Books

Into the Heart of the Jungle

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Darrick Dean

I’ve written on how The Land that Time Forgot and The Lost World inspired all the books and films about lost lands and hidden creatures that came after them.

These books appeal to our fascination of the mysterious and unknown. No matter how far we advance, there is always something tugging at our minds. That’s why we explore. An that’s why many write. J. Allan Danelek‘s new book, Serpente Gigante, is the latest in this legacy of stories.

There are a lot of over-the-top books out there with Indy-clones or people where the impossible always seems to happen to. Yes, the whole point of fiction (or one, anyway) is to explore the impossible. Alternate realities that most likely never will exist. On the other end of the spectrum are those books that present their fantastic tale in a more plausible fashion. These books are just as interesting and that is where Danelek’s resides.

Brazilian jungles. Giant snakes. It may sound familiar, but the characters make it real. They aren’t quite as perfect or lucky as some other heroes. One subplot — let’s just say man’s tampering with what he shouldn’t — is not of uncommon territory. Yet it fits well because it is an increasingly real danger in our world.

Danelek has created a fast-paced diversion that considers various ideas without the heavy-handedness seen in other books. This is the first of a series, a decent first entry. So here’s the question:

Are you afraid to explore the unknown?

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Who will be Ready to Oppose the Shadonae?

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Darrick Dean

When someone has an innate ability to oppose Evil, they become a target. Evil will do whatever they can to suppress or destroy such people. The danger for Evil, though, is that the great Heroes are often refined by this, strengthened by it. What Evil tries to destroy, only gets stronger.

This is the path the reluctant heroes are faced with in Morgan L. Busse‘s absorbing new novel, Son of Truth, the sequel to Daughter of Light. Last time, we followed the reluctant outcast, Rowen Mar, as she finally chose who she was meant to be, even if she wasn’t entirely sure what would come with it. An Eldaran imbued with gifts of healing and Truthsaying, these great powers often take a toll on their user.

Now she is on the run because people fear her. This volume also sees the development of other characters from the first book, as they discover and come to terms with what they are meant to be. There’s a great interweaving of their paths here, even a bit of a love story. One of these people is, if you haven’t guessed from the title, a Guardian (another type of Eldaran), who is called to stand against Evil. Readers are left with the distinct feeling something big is looming just off stage. Where as the first novel was set against the backdrop against a war between men, the threat of the Shadonae is growing as is the strength of those who will ultimately oppose them. In a way, the trials of the characters remind of the breaking of the fellowship in Lord of the Rings. Not that all of these people were together initially, but they find themselves on differing paths that test their beliefs and resolve before their journeys converge.

Very much a character-driven story, Morgan keeps the adventure flowing forward with plenty of surprises and conflict. As good as the first volume was, she has truly found her rhythm here in a story that propels the reader to the next page. Some aspects of the Follower of the Word are a bit reminiscent of Terry’ Brooks Word and the Void series (which he later connected to his Shannara books), but Brooks never really developed what the Word was and what that meant. Morgan isn’t afraid to make this integral to her book, and the religious allusions are obvious, but in the way C.S. Lewis approached his fantasy. Allowing his beliefs to be the foundation of his work, not to overwhelm it. I only say this because all authors imbue their books with their beliefs, but I think the path Lewis or Morgan has taken is more realistic. Sure, there are those who like their books to be more in their face about everything or are mad when that’s what they discover while reading. Writers can’t, and shouldn’t try to, make everyone happy.

Most people will be more than happy with Morgan’s newest book. As always, in a series like this, it is always best to start with the first book. I don’t know how many books in this sequence she has planned, but I do know one thing. In a time where I have lost interest in many other books and their sequels, this is one that I can’t wait to see what happens next.

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The War of the Seed Heats Up

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Darrick Dean

If you haven’t been reading Brian Godawa’s Chronicles of the Nephilim books, you’ve been missing an unique fusion of ancient history and fantasy. Godawa begins with two premises: One, the fantastic tales from ancient history often contain kernels of truth. Two, many of the early biblical accounts leave a lot unsaid.

What was so horrible in Noah’s day that people had to be destroyed? This flood account was repeated in other Near East histories as well, though often in a much embellished and fantastic way. Why did Enoch avoid death? And in Godawa’s most recent book, was God’s chosen person Abraham that classic stereotypical, pastoral old guy? Or did God choose someone far more dynamic?

