Let Sleeping Gods Lie

I've had plans for this one for years, but finally got down to business finishing up the ideas that had been percolating for a long time, ever since I read that Orrin Porter Rockwell, my real life-yet fictitious weird western character did actually spend time during the gold rush in a boom town named Murderer's Bar.

He even opened up a saloon and did all kinds of things to make money, like shooting contests! I have already written another story set in these days based on a real incident, though I'm not sure when BAD MEDICINE will see print as the publisher failed in their western kickstarter recently, so who knows, it might be awhile. In any case, LET SLEEPING GODS LIE is out there on amazon with a print copy coming soonish.

I had so much fun writing this, one of the best times ever, just living in the moment with all the action, laughs and creepy Lovecraftian vibes shaking out. I was chuckling to myself quite often with some of the supporting characters among whom is Black Bart - yes that Black Bart who also makes a casual appearance in IN MY TIME OF DYING.

It was fun to reread some old Louis L'amour books and even a couple Lovecraft stories I had missed like The Strange High House in the Mist - because I have a hardly touched Lovecraftian god = Nodens making an appearance.

Oh yeah, also gotta love this cover by the fantastic Carter Reid.

Fantasy Noir or The Maltese Falcon with Monster Girls

I've always been a fan of noir, and the older I get the more I think I appreciate the grim attitude and sense of corruption bleeding around the edges of smoke filled back alleys and luxurious parties. It just makes good fiction. Among my favorite works are classics by Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, and of course my introduction to them was through film and the amazing Humphrey Bogart first, I didn't read the books until quite a bit later.

So when my friend Jason King asked a few of his author pals if we would be interested in writing stories set in his world of Valcoria, I thought sure - IF - I can still do it my way.

As luck would have it, Jason was actually kind of hoping that we would take his premise and run with it and help him flesh it out a bit, as it turned out he was very happy with how we did things and especially with my novella - because my story kept growing - he changed up a bit for the next book he has coming. So this isn't just a bunch of screenshots of stories set in his world, these are integral points in the ongoing series, so I'm excited for that. Especially since I went all fantasy detective noir with my story - Jia  For Luck.

In the world of Valcoria, Jia is another name for magical power, people have a Jia of Strength, Intelligence, Power, Magic's etc etc
My world weary protagonist, Tam Zphinx, isn't so blessed with anything except perhaps an amazing amount of luck considering all the trouble he gets into, throw in some gorgeous dames and monstrous killers and you've got a winning combination.

Here is the Table of contents
Prologue
Ice Witch, James Wymore
Vaekra Take Me, D.J. Butler
A Dream of Clouds, Mathew Cox
Interlude 1
Tremors Within The Storm, Daniel Swenson
Thought Power, Sarah E. Seeley
By Blade & Blood, C.J. Workman
Interlude 11
Just Breathe, Holli Anderson
Jia For Luck, David J. West
Epilogue

Oh and just like I used Jia from Jason's stories my good friend Dave Butler used Vaekra Take Me as his title, that being one of the swears, Jason incorporated into the books, funny thing is, I actually thought about using that as my title, until realizing Butler already did!

Anyhow, check it out if you're so inclined, this 22K novella is my last release for 2017!
Available here

and if I had to do a one sentence description of my story, I think I'd go with
The Maltese Falcon with Monster Girls. 

States of Deseret

I love alternate history. And of course I love my peculiar faith, so I have to be all about a bizarre mixing of the two whenever possible. So, just like he was a driving force behind Monsters and Mormons - William Morris put together this alternate history collection States of Deseret featuring tales of what if featuring the Mormon Church.

I wanted to do something different than the usual - so no Porter Rockwell tale this time. (though one is hinted at) I let my mind wander when the call for submissions asked for different ways of telling alternate history. I was struck with the idea of an obituary as a framing device and luckily - William and Theric liked it enough to include The Electric Apostle.

I've always been fascinated with Nikola Tesla, so this was a good place to mess around with a What IF. I even found out a bit more interesting history while I was in the middle of double checking my research.

