Review: The Chosen: Bloodline Of Darkness

Bloodline of Darkness
by
C. A. Milson
Available through Amazon and
Smashwords as an e-book

In a nutshell, if you have a taste for the demonic and trippy goings on, then this book is for you.

C. A. Milson introduced readers to Alex in The Chosen: Rise of the Darkness.  At the end of that book, (previously reviewed on TWU), A lot of people were dead and Alex was left standing as a survivor to demons running wild.  Alex had come into his powers and all was right with the world.  Or was it?

The Chosen: Bloodline of Darkness starts with Alex living his life...or so he thinks.  He's minding his own business one moment and the next he is thrown into terrible visions and nightmares, each more horrific than the next.  We're talking blood, fire, dismemberment, you get the idea.
Alex is constantly being tortured by these episodes, to the point that he can't tell what is real and what isn't.  Are these phantasmagoria his imagination, or is he really experiencing these things?

As we are jerked along Alex's wild ride, we too, become confused.  Is Alex imagining all this?  Has he really forgotten what happened to him and that he is the Chosen?  When I say we get jerked along, I don't mean that in a derogatory sense.  We become as unsettled as Alex and that is what makes this a suspenseful read.  There were times when Alex had "woken up" from his latest nightmare, that I was holding my breath, wondering if this time he was in his here and now, or about to find out he was still in a land of what the hell?

Alex meets a few souls on his adventure this time out - Nanomi, an enigmatic figure who acts as his guide; there is the return of Tanzac, the demon from The Chosen: Rise of the Darkness (you didn't really think he was going to go away now, did you?); Tara, Alex's neighbor, and...Alex's alter ego.  To say more about who surfaces in this book edges into spoiler territory.

C. A. Milson has again crafted a good story.  It moves quickly and keeps your interest.  It ends with a revelation setting the stage for a third book in this series.  I'm hoping Mr. Milson has that third volume in the works.

For more information on C. A. Milson please visit:
Official website of C. A. Milson

Review: Eternal Horizon

Eternal Horizon

by

David Roman

Available through Amazon.com

In a nutshell, if a book borrows so heavily from Star Wars you think you might need to contact LucasFilm about possible copyright infringement sounds good, then this book is for you.

I know the old saw "There's nothing new under the sun", but come on people, a little effort at originality isn't expecting too much, is it?

I started Eternal Horizon with high hopes.

Our protagonist, Vincent Saturn, is an FBI agent at the scene of what seems to be a UFO crash.  His curiosity outstrips his order not to investigate, the military is on the way, and he boards the downed vessel.

Next thing you know, Vincent sees a figure inside, obviously in distress and BAM, out goes Vincent, the last thing he sees is white lights.

He wakes up literally in another world...where the horrible EMPIRE is waging war against REBELS.  No one knows what a "human" is or where a planet called Earth is, so he's sort of stuck.  He falls in with the REBELS, who also have a Senator who is a PRINCESS...you think the comparisons stop here?  

Nope.

I thought when I got to the introduction of Princess GAIA (Leia anyone?), the parallels would end.  But no.  Vincent is participating in a Rebel incursion, aboard a spaceship, where their leader is being held, and gets into a battle.  He witnesses the bad guy hold out his hand and a weapon files out of the hands of the wielder into the bad guy's hand.  What's that I smell?  Do you smell the Force?  I sure do.

So then we have Sage Warriors who mostly have to learn their Force-like skills, except for Vincent who was given his when he tried to aid the person in the downed vessel on Earth.  Wait.  Where have I see that before?  Isn't this like when Obi Wan says if he's stricken down he'll be even more powerful than Vader can possibly imagine?  Hey!  Yeah!  It's just like that!

There's a climactic battle between the good guys and the bad guys...which ends predictably.

There's the budding love interest between Vincent and Gaia, with a predictable outcome.

And last, but not least, there's the predictable ending with one of the BIG BAD GUYS wanting Vincent Saturn brought to him...at all costs, thus setting the stage for.......*drum roll*........The Hunt For Saturn.

I swear I'm not making this up.

It's fine to use elements as a nod to a previous source.

It's also fine to use a few more to make an homage.

It is not fine to use so many that your work starts to look like someone else's work.

At the beginning I had high hopes for this book.  The characters were engaging, the action moved well, and the dialog, set pieces and action sequences were good.  At one point I was all set to contact Baen Books, a publisher of science fiction and say, "Hey you guys need to look at this writer!  I think he's on to something!"

Sadly, as the book wore on and the Star Wars elements stacked up, I felt more like contacting George Lucas and telling him he might want to file an injunction.

Mr. Roman has the writing skills...all he needs are some original ideas to put with them.

Web Serials...are they worth it?

Good evening constant reader.

I was approached by an author who inquired as to whether or not I'd be interested in reviewing a web serial for The Written Universe.  I took a look at her web page and one belonging to a friend who was also a web serialist, and said, yes, I'd do reviews of both.

