There are a number of birthdays today of writer’s whose names I recognize, but I’m gong to focus on what, in my mind, are the two most prominent, Roger Zelazny (1937-1995) and Stephen R. Donaldson (b. 1947). Continue reading
In My Time of Dying
David J. West
Lost Realms Press
Print $15.99
Ebook $4.99 (on sale for $0.99 as of this writing)
David J. West (no relation) is a prolific writer of fantasy in a variety of subgenres. His work ranges from horror to sword and sorcery to weird western and everything in between. He publishes multiple books each year. The man is making the rest of us look bad setting an example to the rest of us by showing us what pulp speed looks like.
Speaking of speed, In My time of Dying is a fast-paced weird western with steampunk elements that rushes along at a breakneck pace. Continue reading
The Slayer
James Alderdice
print $9.99
ebook $2.99
Robert E. Howard wrote a handful of straight historical yarns before he decided to rewrite history in the guise of fantasy. The Slayer is in much the same vein as Howard’s historicals, although there’s a bit of fantasy involved in some of them. This a collection contains four historical fantasy stories, the two longest centered around the the Fourth Crusade. The central character is a Viking mercenary named Tyr who has taken up service on the side of the Crusaders. The other two tales take place later in his life.
In “The Dogs of War”, Tyr helps breach the outer defenses of Constantinople. In “Whispers of the Goddess”, he’s inside the walls on a mission from his employer, only to get caught up in machinations both human and divine. “Hel Awaits” concerns vengeance against a caliph and a rescue from a harem. “Sailing to Valhalla” takes place after Tyr has settled down and become a father and is trying to establish his own homestead.
Alderdice (AKA David J. West) handles the characters and historical events in a way that makes it look easy. The combat is bloody and visceral. Most of the supporting cast in the stories dealing with Constantinople are actual historical figures. The dialogue comes across as natural and believable, unlike in some novels where the character seem to be reading off of a script.
The Slayer isn’t a long book, but it’s a good collection that should appeal to all fans of heroic fantasy and historical fiction. I haven’t seen many stories about the Crusades lately, and you can never have too many Viking books. Check this one out.
Monsters (Fantasy Noir #1)
James Alderdice
ebook $2.99
As most people know, James Alderdice is the pen name of David J. West. I reviewed his most recent novel a week or so ago. Monsters isn’t part of that particular series, but it does kick off a nice fantasy-noir blend.
It’s a short book, so I’m not going to go into a lot of detail. I don’t want to spoil the plot for you. I will tell you up front that there’s a cliffhanger ending, so if you’re waiting for the next installment in the brutal trilogy, you might feel the same way when you read the end of this one.
Tam Zphinx works as a Rat Catcher, which is slang for a private detective in his city. One day he and his partner are visited by a beautiful woman. She wants to hire them to retrieve a chalice her husband, a powerful nobleman, has taken from her and to find proof that he’s cheating on her.
In case you haven’t read many private detective stories, clients often lie. Especially beautiful ones. Continue reading
Fierce
James Alderdice
print $16.99
ebook $4.99
Last summer I highly enjoyed Brutal, the first volume in the Brutal Trilogy. At the end of July, the second volume went on sale.
Fierce is the type of book too often missing in the fantasy offerings from the mainstream publishers. It reads at times like it was written by the love child of Robert E. Howard and Karl Edward Wagner. Although the influences of both can be seen at places, Alderdice very much has his own voice and tells his story on his own terms. Continue reading
This past weekend, Howardians made their annual pilgrimage to Cross Plains. The emphasis this year was on Howard’s fans.
I was afraid the weather was going to be horrendous. The temperatures were forecast to be around 105F. Fortunately, things didn’t get that bad, although on Saturday they got close. The thunderstorms that rolled in Thursday night helped to cool things off.
(l.to r.) Ty Johnston, Jason M. Waltz, your intrepid blogger, David J. West
The highlight of the weekend for me was meeting some folks I’ve been friends with online but not met in person. I knew David J. West was going to be there, but I hadn’t know Jason M. Waltz and Ty Johnston would be attending. Jason is the editor and publisher of Rogue Blades Entertainment. He’s recently retired and plans to reinvigorate RBE. Ty is an author who has written some terrific fantasy (start here). They all had a great time and want to come back. These are some great guys who fit right in. (Jason moved to Texas earlier this year, so I expect out paths will cross again soon.)
Indy Cavalier giving his GoH speech.
Friday was the usual day for postal cancellations, hot dog lunch, and panels. The banquet Friday night was held in the gymnasium of First Baptist Church. We’d outgrown the Community Center. The Staghorn Cafe catered the chicken fried steak dinner. As usual, it was delicious. I only spent $15 dollars at the silent auction this year. For the last few years I’ve been spending less money, probably because I’ve either gotten everything I want or I can’t afford it. Bill “Indy” Cavalier was the GoH. His speech was entitled “Robert E. Howard Saved My Life”, and was about the impact REH had on his life during some rocky times.
One of the big items of interest this year was the excavation of the cellar. Jeff Shanks is an archaeologist with the National Park Service. The Howard House in on the National Register of Historic Places, which places it under National Park jurisdiction. The cellar was excavated earlier this spring.
