science fiction | CW Hawes

My 2018 Reading Recap

Today begins a new year. So I thought I’d recap some of the excellent books and stories I read in 2018.

I’m loathe to rank the books I read, and I definitely don’t like to single one out as the Best of the Year. Mostly because tastes change and what I put on top today, I might put in the middle tomorrow.

That being written, 2018 was a banner year because I discovered many wonderful writers and even more truly fabulous books and stories.

What I thought I’d do is look over the 43 novels and novellas, the 5 short story collections and 37 individual short stories, and the 8 books of non-fiction I read and give some a shoutout. Good reads with which to load up your ereader for 2019.

Quite a few of the books I read in 2018 I’ve already promoted on Twitter, featured as my Book of the Week on Facebook, or written reviews for this blog. The rest are waiting for their turn in the limelight.

As a reader, I don’t usually finish a book that isn’t holding my attention. I’m 66 and there are too many good books out there to waste time on the bad ones. After all the actuarial tables aren’t on my side.

I also don’t bother with books touted as bestsellers or award winners. Mostly because the disappointment factor is very high with those books. I’ve discovered true gems amongst the books that are not bestsellers and amongst those that have garnered no awards.

Success is largely a matter of luck, and generally has nothing to do with talent. In writing, as in life, persistence is the key.

Now on to the books!

Secrets of the World’s Best-Selling Writer by Francis L and Roberta B Fugate. This is the best book on writing I’ve ever read. And I’ve read quite a few. The book is about the writing career of Erle Stanley Gardner, the creator of Perry Mason. The Fugates had access to the vast archive of Gardner’s notebooks, letters, and papers. The writing advice comes straight from Gardner himself — and the book is full of wisdom. Every writer who is serious about selling his or her work should have this book. And readers interested in the creative process, should also have this book. It’s a treasure trove.

I love short stories and short novels. Too often long works are filled with unnecessary padding — stuff that doesn’t contribute much, if anything, to the story.

However, I did read a couple of hefty tomes in 2018. And neither one had any flab. They were:

Church Mouse by RH Hale

Don’t Dream It’s Over by Matthew Cormack

I’ve previously extolled (and will continue to do so) the virtues of Church Mouse. It’s a powerful novel with exceedingly well-drawn characters. A very memorable read. A modern day classic.

Note: Due to Amazon’s anti-small author policies, Church Mouse is not available in the Amazon US store. The links take you to Ms Hale’s website and from there you can purchase the book at the vendor of your choice.

Don’t Dream It’s Over is one of the best post-apocalyptic novels I’ve ever read. Matthew Cormack, with a deft hand, paints us a world that is not nice — but wherein lies much hope. Hope for a better future than what we might have gotten in the old world.

The book is also one of the most in depth character studies I’ve ever read. You have to read Kazuo Ishiguro to find something similar. An excellent, excellent read.

Now on to the shorter stuff!

In 2018 I made the acquaintance of quite a number of new (to me) writers. Some of these were:

Richard Schwindt

Joe Congel

Seabury Quinn

Stephen A Howells

Ernestine Marsh

Ray Zacek

Simon Osborne

Andy Graham

Zara Altair

Mark Carnelley

John Paul Catton

These men and women will provide you with many hours of great reading pleasure. So let’s look a bit further and see what kind of pleasure they will bring.

Richard Schwindt has 10 works of fiction (by my count) and I’ve read 8 of those works. He’s an entertaining writer, who delivers good mysteries and occult detective tales, along with imaginative fantasy and paranormal reads. His books are infused with humor, and always give me food for thought.

To start, check out Herkimer’s Nose and Fifty-Seven Years (written under his Will Swift byline). Great reads by a great author!

Joe Congel writes traditional private detective mysteries. His books and stories give a nod to the Golden Era of the mystery, while at the same time being very modern reads. If you like the old school mystery, you’ll like Joe Congel’s Tony Razzolito!

