Most folks who know my reading tastes get that I enjoy Fantasy that feels real and lived in, the gritty, grime-streaked stuff that immerses unflinchingly and, well, I don’t want to say ‘takes itself seriously’ but rather books that take the reader seriously (in terms of knowing that we live messy, difficult and yet sometimes beautiful lives) as well as books that the writer themselves take seriously – and by this I mean not writing to a formulae or for a ‘specific audience’. That’s not to say that I don’t believe any other of the growing sub-genres of Fantasy have less merit – if I can put it this way, I love me some Terry Pratchett (for example), but too much of it irritates me (also the same reason I haven’t been able to watch more than four episodes of The Big Bang Theory on the trot; I get tired laughing too much). I’ll dip in here and there as I want to, when I want to, but yep, my first love will always be the hard-hitting, serious, thinking stuff, because to me, I kind of link in better with those kinds of books. (To use another example, I’m more Thomas Harris and John Connolly than Patricia Cornwell and John Sandford).

In any case, that aside, Dust of the Dead ticked all my boxes (even boxes I didn’t really think I had, in that nebulous, unconscious checklist in my reader’s brain).

To set the stage for you:

You’ll meet Khayrat and Aakifah, two characters separated by decades and different (though intertwining) societal strata.

Khayrat is kind of drifting around, sometimes focused on her studies as a lumin (more on that shortly), often with her friends in pubs enjoying a drink and trying to work out whether a guy likes her or not, while also missing her father, who is off doing work in villages and settlements outside of the city. Her story kicks off two weeks before a major conflict erupts, when she’s called for an audience before the king.

Aakifah is a sharif, basically enjoying her pre-retirement posting as the all-round problem solver in a large village far from the bustle and orderliness of the city. She’s content, grouchy, and definitely the kind of person you’d want to run into (but not piss off) at the pub. She was also a soldier and fought in a war – the war was four decades in her past, and is just getting started for Khayrat.

Where Aakifah is solid and no-bullshit, Khayrat is young and naive – she mostly has everything planned out, whereas Aakifah knows that no plan survives contact with the enemy (the enemy here being life in general and the events that occur throughout it). Both are pulled into events that are separated by four decades, but which are utterly central to the tale Michael begins building, and damn but does he do it cleverly.

The novel alternates between the two characters, each chapter opened with either a quote from academic papers (for Kahyrat’s chapters) or letters to Mom (for Aakifah’s chapters), and honestly, the openers hooked me as much as the chapters themselves, because they not only opened up the world and the magic system in the novel (more on that later) but also gave insight the characters themselves. Aakifah’s letters to her mother are, by turns, hilarious, shocking, and visceral, while the passages opening Khayrat’s chapters give us limited-perspective looks at the world and the magic system (you’ll understand more about the ‘limited perspective’ thing as Khayrat’s story unfolds).

So, Khayrat is launched off (with a shock and a challenge to face) after she meets with the king, and Aakifah is ripped from her comfortable life to find twins who may or may not have been killed by massive magic-capable felines (yep, not joking, and they’re fucking awesome, by the way).

As the characters’ journeys unfold, we learn more about this world’s magic system, and man… Inventive doesn’t begin to describe it. What I’ll say is this: magic is based on being able to communicate with the world (that’s everything: plants, wood, stone, creatures, elements, etc.) and doing so in a way that asks the world to do something for you. Khayrat is a lumin, which means she can do stuff with light – and that’s all I’m gonna say, because there’s insanely cool stuff that happens and is explored through the ‘magic’ and I don’t want to spoil anything for you. And I don’t want to say too much about the type of world the story takes place in because it is intimately connected to the ‘magic’, so I’ll let you discover that on your own.

And the plot? You’ve got two human-controlled societies that are at odds, and an older, much more dangerous part of the world that is the quintessential fuck-around-and-find-out warning humanity, in their/our arrogance, ignores.

