Sunday, November 25, 2007

Blue Kingdoms: Shades and Specters


My Review of Blue Kingdoms: Shades and Specters

Between twilight and dawn, half-glimpsed things lurk in the swirling sea mist, long dead things that have clawed their way out of the darkest abyss, things that were better left entombed.

In this second volume of Blue Kingdoms Stories, you’ll find a host of specters, ghosts, monsters, and more . . . guaranteed to shiver your timbers.

Sail the Azure Sea with a ghoulish crew of tale-spinners who have crafted some scary stories to terrify and delight. Below I’ve written short reviews of the twelve stories.

For those of you who read my first Blue Kingdoms story, “The Pirate Witch,” and wanted more, you should enjoy “The Queen’s Ransom.” It’s the sequel to “The Pirate Witch,” in Pirates of the Blue Kingdoms and features Maeve Tierney, the infamous Pirate Witch herself. If you haven’t read the first one, the second one still makes sense. You get to see that going after your dead ex-husbands treasure is not the best idea—especially when you had a hand in his death. My plan is to use these two stories as the beginning of a novel about Maeve. It’ll be called The Pirate Witch. The third story will be coming out next year and will complete this story arc.

Black Spots by Jean Rabe is a great story. I think it’s the best one in the anthology.
Jean has created an excellent tale that works on all levels. H.P. Lovecraft would be very proud.

The Beacon by Marc Tassin. I loved this story. The characters and the setting were great. I don’t want to give anything away, but Marc is one excellent teller of scary tales.

Book of Life by Dean Leggett—the premise is spooky and who doesn’t want to read about a sentient book? Keep in mind, you want to read about The Book of Life, not read it. Trust me.

Accidental Vengeance by Kelly Swails. I love ghost stories, especially ones involving children. Kelly delivered a heartfelt tale about what happens when a good girl summons a bad one.

Laid To Rest by Kathleen Watness is a grim adventure story with all the good stuff. It features a kick-ass and take names heroine determined to fulfill her duty to a comrade in arms, a diabolical villain of terrible power and plenty of sword-fighting that you won’t want to miss. Bring on the sequel.

The Adventure of the Repose Island Plague Ship, by Jason Mical explores the Blue Kingdoms from a very interesting point of view. The first line is: We vampires hate sea travel. (Yep, it’s a great first line and the story delivers in unexpected ways.)

The Wreckers by Robert E. Vardeman explores piracy close to the coast, when rum was never so important for survival.

Raven’s Wake by Lorelei Shannon is a very scary story and reminds me of a place called Ravenloft—perhaps you’ve heard of it?

Night of the Living Island, by James. M. Ward was a fun story, and features an island you’ll only visit once . . .

The Monster of Mogahnee Bay, by Brandie Tarvin features a noble heroine who ends up with a problem she can’t solve on her own.

The Court of the Blood Red Queen, by Stephen D. Sullivan is all action, all the time. There’s some serious carnage and the story shows what happens when a group of well-armed mariners tangle with someone they probably shouldn’t have. I read the expanded/uncut story in Blue Kingdoms: Zombies, Werewolves, and Unicorns. Let’s just say that the body count is high. Very high.

Get an autographed copy of Pirates of the Blue Kingdoms and Blue Kingdoms: Shades and Specters on my website in the "Works" section.
Thanks for your support!

Paul Genesse

www.paulgenesse.com

Battlestar Galactica: Razor


Hello,
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My favorite show on TV came back for a little teaser on Saturday. I watched the two hour Battlestar Galactica: Razor last night on the Sci-Fi channel. Wow, I loved it. The show told the story of the Battlestar Pegasus after the attack on humanity by they Cylons. It also tells about a missing chapter after the Pegasus found the Galactica and the colonial fleet. It was so tense and was told in flashback with scenes from before and after the meeting with Galactica. It has all the great cast members from the usual show, plus the excellent cast on Pagasus.
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Some interesting things were revealed and it makes me want to see the new season so bad. I
think it comes out in March! I wish it were sooner. I pre-ordered the DVD (of Battlestar Galactica: Razor), and it should come soon. It's the extended edition and has a lot of extra scenes. The show felt a little rushed to me, and I think with the extended scenes it'll be even better. Admiral Kane is the toughest female character I've ever seen on TV. Not following her orders is a very bad idea.
****
Good Hunting! And Frak the Cylons!
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Paul Genesse, Author
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Author of The Queen's Ranson
in Blue Kingdoms: Shades and Specters
get an autographed copy on my website
****
Author of The Golden Cord
Book One of the Iron Dragon Series
Five Star Books (April 2008)

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Beowulf Movie Review


Read my movie review below. I just wanted to post this picture. Do you see the blood in the air?