In Abraham Allegiant, Godawa puts some depth to the person we know as Abraham. Think about it, the bible tells us very little about this person. In reality, he had a life, a history. It’s like how you often know your grandparents as they are now, but not really as they were. Their life to the point you met them. Everything that happened to make them what you now see. That’s what Godawa does in all if his books, tell the stories behind the name.

This is all set against the War of the Seed as the fallen angels and their mutated giants scheme and fight to reconquer the world. The current novel, as with the rest, is replete with intrigue and battle. Abraham finds himself in the middle of this war and Godawa has managed to find ways to combine his story with those of Babel and Sodom and Gomorrah.

If this all sounds too biblical for you, rest assured, this isn’t what would be considered stereotypical “Christian fiction.” Godawa attempts to bring a level of realism not often found in that genre, but not going overboard like some other writers may be inclined. As he writes on his site, he uses the descriptions and realism level in the bible as a guide. So the content of his books may surprise readers ready to write it off as “just” biblical inspired fiction. It will probably also bother those not as familiar with the bible as they think they are. They may also object that Godawa is creating parts of these stories that are unknown to us. Such objections are silly as Godawa isn’t writing history here, nor claims to be doing so. We shouldn’t be so fragile as to not allow ourselves to imagine how events unknown may have happened.

Some of the humor seems goofy in an anachronistic way, but action and characters only continue to get better. It is always dangerous for an author to give away too much in the “author’s notes” section (or Godawa’s Appendices), but it works well here. Perhaps because it doesn’t make his story seem as fictionalized as one might suspect. His combining in this book of what are usually considered widely separated events works well for his story, but I’m sure many scholars will challenge the basis for his choices.

These books are a hybrid of historical fiction and fantasy. They will appeal to a broad swath of readers, especially if you are looking for something new and fresh. As always, it is best to start at the beginning of the series.

So leave your apprehensions and misconceptions behind and choose a side in the War of the Seed.

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Changing Face of Publishing

Posted on April 7, 2013 by Darrick Dean

Self-publishing was once considered the bottom of the barrel for authors not too long ago. Bookstores and distributors didn’t sell your books. Getting them out to readers was a challenge. The internet changed that to a large extent. It was a perfect avenue for promotion. Print-on-demand meant authors didn’t have to stockpile their books in their attic. Then something else changed. One small thing.

Ebooks.

The simple ability to have books instantly was enough of a perception shift to change an industry. Think about it. I can click a button and buy a book or download an e-book. Not a real big difference on that end. On the consumer’s end, anyone with a device capable of reading ebooks (which is anyone with a computer or e-reader), had the convenience factor of reading jump considerably. Economically, prices for ebooks are usually much less than print counterparts. Instant, affordable access to books for readers. Instant, direct access to those readers by authors. No middlemen or gatekeepers. In an industry where financial success is more fleeting than often perceived by outsiders, more than a few authors are now paying their bills being indie writers.

And this is why publishing is changing.

Tired of being given little chance to find their audience and small returns for their work, going independent has now become a viable publishing path. Not that publishers don’t have a place in this new world. When Hugh Howey’s ebooks took off, he passed up lucrative deals with traditional publishers until one came along where he could keep the ebook rights. Why should authors be expected to give up so much control to their works? Now they don’t have to. Technology is forcing traditional publishers to change up the rules. There are benefits and downsides to any publishing model. In the past, however, traditional was the only way to go.

Does indie/self-publishing guarantee success? No. Does it mean lower quality works like critics claim? No. Traditional publishing doesn’t guarantee great returns or quality either. The indie route does guarantee two things: A direct route to readers and the chance for the author to retain greater control over his works.

I’m not going to reinvent the wheel here on the changes in publishing. I’ll leave the details to these articles, kindly gathered by
Robert Bidinotto on his site: “Self-Publishing Is the Future — and Great for Writers“, “Hugh Howey’s Advice for Aspiring Writers” and Robert’s own “Tales of Woe from Traditionally Published Authors.”

Will these changes peak or permanently change publishing? Time will tell, but it is certain that both authors and readers are winners in this changing landscape.

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The Original Lost World

Posted on February 17, 2013 by Darrick Dean

Edgar Rice Burroughs will always be best known for creating Tarzan and yet this was only a small part of this prolific author’s legacy.

