart.

 

TIME TRAVEL THEORY THAT MAKES SENSE:

Another thing that I absolutely admire about this novel is the fundamentals of time travel the author introduces. This does not involve fancy time travel machines or high tech equipment but rather the introduction of a 4th dimension (time). According to the research Richard embarks during his stay at Hotel Coronado, just like a blind man is unable to perceive the three known dimensions, our brain chemistry impedes us to perceive that fourth dimension which involves ‘time’.

Through ‘repetition’ techniques and while being physically located exactly where Elise was located that same month of November of 1896, Richard is able to break the wall of the fourth dimension just like a blind man would be able to perceive the three dimensions if eyesight was to be restored.

The several failed initial attempts followed by Richard’s relentlessness are gripping and unnerving. By the time he finally breaks through to 1896 we are right there with him, totally invested in the story, feeling what he feels. 

But Matheson is a master storyteller, so he leaves both doors open: Was Richard…

  1.  just experiencing delusions and hallucinations due to his rare mental health status, or
  2. was that same mental health status what enabled him to break through the barrier of the fourth dimension and begin to exist in 1896 Hotel del Coronado?

 

CONCLUSION:

To this day, many believe this to be some sappy love story with time travel thrown in the mix. But it’s much MUCH more.

This is about unfulfilled dreams, about newfound appreciation of TIME. It’s about the frailty of the human psyche when we realize the harsh reality of our own mortality. Richard knows that he has no future and it’s senseless to make any plans. All his ambitions are dissolved in a snap of fingers, all that is left is loneliness and regret for not having been able to experience what his brother has: a wife, a family, a connection that goes beyond the work-related.

These are all very heavy subjects which the author is able to tackle without presenting an agenda or trying to preach to us. 

He is only telling us that TIME is all we have…

🦀

Fantasy, Reviews

Contracts & Chaos by Joseph L. Wiess

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Contracts & Chaos – Tales from Crann Na Beatha by Joseph L. Wiess

Reviewed by

Contracts & Chaos is probably one of the most bizarre indie sword and sorcery(?) novels I’ve read as of late. This is labeled as Volume 2 of the Tales from Crann Na Beatha but as per the author it represents a totally independent narrative from Volume 1 and can be read on its own.

Why, you then may ask, do I feel like this story contains some bizarre elements? 

Well, the word ‘chaos’ in the title fits well in this instance! First and foremost, women in this world are generally portrayed with a weird touch of harem/Gorean submission narrative. Whether that was intentional of the author or not, we will discuss it in this review and in the comments that you will hopefully drop us.

PLOT:

The story kicks off with a damsel in distress-Heather-literally dropping at the feet of a man she doesn’t even know, begging him to make her his woman (or bond, as per this lore). The man in question is Balgair, a knight-turned-mercenary. Balgair already has two women/bonds waiting for him back at home but he decides that three is better than two so he accepts Heather’s offer. From that point on, Heather’s behavior is about constantly obsessing with pleasing Balgair. And if you think this is an isolated feature of Heather, let me introduce you to Lucy, another girl who is infatuated with Brandyn, the tavern owner, and her obsession with wanting to please this man is no less disturbing than Heather’s!

After rescuing Heather from the evil mage Brigid, the pace seems to slow down a big deal, with Balgair taking Heather to a shop to buy her new clothes and Heather being attacked by the store clerk. 

Aside from the slow pace, dialogue is very wooden and sometimes things just don’t add up. For example, when Heather gets verbally and physically attacked by Katrine the clerk, we read:

 

“The clerk drew her hand back again and sent Heather to the floor with a well-placed slap to the other cheek.”

 

But when Balgair hears the commotion and walks into the shop to rescue Heather, her reply is:

 

“I was looking for a new dress and had found one when I was hit from behind, and that woman was screaming at me.”

 

So was Heather attacked from behind or slapped on the face??

 

Before leaving the store, the goddess Ananke appears to Heather and reveals that she has great potential to become the perfect boireannach, which means a perfect submissive (I kid you not!).

CHARACTERS:

Other secondary (and totally forgettable) characters are Farank and his bond Arien the sorcerer. What’s interesting is that the entire time these two are trying to rescue Balgair and Heather, all Arien seems to do is drool over Balgair:

 

“If you are as strong as your Aura suggests, it’s no wonder your bond fell for you. The voice teased. I’m already bonded, yet I am straining not to run from my master to you. You must be quite a man.”