The late Seabury Quinn was a very prolific writer during the pulp magazine era. His first published story was in 1918 and his last (I believe) was in the early 1950s. He wrote across many genres, but is best known for his stories in Weird Tales magazine. He was that magazine’s most popular author, and I can see why. The occult detective Jules de Grandin is his most well-known character.

Stephen A Howells has one book published to date, and in my opinion it is a big time winner. The Garden of Jane Pengelly is part ghost story, part love story, part fantasy, and part magical realism. And it is all wonderful! Mr Howells can tug at your heart strings, so have the tissue box handy. You will love this book.

Ernestine Marsh is the queen of the bitingly satirical comedy novel. Agonising is a look at our foibles and how ridiculous we as a species are at times. Ms Marsh wades in with no holds barred and pulls no punches. I laughed with every page I read. I can’t wait to read the sequel, In Agony Again. Voltaire move over.

The work of Ray Zacek can be darkly humorous, or satirical, or just plain dark. I like his stories very much. My favorite to date is Daguerreotype. The tale is a haunting exploration of our dark side and the risk of indulging it. Treat yourself to Mr Zacek’s work. You won’t regret it.

Simon Osborne’s post-apocalyptic novel, Off Grid, begins with an alien invasion — and the aliens don’t want us around. The rest of the book is a story of survival, planning for the future, and deciding how to get rid of the aliens so we have a future. Off Grid is well-written and just plain good.

In the two works by Andy Graham that I’ve read, he gives us wonderfully dark tales. Stories that explore the unseemly part of our psyche and of our soul. An Angel Fallen is especially powerful and memorable. Do check out his work. You won’t be sorry.

Zara Altair writes mysteries set in Ostrogoth Italy a couple decades after the fall of the western Roman Empire. Argolicus is a retired Roman bureaucrat who gets involved in solving murders — in a culture where murder is not a crime! Give the Argolicus mysteries a try. Start with The Peach Widow.

Mark Carnelley has written an intriguing post-apocalyptic book, The Omega Chronicles, where only one person survives the disaster. What would you do if the survivor was you? Definitely worth your time.

John Paul Catton’s work is remarkable for its inventiveness. Tales from Beyond Tomorrow, Vol 1 is a short story collection that explores a variety of themes. A writer decidedly outside the norm. Take a read!

Now on to a few authors who are no stranger to this blog.

If you have a penchant for stories that have the qualities of a fairy tale, then Sarah Zama’s The Frozen Maze is for you. Quite good!

Jack Tyler’s work makes a strong contribution to the good old-fashioned adventure yarn. However, the book that has impressed me the most is his epic fantasy novel, The Stone Seekers. Mostly because it isn’t a Tolkien ripoff. It’s fresh and creative. The book breathes new life into a sub-genre that is filled with hack writing. Do check out The Stone Seekers.

Mannegishi by Ben Willoughby is an inventively dark take on a Native American legend. If you like horror, you’ll like Mannegishi. And all of Willoughby’s other horror tales.

It is no secret that I am very fond of the work of Crispian Thurlborn. And his latest story, Exit, does not disappoint. Thurlborn’s work is imaginative and at times difficult to categorize. It’s often darkly humorous, and written in a style that would make Dickens envious.

Exit is a story that would have made a stunning episode on The Twilight Zone. It’s a good example of dreampunk (you know, Alice in Wonderland) — and it is simply fabulous. Can we actually change our lives? Or are we doomed to live them forever on repeat? Read Exit and then try to answer those questions.

So that’s my reading recap for 2018. Now on to 2019. I’m currently reading Frank Belknap Long’s early Cthulhu Mythos novel The Horror from the Hills. And I’m looking for some good writers to explore this year. If you have suggestions, let me know.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

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The Coming Race

Good Books You Probably Never Heard Of – Part 10

The Coming Race by Edward Bulwer-Lytton
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1951

As you probably know, I love subterranean settings. I also love Lost Race stories. And Bulwer-Lytton’s 1871 sci-fi novel, The Coming Race, has both. Be still my heart!

