Angels, Demons, and Monsters, oh my!

As a writer, I read a lot. Most of you do too, I'm sure. I love books, and they love me. But some books really float my boat more than others. So I'm going to share some with you, because I know you are looking for something new, right?

This first one is The Crowfield Curse, by Pat Walsh. Nice cover, huh? It's about a boy named William who is living in an abbey in England. His parents are dead, and his brother is in London. This takes place in the 13th century, by the way. Out in the woods there is something spooky going on, and it has something to do with Comnath the dark faerie king, and a dead angel. Gnarly stuff. The characters are fun to read about, and I bet you will love Shadlok. The follow-up is:

The Crowfield Demon. Underneath the abbey, an ancient evil is arising. Literally. It's coming up under the chapel! William is at the center of a mess between the fey and the demon. And yes, an angel fights a demon at the end. Our favorite characters return, too. I guess demons don't like being trapped in a bowl under the earth. . .
Next up:

The Nethergrim, by Matthew Jobin. The first in a trilogy. Those are the teeth of a Thornbeast on the cover. This is a great fantasy story, man. Go read it. The Nethergrim is some creature that lives in the mountains who, after being beaten thirty years prior, is awakening again and causing trouble. There are plenty of twists and plenty of history history here, which always makes for great reading. And the kids who go after the monster are deep, not dumb disposable teens. One-dimensional characters suck. Ask George Lucas. . .
Now here is my final goodie for the evening:

Knights of Bretonnia, by one Anthony Reynolds. Pictured is the omnibus, published by Games Workshop. It doesn't matter if you play Warhammer or not, this is fantasy at its best! Read it, dog! Anyhow, the book chronicles the life of Calard of Garamont, who hopes to become a Grail Knight. His life is one of tragedy and bad mistakes, but boy does it make for good reading. Not for kids, though. Lots of violence and weird stuff. Chaos monsters, wyverns, vampires, surly young knights from other lands who want to humiliate him, family curses, beastmen, and crazy northern barbarians. And awesome cavalry charges that take you right into the action. "Garamont!"
This selection of fine literature happens to be of the fantasy genre. If you wanted teen paranormal romance, too bad. I like what I like. And so do you. Let me know what you think about these here tomes by leaving a comment.
Till next time. . .

Monsters and Me

Monsters have long fascinated me. As a four-year old, I found Godzilla stomping around on Saturday afternoons. Then there was Gamera, King Kong, and whatever other giant freak was on the boob tube. As I got older, serial killers, zombies, and demons took their place in the throne room of my mind. I grew out of that, but I still enjoy a good-ol' monster flick.

There's something about monsters that excites us. Whether it's a Great Old One, a Sasquatch, or a kaiju, we want to see things that come from "elsewhere". The desire for something away from the mundane.

Perhaps monsters remind us of the evil within us, or of the conflict we have with darkness. A two-sided coin with Jekyll on one side, and Hyde on the other. We do battle with our own flesh, and it's much more entertaining if it looks like Cthulu or Chronos than you or me.

There is a war in each of us, even if we don't want to admit it. To do the good, or to do the bad. To be the monster, or be the saint. Maybe I'm thinking too much, having listened to the news this week. Terrorists, police brutality, baby-killers, Ted Cruz. Real-life monstrosities. Maybe film reflects all this, or maybe it's just fun watching a million-ton behemoth squash a few cities.

 

Super Hero Books!

Super heroes make for good reading. Not just in comics, mind you, but in full-length novel form. There are plenty to choose from, but are the best that I've read so far:

Powerless, by Matthew Cody. Terrible cover, I know, but a damn good book! It concerns super-powered children in a small town who lose their powers on their thirteenth birthday. The solving of the mystery falls to a kid who has no powers. It is very well written, and has two sequels, Super, and Villainous. Check it out.

The Superhuman series by Michael Carroll. Fun stuff, I say! These books take place before his Quantum Prophecy, but were published after. There is a fourth book called Hunter, as well.
See that gnarly-looking guy on the red cover? That's Krodin, the villain. Attacks only work on him once, so he's pretty much unstoppable. Plus he's impossibly strong, like the Hulk or Thor. In the first two books he's the major threat. The third book deals with Brawn, that blue dude. He's a bit of an anti-hero.

The Villain's Sidekick is just plain cool. I bought it on Amazon a while ago and really enjoyed it. That guy with the metal mouth is Handcannon. He gets mixed up in a mystery and has to bring his six-year old daughter with him. Plenty of humor!

The Ex-Heroes series by Peter Clines. Not for kids. Super heroes vs. Zombies! There's even a villain who can possess the minds of zombies; one, two, or a hundred at a time. An engrossing read. Watch out for the guy who can heal any wound. He makes a great vessel for a demon. . .

Brandon Sanderson is awesome, isn't he? His Reckoners Trilogy is exceptional super hero fiction. In this universe, the super humans are called 'Epics', and they are all bad. Steelheart is one of them, very powerful, and is the object of the main character's obsession. Firefight is the second book, and also very good. No one knows how certain people became Epics, and finding out is a thread running through the story. Read it now.

There you have it. Some books to get you going. Now go nerd yourself out!

Super heroes: Comics vs Movies

We like super heroes now, don't we? Love 'em, actually. They of course originated in comic books, in 1938, with Superman. Then Batman, Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel, etc. Finally, though, after decades of paper super heroes, we have celluloid ones:

These really float my boat! My favorite childhood characters alive on screen! I think these films are even better than the comics. They have a beginning, middle, and end. I can get in and out feeling satisfied. Don't have to wait next month for the resolution! Nicer visuals, too. Not that there aren't stinkers: Punisher and Ghost Rider, for example (I like the sequels though).

 But some of the movies absolutely bury their comic counter parts: Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Spiderman, X-Men First Class, Man of Steel. Give me well made movies any day!

I think it's great that the movie studios use the source material and change it to make a great film. As long as the movie is great, who cares if they change some things?

Sure, Watchmen had a different ending. But we didn't need a giant alien in the streets, did we? Let them do what they want. If they want to make Human Torch black, go for it. Give it a chance.

Yes, Superman killed Zod. So what? He did it in the comic, too. And the movie was one of the best super hero movies ever made. Stop laughing, now. You know it's true.

Marvel turned out one heck of a good movie in 2014. Captain America: Winter Soldier was fantastic! It had a plot! And action!

Thanks, Marvel Studios. This is what comics used to be: Fun. I'm looking forward to what's coming up. X-Men: Apocalypse, Fantastic Four, and the rest. And not to mention Warner Bros. with Batman vs Superman! So much good stuff to wait for.
(Please excuse the rant. I think I'm bitter after Marvel destroyed Gwen Stacy's memory in that awful "Sins of the Past" story. )

So my point is this: Enjoy the movies! I know I do. Even if the plot isn't so good, at least they look like this:

That right there makes it worth watching. After all, movies are a visual medium. They leave the old comics in the dust.

Bye bye!
 

First Day!

Five Thunders is now available from Amazon.com!http://www.amazon.com/Five-Thunders-Munson-X-ebook/dp/B00OFLKUFK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1413241105&sr=8-2&keywords=munson+x