Decades before Jurassic Park or the endless “lost island with extinct creatures” films of Old Hollywood, Burroughs was one of the first with his The Land That Time Forgot and its two sequels.

In his trademark style, this swashbuckling, impending-death-on-every-other-page adventure inspires to this day much in fiction and film. His prose is from another era, yet readable and page-turning. Like many of his books, they are written in the first person, giving the story an even more immediate sense of urgency. Very over-the-top, not unlike modern thrillers, but much more straight forward in the storytelling. Modern writers sometimes want to show their skill by cramming in as many plots, subplots, gimmicks and twists as they can. Burroughs shows this isn’t really necessary. Sure, there are cliffhangers and surprises and layers of meaning, but why clutter a story up when one doesn’t have to?

As in most of his novels, there’s always a love interest for the hero to save. In these books, the heroes never fail to find a native girl that they first cannot imagine being with, only to risk it all for them by the end.

While not as epic and expansive as his John Carter of Mars series, the lost island of Caspak has probably inspired more that followed. The whole trilogy can be found in one volume here. This wasn’t Burroughs’ only foray into lost worlds, his exploration of Pellucidar under the Earth’s surface spanned many novels. Read the first two in The Hollow Earth.

Nearly a century after it was written, his lost world is still the standard all others are measured against.

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Barnes and Noble: The New Local Bookstore?

Posted on February 3, 2013 by Darrick Dean

While authors rely more and more on ebooks and internet stores to reach their audiences, bookstores still deliver millions of books to readers. Many readers, like myself, like the best of both worlds. The ease and savings of home delivery pioneered by Amazon is unbeatable, but no matter how good they are in linking you to other books, it’s still easier to browse in a bookstore. Rarely do I walk in a bookstore and don’t find something new. So why did Borders go under? And now Barnes & Noble is announcing more store closings.

Much of the bookstore industry’s woes have been blamed on the growth of ebooks. An equal, if not bigger, part of the problem is that the chains got too big, too fast, especially Borders. Barnes & Noble had the superior model, better selection and stayed closer to a local bookstore feel. But it too became too big. It entered the ebook reader market a bit late. With the demise of Borders, however, it’s essentially the last man standing. Its recent announcement is only a continuation of ongoing plans to stay afloat. I predict it will succeed, if it takes steps to return to its roots. Be more focused and become known as the local neighborhood bookstore, rather than the local national chain bookstore.

Many retail stores are getting this concept. And while Borders vanished, and Barnes & Noble started cutting, indie bookstore numbers stayed steady. What can B&N do to become the new face of local for readers? Here’s my plan:

1. Make that regional and local book section more prominent. Expand it. Make your store the one stop place for anyone looking for local authors and books on area subjects.

2. Ditch the cafes. Never stepped foot in one. You’re a bookstore. Yes, there’s people who like to hang out in them, so farm them out to someone else. Like Panera Bread.

3. Indie books and indie presses have grown rapidly in recent years. Ebooks are their main outlet because they still operate outside traditional distribution networks. Change this. Get their books in your stores.

4. Ditch the music and movie section. If ecommerce has hurt book sales, it has done more so for these other two. Save a spot for local artists, toss the rest.

5. Enough of the $20 membership fee. Virtually no one charges for their loyalty cards.

6. Keep cutting unprofitable stores, but don’t pass up chances to open new, smaller stores in areas with a bookstore vacuum.

7. The kids learning toy section and the games area are the best non-book items you have. They are better quality than what we find in department stores. But how many people know you sell this stuff? Your kids book section blows everyone, even Wal-Mart, away. Tell people.

8. Stay on the forefront of the ebook revolution. The initial growth may be hitting its peak, but they’re here to stay.

9. Overall, your selection, style, arrangement and size of stores isn’t bad. Use your strengths as a national chain, but operate like a local store. Each market is different. Be able to respond and provide at an individual store level. Let them know you are there.

Be like the stores of old. Books will never die, nor do you have to.

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Agenda 21: Orwell’s Worst Nightmare

Posted on January 27, 2013 by Darrick Dean

In a country of over 300 million people, we freely give power to a tiny percentage of people and pay little attention to what they do.

We often live to regret it.