I'm sharing the table of contents with some great writers including my good friend Dave Butler, here is the TOC.

Forwrd by Theric Jepson

The Guns of Perdition by D. J. Butler

Latter Day Confederacy of Nations by Lori Taylor

Richard Meets the Missionaries by Anneke Garcia

Not Even the Names Have Been Changed by Marion Jensen

Another Meadow by Eric A. Eliason

The Father by Inari Porkka

The Electric Apostle by yours truly

Subject to Kings by Lee Allred

Cover by Casey Jex Smith

If you get a hankering for some weird fiction by a peculiar people - Check it out!

Iä! Iä! Y'äll! Redneck Eldritch! Releases Today!

Redneck Eldritch! A cold one for an old one is out today! Grab yours print copy HERE! Kindle Here or even Smashwords Here!

And with strange aeons, 
Even Death may take a dirt nap...

From the publisher of the SPACE ELDRITCH comes a flavor of cosmic horror that's much closer to home! Sometimes amusing, sometimes horrifying, always unsettling, sixteen authors bring you sixteen tales of white trash meeting dark gods, the yellowed bones of antiquity, and colors that can't be named. Including Writers of the Future winner and Hugo/Nebula/Campbell nominee Brad R. Torgersen, Writers of the Future winner Robert J Defendi, Hugo nominee Steve Diamond, and many more!


I've read a lot of these tales already and they are awesome!

Here is the TOC!


“A Hole in the World” by Ian Welke
“Recording Devices” by D.J. Butler
“Mine of the Damned Gods” by Sarah E. Seeley
“Blood” by Steve Diamond
“Ostler Wallow” by Nathan Shumate
“Nightmare Fuel” by David Dunwoody
“The Swimming Hole” by Theric Jepson
“It Came From the Woods” by Jason A. Anderson
“Lake Town” by Garrett Calcaterra
“Taxed” by Scott William Taylor
“The Gears Turn Below” by SM Williams
“Slicker” by Robert J Defendi
“A Brown and Dismal Horror” by Jaleta Clegg
“The People of the Other Book” by Robert Masterson
“The Diddley Bo Horror” by Brad R. Torgersen
“At the Highways of Madness” by David J. West

Yes, I'm very pleased that my tale is last!

World Horror Con This Weekend!

World Horror Con in Provo Utah.  April 28th - May 1st

Yes, I'm a little surprised its in Provo, Utah, but it sure is convenient for me. This is the same close location that LTUE was at and in years past the Storymakers writers convention when I would go to that.

Guests of honor include Brian Keene, Kevin J. Anderson, Jack Ketchum, Keith Thompson (he did the artwork on my latest Utah Geek issue) and fellow Space Eldritch alumni Michael R. Collings gets an academic award of achievement.

It will be great to hobnob with everyone as writers are my favorite people to mingle with.

Here is a quick schedule of my panels etc:

Thursday:
2pm Horrific Fantasy: A Touch of the Macabre. Dark fantasy as a subgenre that often dances across the line between fantasy and horror.  Is there a line, and how can you effectively cross it?
Darren Shan
Steve Diamond
Robert J Defendi
Jason King (M)
Christopher Husberg
David J. West

8:15 - Historical Horror.  An historical setting can add depth to your story.  Why is historical horror – and historical fiction -- popular and who is writing it?
Eric Sweden
John L. Campbell
David J. West
Sanford Allen (M)
This will be a fun one.

Friday:
10pm to Midnight: I'll be jamming with the Freestyle Gargoyles
You may remember that last year about this time I did an improv jam with the band - we're doing it again with more authors and recording it live! - It was a blast last time, so I gotta come up with something fresh and eerie for this one!

Saturday:
12:45
I'll be doing a reading of my REDNECK ELDRITCH tale 'At the Highways of Madness'- well a good portion of it anyway.
I'd be tickled pink if you would pre-order a copy!

10pm - A Space Balrogs panel
I think we'll be doing a classic monsters Choose Your Own Apocalypse but not sure yet.