This book has a lot going on -excellent action sequences, beautifully written passages, sharp and expertly handled dialogue, superlative world-building, heart-warming (and -breaking) moments a-plenty, clever and incisive aspects that made me question and think about stuff we hardly take the time to think on because it’s all “someone else’s problem”, and memorable characters that truly stand out and pull you along in their wake (whether they’re the two MC’s or the supporting cast)- but doesn’t feel clogged or too busy, and as a standalone Fantasy novel, it’s fully fleshed out and expertly realized; I kind of felt I’d gone on a long, satisfying journey (trilogy-esque) but was kind of pleasantly surprised and shocked that I hadn’t.

It’s an excellent, memorable read – truly inventive ‘magic’, a massively interesting world, and it has kickass, wonderful, and utterly magnetic characters. If you, reader, want something fresh, loud, gritty, and ass-kickingly different, something that’ll rejuvenate your love for this awesome genre, then I hope you’ll give Dust of the Dead a read when it releases in ebook, paperback, audiobook, and on Kindle Unlimited on the 3rd of August. A bunch of authors I dig and respect have already chimed in with their love of the book (which you’ll see on the Amazon page).

(The cover was created by artist Adam Burke and is an acrylic painting – a proper and beautiful fuck-off to AI-slopsters)

You folks know what to do – get this pre-ordered and I promise you’ll survive the agonizing wait for it. And go check out Michael’s website for more info on his work; plenty more good stuff waiting for you there, too.

Be EPIC!

And as another preface to the review, I have been doing my best to get more people to read this trilogy – when books like this come along, it truly is a joy to be a bookseller.

That said, HOLY HELL.

If you haven’t read my review of the first book, The Poppy War, check it out here and then come back. One of the things I said in that review, and here I’m quoting myself, was:

“What Kuang did in this novel (and what she continued to do in The Dragon Republic, which I’m busy reading) is say, “Okay, here’s my book,” and then proceeded to punch me in the head with it.

And I mean that as a compliment.

I thought I knew what to expect – I had no idea.”

Let’s set the stage: a brutal, terrible war has been won, in a brutal, terrible way. The good guys are supposed to be catching their breath, relaxing for the first time in months, if not years. There’s supposed to be a fragile but hard-won calm, with most of the survivors looking to a future with a renewed, but still achingly fragile, hope.

*first punch in the head*

Nope. The Dragon Republic showed me what the true aftermath of war is like. Devastation. Scarcity. Broken families. Guilt.

Kuang forges ahead, pushing her characters into new trials and tests, but also forces them into confronting the effects of their actions. Rin, particularly, burns brightly as she wrestles desperately with herself amid the scenes of what victory looks like, surrounded by the wreckage of it. And through her struggles, she’s given a way out, something to hold onto, a new foundation that will restore the balance of the world, but will also test her in ways she hadn’t expected.

While this is all happening, new alliances are made, old friendships are tested and perhaps strengthened, and eventually this new foundation is assailed – not only from the outside, but from the inside, too, because of desperation and pragmatism.

The plot goes in directions I couldn’t predict, especially when it comes to the choices characters make and the gradual reveal of the antagonist. and one thing I respect a lot is that under Kuang’s expert storytelling hand, the events that take place, both to advance the plot and enrich the character arcs, make sense – even when I knew, as the reader, that a character was making a stupid decision, I understood why the character was making that decision, because their emotional and moral backstory had been written so well.

The book also delved deeper into the magic system that binds everything together – and like all good magic systems, Shamanism is tied to the history of Kuang’s world and the journeys of the characters, and also reveals new mysteries and poses new questions. The action scenes, whether filled with Shamanistic magic or not, were intense and visceral, and many times I was just shaking my head along with characters who found themselves in particularly tight situations, and sometimes, as happens in real life, problems are solved or wiped away by nothing the main character does.

By the end of the second book, Rin, her allies, and her enemies find themselves in moral and existential situations that left me wondering, “Now what the hell is going to happen in book 3?” and like any good reader, I had my theories – none of which were correct. And thinking back on it, I’m glad none of my theories were correct, because Huang had much bigger, better things in mind.

