On November 12, Cesar the Bravo will be released into the general public. Sequester your wives and daughters, and hide the cooking wine. The book collects all the previously published short stories as well as a brand new novel-length adventure of Plenum’s toughest bravo, Cesar (“Chay-zar”, but go ahead and pronounce it however you like.)… Continue reading Sharpen Your Blade. The “Cesar the Bravo” Release Date is Upon You.
Category: Business of Writing
Mercs and Mayhem
Raconteur Press has just released the anthology Mercs and Mayhem. So far it is rocketing up various Amazon sales charts. I’m not saying that’s due to it carrying a story by yours truly, but then again I’m not saying it isn’t. (Well, probably not.) Anyway, you should pick up a copy and read some stories… Continue reading Mercs and Mayhem
S.P.Q.R. IV The Temple of the Muses
I believe the John Maddox Roberts splurge has ended for a while with S.P.Q.R. IV: The Temple of the Muses. This is not because I’ve grown tired of his writing or the exploits of Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger. I’ve simply finished all of Roberts’ books ready to hand. This seems like a good spot… Continue reading S.P.Q.R. IV The Temple of the Muses
Sword-and-Sorcery and Song and Dance: Steven Brust’s “Lyorn.”
Lyorn is the seventeenth installment in Steven Brust’s Vlad Taltos series. For some reason I’d believed this would the final book, as there are seventeen houses in the Cycle of his fictional universe, and one book title now corresponds to each individual house. I was, apparently, incorrect, as this novel does not tie up loose… Continue reading Sword-and-Sorcery and Song and Dance: Steven Brust’s “Lyorn.”
Jack Williamson’s “Darker Than You Think.” Indeed.
Darker Than You Think does live up to the title in a slow burn fashion. It follows the dawning realization of the protagonist — Will Barbee, hardbitten, alcoholic journalist — that dark forces, witchcraft, and horrific legends of the past are all based on a semi-human race of beings. And that he might in fact… Continue reading Jack Williamson’s “Darker Than You Think.” Indeed.
Back Home
I spent the last two weeks revisiting family and old friends in the Portland area. It was at times relaxing and at others hectic. But overall I enjoyed it. Now I’m back home. While it feels good to return, I’m still facing much of the work deriving from the recent move. Such is life: a… Continue reading Back Home
Michael Resnick’s “Pursuit on Ganymede.”
Once upon a time, Powell’s Books in Portland used to be a trove of used paperback treasures at prices a hungry college student could afford. Now when I happen to visit PDX (to see old friends, family, visit clients, etc.) I still stop in to browse. Gone are the days of bargain prices. But still… Continue reading Michael Resnick’s “Pursuit on Ganymede.”
ERB’s “The Lost Continent” and the Great War.
The Lost Continent (original title Beyond Thirty) is a short, pared-down action novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs first published in 1916, only four years after ERB’s breakout work, Tarzan. 1916 was, of course, smack in the middle of World War I, and the influence is clear. The story takes place in the 22nd century. Pan-America… Continue reading ERB’s “The Lost Continent” and the Great War.
En Garde! “Cesar the Bravo” is En Route.
It has been about fifteen years in the making. As I recall, it was in 2010 that I began writing the first Cesar the Bravo story, longhand, in a notebook on a flight to Hawaii, finishing it up pool side. A rough life, I know. That story ended up in an anthology in 2011. The… Continue reading En Garde! “Cesar the Bravo” is En Route.