Sunday:
11:30 - Western Horror.  Horror-themed westerns can be a lot of fun to read and write.  Come learn more about this epic sub-genre.
Dan Wells
Cody Langille (M)
Steve Diamond
David J. West

12:45 - Why We Love Lovecraft.  It’s been more than 100 years, and yet people are still reading and talking about Lovecraft.
Eric Swedin
David J. West (M)
Nathan Shumate
Carter Reid
Sanford Allen
Sarah E. Seeley


Oh Yeah, and my novella "At the Highways of Madness" will release in time for this con in the Redneck Eldritch collection - even if you can't make the con - check out the anthology of weird backwoodsy Lovecraftian horror!


This will be a creepy good time. And I need to get a copy of the King of Bastards book that either (or both) Keith or Paul told me about so I can get Keene to sign it.

Flexing Those Writing Muscles

I have got to say I love the cover for Issue #5 of UGEEK magazine  which contains the fifth chapter of my ongoing noir-fantasy serial Walking Through Walls. 

While the cover itself is the poster for Filmquest, a local fantasy related film festival, I find it serendipitous in regards to what's happening in my tale - specific to this installment Silence Falls on Tolburn's Walls (the title of which is a nod to Robert E. Howard's - Silence Falls on Mecca's Walls)

So, just saying for the sake of my friends here who are avid pulp fans - you of course recognize that elder being who dreams...

I am so pleased with where its going - oft times I don't even know where its taking me until I write it.

Keeping the readers attention with a serial is equivalent to a hardcore workout and I'm feeling it - but I'm also feeling those writing muscles growing too.

Overall this is one of those lessons where you have to push yourself to grow and improve and I am a firm believer in eternal progression.

From the intro:

The story so far:

Kenaz, an information broker, can step outside his own body to gather secrets. He has been blackmailed by multiple sinister parties. If he doesn’t give them what they want—a powerful artifact known as The Reliliqy—many lives besides his own will pay the price. He has less than a day to get it all together… He has overcome being poisoned and the demonic worm of Vavath, now he just needs to steal The Reliliqy from the city’s most powerful Sorcerer…

Chapter 5. Silence Falls on Tolburn’s Walls

Enjoy...

Happy All Hallows Eve

I'm way behind in my reading pile, I meant to get some more book reviews up but its gotta wait for November now.

But here is a quick snippet of a tale (I'm still polishing) from my forthcoming The Mad Song and other tales of Sword & Sorcery...

Stygian Black

Miles into the trackless wastes of the Arabian Desert and just as the horned moon rose above the dunes in a darkening azure sky, the raiders fell upon the unholy caravan as wolves upon tainted sheep. Half of the hired swords fled when they guessed the identity of the laughing bandit chieftain and even the vexing fear of their master, the mad Arab Abdul Alhazred, could not grant them sand enough to face the Lion of Palestine, Avi Ben-Kenaz.

The city-born sell-swords and cowardly veterans of decadent civilization were no match for the hard-bitten nomads, and with but a few strokes of steel all of Alhazred’s men fell before the raiders. These Judean raiders lived by their blades edge alone—not just the prospect and bravado of danger. Out here in the desolate wilderness, if you did not shed blood freely, your own would soon bleach upon the sands.

Alhazred dusted himself off after having been tossed from his seat by one of the raiders. He was lucky not to have been beheaded like so many others, but had been recognized as the caravan master early on and therefore perhaps worthy of sparing and of course, ransom.

One of the raiders shouted to his chieftain, “The wagons are empty!”

“All of them?”

The raider nodded to Avi and shoved Alhazred to the ground once again.

Avi, a pantherish man with a face of red-brown stubble and a reckless smile asked, “Who are you and what did you formerly carry within these wagons that needed such pathetic protection?”

“I am Abdul Alhazred, seeker of eldritch knowledge. I know of you Avi, and would ask that we make a sacred pact.”

Avi scrutinized the thin bearded man who was almost engulfed by both his dark turban and cloak. Alhazred’s sallow face, shrunken cheeks and baggy eyes belied a man who knew little sleep and even less toil.

“Speak Magi.”