Orwell, Bradbury and Huxley warned us of what governments become. Sometimes we listen, more often that not, we don’t. Fiction, however, is a powerful wake-up call and Agenda 21 joins these other novels of warning.

Set in the near future, it depicts a dystopian America after the full effects of the real-life Agenda 21 has been implemented for many years. Agenda 21 started out as some vague U.N. proclamations about protecting the environment and the poor. Then it became more specific in its intent in stripping private property and wealth of all levels to equalize all people around the world. Of course, “equalize” means taking from people all of the rights and freedoms that allow them to be human. People moved to communities where everyone lives the same with virtually no possessions. No books. No television. No Internet. Everything, down to the amount and type of food eaten and children born, is controlled by people who “know better.” A frightening future.

Even more so considering that the Agenda 21 policy really exists. A quick search finds many politicians here and abroad that support its intents and probable results.

“It would never go as far as this book depicts or those other fear-mongering novels claim!” Well, folks, even here in the U.S. we locked up citizens in prison camps in World War II because they had Japanese heritage. Woodrow Wilson went after people who opposed World War I. Even the hero of the Republic, Abraham Lincoln, shut down papers critical of him during the Civil War.

Don’t say it can’t happen here, because it has. People let their rights be trampled on because they were convinced it was okay. Then they said it would never happen again. Then it did.

People in power — both those that believe they know better than you and those who really want to oppress you — will often be very subtle in their actions. A little change at a time. Vaguely worded laws. Or they will use tragedy, war or disaster to convince you that suspending or giving up rights is the right thing to do. Or maybe they just want to modify your rights, make you think that they are a bit outdated or unfair. Then you wake up one day and ask, “What happened?”

Just ask the Germans in 1945.

That’s why novels like Agenda 21 by Glenn Beck and Harriet Parke are important. I know political fundies will lose their mind when they see Glenn Beck’s name on the book, but this isn’t about party politics. Agenda 21 is a real menace not only to our Constitution, but our human rights. Opposition is growing and crosses all political lines. Those duped by its reasonable sounding protect our planet and resources mandates are taking a second look. If it was only about those things, no one would care. We all wished our politicians cared further than the next election. Agenda 21 doesn’t stop at finding ways to help the poor or stop environmental destruction.

It’s about the wholesale end to the individual and their birthright to live free and unoppressed and without fear. And it’s very clear in its intent to do so.

So read Agenda 21. This is really what some envision the world should be like. They will say it won’t be that extreme, but you should notice something.

They won’t deny what they are planning. What they want to do this world.

Will people wake-up from their fantasy that the government would never do anything to harm them? Many people will remain hypnotized by their bread and circuses. Fooled by the smoke and mirrors of the politicians.

For the rest of you, put your politics and special interests away, start paying attention and take back your future.

For once, stop and think about what freedom really is. It’s not a buzzword. Not about a flag or country.

Freedom is about your human rights to speak, think and worship as you choose, figuring out for yourself what your ideal life should be and being allowed to defend your life against evil in the world. These are rights man has spent centuries trying to achieve and protect. Don’t take any of these things for granted. Don’t let anyone tell you it’s okay to give up any part of these rights.

If you can’t figure out why, read books like 1984, A Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451 or Agenda 21 and see what lays in store. Take some time to pay attention what is aleady being pushed by politicians in America and elsewhere if you don’t already.

If you aren’t already frightened, you will be.

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Who are We Really?

Posted on January 20, 2013 by Darrick Dean

That is often the question of theologians and philosophers. But it was also what the ordinary folk used to ask and could readily answer. Now, locked up in reality television and other alternate realities, people ignore this important question until it’s too late. Is it any wonder that our novels are so often about people searching for who they really are? Trying to become what they were meant to be?

John Eldredge writes in The Journey of Desire:

We all share the same dilemma — we long for life and we’re not sure where to find it…Our days come to us as a riddle and the answers aren’t handed out with our birth certificates. We must journey to find the life we prize. And the guide we have been given is the desire set deep within, the desire we often overlook or mistake for something else or even choose to ignore.

The greatest human tradegy is simply to give up the search. There is nothing of greater importance than the life of our deep heart. To lose heart is to lose everything…

The clue to who we really are and why we are here comes to us through our heart’s desire.

