REVIEW: The Sound and the Echoes / Dew Pellucid

TITLE: The Sound and the Echoes

AUTHOR: Dew Pellucid

PUBLISHER: Self-Published

AVAILABILITY: Amazon US (paperback), Amazon US (Kindle e-book), Amazon UK (paperback), Amazon UK (Kindle e-book), Barnes & Noble (paperback)

APPROXIMATE LENGTH: 582 pages

Recommended for fans of stories that take place in fantastical realms, such as the Harry Potter series.

GENRE

Fantasy—Children’s

The Sound and the Echoes follows 12-year-old Will from his ordinary life in Alaska to the fantastical realm of the Echoes. The Echo realm is a glittering winter wonderland, full of magic and mystery. Familiar territory for fans of contemporary, otherworldly fantasies. While very different in plot and concept, the enchanted atmosphere is reminiscent of the Harry Potter books in all the right ways.

PACE

The Sound and the Echoes moves along at a fairly steady pace, advancing the plot while taking the time to illustrate the fantastical world it takes place in. The mystery and intrigue make it easy to keep turning the pages.

PERSPECTIVE

Third person limited. The story is told from Will’s point of view and follows him through his adventures.

CONTENT REVIEW 
In Dew Pellucid’s fanciful tale, every time a person is born, a second being—an Echo—comes into existence at the same time. These Echoes live in a winter wonderland beneath the Arctic, unbeknownst to their ordinary counterparts, called Sounds. Subjects of a superstitious monarchy, the Echoes believe their lives are bound to those of their Sounds. Therefore, when a Sound dies, his or her Echo is executed, in accordance with the Law of Death.

Will Cleary’s ordinary life turns upside down when he learns of the Echoes—and that his is the Echo realm’s prince. The prince’s uncle, a false king who seized the throne following the former king’s death, has sent ghostly Fate Sealers to kill him, forcing the prince to die and making his grip on power permanent. Will travels to the Echo realm in hopes of saving himself and the Echo monarchy from evil. Hiding out in the Orphanage for Castaway Children, he finds himself at the center of ancient mysteries and political intrigue. His disguise can only last so long before the Fate Sealers patrolling the Orphanage discover his true identity.

Brave and loyal, Will is the kind of protagonist who’s easy to root for. His self-deprecating sense of humor and stubborn disposition make him believable as a character, one who is admirable and imperfect in all the right ways. He thinks for himself, in spite of all the people telling him what to do—the Echo guardians who have watched over him since he was a toddler, the teacher at his Alaska school who has traveled to the Echo realm, the royal advisor whose motivations are unclear. In his adventures, Will is accompanied by a somewhat odd magician wannabe called Peter Patrick Peterson, a boy whose funky mannerisms and alliterative name are indicative of the kind of quirks Pellucid likes to throw into this story.

The dichotomy of Sounds versus Echoes creates an interesting theme, one akin to race relations. The Law of Death makes it clear that Echoes view their ignorant Sounds as superior beings. Even the labels they give themselves indicate this—the Echoes are merely shadows of the “real” people who populate the Earth. And yet they are conscious beings with their own lives and souls. They have the same looks and personalities as their Sounds, but, like twins who share DNA, are independent individuals.

The prince wishes to abolish the Law of Death, which will effectively put the Fate Sealers and the executioners—called Fortune Tellers—out of business. And thus, Will and the prince have more than just the false king to worry about. In its characters, The Sound and the Echoes is a story of friendship and loyalty, of noble intentions and bravery in spite the face danger. The messages it carries are encouraging examples of the best of human nature.

In The Sound and the Echoes, Pellucid has demonstrated an amazing knack for world-building. The atmosphere glows ice blue, sparkling with charm and whimsy. It’s easy to visualize the many wonderful, otherworldly objects and places in the Echo realm, all of which follow carefully laid-out rules. Crystal balls, glowing see-through beings, smoky specters, ice-like coins… these are some of the things that glitter within the story. From back-stories to the mechanics of the magic, Pellucid has covered every aspect of this world, making for a fully immersive reading experience.

The Sound and the Echoes is a brilliantly imagined fantasy, the kind that’s exciting to read and leave you smiling. Pellucid has created something truly magical, with descriptions that will carry you into this frozen fantasyland and make you never want to leave.

THE NITPICKY STUFF

I saw a teeny-tiny, barely perceptible number of typos, but the author told me she found and corrected a handful since sending me the edition I read, so the typos may have already been zapped.

Like all fantasies, this book contains some violence, but nothing gory or gruesome. Its content is suitable for young readers.

This book contains a number of computer-rendered illustrations by Andy Simmons.