Now in PULP = (print) SPACE ELDRITCH: The Haunted Stars

Now available in print! Space Eldritch: The Haunted Stars

Please, think of the hungry shoggoth (my kids) and buy a copy.

SPACE ELDRITCH II: The Haunted Stars

Just in time for Halloween reading!
The cold of interstellar space is again closer than you think as eleven authors -- including New York Times bestseller Larry Correia, Nebula winner Eric James Stone, Amazon #1 bestseller Michaelbrent Collings, and multiple Hugo nominee Howard Tayler -- explore what happens when space opera meets Lovecraftian cosmic horror.

Contents:
A Darklight Call’d on the Long Last Night of the Soul – Michaelbrent Collings
Dead Waits Dreaming – Larry Correia
The Implant – Robert J Defendi
Plague Ship – Steven L. Peck
From Within the Walls – Steven Diamond
Space Opera: Episode Two—The Great Old One Strikes Back – Michael R. Collings
The Queen in Shadow – David J. West
The Humans in the Walls – Eric James Stone
Seed -- D.J. Butler 
Full Dark – Nathan Shumate 
Fall of the Runewrought – Howard Tayler

I've been pretty pleased with all the feedback I received for my first Space Eldritch tale, Gods in Darkness, online reviews generally said it was the best or the worst in the collection, which I just take to mean I am doing something right. I was tempted to do a sequel of sorts but ultimately opted not to, instead I decided to twist up a few expectations = instead of the protagonist going insane upon discovery of the Eldritch horror, I thought what if the Elder Thing was insane???
Hope you all enjoy and purchase SPACE ELDRITCH II here on Amazon or here on Smashwords.

Rock the VOTE: If You Please

I have been voting for a couple years now in the Preditors & Editors Readers Poll and this is the first year that I have been nominated.

And though you may be quite tired of hearing about it, I sure wouldn't mind some clicking,and email confirmation thereafter/voting in support of my Space Eldritchness.
My story is in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy short story category and a couple of my friends are in the horror category, also the antho is in the running...so...

To vote for "Gods in Darkness" go Here and for anthologies you can vote for Space Eldritch here,
AND to vote for my friends,
Bruce Durham and his tale "Colony" from Rogues in Hell or D.J. Butler's "Arise Thou Niarlat From Thy Rest" also from Space Eldritch go here since both are in the short horror category.

Space Eldritch Yet Beckons...

SPACE ELDRITCH the Lovecraftian Sci-Fi anthology I'm in with 7 other wondrous writers (and a helluva foreword by Larry Correia) was recently released in print. I'll be grabbing some personal copies soon because I love having a tactile book for one thing and because its awesome for a second.

Thirdly, we also received a favorable mention over at Black Gate not a review quite yet, the editor John O'Neil just barely got a copy, but I appreciate it nonetheless.

Read Just Lately

The Necronomicon, The Book of Dead Names, edited by George Hay

I reread books I enjoy all the time, whether for research or pleasure, this is a little of both. I am working on something for the Swords & Mythos anthology and decided on a Abdul Alhazerd story. Abdul Alhazerd supposedly wrote the Necronomicon, well Al Azif anyway.
In any case, when I first purchased this book, I was only loosely aware of H.P. Lovecraft and his Mythos at all, I relatively knew nothing.
So of course I start reading the Necronomicon late at night in my grandfathers basement, yes I was very creeped out.
But it started a weird tales fascination that has never gone away. Unfortunately it took some number of years before I realized that DeCamp, Hays, Wilson and other contributors were all having a laugh-while the Lovecraftian analysis is as spot on as anything, all the essays contained purporting to be the authentic truth of the Necronomicon are the literary equivalent of a Mockumentary, and I ate it up a good dozen years ago.
Still, its good for rereading and preparing my own fiction.

