tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64076611247096469622024-02-20T17:24:59.885-08:00Head GrenadesThe Meanderings, Nunchuk Fights, and Self-Obfuscations of Aaron BessonAaron Bessonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247400242619775707noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407661124709646962.post-40992237224997557222014-12-09T18:37:00.000-08:002014-12-09T18:39:03.378-08:00From the Things You Should Really Know About Dept.: Leviathan Ages<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This year when I attended the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival in Portland I had the opportunity to watch many excellent films, but none of them stood out as much as a barely three and a half minute piece called Leviathan Ages. The brainchild of Jon Yeo, The film creates a world where the post-industrial and the timeless collide. Ancient entities rise at the beckoning of their emperor, and all involved fulfill their roles at the end of an era. A spoken word piece is the only narrative throughout the film, and further solidifies the tone of the film that is both apocalyptic and regenerative all at once.<br />
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I had the opportunity to ask Jon some questions about Leviathan Ages, and he was kind enough to indulge me.<br />
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<b>Some of the elements of Leviathan Ages seem Asian and Mesoamerican in nature. Were there any particular mythologies that inspired you?</b><br />
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Jon: It’s partly an open love letter to Shadow of the Colossus, possibly my all time favourite PlayStation game. But I do have an interest in the visuals of religious sculpture from throughout human history, ancient to modern. I’m not religious at all, but I find the imagery from all religions pretty fascinating. Maybe it’s from my graphic design roots, the idea that you can distill a huge concept into an image or an object in such a powerful way. That’s what interest me about idols, statues and carvings. I enjoy the design of mythological concepts, it’s character design. But I love the design of fictional mythologies too, in sci-fi / fantasy films and games.<br />
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I’m also particularly taken with remnants from ancient lost civilisations, especially decrepit heads and faces. They look like they are sat motionless watching wave after wave of human tide wash in and out in front of them, for hundreds of years. I think we would see ourselves differently from their point of view.<br />
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<b>What do you see as the relationship between the beings in Leviathan Ages and the modern age? </b><br />
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Jon: They are meant as allegorical. We see the central character resurrect nine of his predecessors, they bring the destruction of his era. At the end he has become one of them, like a repeating cycle. It’s a basic reflection on how we make the same mistakes over and over again. Often this is because we lack the observational perspective of deep time, we are not here for long.<br />
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<b>Can you talk a little about what inspired the poem read during the film? </b><br />
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Jon: The idea behind this was to create a thread across the whole film that could mimic a hymn, prayer, song or mantra. Also it could be something which fed the viewer just enough stimulus to interpret meanings in their own way, to give the right tones and moods without being too explicit or obvious.<br />
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<b> How much experience did you have with film making and CG going into making Leviathan Ages? </b><br />
Jon:I work mainly in commercials, and I’ve been doing that for years. It involves shooting live action and lots of VFX. Indie film making is something I do very occasionally when I can fit it in. I dearly wish I could do more, I’ve got loads of ideas which will never escape my brain.<br />
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<b> What was the most challenging part of making the film? </b><br />
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Jon: Making the film was the hardest part of making the film. I had the initial basic idea in 2010. I started designing and sketching it out in 2011. We finished the film in 2013. Everything was against the odds.<br />
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<b>I saw Leviathan Ages at the H.P. Lovecraft film festival this year and was absolutely enthralled by it. How has its reception been overall?</b><br />
Jon: You are one of the few!<br />
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The most common reaction is “It looks nice but there’s no story”. Which I think is a shame, but I understand why most people find it hard to grasp. I think with film people expect three acts, a protagonist, an antagonist and a mcguffin.<br />
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I enjoy regular traditional dramatic narrative, but I’m just not interested in exploring that in my own personal work. I enjoy the interpretation you can indulge in with other media. With a song, a painting or a poem the author need not be obvious. They can be oblique and abstract. They often allow you to be carried away on a mood and a tone, and it’s as much about what you bring to it yourself. I’m interested in how a short can operate in the same way. It means I’m marginal, but I’m OK with that.<br />
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The full film and information about it can be found at the <a href="http://leviathanages.com/" target="_blank">official website</a>. Jon's other work can be seen at <a href="http://www.studiomine.tv/" target="_blank">his personal website</a>.Aaron Bessonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247400242619775707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407661124709646962.post-25009897023715974752014-08-04T16:37:00.000-07:002014-08-04T17:24:45.459-07:00Leviathan Ages by Jon Yeo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The video teaser would be here if YouTube wasn't being pissy. You can see the teaser video <a href="http://vimeo.com/57370865" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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This is something from the You Really Should Put It In Your Eyeballs Dept. I saw this at the 2014 H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival and, despite the brevity (it clocks in at 3:33) of it, it probably had the biggest impact on me of any of the features shown. Creator Jon Yeo puts forth a dream-like, surreal vision of an Emperor being awakened by nine entities. Despite the fantastical nature of the film, there's an internal consistency to it that leaves you contemplating the mythology, cosmology, and magic of what you've just watched.<br />
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According to Yeo, Leviathan Ages will continue to make the rounds at festivals until close to the end of the year. If you get any chance to see this, you're doing yourself a grave disservice by letting it pass by.<br />