AUTHOR INFO

Dew Pellucid is the pen name of Tal Boldo. “Dew Pellucid” is a character in The Sound and the Echoes; he is an old Echo who recorded the events of the story.

Visit the book website  or Like the book on Facebook or Follow the book's Twitter 

RELATED: An Interview with Tal Boldo (Dew Pellucid)

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Seth Kaufman

Seth Kaufman, author of The King of Pain, a satire about reality television, discusses his novel's themes, characters, and inspirations. Visit his website.

The King of Pain satirizes the world of reality television. Why did you choose to write about this subject? 

There were a number of reasons.  First off, the backstory: I had been kicking around the idea of a Hollywood bigwig getting stuck under his entertainment system for a while. It was a fitting, comic visual metaphor about the role of media in our lives. But I wasn’t sure who, exactly, this trapped character was. I also knew I wanted to write about prisons. I had this title, “A History of Prisons,” in my head.  And so the two ideas just bounced around, literally for years.  But it wasn’t until the post-9/11 world, when the whole debate about water-boarding suspected terrorists surfaced, and the whole “is it torture?” question arose, that the book came together.  Reality TV and American Idol and Survivor were all red-hot, and all of sudden it became obvious to me that the man stuck under his monsterous wall unit reading “A History of Prisons” should be a guy with a hit TV show about torture.  And so I wrote the first draft in about 10 months, mostly on the subway going back and forth to work, alternating between the Rick Salter/TV story and the short stories. It sounds funny to say, but  I honestly don’t know if this book could have been written without Dick Cheney.

Now, the other thing about my background, is I know TV and I know celebrity culture. And even though I was once a TV reporter and a gossip reporter—or maybe because of those jobs—I’m pretty critical of TV and the cult of celebrity that powers it.  And so, reality TV is a ripe target, but it was also just a perfect setting for the guy stuck under the entertainment system.

One more thing about reality TV. It’s the most popular genre in America, and maybe in the world for all I know. The other day my nephew complained that kids in his high school only talk about reality TV and cell phones. That was pretty depressing statement, especially if you think about these shows, as Rick Salter sometimes does,  subjecting people to torture. Are we what we watch?  I don’t know the answer to that. But contestants in these shows often seem imprisoned to me, and if you are addicted to a show aren’t you, maybe, a little imprisoned too?  So Reality TV is a very thought-provoking form of entertainment. I though I could have fun exploring it.

How did you come up with the colorful line-up of contestants for the torture reality show, “The King of Pain”? Why did you choose a nun as one of the most prominent characters?

One of the joys of writing a novel is you get to be your own casting director, whether you are writing about TV or speculative fiction or historical romance. You get to decide what “types” you want.  So I guess I asked myself, what would Rick Salter do? I’ve watched enough Project Runway and Survivor to know that these shows want to appeal to a wide swath of demographics, but they also want friction and personality clashes. So that was easy.

As for inventing Sister Rosemarie, I’m not sure where she came from. I was thinking, who would be the most unlikely character for the show and came up with her. For the purposes of The King of Pain, she’s an interesting moral barometer for the whole show. She’s doing it for God. She’s about love. She hates torture. Good for her.

Ironically, after I finished writing The King of Pain, a book came into my office called Race to Grace. And it was about this real-life “Iron Nun” who runs triathalons.  Which shows that, as crazy as my book may be, it’s not that crazy at all. Pretty much everything in it was within the realm of possibility.

Rick Salter, the main character and  mastermind behind “The King of Pain,” is a Hollywood jerk. But ultimately, he’s not a wicked person, and one cannot help sympathizing with him. How did you go about developing his character?

Thank you for that perspective. I have grown very fond of Rick Salter, obviously.  I suppose he’s a composite of Hollywood characters that I’ve written and read about over the years.  Guys who love movies and love the business, but whose moral compass can go haywire at times. There are plenty of  lines and observations that Rick makes and recalls—say, about the constant supply of teens and tweens, or his screenwriter friend who says “that’s not the movie I wrote”—that are things I’ve heard in Hollywood.  The tricky thing about creating an anti-hero is trying to balance him, so he doesn’t completely alienate some readers.  Rick says a lot of insightful things. But the fate of the loudmouth—even a loveable loudmouth—is to offend some of the people some of the time.  And Rick does that. I do think he has many redeeming qualities.

You name yourself as the author of the book-within-a-book, A History of Prisons, which Rick comments on and sometimes criticizes. What was it like looking at your own writing from a character’s eyes?

It was fun. As you noted in your review, part of the book is about the joy of reading and the power of telling stories. I relished having Rick desplay some great  strong analytic skills one minute and then totally miss the point—my point—the next.

