The Library Bards!

What do you get when you cross Weird Al and Mikey Mason? If you're anything you get excited and a sprained finger from trying to switch your Spotify and find out what the hype is abou...

Wait, that's not how that was supposed to go. I'll try again.

What do you get when you Cross Weird Al and Mikey Mason? You get the Library Bards! They're a group that I just found out about accidentally while clicking suggestions on Spotify in search of something new and, let me tell you, I'm impressed. 

Seriously, it doesn't get much better than nerdy parodies when I'm trying to keep myself sane while participating in repetitive tasks and, if people look at me funny because I'm singing D-N-D to the tune of AC/DC's TNT well, they're the confused ones. I know what I'm talking about. They only think they do.

And seriously, this is an all ages show, with parodies of everyone from the aforementioned AC/DC and Styx to Miley Cyrus. Topics include everything from Star Wars to comics books, to Dungeons & Dragons, to Pokemon and other geeky thing. They even have a single called Grammar Got Run Over. I guess I found them at the right time.

It's worth mentioning that one of the members of the group is Bonnie Gordon, formerly of ABC's The Quest. I've been a fan of her music since she wrote The Ballad of Sir Ansgar the Fierce. And I can honestly assure you that my admiration for her is based strictly on musical talent and hard work and has nothing to do with her long red hair, good looks or geeky atti...

COUGH

HACK

WHEEZE

AHEM

Look, I tried. I failed. But whatever. It is what it is. It's not my fault she's hot. And she's done a bunch of other stuff, too including working as the computer voice on Star Trek: Prodigy. Anyone who played on Star Trek can sing to me. Notice that I didn't mention playing trombone. Seriously, I played trombone in high school and Will Riker was my reassurance that I wasn't the worst trombone player in history. But I digress...

I mean, digression is kind of what I'm good at right?

Her co-conspirator in an evil plot to make us all feel happy and entertained is Xander Jeanneret who has a reality TV show background of his own, having been on TBS' King of the Nerds. I didn't realize that, having never seen King of the Nerds, but I might just see if I can track it down on streaming  to see if I can figure out who stole my title.  I'm sure they know who the TRUE King of the Nerds is and that all of you read his blog, but I doubt that they'd admit it publicly.

The Library Bards have released two albums: Bombarder and Bardcore. I loved both albums. They're produced well and sound good. Their Wikipedia article says that the bards hire people to produce their background music. This is a good thing because, while both are excellent singers and lyricists, knowing one's own limitations is a good thing. They seem to have overcome those admirably by hiring someone else for their strengths.

Bombarded has probably my favorite Library Bards song: DND. I think I mentioned it already, but I don't care. Listen, this is quality. Who doesn't love a song about their favorite tabletop role playing game? Who doesn't love AC/DC? Why wouldn't you love a crossover between the two? I mean seriously. The Princess Bride is another favorite movie (I have not, alas, read the book) and a great song. Come Fly Away crosses Styx's Come Sail Away with Star Wars. 

Bardcore starts off with a reminder that the Library Bards are All About That Space (No Tribbles!). That one has me rolling everytime. Gandalf features Gollum rapping. Read that again. Rapping freaking Gollum. ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED? If not, I suggest holding on for when they come in like a Pokeball, or when Bonnie reminds us all that she's a Geeky Girl. Trust me, Bonnie, we notice. Or at least I did. I mean, I know you're a celebrity and probably get this all the time..

Yeah, never mind. I've got no chance. A guy can dream though, right?

While you're listening to Bardcore, listen to Finn and Poe for me and let me know what song they're parodying here. I recognize it but I can't come up with it. The answer to this greatest of all conundrums is on the tip of my tongue, but I have no answer and I was flirting with insanity before I listened to it. Somebody help your boy out here. I deserve it. 

Or sumfin'

And, as I've been told by many World of Warcraft players, Shut Up and Raid. (That's one of their singles.) Who am I fooling. I was the official floor inspector for both of my guilds: Atonement and Sadistic Betrayal. I got the nick because I was constantly lying on the floor dead. I was good at my job too. The best tasting flooring in all of Azeroth is at the Wikket boss fight in Return to Kharazan. Strongly oaky, with a slight hint of Murphy's Oil Soap. And, OMG did we wipe a lot there. 

And since I'm writing this on Christmas Day (night) I have to mention their other single: Grammar Got Run Over. Not only is it hilarious and awesome, it's also seasonal. I loved it.

I had mentioned something on my Facebook about the Library Bards becoming my new geeky obsession, but that's a little iffy. That's not because the music isn't good enough to obsess over. They've got it going on there. My problem is that they've only got two albums out. When I freaked out over Mikey Mason he had, I think, six albums out AND I got to listen him write a song on Facebook. It was great. I'm not trying to be mean here, though. I'm actually giving the Library Bards the biggest compliment I can give an artist/group of artists: I want more of your art. MAKE ME ANOTHER ALBUM!!! Or, make it for yourselves and I'll listen to it. Either way, more is better and less is NOT more. Trust me on this one.