The story is fairly simple and straightforward. The unnamed narrator and a friend decide to explore a chasm that an exploratory mine shaft has uncovered.

During the descent, the rope breaks and the friend is killed. The narrator finds himself with no way to get back to the surface and decides to continue his exploration of the extensive chambers he’s discovered. Eventually he enters a vast subterranean world.

The narrator meets a couple of the inhabitants, a man and a boy, who are friendly and welcome him to their world. The narrator learns that the man is an administrator and the boy is his son.

The narrator also meets the entire family, and Zee, the magistrate’s daughter, begins teaching the narrator about the world of the Vril-ya, as the people call themselves.

The Vril-ya are very much superior to humans on the surface of the earth. Their mental powers are phenomenal, and they control a substance called vril, which can heal or destroy.

In time, Zee falls in love with the narrator. Meanwhile, her father, the magistrate, has grown wary of the “primitive” narrator. When he learns his daughter is in love with the stranger, the magistrate orders his son to kill the narrator.

Since you can find a complete summary of the book on the Internet, I’ll just go ahead and tell you the rest of the story.

Zee and her brother take the narrator away, but instead of killing him they take him apart way to the surface. There is a sad parting, and then Zee seals the entrance to the world of the Vril-ya

The narrator makes his way back to the surface and warns the world the Vril-ya will take over the surface of the world when they run out of room underground.

At the time of its publication, The Coming Race, was very convincing and many believe the vril mentioned in the book was real. It’s also claimed that vril was believed to be real by many pre-Nazi occultists, such as those in the Thule Society.

Such is the power of fiction, even today vril continues to make an appearance among occultists, in movies, and in video games.

The Coming Race is free at Project Gutenberg. It’s a historically significant book, and not a bad story — although modern readers may find it slow going. However, Bulwer-Lytton’s description of utopia is quite interesting and helps one through the slow parts.

It’s not often one comes across a book that has had a major impact on history and yet remains rather unknown. Give it a try, after it’s free. You have nothing to lose. In addition, I suspect the book may have influenced HP Lovecraft and his writing of “The Mound”.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

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Ben Willoughby

Good Books You Probably Never Heard Of – Part 7

I’m back with Good Books You Probably Never Heard Of. And today we’re not looking at one book. We’re looking at one remarkable author.

Ben Willoughby and I met on Twitter, and I’m glad we did. His horror books have provided hours of scary, spooky, and at times hilarious entertainment.

He is also the very talented artist who is responsible for the awesome book covers of my Pierce Mostyn series.

In addition to writing horror, Ben has written a high fantasy novel, Gods on the Mountain, and is working on The Zeppelin Lords dieselpunk trilogy.

It is his horror tales, however, I want to highlight in this post, for they are the books I’ve read and thoroughly enjoyed. So without further ado, let’s take a look at Ben Willoughby’s Reign of Terror.

Mannegishi is based on a Cree Indian legend. The small people, the Mannegishi, play pranks on people. They’re tricksters. And at first Jonathan Banks wonders if perhaps he hasn’t had the misfortune of drawing the attention of the Little People. But then things start taking an ugly turn, and so does the story. Highly recommended.

Daddy’s Girl is a ghost story you won’t easily forget. Alex never knew her father. He died when she was very young. However, through the stories about him, she learned he was a warm and loving person, and was a devoted father who loved her very much. When she goes off to college she discovers what a father’s love truly means. And woe to those who threaten Daddy’s Girl. You don’t want to miss this story.

The House That Homed is a hilarious dark comedy. And Willoughby handles the comedy and terror with equal aplomb. You just might never want to be home alone again. Thoroughly entertaining.