I also really enjoyed thinking about how you, the reader, are reading a book about a guy reading a book, who is doing exactly what the you the reader are doing: thinking about the stories, wondering who the author is, wondering where this book came from and what inspired it.  And then, in one of the stories in “A History of Prisons,” it goes a level deeper: you are reading a book about a guy reading a book that has a story (“The Gizless Days of Thomas Binder”) about a kid who reads a “physical” book for the first time.

Among the stories in the book-within-a-book A History of Prisons, do you have a favorite?

Yes, I have a favorite. And let me just say that it is the one story that NOBODY has told me they like. So far, the stories seem to resonate the most with readers are  “The Stocks,” “The Gizless Days of Thomas Binder,” and “The Gift,” I like them all, of course.  But I really love “The Translator.”  I feel like it’s  a story that really gets to the transcendent power of story telling . I think that it’s also the most outrageous of the stories, at least with the crazy plot lines and insane sex scenes that entertain the inmates. But I love the craziness of it. And I love how it resurfaces into Rick’s life later in the book.

How did you come up with the idea to tie the frenzied, shameless media culture to prison stories?

When I was writing, I thought of the prison stories as tied to Rick and his situation. But you make a good point.  After the first draft was done, I ended up shifting stories around, trying to also match them against the events of the show so they resonated as they sort of rub up against each other.

But about the prison stories: My grandfather was a political prisoner in Poland between the wars. He did two stints of 4 year prison sentences. He basically rotted in jail in his 20s. I interviewed him a couple of times, and he talked very frankly about his time there. The converstations inspired two stories, “Longman” and “The Gift,” and a number of the themes that surface in of “A History of Prisons.”

Were there any scenes you particularly enjoyed writing? Any you found particularly challenging?

I loved writing the out-of-control moments of “The Translator.” I guess there’s something liberating about literary perversity, about being outrageous.

The most challenging part was documenting Rick’s big moment with  Amanda and making it believable and vulnerable. That might be my favorite writing in the book, with Rick at his most vulnerable, and the way the interlude ends.

Writing the whole ending was tricky. Endings, for me, are the hardest thing about writing.  That and proofreading, which I am terrible at.

What kind of research did you conduct in order to write The King of Pain?

I didn’t do much, actually. The web helped me with “The Daquiri Case” with regard to the town of Daquiri and the lay out of Gitmo. I have to say that that story was created solely on the fact that the two places, both of which capture your imagination (or mine, anyway), are basically right next to each other, like heaven and hell being neighbors. In “Baxter Blood,” the web helped me  with mathmatical terms and confirmed that yes, prisoners do make license plates. But I knew, or thought I knew, quite a bit about the TV world.

Reality shows offer their participants more than cash prizes—many people use them as springboards to success and fame. Would you ever consider participating in one?

Ha! No.  Well, maybe if it involved writing or song writing.

A lot of writers live in New York City. Do you interact with them often?

Brooklyn is a huge place. It has pockets filled with writers, journalists, critics, editors, agents and media types. And so yes, I have a bunch friends and acquaintances who inhabit the literary world in one way or another. But except for parties and a monthly poker game, I don’t see them all that much. There is no Algonquin round table scene that I know about with, say, Jumpha Lahiri, Martin Amis, Jennifer Egan, and Jonathan Safan Foer all drinking Brooklyn Lager together.   I think they are all writing. And me, I have my day job and a family and a band, so I don’t have a huge amount of time to schmooze.

What’s your band like?

The Fancy Shapes are a fun, horn-flavored 7-piece party band. We play lots of island and funk flavored grooves. And I play a lot of african-influenced guitar lines and write most of the songs.  We usually play once or twice a month.  You can hear our CD (before we added horns) on Facebook or at thefancyshapes.com. 

I saw on your website that your next book will be about gambling. Can you tell us anything more?

Uh-oh, I have to change that. I have a different book coming out in early November. It’s an illustrated parody and cautionary tale of a very successful children’s book. Our book is called If You Give an Architect a Contract. It is a traum-com. (Traumatic Comedy?) about the nightmare of home ownership and renovation. I’ll send you a copy when it’s out.

I am very excited about the gambling novel, which is called The Vig.  It should be ready by the spring. It’s about a nice, upper middle class bookie and a nice Carribean police officer who both wind up in Las Vegas on their own bizarre investigations, while I kind of use their missions to compare the world of gambling with the so-called “legitimate” world of business.  It’s sort of a slightly warped thriller.  It’s not as outrageous as The King of Pain, but is pointed and funny, too.  I hope.