Bottom Line: 5.0 out of 5 Rocking Tracks

Threading The Needle Narrative Choices - A Guest Post by Monalisa Foster

Monomyth's Grim Tides

I like gaming. Do you like gaming? I'm guessing you probably do, because most geeks are gamers and if you're not a gamer you're probably not going to read my blog. That's unfortunate, I suppose. Everyone should read my epic awesomeness (I mean, the name of the blog _is_ Jimbo's AWESOME Science Fiction and Fantasy Reviews) but some people just don't know how to have a good time. 

Or sumfin'

Today though, it's not about a book or a movie. Today, we're discussing a game. A pretty simple one, actually.  It's a cell phone app and I don't remember when it came to my attention, but I have been playing it a lot lately. There's a reason for that. It's fun. But it goes a little deeper than that, too.

At the most basic level, the reason I like Grim Tides is because it's the kind of app that I really enjoy: I don't have to spend my entire paycheck to succeed. I don't have to play constantly to accomplish anything. I don't have to wait for hours because I ran out of my energy when I do feel like playing. There's no "this will be done in six hours while you're asleep and you can't start your next twelve hour project till lunch time tomorrow when you get a chance to play again." type thing. There is crafting, but it's instantaneous as long as your cellular provider isn't being a buttface. I hate you, Cricket.

Anyway...

There's a lot of nostalgia for me here, because Grim Tides has a similar feel in a lot of ways to old school console Role Playing Games like Wizardry on the original Nintendo Entertainment System. The levels are easier to navigate, not being mazes like they were back in the day, but the random encounter system and linear advancement remind me a lot of the "olden days" as my oldest daughter would call them.

Grim Tides has a bit of open world to it, but not really. As you progress in the game, new areas open up and you can get back to the old places as well. I can't get to most places just yet, because I haven't progressed far enough. That's okay though, because I can see where I have yet to go and, if I'm not sure exactly what it takes to unlock each location, at least I know I'll get there eventually. There are new monsters at each new location and each matches with the environment in that area. Honestly, it's like a series of dungeons in Dungeons & Dragons in that manner. 

With a name like Grim Tides, it shouldn't come as a surprise that you have to obtain and maintain your own ship. I was a bit concerned about how the maintenance aspect would work, but it's pretty easy. It's just a matter of docking your ship (which you do at the end of every dungeon crawl) and paying the gold to do it. I have a couple of crew members now, and they add bonuses to different things. It's a matter of picking the right person to give the right bonus and I've done no research. I've probably got the wrong dudes, but whatever. This is not a super serious kind of thing.

Grim Tides is also a single player game and that's something I've been looking for. There is no player versus player content, so I don't have to try to outspend the other guy. While playing another game, I had a guy lecture me because I was so far behind him in increasing my power. It turned out that he had pumped three hundred dollars into the game. I hadn't spent a penny. I'm still convinced that I'm smarter than him, but I got my ass kicked. Lesson learned. I don't play those kinds of games anymore. I've got bills to pay.

Of course, being free to play means that Grim Tides is ad supported. I don't mind it though. You have the chance to view an ad after every dungeon run to get gold, but you don't have to. There are ads at the bottom of the screen, but they're really non-intrusive. Grim Tides is not the kind of game where you're constantly interrupted by annoying ads. And the amount of gold you earn for watching ads goes up as you level too, so it at least stays relevant.

There are a number of classes available, but I only have one character so far. He's a Paladin. I figured some healing and some tanking would be a good mix since you don't get a party: Grim Tides is a solo adventure once you get into the dungeon where most of the action takes place. There are plenty of other classes though. I just haven't had time to work through all of them yet.

Abilities are a huge part of the game. Leveling them requires a lot of gold, but you won't make it if you don't acquire and level them. I really need to experience more than one class to get a good feel for how it works overall, but I like my pally abilities. I've min-maxxed into hacking weapons and the abilities that go with them. This seems to be an effective strategy for now as, from what I can tell, weapons come in tiers and pretty much any weapon of a given tier has the same damage codes. It's the abilities that go with them that change things. And, "whack it as hard as you can as often as you can" has been a tactic that's worked for me for decades now.

The town you base out of is pretty basic, but it's got what it needs to be interesting. It's also small enough to be easily navigable. There's an Inn where you can buy supplies, acquire quests and raise your morale, as well as storing things you have acquired but don't have an immediate use for. That's an important thing, because inventory space is limited. There's a store, an arena where you can fight and win lots of gold, the harbor and a couple of places to do some crafting of magic items and weapons and armor. 

The story aspect is pretty cool, too. There's a prologue at the beginning and a journal feature that lets you re-read the story entries that you've found so far. It's also where you track your quests and get your rewards. And yes, the story is all about chasing down the evil wizard and his henchmen but it works. 