Raw Head is another tale based on Native American legend. A serial killer is brutally murdering children. And events cause Susie to fear that the child she is carrying may be the next victim. Can the killer be stopped? What if the killer isn’t human? An emotionally powerful tale.

Deadly Whispers is a dark comedy that takes a whole new look at Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, or ASMR. And let me tell you, that look is both chilling, and funny. Very funny, in fact. There’s also a love story. Horror, humor, and love. A combination guaranteed to creep you out and warm your heart at the same time. And the ending? Well, I never saw that one coming! Very highly recommended.

If you are looking for horror tales that are well-written and come from a very fertile imagination, look no further than Willoughby’s books. They’re superb.

If you are a writer in need of a book cover, I highly recommend Ben Willoughby. He understands book covers. You can get in touch with him on Twitter.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

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Some Very Good Reads

Last week I talked about being a reader. I love reading and can’t talk enough about the joy of books. They truly are fab friends.

This week, I thought I’d talk a bit about some of the great books and stories I’ve been reading of late. I’m an advocate for the underdog. For those writers who are good and just can’t seem to get any traction for their books. I like to promote those writers whenever possible.

Two of my recent reads I mentioned last week: Mark Carnelley’s The Omega Chronicles and RH Hale’s Church Mouse: Memoir of a vampire’s servant. So let’s take a look at what else I’ve been reading over the past couple months.

Entangled by J. Evan Stuart

This one I’ve started re-reading: Entangled by J. Evan Stuart. The book is part police procedural mystery, part coming of age novel, and partly a YA/NA read.

The novel is Stuart’s debut work and it is a real winner. Exceptionally well-written, with characters you’ll fall in love with (well, there are one or two you won’t; but then you aren’t supposed to), and mucho suspense. I’m very much surprised this one isn’t jumping off the charts. But it isn’t. It’s in Amazon’s sub-basement. Which is too bad.

And Stuart has seemingly disappeared as well, which is also too bad. I hope he returns to bring us more Detective Sonya Reisler adventures. And who knows? Maybe a few sales and reviews would do the trick. I hope so.

Don’t pass this one up. It’s a keeper and exclusive to Amazon, so KU folks read for free.

The Stone Seekers by Jack Tyler

I just finished Tyler’s foray into epic fantasy. And it is amazing. Tyler is normally a steampunk writer, which makes this work a surprise — and a very pleasant one.

There is no hint of Tolkien in The Stone Seekers. And I like that. This work is plowing fresh territory. The Tolkien pastiches put me off of epic fantasy. Tyler, if he writes more, could bring me back.

This one is only 99¢ at Amazon. Snarf it up today!

Off Grid by Simon Osborne

A fabulous post-apocalyptic novel that made me sit up and take notice was Off Grid by Simon Osborne. It’s a great survival story. And aside from the aliens, is very realistic. Harry Lennard survives the initial invasion and now he has to survive day to day. A well-written adventure. Part Earth Abides and part Day of the Triffids.

Given the rising prices of indie authored books, this one is a steal at $2.99 on Amazon. Get it today!

The Anuvi Incident by James Vincett

James Vincett is another writer who’s seemingly disappeared — and that’s too bad for us. Nevertheless, his The Anuvi Incident is excellent. If you like military sci-fi, you don’t want to miss this. And if you don’t, that’s okay because The Anuvi Incident is also about what it means to be human. A fast-paced sci-fi war story that is also a little philosophy. A dynamite combo.

Give The Anuvi Incident a try. Vincett has created a fabulous universe.

Tales of Horror: Macabre Monsters of Michigan by Bryan C Laesch

I like horror. Not the blood and guts, hack and slash, splatter punk kind, but the slow burn psychological kind.

Bryan C Laesch’s Tales of Horror: Macabre Monsters of Michigan is a collection of three stories that are a bit slow burn and a bit on the violent side. But there is no gratuitous violence for the sake of violence. Which for me is good storytelling.

