Friday Fiction Fix: "The Misadventures of Strylun and Xerk"

The Short:

The Misadventures of Strylun and Xerk

By: Wayne Thomas Batson

4.5/5 Stars

What: Two bounty hunters fatefully meet in a tavern. The only catch is, they each have the warrant for the other.

Recommended to those who like: Fun, Novella, Clean, Fantasy

The Long:

This was a bit of an impulse buy for me a while back. I love Batson’s writing and I thought I would pick up this novella for kicks and giggles.

While I wasn’t so sure of my choice at first, I quickly fell in love with this humorous and fast-paced story. Strylun and Xerk each arrive at a remote tavern with a warrant for a fugitive. The only catch? Strylun has a warrant for Xerk’s arrest, while Xerk has a warrant for his—and that just won’t cut it. After all, there’s gold on the line. But if they can somehow work past their differences, they may eventually find a way to earn enough gold to keep them both out of prison.

The resulting story is a humorous, fast-paced read that manages to balance good character development, a few deeper thoughts, and wit.

While Mr. Batson is a Christian author, this story would fall simply under the “clean” category. I hope he revisits the characters in the future; they’re quite entertaining and he hints at some interesting larger plots afoot in the story world.

The Bottom Line: This humorous novella would be well-suited for fantasy fans out for a (mostly) light-hearted read.                                                                                                                                                                        

Friday Fiction Fix: "The Emerald Enigma"

The Short:

The Emerald Enigma

Space Drifters #1

By: Paul Regnier

4/5 Stars

What: A crew of misfits strives to find the ultimate good-luck charm while not getting their brains blown out.

Recommended to those who like: Sci-fi, lightly Christian, humor

The Long:

I picked up this ebook on sale after having it on my to-read list for some time. When I cracked it open (can you crack open an ebook? Powered up the screen?), I couldn’t have even told you anything about it, other than that it was sci-fi something or other.

What followed turned out to be a pleasant, humorous sci-fi story with a quick pace. Captain Starcrost is a swashbuckling, underdog starship captain who quickly learns to regret his decision to wear pajama pants to the bridge. His first mate is a pacifistic, all-too logical Vythian named Blix, who offsets him quite nicely as they attempt to avoid the bounty placed on their heads. Add into the mix a moody computer and several other colorful characters and you end up with a fun, lighthearted read with a nice touch of Christianity thrown in—without being obnoxious. This is something easily recommendable to non-Christians, at least at this point in the series (based on the ending, the tone may change a bit in upcoming books).

I just can’t seem to get into humorous books as much as I can with movies, and I think that’s why I didn’t care for this book as much as some others I’ve read. If it had been on screen, I probably would’ve laughed my socks off. If you’ve watched/read several sci-fi books, you’ll likely also pick up on some hidden gems in the book.

The Bottom Line: A great, humorous sci-fi read suited for pretty much any reader.

Friday Fiction Fix: "On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness"

The Short:

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness

The Wingfeather Saga, Book 1

By: Andrew Peterson

4/5 Stars

What: In a town held captive by fearsome invaders, a boy and his family work against all odds to stay together.

Recommended to those who like: Fantasy, Humor, Middle Grade, Christian

The Long:

Janner Igiby leads a rather simple life in a nondescript town on the continent of Skree. It would be perfect for a young man—if it wasn’t for the reptilian invaders who seem bent on destroying his family and the fact that his one-legged grandfather seems to have unreasonable expectations for him. When he makes a mistake that nearly costs his sister her life, will the family be able to hold together?

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness is a tale sure to delight middle schoolers as well as many older folks. Plays on words, hyperbole, and crazy creatures (such as the deadly toothy cows) combine for a fun and action packed story.

Older readers may find some of the writing over the top or excessive, but the book still makes a good, lighthearted read.

There’s a hint of a Christian message in the story, but it’s by no means overwhelming.

The Bottom Line: On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness is a humor-filled read geared for middle-grade readers that some older readers may also enjoy.                                                                                     

Merry Christmas!

                                                                                          

Friday Fiction Fix: "One Realm Beyond"

The Short:

One Realm Beyond

Realm Walkers, Book 1

By: Donita K. Paul

4/5 Stars

What: A young man finally achieves his dream of being able to travel between the planes, but nothing seems to go as planned.

Recommended to those who like: Teen/Middle Grade, Christian, Fantasy, Dragons, Humor

The Long:

Every year, my family indulges my book addiction at Christmastime and provides me with enough reading material to keep me occupied for a few months. My mom has gotten pretty good at picking out books I like, and this one is no exception. 