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More info about Leviathan Ages can be found <a href="http://www.leviathanages.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />Aaron Bessonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247400242619775707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407661124709646962.post-37580089413826993182014-07-31T09:01:00.002-07:002014-08-01T01:54:03.631-07:00The Imago Sequence- Laird Barron<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>The</i> <i>Imago Sequence</i> is<a href="http://lairdbarron.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"> Laird Barron</a>'s third collection of stories, and a genuinely disturbing read. Barron is a name that I've heard many times as a brave light in Horror, and he does not disappoint.<i> The Imago Sequence</i> consists of nine stories, the stories range from "Old Virginia" which starts as a military fiction that soon goes off the rails to "Hallucigenia" which takes the black magical hillbilly cult to a new level all the way to the title story, which is Lovecraft's "Pickman's Model" exposed to gamma radiation and leaves you at the end shuddering. The range of theme that Barron utilizes is as diverse as his pacing and layering of tension is consistent. The cosmic horror that Barron creates and utilizes defies physical description and personality type, unless you consider all-permeating, eternal Hunger with a capital "H" as a personality type. <i>The Imago Sequence</i> is not a collection that lends itself to a quick read simply because Barron's style lends itself greatly to a slow read with a pacing that builds tension in a masterful fashion. Definitely give this a read. Five stars.Aaron Bessonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247400242619775707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407661124709646962.post-4626175662734737502014-07-24T15:40:00.000-07:002014-07-24T15:40:03.019-07:00The Worlds of Hurt- Brian Hodge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The <i>Worlds of Hurt</i> is a collection of stories revolving around <a href="http://www.brianhodge.net/" target="_blank">Brian Hodge's</a> own mythos, the Misbegotten. They are a group of tragic immortals who must feed on something, that "something" being different for each of them and often creating a visceral narrative in the story itself, in order to survive or at least endure. Every story stands on it's own, but in reading it from beginning to end the reader receives insights into the mythos and cosmology of the Misbegotten that adds extra horrific depth through the first three stories in a cumulative manner that reaches an apex in the final story "World of Hurt", a short novel that reveals the great horror associated with the Misbegotten. Hodge's writing style is engrossing and complex without being confusing. The utterly disturbing motives that drive not just the Misbegotten but also the "regular" people in the stories are laid to bare at a pace that creates a tension while reading that is enjoyable in a way that few works of horror that I've come across are able to match. This has been one of my favorite reads of the year, definitely worth five stars.</div>
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I contacted Brian and he was gracious enough to take part in a short interview regarding <i>Worlds of Hurt</i> and his writing in general:</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">AB: Music has a central focus in
"The Alchemy of the Throat" and is used in describing cosmic horror
elements of "World of Hurt". I've also had the pleasure of reading
your story "Cures For A Sickened World" which delves strongly into
Black Metal aesthetics. What place does music hold for you in horror?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">BH: A
pretty foundational place, really. But it has a pretty foundational place in
life overall. I nearly always work to music, and it’s often dark or moody
stuff. Plus, as a player, I sometimes like to make music that’s a sonic
expression coming from the same place as the prose. That got so out of hand
with <i>Whom the Gods Would Destroy</i> that
it triggered its own soundtrack.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Then
there are times I’m interested in exploring creators as characters, and the
process of creation, and so on. Although I feel oddly repelled by writing about
writers. There’s something about that that feels narcissistic to me. I’m much
more drawn to narratively exploring music and visual art … maybe because, as
languages, they’re much more universal. They engage the senses directly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">AB: What did you want to do
different, if anything, in <i>Worlds of Hurt</i>
in contrast to previous works?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">BH: It’s
an omnibus edition, and that’s something I’d never done. It brings together the
first four installments in an ongoing mythos that I keep coming back to every
so often: “The Alchemy of the Throat,” “The Dripping of Sundered Wineskins,”
“When the Bough Doesn’t Break,” and <i>World
of Hurt</i>. That’s three novellas and a short novel. They were all written years
apart, so in a way, while still telling an unfolding episodic narrative, they
all reflect different interests and concerns and states of mind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I was
needing to get <i>World of Hurt</i> ported
over into e-book form, and thought, well, why not package everything together
at this point. Instead of just converting over the one book, why not give the
reader everything that preceded it, too? As I go forward with new works in that
universe, consolidating the previous stuff into a single volume will make it a
lot easier for readers to have it all, rather than telling them, in essence,
“You have to get this novel and these three story collections.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">AB: Despite the monstrosity factor
of the supernatural entities in the stories in <i>Worlds of Hurt</i>, the horror inflicted by humanity seems to be a
predominant reoccurring theme. Any thoughts on that?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">BH: I
think that would be how such entities would operate most effectively in our
world. That they’d get things done either through us, or by hiding behind our
skins. It’s not only stealth mode … just consider what they would have to work
with. Way too many of our species don’t need that much of a nudge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">AB: Do you see any major
vital trends in Horror literature occurring that weren't there when you started
writing?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">BH: It
would take someone more conscious of a long-term overview than I am to track
something like that. It’s not anything that registers with me. I just do what I
do, and try to always get better at it, and to keep challenging myself instead
of digging a rut to live in. To me, being concerned with trends leads to the sort
of silly conversations that a friend once related. He was talking to his agent,
who was telling him, “Why don’t you write a book about a devil dog? Devil dogs
are hot right now!” That was our go-to punchline for a while.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">AB: What are your opinions on
Horror as social commentary?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">BH: It’s
certainly well suited to the task. It can get away with being as rude as it
needs to be, and you have the option of couching whatever you have to say in
some potent metaphors, if you don’t feel like being blunt about it. That’s
definitely informed a share of my work. Even the story you mentioned earlier,
“Cures For A Sickened World,” which I wrote for the upcoming first <i>Spectral Book of Horror Stories</i> … in
part that’s an allergic reaction to the rancid thing that journalism has become
in the age of click-bait. “Let’s throw up any old hasty piece of incendiary
bullshit, because it’ll piss people off and they’ll show it to everybody else
so they can be pissed off too.” And so the signal-to-noise ratio gets ever more
lopsided.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">AB: What would you personally
like to see happen with the Horror genre, either through your own writing or
the writing of others?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">BH: I
don’t remember who or where it was, but I once saw someone make an interesting
distinction between horror and science fiction: that science fiction is a
literature of ideas and horror is a literature of emotion. That’s an
oversimplification, of course. Sweeping generalizations usually are. Switching
to film for a moment, you can’t look at David Cronenberg’s body of work in the
genre and find it light on ideas. I got the point, though. I understood where
that was coming from. But there’s no reason that the two should be mutually
exclusive. So I’d like to see horror be unwilling to cede that ground. To
continue to strive to put forth the best ideas about the world and human
existence that it can, and develop them as far as possible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">AB: What would your opinion be if <i>Worlds of Hurt</i> inspired others to write
stories revolving around the Misbegotten?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">BH: I’m sure
I’d be fine with that, and find it very flattering, although I’d rather do more
work on the mythology before turning it open source.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Aaron Bessonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247400242619775707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407661124709646962.post-78953823925766896412014-07-21T11:31:00.005-07:002014-07-21T11:31:48.541-07:00Wordslinger Shootout timeThe second round of Kenneth W. Cain's Wordslinger Shootout has begun. It's me vs. KT "Calamity Jane", doing what we do best with the writing prompt "Wire Brush". Vote on your favorite and leave a comment for a chance to win great stuff to read. Go<a href="http://kennethwcain.wordpress.com/2014/07/21/wordslinger-shootout-round-2/" target="_blank"> here</a>.<br />