Bottom Line: 4.75 out of 5 Undead Pirates

Grim Tides
Monomyth, 2023?

E.G. Foley's The Lost Heir (The Gryphon Chronicles, Book One)

Okay, so I don't usually mention stuff like this because it's really irrelevant to my (and presumably your) enjoyment of the story, but E.G Foley is actually two people, Eric and Gael Foley. They're a married couple. That's kinda cool. But, with your kind permission, I will now proceed to regale you with my usual nonsense. It makes for fine rea...

*COUGH*

*WHEEZE*

Listen. I tried. That makes some kind of difference, right?

So anyway...

E.G. Foley's The Lost Heir has a title that is a spoiler in and of itself, so I guess it's okay if I mention that our hero, one Jake (don't call him Jacob) Reed is more than just your average orphan. I mean, there may be someone searching for him or something, possibly related to his heritage. Or sumfin'. Listen, Jake is honestly a scamp. He's got some magical power (and his first scene in the book was epic) and he is making his way in the world any way that he can. It's not quite the way the local magistrate would prefer, and that's unfortunate, but Jake is not the type of person to overly concern himself with the opinion of an authority figure. I mean that lovingly. This kid is a little rough around the edges the way I kinda like to read a bit, but that's part of his charm.

Jake also attracts trouble like sugar attracts ants. This kid cannot - under any circumstances - avoid doing the wrong thing at precisely the wrong time. His sense of timing is eerily terrible. That's a trait that keeps things interesting though, and I don't seem to remember being bored at any point during the story, and that's a really rare thing for the first book in a series. The Foleys have a gift for being able to build their world simultaneously with moving the story along. I was expecting some boring exposition and I didn't get any, so kudos to them. 

What I did get was a feeling of time and place that really worked. Being the guy with the history degree, I'm pretty sure that my college professors would have contracted the vapors immediately upon hearing about a story involving magic and water nymphs in Victorian England. That type of thing is just not historically accurate, no matter how much fun it was. I mean, it seriously was. I guess you wouldn't get this if you've never read a thirty plus page paper about the historical inaccuracies contained in the movie The Last Samurai, but trust me, it's a thing.

I've started a new job recently here in the real world, and I was looking for a light read, something I could read straight through without putting too much thought into it and just freaking enjoy. I like my new job but it's been a bit stressful trying to learn all the stuff about the things so that I can get the people to buy them. (Yes, Virginia, there is a Telemarketer Claus, and he reviews books) The Lost Heir was the perfect fit. This is not a heavy, plodding Robert Jordan novel (and for the record, that's a good thing. Jordan never used a word when a chapter would do and I couldn't even get through the first Wheel of Time novel.) nor is it something with the dark, twisted sense of foreboding I got while reading Dragonlance Legends. The Last Heir is entertaining and the stakes are high, but it's kind of like the literary equivalent of a good popcorn flick. Speaking of which, I'd pay to see this, and Jake isn't much older than that Potter kid at the start of his story, And Jake's an orphan, too. Hmmm...

The rest of the cast of characters is also a lot of fun. Jake's best friend is a girl named Dani, and oh wow, do I feel sorry for her. She tries to help Jake out and keep him out of trouble, but I already covered how well that goes. She is loyal to the bone though, and she could hang out with me anytime. She's always there, but she's not afraid to call a bonehead a bonehead. And, while I'm not sure she ever actually uses the word, she lets Jake know what he needs to know. 

Uncle Waldrick, on the other hand, is the piece's antagonist and he desperately deserves a thumb to the eye. I don't like this guy at all. He has no magic of his own, but he has friends and they're just as bad as he is. He has kind of a bit of Cobra Commander to him though. He has grandiose plans, but they never seem to work out. His reach exceeds his grasp, but he never gives up. Jake is the one person in the world who can screw everything up for him. It gets ugly. I hate this guy, but I love to hate him. He's the hero in his own mind though, and has only managed to come into something his brother didn't deserve.

My one complaint about The Lost Heir, and I'd never have noticed this if I hadn't just re-read the Amazon page for the book, is that it claims to be steampunk and I don't really get that feeling from it. There is some mention of trains, and a quick reference to attempts at flying, but it just doesn't have that weird, old time steam tech thing, at least from my point of view. Now, that may change in later books, and The Lost Heir is the first in a series, but for me it's not Steampunk enough to be Steampunk. I guess it's the right time period. Maybe I'm just being that guy. Other than that though, this is a first class story and I'm kind of ticked off at myself for reading that Amazon page of a book I had already loved. But whatever. I'm giving this story a perfect score anyway, because it deserves one.

Bottom Line: 5.0 out of 5 Talking Spiders

The Lost Heir
E.G Foley
Self Published, 2013

The Lost Heir is available for purchase at the following link. If you click the link and buy literally anything from Amazon, I get a small percentage at no additional cost to you.

