My First Book: Aspects of Strange Sorceries

  Writing is no easy art. Any author can tell you this. It takes years of practice to hone and perfect the art, yet even with that, we are still practicing. This is what I hope to accomplish with my first book, a small short story collection to display my talents, to really see if I have really improved. I believe so.
  Aspects of Strange Sorceries, the title of my book, will contain five short stories never read before by anyone(with the exceptions of my beta-readers, thanks guys), all which will will include an introduction by me, the stories `The Gods' Black Market`, `Ten's War`, `Night of Thieves`, `The Underground Dirigible`, and `My Wife, The Kingslayer`.
  I am excited to have announced this, yet the date is not set. But the book inches closer to completion.

Oh Epic Fantasy, How Funny Art Thee with your Traps and Whatnots

We've all seen it, lived in it, been entranced in it, and probably never want to leave. I think we all spent the night at Bree, or maybe even attempted to live in The Academy itself. I know that I wanted to stay clear of The Blight as far as I can, but here I ask a serious question: can we truly live in a Fantasy world? I recall Moorcock's good 'ol Epic Pooh article many years ago, baggin' on Tolkien's use of language to lull the reader into a world of comfort and safety, somewhere we can always go to, where we will never know any harm. Ah, but what happens when the book is closed and the curse breaks? That same stress rises up again like poison, and you quickly tame it again with that same book. But what happens when you finish it? Then go look for another. Here is my next question? How long can this last? Fantasy fiction shouldn't (but when shouldn't it shouldn't?) be always about global-landscapes, magic swords, unique magic systems, and armies of thousands of nation marching to the Plains of DOOOOOOM to take the crown! No! IT should be used to give the reader hope, to explore what never knew about our own world through the eyes of a character moving through a constructed one. I've always looked at Fantasy as my treasure trove for learning. An educational experience, if I can be allowed to go THAT far. Yet I learned nothing from reading Lord of the Rings, Name of the Wind, or The Drsgon's Path. But I did learn that vaginal mutilation DOES exists ans it IS a problem in Who Fears Death, and I also learned that a warrior does not have to be some badass swordsman, but maybe a simple doctor. Isn't that right Kaladin Stormblessed? So, we as writers should find more uses for our worlds other than for entertainment. Its good to be trapped in your worlds for a little bit, it really is! But it's not healthy to stay in them for to long, especially if we are not learning anything. Fantasy should always be a learning experience.

Books -I- WILL READ

The Black God's War by Moses Siregar A Shadow in Summer by Daniel Abraham The Subtle Knife by Phillip Pullman A Tide of Shadows by Tom Bielwaski Infinity Blade: Awakening by Brandon Sanderson Any thoughts?

Behemoth: 1000 HP 999 MP

So, I finished Paolo Bacigalupi's The Alchemist, and I was quite pleased. The non-stop tempo, jaw-dropping characters, the plot, and the overall themes in this small little novella are what makes The Alchemist shine above most fantasies. I've read most fantasies. This leads me to my point of this blog post. Personally, I'm sick of those 1000 page Behemoths that love to call themselves Epic Fantasy. Now, don't get me wrong, I love new worlds and strange cultures, and I really could indulge myself into these, but can I really sit their in my rack, reading about the same topics over and over again? No. War this and war that, I will show you this epic world that I built for 20 years, but wont show you the characters who drive against it, but use them as windows. Thats all Fantasy IS these days. I mean, SHIT!!!! What happened to novels like A Wizard of Earthsea, a 40k word novella, Epic in every way and scope and yet manages to be readable? I loved The Alchemist, loving Who Fears Death, and Moses Siregar's Black God's War, which only uses war as a backdrop, NOT as some war novel. The only 1000 page behemoths I truly appreciate are The Wheel of Time, the first series I've ever read, and Sanderson's The Way of Kings, which hosts a great and strange alien world, quite strange to Fantasy fiction itself, but uses his characters as catalysts to show the reader what TRUE leadership is and, itself, is just a speculative look at humanity. Everything else to me is trash. I have no more love for those types of novels. I did, and thought it was cool. But my reading of the genre has matured. Any thoughts?

Sometimes, Instant Hits just suck.

