Darryl S Ellrott and Brent Mitchell Wood

Gifted Apprentice: A Whiff of Earthsea

Only the British seem to do high fantasy really well. Despite the talents of George R.R. Martin, when American and British fantasies are compared, the stylistic approaches are readily apparent.  The difference, I think, lies not in the semantic skills or the linguistic talents, but in the minds of the authors. Americans, in general, are completely psyched out  when trying to write high fantasy. One of the most talented writers of his generation, Stephen King, couldn’t do it at all.  His horror and hard-boiled noir tales are unparalleled, but his Dark Tower novels are unreadable.  Ursula K. LeGuin speculated in her essay “Why Are Americans Afraid of Dragons?” that our reticence with the genre arises from our Puritan roots.  Since fantasy stories are more closely connected to idleness than profit, they’re probably sinful.  This kind of self doubt leads to a lack of confidence which is readily apparent in the prose of most American fantasy writers.  The British, however, just relax and tell the tale.

Nicholas A. Rose, author of Gifted Apprentice, is a Welshman, and his fantasy traditions go past La Morte D’Arthur  back to The Mabinogion.  Speaking of LeGuin, that’s exactly who Gifted Apprentice reminded me of.  There’s a hefty dose of T.H. White in Rose’s work as well, and just a whiff of Earthsea.  When young Sallis’s father contracts the services of touch-healer Elvallon to save a sick child, Sallis himself becomes the healer’s apprentice as the fee for services.  Taken from his family and raised in a small cottage in the woods with only a Slyph servant for company, Sallis soon learns of his own hidden talents.  The boy has the healing Gift, a prodigious power that can be used for good or twisted to evil.  Which path will he choose, and will following its mysterious path cost him everything he loves?

The relationship between teacher and pupil is a oft-used trope in the fantasy genre, and this tale of Elvallon and Sallis is strongly reminiscent of Merlin and Arthur in The Once and Future King. However, the comparison is only superficial.  This is a small, quiet story, told in Rose’s quiet, easygoing prose.  Rose whispers;  he never shouts.  It’s really more similar to LeGuin’s Earthsea in its setting, tone, and imagery, and the ending leaves the audience hanging in anticipation of a sequel.  In fact, I’m looking for the sequel.  I want to find out what happens to this kid!  I give Gifted Apprentice 4 ½ of 5 stars, and recommend looking for it in the Kindle Store today.

“Child of Chaos”: Good Writing, Good Reading

I’ve never made it a secret that I’m a comic reader from way back.  I preferred the superhero genre, but I was also partial to the horror and mystery comics as well.  Instead of the multi-issue story arcs so popular with the former, titles like House of Secrets, The Witching Hour, and Tales of the Unexpected dealt with shorter, more compact morality tales.  These magazines were the watered-down 1970’s descendants of the famous EC Horror yarns of the 1950’s, the ones that almost got the comics industry run out of business.  Even though these titles lacked much of the graphic violence of their predecessors, they still packed some punch with their twist endings, many of which involved grim supernatural justice being done on some wrongdoer.

Ron Leighton’s short story “Child of Chaos” simultaneously evokes Abercrombie, Jackson, and Gaines.  As in Joe Abercrombie of First Law fame for the setting and characters, horror icon Shirley Jackson of “The Lottery” for plot and theme, and William Gaines, publisher of EC comics for the ending.  The story deals with a group of iron-age villagers who must decide how to deal with an unwelcome visitor to the town’s granary.  The village elders argue amongst themselves about whether the stunted and deformed creature they’ve captured, the “Child of Chaos,” is truly a monster.  Should it be killed or released?  Has the town’s food supply been defiled by the touch of a demon, or should the creature be treated like any other trespassing animal?

First let me say that Ron Leighton can write.  He’s got pro level skills.  The time, place, and setting are all painted in deft strokes.  There’s none of the purple similes and overdone description of fantasy novices who are trying too hard.  This little one-act is primarily a dialogue piece, and Leighton’s exchanges are spot-on and snappy.  These are real villagers arguing among themselves.  The clichés are kept to an absolute minimum.  Like Jackson’s famous “Lottery,” “Child of Chaos” is all about the conflict between Society and the Outsider.  There’s even a little bit of Dogma vs. Reason thrown in.  As for the ending (which I will not give away,) well, as the Crypt Keeper would say, “Heh, heh, heh!”  “Child of Chaos” is very short, but well worth reading ‘cause it’s so well written.  I’d give it 3 ½ stars out of five.  See you soon!

– Darryl

Read Ron Leighton’s “Child of Chaos” Here!

Duty, Honor, Planet: Good Enough to Want More

Rick Partlow’s Duty, Honor, Planet is a pretty good read, and well worth the $0.99 price tag.  For me to say it’s a pretty good read means that most other people will probably love it because I’m a tough sell and tend to over-analyze things.  Nevertheless, I didn’t feel deprived for the time and money I put into it.

As our story opens, Marine officer Jason McKay is considering resigning his commission due to bad recent experiences.  He’s been reassigned to the staff of a colonel known as “The Snake,” and his first mission out, to protect a Senator’s daughter on a humanitarian mission, soon goes south.

Duty, Honor, Planet’s strength, thanks to Partlow’s canny technique, is in its character development, which was stronger than average for indie eBook fare.  The characters were well drawn and developed just enough so that you wanted to know more about them.  The action was fast-paced and dramatic.  The author didn’t let all the scientific jargon overwhelm the story, as some SF novels do.  The science worked, but it didn’t clutter up the landscape and get in the way of things.

The book is well-written; it has a smooth flow and it’s not jumpy.  If I have any complaints, it is the brevity of the ending.  It seems to me that Partlow got himself in a hurry at the end and tried to wrap everything up in about five pages.  There are no loose ends or unanswered questions, but the action seems very compressed.  It should have been a good deal longer.

Overall, Duty, Honor, Planet is a good read, but not a great read.  I didn’t stay up all night, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.  I’m giving it my recommendation and about three and a half stars out of five.  More reviews to come!

See you soon,

Brent