And in The Burning God, all the chickens come home to roost, figuratively. If there were actual chickens, things would have gone better for many people, let me put it that way…

In the final book, all the threads Huang built over the course of two novels meet up and explode. Sometimes the consequences are violent and shocking, sometimes they offer a moment for the reader to take a breath, and I did find myself speaking to Rin a lot through this book, asking her variations of “Are you surprised?” and “Dammit, Rin, why did you do that?” To be fair, nothing that happened disappointed me – taken within the context of events, past and current, everything made sense, even if the reading sometimes hurt my heart.

And I need to warn you – if these books capture you, your heart will hurt.

I’m purposefully not going to say much more about The Burning God because I hope that readers will experience it – it’s that kind of novel, and that kind of ending to a story.

I read many books, and while most of them are a good time, few are excellent, and even fewer are memorably brilliant. For myself (and only for myself; if you choose to run with this opinion, that’s on you) The Burning God hit me in a similar way Steven Erikson’s Memories of Ice did; I felt wrung out and relieved and sad and filled with awe. It’s the kind of book that reminds me that this level of storytelling is actually possible, it’s a kind of art form, and I can’t say what kind of person I am in its wake, but I’m not the same Dave I was before.

She probably won’t ever read this, but Dee, thanks for sharing your emotional reactions to the books and for being excited about someone else’s journey through them – you didn’t know you were doing it, but you ended up giving me one of the few intense and brilliantly crafted reading journeys I’ve been on.

I truly hope more folks read this trilogy.

Hit up R. F. Kuang’s website for more info about her work, and hopefully you’ll be heading to your local store to get -or order- copies of the books. There are also beautiful special editions available that I now want.

Until next time,

Be EPIC!

Nicholas Eames had it right – he said, “I thought myself prepared. I was not.” (If you don’t know who Nicholas is, you need to read this book ASAP; it’s epic, kickass, and awesomely memorable)

Most of you will know, I’ve read a lot of Fantasy. I’ve also read my fair share of Fantasy based on historical events (Paul Kearney’s The Macht trilogy is a great example), and I figured, just from the title and the author’s heritage, that The Poppy War would be a novel that took historical events as its focus and threw those events into my favourite genre; I was ready for that, for a kind of ‘hmm, this was cleverly done’ instead of a ‘damn, okay, this was awesomely done’.

What Kuang did in this novel (and what she continued to do in The Dragon Republic, which I’m busy reading) is say, “Okay, here’s my book,” and then proceeded to punch me in the head with it.

And I mean that as a compliment.

I thought I knew what to expect – I had no idea.

Let’s start with Fang Runin, and the opening scene of the book – her introduction. She’s about to write a very important exam. The tension is huge. There’s the worry that people will soil themselves because, once they’ve begun with the exam, they won’t be able to leave the locale they’re writing it in. The entire scene is like nothing else I’ve come across in a Fantasy novel before. It’s graphic, unflinching, purposeful. Not only did I sit up and immediately think, “Okay, this is something fresh and bold,” but I wondered why the main character would put herself in such a tense situation in the first place.

That’s the mark of a great writer and storyteller right there, for me: you present the character in a situation that forces you to take notice and begin asking questions. Kuang did that perfectly – she just did it without pulling any punches. She wanted the reader to know that the novel would not care about their feelings or how squeamish they are, nor what triggers them. As with Erikson, once you start reading, you’re in the writer’s world, and you either delve deeper or set the book down.

I was, of course, utterly hooked. Like, if Kuang hadn’t continued to reel me in, I would have crawled out of the river onto the riverbank.

And that was just the opening scene.

But the hook was set, and I was kind of helpless as I read more and more, and more. The reasons why Rin is writing the exam become known; the reasons for Rin pushing herself so hard, for her almost suicidal determination and drive, are driven home. And knowing what I know now (well, as far as I know it, which is around 157 pages into The Dragon Republic), I can say that certain seeds are sown in terms of Rin’s stubborn resolve, and there’s some great foreshadowing of major events in the lead-up to Rin writing the exam.

I won’t say any more regarding the events in the book, for fear of spoiling future readers (and I hope there will be many).

I will talk a bit, however, about the things I was worried about.

