Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books You Enjoy?

There's a new Jeff Bridges movie called "Seventh Son" It's another monster fighter movie.

Lots of demons and action from the trailer. But it flashes that is it is a popular series and I wonder if it is taken for a novel series I've seen. I looked over the first one but decided for personal reasons not to get the book even though I can't recall what the reasons where. But it was a tale of a Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, in, if I remember right, an Alternate 1800s US. I know there was a second book but I don't know if there are more. It's the only Seventh son book I recall seeing.

I'm the only one who seems to be reading these days--or reading books they want people to know about anyway,

I'm reading three books at the moment. Even though two are on hold.

One of those is by our much beloved, hard working good doctor. He let me read his first Rabbi (unordained ) Crane novel but the PDF file I made from his download is a pain. I'm holding off until I can redo it better. But angels and cats ??? I wish you all could read it.

Second novel is the one I came here to talk about.

"Mountain Echoes" by C. E. Murphy. As I have stated before and no doubt will state again she is one of two writers I really want to be like. The reason I am holding off on it is that it's too easy to read and on top of that I don't want to stop so I'm reading it a lot faster than I want to. Murphy knows how to turn a phrase and how to end a chapter with a cliffhanger-sometimes a complete surprise-and how to place her MC in danger.

Recommend it Big Time.

The third book which is the one I am actually reading right now is "For Heaven's Eyes Only" by Simon Green. Simon is great at drawing in a reader too. He can come up with some of the most unusual events as any writer I know of. He's good at cliffhangers too.

Is it immoral to bring up the novel i just published?

TARNISH is a 128,000 word fantasy novel about a 16-year old venturing out into the real world with his head full of the legends of his father and mentor. Most of the story is about Wil, the young hero, though the old retired heroes (who don't quite live up to the hype) are left to defend the town while waiting for Wil to return.

I think the hardest thing about writing is trying to capture a million-page story in one paragraph, so i'm not going to try. But I thought maybe someone on here might be interested...

You can try Amazon or my site in my signature if you're curious.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DYHK754

**end of shameless plug**

Is it immoral to bring up the novel i just published?

TARNISH is a 128,000 word fantasy novel about a 16-year old venturing out into the real world with his head full of the legends of his father and mentor. Most of the story is about Wil, the young hero, though the old retired heroes (who don't quite live up to the hype) are left to defend the town while waiting for Wil to return.

I think the hardest thing about writing is trying to capture a million-page story in one paragraph, so i'm not going to try. But I thought maybe someone on here might be interested...

You can try Amazon or my site in my signature if you're curious.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DYHK754

**end of shameless plug**

Question:

What does the Irish sword on the cover have to do with the story?

Sam

Question:

What does the Irish sword on the cover have to do with the story?

Sam

Is it Irish...? With my limited resources I'm doing my own cover designs. There was a great batch of sword images that were usable under the Creative Commons licensure, so i took one and altered it to fit my needs. Basically, needed to make a cover that let potential readers know it's a fantasy novel without risking my own crappy drawing talents on it.

And eventually I plan to write two more in the series, a prequel and a sequel, and I have other similar sword images I can use to tie the covers together.

Thanks for asking!

Is it Irish...? ... Basically, needed to make a cover that let potential readers know it's a fantasy novel ...

It's probably just me . . .

But that cover said to me: historical fiction, set in Ireland during the Middle Ages or early Renaissance (can't get a better feel for the era without seeing the entire blade). Possibly the Irish equivalent of BRAVEHEART (the William Wallace story).

And eventually I plan to write two more in the series, a prequel and a sequel, and I have other similar sword images I can use to tie the covers together.

Is it permissible to post the other sword images?

I might be able to tell you something about the swords.

I tend to think it might be better to use images of swords that aren't so identifiable to a specific place and time.

Sam

Is it Irish...? ... Basically, needed to make a cover that let potential readers know it's a fantasy novel ...

It's probably just me . . .

But that cover said to me: historical fiction, set in Ireland during the Middle Ages or early Renaissance (can't get a better feel for the era without seeing the entire blade). Possibly the Irish equivalent of BRAVEHEART (the William Wallace story).

And eventually I plan to write two more in the series, a prequel and a sequel, and I have other similar sword images I can use to tie the covers together.

Is it permissible to post the other sword images?

I might be able to tell you something about the swords.

I tend to think it might be better to use images of swords that aren't so identifiable to a specific place and time.

Sam

Well i don't think everyone will be as well versed in sword designs as you are, so I'm not too worried about it at this point.
you can probably find lots of sword images by googling a few word combos. i don't quite remember now what i used but that's pretty much how i found them.

Interesting sounding book and I can see why you used a sword. And, as little as I know about swords, I can see why Sam said what he did.

