Blog - Page 25 of 32 - Gary David Gillen

The Heart of What Was Lost by Tad Williams

The Heart of What Was Lost by Tad Williams, Book #0.5 of The Last King of Osten Ard

Introduction

The Storm King has been defeated at the end of the novel To Green Angel Tower (Book #3 Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn) and the Norns, long-lived humanoids called immortals, must retreat across the hostile lands of the mortals. This is the story of the Norns retreat and the mortal army that follows them looking to destroy their race forever. Will the Norns successfully defend their last mountain fortress of Nakkiga or will they perish?

Summary

This book serves as a bridge novel from the first trilogy to a soon to be published sequel trilogy. The author tells this story from four different perspectives. Duke Isgrimnur of Elvritshalla is the leader of the army pursuing the Norns. He wants vengeance for his son Isorn who was recently killed in the war. He leads the Rimmersman who are the mortals who live the closest to the Norns. Porto is from the southern island of Perdruin and is in the mercenary part of the army tracking the retreating Norns. He wants to finish the job of defeating the Norns and return home safely.

Viyeki is a Norn who is in Order of Builders. Builders do not fight but serve the military, called the Order of Sacrifices. He wants to help secure their retreat to Nakkiga and save his people from destruction. Lady Miga is a Norn of the Order of Chroniclers who writes a scholarly retelling of the events depicted by the other three narrators. She brings perspective to the events and illustrates how legends are created from real events.

The novel is divided into five parts. Part One. The Ruined Fortress is about the Norns defense of Tangleroot Castle which is on the road to the Norn Fells, the Norn homeland in Osten Ard. Part Two. Three Ravens Tower is about the Norns stand at the tower which is part of the fortifications surrounding the Norn Fells. Part Three. The Nakkiga Gate is about the battle outside of the mountain. Part Four. The Fatal Mountain is about the resolution of the conflict. Part Five. The Long Way Back is about the aftermath of the conflict.

Recommendation

I think this is a great book and makes me want to read the second trilogy. The Witchwood Crown (Book #1 The Last King of Osten Ard Book) was released on June 27, 2017, and the second book, Empire of Grass, will be released in 2019. There is a thirty-year time jump between trilogies. I would call The Heart of What Was Lost as Book 3.5 of the first trilogy because the events follow immediately after book #3. It could be called a coda to the first trilogy since it is 197 pages long. I liked how all four narrators showed different perspectives on the conflict and each arc was a complete and interrelated story.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of The Heart of What Was Lost by Tad Williams.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28585686-the-heart-of-what-was-lost

Link to my review of Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson. Oathbringer is a fantasy novel like The Heart of What Was Lost.

Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson

Arcanum Unbounded by Brandon Sanderson

Arcanum Unbounded by Brandon Sanderson, The Cosmere Collection (The Stormlight Archive 2.5)

Introduction

Arcanum Unbounded by Brandon Sanderson is a collection that has nine stories that are part of the cosmere universe. Many of the author’s works are interrelated by an overarching plot which he calls the cosmere. The stories of the cosmere are set on a group of worlds that can be traveled to through magical means. Six stories are set on the worlds of his published novels and three stories are about worlds that have not had a novel-length story treatment. All the stories in this collection are excellent, but I will comment on each story starting with the one that I like the most.

The Emperor’s Soul Summary and Recommendation

The Emperor’s Soul is set on the planet Sel which is the setting of the novel Elantris, but the stories do not share any of the same characters. Shai is a master of the magic of soul stamps and she is called a Forger. She can use her soul stamps to rewrite the history of an object so that the object becomes the item that she wants it to become. Gaotona is an arbiter for the emperor and he has a problem where he needs a Forger to create a difficult Forgery. What he asks Shai to do will change them both. The story won the 2013 Hugo award for best novella.

Shai and Gaotona both have clear motivations and both must face an impossible decision. The story is perfectly constructed and it is no wonder that it earned an award. It is one of the three stories included in this collection that persuaded me to buy it. I had heard about this story before 2017 and was delighted that it was included in this collection.

Edgedancer Summary and Recommendation

Edgedancer is set on the planet Roshar which is the setting of the Stormlight Archive series. The story tells the story of a character named Lift. The events occur between Words of Radiance (Book #2) and Oathbringer (Book #3). Lift is a young girl who starts to display the powers of a Knight Radiant. A man who she calls Darkness is hunting her. She is protected by the Azish king but is bored. When Darkness starts hunting other potential Knights Radiant, Lift must decide to stay safe in Azir or to fight Darkness to help others like her.