Conan: Throne of Aquilonia, by Roy Thomas, Mike Hawthorne, Dan Panosian

Continuing on with the year long run of Roy Thomas and Conan's journey down the Road of Kings, most of this collection takes place in Tarantia, capitol of Aquilonia - hence the title.
We get some interesting side characters, and some nice teases for things that Conan fans know is coning years into the future. I did like the catacombs sequence though it had a few weakness's, and I thought the dragon was dispatched a bit too easily/quickly, but overall it was a decent spot.
Afterward Conan journey's on to Argos and we are given a great set up for Queen of the Black Coast - too bad I already know that arc is seriously bungled and I think I'll be skipping it. For a 1*-5* slot, I'd rate this a strong 3*+.

IRONWOLF: Fires of the Revolution, by Howard Chaykin and Mike Mignola

Thanks to Paul Macnamee for this copy.
I love Mignola's artwork, this had a futuristic steampunk thing going before steampunk was a household word. Granted this is by no means Mignola's best work, but it's still great, depth and shading all his wonderful hallmarks.
Chaykin's tale is interesting with flavors of the age of revolution mixed with somewhat current type drug and crime ridden conspiracies, yet it never really engaged me. I never found myself really drawn into the characters for good or bad, though not for lack of trying. There were a number of writerly tricks to get us interested but they didn't convince me. Good, but certainly not great. If I recall Paul, you said roughly the same thing, right?



By The Sword, by Richard Cohen 

This was an in depth review of all things relating to the history of the sword, from gladiators to musketeers to samurai to fencers and beyond. Cohen speaks from experience as an award winning Olympic fencer himself and the book is full of valuable anecdotes relating to what is truly a warriors art. Highly recommended for those researching more about the use of the sword and the history of great swordsmen.

Freakonomics, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

The header also reads, A Rogue Economist Explore the Hidden Side of Everything.
This was a fascinating book, dwelling on why people do the things they do and how crunching the numbers gives a bigger picture over what people might answer makes them do what they do.
It can be two very different things and they don't even realize.
I sense I can't express this very well in a quick book review, but this is highly recommended.
The insights to life are well worth your time. I will be looking for follow up books by the authors.

Devil in the Details

How about that! I'm a Kindle bestseller. SPACE ELDRITCH made it to #2 in Space Opera (#10 in Horror) thanks to our big release day and Book Bomb (extra special thanks to Larry Correia and Howard Tayler and their fan's) We were never quite able to unseat Ender's Game.

Also, I will be a guest once again on Douglas Dietrich's radio show Critical Omissions
tonight Oct 30th, at 8:30 pm mountain - 10:30 pm eastern
Click the link, hit play, and it will open up live at the correct time. We'll be discussing some of the true weird history that inspired my Space Eldritch tale "Gods in Darkness" as well as all manner of Lovecraftian strangeness. The call-in lines will open as well to phone in and talk. 1-347-688-2902
Youtube link to follow in a couple days.

Thanks again to everyone that ordered a copy of Space Eldritch, yesterday was literally the first day that writing paid me more in one day than the day job. Now to just try and keep that up everyday!
We are already chatting about a volume 2 for next year.

SPACE ELDRITCH UNLEASHED!!!

“With five feeble senses we pretend to comprehend the boundlessly complex cosmos.”
– H.P. Lovecraft

Startling Stories meets Weird Tales in SPACE ELDRITCH, a volume of seven original novelettes and novellas of Lovecraftian pulp space opera. Featuring work by Brad R. Torgersen (Hugo/Nebula/Campbell nominee), Howard Tayler (multiple Hugo nominee), and Michael R. Collings ( author of over 100 books), plus a foreword by New York Times bestselling author Larry Correia, SPACE ELDRITCH inhabits the intersection between the eternal adventure of the final frontier and the inhuman darkness between the stars.

Can I just say how pleased I am to be a part of this horrifying pulpy collection. I'm honored to be rubbing shoulders with these guys and being able to put my best foot forward with their legions of fans (OK, at least Larry and Howard's legions of fans)
I've been reading these other tales the last few days and WOW am I happy I'm in this.