Cantor has been training to be a Realm Walker his whole life. Just as much as he wants to protect the realms, he thirsts for adventure. But his adventure turns out nothing like he thought it would—a bumbling dragon, a corrupt ruling council, and a strange girl with mysterious powers turn his dream on its head.

Fans of the Dragonspell series will likely enjoy this book quite a bit. The tone is the same, the vocabulary is extensive, and the recipe for a lighthearted read is completed with a nice dash of humor.

The book gets off to a bit of a slow start and I thought the ending felt a bit rushed, but I enjoyed it otherwise. Ms. Paul always brings a nice sense of humor to her work, combined with some more serious spiritual themes.

Any thoughts? Have you read anything by this author? 

A Different View from Space

For a change of pace today, I decided to head out into space and discuss three "new" sci-fi movie releases. I think that one thing we can really see from these different movies is how, even with similar premises, stories can be vastly different.

Gravity (2013)

Dr. Stone, a biomedical researcher on her first space mission, finds herself stranded alone in space, trying to make her way home. 

My rating: 3/5 stars

Interstellar (2014)

In the future, a blight is threatening  the Earth's ability to support crops. Scientists take the plunge through a wormhole near Saturn that they suspect was created by beings who are able to travel among five dimensions. On the other side, they hope to find a new world for the human race to inhabit. 

My rating: 4/5 stars

The Martian (2015)

Presumed dead after a tragic accident on a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney must find a way to survive and contact Earth. 

My rating: 5/5 stars

Comparison

While all of these movies feature space, return to Earth, some (varying degrees of) realistic science, and survival as common themes, there are quite a few differences between them. 

Gravity was my least favorite of the three, mostly because I really didn't like the main character. She seemed to have limited will to live and the relatively low interaction of characters didn't really float my boat. Much of her success seemed to rely on chance and, while it's certainly good to have a great series of challenges for characters, it felt like nothing at all went right. To me, it felt like more of a chance survival story than a true fight for survival. Others might disagree. 

Interstellar, in my opinion, had much stronger characters that had plights I could more readily relate to. One of the larger themes of the story is fighting for family. It also went beyond a simple survival story into some more abstract science concepts like wormholes, black holes, and the fifth dimension. The added science-y bits appeased my inner nerd. My main complaints about this movie were that it was really long and the ending felt a bit rushed. However, the intriguing concepts combined with the  internal conflicts of many of the characters. made for an interesting movie. 

The Martian was the funniest of the three. Watney's wit and humor added an extra layer to a movie that might have seemed dry and grim otherwise. Besides this, I found it more enjoyable than Gravity due to the fact that more characters are involved (we see some of the politics of what's going on back on Earth). Watney also has a strong will to live, even though he is far from unrealistic in his evaluation of the situation.  

All of these movies are PG-13, so don't go into them expecting them to be completely clean. If you like space-centered science fiction, I would recommend any of them. Even if you don't enjoy space movies, I'd still recommend The Martian. 

Have you seen any of these movies? What are your thoughts? And would you be interested in more articles like this in the future?

There will still be a Friday Fiction Fix this week, but I may be slow to respond to comments both on this post and on Friday's due to traveling. Happy Thanksgiving!

Friday Fiction Fix: "Knox's Irregulars"

The Short:

Knox’s Irregulars

By: J. Wesley Bush

4/5 Stars

What: On a distant planet in the future, a reluctant soldier is pushed into leadership of a hodge-podge group of militia and army regulars when a long-brewing religious war comes to a head.

Recommended to those who like: Science Fiction, Christian, Military, some romance

The Long:

I can’t say I’ve read a lot of military fiction, so this was a bit of a branching out for me. However, I did enjoy the book. The characters are witty and colorful, the action kept me interested, and there was some unique world building involved.

Randal Knox went into the armored infantry to escape his status as the Prime Minister’s son. But when the neighboring country is taken over by a militant, radical faction, he’s pushed into a leadership role he’s never desired but that God seems to will.

In enemy territory, he’s left with a group of misfits—an explosives expert of questionable sanity, his best friend, a vengeful special ops guy, a crazed pilot who knows just how to press his buttons, and a beautiful medic with a checkered past.

The resulting story loses none of its seriousness in spite of lots of wit and dry humor in it. Although the action started to get repetitive toward the middle of the story, I enjoyed the internal conflicts in many of the characters. There is a significant love element, but it doesn’t overwhelm the story or come across as too cliché. 

The Christian element of the story is strong and deals with Christian morals and trusting God during times of war. It occasionally comes across as a little preachy, but much of it was insightful and well-written.

Overall, I’d recommend this to teen readers and up who are interested in a futuristic military story with strong Christian themes throughout.