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<br />Aaron Bessonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247400242619775707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407661124709646962.post-43913862185870293972014-07-11T21:14:00.002-07:002014-07-11T21:14:43.861-07:00Review: Codex Born- Jim C. Hines<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Codex Born is the second book in the Magic Ex Libris series, and an excellent continuation from the first book Libriomancer. Our hero Isaac Vaino, librarian and covert Libriomancer, a magician capable of pulling items directly out of books (I KNOW, RIGHT?! SIGN ME UP!!!), is sent to discover what killed a Wendigo. This is a problem, as whatever can kill a Wendigo is something is probably something that can cause a lot of damage to...well, pretty much anything. </div>
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This is the part where I say that Wendigo killing is the very least of our hero's concerns.</div>
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Codex Born is an great follow up to Libriomancer on many levels. On top of providing a new playground for Hines' unique and wonderfully consistent literary Magical system to run around in, you also learn more about key players in the story line, both friend and foe. You discover some interesting things about Gutenberg as well, things that not only affect future stories in the series, but possibly some things that have already occurred as well. </div>
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I recommend this series to anyone who loves to read, simply because Hines takes what we have done with our imaginations whenever we read and makes it just a little bit closer to real. I can't appreciate that enough. Five stars.</div>
<br />Aaron Bessonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247400242619775707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407661124709646962.post-47215035776862485572014-07-08T10:27:00.001-07:002014-07-08T10:27:40.395-07:00State of the Aaron Address<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu9FkJGSbITqmsv88YNjgHLzMYaiMAT-xQI6LDvaN-GsH-1TSBI5UlrQMBgI5k9Vo2p9ENOmKCR7ZXym9bLTJze8tBmirMEqtdMq5dHv0bkCDDrZtM0uBqeB7Y4s0ChWMdj-iuu6ErdC6a/s1600/Wordslinger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu9FkJGSbITqmsv88YNjgHLzMYaiMAT-xQI6LDvaN-GsH-1TSBI5UlrQMBgI5k9Vo2p9ENOmKCR7ZXym9bLTJze8tBmirMEqtdMq5dHv0bkCDDrZtM0uBqeB7Y4s0ChWMdj-iuu6ErdC6a/s1600/Wordslinger.jpg" height="137" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />
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Kenneth W. Cain is hosting a fun little competition over at <a href="http://kennethwcain.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">his blog</a> wherein sixteen authors are paired up, given a word prompt, and are turned loose to write what they can out of that. I am one of those lucky sixteen who will be taking part in the shootout. What is to be won? Nothing less than FORTUNE AND GLORY!!<br /><br />
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Actually, it's just for fun, much like caps locking FORTUNE AND GLORY!! At any rate, the details can be found <a href="http://kennethwcain.wordpress.com/shootouts/" target="_blank">here</a>. A lot of good reading to be had from all involved, so check it out.<br /><br />
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<br />Aaron Bessonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247400242619775707noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407661124709646962.post-6091162484935089892014-07-06T17:15:00.001-07:002014-07-06T17:15:01.669-07:00Review: The Rhesus Chart- Charles Stross<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioQ8NZOcM8sBXbvEP8XZwsqbs7pq86k_N21YyygwKhd9sSZLgx8vyR6ul4vPTOJeaLi6gApYRRAZEJM78UPWffEByG2pfYnbLgu9UGsi6-vlcDWkNK2ECel46rkV_eVvkokarLtx976Gqb/s640/blogger-image-1213992693.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioQ8NZOcM8sBXbvEP8XZwsqbs7pq86k_N21YyygwKhd9sSZLgx8vyR6ul4vPTOJeaLi6gApYRRAZEJM78UPWffEByG2pfYnbLgu9UGsi6-vlcDWkNK2ECel46rkV_eVvkokarLtx976Gqb/s640/blogger-image-1213992693.jpg"></a></div><br><div><i>The Rhesus Chart</i> by Charles Stross is the most recent full-length novel in the Laundry Files, an on-going series that combines espionage, bureaucracy, and cosmic horror equally, and it's sometimes difficult to separate the three. It is also probably the best book in the series thus far.</div><div><br></div><div>Without giving anything away, The Laundry comes into contact with vampires (the non-sparkly variety) and it all goes horribly wrong and downhill from there. I'm marking this as the best in the series because of all the books in it thus far, <i>The Rhesus Chart</i> has the most straight-ahead plot without limiting complex subplots, the most character development on multiple levels, and a wrap-up that left me just saying "daaaaaaaamn" over and over again. It's an incredibly quick 370 page read, which is unfortunately because you really don't want it over and done with as quickly as it is. Very well done, 5 stars.</div>Aaron Bessonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247400242619775707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407661124709646962.post-59012167683492400112014-07-01T15:53:00.000-07:002014-07-01T15:53:27.884-07:00Review: Axes of Evil anthology<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There are just some thing you think there should be more of, but you don't realize it until you see it for the first time. It's like when the Eggo waffle folks finally got around to making their own syrup. How hard of an idea was that to pop out? And how long did that take them? It's not rocket surgery, folks. I felt the same way when I heard about Axes of Evil, an anthology of horror stories based with heavy metal music as the central theme. Heavy metal and horror, the chocolate and peanut butter of my world, together in the written word. I could pee.</div>
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Axes of Evil is a huge (almost clocking in at 600 pages) collection of stories ranging from the brutally hilarious to the downright evil. Personal favorites of mine include "Keltorrian" by Jacurutu23, "Extremophiles" by Lucy Taylor, "Battle of the Bands" by Joel Kaplan, and "Tones of Skin and Bones" by Michael Faun. The absolute gem of the anthology, in my opinion, has got to be "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" by Charlie D. La Marr. It's set at the utterly tragic fire that took place during the Great White concert the Station back in 2003, and is one of the most emotionally riveting stories I've read in awhile, horror or otherwise. It packs a punch and puts a serious lump in your throat.</div>
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This is a definite must for fans of horror and heavy metal alike. Four stars.</div>
<br />Aaron Bessonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247400242619775707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407661124709646962.post-68024699907251314122014-06-17T14:47:00.000-07:002014-06-17T14:47:04.333-07:00Book review: Skin Game- Jim Butcher<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The fifteenth book in the Harry Dresden series, <i>Skin Game </i>picks up some time after the events in <i>Cold Days. </i>Mab, whom Harry serves now as the Winter Knight and does so in completely dickish fashion to annoy her every chance he gets, sends Harry on a task for her, a heist of literally mythic proportions. The problem being that the person whom Harry will be working for and is Nicodemus who harbors a serious grudge against Harry, a grudge so serious that Harry has right to think that Mab wants him killed off. The story actually gets a hell of a lot more complicated in terms of what everyone's motivations actually are. In the end, you have a cross between <i>Oceans 11 </i>and the <i>Avengers </i>movie if everyone on the team was a varying degree of asshole.</div>