 

Again, dialogue to me seems quite odd and out of place.

 

Some of the punchlines also completely miss the mark, like when Balgair faces the powerful warrior Yarsmith, and Yarsmith introduces himself:

 

“I suppose I should introduce myself. I am Indigo Yarsmith, and you killed my father.” When Balgair raised his left brow in confusion, Yarsmith laughed. “No, not really, but it sounded good.”

 

But the odd moments don’t end there. While Heather is held captive by evil mage Brigid, she seems frightened, fearing for her life, and doubting that Balgair will make it on time to rescue her. However when he does finally rescue her, all she can say is:

 

“It’s about time you got here. I was so bored”

 

Again, inconsistencies and oddities are aplenty throughout this novel.

 

SEXUALLY EXPLICIT:

Another aspect that I totally did not appreciate is the sexually explicit scene with Balgair and Heather. This is basically X rated, smutty writing at this point and I’m surprised the author didn’t even bother adding a disclaimer or warning sign on Amazon so that those of us who don’t want to read such filth can avoid buying this trash altogether.

 

OTHER ODDITIES:

Another weird and quite annoying technique the author utilizes is showcasing the thoughts in the characters’ minds by separating the text using italic. This is something that could work when it’s isolated to one specific character, but in this book EVERYBODY has their thoughts on display. It could be a minor character who only has a brief appearance in the story and they will have their thoughts on display in italic text. So all of a sudden you have all these sentences in italic from pretty much almost every single character and it  just gets too chaotic.

 

The author also often forgets to open/close quotes which is also another painful feature of this book and suggesting poor editing work as well.

 

CONCLUSIONS: 

I found no redeemable qualities in this novel and the real question is:

Who was this novel written for? I cannot possibly imagine any normal reader feeling excited to read this type of content.

Contracts & Chaos is probably one of the most painful novels I’ve read as of late: poor editing/proof-reading, weak prose, wooden dialogue, and why is it that ALL characters sound like absolute nincompoops? Particularly the exchanges between Balgair and Heather sound like two 12-year-old children speaking. 

The only thing Contracts & Chaos achieved was making me feel slightly dumber by the time I reached the last page!

🦀

Fantasy, Reviews

Tears of an Indifferent God by Isom Ashe

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Agoric Myths Book One by Isom Ashe

Reviewed by

Welcome to Tears of an Indifferent God, a not-so-Greek mythological world where heroes are not what they seem and where pretty much every man and woman is bisexual! This book is comparable to a visit to the dentist: it hurts, it sucks, and we can’t wait to be done and over with!

But let’s take it all one breath at a time…

It’s not clear why the author decided to take all the most popular elements of Greek mythology and simply give them all different names. I understand taking inspiration from ancient mythology but to simply take well defined legends and just assign them new names seems lazy at best. So instead of Mount Olympus we now have Mount Arimus; instead of Aphrodite Goddess of Love we have Terha Goddess of Ecstasy, Zeus is now replaced by Gracix…You get the idea.

Hindsight, I speculate to believe that these lazy alterations were made intentionally by the author as to get away with the horrendous liberties he decided to take in order to ‘modernize’ some of the most ancient and most beloved legends.

 

CREATIVE LIBERTIES?

Despite the fact that we’re supposed to witness a mythological civilization, with fantastic characters and ethereal gods, it all feels very XXI century. The dialogue, the thinking process of the characters, even that weird Disney/MCU superhero vibe, at times!

You have Gordon, the legendary hero and the people’s champ, who is part of the Helios League of Heroes. You have Solacles, our MC, who keeps blaming Gordon for the death of his parents when he was still a child. You have Agda, Sola’s girlfriend (or not, since she sleeps with everything with a pulse?) who just wants to party and have fun, since the prospect of marriage is viewed as a daunting burden. You have capricious gods with hearing impairments like Terha, who can’t hear what a mortal is saying if other mortals are talking over him (not kidding!) and who feels the urge to expose herself whenever she witnesses mortals engage in debauchery!