Is it only at Amazon though?

And I was going to suggest you could put this on the Indie publishing thread. Probably not that big a deal however.

Interesting sounding book and I can see why you used a sword. And, as little as I know about swords, I can see why Sam said what he did.

Is it only at Amazon though?

And I was going to suggest you could put this on the Indie publishing thread. Probably not that big a deal however.

I have run the ebook version thru Smashwords, which distributes to B&N and about half a dozen others, as well as Amazon, and the paperback is thru Createspace, which also puts it on Amazon. I'm trying to find ways to get the word out and market it but, admittedly, I'm not very good in cyberspace and am not aware of much of the greater publishing world. Whatever "indie thread" or advice you have would be GREATLY appreciated.

THANKS!

Is it Irish...? ... Basically, needed to make a cover that let potential readers know it's a fantasy novel ...

It's probably just me . . .

But that cover said to me: historical fiction, set in Ireland during the Middle Ages or early Renaissance (can't get a better feel for the era without seeing the entire blade). Possibly the Irish equivalent of BRAVEHEART (the William Wallace story).

And eventually I plan to write two more in the series, a prequel and a sequel, and I have other similar sword images I can use to tie the covers together.

Is it permissible to post the other sword images?

I might be able to tell you something about the swords.

I tend to think it might be better to use images of swords that aren't so identifiable to a specific place and time.

Sam

I do see what you're saying though, Sam. I actually am not all that versed in the swords myself (obviously) but one I liked did look to me like a Roman gladius, another had a very Viking feel. But when your budget is next to nothing, you do what you can, ya know?
I actually did pay more money than I'd have liked on an image and used it in a Kickstarter but didn't get the funding, which would have covered that image, editing, some printing, etc. Then I decided the image hinted too much at a YA or kids' fantasy book, which would be even more misleading, so... I made due with what i could find.

And I was going to suggest you could put this on the Indie publishing thread. Probably not that big a deal however.

Whatever "indie thread" or advice you have would be GREATLY appreciated.

I think he meant another thread here in the forum,Tout your Kindle and E-Publishing!

Like he said though, I don't know if it matters that much.

And I was going to suggest you could put this on the Indie publishing thread. Probably not that big a deal however.

Whatever "indie thread" or advice you have would be GREATLY appreciated.

I think he meant another thread here in the forum,Tout your Kindle and E-Publishing!

Like he said though, I don't know if it matters that much.

Oh. Thank you both, i didn't even see that one! I suppose it's worth mentioning there. Every little bit helps, right?

Thanks again!

I'm way behind on my listings here. And I'm surprised no one else is willing to say what they are reading.

Anyway;
I read already--said I was behind-Myth-Quoted by Robert Asprin and Jody Lynn Nye. Mostly, if not totally, done by Nye these days.

If you like lighthearted(an aside but I have a sudden desire to use the yiddish word for lighthearted and its Dr. Bob's fault.) fantasy Read the M.Y.T.H. series great stuff. This one is about an election--they throw will mud and worse in that dimension.

Next is A fantastic book and I'm the only one who can read it (hee hee hee)

Seriously it's "The Kabbalist: The Foundation of the Kingdom".
If you like a more intellectual Urban Fantasy this is it. And that comment is not a put down of the other UFs out there or of this one. I don't always get a reference to a certain artist but that's me, I wouldn't be surprised if most readers would know that artist.

Dr. Bob has my attention, I don't want to stop reading it. And I believe it is ready for publication, any more and he will be in danger of diminishing returns. Time to E-publish this one--which would mean a good cover. Or send it out to everywhere. To every publisher who even hints at taking UF.

If Indie than I will be the first one to review it and I will place it on my web site. Even both of those probably won't help much but they wouldn't hurt either. I know of a couple of other places to place it which might help more.

OH and Dr. Bob if you read this, sorry for putting you in as a third person.

I also reading "Taken" by Benedict Jacka. Great stuff if you like UF. A bit of a twist on the usual UF here but Jacka is a Master storyteller. Great fight scenes, the MC is more tricky than the usual head to head fighting. The Twists in the plot are worth reading too.

So I just finished reading Brad Torgerson's story collection: "Lights in the Deep." I loved it. "Outbound" and "Ray of Light" were awesome, good-old-fashioned sci-fi adventure stories--which I love. I also loved his "Chaplain" stories which he is now expanding to a full-length novel. All the stories were entertaining and chock-full of great characters and unique tropes. And the story behind the stories was also very interesting. Definitely, I would recommend it.
Way to go, Brad!