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This is a very different book from <i>Cold Days, </i>which primarily set the stage for the new plot lines in the series. <i>Skin Game </i>really doesn't play as heavily into the character development as its predecessor did. This is not to say they don't occur (Fans of the interpersonal relationship fires that get stoked in the series, you're going to like this one. Oh, and then there's B...oh, that'd be telling. ), but they do take a back seat to the amount of action that occurs in this one. From the point that Harry and Co. sit down to discuss the heist onwards, someone is constantly being chased, fought with, or close to shedding the fleshly coil in one way or another. All throughout the book I kept thinking "This would make a fun movie."</div>
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Beyond the overall great storytelling in <i>Skin Game, </i>what really stood out for me is how Butcher fleshed out Nicodemus. Nicodemus is a centuries old, demon possessed, atrocity committing jerkface of the highest caliber, but his course of actions that occur in the book and how he responds to their consequences don't make him a sympathetic character by any stretch of the imagination, but they make him a bit more <i>real. </i>Butcher pulls a depth out of Nicodemus that puts him beyond the cookie cutter "I'll wear a coat made of live puppies" villainy that has become too common nowandays. It's disturbing, it's uncomfortable, and it's wonderful reading.</div>
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All in all, five out of five stars. Also: PARKOUR!</div>
Aaron Bessonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247400242619775707noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407661124709646962.post-55920990808172270712014-06-16T15:37:00.003-07:002014-06-16T15:37:57.190-07:00Book review: Equoid- Charles Stross<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Equoid </i>is a short story in Charles Stross's Laundry series, an fun horror-espionage series that seethes with the horrors of Otherworldy evils threatening humanity's existence and British bureaucratic process in equal quantities. This story revolves around suspicious deaths in very,very rural England and the true nature of Unicorns...they're not happy, bouncy things you'd want your daughter playing with, not by a long shot. The plotline does get muddy at a couple points insofar as who is doing what and why, but overall Stross does and excellent job of weaving a tale filled with mystery, horror, and no little bit of humor that culminates in a disturbing, action-filled ending. I give extra kudos for the innovative Lovecraftian tie-in and the <i>Cold Comfort Farm </i>(one of my favorite movies) references. The story is a good stand-alone if you've never read anything in the Laundry series before, otherwise I recommend picking up the first book in the series <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/101869.The_Atrocity_Archives" target="_blank">The Atrocity Archives</a>. Three out of five stars.</div>
<br />Aaron Bessonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247400242619775707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407661124709646962.post-70351565600291833652014-06-14T11:56:00.000-07:002014-06-14T11:56:16.342-07:00State of the Aaron AddressIt's not that I don't like blogs, I love 'em. I love having different fonts of information and news from people who as passionate about the subject. I just hate writing them. Going to try to work on that.<br />
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*Back in April was the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, an annual event centered around the celebration of films inspired, or not-so-inspired-just-really-weird, by old Howie Lovecraft. This year they held a microfiction contest where ten lucky submitters of a story 500 words or less could have theirs included in a chapbook made especially for the festival. Yours truly made the cut with the story "The Altar of Sixty and Five Hundred Years". I might publish it again one day. In the meantime, check with the contact email at the HPL Film Festival website about the possibility of acquiring a copy.<br />
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*My story "Temping" was published in the anthology <i>We Are Dust and Shadow</i> from JWK Publications, an excellent collection of stories involving the afterworld ranging from disturbing to downright horrible. It can be bought on Amazon in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dust-Shadow-James-Ward-Kirk/dp/069222601X/ref=sr_1_1_title_1_pap?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1402771240&sr=1-1&keywords=we+are+dust+and+shadow" target="_blank">hard copy</a> or <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dust-Shadow-James-Ward-Kirk-ebook/dp/B00KKQSLIW/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-1&qid=1402771240" target="_blank">Kindle</a> format.<br />
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*One of my older stories "The Gloaming Sisters" is included in <i>The Terror Train </i>anthology, also from JWK Publications in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Terror-Train-Mathias-Jansson-ebook/dp/B00KYWRWS2/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1402771412&sr=1-1&keywords=terror+train" target="_blank">Kindle</a> format currently with a hard copy version coming up shortly.. "The Gloaming Sisters" is a story I wrote years ago as part inspired madness, part writing exercise, part exploratory literary surgery. It was part of a collection of pieces I wrote around a central reference point that would make the most erudite hipster blush at the obscure reference. I was originally going to publish the collection as an anthology, but now I'm seeing if I can fulfill the challenge of getting all the stories published in different publications. It's so mad that it just might work. 1 down, 22 to go.<br />
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That's it for now, soon to be followed by a slew of book reviews. Watch this space.</div>
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<br />Aaron Bessonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247400242619775707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407661124709646962.post-27529142264856870412014-05-25T20:22:00.002-07:002014-05-25T20:26:15.006-07:00Stray Souls- Kate Griffin<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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<i>Stray Souls </i>is not necessarily a sequel to <a href="http://www.kategriffin.net/" target="_blank">Kate Griffin</a>'s earlier Midnight Mayor trilogy, but more of an extension into the same dark, wonderful urban fantasy world of London that the Midnight Mayor storyline occurs in. <i>Stray Souls</i> can be read without reading the Midnight Mayor trilogy, but I'm going to make a safe bet that if you like <i>Stray Souls</i>, you're going to wind up reading the Johnathan Swift trilogy anyway, so we're good there.</div>
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<i>Stray Souls</i> is for the most part the story of Sharon Li, a young woman of London who hates her job as a barista, is as unsure of where life is taking her as anyone is, oh, and she's a shaman. At least that's what different individuals and thingies keep telling her, and they seem to have an idea of what that means much more than she does, which leads to all sorts of problems. Imagine if Luke Skywalker lived in London and Yoda was a jerk,you get an idea of how the whole shaman business goes for her. Combine her new involuntary career choice with the challenges of handling a support group for Supernatural beings that look to her for guidance she's not particularly sure she can give, and you have the beginnings of a fantastic story. The dangers that come after her and hers, even more fantastic.</div>
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Griffin does a wonderful job of continuing the urban mythos she started with the Midnight Mayor, and anyone who enjoyed the previous books of hers, or anyone who likes to see the bar of quality regarding urban fantasy get knocked up a few pegs will not be disappointed. Four stars.</div>