The Table of Contents 

Foreword – Larry Correia
Arise Thou Niarlat From Thy Rest – D.J. Butler
Space Opera – Michael R. Collings
The Menace Under Mars – Nathan Shumate
Gods in Darkness – David J. West
The Shadows of Titan – Carter Reid and Brad R. Torgersen
The Fury in the Void – Robert J. Defendi
Flight of the Runewright – Howard Tayler

So if mind-shattering Lovecraftian space opera is something your wicked soul needs, grab a copy now on Amazon, or Barnes & Noble or if you are so inclined you can get it from Smashwords

The print edition is soon to follow and I'll of course keep everyone updated on that as well.

All of us are book bombing the Unfathomable Reaches out of this today to get some traction with the rankings, so I'd appreciate some help spreading the word if you're so inclined. Thanks

Spirit of Radio

My first radio interview will be up shortly, if you miss it I'm sure a podcast will be available very very soon. Feel free to call in and harass me.

~

WITHIN A MATTER OF HOURS...


DOUGLAS DIETRICH
(LIVE ON-AIR TODAY UPON THIS EVENTIDE;
TUESDAY, JULY 24th [07/24/2012])
...
– With SPECULATIVE FICTION AUTHOR: DAVID J. WEST

(& YOU, YOURSELF, PARTICIPATING INTERACTIVELY THROUGH THE FINAL HALF-HOUR)

– Through: "'CRITICAL OMISSIONS'
– WITH HOST DOUGLAS DUANE DIETRICH,
INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED RENEGADE MILITARY HISTORIAN,"

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and 01:00 AM—03:00 AM, British Summer Time.

Join HOST DOUGLAS DIETRICH & GUEST(S) LIVE EVERY TUESDAY EVENING (Once/Week) at the Hours Listed Above by Entering the REV-RAD Chat-Room (which is Open twenty-four hours a day [24 Hrs./Dy.])

One is always welcome to Enter the Rev-Rad Chatroom to Ask Questions of either Douglas Dietrich or his Guest(s)
when the FINAL HALF-HOUR CALL-IN Phase of the Program commences
via: The Orange-Print Chat-Room Link Located on the Upper Left of the REV-RAD freedomslips.com Home-Page)
to Speak Directly with Douglas Dietrich – & His Guest(s)!

We Take Both Regular Phone-Calls and Skype!
CALL-IN #: 1-347/6882902
(YOU WILL BE LIVE
– PLEASE Turn Your Radio/Player OFF when On-Air!)
ADD us to YOUR SKYPE CONTACT(s) USING:
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The Dig: IN SITU

Like the things in the "tomb" of my tale The Dig, the anthology IN SITU has been a long time coming and its finally here.

There are also a couple of copies for giveaways on Goodreads,  here.

The backcover blurb ~ From independent publisher Dagan Books, IN SITU is a new anthology of science fiction stories featuring alien archeology, hidden mysteries, and things that are better off left buried.


A quiet man finds more than he bargained for when he sets out with his metal detector on a lonely hill ... A soldier meets a new kind of enemy fighting an altogether different kind of war ... On a distant swamp planet, a woman questions what kind of human she's becoming ... a pregnant archaeologist finds a connection with a long-dead alien child ... while deep space scavengers wonder what it ever meant to be human at all.

These fifteen evocative science fiction stories will take you from dusty archaeologists digging up our alien past into a distant future where we've become the relics. Thought-provoking and entertaining, IN SITU explores science, theology, preservation, and the art of alien finance, in a whole new way.

Edited by Carrie Cuinn. Contains stories by Ken Liu, KV Taylor, Paul A. Dixon, Bear Weiter, Mae Empson, Jason Andrew, Greg Burch, Sarah Hendrix, R.S. Hunter, Rebecca Lloyd, Alex Shvartsman, Kelly C. Stiles, Graham Storrs, David J. West, and Dawn Vogel.

The Dig is a story that had a wide variety of influences for me and is a bit out of the ordinary in comparison to what I usually write, gone are the heroics and instead I have a female lead countered by a philosophical and psychotic Italian capitano during the early days of World War Two. I'm happy to say that it is a tale I was quite pleased with during a rereading after having been away for so long. I look forward to reading the rest of collection.

