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All posts for the month November, 2013
Title: Next You: Having Nice Things
Author: Angus H. Day
Publisher: Angus H. Day
Date: May 15 2013
Genre: Science Fiction
AUTHOR BIO
Angus day lives in Fort Collins Colorado with his wife and son. His daughter has embarked on her career as a graphics designer.
He’s been an Infantryman, Swine Farmer, smattering of other trades and jobs and now a manufacturing pharmaceutical chemist.
What aspect of his life that is devoted to fitness favors swimming in open water which means he spends most of the year working out in a pool then hit the lakes when it warms up a bit. His wife, Cheryl, safety kayaks for him when they manage to make it work.
EXCERPT
Finding Bishop!
Marcella willed the pod to set down on a flattened portion of slope that had once been the home of a glacier. Since Bremmers were composed of nanites the thirteen thousand feet of altitude did not affect them as it would humans. Once the pod was settled they assumed the physical attributes of a swarm of ants to travel down the mountain and find an entry into the domed city. The ten kilometers of travel to the dome was much faster in this form as they didn’t have to waste energy maintaining the bipedal human shape. Once inside they kept to the shadows until they arrived in a space that appeared to be a vacant classroom with no active surveillance.
Reassembling into human form Marcella and Walden waited until they were sure no traffic was moving in the outer hall and exited the room. The hallway cameras would have seen a man in his thirties with thinning hair and a young woman appearing to be in her late twenties emerging from the classroom no doubt having finished whatever subject they were studying. Moving back the way they had entered the building allowed them to exit onto the mall approximately one kilometer from the institute according to the city map.
Walden spoke “Let’s take our time about this and make sure we have a clear picture. I see on the map that there is a restaurant halfway between here and the institute that has tables that view the mall. We should be able to profile behavior and passively scan the city from there don’t you think?”
“Most of the city, but you’ll notice on the map that the main church we have suspicions about will be on the far edge of our range. If your main goal is to scan for nanite concentrations then we should consider multiple positions.”
Walden chuckled gently “My main goal at the moment is to enjoy a pleasant meal with you. I don’t get out often enough.”
Marcella had acquired the human ability to blush when embarrassed and this occurred at the mention of Walden wanting a dinner date. “Walden, this is a tactic for blending in correct?”
“Yes and no, I do genuinely enjoy your company and I don’t want to pass up this opportunity. Dear Marcella, will you dine with me?”
“I will indeed kind sir. Lead on.”
Walden and Marcella strolled down the mall to a restaurant called Flores Tortillera and were seated at a table that allowed a view of the entire mall grounds on their level. As they sat next to each other they joined hands under the table sharing some of each of their nanites to form an independent sensor to detect the proximity of unfamiliar nanites and a separate sensor to specifically detect Bishop. The sensor pack they made adhered itself to the table frame before the waiter arrived to take their orders.
As an hour passed they enjoyed their meal genuinely, which improved their ability to blend in, and spoke of things that would not give them away as strangers. Finally the maitre’d approached them with the bill and asked if the service had been to their liking. This was not the same person who had seated them and the sensor package began alerting Walden abruptly when the bill was laid on the table. Looking up from the portfolio which contained the bill Walden could see all of the patrons in the restaurant looking directly at them. The sensors should have not been audible to anyone but them, yet it seemed that everyone was hearing.
The maitre’d regarded them for a moment apparently receiving instructions from another source. “I am to tell you that your bill has been covered and a gentleman would like to speak with the both of you in the restaurant foyer. You may take your device with you and have a nice day.” All of a sudden everyone who had been paying them attention returned their focus to their meals and partners.
Walden spoke “Well my dear, we apparently have an admirer. Let’s not keep him waiting.”
“Yes Walden.” If we have to escape and evade, agree that we wait no more than an hour at the pod for the other.
Was Once a Hero
by Edward McKeown
This is the kind of Science Fiction with military-space opera and aliens that I thoroughly enjoy. Robert Fenaday and his somewhat trustworthy mash-up of a crew take on a mission to reunite a planet with its native sentient species at the barrel of a gun. Doing battle with an ancient and powerful foe which killed off an entire planets occupants the crew of the Sidhe (pronounced ‘she’) will have to rely on people they would never turn their backs on in the bright light of day.