I was worried that I’d be bludgeoned with infodumps and that there we be a lot of ‘telling and now showing’, but Kuang managed the worldbuilding in this novel with an expert hand; the history and events and filling out of Rin’s world happened naturally and cleverly, to such a degree that I had to really think about it to spot where it was being done.

I was worried that characters would take a back seat to magic, or that characters would at least become wooden when they encountered the big beats (and there are many) throughout the novel, but again, Kuang knew what she was doing. Rin is one of the most interesting and human characters I’ve ever met – I felt angry along with her because I understood her, and I got angry at her for the same reason. She does, of course, stand out because she’s the main character, but there are many other characters who live and breathe in this novel and who could, without a doubt, blaze as Rin does in their own novels as the main character. When a writer pulls that off, you realise that all the characters are important – not because of the roles they play, but because they’re people in the same drama being unveiled.

I was worried that events would ‘overtake’ the plot, in terms of the book speeding up to reach certain points just to keep the plot ticking along, but again, Kuang showed how great a storyteller she is, because what I needed to witness, I witnessed. And sometimes the emotional impact of an event is even more powerful than the witnessing of the event, something Kuang understood perfectly.

Those were my main worries, because I’ve seen other writers stumble at those hurdles, but not here.

The pages blurred by, but are still as fresh in my memory as if I had just finished reading the novel an hour ago (and I finished it just over a week ago), and I’m happy to say that The Dragon Republic is having the same effect on me.

As a debut, The Poppy War is incredible. As a work of Fantasy, it is fucking excellent. Kuang’s handling of characters, plot, pacing, worldbuilding, and the words themselves is expertly done. There was never a sense of ‘okay, now she’s waffling’ – her steering of the ‘ship’ was always sure and focused, and the result, at least for me, is a novel that hits tremendously hard, makes no apologies for it, and unfolds an excellent, addictive tale that had me swearing and cheering throughout.

If you haven’t yet read this and don’t mind a difficult (because this is not ‘happy, wonderful Fantasy’) but rewarding read, then I hope you’ll get onto The Poppy War soon.

Peter V Brett also has it right: “R. F. Kuang’s fresh approach to magic and hard-hitting story is a punch to the gut fantasy has needed for a long time.” (long-time readers of this blog know how much I dig Peter’s work; ’nuff said)

Highly recommended. 10/10

Order it from your favourite bricks-and-mortar store – I’m sure the booksellers will also be talkative about the book.

And until next time, as always,

Be EPIC!

Some of those reasons are personal – suffice it to say that I’ve been through enough since 2020 to fill angsty volumes of wanna-be poetry.

Some of those reasons were professional – when life steers you in a certain direction, or you make certain choices, some things become less important.

Some of those reasons are world-weariness – when I began this blog in 2008, the world was utterly different. Now, idiots, charlatans, and outright assholes rule the roost, opinions carry more weight than the odd, forgotten thing called ‘truth’, and the writing and publishing industry itself is being assailed on all sides by utter, useless hacks who need to prompt to even attempt to be creative.

Everything has changed. I have changed.

And I’ve spent a long time thinking about getting this blog going again – this is, after all, a ‘place’ filled with many incredible highlights for me, and remains an experience that is almost completely a positive side of my life.

And the thing is, to continue pushing, to push towards being better, to open myself to more experiences, all to become that elusive ‘better’, sometimes one has to return to something that added value to one’s life.

Most of the time, something you’re passionate about is what helps that along, and now that I’m also back in the book trade -I’m a bookseller with Wordsworth Books, the South African book retailer- and I’m connecting with people who love reading and still buy physical honest-to-fuck books, I’ve been reminded how passionate I am about connecting readers to books and stories they like. And this is my space, my place where I did just that – and where I can continue to do that.

So, yep, I’m back.

But there are a couple of conditions:

I’ll let you all know when I’m ready to open for submissions for reviews, okay? I’ll let you know.

I will NOT read/review anything that has been generated by AI. (and I’ve read enough of that shit to be able to identify it – people who read a lot can not only differentiate between good and crap writing, but between those two and AI-generated crap. Do NOT test me – I will name and shame you.)