So I just finished reading Brad Torgerson's story collection: "Lights in the Deep." I loved it. "Outbound" and "Ray of Light" were awesome, good-old-fashioned sci-fi adventure stories--which I love. I also loved his "Chaplain" stories which he is now expanding to a full-length novel. All the stories were entertaining and chock-full of great characters and unique tropes. And the story behind the stories was also very interesting. Definitely, I would recommend it.
Way to go, Brad!

I think I missed them but "good-old-fashioned sci-fi adventure stories" sound good to me.

I am finally getting to what I am reading at the moment.

Glen Cook's "Wicked Bronze Ambition", the latest and maybe longest Garrett, PI novel.

Cook came up with a very interesting fantasy world and placed an old fashion Gumshoe in it. Very entertaining and Cook does a very good job with the mysteries, descriptions of action and plot points.

I should say though that there is one detail I don't like. Cook changed something in the personal life of Garrett suddenly and I'm not sure why. I liked it the way it was. I think it fit Garrett better.

I have been reading a book in a semi new series. "Dead Iron" by Devon Monk. Oh boy he is some writer. First of his I have read even though he has out a few.

This series--with three now--is hmm, well I'm not sure. They call it steampunk but is it? It is but it's more than that. I want to say an extreme version of Steampunk but that's not quite right either, it's like steampunk took a sudden left turn. More like Gearpunk? That's not quiet right either. Hmmm, SteamgearStrangepunk? Yes, strange has a capitol letter.

It's set in Western times and there are what are probably elves and dwarves but they are not called that. There's danger, a curse by a god, guys that turn into wolves, Magic, a witch, adventure and hell of good writing. It's action packed with little time to catch your breath. Monk is another one to model writing after.

This isn't a book yet but;

Here is an intriguing title for an anthology someone will be doing in '14. He saw it on a real sign.

TEMPORALLY OUT OF ORDER

Maybe it was on a Tardis.

This isn't a book yet but;

Here is an intriguing title for an anthology someone will be doing in '14. He saw it on a real sign.

TEMPORALLY OUT OF ORDER

Maybe it was on a Tardis.

Very catchy. Those four words are enough to draw me in.

Just started reading the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde. Delightfully clever, especially 'One of Our Thursdays is Missing.'

...Myth-Quoted by Robert Asprin and Jody Lynn Nye. Mostly, if not totally, done by Nye these days. If you like lighthearted(an aside but I have a sudden desire to use the yiddish word for lighthearted and its Dr. Bob's fault.) fantasy Read the M.Y.T.H. series great stuff. This one is about an election--they throw will mud and worse in that dimension.

Freylich, fargenigen, are possible choices, LD.

I enjoyed the Asprin Myth books beginning with Another Fine Myth when it first appeared (1978). They are a humorous romp through, first, the stock characters, themes, and plots of fantasy fiction, and then full-flung parodies of other genres and fields (crime, entertainment, education, etc). The Yiddish word I'd use to describe them is "shtick." What Douglas Adams did with science fiction the following year with the publication of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (another must read), Robert Asprin did with fantasy. Phil Foglio was the artist for a series of comics (1984 ff) later collected as graphic novels (Starblaze Classics) based on the first few books (see http://www.airshipentertainment.com/myt ... e=20100112 where the first issues are available free on-line). As the years passed and I became otherwise career-occupied, I lost touch with Asprin's MYTH series. I should perhaps give them a nostalgic reread and consider completing my collection of the series. Thanks, for the reminder, LD.

Next is A fantastic book and I'm the only one who can read it (hee hee hee)

Seriously it's "The Kabbalist: The Foundation of the Kingdom".
If you like a more intellectual Urban Fantasy this is it. And that comment is not a put down of the other UFs out there or of this one. I don't always get a reference to a certain artist but that's me, I wouldn't be surprised if most readers would know that artist.

Dr. Bob has my attention, I don't want to stop reading it. And I believe it is ready for publication, any more and he will be in danger of diminishing returns. Time to E-publish this one--which would mean a good cover. Or send it out to everywhere. To every publisher who even hints at taking UF.

If Indie than I will be the first one to review it and I will place it on my web site. Even both of those probably won't help much but they wouldn't hurt either. I know of a couple of other places to place it which might help more.

OH and Dr. Bob if you read this, sorry for putting you in as a third person.

He takes no offense, LD.
Thank you for the kind words. I am glad you enjoyed the tale.

Others have been pushing me to do as you suggest. Of all the things I have written, my Kabbalist stories have generated the most interest and been my most memorable fiction per those who've sampled them. I was shocked when just recently, and three years after I shared the novel's initial chapters on the Hatrack River Forum, a former Hatracker tracked me down asking to read the whole tale. He seemed irritated and disappointed that I had not published or self-published the book. I admit I was touched.