I will be completely honest.  Trying to read the stories were like the labours of Hercules. 
Not because they were poorly written or uninteresting.  For me, it was the medium in which they were presented.  That was my own personal hindrance to enjoying them.  Reading a little, then trying to find where I had left off from the last time, writing it down if I forgot, losing the piece of paper with that information;  scrolling, endlessly scrolling down the page; and being stuck to my computer screen, with no way to really "take it with me".  All these factors added up to a bad reading experience.
(My other bias is pdf files, but that's what an e-reader is for).

Were the stories any good?
For the most part.
Are web serials viable for readers?
Possibly.  It depends on what kind of reader you are, if you prefer mobility in your reading, if you can hack sitting behind a computer screen for extended periods of time to read.
These things need to be taken into account before staring a web serial.

Are web serials a good way for a writer to get noticed?
Possibly.
But you're going to have to watch your length and make sure your story moves along.  If you spend too much time establishing a character or describing a location or an action, you're going to bog it down so your reader is falling asleep in front of their computer.

No, web serials are not for me.
I prefer my books in book form for portability, for the ease of marking my place, for being able to go sit in a comfy chair and read.

Here are the authors and their websites for your perusal.

Candace McBride's Tattoo

Candace's site offers her original web serial, Tattoo, as well as a host of other related writings.

Zoe Whitten

Zoe Whitten's site offers not only ebooks to read for free online, but also information on where to obtain her printed works.

Give them a look constant reader and decide for yourself.  You might not have the problems I did and may find jewels you never thought possible.

Review: From Time to Time

From Time To Time
by
Marius Smith
Available through Raiderbookshop.com,
Barnes and Noble on line and Amazon.

In a nutshell, this is the first book I've reviewed which has had the misfortune of failing my "By page 50 test".  If while reading a book, I make it to page 50 and if the characters were to die in a fiery car crash and I don't care, then the book is set aside and I don't continue reading.  From Time To Time is one of those rare books, and I gave it to page 100 before giving up.

The story is of William Herschel, who in the far future is a member of Temporal Security, whose job it is to police time travel in the 26th century.  William is also a vampire, made such by medical science in order to save his life.  William has apparently stumbled on something he shouldn't have, is framed and is exiled for drug possession and sentenced to exile in ancient Egypt.  He knows he's been framed, his friends know it and they set about to try to prove his innocence.

Marius Smith can string words together, that much is certain, and the plot premise is interesting.  However, it's apparent Mr. Smith never read Strunk and White, therefore missing the advice, "Omit needless words."  I made it to page 100, and it was a chore. But you said it failed your page 50 test, right?  Yes, it did, but I was trying to be charitable. I've read a lot of books in my time, but I have never been less compelled to pick up a book and read.  None of the characters had distinct voices.  About as close to that as we came, were all the good guys sounded one way and the bad guys sounded another.  Nothing else distinguished them.  I also ran into my other pet peeve - repeating the same information more than once.  Most readers are smart enough to embrace concepts the first time around and don't need to be beaten over the head over and over with the same information every chapter.
The book also suffers from a glaring lack of editing.  Another thing that pestered me was a lack of page numbers.  This is an error on the publishers part and to me says one word: sloppy.

I cannot in good faith recommend this book

13 Questions With...Elizabeth Hand

1. Name one thing you miss about being a child.
Losing myself for hours in a a make-believe world in the woods with my friends.

2. Do you have any phobias? If so, what are they?
Not really.  I don't like extremely large hairy spiders or scorpions.

3. Are you a collector of anything and if so, what?
I'm more of a forager than a collector: I find cast-off things, broken plates and furniture and whatnot, and fix them up or display them.  We have a lot of first editions of wonderful books, but my partner collects those more than I do.  I have some photographs from the NYC punk scene in the 1970s, and a beautiful photo by Peter Beste, and an original paintings by the British visionary artist Donald Pass, but they don't really constitute a collection.  More just my magpie sensibility.

4. You're about the walk the Green Mile - what do you have for your last meal?
Gilled lamb chops, rare, with garlic.  A nice salad.  A baked potato.  A bottle of good red wine, creme brulee.

5. What is your favorite cookie?
Pecan sandies.

6. Who is your favorite author?

7. What musical artist are you currently into?
The Norwegian Black Metal band Enslaved.

8. Have you ever had an imaginary friend? If so, who are they?
When I was little, I had an imaginary friend named Karen Cowgirl.  She was ... a cowgirl.  Bandanna, boots, hat, western shirt, lasso.  I also had an invisible pet mouse named Celery.  When my mother asked me why he was called Celery, I indignantly told her "Because that's his NAME."

9. What's your favorite word?
Tomorrow.

10. What is your current desktop wallpaper?
A beautiful, moody, snowswept landscape featuring the Norwegian musician Gaahl, by the photographer Peter Beste.  I own the original print, and it's gorgeous.

11. You're at a Chinese buffet - what goes on your plate?
Dim sum in all its forms.

12. What person now deceased would you most want to spend some time with and why?
William Shakespeare.  For the obvious reasons ...