Lift is a fun and whimsical character. She turns energy from food into her powers which she calls being awesome. She is always hungry and relates everything in her life to eating. I liked reading about another corner of Roshar that we haven’t seen before in this story. This long novella was only available in this collection at the time that it was released, just before Oathbringer was released. I wanted to read this story before Oathbringer came out so this was the main reason that I purchased this collection. I read this story as soon as a received the book and read the rest of the collection later. The decision to purchase it was easy because The Emperor’s Soul and Mistborn: Secret History were also in this collection They were both stories that I wanted to read.

Mistborn: Secret History Summary and Recommendation

Mistborn: Secret History is set on the planet Scadrial which is the setting for the Mistborn series. This story is set on the edges of the Mistborn trilogy. Telling any more about the plot is a major spoiler for the Mistborn series so I will not explain anything further here. This story includes references to all three books so it should be read after reading them first.

I remember almost buying the e-book for this story when it came out on January 26, 2016. When I heard about Arcanum Unbounded collection, I learned that this story was included. I decided to wait until the collection was released on November 22, 2016, and bought it on December 26, 2016.

Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell Summary and Recommendation

Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell is the only story set on the planet Threnody. The main character is a woman named Silence. She runs an inn and trading post in the middle of a haunted forest. The dangers of the forest are real, shades and an elusive bounty hunter called the White Fox. Silence must protect herself and her daughter from the dangers of the forest.

I liked the story of Silence. There were a number of twists at the end that made the story great. I remember first reading this story in the anthology called Dangerous Women. It was just as good on the second reading. I borrowed the book to read The Princess and the Queen by George R. R. Martin but was glad that I decided to read this story also.

Sixth of Dusk Summary and Recommendation

Sixth of Dusk is the only story set on the planet called First of the Sun. Dusk’s people are the caretakers of the islands in his world. He is a trapper who brings sentient bird-like creatures called Aviars for sale to a more technically advanced people. In the story, Dusk arrives at the dangerous island of Patji. Dusk’s skill is that he can visualize his many possible deaths on the island and can avoid that fate. The technologically advanced people come to the island and threaten his way of life. Dusk must discover the hidden truths about the island to drive away the invaders.

This was another very good story. Dusk was an interesting character. His inner dialogue makes him different. Some of his attitudes are based on Polynesian culture. The solution to what was going on the island was a good twist. The ending might have been too easy.

White Sand Summary and Recommendation

White Sand is the only story set on the planet Taldain. Kenton is the son of Praxton, Lord Mastrell of the sand masters. He wants to be accepted into the Diem, the group that teaches the magical art of sand mastery. Kenton is weak in the art but is accepted. He learns what he can and is ready to face a test which will determine if he can join the group as a full member or will be banished.

First, there is an excerpt from the graphic novel. It visually depicts the test well. The prologue and first chapter of the unpublished novel follows. It is interesting to compare the graphic novel and the written novel. I can see why the story is best told with a graphic novel. The plot is very visual.

Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Elantia Summary and Reccomendation

Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Elantia is set on the planet Scadrial like the other stories of the Mistborn series. Jak gives his first-person account of his adventures. The story has been transcribed and annotated by his faithful steward Handerwym. Jak must defeat the koloss, find the lost treasure of the survivor, and save the fair Elizandra.

This story reads like an adventure pulp magazine account. That was the intent and it delivers. It was used in the role-playing game supplement to the Mistborn series based on the novel Alloy of Law (Mistborn Book #4). A fun but silly read.

The Eleventh Metal Summary and Recommendation

The Eleventh Metal is set on the planet Scadrial like the other stories of the Mistborn series. Kelsier learns allomancy from his teacher Gemmel in this story set before Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1).

It was interesting to see how Kelsier learned his craft but the story was short. It was first published for a role-playing game based on the Mistborn trilogy.

The Hope of Elantris Summary and Recommendation

The Hope of Elantris is set on the planet Sel which is the setting of the novel Elantris. Matisse must protect the children when the Dakhor attacked Elantris.

This story clears up a question about the novel Elantris. What happened to the children when Elantris was attacked? The question was answered but that was all.

Links

Arcanum Unbounded by Brandon Sanderson.