Reading the Horror's Lately

My wife is home now-but she was in the hospital for days. We're out of the woods now but it was a little sketchy there for a bit.
I spent too much time in waiting rooms-long enough one day that the kindle ran out of power, but I read a bit...so

The Great God Pan, by Arthur Machen

This was one of those classic old Gothic horror's that I had meant to read for ages and never got around to. It is indeed gripping and disturbing on multiple levels-and to me so much more horrific than your typical slasher tale of today. The primeval and esoteric taint of something lingering into the modern world and bewitching across space and time is haunting. I understand its influence on so many other works of today. I recently watched the film Ghost Story (which I read Pan was a major influence) and now can't help but feel that Straub's Ghost Story was a very inferior retelling. Pan is very much so worth a read.

Styrbiorn the Strong, by E. R. Eddison

I liked Eddison's fanciful tale of a real historical viking, though it seemed a little slow getting going. As with everything of Eddison's its all about the prose, meter and timbre and you either like it or you don't. While I didn't enjoy it overall as much as I did The Worm Ourobourous, I still probably got into it better than most of Poul Anderson's works save The Broken Sword (there's no topping that).

B.P.R.D. The Universal Machine, by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi

This might be my favorite B.P.R.D. yet. I have enjoyed most everything Mignola has done, but B.P.R.D. while good still seemed to suffer from not having Hellboy, every tale I read made me wish Hellboy was in it-and while I still kinda feel that way-this tale was great even without him. The cleverness the twists were so enjoyable.

America's Secret War, by George Friedman

The only non-fiction I consumed just lately. This was written in 2004 by the founder of the intelligence think-tank Stratfor and deals primarily with America's involvement with a post 9/11 world. It does a marvelous job on explaining how we got where we are, why it will continue (because we won't change our foreign policy in way's that matter) and in my mind it lays out what is going to happen.

Now here is the frightening part (to me)

Everything that Stratfor says Al Qaeda wants to happen (destabilizing the middle east/world economies etc etc)-luckily they have not been able to bring about. But this was written in 2004.

Fast forward to 2011 and everything that has been happening is exactly what Stratfor says Al Qaeda wants to happen-it just took a little bit longer, but its going that way.

Buckle up. Very worth a read IF you are interested in geopolitics.

The King in Yellow, by Robert Chambers

Again an old book of Gothic horror. Some of the plots and tropes in these tales all revolving about the mysterious book about the King in Yellow may seem dated or even overdone but its because they were done here first. While I will admit that at times I thought I knew where the story was going and it gave some very bizarre interesting twists - with truly original (and haunting) characters, I can't see that the terror and horror was quite the same as the Great God Pan, still very worthwhile to peruse if such is your interest.

Ye Olde Ones of R'Lyeh in Crayone

My oldest son has yet to read any Lovecraft-(he has watched Lil Cthulhu) but that hasn't stopped him from dreaming up and visualizing his own brand of the Old Ones-I told him I'd post 'em so Behold!

I think my favorite of his latest Kadathian batch, is this last one-truly bizarre.

Read Just Lately

The Arabian Nightmare, by Robert Irwin

Is a dizzying trip through 14th century Cairo beside an insomniac Christian spy named Balian.

Yes, this novel predates Ridley Scott's The Kingdom of Heaven by quite some time.

Full of great characters and intertwining short stories that all weave together, at times confusing even infuriating this is still a book that I greatly enjoyed. Hints of magic and intrigue abound as plotters utilize different talents and pawns all leading to a surprising twist ending. I admit the final lines did frustrate me, yet at the same time it was almost what you expected.

Granting splendid views into a sprawling city like Cairo in a post-crusades world Irwin's writing is magical and verbose, he is above all an entertainer but with something to say. The Arabian Nightmare has a lot to offer in seeing an exotic fantasy city for those of you who like a lot of detail-yet it flows in the stories as if it too is a character. One of the better books I have read this year. This also gives a great background (even if chronologically later) to another book I have just started Desert of Souls by Howard Andrew Jones.