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Aaron Bessonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247400242619775707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407661124709646962.post-45622701001730213882014-05-25T20:18:00.002-07:002014-05-25T20:23:14.844-07:00Review: The Faceless One- Mark Onspaugh<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 17.563634872436523px; text-align: left;">The <i>Faceless One </i>is apparently <a href="http://www.markonspaugh.com/" target="_blank">Mark Onspaugh's </a>first book, a fact that brings me no small bit of jealousy. I marvel at people who knock it out of the park with their debut. The Faceless One is a horror story set with Alaskan shamanism as the backdrop with tendrils that reach into present day.An ancient evil (You had me at ancient evil) is released from its eons-old imprisonment in the Alaskan outback, then makes its way across America to cement its power, wreaking havoc and very imaginative bloodshed as it goes. The only ones who can stop it are a backsliding elderly ex-shaman and his best friend who follow messages from the spirit world, and the full picture gets bleaker and bleaker for them as the story goes. Onspaugh has a great gift for writing characters that you feel deeper and deeper sympathy for, especially when they're performing atrocities against their will. He also has a great ability to tie everything together in a </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 17.563634872436523px; text-align: left;">climactic ending, if this book is any evidence. An excellent first time. Four stars.</span></div>
Aaron Bessonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247400242619775707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407661124709646962.post-87242683017527789422014-02-03T18:38:00.001-08:002014-02-13T15:25:09.667-08:00Two reviews, one postA...Ew, that reference wasn't meant to happen. Sticking with it.<div><br></div><div>Due to initiating other projects I'm really truly hoping come together, personal reading time has been at a minimum. That time has been put to beautiful use however, as I can't remember a time when I've read two such fantastic books back to back. The odds are about the same as the Broncos win...</div><div><br></div><div>Sorry, too soon.</div><div><br></div><div>Hell with that, GO HAWKS! Not the biggest foozball fan on the planet, but it like seeing my adoptive city happy.</div><div><br></div><div>Anyway, first up is</div><div><br></div><div><b>Nomads- Benjamin Kane Ethridge</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaWAsNGWSF0zTj1b3IACZbidXGK8lTqiCL9UB2aKjRbj_YGOv7rP4096rCI4Y7Rc2W7WkcsaLEdUut9_V0vr3LfZ-ffgUJ2nWz6vUq4jrWGxtivUPBbQgvk2T_7obMhfwx0oZRkWD2Dfw5/s640/blogger-image--676911216.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaWAsNGWSF0zTj1b3IACZbidXGK8lTqiCL9UB2aKjRbj_YGOv7rP4096rCI4Y7Rc2W7WkcsaLEdUut9_V0vr3LfZ-ffgUJ2nWz6vUq4jrWGxtivUPBbQgvk2T_7obMhfwx0oZRkWD2Dfw5/s640/blogger-image--676911216.jpg"></a></div><br></b></div><div>As anyone who's read this blog when I actually do post, or knows how to use the past articles section will tell you, I'm kinda an Ethridge fanboy. I first found his work through his predecessor to <i>Nomads </i>entitled <i>Black and Orange </i>iand immediately fell in love with the world he created out of whole cloth that explained what was really going on with the Halloween holiday. Imagine if Clive Barker had done <i>The Nightmare Before Christmas </i>and you'd have a pretty good idea of what the gist of the story is. <i style="font-weight: bold;">Nomads </i>continues the story from the first book, fleshing out the gothic fantasy-horror mythos that Ethridge created to a full scope, and combining that with character dynamics and subplots to a fuller extent as well. He also does an incredible job of drawing forth a genuine human side to the some of the biggest jerkface antagonists in the book, making you feel genuinely at odds with yourself when you find yourself empathizing with them. I can't quite say it's a good stand alone book, as too much of what I consider crucial back story and nuances are in the first book, but you're not doing yourself a disservice by reading both. Five out of five stars. Next up, we have</div><div><br></div><div><b>Hollow City- Ransom Riggs</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK7aCe1exDtpAyxhP7VlVUpEaWdl0kjO031CnfZZAG_m6Kz05hIYDbc9cNYNMUfzaxp-tuVEJci5xNrkTP9bSRxWkKh8MfjVa7IiGpPSPycgYxGMup1qWumFd23sUV9y4TUTtRocIVqPUh/s640/blogger-image--593899979.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK7aCe1exDtpAyxhP7VlVUpEaWdl0kjO031CnfZZAG_m6Kz05hIYDbc9cNYNMUfzaxp-tuVEJci5xNrkTP9bSRxWkKh8MfjVa7IiGpPSPycgYxGMup1qWumFd23sUV9y4TUTtRocIVqPUh/s640/blogger-image--593899979.jpg"></a></div><br></b></div><div>Simply put, if I had known that this book had the ending that it did, I would've forsworn sleep, food, and friends until I had finished it. Ye gods, Riggs knows how to tie up one book and leave you getting all entitled and George R.R. Martin Doesn't Write Fast Enough about when the next one is coming. It's a very short read page-wise, but the story loses absolutely no quality because of it. Also a sequel, <i style="font-weight: bold;">Hollow City </i>follows after <i style="font-weight: bold;">Miss Peregrine's School for Peculiar Children</i>, Riggs' first novel that combines fantastic storytelling combined with magically taking vintage photographs out of their original context in a unique, original way. The Peculiar children continue their quest to get away from the Wights and to save...no, that'll give too much away. I've heard this series niched as YA, but honestly it's just good plot line and story development regardless of your age. Five out of five stars again.</div>Aaron Bessonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247400242619775707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407661124709646962.post-47625918924823472992014-01-14T17:21:00.002-08:002014-01-14T17:21:56.918-08:00Serious book recommendation of the day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG_9hIqP0mn0zzEYAQaqS5WVKd5xIq63kAja48URHENJApiGdY4X9MIDxEamb_k5X3TIaIdzhWaiGivFCv8Wxsns9aRDZjId2wctO3B42logU2T0TgBdSUxXw5lLo_-ebR-VwDh5p_L-Mq/s1600/Hollow+City.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG_9hIqP0mn0zzEYAQaqS5WVKd5xIq63kAja48URHENJApiGdY4X9MIDxEamb_k5X3TIaIdzhWaiGivFCv8Wxsns9aRDZjId2wctO3B42logU2T0TgBdSUxXw5lLo_-ebR-VwDh5p_L-Mq/s320/Hollow+City.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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This just came out today, and I felt behooved to make you aware of it. <i>Hollow City</i> is the sequel to Ransom Riggs' magnificent novel <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9460487-miss-peregrine-s-home-for-peculiar-children" target="_blank"><i>Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children</i></a>, which I'm sure you read and adored.</div>
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You haven't read it? Go read it. I'll wait.</div>
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As I was saying, this is a sequel to Riggs' novel of odd children, time travel, and vintage photographs taken wayyyyyy out of their original context. It can be argued that Riggs is gearing this more towards the YA crowd, but I would say that Riggs' first work in the series is sophisticated enough where it counts to be enjoyable by all. I'm just finishing up reading Benjamin Kane Ethridge's <i>Nomads</i> (Which there will definitely be words about here.) and then I'll be cracking this one open.</div>
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<i>Hollow City</i> is available through <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hollow-City-Peregrines-Peculiar-Children/dp/1594746125" target="_blank">Amazon</a> in meatspace, and in ebook format for <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hollow-City-Peregrines-Peculiar-Children-ebook/dp/B009Y3ON4I" target="_blank">Kindle</a> and <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hollow-city-ransom-riggs/1117650157?ean=9781594746208" target="_blank">Nook</a>. Riggs might even be coming to your town. You can find out <a href="http://www.ransomriggs.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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Also, here's a video of an evil robot baby.</div>
