Well, talk about a heluva busy day, okay not really, I didn't have to do much. But I've got two announcements for the public at large.
First, a while back I did an interview with Action Adventure, Inc. It's live as of today, check it out!
Second, For the month of November I've dropped the price on Never Saw It Coming (The book now includes a teaser passage from the sequel, Undeserving) to $0.99 from $2.99.
That's right, one penny less than a dollar. In addition to that, for those of you that pick up the book today, October 31st, 2011. Shoot me an email with a friend's email address and I'll send them a copy, as well.
Thanks for reading guys, and Happy Halloween!
Monday, October 31, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
The Belt Loop (Book One): A Review
Product Description:
Captain Uri Haad is plunged into one of the most terrifying voyages of his Colonial Navy career. His ship, the CNS Corpus Christi, stumbles upon a derelict alien vessel out in the void of Orion's Belt -- The Belt Loop as it is known by the sailors of the Third Colonial Fleet out of Elber Prime. He launched a Search and Rescue mission to the hulking derelict after his scans detected surviving life forms. What started as a mission of mercy quickly turns into a nightmare of epic proportions and as the horror spreads to his ship and crew, Captain Haad must make life and death decisions to avoid his own destruction and possibly an interstellar war. This taut deep-space adventure bridges the gap between distant suns and gives us a glimpse into the workings of the Twenty-eighth Century Colonial Navy.
My View:
The Belt Loop (Book One) takes the reader on a mundane, routine deep space patrol with the crew fast attack boat CNS Corpus Christi. Captain Uri Haad and his crew simply go about there business unaware of a 12 year old Stowaway lurking about their ship. Of course, if the Belt Loop patrol stayed mundane and routine, I doubt we'd be reading about it.
Soon enough, the Christi stumbles upon a derelict craft launched by a previously unknown species. Haad and his crew began referring to the segmented and tubular vessel as "The Worm". Given that humanity's only other contact with an alien species resulted in a destructive and costly conflict known as the Varson War, tensions run high among the crew, many of whom are veterans of the Varson War and have the scars to prove it.
A S&R team is dispatched to the Worm to securing it and located the 12 surviving alien crew, While the Corpus Christi stands by to assist, or destroy the worm if needs be. The team quickly discovers, not one, but two sentient alien species aboard. The Birds and the Worms. The Birds appear to be captive in a large cargo hold, Communications Officer Maxine Hansen quickly draws a parallel to Ancient Earth History. The Worm is a slave ship.
Then things it ugly. Security measures aboard the Worm gruesomely and quickly down a contingent of the Marines sent with the Away Team.
The rest of the story is a tense, exciting read, that takes an interesting approach to Science Fiction. With a focus on exobiology and the moral implications of what is a fundamentally culturally based conflict, Robert B. Jones' "The Belt Loop" Series is off to a great start and frankly grabs the reader by the face and refuses to let go. The author does a great job of pulling the reader into the Colonial Navy, where the enlisted and officers lead boring routine lives that are punctuated by moments of sheer terror. Overall The Belt Loop (Book One) is a great read and priced great at $2.99. I'll be picking up the next one as soon as I'm able.
If you're a sci-fi fan, do yourself a favor and pick this one up. 5/5 stars
**note: I was in no way paid for this review. The only compensation I received was a promotional copy of the book and advertising revenue from this site.
Captain Uri Haad is plunged into one of the most terrifying voyages of his Colonial Navy career. His ship, the CNS Corpus Christi, stumbles upon a derelict alien vessel out in the void of Orion's Belt -- The Belt Loop as it is known by the sailors of the Third Colonial Fleet out of Elber Prime. He launched a Search and Rescue mission to the hulking derelict after his scans detected surviving life forms. What started as a mission of mercy quickly turns into a nightmare of epic proportions and as the horror spreads to his ship and crew, Captain Haad must make life and death decisions to avoid his own destruction and possibly an interstellar war. This taut deep-space adventure bridges the gap between distant suns and gives us a glimpse into the workings of the Twenty-eighth Century Colonial Navy.
