Blog Archives
sThis is an excerpt from Moth & Cobweb Book 6, Tithe to Tartarus, Castalia House’s newest release. The entire Moth & Cobweb series, beginning with Swan Knight’s Son, is now available via Kindle and Kindle Unlimited. * * * * * Yumiko was unwilling to step onto the catwalk because she […]
Last time, when we looked at the first half of Norvell Page’s “When the Death-Bat Flies”: Hirotoyo had lost his smile, “Speak, my friend, and if I can help you….” “You can,” Dunne said shortly. “Donald Henderson was murdered last night and the death arranged to look like hari-kari. Another associate of his, Paul Tarsus, […]
The burglar fumbled in his pocket, and Dunne leaned forward sharply, the gun jutting out. It was only the jewelry. It glowed on the man’s big palm and Dunne whistled softly. “You damned fool,” he whispered. “You utter damned fool. That’s moonglow jewel jade! Worth a fortune. Good lord, it’s priceless! That bit there shaped […]
An excerpt from Mojo Mori’s debut novel: A faint sound made the man freeze, his heart racing. Holding his breath, he listened intently. Utter silence prevailed for several moments. Then his ears detected furtive sounds—the soft, irregular noises of a living creature creeping through the grove nearby. The man rose to a crouch, laying his hand […]
You Don’t Need to Know Science to Write Science Fiction…But it Helps!
Saturday , 16, September 2017 Authors, Fiction 9 CommentsContrary to the genre’s title, most authors writing science fiction know less about science than a curious twelve year-old. Even more surprisingly, one can still write good, even great SF with this impediment! And I note this as a professional scientist who loves “hard science” works. While this might seem like great news for the […]
Heroines, Then and Now
Saturday , 9, September 2017 Appendix N, Authors, Before the Big Three, Fiction 20 CommentsA frequent criticism of older stories, pulp or otherwise, is that they feature a “damsel in distress”. That the woman in question is nothing more than a prize to be won. This is considered bad, and earnest leftist writers of today seek to correct this horrible injustice by creating “strong female protagonists”. Right away, one […]
The Wardog’s Coin consists of two stories set in the epic fantasy world of A Throne of Bones. The title story is about a human mercenary company which finds itself in the employ of an elf king. Outnumbered and under attack from an army of orcs and goblins, the Company discovers it is no longer […]
This is an excerpt from Owen Stanley’s excellent new novel, THE PROMETHEAN. Despite Harry’s enormous wealth, he was dismayed when the estimates from Bill Grogan and Vishnu were finally presented to him, not to mention Wayne Ruger’s, which looked like the defence budget for a small but unusually belligerent third-world nation. The project was obviously going […]
Book Review: Lands of the Earthquake/ Under a Dim Blue Sun
Sunday , 27, August 2017 Fiction, Just Released 6 CommentsSome of you might have an Ace Double or two paperback in your collection. It was a classic format that lasted over 20 years. There would be two novels, back to back. Read one side and then flip the book and read the other. The format died out soon after Donald Wollheim left Ace Books […]
Covering fantasy, alternate history, and historical fiction, here are six new releases from July 2017’s feast for the imagination. * * * * * Brutal (Brutal Trilogy #1) – James Alderdice A man of violence. A duchess with dangerous desires. Two warring wizards. Things in Aldreth are going […]