The King of Pain is available at: Amazon US (Kindle e-book), Amazon US (paperback), Amazon UK (Kindle e-book), Amazon UK (paperback), Barnes & Noble (Nook e-book), Barnes & Noble (paperback), The Copia (e-book)

REVIEW: The King of Pain / Seth Kaufman

TITLE: The King of Pain

AUTHOR: Seth Kaufman

PUBLISHER: Sukuma Books

AVAILABILITY: Amazon US (Kindle e-book), Amazon US (paperback), Amazon UK (Kindle e-book), Amazon UK (paperback), Barnes & Noble (Nook e-book), Barnes & Noble (paperback), The Copia (e-book)

APPROXIMATE LENGTH: 296 pages

Recommended for fans of satire and dark comedies, as well as fans of reality television.

GENRE

Comedy—Satire

The King of Pain satirizes the colorful and absurd world of reality television through the eyes of Rick Salter, one of Hollywood’s biggest players. It also presents a number of fable-like short stories about prisons via the book-within-a-book that Salter reads, A History of Prisons. These stories are self-contained vignettes depicting various prison experiences from around the world.

PACE

While not a page-turner in the plot-driven, action-after-action sense, The King of Pain maintains a fast pace through its smooth and efficient writing style. In addition, the drama of the reality show Rick produces, which he describes in summarizes bit by bit in his narrative, leaves a reader wanting know what happens next much like a television show would. I sped through this one in less than two days and was a little sad when it was over.

PERSPECTIVE

Rick’s chapters are told from his first person present point of view. He tells the story as it happens. The reader learns about his reality show through his flashbacks and memories. The short stories he reads in A History of Prisons are written in third person limited except for one first person narrative.

CONTENT REVIEW

Rick “the Prick” Salter is not a very nice man. So when he wakes up alone in his big, empty mansion trapped under his hefty home entertainment system, the only person he can count on to rescue him is his housekeeper—who won’t arrive for at least 48 hours. With no clue as to how he ended up in this predicament, all Rick can do is reflect on his recent dealings with his reality show, “The King of Pain,” and read a book that’s fallen near him, A History of Prisons by one Seth Kaufman.

Through Rick’s story, Kaufman skewers the world of reality television. “The King of Pain” puts its contestants through torturous trials—starvation, sleep deprivation, physical pain—and scores them based on their endurance and audience votes. Essentially, Rick—or Kaufman—has dreamed up a show in which all pretenses are abandoned and reality programming is distilled into its most basic element: drama through human suffering. Rick is well aware that humans have always held a perverse fascination with witnessing the travails of other people.

The stand-alone short stories that make up the book-within-a-book A History of Prisons read like fables, each painting a short but sweet vignette of one person’s prison experience and highlighting elements such as karma, kismet, and irony. The Chinese dissident who writes letters for an illiterate cellmate. The protestor who goes on hunger strike. The African prison guard who finds the tables turned on him.

Meanwhile, in the “real” world, Rick has found the tables turned on him. Through his reality show, he has become a master of torture, putting the show’s contestants through hell in order to captivate an audience. Now he’s the one in hell, immobilized, dehydrated, and helpless, and we, the readers, are the audience. The image of Rick trapped under the weight of his own home entertainment system is a powerful symbol of how consumerism and the media imprisons us all. There’s an element of the metaphysical in this book—we, the readers, are in a way the audience of “The King of Pain” show. As Rick outlines each episode, one cannot help wondering how each contestant will fare. It’s easy to be disgusted by the show’s shamelessness, and yet impossible to avoid being pulled in.

While The King of Pain is primarily a dark roasting of the media, it’s also an ode to books. A History of Prisons keeps Rick sane through his predicament by transporting him to other worlds, subtly stirring up his thoughts and making him reflect, and bringing him company through the characters’ and author’s voices. One particularly powerful story within A History of Prisons depicts a futuristic culture in which everyone is absorbed in digital devices and the entertainment industry has been killed by pirating. Two kids, deprived of their devices, discover the lasting joys of reading and appreciate books for their timelessness. As one of the characters points out, gadgets die and digital entertainment is “less than air,” but all you need to read a book is a source of light.

The King of Pain is a book with messages, wrapped in stories and sprinkled with wit, bound together by the themes of imprisonment and human endurance. It’s essentially two books in one: Rick’s story and the book he reads to pass the time while waiting for rescue. Rick is trapped physically, emotionally, and morally. When we meet him, he’s an arrogant, full-of-himself media king who’s willing to do anything and everything to advance his ambitions. He ignores the voices of reason that tell him that he’s going to far, unable to see past his show’s high ratings and what that means for revenue. But his amorality has left him lonely, and he repeatedly expresses his regret for having allowed Amanda, the woman who gave him the History of Prisons book, to walk out of his life.

