Fiendilkfjeld Castle by Mathew Pungitore

 Cower not, fierce reader!

It's been a very long time. I'm currently recovering from Covid(that's recovering, not ill), and am on leave.  I hope I can do some after I get back to work, but I will make no promises.

A couple days ago, I saw a bunch of authors promoting this book in my Twitter feed, because it had just hit Amazon. I must confess I've had a physical copy for months, and have only now finished it. Partly, I think I have a harder time with print now over electronic. Also, I do a lot of reading via apps while I'm on breaks at work. Anyway, to the book!

This book definitely leans toward old school horror.  It's also a bit of gothic horror, and very much focused on the titular location.  I appreciate this greatly, because most modern horror is simply gore fest style work, at least outside the Lovecraft ripoffs, and even there, I suspect.  I will not attempt most modern horror as it is vile and normalizes evil, giving the appearance of sometimes being good. 

Not so here. Evil is acknowledged as evil, and proceeds anyway, though our narrator(it is in first person) is torn over the acts he commits. There's not any moral ambiguity, though there is among the evil characters a Nietzschean philosophy of survival of the strongest. 

I have only one minor complaint: the narrator uses CE for year reference. He is at least mildly evil already, so it does make sense.

Now, for a small bit of Spoiler based discussion, so scroll down to the conclusion if you wish to avoid this.

There's much in this book's narrative that reminds me of the David Cronenberg film eXistenZ.  In eXistenZ, it's a VR game that connects directly to the mind, and there are several game layers. The last line of the movie is "Tell me. Are we still in the game?"  Fiendilkfjeld Castle takes place largely in dreams. In fact, one cannot be sure if any of it takes place outside of dreams, though the last section appears to do so.

The main character and narrator is also unreliable, as he is clearly at least being driven mad. This is in addition to the multi layered dreams, so one is not sure while reading if something happened or not. I will admit this did slow me down a little in frustration, but more of not comprehending than with the story itself.  

Conclusion

The story, though sometimes confusing, does have rewards for the reader, and clarifies by the end.  The horror is a type that truly does horrify; it lingers on, as the concepts and conceits of the tale hold  the reader much tighter than the gross normalization of evil that most modern horror has. I must congratulate Matthew Pungitore on his part of reclaiming even part of a genre long lost to degenerates.

7.5 of 10 fell deeds

 

On fiction IPs, quick publishing, and burnout

This is going to be a bit of a compare and contrast piece, covering two now well established series, another that is in a fledgling state, and two others that I have great hopes for. The established series are Galaxy's Edge from Nick Cole and Jason Anspach, and the 4HU(Four Horsemen Universe) headed by Mark Wandrey and Chris Kennedy.

Galaxy's Edge does a lot of stuff very much right. They started with a bang, filling a desire with their #starwarsnotstarwars postings on twitter, and marketing that as the overall idea of the series. The money they spend on covers is large, but clearly successful, as they get emails from new readers drawn in by the covers. They've even been spotted in a few physical bookstores, something few indie books get, at least before they get signed by a publisher. Their output is about a book a month, and while that's great, all the books are by them, and start feeling the same after so many.

4HU started off a bit slower, with the first four novels being by Wandrey and Kennedy at 2 books each. And then they opened up the floodgates to other authors with anthologies. This let them get a feel for the audience early on and built the draw and talent pool available quickly. Currently, it sits at a 3 week release schedule plus some. The cover art varies a bit more, but there are only a couple I would actually replace of my choice. The cycling of other authors into the release schedule, with the novels tying together, but not directly interfering(through edicts such as only Chris and Mark actually write the 4H, and even appearances of characters from such need approval) with the other stories.

Silver Empire recently had a successful Kickstarter campaign for a universe called Heroes Unleashed, with interesting ideas that are somewhere between the two. What was termed Wave I will have 5 authors doing novels(likely series if successful). Morgon Newquist(school of arts and war) created this world with short stories in two anthologies(Paragons and HA! HA! HA!), and the others involved include some others I've reviewed here: JD Cowan(Grey Cat Blues, Knights of the End), Kai Wai Cheah(No Gods Only Daimons, Hammer of the Witches), Jon Mollison(Sudden Rescue, Adventure Constant), and Richard W. Watts, with whom I am unfamiliar.

Bradford C. Walker and Brian Niemeier both have run Indiegogo campaigns(Brian's is still live), related to their #AGundamForUS work, and both have some good ideas. Now, if both do well, they will eventually face the challenge of putting out new material and keeping a fresh feel to their stories, which is where I think Galaxy's Edge has begun to fall flat, so this is no mean feat. My advice would be to do a contained series, maybe 6 books, at first, and perhaps invite other authors after, either for shorter arcs or standalone novels. Yeah, this is a throwback to the books they are somewhat imitating, but it did work then, and should work again, if they find authors that get what they're doing.

When you play Social Justice, the world loses.

DC in denial of reality, and Hard Case Crime dismisses readers

I know there's the GenCon bit everybody has seen and written about. I just didn't expect the con to deal itself a deathblow this fast, and that's all I'll write here for now.