I will never charge anything for my reviews, and I will never PAY anything to be able to review, unless I’ve purchased the books myself – if you’re running some kind of join-this-site-for-a-monthly-fee-to-access-review-copies thing, fuck right off. My reviews are there to serve the writers, first and foremost, not your ‘clever’ business model.

I WILL stick to the genres I’ve enjoyed throughout my life – I’m not about to dive into shit just because it’s popular (looking side-eye at you, fanfic), and if you’re wondering what genres I enjoy reading, scroll through the blog.

I won’t review your work if it’s a first draft – if your book is full of typos, character- and plot-inconsistencies, shoddy formatting, etc. I’ll assume it’s a first draft. First drafts are vomiting the story out – don’t send me vomit to review.

I’ll mainly review ebooks, since the costs of postage are wayyyyy too high; I won’t ask for physical copies, because you’re meant to have those to be able to sell them, and so the only physical books I’ll review will probably be ARC’s from publishers.

Where possible, I’ll take part in publicity stuff for books/writers, because that’s just the kind thing to do – if I can assist in getting the word out about books, I’ll do so.

As I get back into the swing of things, I’ll post stuff I feel will relate to the larger SFF (and Horror) readership, including interviews, movie and series reviews, graphic novel reviews, etc.

And please understand this last one, it’s very important for me – you may choose to take my opinion of something as your own opinion, without reading or watching that which I’ve based my opinion on. And that is your decision. I’m not here to be an influencer. I’m not here to make money or insulate myself with ‘fans’ – I’m just a dude from South Africa who loves SFF(H) and is using his space to share his thoughts about what he loves. Okay? Cool.

Well, now that’s out of the way…

I’ve been reading a lot of Horror-ish stuff lately, so expect reviews about the following books:

The Pallbearer’s Club – Paul Tremblay

Road of Bones – Christopher Golden

The Last House on Needless Street – Catriona Ward

And I’m currently reading:

When Things Get Dark – edited by Ellen Datlow

Valour – John Gwynne

The Poppy War – R. F. Kuang

Righto. All done for now.

Check you all soon with my first (new) review.

Be EPIC!

Book 2 of The Mahaelian Chronicle is available!

Avidar and its people are reeling in the aftermath of a deadly attack. Alun Dronald, now Lord General of Avidar’s armies, must contend with a murder investigation, political games, and growing religious fervor, while Del’Ahrid, seemingly the most powerful man in the kingdom, plans his next move. Elsewhere, Brice Serholm serves an enigmatic, powerful being with direct ties to the growing conflict and its ancient roots, while Khyber, the only free Elvayn, makes a discovery which could put an end to millennia of war and strife. The Mahaelian Chronicle continues. And the true enemy will finally be revealed…

Get it from Amazon and add it to your Goodreads shelf, and let me know what you think of it!

Oh, and book 1, Betrayal’s Shadow, is currently free and will be until Sunday, so grab it if you haven’t yet.

Until next time,

Be EPIC!

I hit ‘publish’ on the 3rd edition of Betrayal’s Shadow yesterday, so that’s out there again. Book 2 will follow in December, and Book 3 should be finished and out by March ’21.

Here’s the cover, Amazon and Goodreads links, in case you’re interested:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KHCSYDW

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55536254-betrayal-s-shadow

I have also joined up with BabelCube and have had ‘A Song of Sacrifice‘, the prequel novelette, translated:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08FZR336V

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/new/55536873-le-chant-du-sacrifice

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08K9FG2QD/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/new/55536830-uma-can-o-de-sacrif-cio

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08KBKD192/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55536746-una-canci-n-de-sacrificio

Next up for translation, hopefully, will be Betrayal’s Shadow, and then Conviction’s Pain (book 2), at which stage I’ll also attempt to get ‘A Song of Conflict’ translated. I’ll keep you all up to date on things.

Book 3, Redemption’s Price, should be done and available my March next year.

I’m kind of ecstatic that my work has been translated into three languages!

Thanks for sticking with me and continuing to check out my work – I hope you’ll consider supporting these excellent translators, too.

Until next time,

Be EPIC!

In this book, Martin introduces the reader to a kind of mash-up world: shades of police procedural, portal fantasy and urban fantasy combine with interesting magic and world building, and these all connect believably and interestingly with our world.

