It's time to delve into the mystery of Kyri's supposedly-dead brother... ----- Chapter 4. "Ready," said Poplock. Kyri looked around the large, rectangular room and saw Miri, Tobimar, and Lady Shae in combat poses. "Do you actually think he's going to lunge out of the tube to kill us all?" she demanded, feeling a somewhat unreasonable annoyance at this suspicion. We don't know it's Rion, she reminded herself. It really can't be him. Can it? "Expect, no," Hriista said from beside [ Continue reading... ]
Phoenix Ascendant: Chapter 3
December 18, 2015 By Leave a Comment
There had been losses in the battle, and now after... Chapter 3. Poplock gave his own little salute from atop Danrall's shoulder as Tanvol's body, clad in a pure white robe with the pattern of the Seven and One embroidered on it in gems and gold thread, was borne towards the shores of Enneisolaten by seven people: Lady Shae, Miri, Anora, Herminta Gantil and another Color whose name Poplock didn't quite remember, Hiriista… and Tobimar. Tobimar had insisted he be the Seventh, and none had argued with him. The Unity [ Continue reading... ]
Phoenix Ascendant: Chapter 2
December 16, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Phoenix Kyri had just made a shocking discovery... Chapter 2. Tobimar caught at Kyri's arm and pulled her back. "Don't! We don't know how these open, remember?" He caught her gaze, staring steadily into the huge, gray eyes, waited until they focused on him. "You all right?" She closed her eyes and then nodded slowly. At that point, the recognition of the name she'd screamed hit him. "Wait. Rion? Your brother? But… he died in front of you, didn't he?" "Yes… yes, of course. You're right." She [ Continue reading... ]
Phoenix Ascendant: Chapter 1
December 14, 2015 By Leave a Comment
We've been reminded of what went before; now the new material begins! Chapter 1. "Lady Shae!" Kyri shouted even as she realized that Shae could not possibly react in time, and lunged forward, shoving the taller woman aside. Her gauntleted hands caught the sagging beam, gripped so tightly that the hardwood dented beneath her fingers, and she braced herself, throwing all the Vantage strength into keeping the monstrous mass of stone above from moving so much as one more inch. By then, Shae had caught herself [ Continue reading... ]
Phoenix Ascendant: What Has Gone Before
December 11, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Today I begin the snippeting of the final book in the Balanced Sword trilogy, Phoenix Rising; we start with a summary of the prior two books. The first chapter will be up next week! Previously in The Balanced Sword Phoenix Rising Kyri Victoria Vantage lost her parents to unknown attackers some years before; even the Justiciars of Myrionar, God of Justice and Vengeance, the patron deity of her country Evanwyl, were unable to discover the identity of the assailants. But she has moved on, and her brother Rion has become a Justiciar [ Continue reading... ]
On My Shelves: The Phantom Tollbooth
August 6, 2015 By Leave a Comment
"There was once a boy named Milo who didn't know what to do with himself – not just sometimes, but always." Milo is a boy who – in a later era – might be heading towards the clothing racks to find something darker than black to wear. He sees nothing of interest in his world; even the few things that he might care about he can't work up the energy to engage with. He stares at the pavement when he walks, seeing nothing around him. He waits desperately to get out of school, but finds himself so bored outside of it that he longs to be back [ Continue reading... ]
On My Shelves: Relics of War
July 30, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Young Garander's sister Ishta insists on going off into the woods by herself, even though there could be very dangerous things living there – monsters, remnants of the great war between the Northerners with their sorceries and Ethshar, a war that destroyed the Northern empire and, in the end, shattered Ethshar into multiple pieces. This time, Ishta has found something strange and wonderful, a talisman that shows unknown, glowing shapes when touched. Such ancient devices could be harmless… or lethal. Garander makes her show it to [ Continue reading... ]
Under the Influence: H. P. Lovecraft
July 23, 2015 By 2 Comments
The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. -- H. P. Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu Howard Phillips Lovecraft was never well-known during his lifetime, and indeed died nearly completely destitute, having gone from a comfortable middle-to-upper-class upbringing to poverty. But following his death, the stories he had written for the various [ Continue reading... ]
Under the Influence: Glinda of Oz
June 25, 2015 By Leave a Comment
The final volume of the fourteen Oz books written by L. Frank Baum sees Ozma and Dorothy on a visit to Glinda, when Dorothy, idly paging through the Great Book of Records, discovers a cryptic notation that the Flatheads and Skeezers – previously unknown inhabitants of Oz – have begun a war. Ozma is determined not to permit war within her borders, and decides to set out directly for these people in the far north of the Gillikin country and convince them to make peace. Glinda tries to convince her, several times, not to get involved, [ Continue reading... ]
On My Shelves: The Magic of Oz
June 23, 2015 By Leave a Comment
With The Magic of Oz we approach the end of the original series, as this is the thirteenth and penultimate book in the novels by Baum himself. Young Kiki Aru, a boy of the Hyup people who live atop Mount Munch, is a bored and indolent sort of boy, the kind who seems always unwilling to be part of the community around him. One day, however, he discovers the only magical secret his father, Bini Aru, had preserved from the days that Bini Aru was a great Sorcerer: the magical word "Pyrzqxgl", complete with instructions on how to pronounce this [ Continue reading... ]
What You’re Saying