This is the link to the Goodreads page of Arcanum Unbounded by Brandon Sanderson.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28595941-arcanum-unbounded

Link to my review of Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson. The story Edgedancer in this collection tells the story of a character named Lift. The events of the story occur between Words of Radiance, Stormlight Archive Book #2 and Oathbringer, Stormlight Archive Book #3.

Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson

My Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine Collection Update

My Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine Collection Update.

Here is my updated collection on 03-24-18.

Introduction

I made a post on the status of my Asimov’s Science Fiction Collection on February 22, 2018. At that time, I had collected 363 issues of the 420 issues released from Spring 1977 to March 2014. I have read 331 of the 363 issues. Unread issues are from February 2011 to March 2014. I decided to purchase the 57 issues that I missed and then read them all.

From February 22 to March 24, I purchased a total of 35 issues for $108.43, averaging $3.10 per issue. There are 22 issues remaining to be purchased.

In February, I bought 19 issues; 10 from Amazon.com for $25.00, 5 from mycomicshop.com for $21.25, and 4 from ebay.com for $15.74. In March, I bought 16 issues; 2 from Amazon.com for $11.88, and 14 from ebay.com for $34.56.

In the rest of this post, I will make notes for each year from 1977 to 2014.

Issues in the 1970s

1977: 4 issues printed with 3 issues at start labeled summer, fall, and winter. 1 issue remaining to purchase: Spring 1977 (issue #1).

1978: 6 issues printed with 0 issues at the start. Purchased 5 issues in February and 1 issue in March. None remaining to be purchased.

1979: 12 issues printed with 0 issues at the start. I purchased 4 issues in February. 8 issues remaining to purchase.

Issues in the 1980s

1980: 12 printed and 12 issues at the start.

1981: 13 printed and 13 issues at the start.

1982: 13 printed and 7 issues at the start. I purchased 1 issue in February. 5 issues remaining to purchase.

1983: 13 printed and 0 issues at the start. Purchased 13 issues in March. None remaining to be purchased.

1984: 13 printed and 0 issues at the start. Purchased 10 issues in February. 3 issues remaining to be purchased.

1985: 13 issues printed and 10 issues at the start. Purchased 1 issue in March. 2 issues remaining to be purchased.

1986: 13 printed and 13 issues at the start.

1987: 13 printed and 12 issues at the start. 1 issue remaining to be purchased.

1988: 13 printed and 13 issues at the start.

1989: 13 printed and 13 issues at the start.

Issues in the 1990s

1990: 13 printed and 13 issues at the start.

1991: 13 printed and 13 issues at the start.

1993: 13 printed and 13 issues at the start.

1994: 13 printed and 13 issues at the start.

1995: 13 printed and 13 issues at the start.

1996: 11 printed and 11 issues at the start.

1997: 11 printed and 11 issues at the start.

1998: 11 printed and 10 issues at the start. 1 issue remaining to be purchased.

1999: 11 printed and 11 issues at the start.

Issues in the 2000s

2000: 11 printed and 11 issues at the start.

2001: 11 printed and 11 issues at the start.

2002: 11 printed and 11 issues at the start.

2003: 11 printed and 11 issues at the start.

2004: 10 printed and 10 issues at the start.

2005: 10 printed and 10 issues at the start.

2006: 10 printed and 9 issues at the start. 1 issue remaining to be purchased.

2007: 10 printed and 10 issues at the start.

2008: 10 printed and 10 issues at the start.

2009: 10 printed and 10 issues at the start.

Issues in the 2000s

2010: 10 printed and 10 issues at the start.

2011: 10 printed and 10 issues at the start.

2012: 10 printed and 10 issues at the start.

2013: 10 printed and 10 issues at the start.

2014: 3 issues, March 2014 was the last issue in my subscription.

Conclusion

That ends my collection. I enjoyed reading the stories for many years. I will update my progress in purchasing the rest of the 420 issues in April. Later, I plan to write another post about my favorite stories that I have read in Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine.

Links

This is the link to Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine.

https://www.asimovs.com/

This is the link to my first post about my Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine collection.

My Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine Collection

Writing Progress Report March 2018

This is my Writing Progress Report March 2018.

Happy Spring!!!

Writing Progress from February 2018

Wrote Chapter 31 of Assassin in New Marl City. The First Draft is completed!!!

The stories 4 Humours, Space Station Sunyata, Grognard, Get to the Point, and LARP Film Noir have been submitted to magazines.