Dan Sugralinov's Class A Threat (Disgardium Book One)

 

Sometimes, a book just pushes all the right buttons in just the right order. If you're me then that book is Dan Sugralinov's Class A Threat. Seriously, this book was a real treat. I'll get to the whys and wherefores in a bit, but I don't go through books this quickly very often. I started reading Class A Threat right after finishing another book and I was "taking a quick break" before I started writing my review. I'm still going to review that book, it'll be up tomorrow, but WOW! Sugralinov rocked the dance floor with this one.

And nope, that's totally not a reference to any songs named Rock the Casbah and any mistaken lyrics on my part. Nope. Uh-uh! 

DUDE! 

You really should make at least an ATTEMPT at looking convinced. It's not good for my ego to get doubted and we all know my ego is, like, fragile and junk. So be nice and stop trying to harsh my mellow.

Or sumfin'

In a lot of ways, Class A Threat is very similar to another book I've read, only they turned that one into a movie. There's no Eighties nostalgia here, nor is there a group of Gunters out to solve the mystery, but the universe reminds me a lot of Ready Player One. There is a game where you can make real world money, pretty much everyone of at least fourteen years of age plays it or used to, and you can put real world money into it. Seriously, Disgardium is more popular than Candy Crush was in its heyday. This game is everywhere and it's required for kids from the age of fourteen to sixteen. Players that age are confined to areas called "sandboxes" and that's where main character Alex Sheppard starts.

There is also a dystopian society. The government runs everything. People are divided by class according to their ability to do good things for society. Alex lives on the good side of town as both of his parents are computer programmers who contribute to the game that he plays, but that may not last. See, they're going to get divorced and when they do, their social status will drop. Of course, they may be able to gain it back, but they used to work so well together...

Yeah, that and a lot of other teenage problems appear on the pages of Class A Threat. There's school, dating, etc. The thing I like though, is that this isn't Twilight. Alex isn't some whiny little punk starving for attention. He's the kind of kid who gets through what he has to get through in his own way (read: he's a geek) but he doesn't whine much. He does freak out a bit about things that will have an obvious effect on his future, but it's for logical reasons and he's not a mope. I like this kid. He reminds me of me in some ways.

Well, except for the part where he doesn't end up with the geeky chick. I can't fathom that. Apparently, the other girl is better looking and Alex doesn't understand the concept of a plus five to hotness if she's a geek. Seriously, brain power rocks, and this kid is thinking with his, uhh..

Well, you get the idea. Oh, and he drinks a bit which was something I didn't really do in high school, and I'm actually serious there. Ask anyone who knew me. The one time I did take a sip of beer by buddy Robbie passed out. It was scary, but I also laughed at him. Also, Bud Dry sucks. But I digress.

Something else I was very heavily reminded of while reading Class A Threat was my time spent playing World of Warcraft, except for the part where Alex doesn't like it at first. He has to play, so it sucks. But once  he gets into it, I'm reminded of my early days. He has no clue about the game, or the world it's played in but he's having a good time and finding a way to make his way in the game, and if he has a little adv...

Nevermind, spoilers.

If you've played WoW though, or really any Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, then you'll see a lot that you'll recognize here. "Gankers", rated Player Versus Player combat, dungeons/instances, raids, Non-Player Characters, different grades of loot drops denoted by colored text, I could go on for hours. Trust me when I tell you that it felt like old home week for a reformed WoWhead. That even goes down to the mounts, although Alex can't  afford one at first. Although I am one hundred percent certain, on every level except reality, that the name of the company that makes Disgardium, SnowStorm, was in no way inspired by Blizzard, the company that makes WoW. Yup. Totes coincidental. Totes.

Also like me, Alex manages to find himself a group of friends who actually know what they're doing and can help him in game. Out there somewhere is a woman named Edie, although she was known in game as Persifinee, who taught me how to gear up and how to raid. There's a guy named Dustin, aka Myronath, who taught me how to rep grind, level quickly and earn cool stuff in game. Later, he taught me a lot about how to run a guild. I mean, no one ever really taught me how to play a hunter with Growl turned off, but no system is perfect.  So yeah, that part reads true to me, except that I've never gotten to meet Myro or Persi in person and Alex is in the same sandbox his schoolmates are in and they all know each other in real life and actually get to hang out together. 

Something that LitRPG writers have to do well is create two worlds that work well together. Sugralinov has done a damn fine job of doing just that. It's very easy to track when Alex is in the real world and when he's in the game, but there's no discontinuity as he switches back and forth. As a matter of fact, Sugralinov does a better job of tracking the real world effects of too much gaming than pretty much any other LitRPG author I've read. This makes Class A Threat believable on a level that a lot of other LitRPG books just aren't. I've already started Book Two, but I'm not going to give the title because it's kind of spoliery for Book One. I'm enjoying it though.

It also kinds of bums me out that Class A Threat is too old to nominate for a Dragon Award, because I think it deserves one. Then again, since it's that old there's a ton of sequels to read so I guess I'll get over myself.

