David J. West has a great review of Mage, Maze, Demon over on his Nephite Blood, Spartan Heart. Hope you'll check it out. Thanks, David!
After Easter break, the final sprint to graduation began and I've had very little time for anything other than school work. So, so looking forward to summer. I've got all kinds of writing plans. Now I just need a bit of time.
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Showing posts with label David J. West. Show all posts
Showing posts with label David J. West. Show all posts
Thursday, April 07, 2016
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
Wings Over Talera
The most fun I've ever had writing remains the writing of the Talera Trilogy: Swords of Talera, Wings Over Talera, and Witch of Talera. I will do a fourth book at some point.
I'm very glad that folks have generally liked these books a lot, that they've seen something good in the way I drew on the legacies of Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E. Howard. I certainly appreciate all the kind comments on them, and the reviews over on Amazon and on Goodreads. These remind me of why I love good stories so much, and why I so enjoy writing.
If anyone is interested in picking up signed copies of one or all of the Talera books for Christmas, let me know. I've got copies at the house and can make folks a deal on the trilogy. Email me at: kainja at hotmail dot com
The books are also available for the Nook and the Kindle so if you know someone who has one of these ereaders, or who is getting one for Christmas, these books could make a nice gift. At least I think they do. :)
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
More Updates
You'd think I'd have more time to write information heavy posts since I'm off from school, but I've been spending most of my free hours lately working on the two Graphic Novel articles that I agreed to do. Good progress so far. The hardest part has been identifying other scholarly works that address the books, since graphic novels are only beginning to be taken seriously in the larger world.
So, here's another promo type post if you will, wherein I talk about myself. Egads, that sounds pretty boring even to me. But, there are some good things going on at the moment. David J. West has a review of Bitter Steel up over on his "Nephite Blood, Spartan Heart blog. Thanks to David for the kind words.
Also, Swords of Talera is now officially a "Nook Book," at $4.79. That's purty cool. At least to me. The second and third book in the series are scheduled to be released as ebooks eventually, probably in the new year.
I already mentioned here that Cold in the Light is also available as an ebook now, although apparently not yet for Kindle. It's available for only $2.84 at the Google Ebookstore. The link is here if you were wondering.
One of these days I'll put up another, more substantive post. I promise.
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So, here's another promo type post if you will, wherein I talk about myself. Egads, that sounds pretty boring even to me. But, there are some good things going on at the moment. David J. West has a review of Bitter Steel up over on his "Nephite Blood, Spartan Heart blog. Thanks to David for the kind words.
Also, Swords of Talera is now officially a "Nook Book," at $4.79. That's purty cool. At least to me. The second and third book in the series are scheduled to be released as ebooks eventually, probably in the new year.
I already mentioned here that Cold in the Light is also available as an ebook now, although apparently not yet for Kindle. It's available for only $2.84 at the Google Ebookstore. The link is here if you were wondering.
One of these days I'll put up another, more substantive post. I promise.
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Sunday, June 20, 2010
Famous Books That Suck
Just a quick post today. My son, Josh, is coming up around noon for Father's day and will be here for a couple of days. I won't be posting or reading blogs during that time. We've got some fun things to do that don't involve the computer. In the meantime, though, I'll leave you with a brief commentary on famous books that suck.
1. Moby Dick, by Herman Melville. Often referred to as the first modern novel, there are indeed some good things in this book. The writing isn't bad and the characters are well drawn. There are some justifiably famous lines, "From Hell's heart I stab at thee." However, the book is very long, with numerous asides that are info dumps on whaling and have nothing to do with the basic storyline. It took me nearly two years to read it and I still shudder a bit at the thought.
2. William Hope Hodgson wrote a very fine book called The House on the Borderland. I loved it's surreal prose and imagery, and the feeling of real dislocation within it. So naturally I tried Hodgson's The Night Land. Big mistake. The book is agonizingly slow and repetitive and is written with a biblical tone that is interesting at first but soon grows old. There is some fine imagery in it, and it showcases Hodgson's twisted but brilliant imagination, but the basic story is not very interesting in the first place. (It's about reincarnated lovers.) And the repetive elements are enough to drive a reader mad themselves. I thought if I was going to have to read one more time about how they: walked 8 hours and ate some tablets and slept for six hours, that I was going to scream. The books is about 200,000 words long, and I understand there is a 20,000 word version called The Dream of X. I sure wish I'd read that one first.
3. Requiem for a Dream, by Hubert Selby Jr. I've mentioned my dislike of this book before, and unlike with my first two picks I can't find anything positive to say about it. All I can say is, I wanted all the characters (except the main junkie's mom) to die as quickly as possible so I'd be put out of their misery. The writing is absolutely bland, with paragraphs that run on for whole pages and at the same time combine dialogue from several speakers without using any quotation marks or tags to let you know who is speaking. If you must experience something of this work, watch the movie, which is not my favorite in the world but is a thousand times better than the book.