Statistics of magazine submissions for 2018 are; 0 different stories submitted a total of 0 times with 0 accepted, 0 pending, and 0 rejections.

Events from February 2018

None to Report.

Writing Goals for March 2018

Continue to work on Assassin in New Marl City. I want to expand the novel from 20 chapters to 36 chapters (98000 words total). The First Draft is completed!!!

Type the Edits for Chapters 15, 16, 18, 20, 24, 26, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, and 36 of Assassin in New Marl City in March 2018.

Type Chapters 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 22 23, 25, 27, 28, 29, and 31 in March 2018.

Polish and submit the stories Space-Dog Confession, White Bracer, Mage Squad, I Shall Not Return, Prisoner of Tarnal, and Kay-Eye for submission to short fiction magazines.

Submit 4 Humours, Space Station Sunyata, Grognard, and LARP Film Noir to other short fiction magazines.

Hire an editor for Searcher of Riven from Fiveer.

Hire an editor for Ruins of Yarnud from Fiveer.

Planned Events for March 2018

Attend ConCoction from March 9 to March 11, 2018 at the Bertram Inn and Conference Center 600 North Aurora Road Aurora, Ohio 44202. I will volunteer for 8 hours in the Con Suite at the event.

This is a link to the Cleveland ConCoction website.

http://www.clevelandconcoction.org/

Purchase an e-book cover for Assassin in New Marl City from Fiveer.

Put the first ten chapters of Assassin in New Marl City into the writing program, Scrivener.

Work on completing a Query letter to use to find an agent for Assassin in New Marl.

Links

I wrote three blog posts for garydavidgillen.com including my writing progress report for February 2018 linked below.

Writing Progress Report February 2018

My Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine Collection

My Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine Collection.

Here is my collection.

Introduction

I made a post on my first science fiction book on 07-28-17. That book was The Land That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs. I believe that I received the book in 1977. I either joined the Science Fiction Book Club first and then bought the January 1980 issue of Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine or bought the magazine first and then joined the club from the offer that was printed on the back of each issue of the magazine. This post is about my 35-year history with the magazine covering from 1980 to 2014.

The summary of my experience is as follows. I purchased the January 1980 issue and started a new subscription in April 1980 that lasted until July of 1982. I did not like the direction that the new editor was taking the magazine, so I did not renew my subscription at that time. At some point, I purchased five back issues at a used bookstore. The store had back issues for 1978 and 1979 but I did not purchase them because I did not have the money at that time. I intended to go back at a later date, but when I returned the issues were gone. I wish that I had gone back earlier and had added them to my collection.

Asimov’s subscription renewal

In April 1985 I started a subscription that I continued to renew until it expired in March 2014. There were three issues that I had not received in the mail and did not obtain a copy. In 2014, I had not read the magazine for three years and didn’t intend to do so in the future so I did not renew my subscription. It was also too expensive to buy if I was not reading the issues. It took me five or six hours to read each issue and I felt like I did not have the time to read them anymore.

Now that I have made the time to read at least an hour a day, I will have the time to read the issues I have not read yet. Getting involved with goodreads.com changed my perspective on reading, but that is another post that I wrote on 06-30-17. My collection totals 363 issues of which I have read 331 issues. There were 420 issues released from Spring 1977 to March 2014, so I do not have 57 issues in that time frame. Having researched this post, I think that I will attempt to read the 32 remaining issues that I own but have not read.

Stories I have Liked

I wrote down the stories that I liked and in the order that I liked them from the first issue to the February 2003 issue. After that, I put sticky notes on each issue with my ratings from the March 2003 issue to the January 2011 issue. The unread issues are from February 2011 to March 2014.

The size of the issues changed over the years. From the first issue to the May 1998 issue the magazine was the small digest size of 5 by 7 3/8. From the June 1998 issue to the October/November 2008 issue the size was increased to 5 3/8 by 8 1/2. In the December 2008 issue, the size increased again to 5 7/8 by 8 5/8.

In the rest of this post, I will make notes for each year from 1977 to 2014.

Issues in the 1970’s

1977: 3 issues labeled summer, fall, and winter. I bought these issues for 39 cents each at a used bookstore in Parma, Ohio (I do not recall the name). The store did not have a copy of Issue #1 which would have been labeled spring. 4 issues were printed this year.

1978: 0 issues, I wish I have bought the issues I found at that used bookstore. 6 issues were printed this year

1979: 0 issues, I wish I have bought the issues I found at that used bookstore. 12 issues were printed this year.