DC co-publishers Dan Didio and Jim Lee recently did an interview on ICV2 regarding DC's sales year to year and the industry. Bounding into comics provided a little commentary via numbers, but didn't go into analysis, instead asking for opinions in the comments section. Didio seems to think the biggest problem is over-saturation of the comics market, while Lee is pointing to declining traffic at Barnes and Noble and waning interest in The Walking Dead.

Both are in at least some way, dead wrong in how they're looking at things, though they have made a move to get into WalMart, and that will likely help. But neither espouses concern for the health of comic book stores, their primary outlet. They refuse to name either their or Marvel's recent badly moving books as reason that the industry suffers, especially the Diamond overshipments. Instead, they are pointing their fingers at the high quality of new publishers popping up. They do mention the high price point of issues, but fail to mention any remedy for that, nor is any mention of the mostly fail that digital comics are(DRM kills the ability to really share or collect, because you don't OWN the book you bought, not to mention the inability of reader programs to really work with experimental panel layouts, among other issues).

Now, yes, over-saturation will indeed make individual company and title numbers fall. But that doesn't change what the industry numbers should look like, which are down 4% from last year. That doesn't explain over 60 stores in the USA closing this year so far. Unless you explicitly mean, "Marvel overshipped to stores enough that they went broke." A shrinking industry is something they should be massively concerned about, but they don't express that anywhere. But that has NOTHING to do with small press comics.

You want better sales, DC? Quit the diversity classes and get great writers and artists onboard, and pay them well. Tell AMAZING stories, and quit gaslighting the characters into something they never were. New guys? fine. Quit messing with Superman, WW, Bats, etc. Put out some newsprint titles at $2 or less, like Alterna does. Get it together, and make some money selling comics.

Now, onto Hard Case Crime. This is going to be tough for me. 

Hard Case Crime, on their Twitter account(my information again from BiC), has explicitly stated they don't want money from Trump supporters. For those not in the know, HCC is one of the larger crime pulp revival presses, with well over 100 titles by now, including Lawrence Block, Mickey Spillane, Max Allan Collins, and Michael Chrichton(as John Lange) in their catalog among others.The covers are magnificent portraits that tell you something is going down.

Insulting writers is a bad look in general. Insulting your customer base is a worse one. I like their books a lot, and have been excited about the comics partnership they developed with Titan. Now, I have to either cut them off, or be a blasted paypig to people that hate me openly. "Don't give money to people that hate you." -Brian Niemeier

Goodbye, Hard Case Crime. 

When you play Social Justice, the world loses.

Injustice Book Review: Vigil by Russell Newquist

Cower not, fierce reader! Today we start this year's book reviews with a work from our friend Russell Newquist. This work is part of the world of War Demons, but follows instead Peter instead of the lead from that work. Let's take a look at what might possibly offend the SJW crowd.

First, and most obvious, is the fact that this book is Catholic. While it has a fictional history of part of the Church, it is not nefarious, nor a cause of scandal to the Gospel.

Second, our hero is once again good. Not divided in purpose or will, his devotion to one thing rules all his other interactions. His associates are likewise devoted.

Thirdly, (SPOILER) we have a priest that has fallen into sin and has trouble with repentance. This in itself causes no scandal for the SJW crowd, but two additional facts do: that he still believes enough to refuse to celebrate mass while in the state of sin, and that our hero and his friends call him to repent and take up his vocation again.

Now, as to the action of the story, there's plenty for the length that it is. There's really only one fight in two places, but the story takes place over the course of one evening until morning. None of the characters are helpless, though all face challenges too big for just themselves. We even have a great use of a feature of Gothic cathedrals.

If you read War Demons and liked it, don't wait longer to get this story. If you haven't read War Demons, you can indeed step into the world via this book, and you won't be lost. 8 of 10 fell deeds.

When you play Social Justice, the world loses.

Injustice Book Review: The Revelations of Zang by John R. Fultz

Cower not, fierce reader!  Today we look at a set of stories in a land that well, feels a bit familiar and new at the same time. Let's take a look at some of the structure, and some of the crimes of this book.

Before I begin, I will say for my more "sensitive" readers, that there is a fair amount of sex in the book. I don't believe it's in every story, and well, it's not a Christian world.

To the structure: This follows a number of characters in the world via individual stories. The stories aren't directly connected. So, when one story ends and another begins, it can be a little jarring.

That's merely a weak point, though. The world has a really rich history to it, without detailing it outside of necessary times. There's magic, though it's not systemtized like a lot of modern fantasy. And some of it is more standard than others, such as bargains with dark things.  Others involve the word of silent ones and necromancy.

For a strong point, all of the stories tie together very well, and I was pleased to see some of the interacting points throughout.

Now to the crimes of the book.

First, the book places value on faith. Not a specific faith, but it has a recognition of the dehumanization and decay of the soul that society undergoes without faith. There's regret and repentance and mercy.

Second, the book decries a number of leaders in this book, while praising others. Vice and virtue both have leading examples here, and see growth and change through their faith. The faithless ones, well, they have less pleasant outcomes.

Overall, this is a really cool book, and while there's more sorcery than swords by far here, I really dig it and commend to any lover of both. 8 of 10 fell deeds.

When you play Social Justice, the world loses.

Injustice Quick Reviews 2.15

Cower not, fierce reader! Today we have a spread before us including death, mystery, action, ancient history retold, talking apes, and mythic warriors. Let's take a look at our selections.