Eventually, unable to do anything but think, Rick gains perspective and becomes aware of the perverse world he lives in. Although he is undoubtedly a jerk, one cannot help but sympathize with him as a character. His sharp first person narration brings him to life, and the obtuseness with which he expresses himself shows that he isn’t an evil or cruel person, simply one who has been morally compromised and distorted by the madness of Hollywood that surrounds him. It’s easy to judge him for his brashness, and at the same time, easy to see why he acted the way he did. Who wouldn’t want to be the mastermind behind a hit show like “The King of Pain,” or, for that matter, “The Biggest Loser,” “Fear Factor,” or “Survivor?”

In The King of Pain, Kaufman has created a brilliant satire that entertains as it sends its message. It’s unique, original, and innovative, presenting commentary on modern culture while being darkly entertaining. I was so drawn into this book that I flew through it in less than two days, unable to put it down.

THE NITPICKY STUFF

There are a teeny, tiny, barely perceptible number of typos.

This book contains adult language. There are a few violent scenes, but these are described quickly and in relatively vague detail, leaving out the gruesome parts. There are a handful of scenes depicting sexual situations, but nothing explicit.

AUTHOR INFO

Seth Kaufman resides in Brooklyn with his wife and two children. He was the Editorial Director of TV Guide Online, and has also been a Page Six reporter for the New York Post. For the last 14 years he has been an eCommerce executive. He has written for The New York Times, The New York Observer, The Daily News, Vibe, Star, The Globe and many other publications. The King of Pain is his first novel.

Visit his website.

RELATED: An Interview with Seth Kaufman

REVIEW: Ukishima / Nigel Sellars

TITLE: Ukishima

AUTHOR: Nigel Sellars

PUBLISHER: Hydra Publications

AVAILABILITY: Amazon US (Kindle e-book), Amazon UK (Kindle e-book)

APPROXIMATE LENGTH: 459 pages

Recommended for fans of Asian lore (especially Japanophiles) and epic high fantasies.

GENRE

Fantasy—Epic

Although Ukishima is not a Western-style epic, it contains many of the same elements: an honorable hero, a land in peril, a powerful villain aligned with dark forces. Ukishima draws much of its inspiration from Japanese lore, and with its descriptions of the culture, has a touch of historical fiction.

PACE

This book takes the time to set up its rich and detailed world. It alternates between fast-paced battles and slower scenes depicting the world it takes place in. When the action does pick up, Sellars in relentless, throwing the hero into fight after fight against all kinds of adversaries, scarcely allowing him to take a breath before pitting him against another evil.

PERSPECTIVE

Third person limited. Ukishima is told from the point of view of Minamoto Ichiro and depicts his internal thoughts and ruminations as we follow him on his journey.

CONTENT REVIEW

Plagued by cancer, Japanese pilot Minamoto Ichiro chooses to give his life for his country in a World War II kamikaze mission. Right before he goes down, the Japanese god of war, Hachiman, transports him to another dimension and tells him that he is needed. In a parallel world, one man’s demonic dealings threatens to spread evil through all realities and tear apart the fabric of the universe. Hachiman wants Ichiro to be the hero who will stop this evil and save not only that world, but all the others as well.

Ichiro accepts the mission and is transported to this parallel Japan—Nihon—in which magic roams free and Westerners have not yet arrived. Here, he is a samurai, a general of the young Emperor, and wielder of the legendary sword Kusinagi. With the help of a female ninja and a naïve young monk, Ichiro sets out to destroy the wicked Lord Taira, the man in league with the dark forces.

As a character, Ichiro is the epitome of honor, a man who gives up all sense of self to do his duty and right the world’s wrongs. Intelligent and contemplative, he’s the type of hero we all respect. He is both a deadly force of battle and a kindly mentor, a wise leader and a student of ancient teachings. He’s not perfect, of course, but the moments in which he seems to falter make his victories all the more triumphant. The other characters, unfortunately, are not as developed and often seem like the orchestral backing to Ichiro’s solo performance.  He is an interesting protagonist to read about, and so it’s easy to forget about the others.

Ukishima is written in a rather old-fashioned style, bringing to mind the tone of ancient epic poems. Metaphors abound and Japanese terms are used freely, accompanied by brief definitions. At times these devices feel a little heavy-handed, but generally they add to the book’s atmosphere. Since the story is told from Ichiro’s point of view, the exoticism of this world is treated as the familiar, creating a wholly immersive reading experience. Through his rich writing, Sellars transports his readers to Nihon and takes them through palaces, towns, and monasteries, opening up every aspect of the world and inviting them to explore. He intertwines real elements from Japanese culture and monsters from their lore with his own vivid imagination, creating a world that is to Japan what Middle Earth is to Northwestern Europe.