The main character, Charlie Somes, is struggling with his studies, the trauma of a broken familial relationship, and life in general. Despite the problems he faces, he’s not an unlikable character – far from it. But Charlie also has an interesting gift – one which adds to his problems. His gift ends up linking him, despite his fear and misgivings, to police investigations: the murders of women, and the dealings of gangsters and drug dealers.

Charlie shows different sides throughout the tale and reacts in believable ways. He’s a complicated young man trying to deal with everything already on his plate, and offering up information to the police after coming across a murder victim not only adds to his problems, but also draws him into a relationship he might not be ready for.

When the world and the people more intricately linked to his gift begin to intrude, Martin takes us into the positive and negative consequences these changes bring to Charlie’s life. He needs to learn how to navigate escalating danger, unexpected relationships, and the consequences these have on his studies.

Once the mythical and magical trickle into the tale, Martin manages to keep everything balanced. I mention this because most writers either remain too fixed in the ‘mundane’ or focus too much on the fantastic/strange/different, but Martin retains his focus and control of the various plot threads.

This isn’t a large-scale epic, but it doesn’t need to be. The story is close and personal, and Martin does a great job of setting up the premise, characters and world, before taking the reader on an entertaining ride. I hope to read more about Charlie and his unfolding world, and I’m very glad to be reading Martin’s latest novel, which you will all be reading in due time.

All in all, Shadows of Faerie was an entertaining page-turner, and I highly recommend it.

9/10

To order your copies, click here for Amazon, and don’t forget to add it to your Goodreads shelf. Have a squiz at Martin’s website, too.

Until next time,

Be EPIC!

One way to remain hopeful and positive is to stay off social media – or to at least take a break from it. There’s a lot of negativity out there – it seems that some people, feeling down or angry or demotivated, want to share their misery, and seriously, you have no-one but yourself to blame if you allow what others are thinking or saying to affect you.

It’s easy to forget that we all have choices in our online lives, and that those choices have consequences; we’re not just hiding behind keyboards. If there’s one thing that our current troubles have shown me, it’s that some people have been hiding their true colours for a long, long time. There’s all kinds of anger and hatred being revealed.

I’ve tried different ways of dealing with it all, and the one way that works is to step back and concentrate on what makes you happy – seeing as so many people seem to want to surround themselves with what makes them sad or angry. Consequently, I’m hardly ever on FB anymore – I have two accounts; one I’ll be using for the business side of writing, networking and leads, that kind of thing, and then an account for my close friends and family. And it doesn’t matter which account I log into, I make a point of not spending too long online.

One of the upshots of stepping back from social media is that I’ve given myself more time to be creative.

I’ve been hard at work these last couple of months getting my books ready for re-release, and some more exciting stuff has happened, too.

The first bit of cool news is that there will soon be translations of “A Song of Sacrifice” available. The prequel novelette to my trilogy will be available in Portuguese and French, and those translations will hopefully lead to “A Song of Conflict” being translated, too, as well as the novels making up The Mahaelian Chronicle.

I’ll keep you all updated regarding the translations and when they’ll be available.

On the novel front, I should be re-releasing “Betrayal’s Shadow” sometime in September or October, and then “Conviction’s Pain” should follow in November or December. Once I’ve finished writing the final novel, “Redemption’s Price”, I’ll continue working on my standalone Horror novel, “A Canticle of Cloud”, and if all goes well, the completed Mahaelian Chronicle and the Horror novel will all be available next year.

And while I’m busy with all of that, I’ll hopefully be editing, too, so I’m looking at keeping myself busy.

I’ve got ideas percolating for other projects, but those will have to wait in line.

So, that’s where I am at the moment – busy, and steadily getting everything squared away.

As I said, I hope you’re all well – let me know in the comments how you’re doing. Social media may not be a happy place, but there’s nothing keeping us from remaining positive elsewhere online.

That’s it for now – look out for new reviews coming during this week and next week: one for a cool Urban Fantasy novel from Martin Owton, and reviews for a grand SF epic from Greg Egan and Larry Niven.