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<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/PUKMUZ4tlJg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Aaron Bessonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247400242619775707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407661124709646962.post-5402036788473927822013-12-29T14:36:00.001-08:002013-12-29T15:36:10.352-08:00Blowing off the dust<p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s0">Been meaning to dust this blog off for awhile, if for no other reason than it would be fun, and decided to throw a new angle into it, an ongoing series called I'm Too Sexy For My Niche. Remember when you wrote that short story for that Eskimo steampunk vampire anthology (of course you don't, work with me, people) and all you got was a lousy rejection letter? Remember how you cried misera...um...held your chin up stoically, went all Jane Eyre, and yelled at the sky about stuff never happening again, "KHAAAAAAAN!", and other things that annoyed your neighbors at 3 in the morning? Too Sexy For My Niche is like that, except with less yelling. This will be a clearing house for stories I wrote for a specific anthology that got rejected, and I really doubt a second chance for the story is in the offing. I don't have many stories to add here, but I'm totally optimistic that I'll have other stories shot down in flames in the future.</span></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s0"><br></span></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s0">This is a story that I wrote for a tribute anthology for Clive Barker's <i>NIghtbreed </i>that didn't make the cut. Enjoy.</span></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s0"><br></span></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s0"><br></span></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Dream Home Heartache</span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Aaron Besson</span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s0"><br></span></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><br></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s0"><br></span></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s0">The burnt orange glow through the plastic tarp over my wind</span><span class="s0">ow sings the song of this descending</span><span class="s0"> sun. Not a rare occurrence</span><span class="s0"> in a lifetime that ridicules the passage of history, but this one is special. This dusk heralds the sun's crowning as the final</span><span class="s0"> enemy.</span><span class="s0"><br></span></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span class="s0" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s0">Would that it could all have gone differently. The younger of the Tribes of the Moon scoff at this sentiment as trite, </span><span class="s0">with no place in coming time</span><span class="s0">s</span><span class="s0">for such maudlin wittering. Perhaps they're right, perhaps we're both wrong. I try to hold onto such sentimentality, if for no </span><span class="s0">other reason than </span><span class="s0">to </span><span class="s0">pay remembrance to the fact that at one time, although we be monsters, we were</span><span class="s0">n't always monstrous.</span><span class="s0"><br></span></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span class="s0" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s0">Countless adorations to the countless faces of Baphomet.</span><span class="s0"><br></span></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span class="s0" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s0">Through the </span><span class="s0">tireless grace of Baphomet</span><span class="s0"> we had Midian, as we had many times before. As alw</span><span class="s0">ays, Midian fell, and our hearts and near-hearts broke</span><span class="s0">wit</span><span class="s0">h none to blame except ourse</span><span class="s0">lves</span><span class="s0"> for thinking that this time, </span><span class="s0">just </span><span class="s0">maybe this time, it couldn't. Some may think hope is necessary for living. Some would be unforgivably wrong. Hope is a blade tha</span><span class="s0">t will stab you in the back the moment you think it's safe in the sheath. Hope is the noo</span><span class="s0">se mistaken for an embrace the moment y</span><span class="s0">ou forget what tightens around your neck</span><span class="s0">. Hope is the mistaking </span><span class="s0">of </span><span class="s0">prophecy for a point of view. We made all these mistakes, again as before, and it is only then that we see clearly.</span><span class="s0"><br></span></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span class="s0" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s0">With the fall of Midian w</span><span class="s0">e spread</span><span class="s0"> far and </span><span class="s0">wide, for Baphomet's enemies were forever, or at least then,</span><span class="s0"> ours as well. Yet these places were not home</span><span class="s0">s</span><span class="s0">. There was no song where we lived, what song moves you when your hear</span><span class="s0">t or near-heart must be hidden? Moses spent forty years in Midian. Some of us are old enough to remember it. </span><span class="s0">Even with the songs he learned and took with him, o</span><span class="s0">ur hearts and near-hearts cry in how little has changed since then.</span><span class="s0"><br></span></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span class="s0" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s0">Boone Who Became Cabal, our greatest betrayal and greatest promise, wandered as we did, except with purpose. No, the Tribes </span><span class="s0">of the Moon had no purpose then. W</span><span class="s0">e had survival, quite a different thing altogether. We</span><span class="s0"> had</span><span class="s0">burrowed in</span><span class="s0"> earth's smaller places. We</span><span class="s0"> </span><span class="s0">huddled in little hells, and waited. Oh, Baphomet, how we waited. Those That Remember repainted the prophecy on the walls of our</span><span class="s0"> refuges, and went a little madder at how m</span><span class="s0">uch was still promised to occur</span><span class="s0">. If they knew how it would turn out would they go eve</span><span class="s0">n madder, sing in joy, or both? I'll have</span><span class="s0"> to remember to find one and ask them</span><span class="s0">. </span><span class="s0"><br></span></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span class="s0" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s0">When Boone Who Became Cabal returned from</span><span class="s0"> his wanderings</span><span class="s0"> in the wilderness of Man</span><span class="s0">’</span><span class="s0">s world</span><span class="s0">, we again had hope sung to us</span><span class="s0">, a baleful wisdom in his eyes</span><span class="s0">. And</span><span class="s0"> like all hope as before,</span><span class="s0"> it came</span><span class="s0"> wrapped in terror-drenched swaddling clothes. Oh, Naturals, ho</span><span class="s0">w I wish I could say it was entirely</span><span class="s0"> </span><span class="s0">your fault. How I wish I could </span><span class="s0">have </span><span class="s0">hear</span><span class="s0">d</span><span class="s0"> his words and think, nay, believe</span><span class="s0">d</span><span class="s0">"They brought this on themselves." That would make it easier, this slide dow</span><span class="s0">n into the abyss of what you have always thought us to be. </span><span class="s0"><br></span></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span class="s0" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s0">Since Mankind had known</span><span class="s0"> of the Tribes of the</span><span class="s0"> Moon, </span><span class="s0">they have called us </span><span class="s0">an infection</span><span class="s0"> in their hatred and fear</span><span class="s0">. </span><span class="s0">Of all the curses and maledictions they heaped upon us, of all the accusations they t</span><span class="s0">hrew at us in the night, why did it have to be that one that we finally listened to?</span><span class="s0"><br></span></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span class="s0" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s0">Boone Who Became Cabal </span><span class="s0">spoke of the </span><span class="s0">Promised Land</span><span class="s0"> that aw</span><span class="s0">aited us. He said</span><span class="s0"> he had learned the Naturals were right, that</span><span class="s0"> we were a plague and that this </span><span class="s0">would be our salvat</span><span class="s0">ion. He spoke of Baphomet as a </span><span class="s0">virus</span><span class="s0"> and it was made known to us what that meant. He spoke of the Nightbreed as a </span><span class="s0">contagion</span><span class="s0"> and it was made known to us what that meant. He spoke of Midian as a </span><span class="s0">host</span><span class="s0"> and it was made known to us what that meant. His words </span><span class="s0">flooded our hearts and near-hearts like a deluge of truth that drowned all hope, because hope was no longer needed to even grasp</span><span class="s0"> at. The days of being monsters yet not monstrous had ended.