I have not thought of an alien being that resembled an otter the size of a human in puberty before and it seems reminiscent of the Beaver from the Chronicles of Narnia. To often in contemporary Science Fiction do authors neglect the possibility that we will encounter life out there not like us. Works like this are necessary to prepare us with an open mind.
Excellent world building, awe-inspiring looks at where the human species may go and top-notch editing define this work. It took me nearly a year to reach it in my ‘to be read’ pile but I am glad that I did.
I give this work five out of five stars and advise you parents out there to let your teenager read this book, it won’t harm them at all.
Title: Next You: Destined for Something
Author: Angus H. Day
Publisher: Angus H. Day
Date: Apr 22 2013
Genre: Science Fiction
AUTHOR BIO
Angus day lives in Fort Collins Colorado with his wife and son. His daughter has embarked on her career as a graphics designer.
He’s been an Infantryman, Swine Farmer, smattering of other trades and jobs and now a manufacturing pharmaceutical chemist.
What aspect of his life that is devoted to fitness favors swimming in open water which means he spends most of the year working out in a pool then hit the lakes when it warms up a bit. His wife, Cheryl, safety kayaks for him when they manage to make it work.
http://www.amazon.com/Destined-Something-Angus-Day-ebook/dp/B00FIPF0GG/ref=la_B009AM45MS_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1385310917&sr=1-2
EXCERPT
Moving Day
We arrived at level four meeting the movers at residence four seventy three just emerging from their cargo platform. They were not to begin until we removed the official. I opened the hard case and issued us our doses of High-Perc that would last for ten minutes. As soon as we armored and armed we each inhaled slowing down time. I crashed through the door first while simultaneously Lionel vaulted me stunning the official and his wife. And his daughter. And his grandmother. And his male sex worker dressed in a thong made of barb wire. Yea, that seemed to be everyone.
I looked up from the floor to see a man at least ten kilos bigger than me yelling at us as the fog from the High-Perc left. “You dumb asses hit the wrong place. The official and his wife live at four seventy four.” That registered and Lionel grabbed me up off the ground from my left shoulder as we rushed to use the last of the High-Perc to take out four seventy four. I had just enough left to get me through the door and Lionel didn’t show boat this time, one stun per target and only two. Fuck me.
The big guy came in smiling “You guys are lucky. That was the Chairman of the Community Ethics Committee. He won’t be pressing any charges. As soon as the meat bags are gone we’ll do our thing.” He kept smiling as he raised his wrist and tapped at the watch he wore.
Lionel ran out and backed the armored car to the front door. I mag clamped both their hands and tossed them in the back. I asked “Was that quick enough for you zipper head?” Turning to the noise of Lionel slamming the back door I caught the giant’s fist on the left side of my face and luckily the wall stopped my flight. Somehow I got in the passenger seat and we were moving.
Lionel “What the fuck is your problem? We got to work with these guys.”
I didn’t know what my problem was so I kept silent and he glared at me until he needed to maneuver the car through tight corridors. The drop was in sub level fourteen and the only requirement was that it not be within two hundred meters of an elevator or stairs. We reached the level and he found a large enough old construction staging area to get up to ten kilometers per hour, I triggered the hatch to flip up as he turned the car a one eighty and stopped abruptly. The sound of stuff rolling out onto the concrete was all we heard. I closed the hatch and remote released the mag-clamps as we pulled away. Looking in the side mirror I saw the woman attempt to get up and move to her husband as the first Ravenarous launched from the shadows tearing a big enough chunk out of her chest that from fifty meters I could see the fountain of blood.
Meet Me
by Azure Boone
A short story erotica about a woman-wife-mother of eight who is sick of her husband who she suspects of cheating. When she is not direct the household of children in their daily chores she is on the computer working on her writing, participating in her social media circles or sexting her new interest. Everything is okay until one day the new interest wants her to agree to meet him in real life.
I found this read entertaining and well paced though there are perhaps some few edits that could still be made. That will likely be the case in most works these days. I’m giving this four stars mainly because I believe it to be overpriced.
Oceans of Red Volume One: Demons Rising
by Willow Cross
A short Novella to kick of the series, the basic plot has to do with humans banding together to fight back the demon infected and to retake dominion of the Earth. There is one main protagonist and the viewpoint gets handed off several times to include her siblings and a mysterious Druid character. I felt the plot had a lot of potential and may develop in the sequels.
It is sort of coming off like Blade or Constantine and while I liked those I don’t usually go seeking more in that kind of niche genre. This is a well edited book and I do recommend it if you want to invest in a series.