But I've hesitated to send it out again to agents/publishers or make it available as an e-book because it was the first thing I had written in 30 years (during which my medical profession and having a family pre-occupied me), and it contains many of what I now recognize as naïve tyro mistakes. Furthermore, two subsequent prequel novelettes failed to excite the editors of the currently available fantasy magazine markets--or of Ms KD Wentworth, of blessed memory. I therefore moved on to try other things.

My Finalist designation from WOTF last year with a story containing both sf and Jewish mystical elements has boosted my confidence a little, as this suggests (1) the subject matter is not necessarily a recipe for instant rejection, and (2) that my wordcrafting may have improved sufficiently to consider giving the novel a relook in regard to revision. Part of me, however, fears that a revision could kill whatever magic present within its pages that others have found. I need acknowledge that I am not the same person as when I wrote it. But in light of the continued interest from a small but noodging circle of friends and beta-readers, I'll give The Foundation of the Kingdom another glance this summer.

But first, I need submit my just revised 2014 WOTF Q2 story, await and collate feedback regarding the first third of a new novel (completely unrelated to the first), and finish a story collaboration with a gracious and gifted former WOTF winner.

Again, thank you for the kind words, LD.

Respectfully,
Dr. Bob

Been a while since I posted here:

But I am reading-and almost done with-"Armored" edited by John Joseph Adams

It's an anthology --a nice thick one--dealing with armor suits. Very well written. They are not all the same. One was steam powered. A couple had minds of their own. A lot were nicely told war stories while a couple were nicely told non war stories. I would suggest people read it.

One of my favorites is the Revelation Space trilogy by Alistair Reynolds. It's a gothic space opera with some really awesome technology. I love the way it's written and the setting is awesome. You should check it out if you haven't.

I keep forgetting to put down what I am reading.

So I just finished the First in Fiction River an anthology series edited by Dean Wesley Smith and his wife. The first one was subtitled Unnatural worlds.

I must say that it was very well done. Excellent stories and they were not the same; diverse settings and worlds. Two, maybe three, were parts of continual series. That included a Pokerboy story by Dean. I've been wanting to check out the series but wasn't sure which one was the first one or if it mattered where I picked it up. For those who don't know Pokerboy lives in an alternate world and has super powers. Those that deal with Poker. Yes, the card game. Others have super powers of various types too. Very intriguing.

I don't recall the writer of the other series and my book isn't handy. It deals with a pair of PIs one of whom is an elf. And they live and operate in a paranormal world. This one dealt with a case brought to them by a tinkerbell type of fairy. Which is all I will say about it. I want to find more in that series.

Okay, my book is now handy so I came back to say the writer of paranormal PIs is Annie Reed. The PIs are Diz and Dee.

Sons of the Oak, by a certain David Farland... it's a reread, as I was bitterly disappointed the first time I read it, and am expecting much better from it now that I've left it a few years. The Runelords books 1 through 4 were my first ever fantasy reads, and all remain in my top ten favourite books to this day, so the Sons of the Oak had a tough act to follow when it was first released.

When I visit the story/world Robert Jordan built and Brandon Sanderson brought to a conclusion my surroundings disappear. If you haven't read Wheel of Time you're missing out on a great experience. I'll wait a couple of years and read all the books again.

Right now I'm reading The Mammoth Book of Fantasy/edited by Mike Ashley. I'm determined to learn to write a fantasy story.

Took me a while to get here to type this out. The book I'm reading is on my Nook in another room so I kept forgetting it, I finally had to look it up on B&N.

Anyway, I am reading Throne of Jade (Temeraire Series #2) by Naomi Novik. This is an excellant read in what could be called dragonpunk. It's set on an alternite Earth with dragons. They are more or less tamed and used for fighting by many countries. Napoleon is trying to capture and take over England. The MC is sea captain who by accident becomes a dragon captain. Yes, most dragons are large enough to carry a crew.

Great adventure, danger and sometimes unigue situations. Well written too.

Currently doing an audiobook re-read of Mercedes Lackey's "Elemental Masters" series. I'm on Book 7, Unnatural Issue. It's a retelling of Donkeyskin or Deerskin with a Regency and Magical twist.

Anyway, I am reading Throne of Jade (Temeraire Series #2) by Naomi Novik.

I have been meaning to read this series for the longest time! What is the first one?

Took me a while to get back here to respond.

The first Temeraira book is "His Majesty's Dragon".

here is a link to her Barnes and Noble page to see all of them. Evidently Naomi has been writing them for a while.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/novik-naomi?store=allproducts&keyword=novik+naomi

And she has out a new one coming out in a new series titled "Uprooted" A very interesting and intriguing premise.

Sounds like I know what I'm doing this weekend. 😀