Star Legions: Warlords of Cunaxa by Michael G. Thomas- It's been a good while since I read the first two, and I have to say, it was easy to get back into the series. The link is to a cheap omnibus version, so you don't need to dive into the middle, though I think you could if you wanted. Major crime: showing the heroes of the past as such, even in complex situations. 7 of 10 fell deeds

The Slayer by James Alderdice(David J. West)- This is a reprint collection under the name he chose for fantasy works. We follow a pair of warriors through a series of adventures during the Crusades, dealing with men of honor and dishonor. Major crime: Honor in men of action. 8 of 10 fell deeds

Seduction of the Innocent by Max Allan Collins- This is the third in his Crime and Comics trilogy(kinda hoping for more later on). We cover a fictional version of the comics outrage stirred up by Dr. Wertham and his book of the same title. Once again, in many ways a love letter to comics history and crime novels. Major crime: Admitting the consorious nature of the Democratic party. 8 of 10 fell deeds.

Galaxy's Edge: Sword of the Legion by Nick Cole and Jason Anspach- Look, it's Galaxy's Edge. I am beyond apathetic to Star Wars anymore. Galaxy's Edge is the real deal, and any support going its way helps the possibility of other media picking it up. Major crime: Irking the Mouse. 8 of 10 fell deeds.

The Invisible City by Brian K. Lowe- Checked it out because the guy's a Cirsova contributor. And I have to say, he knows how to work in long form really well. The start is a little slow, but things pick up, and well, there's racial oppression, talking apes, and more in a world close to our own. And I really want to dig through that library. Major crime: Taking notes from ERB, and making it feel fresh. 9 of 10 fell deeds.


When you play Social Justice, the world loses.

Injustice Anthology Review: The Good, The Bad, and the Merc

Cower not, fierce reader! Today we look over the third anthology from the Wandrey/Kennedy 4 Horsemen universe. There's of course lots of guns and lots of shooting. But you knew that, or at least you should.

Chris Kennedy opens the book with a preface, explaining why they invited so many authors to play in their world. This is followed by an Foreward by David Drake, an excellent author of the old school that writes stories and doesn't treat fans or other authors badly for having politics he disagrees with.

Argonaut by Kal Spriggs- An underequipped merc unit is deployed to what is supposed to be a cakewalk. Misinformation and bad leadership lead toward disaster. But some mercs that don't fit in elsewhere might have enough to say about that.

Shell Game by Terry Mixon- A family merc company takes some big chances to complete an impossible mission. Are they good enough at the old switcheroo?

The Last Dragon by Terry Maggert-  A story in two parts. Part one features a captured courier. Part two follows a mining operation on one inexplicable planet.

Hero of Styx by T. Allen Diaz- A story of death, the weight of command, exotic species, and betrayal.

The Beach by Philip Wohlrab- This story follows a medic with a merc unit as they attend to the horrors of the battlefield.

Velut Luna by Chris Smith- A kid gets sprung from juvie and into a contract with an employer she doesn't understand.

Keep the Home Fires Burning by Jason Cordova- A merc that wants to help his nation through his company ends up captured when things go sideways.

Vremya by Mark Wandrey- The surviving brother at the head of a mining company decides to go for the big time in the galactic resources game. Always have an astrophysicist along, gravity does very strange things.

The Last Guardsman by Stephanie Osborn- A bounty hunter is the last of his line. He's sent after a very dangerous killer, as well as the secrets he stole.

Unto the Last-Stand Fast by Robert E. Hampson- A retired merc shows back up to fight to protect the Interstellar Catholic Church and his home.

The Demon of Ki-a by Eric S. Brown- A company is hired to fight an enemy for a peaceful settlement. They find out the information they've be given is most inadequate.

Under the Skin by Marisa Wolf- A depik hunter goes after a contract that one of his clan failed.

Inked by Mark Wandrey- A MinSha tattoo artist has a crowd for a day, and an observant human merc ends up with something he didn't expect.

Angels and Aliens by Jon R. Osborne- A Protestant preacher joins a company as a contractor to help troops, but also help answer his own questions about aliens, heaven, and hell.

Life by Chris Kennedy- This is a continuation of a story from the previous anthology. Dr. Avander fights for his life both in an arena and in a lab.

Lessons by Kacey Ezell- A depik babe is taken to die in the woods. She is found by an aerial predator, and taught for a time.

There's some nice surprises here. The fact that faith plays a larger role here is nice, as is the fact that not every story is milsf. 8 of 10 fell deeds.

When you play Social Justice, the world loses.

Injustice Book Review: Praxis, by Justin Knight

Cower not, fierce reader! Today we take a look at a more practical side of science fiction: warehouse workers IN SPAAAACCCE! Honestly, there's a lot to the story and it's far more than that. But, as someone with over eight years of experience on power equipment in warehouses, it's nice to see. What do we have?

First, our warehouse workers are fairly realistic. Not all are smart, but they aren't a homogeneous group by any means. There are characters with family, devoted couples, and people just dealing with the daily struggle. The equipment junkie attitude of them being "toys" is pretty accurate from my experience.