Issues in the 1980’s

1980: 12 issues, I bought the January issue at a newsstand and started a subscription which began with the April issue. I bought the February and March issues from the Parma bookstore for 39 cents each. 12 issues were printed this year.

1981: 13 issues, the issues were dated with the day so there were two issues in August.

1982: 7 issues, the July issue was where the subscription lapsed.

1983: 0 issues

1984: 0 issues

1985: 10 issues, subscription renewed with April issue to November 1985, then renewed in December to August 1986. All the issues were labeled as having 192 pages.

1986: 13 issues, in March, renewed to August 1988.

1987: 12 issues, because I did not receive the September issue with the story by Orson Scott Card called “Carthage City”.

1988: 13 issues, May renewed to June 1990, June renewed to May 1991, and November renewed to May 1993

1989: 13 issues.

Issues in the 1990’s

1990: 13 issues, February adjustment to January 1993, August adjustment to February 1991, and November adjustment to Winter 1992. November was the first double issue with 320 pages.

1991: 13 issues, April and November were both double issues. The March issue was the last issue that was labeled 192 pages.

1992: 13 issues, August adjustment to August 1994

1993: 13 issues, I received the cover of the mid-December issue without the inside so they shipped me a copy of the issue.

1994: 13 issues, June renewal to March 1996

1995: 13 issues, December renewal to November 1997

1996: 11 issues, the mid-December issue was discontinued and the October/November issue was a double issue, so only 11 total issues were released starting in 1996.

1997: 11 issues

1998: 10 issues, the June issue was missing, which was the first issue that the size of the magazine was increased. March renewal to March 2000

1999: 11 issues

Issues in the 2000’s

2000: 11 issues, January renewal to March 2002

2001: 11 issues

2002: 11 issues, January renewal to March 2005

2003: 11 issues

2004: 10 issues, now the April/May and October/November issues are doubles which means there are only 10 total issues per year.

2005: 10 issues, February renewal to March 2008

2006: 9 issues, the September issue was missing.

2007: 10 issues

2008: 10 issues, January renewal to March 2011, The December 2008 issue was increased in size again.

2009: 10 issues

Issues in the 2010’s

2010: 10 issues, December renewal to March 2014

2011: 10 issues

2012: 10 issues

2013: 10 issues

2014: 3 issues, March 2014 was my last issue.

Conclusion

That ends my collection. I enjoyed reading the stories for many years. I plan to write another post about my favorite stories that I have read in Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine.

Links

My Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine Collection

This is the link to Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine.

https://www.asimovs.com/

This is the link to my post about The Land That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was the first science fiction book that I owned. I believe that I received the book in 1977. I either joined the Science Fiction Book Club first and then bought the January 1980 issue of Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine or bought the magazine first and then joined the club from the offer that was printed on the back of each issue of the magazine.

My First SF Book

Writing Progress Report February 2018

This is my Writing Progress Report February 2018.

Happy Valentine’s Day

Writing Progress from January 2018

Wrote Chapter 29 of Assassin in New Marl City.

The stories 4 Humours, Space Station Sunyata, Grognard, Get to the Point, and LARP Film Noir have been submitted to magazines.

Statistics of magazine submissions for 2018 are; 0 different stories submitted a total of 0 times with 0 accepted, 0 pending, and 0 rejections.

Events from January 2018

None to Report.

Writing Goals for February 2018

Continue to work on Assassin in New Marl City. I want to expand the novel from 20 chapters to 36 chapters (98000 words total). Write Chapter 31 of the novel this month. The First Draft will be completed!!!

Type the Edits for Chapters 15, 16, 18, 20, 24, 26, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, and 36 of Assassin in New Marl City in March 2018.

Type Chapters 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 22 23, 25, 27, 28, 29, and 31 in March 2018.

Polish and submit the stories Space-Dog Confession, White Bracer, Mage Squad, I Shall Not Return, Prisoner of Tarnal, and Kay-Eye for submission to short fiction magazines.

Submit 4 Humours, Space Station Sunyata, Grognard, and LARP Film Noir to other short fiction magazines.

Hire an editor for Searcher of Riven from Fiveer.

Hire an editor for Ruins of Yarnud from Fiveer.

Planned Events for February 2018

Purchase an e-book cover for Assassin in New Marl City from Fiveer.

Put the first ten chapters of Assassin in New Marl City into the writing program, Scrivener.