Bottom Line: 5.0 out of 5 Boxes of Donuts

Class A Threat
Dan Sugralinov
Magic Dome Books, 2019

Class A Threat is available for purchase at the following link. If you click the link and buy literally anything from Amazon, I get a small percentage at no additional cost to you.

Lionsgate's The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

(Author's note: Yes, I reviewed the book already. You can read that review here.)

Yes, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a Lionsgate film, but Suzanne Collins is the real genius here. I have read the book twice and now seen the movie and I still can't quite wrap my mind around the fact that she managed to take a complete asshole villain (and if you never wanted to cut President Snow's heart out with a rusty spoon you've never read/seen the original Hunger Games trilogy.) and turn him into a protagonist that truly resonates with her audience. I won't spend too much time on that because I've done that review, but I still marvel at it. Seriously, Collins deserves some kind of major award for that. 

Of course, there's plenty of action and violence. Young "Corio" is the driving force behind building the Games and continuing them into the future. There is political intrigue. There is friendship, brotherhood, and betrayal. There is an awful lot to this story and it's woven so skillfully that you almost feel like you're living in the world that Collins has created and Lionsgate has replicated. 

HAVING SUMMARIZED MY LAST REVIEW...

I was immediately struck by the differences in "feel" between Ballad and the first four movies. Ballad is much grittier, much grimier, and much darker than the others, and I mean darker in the literal sense of how much lighting they probably had on set. My first impression when the movie came up was one word; "noir." Don't get me wrong. It was in full color, but it had that darkness to it. Even later in the movie when the sets are better lit something about the way it looks (it might be a filter. I took a class called Intro to Film, but I don't remember going over how filters work.) is just less bright and glittery.

I think that's the point though. This is not the Panem of Katniss Everdeen. Panem, in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a nation only ten years removed from a massive civil war that ripped the whole country apart and ended with the Capitol once again holding dominion over its vassal Districts. This is  a world where things haven't been put back together yet. It's a world where the to-be-hated president is a young man from a once-great family. It's a world where The Hunger Games are nowhere near what they one day will be and it looks it.

And seriously, I want to know who designed these sets. Listen folks, I don't watch award shows. I'd rather spend my time watching movies than watching movie stars tell each other how great they are. I'd rather listen to music than watch musicians pat each other on the back. It's weird because they do deserve to be recognized for their efforts and I'm not trying to hate but it's just not my thing. That much having been said; Is there an Oscar for set design? Seriously? If there is, it should go to the people who made Ballad. I'm being one hundred percent sincere here. 

The Capitol goes from grungy to well..

Better.  Not what it will be but not so war torn either. The classroom has the feeling for a Roman amphitheater. Snow's home has that "it used to be really awesome here" look that I'd never think you could be replicated, but they owned it. The Peacekeeper Barracks is kind of cliche-ish, but it's the freaking military where cookie cutter is the order of the day. The bar where the Peacekeepers party feels like a massive honky-tonk of an earlier era where electricity wasn't really much of a thing. The Arena before the explosions looks very well done and exciting, complete to the turnstiles. Volumnia Gaul's office was eerie, creepy, disgusting and awesome. But it's after the Arena after the explosions take place where they really shine.

It was great because there were shades of Caesar Flickerman from the original Hunger Games trilogy and his comment about "The use of the rubble" in one of his favorite older arenas. There was definitely rubble in the Arena in Ballad. There were also tunnels, an arch of sorts, some fans...

It was amazeballs.

It took what would have been a truly lackluster Arena and turned it into a nightmarish land of death. This is where the darker tone really took hold and pushed the story along all on its own. I really got the feeling that you never knew who was coming from where and how things were going to change. 

And yeah, it wasn't the elaborate Arenas of the original trilogy, but it was sixty-five years earlier and that hadn't developed yet. 

The music in the flick was awesome as well. Rachel Zegler has a voice that just won't quit. I've seen stage shows from the upper balcony starring actors and actresses who didn't have voices that strong. They were impressive too. She puts a ton of emotion into everything she sings, too. The definition of good art is that it creates an emotional reaction and Zegler's voice definitely does that. She wins over the Districts, then the Capitol and at some point that Jimbo guy sitting in the theater with her voice. I was in band in high school and I have a love of great show tunes. We played them and I've seen a number of musicals because of the memories they evoke. I have a sneaking suspicion that, thirty years from now, out there somewhere, a forty plus year old former band member is going to remember The Ballad of Lucy Gray-Baird and Nothing You Can Take From Me the same way I remember Jesus Christ Superstar and Memory. Those songs are that good.

The acting was awesome as well. Tom Blyth makes an awesome Coriolanus Snow. He makes that character live like no other could have. Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray-Baird is amazing. She goes from scared to strong to looking toward the future in a way that few others could. Viola Davis is a perfectly creepy Dr. Gaul. She needs to be. And of course Peter Dinklage is great in whatever he's in. That's just him.

