Fiction

Whispers in the Dark

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Darrick Dean

There has been a war raging since before man wandered about the Earth.

A war with Evil.

But it’s not what you see on the nightly news. This is far worse.

These shadows conspire in hidden places, whispering in the dark. They wait for times to emerge and spread terror over the land. While the world’s attention is elsewhere, they plan for chaos that few could imagine. They work to unleash horrors long banished to myth.

The Dark One is very pleased you think such things fantasy. Others know better. Those who have stood among the shadows and crushed their campaigns. Pushing back the incursions as the world was unaware, they asked for no reward. When humanity was pushed to the abyss time and time again, a few brought them back.

Now the Darkness has grown once more. Are there still those who are as the heroes of old? Will they rise?

The time is upon us.

It will be the beginning. Or the end.

Among the Shadows, the first in a new fantasy series, coming soon.

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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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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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Of Germans, Immigrants and Bread

Posted on December 30, 2012 by Darrick Dean

I don’t normally pick up this genre to read, but something about The Baker’s Daughter by Sarah McCoy intrigued me. The premise is simple enough. Journalist Reba shows up to interview the owner of the local German bakery, Elsie. Turns out German-born Elsie came to the U.S. after World War II and the book follows two story threads: Elsie’s life in Germany during the War, and Reba’s life and its intersecting with the older Elsie in modern day Texas.

The World War II connection caught my attention, as that is an era of history I often study. Usually it’s framed as Allies vs. Nazis and the people living in Germany are forgotten. I’ve discussed here before that the Germans were not unlike us, which makes the rise of Nazi terror all the more frightening. But not all the Germans were Nazis. Not all supported them. As the war progressed, many began to question their leadership as their country was being destroyed. They began to see what those leaders really were. Yet their ability to revolt had been been squashed by terror and Hitler confiscating weapons years before. The thread of Elsie’s story gives a window into this world. It’s fictional, but McCoy gives enough detail of that world to make it seem real. This is a perspective rarely taken and, in some ways, reminds me of the film The Boy in Striped Pajamas.

This isn’t a heavy-handed book and it gives the thoughtful reader much to ponder. Could the German citizens have done more? Were the decisions they made to survive always the right one? How does war change a person? Is war a reason, or an excuse, to do things one would never do before or again?

[Some spoilers here.] In the story, Elsie hides a Jewish boy from being taken and most likely killed. She is also is concerned about the fate of her sister and her children. The sister is part of the Lebensborn program to breed Aryan children, the one boy is missing, taken by the Nazis. The sister also has vanished. Later, after being raped by a German officer, Elsie becomes pregnant and decides to terminate the baby. It seems a quick decision for someone surrounded by death and potential death. I don’t know the intent of the author, but this is where those questions above come into play. It’s an interesting contrast to be trying to save and take lives at the same time. War does these things to people. And this obviously leads into the issue of terminating life after rape, which most all of us have said is okay. Though once I heard someone ask, “Why is that life any different than any other?” It’s one of those difficult questions no one wants to ask, let alone think about. This, however, is only one point in a book with much to think about.

In the present day, Reba is boyfriend works for the border patrol. He tries to uphold the law, but sees people truly looking for a better life being caught between to extremes: People who want the borders open and little access and those who want it locked down. Again, I don’t know McCoy’s exact position, but she mostly cuts a path that will make a thoughtful reader look at the issue a little closer. I’m sure zealots on either side wished she would take some clear, emotional stance, but then it wouldn’t be an intelligent story. Perhaps people will stop listening to the talking heads and politicians only interested in holding on to power. We can’t have Mad Max at the borders or have instant amnesty for all, but we are a country built on immigration and those who truly want to come here for a better life and become Americans.

Ironicly, this takes place in the El Paso area, which is the region where German scientists after the War were first spirited to before working on various military and NASA programs. Some were Nazis who had their pasts scrubbed at the same time other, less useful Nazis, were being hunted down. Again, the question of does war justify such contradictions? If it does, does it always and when?

Sarah McCoy has written a story that I didn’t feel was trying to thump out an agenda like many writers do. Instead, she created a fascinating story that touched various issues and ideas that an insightful reader will appreciate. Of course, not all readers will arrive at the same place as each other or the author in their conclusions. That’s fine, as long as you are thinking. A good book should entertain and make you think. This one does both.

And did I mention this is all against the backdrop of baking? You will have the unmistakable desire for artisan breads or homemade pastries while reading this book. Perhaps the return of the local bakery is another fine point to take away from this read. We will look forward to more from Sarah.

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The Hobbit and Evil

Posted on December 18, 2012 by Darrick Dean

Fans of the Lord of the Rings trilogy didn’t think they would have to wait nine years for The Hobbit. It was worth the wait. Peter Jackson’s team has once again put the time (and money) into bringing this classic mythos to life.

It’s also one of those films that reminds you the power of the medium. Most films don’t gain anything from the big screen format. You might as well watch them on television. Films like The Hobbit remind you of why people still go to the theater in the age of high-def television.

I had been wondering how they would make The Hobbit into three parts (this seemed a bit excessive). Seeing how part one only makes it through the first six of nineteen chapters, it’s easy to figure out now. This should make Tolkien purists happy because this means the movie makers are following the book closer, they have the time. There were a number of things in the film I forgot were in the book making it nearly as epic as the others. They also draw on Tolkien’s background history to fill in the details, as the book isn’t as detail-heavy as the sequels. I haven’t had any issue with what deviations were made in the films. They all were done in a way that kept with Tolkien’s vision. In my analysis, I still think they are perhaps the best book-to-film translations ever attempted.