Second, we have a redemption arc within the story. I won't go into details, per my general spoiler policy. But the fact that someone can be stuck for a long time, and come to a point where they wish to repent and change and actively do, especially after paying a price. Whereas the SocJus crowd is far more likely to simply excuse behavior and deny evil, unless of course it's in recognizing truth.

Third, there's a story of alien cops and pirates. While this may not be a SocJus trigger, the fact that the lawmen are good guys is.

Fourth, Mr. Knight gives us glimpses of family life and devotion. Not only is it respected, but aspired to by other characters.

A little bit of real criticism here: I kind of wanted to see more on adjustments to equipment required for zero and low gravity. It would be a real concern, and is almost always ignored by authors. Now, there is some mention of future equipment, as well as a little extrapolation from existing safety/security measures.

Damaged product also gets mentioned, but I saw nothing on inventory integrity. Both of these issues would be HUGE in space. Is it glamourous? Nope. Necessity rarely is. I also know that too much would get boring quick for almost all readers. How many times do you have to count to a thousand?

One small thing that is explained by the author being English is the use of "whilst" and "learnt". Though, as the workers are based out of Vancouver, I'm uncertain as to the idiomatic nature of the region. It might be more American, it might be something entirely different.

This is a fast and worthwhile read. 8 of 10 fell deeds.

When you play Social Justice, the world loses.

Injustice Anthology Review: Lyonesse Volume 1

Cower not, fierce reader! Today we look at the first collection of stories from the Silver Empire subscription service Lyonesse. I'm putting up both links because I know some will want to subscribe, and some might just want to check out the anthology. Either way, I think it's a good deal. Let's take a look.

Four Funerals and a Wedding by L. Jagi Lamplighter- A woman is gifted to bring people back.

The Dreaming Wounds by Anya Ow- A woman slowly regains her ability to see those trapped between life and death.

The Dragon's Teeth by David Hallquist- An uploaded copy of a soldier is activated in dire times.

Zombie Jamborie by Declan Finn- Voodoo zombies attack New York. Private enterprise has a plan for everything.

The Artifact by Dean Abbott- A society that has enlightened itself past religion searches a planet for cultural evidence from a mysterious society far beyond them.

We Bury Our Own by Cheah Kai Wai(Ben Cheah)- Post disaster, a spiritual warrior is called to go after one of his own who went rogue.

Number 43 by Jonathan Ward- In a world of Frankenstein type science, a "servant" is sent after a former protege.

The Last Winter by A. R. Aston- An old warrior in what looks to be his end comes to an understanding of a witch woman's prophecy from years earlier.

Shini Tai by C.L. Werner- A Samurai comes across a great sumo and mystical forces set against him.

The Case of the Unicorn by Nora M. Mulligan- A detective is hired to find and return a unicorn to an elderly woman.

The Harsh Mistress by Mike Murphy- A salesman with a bad month gets a unique chance to make a sale.

St. Lucian's Star by Dawn Witzke- A woman who locates objects is hired to locate a relic, and goes along for the recovery.

A Day Without the Horned Goddess by Kieran McKiel- The daughter of a mythic being from the South gets weary of life around the Northern loch.

In Another Life by Morgon Newquist- A tale of time travel, obsession, and a sort of revenge.

Moonset by S. D. McPhail- On an alien world, the different species cooperate when a new strange tree shows up.

Mile High Murder by Declan Finn- A man with a deadly plan faces some men with their own plans. Mildly ties to A Pius Man and the Con Murder books.

Honestly, all of these stories have good stuff in them. There's a huge variety in feel and thematics, so don't worry if you don't like one. It's in many ways the type of anthology the "year's best" collections want you to think they are. 9 of 10 fell deeds

When you play Social Justice, the world loses.

Book launch is Wednesday for MAGA 2020... and another little bit of news.

Yeah, Wednesday launches from Superversive Press: MAGA 2020 and Beyond.  I've got an essay and a story in there. I'd like feedback from those that read it. It's got a number of folks I've reviewed here, including Jon Del Arroz, Declan Finn, Daniel Humphries, and Dawn Witzke. We have pieces by Ivan Throne and Milo Yiannopolis as well, and one story from Brad Torgersen.

We have a memslinger(Dawn) that worked very hard on some publicity stuff. Here's what she did for my story:

It's fairly fitting. Not as good as the one for kaijubushi, though(you may have seen the tweets):

In other news, I found out that Galaxy's Edge is going to be expanding. I was personally skeptical when Nick Cole and Jason Anspach announced the project, but I think they've shown they know what they're doing. Who gets to join the fun? Well, he's got some chops, though you might be used to him writing SF comedy. His current project involves space Vikings.

Yeah. I have NO CLUE how this will work out, or if it will be serious, a comedy, a side piece, or what. But given what I've read from the people involved(dunno if Jason is in on this too right now), I'll be watching. This must be what a well run franchise is like.

When you play Social Justice, the world loses.

A Prayer Request for Gene Wolfe

It is with a heavy heart I post this. Two days ago, I found out via Twitter that SFF legend Gene Wolfe is in the hospital. He has had a bad case of the flu, and had trouble keeping food down for about two weeks. It has been stated he would appreciate get well cards from friends and fans.