 

PLOT: 

The plot stems from a series of the most illogical decisions made by these characters. It seems as if anything goes as long as it helps move the plot a certain direction. Nothing feels organic: Sola, our MC, gets promoted to commander in chief for simply stabbing a minotaur in the back and with zero military experience. Gordon, the greatest warrior of all times, who has a resume of slaying giants and demigods, ends up falling to a few stab wounds inflicted  by bird men wearing feather suits! All these weird decisions just so that the plot can move where the author wants it to move, no matter how nonsensical it all feels.

NO REDEEMING QUALITIES: 

What all these characters share is that none seems to possess any redeeming qualities. As we read about their ‘adventures’ it’s hard to feel emotionally invested in any of them. Sola, the MC, is described as someone who, when feeling down, ”often hid himself in the arms of a man or woman and drank away his sorrows”. 

Agda, Sola’s female supporting character, will sleep with anybody and everybody without a blink of an eye, yet she stands by Sola’s side ‘faithfully’…

Gordon, the warrior/hero is the typical dumb jock who can only think with his muscles and lives to slay monsters and bed women (and men).

 

CONCLUSION: 

To me this book felt as though the author was indulging himself in creating a fictional world that represents perhaps his ideal utopia. Homosexuality, heavy drinking, gods who act more like children than even human adults. A world where friendship without sex does not exist, where monogamy is scoffed at, where family is whatever we want it to be…or nothing at all.

This is exactly what is wrong with modern fantasy literature in our times. These authors not only fail to catch the nature of mythology but their use of these legendary icons comes across as shallow and  superficial, with the only purpose to twist them in ways as to confirm and reinforce their modern progressive perceptions.

🦀

Action, Reviews, Sci-Fi

Lucid Reality by M.D. Boncher – a Review

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LUCID REALITY: Tales from the Dream Nebula Book 2 by M. D. Boncher

Reviewed by

As promised in the previous review (Dreams within Dreams), I was so pleasantly surprised with the writing in this series of the Tales from the Dream Nebula that a review of volume 2 was unavoidable!

Boncher is a skilled plot creator; he possesses such an acute sense of when to push the envelope and when to slow things down, that at no point do we feel as though we’ve gotten enough of these adventures in the Dream!

What impresses me most is that even within the confines of this fun-loving, action-packed genre, Boncher still manages to display some mighty fine prose. His writing just jumps off the pages with life and color not typical of your average indie pulp novel.

PLOT:

I won’t waste too much time in explaining the plot of Lucid Reality since it picks up where Book 1 left off, so I encourage you to pick up Book 1 first. It’s worth it!

After barely escaping  with their lives, we find Winston and crew seeking asylum on Nova Tortuga, where Commodore Robert welcomes them with open arms.

What happens here is something not typical of the pulp genre, which is to keep the main character ‘offline’ for a determined amount of time while other characters will move the plot forward. Other than Boncher, the only other current pulp writer I know of using this approach is Robert Victor Mills in Man of Swords.

Keeping the MC offline creates a number of interesting circumstances that the reader usually would not expect. And so, for the entire first act of Book 2, Winston lays unconscious while the story follows the actions of other significant characters like Mother, an AI being who will prove crucial in the plot development.

A FEW ISSUES?

I don’t mean to sound too picky but it’s always important to highlight minor issues even in an awesome book such as LR:

  1. The scene where the Sierra Madre is approaching Nova Tortuga felt dragged and a little too prolonged in its description
  2. Conversely, the scene of the big trial before the mighty Emperor Xiao felt like a lost opportunity to create the type of tension that would highlight the eloquence and wits of both the plaintiff and the defense, thus making the final verdict much more emotionally satisfying for readers.
  3. I noticed some euphemisms that just felt misplaced, given the context. The most noticeable one was when Winston said: “Like watching your favorite horse be put down in her prime”. This comment just didn’t resonate well with me considering what type of man Winston is. I highly doubt he would know a thing about owning horses… Again, not a deal breaker but worth mentioning.

CONCLUSIONS:

When I reached the last page of Lucid Reality, I asked myself if I was left wanting to read Book 3, and my answer was a very loud and clear YES! What Boncher manages to accomplish is creating a narrative that is fresh, innovative, and original. Yes it does come with a few quirks and a few missed opportunities, but the stakes that have been raised are compelling to say the least.

Buy Book 1 and 2 as they are both INFAMOUS🦀REVIEWER recommended and keep an eye open for the upcoming review of Book 3: The Waking Nightmares.

Support our indie writers… at least the good ones!

🦀