Some may see the films or books as just entertainment, but Tolkien spent a lifetime creating a mythos with far more detail than most writers ever imagine. An Oxford professor, he approached his writing as if it were a scholarly pursuit. Yet it was still entertaining and captivating, full of themes and message (though he never intentionally preached, so to speak, his beliefs informed his work). That’s why it has endured for so long (The Hobbit was originally published in 1937, mainly directed at children. Don’t see many children books like this anymore, do we?).

Tolkien drew on many influences in creating Middle-Earth. Most notably his Christian worldview, from which one of his most important themes came:

Evil exists.

Not only that, he witnessed the worst men could do while serving in World War I, which undoubtedly colored his writing. In fact, he began creating his world while in the trenches. Throughout his books, he made it clear that evil was always there, even when not obvious, waiting for a time to explode or conquer. When it did, it must be stopped.

It’s funny how Lord of the Rings, in many ways a war novel, saw a resurgence during the 1960s. Though I doubt, because of his own experiences, Tolkien would ever promote rushing into war. He also knew we can’t pretend evil doesn’t exist or that it may just go away.

It always comes back.

In time of tragedy, people always ask why? That is the normal reaction and indeed there are many causes for terrible events, like the recent shootings. It was disturbing that political groups and politicians immediately starting talking about guns, as if they whispered into these people’s ears and turned them insane. That’s the easy way out. Addressing actual causes is difficult. Admitting evil exists makes us scared and helpless.

Given that one of the cornerstones of most religions is that evil exists, one wonders why so many pretend it doesn’t. We want to be safe, secure and happy, but we don’t want to be vigilant. We’ve been told evil isn’t real and we, through law and government, can stamp it all out. We downplay talk of evil in our religions, so not to scare people away. We have made religion into another helpful fad to get us through life. Then something horrible happens. We are forced back into reality.

Sadly, most who are not directly effected by the tragedy, soon forget and go back to their lives. Evil grows and prospers and is ignored.

Tolkien believed in it. He saw it in war and never forgot it.

I hope all will pray and do whatever they can to help the people effected by the recent unimaginable violence in Connecticut and elsewhere. I also hope these things: People will realize what they have here in this country. The opportunities for them and their family and that there are some places in this world were this violence is a regular event. Remember what it took to create and defend this country and don’t use crisis as an excuse to act too quick and not address the real issues. Times of disaster and tragedy are the times we need to protect our rights the most, because in the end, if we don’t, far greater calamities will occur. Just look to history.

Some think “doing something about guns” will solve these problems. Timothy McVeigh didn’t use guns to massacre people. Nor did the terrorists on 9/11. Evil wants us to think it is just that simple, ban this or that. They want us to look the wrong way.

Ask the right questions. If we don’t, evil will continue to win.

Update: Others are also talking about evil and not pretending it doesn’t exist. See posts by John Eldridge and Mike Duran.

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Shadows Among Us

Posted on December 2, 2012 by Darrick Dean

I have written much here on history and fiction. Now it is time to combine the two.

I have long known that I enjoy writing fiction more than non. That’s just the way it is. So soon (soon being a relative term), I plan on rolling out the long-in-writing fantasy project. A tale set in this world, not another, that asks,

“What if it was a mistake to believe the disturbing beings relegated to myth and legend never existed?”

And as C.S. Lewis wrote:

“There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.”

Stay tuned for more.

Omnium finis imminent.

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Daughter of Light

Posted on December 2, 2012 by Darrick Dean

For years I had intended on reading the classic fantasies of J.R.R. Tolkien, but never did until a few months before the films were released. Then I was hooked. I had been a long-time sci-fi fan, but I still wondered how did I miss this genre? So I began seeking out more.

Of late, however, I have had a tougher time finding new fantasy authors that I enjoy. A couple of times I have, in the middle of a series, given up and moved on. These authors have created detailed worlds and epic adventures for sure. Yet they are afraid to let their stories breathe. They don’t want to leave any details to the readers’ imagination. So instead of the story drawing you in and propelling you along, it can be like slogging through a swamp. Time is too valuable to spend on such books and there are many others needing reading. Maybe it is the conditioning of the instant-everything-society, but the plodding style of writing is a dying breed.

Still, I continue the quest for something new and engaging. That is just what I found in Daughter of Light, the debut novel of Morgan L. Busse.

It’s the story of Rowen Mar, who is learning she is not another average human in the Lands. Evil is rising and she is being called to make a choice, lead the fight or deny her gifts. In some ways a classic fantasy tale, but rather than focusing on a particular quest (finding this or that object), this one is more centered on the people finding what they were meant to be. The story quickly draws the reader in with just the right amount of detail to allow your mind to quickly form a vision of Busse’s world. It is not as heavy on the fantasy elements as other books and in this and other ways reminds me of Terry Goodkind’s stories. Fans of that series also may see a similarity in Goodkind’s Confessors and the reluctant Rowen’s abilities.

Busse’s story, though, is original in its world. Good and evil aren’t the vague ideas of many novels. There is something real and tangible behind both. I won’t give away any more details here, but this book should be on all fantasy fan’s read lists. The adventure moves quickly and readers will be waiting for the next volume, which the final pages of this one surely indicate is coming. In fact, this book seems almost a prologue to a much longer story. The characters are just beginning to realize who they are. Evil is still spreading through the countryside. They have yet to fully engage in the struggle.

The battle between Darkness and Light has only begun.

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