13. What are you currently reading?
For review, a not very good book I won't name.  For myself, a reference book on ancient Norse religion.

Review: Black Light

Black Light
by
Elizabeth Hand

Available through Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Noble and other brick and mortar bookstores near you.

In a nutshell, if you like atmospheric, evocative explorations into the human condition, in a time and place not too long ago, this is the book for you.
Elizabeth Hand takes us on a journey to Kamensic, Maine, where life is idyllic at best.  A town full of actors, actresses, artisans, and musicians.  We are introduced to
Kamensic circa 1970 where we meet young Charlotte "Lit" Moylan at a party in a mansion called Bolerium.  It is a fantastic place of sights and smells, of party revelers, of debauchery hinted at but not quite seen.  In the middle of this is one Axel Kern, friend of the Moylan family, godfather to Lit.  He's a filmmaker and a madman...and something more.
As time goes on and Lit grows to teenage-hood, her godfather has returned to Kamensic to begin a new film project, and to open Bolerium up once again, and throw a party to end all of his previous efforts.  Lit is caught up in a series of encounters that boggle the mind - there were times I started to wonder if Hand had dropped acid as she was writing as her set pieces became more and more fantastic.    There are mysterious orders, the Benandanti and the Malandanti, both hinted at tantalizingly; one can't help but want to know more about them and how they play into the melange Hand so skillfully creates.
What is Lit's place in all of this?  That is where the mystery so beautifully lies.
Is there anything really horrific about Black Light?
At times, yes.
At it's heart, it's a coming of age story about a young woman presented with a future that has been predestined for her...or has it?

I've read other novels by Hand and am never disappointed at the way she weaves words together.  Allow me to cite this paragraph:
Everything gleamed with a primal intensity: the crimson and indigo of the carpet so saturated they looked wet, the gold letters on the spines of books sparkling like flame.  Decanters on a small round table glowed as if they held paint rather than liqueurs - emerald green, blood-red, sunflower yellow.  A daybed  was heaped with tapestried pillows and there was a small cast-iron woodstove set into one wall, its isinglass window glowing beneath one of several beautifully carved plaques inscribed with Latin phrases...

Black Light is a voyage into the dark fantastic, some of the finer dark fantasy writing available today.
Try Elizabeth Hand.  You won't be disappointed.

For more information on Elizabeth Hand please visit:
Elizabeth Hand

Review: Horns

Horns
by
Joe Hill
Available through Amazon, B&N.com, Borders.com
and other brick and mortar bookstores.

In a nutshell, if you like a book that will grab you by the shirt collar and not let go until it's story has been told, then this book is for you.

Horns is many things.
It's a love story.  It's a story of misunderstandings.  It's a story of a deeply disturbed young man.  It's a story of how one right made a lot of wrongs.  It's the story of a man who must make peace with events through a medium he never expected.  It's a story of vengeance and redemption.  It is also a story of horror.

When we meet Ignatius "Ig" Perrish, he has just recovered from one hell of a bender and can't remember anything that's happened...except for the fact that his girlfriend-since-they-were-teenagers, Merrin, is still dead and everyone still thinks Ig did it, even thought he was exonerated for the crime.  He has also awakened with an inheritance - a set of horns on his head.
Said horns have an exceptional effect on people - they can't resist telling Ig their innermost secrets.  So, Ig decides maybe he can find out who really killed Merrin...and the fun ensues.
Be warned.  We're introduced to a character that has to be one of the most foul since Hannibal Lecter in a lot of ways...Lee Tourneau.  He's not a nice man at all.  He gives new meaning to the word "psychopath".

Joe Hill is Stephen King's son, and it shows.  He's rummaged in Dad's toolbox, but Hill has tools and a voice all his own, make no mistake.  The plot is tight, flashes back and forth in time without confusing the reader, and makes some interesting statements on the afterlife, revenge and what a demon will do when given the task of avenging someone.

Now, you may be asking yourself why I'm reviewing Mr. Hill as Horns is his third book, his second book, Heart-Shaped Box has been optioned for a film (Horns has, too) and obviously he is getting to the established section of authordom?
It's because he's so damned good I want everyone to know it.
I liked Horns a lot.  It winds it's way through it's story and by the time I got to the end?  I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to find out how it was going to end.
When I give a positive review, I like to submit the 13 Questions to the author to answer so you the reader can get to know them better.

I broached this with Joe Hill through his Twitter page:

WrittenUniverse  

@joe_hill I want to review Horns for The Written Universe...but I'll need you to answer the 13 Questions I pose to authors. Are you willing? 6:51 PM Jun 24th via web

joe_hill

@WrittenUniverse Sorry, I pro'ly couldn't swing it. Hope you had some fun with the book, tho. Friday, June 25, 2010 9:04:24 AM via web in reply to WrittenUniverse 

WrittenUniverse

@joe_hill No problem - I'll only post at the end of the review you were too busy, but gracious about it (because you were)... Saturday, June 26, 2010 3:15:41 PM via web

For more information on Joe Hill please visit:
Joe Hill Fiction
Joe Hill on Twitter