If you’ve read the book, feel free to share your thoughts below. Please remember to be respectful of Mr. Bush and his  work, as well as other commentators. I also welcome comments on what you would like to see included in the reviews. I reserve the right to remove vulgar, hateful, or rude remarks from the comments. Thanks for sharing!

I'll be out of town for a couple days, so it may take me longer than normal to respond to your comments. I'd still love to hear from you! Have a great weekend!

Friday Fiction Fix: "The Princess Bride"

The Short:

The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure

By: William M. Goldman

4/5 Stars

What: A story within a story following true love and fantastical adventure.

Recommended to those who like: Humor, Clean, literary devices, sword fights, fantasy

Not recommended to those who dislike: some language, vague endings, moderate to strong love element

The Long:

I have to admit that I had a hard time rating this one. The movie is one of my favorites (I watch it pretty much every time I’m sick because it has the ability to make me laugh even when I feel terrible). So, when I went into the book, I might’ve set the expectations a little high.

Don’t get me wrong; it’s still a good book. Just realize that (unlike most cases) the movie is probably better than the actual book. At least, that’s my personal opinion.

The story begins by Mr. Goldman telling us that he’s abridging a work that his father read to him as a young child. If you’re just after the fantasy elements of the story, I would recommend skipping to where he actually begins the abridgement (it might take a while to find where that’s at). Then, since it’s an abridgement of a (fictional) book, Mr. Goldman interrupts the story at several points to note what he’s omitted from the story. It’s a little confusing if you’ve never read a book with that type of literary device in it.

However, the meat of the story is great. There are sword fights, plays on words, kidnappings, and, of course, true love. The “real” story follows Buttercup, a farm girl, and Westley, her family’s helper. At the beginning they fall hopelessly in love and the rest of the story is spent trying to reunite them.

As you’ve probably figured out from most of my reviews, I’m not too keen on love stories. I don't bear them any ill will. I just...can't get into them. This is actually one of the few love stories that I enjoy—mostly because of the humor (and some epic sword fights).

Overall, I would recommend this book to someone who doesn’t mind a little bit of a non-traditional style when it comes to storytelling, a little bit of language, and a strong love element. I would recommend the movie to pretty much anyone (yes, it’s “old” now, but it’s still really good!).

Now, for a special announcement!

This coming Tuesday, October 27th (or Wednesday, depending on where you happen to live), Mr. Benjamin J. Denen will be joining us for an author interview! Mr. Denen is the author of The Keeper of Edelyndia. His next book, Raulin: Rise of the Forest King, is set to release next Tuesday. Raulin is more of a "backstory" book, so definitely check it out, even if you haven't read The Keeper. 

Thanks for putting up with my brief hiatus. I've included links to Amazon for the books, if you're interested (I'm not trying to make promotions for Amazon or anything; it's merely my preferred outlet for ebooks). I look forward to seeing you on Tuesday!

Amazon Kindle Link                                                                                       Amazon Kindle Pre-order

Friday Fiction Fix: "Hero, Second Class"

The Short:

Hero, Second Class

The Hero Complex, Book 1

By: Mitchell Bonds

4/5 Stars

What: In a fantasy world, Heroes take on Villains. The story is a witty tale of a young man apprenticed to a Hero. Meanwhile, an Arch-Villain tries to take over the world.

Recommended to those who like: Humor, puns, parody, fantasy

Not recommended for those who dislike: magic, or a love element.

The Long:

                Hero, Second Class had me laughing from page one. The tale is full of plays on words, puns, and overall literary humor. Mr. Bonds does a wonderful job poking fun at monologuing Villains, his own writing, and standard fantasy writing techniques.

                However, the overall plot is still good and characters still have their own quirks. Faith is discussed briefly, but is not a center point of the novel.

                Throughout the story we follow Cyrus, who is apprenticed to a Hero, the Crimson Slash. Along the way they encounter dragons and strange creatures while trying to thwart an Arch-Villain who was once defeated by the Crimson Slash. We’re also given humorous insight into the world of the Villains.

                A brief note to those who object to magic: this book does contain magic and the concept of spells. However, it does not go into detail or resemble anything in our present world. Rather, it is described as taking energy from specific points in the world and channeling it. The book also involves zombies and vampires, though these are not main points of the book.

                The book also contains a love story, but it is rather humorously done and does not overwhelm the action side of the plot.

                I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

If you’ve read the book, feel free to share your thoughts below. Please remember to be respectful of Mr. Bonds and his work, as well as other commentators. I also welcome comments on what you would like to see included in the reviews. I reserve the right to remove vulgar, hateful, or rude remarks from the comments. Thanks for sharing!