In short, I loved every minute of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. I'd go see it again tomorrow if I could. I can't wait till this thing comes to streaming so I can watch it another few times. I mean that. Snow always lands on top.

Bottom Line: 5.0 out of 5 Scared Tributes

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Lionsgate, 2023

Some item related to The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes are available for purchase at the following links. If you click the link and buy literally anything from Amazon, I get a small percentage at no additional cost to you. And, not to be that guy about it, it is Christmas time and I know you've got some shopping to do. So clicky the thingy and throw some pennies atcha boy.

DT Read's Tentacles of the Dominion

Seldom can an author change the entire basis for a series and have it work. John Ringo comes to mind as an author who didn't (and if you've read the Legacy of the Aldenata series AKA The Human/Posleen Wars then you're familiar with the Callie Trilogy. I kinda didn't like them because they didn't fit.) quite make it fit. I never liked the Callie trilogy much, not because it was poorly written, but because it didn't fit the series. 

Enter D.T. Read and her latest (re)release, Tentacles of the Dominion. I was a bit leery at first because I had advanced warning that this was a book unlike the first two books and I wasn't sure how things were going to turn out. I was worrying for no reason though, because this is a damn fine book. 

I've remarked before how well Read writes family life and Tentacles of the Dominion is actually the best example of that so far. Lujan Sergey has been badly wounded while protecting an important person at a treaty signing. His son Tristan, the main character of the first two books, is literally light years away fighting on another planet. His wife is left alone to be with him while he tries to recover from a nearly body-wide paralysis plus blindness and deafness using methods that would not be available in the real world. Read gets into Lujan's head. Read gets into his wife Darcie's head. 

Lujan's recovery is totally believable if you excuse the Science Fictional methods used to make it work. He struggles. He fights. Lujan is an admiral in the Sperzah, which is a spaceborne version of the Navy SEALS and he refuses to give up like one. He has that ungoldy persistence combined with stubborn pigheadedness that gets him through anything he needs to get through. If he pushes himself further than he should at times then so be it. You don't accomplish great things by refusing to challenge yourself or by thinking small. Basically, when I finally get to sit down and have a drink with all of my fictional friends, Lujan gets a double. He's hard core.

Darcie is the kind of wife that every man wants. She's tough. She's loyal. She sticks by her man no matter what it takes and helps bring him through the fire regardless of the cost to herself. Seriously, I've got a lot of respect for her and she gets a girly froo-froo drink, too. Make that two. She's earned it.

Oh, and a moment between Lujan and his mother and sisters deserves mention, too. Mom is totally believable to the point where I didn't know whether to laugh along with her or cry for Lujan. Either way, it worked out well and I had a good time with it. And when Tris makes it back, there are times when I almost did well up.

I mean, I didn't, obviously, because I'm Jimbo and Jimbo is a big, strong, proud, smart, brave, rough, tough guy.

Of course, I taught my daughters to be all of that and they still cry, but not me. Nope. Never.

But yeah, speaking as a guy who lost his dad unexpectedly, I felt for Tris when he came back from deployment. He hadn't lost his father but in some ways it had to have felt like he did. The dude in the hospital bed wasn't the guy he went rappelling with last book even if he was. If you've ever seen a loved one go through something catastrophic you'll get that. 

But I also felt for Luj. I'm watching my oldest grow up. She's a high school senior this year, just drove me out to dinner and is getting invitations from lots of colleges because of her brains. I always raised her to do her best and succeed but it's still hard to believe that she's so old and grown up now. It's the same for Luj, who sees his baby grown and helping Dad when he needs it. It's a weird thing if you haven't experienced it, but any parent who has been through a similar time can read that part of the book and feel it in their soul.

That's not to say that Tentacles of the Dominion is all family and medicine. There is a big-time political plot going on complete with spies, duplicity and murder. There are a few action sequences and they work where they're supposed to. We get that whole pulse pounding feeling a couple times and it's fun but that's not what Tentacle of the Dominion is really all about.

If you're a fan of my blog then you're familiar with my whole "someone to root for and someone to root against" thing, then you know I love to hate a good villain, and TOTD has one that I just want to reach out and touch, preferably with a bladed weapon in his core region. Seulemont Remarq is sneaky. He's slimy. He's duplicitous. He'll do whatever he needs to do to achieve his ends and he has no sense of remorse. His only loyalty is to himself and on that level he's a fanatic. He seeks power for his government, but not as a loyalist. His goal is to empower the government to empower himself.

He's got friends and followers, or at least accomplices, in high places, too. There is indeed a great deal of corruption in the government and it seems to be spreading. They even manage to get Lujan retired while he is convalescing, thus removing him from a position where he has a chance to really influence what happens next. It almost has an air of legitimacy but it's fake. And, of course, nothing is worse than fake legitimacy, with the possible exception of my sense of humor. Even that's only possible though.