Jeff Shanks (far center) discusses the excavation of the cellar.
Jeff gave a tour of the cellar, meaning he stood outside the tape along with everyone else and discussed the process of the excavation. The plan as I understand it is to preserve the cellar and try to figure out a way to keep it visible for future visitors. Until that happens, it will be covered back up. Volunteers filled in the cellar Sunday. You could see where the pressure from the dirt was causing the walls to begin to curve inward.
The photo on the right shows some of the items recovered from the cellar. The helmet is a baseball helmet. The jar in the front left still has its content intact. A number of jars were recovered that survived being buried. Jeff was asking us what we thought. The most popular response was pinto beans. I thought it looked more like some type of vegetable soup. There were some things in the jar that looked to me like corn. Jeff said they also had jars with peach pits, so he knew whoever had stored the jars had been canning peaches. The contents of the cellar will be discussed in a report for the Parks Service. Jeff joked that it will probably be the most read archaeological report from the Service.
Bobby Derie makes a point to Dierk Gunther during the Solomon Kane panel.
This year marked the 90th anniversary of Solomon Kane. I was eating lunch at the Stag Horn on Friday and missed the birthday cake. But I had a great time with friends old and new and wouldn’t trade it for the cake. (I didn’t need the sugar anyway.)
(l. to r.) Scott Cupp, James Reasoner, David Hardy, Jason Carney, and Mark Finn discuss what it takes to go From Fan to Pro
The panels, both the fan oriented and the academic papers were good. I missed part of the Foundation Awards. I stepped out of the room for a few minutes to return a call from my wife. Congratulations to the winners.
The barbeque on the grounds of the Howard House was excellent as always. It was followed by the poetry reading. People said goodnight and in many cases goodbye. The usual informal breakfast was Sunday and the 2018 Howard Days came to a close. From what I understand, it was a success, with a higher than usual attendance.
I’m looking forward to next year.
The Rogue Blades gang displays their invisible blades.
So if you have been online much at all in the last few years, you will have heard that cultural appropriation is Definitely A Thing.
I’m about to commit cultural appropriation. If this or the snark that follows triggers you, that’s not my problem. Continue reading
Brutal
James Alderdice (David J. West)
ebook $3.99
paperback $15.99
Brutal is the debut novel from James Alderdice, but it’s not really a debut. Alderdice is the pen name of David J. West. David is no relation to me, but he’s also no stranger to those of you who have been following this site for a while.
David has been writing a lot of weird westerns lately, so he decided as a branding exercise to use a different name on this epic fantasy novel. It’s one of the best things I’ve read by him.
Take some Karl Edward Wagner’s Kane, Dashiell Hammett’s Red Harvest, A Fistful of Dollars, and various other influences (which the author describes here), and you’ve got a bloody, gritty tale of a stranger who comes to town to clean up.
A man known only as the Sellsword comes to the town of Aldreth, which the locals have started calling All Death. He’s there to clean things up, and there’s a lot to clean up. There are two warring wizards, a cult dedicated to a dark goddess, corrupt city guards, and a widowed duchess who has a reputation for stepping out on her recently deceased husband. Of course the Sellsword gets involved with her. Continue reading
Whispers Out of the Dust
David J. West
ebook $3.99, paperback $14.99
Take the Mormon settlement of the West, mix in some M. R. James and H. Russell Wakefield, throw in a healthy serving of H. P. Lovecraft and a dash of Robert E. Howard, stir in Native American lore, bake in the desert heat and wash down with a lake formed by a damn, and what you’re likely to come up with something that resembles Whispers Out of the Dust.
David J. West has begun to build a body of work in the subgenre known as the weird western, and his most recent book is a solid addition to the field. It’s also one of his most ambitious projects to date. (And I absolutely love that cover.)
St. Thomas, Nevada was settled by Mormon pioneers, but the area had been home to the Anasazi and other tribes long before. The Mormons, many of them anyway, moved away when they discovered they were in Nevada rather than Utah and Nevada wanted to collect several years of back taxes. Still, the town survived until the Hoover Dam was built, and the waters of Lake Mead covered it up.
That much is historical fact. What David does is add a dose of fantasy which he blends so smoothly that you find yourself believing things you know can’t really be so. (At least you don’t think so.) The footnotes (endnotes, really) certainly add to the feeling of verisimilitude. David includes a number of photos he’s taken, which give you an idea of what the area looks like. Continue reading
First, Happy New Year, everyone. I hope it’s a good year for all of you, prosperous in many ways. I’d like to thank everyone who stops by and reads any of my posts, whether it’s at one of my blogs, a review at Amazing Stories, or a Ballantine Adult Fantasy post at Black Gate. I’ll add an additional thank you to those of you who leave comments, as the discussions are always rewarding. Finally, I’d like to thank everyone who sent me material for review, whether an author or a publisher.
I’m not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions. My philosophy is if you need to make some changes in your life, do it when you see the need, not at some arbitrary date on the calendar. That being said, the disruption to routine that the holiday season brings with it provides a good incentive to reboot some aspects of your life as you try to reestablish a regular schedule..
So insert the standard things about losing weight/exercising more/getting more sleep/etc. here.
Now, as far as blogging, writing, and reading go, here’s what I hope to accomplish this year. Continue reading