My View:
The Belt Loop (Book One) takes the reader on a mundane, routine deep space patrol with the crew fast attack boat CNS Corpus Christi. Captain Uri Haad and his crew simply go about there business unaware of a 12 year old Stowaway lurking about their ship. Of course, if the Belt Loop patrol stayed mundane and routine, I doubt we'd be reading about it.
Soon enough, the Christi stumbles upon a derelict craft launched by a previously unknown species. Haad and his crew began referring to the segmented and tubular vessel as "The Worm". Given that humanity's only other contact with an alien species resulted in a destructive and costly conflict known as the Varson War, tensions run high among the crew, many of whom are veterans of the Varson War and have the scars to prove it.
A S&R team is dispatched to the Worm to securing it and located the 12 surviving alien crew, While the Corpus Christi stands by to assist, or destroy the worm if needs be. The team quickly discovers, not one, but two sentient alien species aboard. The Birds and the Worms. The Birds appear to be captive in a large cargo hold, Communications Officer Maxine Hansen quickly draws a parallel to Ancient Earth History. The Worm is a slave ship.
Then things it ugly. Security measures aboard the Worm gruesomely and quickly down a contingent of the Marines sent with the Away Team.
The rest of the story is a tense, exciting read, that takes an interesting approach to Science Fiction. With a focus on exobiology and the moral implications of what is a fundamentally culturally based conflict, Robert B. Jones' "The Belt Loop" Series is off to a great start and frankly grabs the reader by the face and refuses to let go. The author does a great job of pulling the reader into the Colonial Navy, where the enlisted and officers lead boring routine lives that are punctuated by moments of sheer terror. Overall The Belt Loop (Book One) is a great read and priced great at $2.99. I'll be picking up the next one as soon as I'm able.
If you're a sci-fi fan, do yourself a favor and pick this one up. 5/5 stars
**note: I was in no way paid for this review. The only compensation I received was a promotional copy of the book and advertising revenue from this site.
Monday, October 3, 2011
A Review: Home Lost, by Franz McLaren
Yes, I'm well aware I've been quiet for a while. September has be an extremely busy month for me.
Product Description:
“Home Lost: Clarion of Destiny” is the eight volume fantasy tale of Leena, a heroine selected by destiny to combat the greatest challenge her world has ever known. In an epic journey that leads through foreign lands and mysterious realms where demons, monsters, and magic rule, this inexperienced young girl is forced to overcome a protected childhood to face challenges that would crush far more experienced adventurers. With each step she takes, with each passing day, she draws closer to a malevolent force so formidable that it has defeated the mightiest armies and the strongest magic in her world, an evil that could prove too powerful for her developing knowledge and skills to overcome.
In Volume 1, “Home Lost”, Leena, a sixteen year old half trained hedge witch, is mysteriously selected to receive the Garlan branch, a magical item that has twice saved her world in the far distant past. From the first moment of contact with this talisman, her life is changed. After a solitary journey through a silent and deadly winter forest to seek this honor, she returns to her village. Nervous with the excitement and anticipation, she rushes home only to find the secure and treasured town of her youth deserted and in ruins. Confused and alone Leena has little choice but to set out on a search for her missing friends and family, and to try to discover the reason that the Garlan branch has selected her as its tool.
My Thoughts:
Loads of potential, lacking in execution. (Possible Spoilers Below)
Home Lost is billed as the beginning of an epic eight volume fantasy cycle, and it started off well. Our plucky heroine, Leena, a half-trained hedge witch, is introduced after an extremely gripping prologue (Orcs and Goblins harrying the last small band remaining free humans, all seems lost, when the young commander, Robart finally receives his apparent destiny in the form of an all powerful magical....stick?) Okay, Fanstasy piece, I can let the All-Powerful-Magic-Stick thing, known as a Garlan Branch pass. Robart single-handedly defeats the Inhuman horde with the Garlan Branch, Humanity saved. AWESOME! Being a member of humanity, I happen to like not being enslaved and worked to death but ugly Orcs and Goblins.