I do find myself a bit bummed that this is the end of the trilogy because I feel like there is more story to be told here. I won't go into details because it would spoil too much, but I truly do feel like there should be at least one more book to detail the fallout from this one. I think I can get up with saying that there are some loose ends that need to be tied up. Then again, I hear that there are some sequels coming, turning this into an ongoing series once again and that your favorite blogger might have something to say about how they go. 

Bottom Line: 5.0 out of 5 Burnt Fuses

Tentacles of the Dominion
D.T. Read
Theogony Books, 2023

Tentacles of the Dominion is available for purchase at the following link. If you click the link and buy literally anything from Amazon, I get a small percentage at no additional cost to you. And, not to be that guy about it, it is Christmas time and I know you've got some shopping to do. So clicky the thingy and throw some pennies atcha boy.

Interview with Chris Kennedy

Jimbo’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Reviews: Welcome, once again to Interviews with Jimbo. Or sumfin’. Listen, I’ve done a few of these now and I’m starting to think I should have a name for them. I haven’t picked one out because I always the interview I’m writing will probably be the last one, but I always seem to be wrong. So, if you’ve got an idea for a good one, drop it in the comments. And look at me. I’m off topic already.

With us today is Chris Kennedy, author and owner of Chris Kennedy Publishing. Chris is one of the creators of the Four Horsemen Universe, so full disclosure: I am the Public Relations Officer for The Mercenary Guild: The Official Four Horsemen Universe Fan Association. I may be fanboying a bit here but, almost four hundred posts in, I’ve earned it. So let’s see if we can catch Chris off balance with a tough question up front. It’s an honor to have you, Chris. How are you today?

Chris Kennedy: I’m doing great. Thanks a lot for having me today, Jimbo.

JSFFR: Glad to hear it. I’m a little perplexed as to how to start this interview, so I guess I’ll just start here. I’ve read a whole freaking lot of authors in my life. I’ve been an avid reader since before I started kindergarten in <REDACTED>, and that was a long time ago. Offhand, I can think of like three who have started their own publishing companies. What made you decide to start yours?

CK: Like becoming an author, it just kind of happened. I published the first few books I wrote myself. They did pretty well, and a few people came up to me and said, “You look like you know what you’re doing. Would you publish mine, too?” I did, and after a (not really long) while, I had published fifteen books by other people. One morning I woke up and realized, “Holy cow! I’m a publisher!” With that realization, I started acting like a publisher and everything just kind of flowed from there. Now I have over 400 books published from other people, not counting all the ones I’ve done in German, French, and Spanish.

JSFFR: That’s awesome! So tell me a little bit about Chris Kennedy Publishing itself and whatever imprints you might have that are part of the company. What does each imprint specialize in? Drop a link to the website if you don’t mind.

CK: The main website is here: https://chriskennedypublishing.com/. Chris Kennedy Publishing focuses on fun, message-free science fiction and fantasy. It specializes in military scifi but can be found across the spectrum of both scifi and fantasy. There have been a few others in the past, but there are five imprints currently publishing:

Theogony Books: The umbrella imprint for most scifi like Salvage Title, The Last Marines, The Lunar Free State, and The Prince of Britannia.

Seventh Seal Press: The imprint for the Four Horsemen Universe.

New Mythology Press: The imprint for fantasy.

Blood Moon Press: The umbrella imprint for several post-apocalyptic series like “The Fallen World.”

Quillcraft Press: The imprint that helps novice authors build their craft and business.

All of these can be found on the main website. Readers can join the mailing list at https://chriskennedypublishing.com/newsletter-2/ to get a free short story in the Four Horsemen Universe and keep up with all the special sales and promotions.

JSFFR: Awesome! Thanks! I’ve always had a bit of trouble keeping that all straight. I know you probably can’t get to everybody, but who, other than yourself, are a few of your best-selling authors? 

CK: Wow, that’s tough. Where do I draw the line on that? Here are some of our best known, in no particular order: Kevin Steverson, Kevin Ikenberry, Mark Wandrey, William S. Frisbee Jr., Fred Hughes, Kacey Ezell, Marisa Wolf, Jon R. Osborne, Rob Howell, Nick Steverson, Melissa Olthoff, Casey Moores, and D.T. Read. If you’ve read all their books, let me know, and I’ll give you another group of names.

JSFFR: I know you’ve got some mega universes out there, and I frankly haven’t been able to keep up with all of them. Name a few, give me the titles of the first books in the series, and drop a buy link or two if you don’t mind. 

CK: Sure. We have four main shared universes. They are:

The Four Horsemen Universe, which starts with “Cartwright’s Cavaliers.”

https://chriskennedypublishing.com/product/cartwrights-cavaliers-ebook/

The Salvage Title Universe, which starts with “Salvage Title.”

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H8Q3HBV/

Murphy’s Lawless, which starts with “Shakes.”

https://chriskennedypublishing.com/product/shakes-ebook/

The Fallen World, which starts with “This Fallen World.”

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KHLG54J/ 

Of note, Salvage Title is also being made into a series of movies, which we’re really proud of.