Here's the address if you wish to send him a card:

OSF Healthcare
800 NE GlenOak Ave
 Peoria, IL 61603

I have read a number of his books, and like many great authors, I have more of his that I haven't read. The first science fiction convention I went to(only a couple years ago), he was a guest at, and made certain to take the time to sit at one of his panels which was part reading and part just him chatting.

He is a Catholic, and his faith came through in his discussion. Unfortunately, the religious ignorance of the audience was also apparent when he mentioned the only time he felt real fear was an encounter with a diabolist. He had to explain what that was, and then there were comments about all fundamentalism being wrong.

For those unfamiliar with the term, there are, broadly speaking, two types of Satanist. One is a hedonist that mostly doesn't want to be told what to do, might dabble in magic, but generally will leave others alone and be decent to people. The other is in full agreement with Christianity on the nature of good and evil, and actively seeks to do evil. There are stories of them in drug and human trafficking, sex slavery, and other sinister things.

At any rate, the experience of being among so called fans that were so uninformed about faith nearly made me swear off of sff conventions entirely. I still had good experiences with game cons, and it was my stumbling into independent authors and small publishers that got me to go to LibertyCon.

I wish I had taken a chance to talk with Gene at the convention. Even then, his health and strength were clearly on a downturn, though his mind was still quite active. Sadly, in many ways he and his work are being shoved aside. Here's a recent picture of books I rescued from library weeding:

The sheer cultural ignorance of librarians amazes me. But then, we know they're actively playing Social Justice. As we know:

When you play Social Justice, the world loses.

Injustice Anthology Review: HA!HA!HA!

Cower not, fierce reader! Today we stare villainy in the face. Sometimes it is familiar, sometimes understandable, sometimes incomprehensible. I will have to take a few stories to task, but let's take a look.

We open with a foreword by Nick Cole, drawing on his acting background and experience. He quite rightly mentions that villains are in many ways, better characters. Many comic book heroes are defined by, or rather, in contrast to, their villains.

Supervillainy 101 by Chris Pourteau- Whew. Take one part serial killer interview, one part sacrifice to a LONG term plan.

Tick Tock by Christopher J. Valin- The writing is very solid. I wish the set piece part of the story were more original: A good chunk of this is a reworking of Max Allan Collins' Batman story, "A Death in the Family".  I don't mind the copying of characters so much, but the fact that there's little to separate it, to make it unique.

Vying for Power by Greg Wilkey- The big supervillain in a city has died. Now, at the funeral, a play is made for control and power. But not everyone is what they seem to be.

Ghosts of the Flames by Hall and Beaulieu- We follow a team of scavengers in a world of heroes and villains at war. But hidden agendas and unsettled spirits have ways of unsettling things further.

Rejected by M,K, Gibson- A retired hero gives a chance to shamed heroes. The fallout of a supervilain's death has to be dealt with, and there are more layers to his organization than is readily known.

The Winter Witch by Susan Faw- Morpheus leaves the world, and one of his children has their own plans for the realm granted by their father.

Counterclockwise by Ed Gosney- A man whose power has failed him approaches his last moments due to a lack of control and judgement. Or perhaps we have a case of psychosis? Either way, the act was done, and actions have consequences.

The Gala by Morgon Newquist- Ooh, another Serenity City story. This takes place long after the one in Paragons. There's a really interesting take on the insane female sidekick here, more complex than many versions of Harley Quinn. A sinister lass indeed. Stay away from the crazy.

The Heart of a Clockwork Girl by Michael Ezell- Oh, man. A henchman goes on a mission for the evil genius that has created an artificial woman to hold him loyal. Revelations and weariness change the henchman's perspective.

Djinn 2.0 by Jessica West- An alien royal is exiled to Earth after scandal. Her redemption is to help humanity to peace.

Hacksaw's Formulation by A. J. McWain- I know nothing of the story, as it was absent from the ARC I received.

Prisoner of War by Steve Beaulieu- A war reporter under fire finds there are worse things than normal enemy soldiers to worry about. And lines can be easy to cross.


There are some standout stories in here, I particularly enjoyed Vying for Power, Rejected, and The Gala. And the volume is at least currently priced to be well worth it. 7 of 10 fell deeds.

When you play Social Justice, the world loses.

Injustice Book Review: Jack Del Rio by Richard Paolinelli

Cower not, fierce reader! This day we look at an action series from one of our friends. This review is for the entire trilogy, which was just finished, and is available as an ebook omnibus for the uninitiated, which I was one prior to this.

Now, I went and read the whole series in order, and  I think the last book might make sense without the prior books, though I wouldn't recommend it. There's a great amount of emotional journey that Del Rio goes through that just won't come across in the small mentions contained in the final volume.

I joked in my Amazon review that Richard had created Jack Del Rio simply to torture him. I say this due to the recurring loss that follows this character in each volume. I won't spoil any of the plot this way, but simply say that his parents being killed years earlier is just a start.

Each story features an investigation that spreads far further than what it initially looks like. The first is on an Indian Reservation, the second goes into DC, and the third spreads into the UK, DC and more.

There's conspiracy, action(but not too detailed), shadow governments and more. If you want non-sf action and adventure, this will scratch that itch and quite well.

8 of 10 fell deeds.

When you play Social Justice, the world loses.

Injustice Anthology Review: Paragons

Cower not, fierce reader! This day we have a collection of heroes, some tragic, some triumphant. Some are simply happily out of the game. Let's take a look at the woven words within.