Paul

Beowulf Movie Review



Beowulf movie review
(no spoilers, just a few teasers)

Pride is the curse. Don’t forget it. King Hrothgar did. Beowulf did. Will you?

I saw the new Beowulf movie tonight in 3D with my buddy Patrick. Wow, what an amazing experience. The movie was so smart and well done. The director, Robert Zemeckis, and the writer (I believe he is not alone in writing this adaptation) Neil Gaiman, did fabulous jobs.

I love the original poem and have read it several times. This movie version was different, but so great. It was visually stunning, exciting, and seeing it in 3D was excellent. Go see it in 3D for sure. I heard that if you go to an IMAX theater you get goggles, whereas I wore plastic glasses—not too bad. Either way, pay the extra price, which for me was $1.50 extra (total $9.00) for a night showing. I heard IMAX was like $12.50. I think it would probably be worth it.

The plot is very similar to the poem, with some iconic scenes right off the ancient pages, but it combines the Grendel story with the Fafnir story (about Beowulf fighting a dragon), and makes it cohesive. They also left in some old English language, which was great to hear. It added a flavor that made the movie feel like it was paying homage to the original poem.

Survival is ruthless. That tagline from the movie is so good. Angelina Jolie as Grendel’s mother was great. Did I mention she is totally hot?

Here’s three reasons to watch the movie in a theater:

The story has lasted for so long because it’s great.
The movie is wildly entertaining and beautiful.
Angelina Jolie is hot. Even as a motion-captured cartoon like image.

Remember one last thing when you watch the movie for added enjoyment:
Pride is the Curse.

Paul Genesse, Author

http://www.paulgenesse.com/

Author of The Golden Cord
Book One of the Iron Dragon Series
Five Star Books (April 2008)

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Gangster Writers


Yep, even writers are in gangs. Mean gangs. So mean we'll actually throw the book at you. I'm not talking little paperbacks. I'm talking epic hardbacks over a thousand pages long! Books that can maim or kill.

So, I'm flashing the gang sign for our crew, Wordfellas. I could tell you what it meant, but then I'd have to edit the crap out of you until you begged for mercy. Your manuscript would bleed so red your shoes would change color. My critiques are so critical every story you wrote in the future would be shorter. Wordfellas FO-ev-a.

Okay, so that's Brad "Bowler" Beaulieu and I at the big author signing on Friday night. It went great and I got to meet up with a cool agent (Jenny Rappaport and her cool husband, Chris), lots of writers (like famous sci-fi author Robert Sawyer and fantasy author Tim Waggoner), and a major publisher, Betsy W0llheim of DAW Books. Everyone loved the cover of The Golden Cord. I handed out over-sized promo cards.

Brad and I had a good time hanging with Wordfellas members: Anton "Fish" Strout, Patrick "Tracer" Tracy, and Pat "Fuzz" Rothfuss. It was such a great time and I can't wait for next year. We met so many great people and got to hang with new and old friends. I'm so thankful for all the fun people I've been able to meet at World Fantasy. It's a great convention and next year it's in Calgary, Alberta. I can't wait.

Now it's time to get busy and finish my next book. Medusa's Daughter has to be finished.

Good luck to all of you out there!

Best wishes,

Paul "Paul-E" (NY accent) Genesse

Author of The Golden Cord
Book One of the Iron Dragon Series
Five Star Books (April 2008)

Author of The Queen's Ransom
Blue Kingdoms, Shades and Specters
Walkabout Publishing (available now at
www.paulgenesse.com)

Thursday, November 1, 2007

World Fantasy Convention 2007

Hello,

There are writers everywhere. I'm in Saratoga Springs, New York. It's in upstate New York, near Albany. It's very wooded and beautiful. The town is lovely and the buildings very old. Descending upon the town are hundreds of writers, editors, publishers, and agents--so I fit right in.

I had a great night and hung out with old friends and met lots of new ones. It was fantastic. I'm looking forward to the next couple of days, where I can hang out and have a good time.

It's just great to meet all the people in the industry and rub elbows with the big guys. I actually shook hands with my hero, George R.R. Martin, writer of the Song and Ice and Fire series. I love those books! He's a cool guy and it was great to meet him.

More later, bye for now.

Paul Genesse

Author of The Golden Cord
Book One of the Iron Dragon Series
Five Star Books (April 2008)