Work on completing a Query letter to use to find an agent for Assassin in New Marl.

In March I plan to attend ConCoction from March 9 to March 11, 2018 at the Bertram Inn and Conference Center 600 North Aurora Road Aurora, Ohio 44202. I will volunteer for 8 hours in the Con Suite at the event.

This is a link to the Cleveland ConCoction website.

http://www.clevelandconcoction.org/

Links

I wrote two blog posts for garydavidgillen.com including my writing progress report for January 2018 linked below.

Writing Progress Report January 2018 and Annual Review

Blood and Tempest by Jon Skovron

Blood and Tempest by Jon Skovron, Book #3 of Empire of Storms

Introduction

Red has been a pirate, a gangster, and a tool of the Biomancers. Hope has been a Vinchen warrior, a pirate captain, and has now sworn to an oath of non-violence. When they come together will they topple the Empire of Storms or will they perish in the attempt?

Summary

Red begins the novel in the capital of the Empire of Storms, Stonepeak. The emperor is dying, his heir Prince Leston is not ready to assume power, and the Biomancers are attempting to gain control of the empire. Red is caught in the middle. He is friends with the emperor’s heir. He does not like how the Biomancers have manipulated him. Lady Merivale Hempist gives him a mission. She is Red’s boss and she is the spymaster of the empire working for Prince Leston’s mother. She wants him to recruit Hope and the rogue Biomancer Bigga Lin to aid in their cause against the Biomancers. Red is eager to comply.

Hope has gone back to the site of her destroyed hometown looking for answers. She has sworn an oath of non-violence and strives to understand what that means to her. Hope searches nearby islands and encounters a strange boy called Uter who has powers over life and death. She takes Uter with her to Galemoor, the island of the Vinchen warriors. Wentu is the only Vinchen left on the island because grand teacher Racklock has spurned the past and has taken all the warriors to serve the Biomancers.

Summary Continued

Stephen is a young Vinchen warrior following the orders of grand teacher Racklock. He is conflicted by the things he has seen and by what Racklock expects him to do. The Vinchen search for Brigga Lin who they think will lead them to Hope.

Brigga Lin has stayed with the pirates that were left of Hope’s pirate fleet as a member of the pirate crew and the lover of pirate captain Gavish Gray.

Jilly is Brigga Lin’s apprentice. She wants to become the world’s first Vinchen Biomancer trained by Brigga Lin and Hope.

Hope, Uter, Brigga Lin, and Jilly head to Stonepeak with the help of Gavish Gray, his pirates, the Black Rose of Paradise Circle, and her gangsters. They are aligned against the Biomancers and the Vinchen warriors. Blood and Tempest concludes as the final volume of the Empire of Storms trilogy.

Recommendation

This was a great novel. It is a fitting conclusion to the trilogy. The best elements from the previous two novels have been expanded and enlarged to give a sweeping end to the saga. The Kraken arrives and is not a disappointment. It was perfectly executed until a disappointing ending. Does an unsatisfying ending spoil an otherwise superior novel? It doesn’t for me in this case. I enjoyed the journey.

My first minor quibble is that Uter’s unusual power was not featured in the conclusion. He does complete one minor task but it was not necessary for the protagonist’s plan. I suspect that Uter was put in this novel for possible use in further volumes of the series. So, I can understand the addition of him and I will delay by criticism until that proves out.

My major problem with the ending, without giving it away, is not so easily deferred. Hope and Red have been striving since the beginning of the series to topple the Empire of Storms. I expected them to topple it themselves. Unfortunately, something happens and the conclusion is taken out of their hands. They set up the action but it wasn’t by their efforts that brought the novel to its conclusion. That was my problem with the ending.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of Blood and Tempest by Jon Skovron.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34523154-blood-and-tempest

This is the link to my review of Bane and Shadow by Jon Skovron, Book #2 of Empire of Storms

Bane and Shadow by Jon Skovron

This is the link to my review of Hope and Red by Jon Skovron, Book #1 of Empire of Storms

Hope and Red by Jon Skovron

Writing Progress Report January 2018 and Annual Review

This is my Writing Progress Report January 2018 and Annual Review.

Ollie being cute.

Annual Writing Progress from December 2016 to December 2017

Worked on Assassin in New Marl City. I want to expand the novel from 20 chapters to 36 chapters (98000 words total). I wrote 14 Chapters of the novel this year. After Chapters 29 and 31 are written, then The First Draft will be completed!!!