And now, for two items that definitely do NOT suck. I just finished reading Heroes of the Fallen by David J. West, and I found it to be very fine. I'll be doing a review of the book as a blog post sometime soon. I also read "Love's Clothing," by Rachel V. Olivier, which is a short story in the March 2010 issue of Aoife's Kiss. Good stuff. Very inventive. With a great setting and backstory. I recommend both works.
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1. Moby Dick, by Herman Melville. Often referred to as the first modern novel, there are indeed some good things in this book. The writing isn't bad and the characters are well drawn. There are some justifiably famous lines, "From Hell's heart I stab at thee." However, the book is very long, with numerous asides that are info dumps on whaling and have nothing to do with the basic storyline. It took me nearly two years to read it and I still shudder a bit at the thought.
2. William Hope Hodgson wrote a very fine book called The House on the Borderland. I loved it's surreal prose and imagery, and the feeling of real dislocation within it. So naturally I tried Hodgson's The Night Land. Big mistake. The book is agonizingly slow and repetitive and is written with a biblical tone that is interesting at first but soon grows old. There is some fine imagery in it, and it showcases Hodgson's twisted but brilliant imagination, but the basic story is not very interesting in the first place. (It's about reincarnated lovers.) And the repetive elements are enough to drive a reader mad themselves. I thought if I was going to have to read one more time about how they: walked 8 hours and ate some tablets and slept for six hours, that I was going to scream. The books is about 200,000 words long, and I understand there is a 20,000 word version called The Dream of X. I sure wish I'd read that one first.
3. Requiem for a Dream, by Hubert Selby Jr. I've mentioned my dislike of this book before, and unlike with my first two picks I can't find anything positive to say about it. All I can say is, I wanted all the characters (except the main junkie's mom) to die as quickly as possible so I'd be put out of their misery. The writing is absolutely bland, with paragraphs that run on for whole pages and at the same time combine dialogue from several speakers without using any quotation marks or tags to let you know who is speaking. If you must experience something of this work, watch the movie, which is not my favorite in the world but is a thousand times better than the book.
And now, for two items that definitely do NOT suck. I just finished reading Heroes of the Fallen by David J. West, and I found it to be very fine. I'll be doing a review of the book as a blog post sometime soon. I also read "Love's Clothing," by Rachel V. Olivier, which is a short story in the March 2010 issue of Aoife's Kiss. Good stuff. Very inventive. With a great setting and backstory. I recommend both works.
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Thursday, May 06, 2010
Bitter Steel Revisited
Thanks everyone for the excellent feedback on my last post. Most folks did not like the first paragraph of the possible back cover blurb. The blurb, btw, is for a collection of my short heroic fantasy stories called Bitter Steel. I’ve talked about it before, back when I was putting together the introduction and organizing the contents of the volume. I think the points made on my post were good ones and that the opening paragraph sounded more like something for an introduction rather than a back cover “come hither.” I’ve revised that while leaving the second paragraph largely the same. Thanks everyone.
In other news, I just got my latest shipment in from this new fangled inter-net thingie. I’m now the proud owner of three books that readers of this blog may recognize. First up is Arkansas Smith, by Jack Martin. How could I pass up a western novel named after my home state? Second we have Pallid Light by William Jones. I’ve been looking to read about a good zombie holocaust. Third, there is Heroes of the Fallen by David J. West. This is heroic fantasy, in the same vein as the stories in Bitter Steel. It’s obviously a genre I love very much.
Much as I would love to read and review all three of my new acquisitions tonight, that will not be happening. Although I did not want the blogosphere to find this out, I am only human. My reading card is pretty full. Unlike my dance card, which is limited just to the Lovely Lana.
I did actually finish a book by some blogsphere friends. This was Then Comes the Child by Christopher Fulbright and Angeline Hawkes. Wow, it rocked! This is the true horror, the down and dirty stuff. If you’ve got a strong stomach and like your gore with style, you’ll love it.
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In other news, I just got my latest shipment in from this new fangled inter-net thingie. I’m now the proud owner of three books that readers of this blog may recognize. First up is Arkansas Smith, by Jack Martin. How could I pass up a western novel named after my home state? Second we have Pallid Light by William Jones. I’ve been looking to read about a good zombie holocaust. Third, there is Heroes of the Fallen by David J. West. This is heroic fantasy, in the same vein as the stories in Bitter Steel. It’s obviously a genre I love very much.
Much as I would love to read and review all three of my new acquisitions tonight, that will not be happening. Although I did not want the blogosphere to find this out, I am only human. My reading card is pretty full. Unlike my dance card, which is limited just to the Lovely Lana.
I did actually finish a book by some blogsphere friends. This was Then Comes the Child by Christopher Fulbright and Angeline Hawkes. Wow, it rocked! This is the true horror, the down and dirty stuff. If you’ve got a strong stomach and like your gore with style, you’ll love it.
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