I know, I know. This site hasn't been loved in quite some time. I mean, look how long ago the last post was! Sheesh. I'm sorry, especially to the people who DO follow this site/blog. But I'm back now, hopefully with the same daily posts I've been bringing, and it seems that their was a lot, A LOT of things that went down in the Fantasy genre that I never knew about. First, I have just found out some terrible news that my favorite Fantasy Cover Artisit, Darrel K. Sweet, has died. I first found out about him as I followed The Wheel of Time series which were the first few books Im have ever read. The artwork amazes me every time, just take a look at a few of his artwork:

Me personally, I think that Sweet topples most Cover Artists, even Frank Frazetta and Michael Whelan, but this is just my opinion. I have loved his artwork for years, and I have always looked into it when I needed inspiration for my own short works...he WILL be missed. So, I knew Brandon Sanderson was coming out with his Mistborn novella, but I didn't know he was coming out with a literary tie-in to Infinity Blade!!!! WHOA!!! I downloaded both the game and book to my iTouch, and both are quite pleasing!! Why don't you check out the sequel right here! Well, thats just a few things I can think about right now, so I'll just leave this post as is. YES, I am still writing and seeking publishing, and I have a great feeling that this will happen in the nearby future, sometime soon. Till next time fellow readers, have a great day and night!

PUBLIC NOTICE: Boot Camp and "Limitless" Review

Last saturday, my sister and I went to the Arclight in Manhattan Beach to go and see "Limitless", a new movie out, based on the novel "The Dark Fields". Wikipedia classes the film as a Techno-Thriller, but I see it as Science Fiction. I was hoping that this movie would make-up what expectations I had for "Sucker Punch".
My God, the movie was awesome.
Imagine your Edward Morra, a deadbeat, near-homeless, behind on his rent kind of guy. Oh, he's also an author and yes, as the cliche goes, he needs to finish his book and the deadline just looms around the corner. And if you have not guessed it, his ex-wife broke up with him prior to the film's beginning. Sounds like a boring flick, right?
Nope. What would happen if your ex-wife's brother-in-law gives you a pill which greatly sharpens your learning ability, focus, and brings to memory things you have forgotten for a day?
Then we get Edward Morra, "Limitless" as I believe he is. Soon, you will forget the plot, though important, but you will focus on Edward's climb into the corporal world, his vast intellegence, and how the newspapers are naming him "The Prophet" and some as far as saying he is God. But soon, Morra faces the side-effects of the pills, and soon finds out that their are other "Limitless" out in the world.
The movie is a bit small in scope, but it is political and character-driven, and shows us how much a drug can affect one's life. Oh yeah, the ending was pretty sick too.
I'd go see the movie the minute you are done with this post. I'd rent it if you can't see it. Edward Morra is worth watching, again and again.

And finally, to this end, this will be my last post until two months go by. To readers and followers of my blog, I will be shipping out to Recruit Traning Command (aka Boot Camp) for the next 8 weeks this Wednesday, but I'm leaving the house today and spending the night at a hotel, paid for by the military. It'll be a bit strange not updating the site, but I think I'll have some great posts when I get back :)

Till Then.

A Review: Sucker Punch's a Sucker

When I first saw the trailers to this Epic Fantasy/Action-adventure film, needless to say, I was stoked. The magic of the world of Sucker Punch is purely escapism from a harsh world to one(s) even deadlier.
We have a nameless character only named "Babydoll" as she is sent to a mental institute for girls by her foster father. There, she works at the institute's theatre where men with high money come in and pay for a dancing show with one of the girls. It is also here, that Babydoll and 4 others, make plans of escape by exploiting Babydoll's ability to cross into her dreamworld.
Now, the reason why I give the title "Sucker Punch is a Sucker" is not because it is a bad film, but because I'd would rather have rented it.
I felt that the movie became repetitive with its use of magic and that there was virtually no plot. A few twists here and there, but some are predictable and while the action scenes are engrossing, our heroines are scantily dressed, provoking a healthy dose of sexism in the film. But then again, it may promote feminism, as the heroines fight against men who exude lust and adultery. A matter of debate, this film can be.
So, if your a fan of giant samurai weilding naginatas and rail guns, or a mecha battling zepplins and zombies, then you'll love this film, over and over. But if your the fantasist looking for something philosophical and true to the real world, then, I would say, look elsewhere as *that* theme is clearly expressed in the commercials.
But I was pleased.