The stories 4 Humours, Space Station Sunyata, Grognard, Get to the Point, and LARP Film Noir have been submitted to magazines.

Statistics of magazine submissions since December 2016 are; 5 different stories submitted a total of 15 times with 0 accepted, 0 pending, and 15 rejections.

Annual Events from December 2016 to December 2017

I attended seven conventions in the past year. They were Winter Fiction Fest in Cleveland, ConCoction in Cleveland, Marcon in Columbus, Cleveland Inkubator at the Cleveland Public Library, Confluence in Pittsburgh, Western Reserve Writers Conference at the Cuyahoga County Public Library, and the Indy Author Day at the Cuyahoga County Public Library.

This is a link to the Cleveland ConCoction website.

http://www.clevelandconcoction.org/

Annual Writing Goals for 2018

Complete the novel Assassin in New Marl City. I want to expand the novel from 20 chapters to 36 chapters (98000 words total). After Chapters 29 and 31 are written, then The First Draft will be completed!!!

Type the Edits for Chapters 15, 16, 18, 20, 24, 26, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, and 36 of Assassin in New Marl City.

Type Chapters 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 22, 25, 27, 28, 29, and 31.

Polish and submit the stories Chemithurgy, Sleeping Disease, Space-Dog Confession, White Bracer, Mage Squad, I Shall Not Return, Prisoner of Tarnal, and Kay-Eye for submission to short fiction magazines.

Submit 4 Humours, Space Station Sunyata, Grognard, and LARP Film Noir to other short fiction magazines.

Hire an editor for Searcher of Riven from Fiveer and then Self Publish the Novelette.

Hire an editor for Ruins of Yarnud from Fiveer and Self Publish the Novella.

Convert a 24000-word Screenplay called Cuba Liberto into a novel of 72000 words.

Annual Planned Events for 2018

I plan to attend ten conventions in 2018. They will be Winter Fiction Fest in Cleveland, ConCoction in Cleveland, the April Western Reserve Writers Conference at the Cuyahoga County Public Library, Marcon in Columbus, Cleveland Inkubator at the Cleveland Public Library, Confluence in Pittsburgh, the September Western Reserve Writers Conference at the Cuyahoga County Public Library, CapClave in Gaithersburg, the Indy Author Day at the Cuyahoga County Public Library, and the Book Baby Authors Convention.

Purchase an e-book cover for Assassin in New Marl City from Fiveer.

Put the first ten chapters of Assassin in New Marl City into the writing program, Scrivener.

Work on completing a Query letter to use to find an agent for Assassin in New Marl.

Writing Progress from December 2017

Wrote Chapters 23 and 25 of Assassin in New Marl City.

The stories 4 Humours, Space Station Sunyata, Grognard, Get to the Point, and LARP Film Noir have been submitted to magazines.

Statistics of magazine submissions since December 2016 are; 5 different stories submitted a total of 15 times with 0 accepted, 0 pending, and 15 rejections.

Events from December 2017

None to Report.

Writing Goals for January 2018

Continue to work on Assassin in New Marl City. I want to expand the novel from 20 chapters to 36 chapters (98000 words total). Write Chapters 29, and 31 of the novel this month. The First Draft will be completed!!!

Type the Edits for Chapters 15, 16, 18, 20, 24, 26, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, and 36 of Assassin in New Marl City.

Type Chapters 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 22 23, 25, 27, and 28.

Polish and submit the stories Hybrid-Dog Confession, White Bracer, Mage Squad, I Shall Not Return, Prisoner of Tarnal, and Kay-Eye for submission to short fiction magazines.

Submit 4 Humours, Space Station Sunyata, Grognard, and LARP Film Noir to other short fiction magazines.

Hire an editor for Searcher of Riven from Fiveer.

Hire an editor for Ruins of Yarnud from Fiveer.

Planned Events for January 2018

Purchase an e-book cover for Assassin in New Marl City from Fiveer.

Put the first ten chapters of Assassin in New Marl City into the writing program, Scrivener.

Work on completing a Query letter to use to find an agent for Assassin in New Marl.

Links

I wrote four blog posts for garydavidgillen.com including my writing progress report for December 2017 linked below.