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Gilgamesh: The Warrior King

Posted on January 12, 2013 by Darrick Dean

Brian Godawa has been writing a fascinating fantasy series that takes place in the ancient Near East. It began with Noah Primeval which was rooted in the question, “What was going on in the world that was so horrible that mankind needed destroyed?” The series continued with Enoch Primordial (actually a prequel), which centered around the enigmatic Enoch. A man barely mentioned in the biblical accounts, but because he never died, and the other books attributed to him recount many a strange event, he has long been a person of high speculation.

Godawa now steps out from filling in between the lines of the biblical accounts with Gilgamesh Immortal. Taking off from events in the Noah episode, the tale of Gilgamesh provides a link to storie Godawa has next that is centered around Babel. One can’t study Near Wast cultures in a vacuum, so bringing in the most famous character from that region’s legends that isn’t chronicled in the biblical accounts was a perfect idea. Gilgamesh, a king and warrior of Mesopotamia, rules his empire with an iron fist. He has everything. Then he encounters a Wild Man that is his equal in many ways, and better in others. He begins to realize there has to be something more.

He wants immortality.

There begins his quest to conquer the weak and silent gods of old. These fallen angels had largely been destroyed and contained during the Great Flood, but he seeks out their remnant. It’s a journey full of adventure and death, while one of the most sinister of these “gods” is about to re-emerge and try to take Gilgamesh’s kingdom.

This book, along with the others, have Godawa’s trademark fast-paced storytelling. Their combination of fantasy and history is a largely original take on the people and places they are centered around. He also draws on the elusive references to Nephilim, Watchers and “sons of god” in the bible and other writings. For centuries, people have debated exactly what these beings were. Essentially Godawa is saying, “Maybe these references aren’t so mysterious. Maybe all of the ancient legends of battling gods aren’t just myth. Perhaps there are kernels of truth in them. Maybe there is a reason that the ancient cultures believed in them so much.”

It’s an intriguing premise. Perhaps it sounds irrational in our supposedly advanced world. But it’s perfectly reasonable to ask why did the ancient world pay so much credence to such things? Was it all just because of active imaginations? Or have we left behind part of our history we chose to forget?

Godawa’s series not only entertains, it asks such questions. And it gives us one possible imagining of the answers. It could have happened like this.

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Have you Joined the League Yet?

Posted on December 31, 2012 by Darrick Dean

I reviewed awhile back the first three books of the League of Elder series. It’s an impressive sci-fi epic from the mind of Ren Garcia. Keep in mind, once upon a time, sci-fi was my main genre of choice. Then I got bored. It was hard finding anything to keep my interest. The League of Elder changed that.

An original mythos set somewhere else in the universe where space battles are not unusual, castles are not uncommon homes, people like to bowl, and of course, evil beings are trying to throw everything into disarray. In all the details in between, Garcia has managed to create a universe with a little bit of everything. By themselves they — the strange creatures, mix of advanced and esoteric technology, and that seal — would all seem a bit odd. But here it all works and becomes expected. This all set against a measured dose of action and romance.

I have just finished book four, The Machine — which is actually two in a trilogy — in about two days. Like any good series, it keeps getting better and draws the reader in further. Last time, Kabyl, son of the famous Captain Davage, falls in love with the tormented Sammidoran. These Monama people aren’t usually the type that the upper-crust mingle with in the League. Evil must be conquered if they are truly to be together. And now Kay and his friends set out across the galaxy to find what Sam needs, to save her and the League. It’s not the old Black Hats that are much of a threat anymore, but the far worse evil of the Horned God and his demon and zombie-like minions.

It’s quite a ride, trust me. Like always, I recommend starting at the beginning of the series. Only then will the full scope of Garcia’s world be grasped, and the characters from the first two books have returned to a primary place in this part two of the trilogy. Now, on to part three.

Get ready for one amazing ride.

P.S. I like how Garcia has had artists sprinkle illustrations throughout his books. It’s like a throwback to the old days of Burroughs and Tolkien.

P.P.S. Finished part three, The Temple of the Exploding Head. Don’t be disturbed by the, well, stuff, on the cover. This is a spectacular conclusion to this trilogy. One hopes Garcia will revisit these characters someday, but it’s also good that he isn’t dragging them on endlessly like some book series do. Closure is needed at some point. It’s also a mark of a great series when you can look back to the beginning and think of the adventure you have been on and say, “I’m sorry to see it all end.”

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