One aspect of Ukishima that stands out is the exploration of the male and the female, or rather, the blend of the two. Hachiman tells Ichiro, “Male and female minds are within you, and you understand both their natures.  You love both men and women with all your heart, yet you can hate them as passionately.” Ichiro admits in one scene that he was in love with his mentor and married the mentor’s daughter to be closer to him. The young monk accompanying Ichiro is clearly in love with him and resents the female ninja for her relationship with him. Toward the end, we are introduced to a spirit that is both male and female united, both mentally and physically. Ichiro’s acceptance of this dichotomy translates to a willingness to embrace both sides of other things as well. As Hachiman says, he is the perfect choice for this quest because he willingly accepted death, but still fights for life.

It’s elements like these that make Ukishima transcend its genre. In addition to being an epic adventure with lots of evil monsters to fight, it’s also a meditation on what it means to be a hero and an exploration of a faraway culture. Between the thrill of seeing Ichiro take down demonic beasts and undead warriors, we are shown a fascinating mythological world and different ways of thinking. All in all, it’s a unique and exciting read.

THE NITPICKY STUFF

This book would have benefited from a proofreader, but in spite of the errors, the meaning is always clear.

There are a handful of sex scenes in this book. The language is clean (no swear words). This book contains many violent battle scenes, some of which can be a bit gruesome.

After the author biography at the end, there is a glossary of Japanese terms, which may prove useful as several objects in the book are referred to by their Japanese names.

AUTHOR INFO

Nigel Sellars lives in Newport News, Virginia, where he is an associate professor of history at Christopher Newport University. He holds a doctorate in American history from the University of Oklahoma as well as degrees in psychology and journalism. In addition to Ukishima, he is also the author of a young adult novel, Chris and the Vampire (2010) and several short stories.

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RELATED: An Interview with Nigel Sellars

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Stuart Wilson

Stuart Wilson, author of the YA sci-fi adventure Kyle vs. Leila (formerly titled Cyberfreak Debt), answers questions about his novel and his writing habits. Follow him on Twitter.

The majority of Cyberfreak Debt takes place at the Directorate of Metanormal Defense. How did you go about developing this complex setting?

I knew I wanted to keep all the craziness in one place—it would have gotten out of hand if the characters could have wandered wherever they liked! So I just started adding all the features they’d need to live and train: food halls, sports arenas, racing courses… but then it just got out of hand anyway.

From the setting to the sound effects, Cyberfreak Debt seems heavily inspired by comic books. Why did you choose to write in this style?

I’ll take that as a compliment! I grew up on comic books and I still love them. When I envisage stories in my head they’re always in a pow! zap! sort of form, so I guess that just comes out in the writing. Mainly I wanted to the book to be fun, and I think that’s exactly what you get with comic books.

How did you go about choreographing the action scenes?

The main aim here was for unpredictability. If things start kicking off I wanted the reader to have no idea what might happen—sometimes even I didn’t know what was happening! 

What was the inspiration behind Ahn, the little Japanese boy who is simultaneously wise and childishly absurd?

I have friends with Japanese heritage and it’s a really interesting culture from my point of view (I’m a Brit), so I wanted to play with some of this in the story. Although I never intended him as a main character, he already seems very popular and I’m glad about that because he deserves it.

What was the first idea you had for Cyberfreak Debt, and how did the story grow from there?

It’s the cumulation of so many other stories that I’ve written in the past; all the best bits pulled into one piece so it’s kind of been developing for years. It’s hard to say exactly where one story begins, but of all the books I’ve ever written, this is the first one that felt complete.

Do you have a favorite aspect about writing? Scenes you particularly enjoyed creating? Characters you especially liked developing?

I love the absolute freedom. You can literally take your characters wherever you want and, especially in a story like Cyberfreak Debt, the possibilities are limitless. I like pushing the boundaries as far as I can, to the point of insanity and beyond!

Describe your ideal writing situation. Where would you be? What would you have available?

Lots of coffee and Diet Coke. I think I’m addicted but I need a steady flow of caffeine to keep going. After that as long as I’ve got headphones, I don’t mind where I am—café, office, library… I just carry my laptop around and find a place to perch.

If Cyberfreak Debt could be adapted into any other medium, what would you want it be? Comic book? Movie? TV series?

Movies can be over too quick and, while a box set can be with you a long time, almost like a book, I think I’d have to say comic just to satisfy my inner geek…

What’s next for Kyle Rivers? Will he be returning for future adventures? What about Leila?

I hope readers will see Kyle’s journey came to a comfortable conclusion. He’s got himself together and can really choose what happens now. Leila however has all sorts of beef, loose ends and vendettas to take care of. She’s the one to watch and the one I’m most excited to write about next!