Writing Progress Report December 2017

Murder by Munchausen by M. T. Bass

Murder by Munchausen by M T Bass

Murder by Munchausen by M T Bass, Murder by Munchausen Mysteries Book 1

Introduction

In near future, Cleveland, Ohio, detective Jake and his partner E. C. are searching for an Android Subject (AnSub) that has committed a murder. When hackers reprogram synthetic humanoids to commit murder the crime is called Murder by Munchausen. Their squad responds to AnSub crimes and are not so affectionately called the Geek Squad. Jake captures the AnSub and when that crime intersects a serial killer’s crimes, Jake is forced to solve both crimes or risk the life of someone he loves.

Summary

Jake was a detective in the Robbery/Homicide department with his partner Maddie. Something happened which Jake calls “the Incident” and he takes the fall. Jake is reassigned to the Geek Squad, which is the least desirable department in the police force. Maddie stays in Robbery/Homicide.

The novel opens sometime after his transfer. Jake and E. C. take the AnSub to their department android authority who Jake has dubbed Q, named after the character in the James Bond novels. Jake is fond of what he calls old-school thinking and practices. Jake did not have a romantic relationship with Maddie when they were partners. They become romantically involved now. Maddie is assigned a case that could involve a serial killer reenacting past serial killer crimes. Jake thinks his case is related to Maddie’s investigation.

Jake is helped by Maddie, Q, reporter Jamal, the owner of a diner retired cop Cutty, and a Secret Service agent to solve his case. He follows the evidence to someone called the Baron. Jake must trap the Baron in the act to prove his theories and that involves letting Maddie come into harm’s way. Will Jake risk his new love to prove his case?

Recommendation

I liked that the author included locations in Cleveland such as the West Side Market, Edgewater Park, the Flats, and Cleveland Clinic. I have frequented those locations and I think that the author has described and used them effectively. Most of Jake’s retro thinking, words and actions worked in the context of the story. He has a wise guy attitude that is appealing. I thought that the author missed an opportunity to complicate Jake’s relationship with Maddie by further developing his thoughts about his former girlfriend Amy. If they had met that would have added complications.

This was a short novel and I understand the limitations of that space, but I would have liked the story better if there was a more definitive conclusion. It felt like half of a novel. I think that there will be a worthwhile conclusion in The Darknet, Murder by Munchausen Mysteries Book 2 and I plan to read it when it is released.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of Murder by Munchausen by M. T. Bass.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32830615-murder-by-munchausen-future-crime-mysteries-book-1

This is the link to my review of Somethin’ for Nuthin’ by M. T. Bass.

Somethin’ for Nuthin’ by M. T. Bass

Structuring Your Novel by K. M. Weiland

Structuring Your Novel: Essential Keys to Writing an Outstanding Story by K.M. Weiland

Introduction

K. M. Weiland believes that structure is the most important component of storytelling. Structure is required in all of art, does not limit creativity, is not formulaic, offers a checklist of the must-have elements of a story, and solidifies the mastery of the craft. She details how story structure, scene structure, and sentence structure defines the writer’s work.

Summary

There are two camps in the theory of writing. One is called the plotters, who create outlines and view storytelling as a construction. The other group is the pantsers, who write from the seat of their pants and see where the story leads them. Perhaps the best description of this theory is by George R. R. Martin who says, “I think there are two types of writers, the architects and the gardeners. The architects plan everything ahead of time, like an architect building a house. They know how many rooms are going to be in the house, what kind of roof they’re going to have, where the wires are going to run, what kind of plumbing there’s going to be. They have the whole thing designed and blueprinted out before they even nail the first board up.

The gardeners dig a hole, drop in a seed and water it. They kind of know what seed it is, they know if planted a fantasy seed or mystery seed or whatever. But as the plant comes up and they water it, they don’t know how many branches it’s going to have, they find out as it grows. And I’m much more a gardener than an architect.”

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/749309-i-think-there-are-two-types-of-writers-the-architects

K. M. Weiland shows in this book how to become a plotter/architect. Her thought is that if the writer has a solid structure built before writing then the writing will go smoother and there will be less false starts and extensive rewriting in the second draft.

Recommendation

I believe in much of the advice in Structuring Your Novel by K.M. Weiland and have used it in the novel that I am writing. What was most helpful was examining the complete outline transcript from her novel Storming which is available on her website.

https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/

The transcript uses the ideas from this book and from her other books on writing. Another resource that is available on her website is a template for the writing program Scrivener. The program is available for 30 days free on their website.

https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/overview

Using the ideas of K. M. Weiland should help any author to improve their writing.