Then we jump ahead some two thousands years or five hundred years, either way it was a long time. Leena our plucky heroine, the half-trained hedge witch is out in the forest, in the middle of the night, searching for an invisible tree (The Garlan Tree) in what is apparently heavy snow. Okay, great, nice adventure story, Leena will have to face the dangers of the forest and nefarious powers that be, on her path to this powerful object, right?
Nope. She bumps into said Invisible tree with in a few pages and easily dispatches the Great Wizards Giant Death Raven with her Garlan Branch. Then she makes her way home, to find her village deserted and only 19 or so of her fellow villagers can be located. (Because they're DEAD!)
The average 16 year old girl would be flipping the hell out. Not Leena, she calmly buries the bodies and sets about gather supplies for her journey north, ostensibly to find and free her parents and neighbors. By riding straight to the Great Wizard's gate...you know, the same one that sent the Giant Death Raven and disappeared the populations of the surrounding area to find her?
She meets Arvin, a murderous little 12 year old squire who is constantly scampering off, getting into trouble and sticking his sword were it doesn't belong. Apparently, Leena found Arvin as tiresome as I did, because the last time he ran off in the night she didn't even bother looking for him. Instead she meets Darius, the older, wiser, much better looking Ambassador to the Great Wizard and decides that he would be a much more suitable traveling companion to walk into the jaws of the enemy with....Wait, What?
Yeah.. The rest of the story appears to be multiple days and nights of Darius and Leena riding north while Darius regals Leena with a tale of heroism and adventure (How he came to be the Great Wizard's Ambassador) Unfortunately for the reader, the all we get is Darius literally telling Leena about it. Not a flashback, or a dream sequence. Dialogue. Which is unfortunate, because if it were handled as a flashback or a dream sequence, it would've made Home Lost a much better book. It's not as if the author gives us a brief sketch of Darius' past then gets back to the story, Darius tells us, and Leena about the most minute detail of his adventures...in great length. I'm not kidding when I say the ride north and Darius' tale probably take up a good 60% of the book, if not more.
If you've read this far, you probably assume that I hated this book, which isn't true. Actually even with my laundry list of complaints, it was actually a very engaging read. McLaren writes very well, his dialogue, overabundant as it may be, is written in a very natural speaking manner, and his descriptions of the settings never leave the reader confused, he paints a picture with words. I noticed no major typos, so it's obviously been competently proofread, it's formatted well, and over all I enjoyed it. But I don't know if I could devote the time to an entire 8 book Series.
Home Lost is .99 cents on Amazon so it's no major investment, if you have the time, try it for yourself.
Overall 3.5/5 Stars
*I was in no way paid for this or any review I post on this site, the only compensation I receive are promotional copies of the books from the authors, and potential advertising revenues from this website. The Opinions expressed above are mine and mine alone.
--Mike Jordan
Product Description:
“Home Lost: Clarion of Destiny” is the eight volume fantasy tale of Leena, a heroine selected by destiny to combat the greatest challenge her world has ever known. In an epic journey that leads through foreign lands and mysterious realms where demons, monsters, and magic rule, this inexperienced young girl is forced to overcome a protected childhood to face challenges that would crush far more experienced adventurers. With each step she takes, with each passing day, she draws closer to a malevolent force so formidable that it has defeated the mightiest armies and the strongest magic in her world, an evil that could prove too powerful for her developing knowledge and skills to overcome.