Medusa by Steve Beaulieu- This is most definitely a tragic tale. A hero with no control of her power, forced into isolation, or risk the rest of a world she has already lost.

Nightsick by Kai Wai Chea- An ex-cop engages in a brutal fight with organized crime. His former partner still has her role with the law, but traps and snares make things more flexible.

Blackout: A Serenity City Story by Morgon Newquist- I get the feeling Serenity City might be a grand place to visit, with heroes taking the roles of Arthurian Knights, Greek Gods, and mysterious fae. 

Like Father by Jon Mollison- This is a generational story of a father and his son and the day the training wheels came off. The dread an tension of watching, being there JUST IN CASE something goes wrong. And the son surprising the father.

Blue by John Milan- A man who's been given an experimental technology is haunted by his mistakes from action. His despair has held him captive in a dead end life. A chance meeting, paired with a villain that wants the power push him to change.

Crisis Counseling by Jon Del Arroz- It figures he would write the story that might be unpowered in here. But this is about the power of the imagery of comics, the inspiration and hope it can give.

The Weight of One Girl by Richard Watts- A powered cop is searching for a missing girl. She gets sidelined when the investigation leads in the direction of a Senator she's had dealings with before. How is she to save someone when banned from the investigation?

Low Man by M. Earl Smith- A combat vet with PTSD who has chosen to stay homeless is nearing what he believes is his end. He takes his one friend where he hopes he'll be cared for, a place that may or may not remember what he's done.

A Soldier Out of the Desert by Paula Richey- An alien warrior is tasked with protecting and helping a human hero, after his people betrayed him. The hero is tasked with helping him learn to fit in human society, despite her own problems.

Someone is Aiming for You by J. D. Cowan- A hero that avoids the government limitations hunts a trail to the men that destroyed something precious. What attacks of conscience can do is remarkable.

Deadly Calm Returns by Dawn Witzke- A retired hero gets called in to handle a villain who really just wants a date with the young hot thing that normally protects the area. But action, adrenaline, and fame aren't everything.

Weather Witch by Declan Finn- A girl in Africa is part of a group rounded up for human trafficking in an attack by a powered being of force. In resisting him, she comes into power to protect herself.

Stalina by Sam Kepfield- After an accident in careless areas of t nuclear research in the Soviet Union, a patriot learns some inexplicable powers. She is tasked with protecting their projects in the space race.

There are some serious gems in this collection, and I would not say any are bad. Now I gotta wonder when I get to see some of these in proper panels. 9 of 10 fell deeds.

When you play Social Justice, the world loses.

Injustice Magazine Review: Storyhack issue 1

Cower not, fierce reader! Today we take a look at the first  regular issue of another pulp action magazine(there is an issue 0). We've got contributions from authors reviewed here before, so let's take a good look at what we have.

New Rules for Rocket Nauts by Michael DeCarolois- Way to open the magazine with a bang. Yes, it's a longer story, but we've got a young cast aside adventurer, mysterious aliens that nobody can communicate with, officials who too easily believe in peace without understanding, loss, and fighting to save humanity.

Retrieving Abe by Jay Barnson- This is interesting, as it's a bit slower, but filled with tension throughout. One might argue that it's a bit strong female character in nature, but I didn't find it unbelievable. There's no Mary Sue here, she pursues out of duty to her husband, not a desire to be independent. The sense of knowledge of the work from one's youth brought in helps greatly.

The Price of Hunger by Kevyn Winkless- Oh, my. A story of greed and Indian legends. And cursed gold. Yeah, this might be a good late night read.

Protector of Newington by John M. Olsen- This steampunk superhero story has a lot of fun pieces. I did say steampunk and superhero together, right? Cause that's exactly what we have. A mysterious bad guy, child slavery, and sacrifice  and redemption.

Brave Day Sunk in Hideous Night- Initially I was meh. Werewolf, PI doesn't do it for me. Throw in a time criminal and law? Ok, you've added enough to the mix that this is worth reading. Especially as the werewolf has PTSD, it's a nice touch.

Taking Control by Jon Del Arroz- Well, I for one am pleased to see my friend dabbling in Weird Westerns again. This is certainly a bit lighter than the Doomtown material was on the weird factor, but that's fine. This has some nice touches of cons, holdup artistry, and magic, and there's even a hint of possible future pieces(somewhere in that writing time, maybe).

Some Things Missing from Her Profile by David Skinner- Mars. A blind date gone bad. Martians have been conquered. A woman with less past than she should have. A segregated society. And a main character with a family history of not respecting the law.

Dream Master by Gene Moyers- Woah. Um. This felt like something out of some of the old pulps. Ripped right out, even. We've a series of mysterious deaths, strange behavior beforehand, and a psychologist trying to figure out the how and why against a secretive sinister being.

Under the Gun by David J. West- Hey, I know this guy. I know Porter Rockwell. But the story doesn't follow him, for the most part. We've a weapon that urges killing, and a newly made killer. We have an old killer who has learned to stay his hand. Fire away.

Circus to Boulogne by Mike Adamson- As one who likes to occasionally visit old war comics like Enemy Ace and Sgt. Rock, this is pretty cool. I'd say it's a touch slow here and there, but then, there's plenty of tension to help balance that.