Laesch has succeeded in giving us monster stories (and who doesn’t like monster stories?) that are a touch out of the ordinary, perhaps even a touch unique. There is no reason his book should be gracing Amazon’s sub-basement. It is too good for that.

So do yourself and the author a favor and pick up a copy.

The Argolicus Mystery Series by Zara Altair

Argolicus, that Roman public servant living in Ostrogoth Italy, was a delightful find. Sometime ago I asked in a Facebook group for books to read that were not in the top 300,000 on Amazon. Zara Altair stepped forward and volunteered her mysteries — and I’m glad she did.

If you like mysteries, good ol’ Whodunits and not these repetitively boring thrillers, and you like history — than Argolicus is for you.

The stories are set in Ostrogoth Italy 20 years after the fall of Rome, which is a period of time rather neglected by historians. Argolicus has retired and finds himself involved in solving murder after murder — in a time when murder wasn’t a crime!

These are well-written and interesting books. Take a look at Zara’s Amazon page. All are good. Pick one. Any one! You won’t be disappointed.

Next week I’m going to take a look at the man who saved Weird Tales magazine and what that means for us readers today.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

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The Wonderful Machine Age

The Machine Age is that glorious sixty-five years of scientific and especially technological development occurring between 1880 and 1945. Virtually everything we take for granted today, for good or for ill, has its origin in The Machine Age. In the coming weeks I’ll share with you some of the inventions, social movements, and artistic expressions originating in that glorious era when science and technology were going to solve all of our problems.

I became interested in The Machine Age when I started writing speculative fiction (or science fiction, if you prefer). And I soon discovered The Machine Age also touched upon the crime and horror fiction I also write, although much more indirectly. The Machine Age directly or indirectly touches on all writing.

Speculative fiction, whether heavily based in science or not, takes the known and extrapolates it into an alternative world from the one in which we live. That world might be in the future, another dimension, or an alternative past.

The speculative fiction I write falls into the subgenres of post-apocalyptic cozy catastrophes and dieselpunk. In both, I make heavy use of the wonders of The Machine Age.

In The Rocheport Saga, the hero, Bill Arthur, has set for himself the task of not letting the human race descend into the Stone Age after a mysterious illness wipes out nearly all of humanity. He is determined to overcome our modern lack of knowledge of how things work in order to rebuild society. The knowledge is all there, in books and old people, we just need to learn how to do what our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents did as a matter of course.

Bill Arthur takes comfort in the fact that The Machine Age inventions were largely produced by amateurs. The Wright brothers made bicycles and Santos-Dumont was a wealthy kid who liked to tinker — they weren’t aeronautical engineers. The Stanley twins, one a photographer and the other a school teacher, were not automotive engineers. Count Zeppelin was a retired military officer who knew nothing about flying. His chief engineer and designer, Ludwig Dürr, knew nothing about airships. And the greatest airship captain of all time, Hugo Eckener, was a journalist.

In a very real sense, amateurs built the foundations of our modern world. Therefore in the post-apocalyptic world of Rocheport and Bill Arthur, amateurs can do it again. People simply need to understand how things work.

In the Lady Dru series and the forthcoming Rand Hart series, I build dieselpunk alternative histories based on The Machine Age. From the late 1800s through World War II, the dreamers of what the future would be like came up with some pretty fantastic ideas. Robots to be our servants and fight our wars. Airships to provide safe and quiet transportation for people and cargo. Cities free from pollution and traffic congestion. And, yes, flying cars.

Those same dreamers also came up with things like particle beam weapons and orbiting parabolic mirrors to send the sun’s light in death rays to destroy cities. They even speculated on thought beam weapons. The flying wing, jet engines, the ballistic and cruise missiles also came from those same dreamers.

The Machine Age was a wonderful time of fantastic technological advancement. I look forward to sharing with you some of the things I’ve discovered while doing research for my novels and I hope you enjoy the discoveries as much as I did.

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