</span><span class="s0"><br></span></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span class="s0" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s0">Countless adorations to the countless faces of Baphomet.</span><span class="s0"><br></span></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span class="s0" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s0">We took </span><span class="s0">up the blood and body</span><span class="s0"> of Baphomet, the tattered and fra</span><span class="s0">yed remains of our god, and quietly brought</span><span class="s0"> them to the cities of Man. Some of us had not seen cities in centuries</span><span class="s0">, myself included</span><span class="s0">. Newer Nightbreed would tell us of these </span><span class="s0">glass and concrete </span><span class="s0">citadels </span><span class="s0">that reached high in adoration of the damned and accursed sun, like </span><span class="s0">the needy </span><span class="s0">finger</span><span class="s0">s of titanic</span><span class="s0"> children. I never understood them, their words never made sense. After seeing cities, their words still do not make sens</span><span class="s0">e. "These are the ones that judge</span><span class="s0"> us infection?" I ask myself still</span><span class="s0">, a</span><span class="s0">s if it makes us better.</span><span class="s0"><br></span></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span class="s0" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s0">Through</span><span class="s0">out these cities w</span><span class="s0">e became mist, we became animals, we became nothing at all, and cast the </span><span class="s0">b</span><span class="s0">lood and </span><span class="s0">body</span><span class="s0"> of Baphomet where they would touch</span><span class="s0"> and judge</span><span class="s0"> Man. Where we could not go, we were</span><span class="s0"> able to dupe men with love of money but hatred of foresight to go for us. We laughed at them as we slid further into </span><span class="s0">the</span><span class="s0"> abyss of them being right.</span><span class="s0"><br></span></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span class="s0" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span class="s0" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s0"> </span><span class="s0">So now </span><span class="s0">Baphome</span><span class="s0">t has</span><span class="s0"> been spread far and wide; </span><span class="s0">in</span><span class="s0"> water, in food, in blood. The stones upon which Midian </span><span class="s0">will be remade carve themselves out of deoxyribonucleic</span><span class="s0"> quarries. It has taken some time, but that is all</span><span class="s0"> some of us have left.</span><span class="s0"><br></span></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span class="s0" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s0">Right now, as this murderi</span><span class="s0">ng sun sets, birthing roars mingle</span><span class="s0"> amongst screams and explosions in the st</span><span class="s0">reets below. The Berserker</span><span class="s0">s are</span><span class="s0"> born first. F</span><span class="s0">rom the l</span><span class="s0">owliest to the highest of Man</span><span class="s0">’</span><span class="s0">s castes, Baphomet</span><span class="s0">’</span><span class="s0">s favor knows nothing but equality</span><span class="s0">. </span><span class="s0">They rampage and paint the sunset-dappled streets crimson. </span><span class="s0">The</span><span class="s0">y are the purge</span><span class="s0"> of Baphomet, clearing th</span><span class="s0">e way for Midian. Those who survive, they</span><span class="s0"> too</span><span class="s0"> will be touc</span><span class="s0">hed by </span><span class="s0">Baphomet and will be welco</span><span class="s0">med into the Tribes of the Moon</span><span class="s0">, </span><span class="s0">for it will be their new birthright. There will be no more worthless hope, for Midian will be eternal, and the sun our final ene</span><span class="s0">my.</span><span class="s0"><br></span></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span class="s0" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s0">Countless adorations to the countless fa</span><span class="s0">ces of Baphomet.</span><span class="s0"><br></span></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span class="s0" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px;"><span class="s0" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p><p class="s7" style="text-indent: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; direction: ltr; padding-right: 72px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s0" style="font-size: 12px; font-family: 'Courier New';"><br></span></p>Aaron Bessonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247400242619775707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407661124709646962.post-82924896146871758632013-06-30T17:57:00.002-07:002013-06-30T17:57:36.641-07:00Review: Nightmare Ballad- Benjamin Kane Ethridge<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17303118-nightmare-ballad" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Nightmare Ballad" border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1360645955m/17303118.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17303118-nightmare-ballad">Nightmare Ballad</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4448495.Benjamin_Kane_Ethridge">Benjamin Kane Ethridge</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/647595104">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Ethridge's newest book goes to a weird, weird place, which is saying something if you've read his previous works. As he's shown in previous writings such as Black & Orange, and Bottled Abyss, Ethridge displays a talent for creating or recreating mythos in order to create a really disturbing story. In Nightmare Ballad, there's a mythos there but it takes an investiture of time to start putting it together. A large contributing factor to this, and this may or may not put some people off, is the depths to which Ethridge creates a sense of logic in the dream world (where a lot of the book takes place) that carries over into the waking world. You know that dream where you're standing in front of Mrs. Taylor's English class buck naked, Suzy Petersen is laughing at you for asking her out, and your big fear is that you forgot all the questions to the spelling bee? You know how, at that time, it all made sense? Ethridge is able to instill that logical structure in depth in his characters, and I'll be the first to admit that the smoothness of it can cause some confusion over what's supposed to be happening in the waking world vs. the dream world. This can be gotten through with some careful reading, which leads me to the next point of saying this isn't a read that you can pay partial attention to. It requires some focus, but dammit if it isn't worth it.
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Aaron Bessonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247400242619775707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407661124709646962.post-40969142943561393662013-06-21T13:49:00.000-07:002013-06-21T13:49:16.443-07:00Review: The Ocean at the End of the Lane- Neil Gaiman<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15783514-the-ocean-at-the-end-of-the-lane" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="The Ocean at the End of the Lane" border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1351914778m/15783514.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15783514-the-ocean-at-the-end-of-the-lane">The Ocean at the End of the Lane</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1221698.Neil_Gaiman">Neil Gaiman</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/493242761">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
I've been waiting for this book for quite some time, and was not disappointed. Gaiman creates a beautiful story about childhood in specific, people in general, and how memory affects both. This story is more in the vein of The Graveyard Book than more intricately detailed stories such as American Gods or Neverwhere, but that's not to say it's not a complex story. Years ago, my father gave me a copy of Charlotte's Web, recommending that I read it at least once a year, as I'll get something new out of it with each reading. I strongly suspect that The Ocean at the End of the Lane will be the same way.<br /><br />Gaiman did confuse the myth of Hathor with the myth of Sekhmet, but these things happen.