Witches in human school until the graduate High School then moving on to Witch University which is hidden from mundane eyes. I now accept this as a theme and it isn’t so overdone as to dissuade me from enjoying the story. This tale has distinctive American culture tie ins illustrated by the not so impoverished protagonist being able to spend her hobby time drag racing expensive cars, going to parties almost every weekend and indulging in drink.
Differences between human and witch in this work, beyond obvious magic, include parental acceptance of teenage sex within covens and the formation of life-bonds (witch marriage) before the age of twenty. It’s a book, I get it. Crescent Bound wins me over as a story because of the thriller aspect woven into a rogue witch suffering from psychological illness who becomes a stalker. That is all the spoiler I will give to the plot.
Though I like the plot and the thriller bit I am giving this three out of five stars. Why so? you ask. The reason lies in editing. No matter how much you like a story improper editing can do it a lot of harm.
The first five works are available in all major Ebook formats and in memorial of the paper print industry here is a virtual tree. Enjoy.
I sense the tree will have a growth spurt in January. Until then get caught up conveniently and within budget.
If a publisher buys the rights to a book from an agent and lays out the expenses for editing, typesetting, publicity then I fully understand and endorse their setting a product price that proves to their board that they have a plan to recover expenses and make a profit. I’m referring to actual printed books with an army of middle persons involved in the process.
Profile, if you will, the top of the chain self published author. Likely they will not go through the expense of dead tree publishing unless it is on Createspace because everyone who has a say in the industry has made that option very prohibitive. Typically the self published author will have the expense of editing and cover art. Copyrighting the work costs $35 per title on the eCO website. If they are deluded enough to think that they can be compensated based on their own time and effort then they are not really near the top of the chain. So if they do a print issue which is ‘Print on Demand’ through a mechanism like Createspace the process forces the author to price at least at the cost of production which their software makes plain.
My point here is this. Pricing should cover the cost of unit production then arbitrarily a dollar per unit, or $.99 which psychologically looks better for some idiotic reason. If you have written a work that you feel should appeal to say 100,000 readers in it’s shelf life who can spend $1 on a book then you will have earned back $100,000 for what may have been $2,000 on the creation top end of inputs for a self-pub.
Overall take home. Price your work so that it will reach and win over the most fans.
This reader service announcement is proudly brought to you by Next You Universe. Viciously kicking the other guy in the testicles for your entertainment dollar!
The Forgotten Age
by Jack Eason
I really wish to forget this unfortunate book because it is forcing me to violate my rules regarding book reviews but I am angry. I do not generally do negative reviews. If a book is going poorly, the story doesn’t grab me or the genre is not my normal flavor and not changing my mind by fifty percent completed then I bail and give it the review of silence. This aberration drew me in past the fifty percent mark even through the poor editing and character development so here goes.
The Forgotten Age is a novella trying to paint a story of a pre-Pharonic civilization in Egypt using a protagonist who is supposed to be a modern English (pun-intended) Indiana Jones with all of his compatriots being Ukrainian mafia and corrupt Egyptian bureaucrats. Oops, can’t forget the clever American sidekick who has some unexplained religious beliefs that must come into conflict with the protagonist’s mystery solving because…it just does.
List of crap:
1) Do not build paragraphs by pairing three or more sentences saying exactly the same thing. Paragraphs have a point and supporting sentences, and yes there is a difference.
2) It is a bad idea to bombard the reader suddenly with hyped up drama where there has been no build up of conflict.
3) Point of view issues can be catalogued using this one work. Narrator dumps are an extremely poor method of telling fiction. Moving on.
4) Time scale within this story is so skewed you would have the reader believe the group of explorers spent almost a year under Ghiza with just the supplies they had carried on their backs.
Lastly do not try to suspend the disbelief of the reader so that in their struggle to reach the end of your…thing…they are rewarded by you pulling the ripcord and sealing (not ceiling) in the protagonists and all of his lemming helpers for the remainder of eternity just because your brain went on vacation. Was that sentence long enough to make it onto your radar?
The Forgotten Age will not be receiving any of my usual promo. I intend to post this on my blog, Facebook, Google+, Amazon and Goodreads as a warning buoy. ‘Beware, someone soiled themselves here.’ Now you know why I have my rules of review. I don’t like doing this. Enjoy.
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