Kyle vs. Leila is available at: Amazon US (Kindle ebook), Amazon UK (Kindle ebook), Smashwords (multiple e-formats)

REVIEW: Cyberfreak Debt / Stuart Wilson

TITLE: Kyle Vs. Leila (formerly titled Cyberfreak Debt)

AUTHOR: Stuart Wilson

PUBLISHER: Self-Published

AVAILABILITY: Amazon US (Kindle ebook), Amazon UK (Kindle ebook), Smashwords (multiple e-formats)

APPROXIMATE LENGTH: 107,000 words

Recommended for fans of comic book adventures such as the TV show X-Men: Evolution.

GENRE

Science Fiction—Young Adult

Cyberfreak Debt takes place in a comic book type of universe in which teenagers attend an underground school at the Directorate of Metanormal Defense to learn how to battle supernatural dangers (vampires, ghosts, etc). Nanobots, virtual reality, holograms, and other high-tech gadgets are commonplace. Familiar territory for readers of comics like the X-Men series. This universe is a sci-fi/fantasy blend, with paranormal happenings given “scientific” explanations. None of these explanations are drawn out, though—there’s hardly any techno-babble.

PACE

This book is relatively fast-paced, with plenty of exciting action scenes and lingering mysteries. The story pulls back every so often to ruminate on the thoughts of the main character, Kyle, as he deals with the changes in his life, the death of his parents, and his relationships with his friends.

PERSPECTIVE

Third person limited. The story alternates between Kyle’s point of view and that of Leila, a girl who attacks the Directorate early in the story and is imprisoned in a virtual world.

CONTENT REVIEW

14-year-old Kyle Rivers, left paralyzed after an accident that killed his parents, is given an offer he can’t refuse: join the Directorate of Metanormal Defense and walk again. Via high-tech nanobots that work specifically with his DNA, Kyle not only regains use of his legs, but develops super-speed and the ability to read people’s danger levels.

Along with his wacky best friend, Ollie, Kyle attends the DMD’s training program, hoping to one day become an agent who protects humans from dangers such as vampires and poltergeists. Not long after their arrival, a teenage girl called Leila, whose father had been killed by one of the DMD’s agents, attacks the compound. Leila is captured and placed in a virtual reality prison, where she must face demons generated by the minds of the other prisoners in order to survive and possibly escape.

Cyberfreak Debt alternates between Kyle’s story and Leila’s chapter by chapter, with each chapter opening with an ominous countdown to “cyberdome activation.” The cyberdome causes the real and the virtual clash, sometimes bringing Kyle into the virtual world, sometimes sending Leila into the real one and bringing to life that which is imagined. This causes both realize that something nefarious is going on at the DMD, and they must put aside their differences to figure out who is behind the cyberdome activations, and what their motivations are. Is it Agent Magnolia, the creepy, dangerous man who seems to radiate evil? Is it Director-General Pratt, the goofy man in charge and Kyle’s legal guardian? Professor Brownstein, the caffeine-addicted scientist behind most of the DMD’s technology? Someone else entirely?

Meanwhile, Kyle adjusts to life at the DMD—attending classes, dealing with bullies, joking around with Ollie. Every so often, he is prone to bouts of melancholy as he recalls his parents’ tragic death, and he gradually learns to take control of his mind and not allow his doubts and frustrations to overwhelm him. Courageous, diligent, and good-natured, he is an immediately likable protagonist who is easy to sympathize with, the kind of kid we all like to root for. He sparks with hero potential, following his do-the-right-thing instincts in a manner that is genuine and unpretentious.

Leila, on the other hand, is an arrogant, tough-talking spitfire. She is, in many ways, the opposite of Kyle. Whereas Kyle does his best not to dwell on his parents’ deaths, Leila fixates on avenging her father. She is a fascinating character to watch, one whose violent tendencies make her unpredictable. Both Kyle and Leila interact with a Japanese boy called Ahn, an odd little Buddhist who rattles off nuggets of wisdom in humorously broken English.

Wilson’s snappy and witty writing makes Cyberfreak Debt crackle with energy. Between the zingy dialogue and the vibrant action scenes interlaced with sound effects (Raka-taka-taka! Kabloom!), this book and its characters practically explode from the page. It’s as though he’s allowed his vivid imagination to run wild, creating a story that is dynamic and a tad surreal. He uses the virtual world and the cyberdome activations to illustrate the idea that runs through the whole book—you are what you imagine yourself as. 

And yet he also takes the time to develop the characters, sometimes stepping back from the action to draw out poignant scenes that add a level of emotional depth to the story. Kyle isn’t just a hero-in-training—he’s also a kid coping with tragedy. Ollie isn’t just the plucky best friend—he uses his jokes to cover his insecurities. And Leila, bitter and hostile, teeters on the edge of villainy.