In Volume 1, “Home Lost”, Leena, a sixteen year old half trained hedge witch, is mysteriously selected to receive the Garlan branch, a magical item that has twice saved her world in the far distant past. From the first moment of contact with this talisman, her life is changed. After a solitary journey through a silent and deadly winter forest to seek this honor, she returns to her village. Nervous with the excitement and anticipation, she rushes home only to find the secure and treasured town of her youth deserted and in ruins. Confused and alone Leena has little choice but to set out on a search for her missing friends and family, and to try to discover the reason that the Garlan branch has selected her as its tool.
My Thoughts:
Loads of potential, lacking in execution. (Possible Spoilers Below)
Home Lost is billed as the beginning of an epic eight volume fantasy cycle, and it started off well. Our plucky heroine, Leena, a half-trained hedge witch, is introduced after an extremely gripping prologue (Orcs and Goblins harrying the last small band remaining free humans, all seems lost, when the young commander, Robart finally receives his apparent destiny in the form of an all powerful magical....stick?) Okay, Fanstasy piece, I can let the All-Powerful-Magic-Stick thing, known as a Garlan Branch pass. Robart single-handedly defeats the Inhuman horde with the Garlan Branch, Humanity saved. AWESOME! Being a member of humanity, I happen to like not being enslaved and worked to death but ugly Orcs and Goblins.
Then we jump ahead some two thousands years or five hundred years, either way it was a long time. Leena our plucky heroine, the half-trained hedge witch is out in the forest, in the middle of the night, searching for an invisible tree (The Garlan Tree) in what is apparently heavy snow. Okay, great, nice adventure story, Leena will have to face the dangers of the forest and nefarious powers that be, on her path to this powerful object, right?
Nope. She bumps into said Invisible tree with in a few pages and easily dispatches the Great Wizards Giant Death Raven with her Garlan Branch. Then she makes her way home, to find her village deserted and only 19 or so of her fellow villagers can be located. (Because they're DEAD!)
The average 16 year old girl would be flipping the hell out. Not Leena, she calmly buries the bodies and sets about gather supplies for her journey north, ostensibly to find and free her parents and neighbors. By riding straight to the Great Wizard's gate...you know, the same one that sent the Giant Death Raven and disappeared the populations of the surrounding area to find her?
She meets Arvin, a murderous little 12 year old squire who is constantly scampering off, getting into trouble and sticking his sword were it doesn't belong. Apparently, Leena found Arvin as tiresome as I did, because the last time he ran off in the night she didn't even bother looking for him. Instead she meets Darius, the older, wiser, much better looking Ambassador to the Great Wizard and decides that he would be a much more suitable traveling companion to walk into the jaws of the enemy with....Wait, What?
Yeah.. The rest of the story appears to be multiple days and nights of Darius and Leena riding north while Darius regals Leena with a tale of heroism and adventure (How he came to be the Great Wizard's Ambassador) Unfortunately for the reader, the all we get is Darius literally telling Leena about it. Not a flashback, or a dream sequence. Dialogue. Which is unfortunate, because if it were handled as a flashback or a dream sequence, it would've made Home Lost a much better book. It's not as if the author gives us a brief sketch of Darius' past then gets back to the story, Darius tells us, and Leena about the most minute detail of his adventures...in great length. I'm not kidding when I say the ride north and Darius' tale probably take up a good 60% of the book, if not more.
If you've read this far, you probably assume that I hated this book, which isn't true. Actually even with my laundry list of complaints, it was actually a very engaging read. McLaren writes very well, his dialogue, overabundant as it may be, is written in a very natural speaking manner, and his descriptions of the settings never leave the reader confused, he paints a picture with words. I noticed no major typos, so it's obviously been competently proofread, it's formatted well, and over all I enjoyed it. But I don't know if I could devote the time to an entire 8 book Series.
Home Lost is .99 cents on Amazon so it's no major investment, if you have the time, try it for yourself.
Overall 3.5/5 Stars
*I was in no way paid for this or any review I post on this site, the only compensation I receive are promotional copies of the books from the authors, and potential advertising revenues from this website. The Opinions expressed above are mine and mine alone.
--Mike Jordan
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