There's a lot of pulp here, from the cover to the illustrations before each story, to the little filler bits. Variety pulp, and while there aren't serials, there's plenty of argument against too many. 8 of 10 fell deeds.

When you play Social Justice, the world loses.

Injustice Book Review: SJWs Always Double Down

Cower not, fierce reader! Today we look at the second volume on SJWs in the world. As it is, his mere existence triggers many, so let us look at the tome, and after, I'll have the results of the drawing.

First, there is a pretty good history of many incidents within the last year. I think some of the Hugo/Dragon timeline is off, but, for the unacquainted, there's good background. Unfortunately, very little of this material was new to me, and while good in detail, I had read most of it before with varying levels of detail. The previous book's history section was honestly much more useful to me, though this does provide reference for the future, and for those who join later.

This history is more focused on group actions and corporate signs and signaling than the previous one, and includes here discussions of the NFL and comics as well as some tech history.The history is spread throughout, instead of as a single portion of the book.

Somewhat more universally useful is the section on sequence of convergence and the tactics used. As with the previous volume, they are expanded on with examples.  One thing we can be grateful for with English is that our language mostly denies one tactic, that of Accent, which was a problem with the Ancient Greeks, and I suspect might be with several other languages, especially Chinese, which has recently had moves to ban puns, a long tradition based on the proximity of vastly different words.

But, if one has read the previous volume, much of this can be extrapolated from those premises, even if one does not have the exact vocabulary. Sad to say, in this regard there is little to surprise his experienced readers. This is no insult, merely  that one's mileage will vary based on experience, perspective, and observation. That said, some are more fortunate in their life dealings and locations, and have less opportunity to witness, to say nothing of the younger generation.

The next section, of individual tactics, is in many ways more useful than the overall tactics. While the information is far from new, it does serve as a potent reminder of the specific attacks, especially if one has only witnessed a few. Again, the vocabulary is possibly more useful at a universal level.

We have following this a section on SJW mindset and psychology. This section is actually very good, as to most readers it will be like a foreign language, even after experiencing attacks. A general explanation of r/k theory is here, and makes one wonder if our abundance is not indeed a hindrance to proper society. To complement this, Vox also includes a detailed list of his socio-sexual hierarchy. While I'd read a good bit of it before, here it is laid out in a detailed manner, with relation to SJW psychology.

Vox also presents a chapter on building SJW proof institutions, based on his experience with Castalia House and now Infogalactic.  These processes are informative, and in some ways might be worth the price of admission alone.

Three Appendices are included, one is an interview on SJWs in Open Source software communities, and the other a section on identifying Gamma Males. Both of these are good, and the final, a draft of the Code of Merit for software projects will prove helpful to that front.

I do not put any blame on Vox for this book being less unique; I'm not sure it was intended there be more than one initially. There are many that have written him already for the help the book has been to them, and I hope it isn't for me. 7 of 10 fell deeds.

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Now for the drawing, a day late, but here it is. The winner of the Max Allan Collins Crime and Comics trilogy is....


Dominika Lein! I'll be sending those off soon after contacting you.

When you play Social Justice, the world loses.

Injustice Book Review: Space Princess by Jon Mollison

Cower not, fierce reader! This fine day we have a tale that is BOUND to trigger any elements of SocJus that encounter it. There's plenty here to like, and they have possibly more to shriek about. Let's get to the charges!

Firstly, this book is most definitely Christian. Catholic, even. This is the first revisitation of the idea of Crusades in SPAAACE(Poul Anderson's The High Crusade being the first I know of) in  recent years, with most of the intervening ones taking a low view of Christianity and its defensive wars.

With this expansion, we have the Faith expanded to aliens of every sort imaginable, from insect like, to blobs, to, hive-minds, to robots. Mr. Mollison even comments on the documents that would exist regarding artificial life and their souls(given the premise of his setting).

Second, this book focuses very heavily on family. And not a broken or "blended" family, but a very much proper traditional family. Mild spoiler(it happens so early, I don't mind): the father, our narrator, finds three children in need of help. And takes them home.

Now, there's also a presentation of an older view of marriage, that is, one that is less focused on partnership. But, the discussion is rather brief, and little in the way of contrast is mentioned, though some is shown.

Third, there is what some might consider an analog to the jihadi nations. Now, as to their faith, I can say there is no presentation of that, though they do come from desert planets. They also are making war against Christian worlds, and some believe they can be reasoned with.

Ah, nuts. Look, this book is a lot of fun, and if you've read his past work, you won't be disappointed, though your expectations might be slightly off. Yes, there's action aplentty. But there's also a good number of tender family moments, and chunks of political intrigue in the mix.

Let me tell you about this cover: EVERYTHING there? It's in the book. Robot bishop, family, space battles. Another quick note: I mentioned a large number of typos in Adventure Constant(when I read it), but there were very few I spotted here. 9 of 10 fell deeds.

 When you play Social Justice, the world loses.

Injustice Book Review: A Place Called Hope by Daniel Humphreys. Oh, and another giveaway

Cower not, fierce reader! This day is the day you can return to Z-Day. Now, I can't say for certain, but I suspect one need not read the previous book to follow this one. But, we have a new volume of survivors and Zed(walkers, zyborgs, whatever).