But for the most part, Cyberfreak Debt is pure fun—thrilling, humorous, and rather ridiculous at times. Among other things, Wilson throws in Nazi clown cowboys, an eating contest ending in copious flatulence, and more than a few jabs at the Twilight series (“Vampires do not sparkle!”). Through the twists and turns of the plot, vividly imagined settings, and the lively character interactions, this book grabs you from the beginning and refuses to let go.

THE NITPICKY STUFF

There are a handful of small errors and typos, but nothing distracting.

Heads up for American readers—Cyberfreak Debt uses British conventions.

This book contains comic book type violence (explosions, gunshots, etc.), but nothing gruesome or graphic. The content is appropriate for a young audience.

AUTHOR INFO

[from Amazon.com’s author page]

Stuart Wilson was born in Manchester and comes from a family with a recessive werewolf gene, meaning no one ever changes form, but they do all growl a bit. He likes writing with a quill pen set on fire, giving him a few minutes writing time before he has to stop to battle the flames. The work which survives these constant bouts is now available on amazon and in all good book stores (with computers in them where you can access amazon). Enjoy…

Follow him on Twitter 

AUTHOR READING OF AN EXCERPT:

COMING SOON: An Interview with Stuart Wilson

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Tom Wallace

Tom Wallace, author of the crime thriller Gnosis, answers questions about his writing process and inspirations. Visit his website or Like him on Facebook.

“Write what you know,” the old saying goes. How much of Gnosis is based on your own experiences? What do you have in common with Detective Jack Dantzler?

I have nothing in common with Dantzler, except for a love of tennis and a bent toward philosophical musings. Dantzler, like Cain in Heirs of Cain, is what I wish I was—intelligent, talented, tough, handsome. “Write what you know” is fine; however, I would rather write what I want to be.

Are any of the characters based on people you know?

No. Every character is born in the depths of my imagination.

Dantzler and the man whose innocence he’s trying to prove, Reverend Eli Whitehouse, both spend a lot of time contemplating God. Why did you choose to incorporate this religious element into your book?

I had been reading Harold Bloom’s great book Jesus and Yahweh: The Names Divine, and aspects of the book sort of seeped into the story. That can happen; I was reading a lot of Camus when I was writing What Matters Blood, and some of his stuff ended up in the book. The title, Gnosis, comes from the terms gnostic or gnosticism, which, in some ways, incorporates several of my own beliefs. Portraying Eli Whitehouse as a hard-core Christian fell naturally into the story.  Most Christians, especially American Christians, are actually gnostics, even though they are unaware of it, or would ever admit to it.

The plot of Gnosis includes a lot of twists and turns. Are you the type of writer who maps out your story beforehand, or do you make things up as you go along? What’s your process like?

Normally, I don’t plot things out too far in advance. I like to let the story take me where it wants me to go. However, I do spend a lot of time thinking about how I want to begin each chapter. I never begin a chapter until I have the starting point clear in my mind.

What kind of research did you do in order to write Gnosis?

No research, other than reading Bloom’s book.

Other than Dantzler, who was featured in two previous novels, what element of Gnosis first came to mind?

For me, Gnosis was less about a detective trying to solve a 29-year-old double murder, and more about redemption, particularly the redemption of Eli and his tormented son, Tommy. One of my favorite moments in the book comes in the final chapter, when Eli and Tommy are reunited after not having seen each other in 29 years.  I think that’s a really powerful moment.

Why did you choose to write crime thrillers? What it is about the genre that intrigues you?

I tried to write a “serious” novel on several occasions, only to quickly realize that I’m not Norman Mailer, Philip Roth or Cormac McCarthy. I don’t have their talent, and never will have it. Mysteries and crime thrillers came more naturally, so that’s why I went in that direction. It was either that, or never give myself a chance of being published.

You spent many years as a sportswriter before penning fiction. What compelled you to start writing novels?

I have written more than 1,000 poems and five sports-related books, so going up the ladder to writing a novel seemed like a logical progression. I finished my first novel in 1989, my second in 1992. I didn’t have one published until 2006, so if nothing else, I can say I have something of a bulldog’s tenacity.  Either that, or I’m simply too stubborn to throw in the towel.  

Are you working on anything new? Will you continue writing about Detective Jack Dantzler?

My next novel, The List, will be published in February. It will feature Dantzler, along with Cain, the legendary assassin in Heirs of Cain. Essentially, this will be more Cain’s book than Dantzler’s. The one after that is tentatively titled The Fire of Heaven, and it is another Dantzler book. I’m about 30,000 words into it at this point. 

Gnosis is available at: Amazon US (Kindle e-book), Amazon US (paperback), Amazon UK (Kindle e-book), Amazon UK (paperback),  Barnes & Noble (paperback), Powell's Books (paperback)