Report from Iron Mountain, (On the Possibility and Desirability of Peace) by John Doe

I've really been getting into listening to Douglas Dietrich on a variety of radio programs, and while he would be regarded as quite conspiratorial and subversive, I have yet to hear him say much of anything I found too outlandish-but he doesn't have any books out yet-I know I've been haranguing him about this dilemma, and so I went back and looked over the library for some of my own rare and unusual military type books-probably should have stuck to Secrets of World War 2 for fun-cuz Iron Mountain isn't fun-but it is intriguing. I first heard about it from a strange inventor I knew, he told me to go to the SLC Library and read it-they of course had never heard of it.

But I remembered...

Years later I actually found a copy in a used book shop. In essence it is the confession (anonymously) of a think tank from the Kennedy administration, courtesy of McNamara, on what to do now that the wars have all been won. Now all kinds of things could be said that this is a crock, BUT it was published in 1967 and everything it says that the Gov'ment should do to keep us "Under the Thumb" and distracted has been happening, so it's a little eerie. I had read it before but was on a kick to read something conspiratorial again since Dietrich's The Reality of the Red Undead isn't out yet-oh yeah, I'll be all over that one.

Solomon Kane: Deaths Black Riders, by Robert E. Howard, Scott Allie, Mario Guevara

This graphic novel splices in a short REH tale Rattle of the Bones (which is a great short by the by) and tells us what happened directly before and after that short. Problem is by doing it that way it weakens the REH tale or perhaps a better way to say it-they just don't belong sandwiching it. Sometimes I don't mind Dark Horse doing this with the Conan tales (other times I do mind) and nobodies perfect and while the stories are in of themselves alright and the art is fine, splicing it with more than a fragment to go on like *the first Solomon Kane graphic, Castle of the Devil, is bad form. I'll still check out whatever the next Solomon Kane book is-but if its like this I won't get a third. I would rather they wrote a brand new Solomon Kane tale than sandwich in a classic between two slices of dry bread.

Conan the Barbarian, by Robert E. Howard

This was the mass market paperback used as a tie in for the movie-the logo emblazoned on the cover reads 'Storeies that Inspired the Movie"  IF ONLY

Anyone who has read a REH Conan knows any of these tales would have been a far, far, far better movie. It has actually been awhile since I read the originals in paperback (well awhile for me) and the magic that 'People of the Black Circle' weaves still brought me back, the intrigue and danger of 'Phoniex on the Sword' drew me in like the first time I read it. 'Tower of the Elephant' still looms over filthy Zamora on a steamy spider-haunted night and 'Red Nails' crunches bone beneath dragon feet. I still want those movies made, alas...

One Second After, by William R. Forstchen

Think The Road, as a community. What begins as your perfect small town-which we know is gonna become paradise destroyed, actually has quite a few surprises for even this old paranoiac. We have all heard about doomsday coming one way or another and Forstchen hits us with something that has slipped under the radar a bit too much. Not zombies, or radioactivity or viruses but our own lack of preparedness and ingenuity that modern day life has retarded us on. The very real probability of what do you do when the power is gone?

America is hit with multiple EMP blasts - Electro Magnetic Pulses that fry everything electronic-nothing works. So what happens? No communication, no refrigeration, no transportation, and you can see the breakdown coming. What really hit me was the reality that if the lights don't come on in a couple weeks everyone who is dependent on pharmaceuticals is in serious trouble, then the elderly and what about gangs and those who think they should take what they want? Cormac McCarthy (still the superior writer) was grim (and it was supposed to be an asteroid in The Road by the way, not nukes) but this paints a more horrific picture in the sense that you can see how this would actually affect you and everyone you love-you're not dropped into the story after its almost over-you're there One Second After.

This Goes up to Eleven

Just a reminder that the virtual launch for Monsters & Mormons is this evening11/11/11

 

The party will take place:

10 pm – midnight, eastern

9-11 pm, central

8-10, mountain

7-9, pacific

If you would like to participate and haven't already done so, please "like" the Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/monstersandmormons

And if you are on Twitter, but don't follow @motleyvision or @thmazing, but are open to it, do so. That'll make it easier for us to find you. I also am going to try to do something with Google+

more in depth details here