First, this book has a lot more tragedy in it. While the first one had plenty of bad things happen, a lot of them happened to people working against the society they were part of. That's not the case here. Here, we have good men sacrifice for a mission, so rebuilding can continue.

Second, we've got a new perspective, and I won't spoil it. Suffice to say there's a transition from mere survival to a pursuit of redemption. This happens in flashbacks, and meets up with our main story at the end. I look forward to how that plays out in the next book.

There's of course a lot of action, and it's written with enough detail to be visceral, but not too much that it bogs down for noncoms. We have some gruesome deaths, including that of a fictional version of our friend Jon Del Arroz(It's already been on twitter, I don't feel bad).

We see further development of the real threat the virus/program is and will be. This is interesting, in that the characters never give up, we have some sacrifices because the threat is that big, and the knowledge of the changes that important. There is not despair, but there is a grave shock at how badly things are headed.

This book plays with readers emotions. There were a couple of points this book made me mad. Because Humphreys had to kill good characters. There's even references with some of the conversations on twitter about Hanson and Taylor Swift. This roller coaster is definitely a worthy successor to A Place Outside the Wild. 9 of 10 fell deeds.

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Now, about that giveaway. I just thrifted copies of Max Allan Collins' Comics and Crime trilogy. (Strip for Murder, A Killing in Comics, and  Seduction of the Innocent). Same rules as last time: comment below if you want to be eligible, and I'll draw for it in a week.

When you play Social Justice, the world loses.

Injustice Book Review: Sea of Fire by J F Holmes

Cower not, fierce reader!  This day we take a look at a seaborn fantasy. And there's a bit to talk  about, not all good, unfortunately. Let's take a look. Warning: this will have some spoilers, as this is going to have a lot more critique than usual.

Fantasy races: We've got dwarves, elves, half-elves, and dragons. The unfortunate thing with this is that the elves and dwarves are about as generic as they could be. There's currently a war of racial purification going on where the elves are trying to exterminate the half-elves. Not really a big deal, I've seen it in D&D before. The elves do have a penchant for eating humans, characterizing them as less than human. The scene isn't even graphic, it's just a conversation. There are some interesting implications in there, but I won't discuss them here. Dwarves, I didn't see anything remotely unique or interesting.

The dragons are also mostly nondescript, but they do have a bit of personality, separating them from the bulk of the cast in the book.

Fantasy religion/magic: There's a moon cult, and that has some of the more interesting pieces here. Honestly, I wish there were more of it present, though I can understand that the setting and plotting avoided that. The priests have access to magic, but it is powered by the moon, so they are weak during the day, and on moonless nights.

There are brief mentions of a couple of other religions, one on land based, and one followed mostly by sailors. This is interesting, but it's only a casual mention, more in laying the fallen to rest than anything else.

There's also a couple of magicians on the ship, and magic does not travel well across water. Interesting. Very little in the way of mechanics of magic, which I appreciate at times. Worldbuilding can be excessive.

Action: This is one thing the book does very well. I do commend the fights here, for being a good mix of tactical portrayal, and sweeping action. There's not too much detail, and yet, there's a clear knowledge of formations and techniques.

Language: I know, there's a good middle ground between being accessible and realistic. This veers too far to the modern accessibility side of things. The word "fanboy" should not appear in a world where THERE ARE NO FANDOMS. And while I've given some authors a measure on their copyediting, I have to do so here again, and it's easily avoidable.

IF YOU DON'T KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TO AND TOO, DON'T USE THEM. USE ANOTHER ADVERB AND PREPOSITION. OR HIRE A DECENT COPYEDITOR.  "Where too?" shoves me out of the story faster than a lot of homophone misuse.

Now that I'm done with taking the book apart, I will say that overall it was a fun and fast read. I just wish there were more to separate it than the sea, and putting a dragon on the ship. The worldbuilding is fast, and happens with the story, rather than aside from it. 6 of 10 fell deeds.

When you play Social Justice, the world loses.

I'll just shill this: Gravity of the Game by Jon Del Arroz

Cower not, fierce reader!

My good friend Jon Del Arroz released  a new novella a couple of days ago. I was most fortunate in being one of the early readers, due to a conversation at a convention. He didn't really think it would work, but both Russel Newquist and I encouraged him. We thought it sounded cool, putting baseball on the moon. Quick point: neither Russell nor I care for sports.

Thankfully, an appreciation of baseball is not needed for this story. In many ways, it evokes a lot of the feel of some of the better movies involving baseball. That is, the love of the game and what it means to the people that care about it is tangible.

Jon has don some posts online about how the book has no action, sex, or swearing. This is true. It is not an action filled conflict with a space princess to save. This story is instead, tender and compassionate. There is a measure of political conflict, and well portrayed as a struggle between groups of owners, overall management, and players.

Oh, yeah, if somehow you haven't seen it, it has this beautiful cover:

And as clear as that image is, the characters are just as vivid. Not just Chairman Ichiro, who we follow, but his friends, a few of the owners, and other players in the drama.

This book provides a clear picture of why Jon Del Arroz is going to be a big part of the future of sff.

Ah, I better give it a rating, I suppose. 10 of 10 fell deeds.

When you play Social Justice, the wold loses.