Category: Fiction

The Fall of the House of Usher, by Edgar Allan Poe: #BookReview.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Reading, Review

It’s dangerous to review a much-loved and respected classic; even more so for an author. So I face this review with some trepidation. The story is, of course, of its time; a period when readers had fewer distractions, were happy to read wordy stories, and were educated enough to understand the subtleties of language. I …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress

  Blood Red Dust is on the shelves. War Over Dust has just appeared as a Kindle, available from your local Amazon. The launch for that will still officially be 2nd September at Fantasticon in Hull, but you can now obtain your copy as an ebook and get ahead of the pack. Maybe even read/review …

Continue reading Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

Story in Literary Fiction, by William H. Coles: #BookReview.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Reading, Review

Subtitled ‘A Manual for Writers’, this is a scholarly work that attempts to analyse what makes a story ‘literary’ rather than ‘genre’ and advises on how to go about achieving this distinction. Presented in two parts, after a brief introduction to the topic, the book looks first at ‘Structuring the Story’, in which the author …

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The Devil in the Belfry, by Edgar Allan Poe: #BookReview.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Reading, Review, Uncategorized7 Comments

Until I read this short, I hadn’t realised how good Poe was at comic writing. This is a tongue-in-cheek dig at the horror genre that had me laughing out loud. Although some of the constructed names are a little juvenile, I suspect they would have been thought quite revolutionary at the time. The story, inasmuch …

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The Solitude of Prime Numbers, by Paolo Giordano. #BookReview.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Reading, Review2 Comments

Translated from the original Italian, this melancholy novel captures the nuance and subtlety that can so strongly influence a young mind. The wrong thing said, the poor choice made, the misunderstanding never fully comprehended until much later, all act as controllers in the lives of those still forming. This is the story of two young …

Continue reading The Solitude of Prime Numbers, by Paolo Giordano. #BookReview.

Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress2 Comments

At the moment, patiently awaiting the first view of the new book. While we wait, I thought I’d make a few comments about why I wrote ‘War Over Dust’. Actually, why I wrote that and its predecessor ‘Blood Red Dust’ and will write the one yet to come in this trilogy. Science fiction attracts writers …

Continue reading Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

Till They Dropped, by Sue Knight, Reviewed.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Reading, Review1 Comment

Fantasy? Science Fiction? Magical Realism? This book is all of these. But it’s also a thoughtful, imaginative, and ultimately terrifying cross genre piece that stirs both emotions and ideas. We’re plunged into an undefined land, except that it must be the so-called civilised world, in an undeclared time, which must be the future. What is …

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Red Desert – Point of No Return, by Rita Carla Francesca Monticelli, Reviewed.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Reading, Review3 Comments

This is the first part of a four book series. I have a certain distrust of such books, if they fail to perform the function of a proper story in each volume. This one, it must be said, is marginal. The ending is ambiguous and designed to draw the reader to the next part, which …

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Pilgrims of the Pool, by Linda Acaster, Reviewed.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Reading, Review, Romance

The third book in the trilogy, and a fitting conclusion to a compelling story, Pilgrims of the Pool draws the threads together and weaves an ending that’s the only one possible. The book combines three strands, weaving them into a cohesive tale that takes the reader into different worlds. Nick Blaketon, in his continuing search …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Mars, Progress

The time has come. The time is now! Here’s the cover for ‘War Over Dust’, the second in the Generation Mars series. Gabi Grubb’s cover graced book one, and she’s done it again with some fine work for this volume. I love it! To be ready for the launch on 2nd September, make sure you’ve …

Continue reading Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Mars, Progress

War Over Dust, the second in the Generation Mars series, has a cover! Gabi Grubb’s cover graced book one with some fine work, and she’s done it again with this volume. I’m over the Moon with it. Should I tease you with some clues, or give you the whole picture now? Difficult. I think I’ll …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress

A very short update tonight. The book is currently undergoing typesetting. War Over Dust, the second in the Generation Mars series, is also being covered by a creation I’m looking forward to displaying here. Gabi Grubb’s cover graced book one and she’s currently working on this volume. Fantastic Books Publishing, Gabi, and I are in …

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Letting Go, by Maria Thompson Corley, Reviewed.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Reading, Review

The characters in this lengthy romance lead full and interesting lives. They’re an ethnically diverse group with a couple of the lead protagonists being West Indian. The narrative is set largely in New York and Canada and there are cultural references to these two countries that mean little to a UK reader who’s never visited …

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Creative #Writing #Contests Table Updated

On By stuartakenIn Creative Writer, Fiction, Prizes

Here’s your monthly reminder that the writing contest table has been updated. I update frequently; in fact, usually whenever I come across new contests. I also subscribe to a few sources for information to pass on to you here. Make sure you get your entries submitted in plenty of time, there are some spectacular prizes …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress

Well, that’s about it. Today, I finished the line edits and content edits sent by my publisher. It’s been a pretty intense period, with long hours staring at the screen and trying to get the best word(s) in place. I’ve printed the whole book off now (222 pages in Word) and will read it through …

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