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Aaron Bessonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247400242619775707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407661124709646962.post-84191997384161818802013-03-02T22:38:00.001-08:002013-03-02T22:38:32.264-08:00The productivity of the bedriddenHad to take a day off from work today after coughing my way to injury. The Common Cold of the Pacific Northwest is a fascinating bug. You can have the actual cold for three or four days, but the after effects will last an entire presidential term. Last night when I was coughing the (hopefully) last remains of things phlegmy and Lovecraftian, I got a good wracking barrage going that resulted in something something getting hurt a lot in my side. Pain relief medicine did a good job, but it still left me bed ridden today. This is what I did:<br />
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*Got through a huge chunk of season four of Supernatural. This has probably been my favorite season so far since I decided to give the show a try. I'm not overly fond of Castiel, but friends are convincing me he gets better. I'll hold them to that.<br />
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* Read some more of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Season-Carcosa-Joseph-Pulver-Sr/dp/1937408000">this</a>. I'm a huge Lovecraft fan, but the works of Robert Chambers really rules my roost. Very glad to see there are writers who are enthused by his works as well, and express it with great talent. Definitely recommended.<br />
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*Finished the second draft of a new short story. Don't think the pain killers got in the way too much, will know more tomorrow.<br />
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Enough from the Good Share dept., back to wallowing in bed. G'night!Aaron Bessonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247400242619775707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407661124709646962.post-20582008928391864462013-02-22T23:56:00.001-08:002013-02-22T23:56:22.150-08:00Catching upIn the spirit of not falling off the face of the earth, here is the State of the Aaron address.<br />
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In have a cold. Other than Maryland trying to kill me through various medical means back in August, I got through 2012 pretty much cootie-free. As such, a balance needed to be maintained so I got hit with your standard Pacific Northwest Death Cold three days before I had to head down to California to see family. This is as fun as you can imagine.<br />
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Netbook asploded. Well, it didn't so much asplode as much as give me the compact computer equivalent of the finger and saying "You're not the boss of me." Got an Asus Vivobook today. Fantastically sexy piece of work. I can turn it on at 10:30, and at 10:32 I'm writing. After having a Dell for the past 2+ years, you might understand why this makes me giddy.<br />
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From the Better Late Than Never Dept: Got another story published! Unfortunately, it was back in December and I suck at self promotion. It was through UK publishers Spinetinglers. It's a story for Christmas time, you can read it <a href="http://spinetinglers.co.uk/ReadStory3709.aspx">here</a>. <br />
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From the Learning From My Mistakes Dept.: Got another story published! My tale, The King In Yellow's New Clothes, will be part of the future Dread Time Tales anthology through Alter Press. Watch this space.<br />
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In closing, here's a picture of Charro<br />
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<br />Aaron Bessonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247400242619775707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407661124709646962.post-56119391691933748812012-11-10T22:31:00.000-08:002012-11-10T22:31:43.969-08:00Bottled Abyss- Benjamin Kane Ethridge<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13630144-bottled-abyss" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Bottled Abyss" border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1342969343m/13630144.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13630144-bottled-abyss">Bottled Abyss</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4448495.Benjamin_Kane_Ethridge">Benjamin Kane Ethridge</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/453243694">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
I was introduced to Ethridge's work last year with Black & Orange which easily became one of my favorite books of the year. Ethridge's talent for turning folklore and myth into his own device stays strong in his new book, Bottled Abyss. The story initially starts off about Herman and Janet, a married couple who lost their young daughter recently to a hit and run driver, and all the trauma which that entails. While looking for their lost dog, Herman meets Charon the Boatman, and learns first hand the power of the Boatman's bottle. This spirals Herman and Janet's life down a dark spiral of horror, insanely dark realms of Greek mythology, and a glimpse of how genuinely damaged people can be.<br /><br />Honestly it was that last facet of the book that made reading it such a visceral experience. As mentioned before, Ethridge is a master of creating a new world out of old myth. His legendary figures take on a new life that is vastly entertaining to read. I, however, was just amazed at how well he fleshed out the four main characters of the book, and how each of them were experiencing lives that were broken to a point where the dark myths that permeated the story almost took a back seat. It made the book incredibly hard to put down.<br /><br />The resolution of the story is as terrifying in implication as it is in what is made known. If he ever did a sequel to it, I'd honestly be intimidated to read it. All in all, a fantastic, dark read from a consistently talented writer. Five stars definitely.
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Aaron Bessonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247400242619775707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407661124709646962.post-33364898394113458412012-10-30T21:49:00.000-07:002014-07-08T17:01:07.856-07:00Review: The Neon Court- Kate Griffin<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8348904-the-neon-court" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="The Neon Court (Matthew Swift #3)" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1305862238m/8348904.jpg"></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8348904-the-neon-court">The Neon Court</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/613805.Kate_Griffin">Kate Griffin</a><br>
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/383077790">4 of 5 stars</a><br><br>
I've been a huge fan of the series since I first discovered A Madness of Angels. Griffin's world of Urban Fantasy makes me think of what Jim Butcher would do if he was stuck on an island with a copy of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, a complete collection of the Hellblazer comics, and no coffee. The world that main character Matthew Swift lives in is one of an amazing mythos, but it's a very modern one. There are beings within it that are from folklore (Such as the Neon Court in this book.) but they're existing and identified in a contemporary setting. This creates a fantastic atmosphere that gives one the feeling that Magic exists if you just look down an alley the wrong (or right) way.<br><br>The Neon Court differs slightly in tone from the first two books in the series in that the storyline pretty much takes place in the world that Swift has created/been thrown into as it stand right now. The first two books dealt with his resurrection and his advancement into the role he plays in London's magical underworld right now. The Neon Court has no real advancements of the character plot-wise that I could see, but I haven't read the fourth one yet, which could make me look like a complete idiot for saying this.<br><br>One stand alone comment: Griffin likes to break her toys. I did not see some things that happened to what I thought were major characters coming.<br><br>Definitely a good read and time well spent. Four stars.
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Aaron Bessonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247400242619775707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407661124709646962.post-83833321695600415872012-03-15T23:51:00.000-07:002012-03-15T23:51:21.842-07:00Just a thought.75 years ago today, Howard Phillips Lovecraft died. What did you do today?<br />
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Rest in Peace, you magnificent bastard.<br />
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<br />Aaron Bessonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247400242619775707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407661124709646962.post-67172764503793016552012-03-06T21:43:00.001-08:002012-03-06T21:43:38.197-08:00Fun with moving<div><p>I've been trying to get into using Twitter more simply because it's proven to be an absolute treasure trove of great ideas coming together in real time. As I'm going to start the horrendous process of moving (Moving is intrinsically horrendous, even when it's simple. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.), I decided that I will tweet about it in the style of H.P. Lovecraft. Also, I just want to use the #uhaulofcthulhu hashtag.</p>
<p>Also, if you're in tweet space, add me. I add you back like an unquestioning whore. @ajbesson </p>
</div>Aaron Bessonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247400242619775707noreply@blogger.com0