Until then,

Be EPIC!

First off, isn’t that cover wonderful? Designed by his daughter, it’s the kind of cover I wish more folks had the courage to create and show, and a cover you would probably never see from any big name-‘brand’ publisher. It’s beautiful and encapsulates the contents of Michael’s collection perfectly.

Now, to the meat. This collection, as Michael states in his introduction, serves as ‘a wander down memory lane’. If short story collections could be translated into photographs, this collection would be an album. It begins with some of Michael’s earliest tales and continues, giving the reader a backstage and intimate look at the kinds of stories Michael wanted to tell at specific times, as well as letting the reader closer to experience Michael’s growth as a writer and storyteller.

My first introduction to Michael’s work was the short story ‘Fire and Flesh‘, which is also included in this collection. I loved how concepts such as emotions and mental illness’ fed the magic systems in this weird, incredible Fantasy world. The characters, too, repulsed me and intrigued me at the same time.

So, when I began reading the collection and found that the first story was more SF than F, I was immediately curious. And then Michael introduces the concept of ‘memory plugs’… It felt like I had been dumped into a world directed by Christopher Nolan and scripted by Michael Fletcher. If you haven’t read ‘Intellectual Property‘, you might agree with me. At the very least, you’ll find yourself wondering how you would use a memory plug, or how your boss would, or a massive corporation…

One of the stories, ‘Just Like the Rain‘, left me in tears. And I mean that as a compliment.

Others offer more insight into how Michael developed his worlds and magic systems for the novels he’s written, specifically ‘The Obsidian Path‘ and the ‘Manifest Delusions‘ novels. I dearly want and need to read his novels.

There’s a lot more to discover in the collection – Michael manages to deftly weave cutting humor into his tales, drops those ‘damn, I really have to think about that’ moments throughout, and above all, shows that he really loves writing and being a storyteller. He’s also not afraid to let the reader in, which doesn’t happen with most writers.

So, in closing, I can confidently state that reading this collection made me more intensely curious about Michael’s work. If you follow him on Facebook you already know that he’s one of the more insane writers out there (also a compliment), but it’s also great to know that he’s a damned good storyteller and writer, too.

Not only am I looking forward to reading Michael’s novels, but also to reading more of his short story collections. Being allowed to peek behind the curtain while also being entertained  is damned cool, so, thanks, Mr. Fletcher.

9 \ 10

To order your copies of ‘A Collection of Obsessions’, click here for Amazon, and here to add the book to your Goodreads shelf. And don’t forget to visit Michael’s website, either.

Until next time,

Be EPIC!

For those who don’t know, I have moved to Thailand, spent just over a month prepping and learning the in’s and out’s of teaching ESL (English Second Language), and on Monday (19 August) I will begin teaching English for Communication at Princess Chulabhorn Science High School in Nakhon Si Thammarat, in the south of Thailand.

To say that I am both tremendously excited and absolutely terrified would be an understatement… BUT as with any new and challenging experience, I am embracing this venture and journey wholeheartedly.

What does that mean for my writing and reviewing? Well, it’s going to take a while to get back into my passions, especially since I have to put all my focus into being a teacher in Thailand, which means creating lesson plans, teaching High School kids, learning to speak Thai as well as I can manage, assimilating into Thai culture, learning how to buy street food and haggling, and, well, basically, building a life here.

I’m still reading SFF – make no mistake about it. But my time needs to be focused on the more important tasks of living and working in Thailand, and until that all becomes as second-nature as living in a western society was, my passions will have to simmer and burble in the background.

You’ll be glad to know that the first book I purchased in Thailand was Robert V. S. Redick‘s sequel to the truly excellent ‘The Red Wolf Conspiracy‘, namely ‘The Rats and the Ruling Sea‘. I found a copy at an amazing store in Bangkok and it’s simply deliciously ironic that the epic journeys in the books are mirrored by the epic journey I’m busy undertaking.

So, I’ll check in with you all from time to time, and you can follow my exploits on Facebook and Instagram if you’d like. Until then, keep on reading and loving genre fiction – support it and those who write it wherever you are, and most importantly,

Be EPIC!