JSFFR: Awesome. With a big series it’s important to know where to start. I bought a few books in the middle of a series when I was a kid and hadn’t learned any better yet. But help me out here: I know you and Mark Wandrey created the Four Horsemen Universe. Tell us all how that came to happen.

CK: Like all good author deals, this one started in a bar. Mark and I were at a convention in Indianapolis one year, and he approached me with an idea for the series, for which he already had the first book mostly written. I liked the idea so much, I wrote the second book before he’d even completed the first. Everything just kind of exploded from there, and we’re now approaching 100 books in the series. It’s so much fun as a universe that lots of authors have wanted to play in it.

JSFFR: Sounds like fun! So, I know you’re just starting to sell your own work instead of strictly on Amazon. Help me out here. What’s the link to your store? Will all or only some of your titles be featured? I know a lot of CKP fans buy your titles on Kindle Unlimited. Will they still be available there? And, since I just looked and this part of the site isn’t up yet, when will books be available to purchase at chriskennedypublishing.com?

CK: Due to the way Kindle Unlimited works, if you’re in it, you CAN’T sell books anywhere else. So, when I sell a book on the website, I have to pull it out of KU first. Typically, that’s why we’re starting with a lot of the back catalogue that doesn’t get a lot of love on KU, but all are great books that are worth a read. The benefit of the shop is that it gives us the ability to run great sales that aren’t permitted on KU and sell signed copies of the books people want, as well as swag.

The shop is now live. You can find it here: https://chriskennedypublishing.com/shop/. 

JSSFR: I saw you mention something about a coming swag shop on your website. I know it’s not up yet, but what are you looking at offering there? Any idea when it will be open? No pressure, but it’s almost Christmas. Also, I know there are some Four Horsemen Universe pieces available for purchase already. Where can I find those?

CK: We’re still deciding, but we’re looking at selling a variety of patches, shirts, art, coins, and other things. All of these will be brought in as we can get them sourced.

JSFFR: Cool beans. That’s enough of the publisher Chris Kennedy. Let’s talk to the author Chris Kennedy for a minute. It looks like (assuming I’m remember correctly) your most recent work to be published in English is To Challenge Heaven with David Weber. Tell us a bit about the book, about the Out of the Dark series and let us know how it was working with David Weber. Drop a link.

CK: Actually, my most recent series is the Uplink Squadron series of books. In order to stop an alien invasion, we develop the ability to plug into your space fighter and control it merely by thinking about what you want it to do. There are, however, accidents that occur, and shenanigans result. I really love this series and am really proud of it. You can find it here:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09X4W1R6T/

As far as writing with David goes, I’ve written two books with him, “Into the Light” and “To Challenge Heaven.” Writing with David is awesome—as you might expect—and I learned a lot as a writer doing it.

JSFFR: We’ve talked a bit about the 4HU up to this point, but tell us about some of your other works. I know I’ve reviewed some of your books here but I don’t think I’ve gotten to all of them. If you drop a link, people are more likely to buy. I’m just sayin’. 

CK: Uplink Squadron, for sure. I also have the Occupied Seattle series, which starts out with “Red Tide” (which is available on the web site here: https://chriskennedypublishing.com/product/red-tide-ebook/) and has “Occupied Seattle,” Janissaries,” and eight more books after it. My most recent books in the 4HU are “The Lyons’ Pride” and “World Enders.” “Pride” can be read without reading the previous books and is available here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B96JZB1B/. 

JSFFR: Awesome. I don’t want to hold you up too badly, so we’ll skip to the last question. This is something I ask everyone I interview on the blog. What question did I not ask that you wish I would have, and how would you have answered it?

CK: One of the things I get asked about all the time is, “Do your anthologies have open spots for new authors?” The answer is, “yes.” We always try to save four slots for new authors to compete for so that they can get a leg up. I got into an anthology I probably didn’t deserve to be in when I was just starting out, and this is my attempt to pay it forward. New authors (and anyone else for that matter) can join the mailing list at https://chriskennedypublishing.com/newsletter-2/ to find out about upcoming opportunities. Readers also get the free short story mentioned above and info on all the great upcoming sales and promotions.

JSFFR: That’s all I’ve got for today. Thanks for taking the time, Chris. It means a lot to me and the rest of your fans. Enjoy your holidays, and know you’re always welcome here at Jimbo’s!

Interview with Hans G. Schantz: The Based Book Sale

Jimbo’s SF/F Reviews: Greetings! We always aim to please here at Jimbo’s and I got to thinking. How could I share the most books at the best prices just in time for Cyber Monday? Enter Hans G. Schantz and his Based Book Sale. Mr. Schantz, while an author himself, has taken time to put together a sale where everything is on sale for ninety-nine cents or less. No, really. He took his own time to put this together to help out his fellow authors. I think that’s awesome. He was also cool enough to say he would swing by and tell us all a little bit about what he’s got going on. So, in the interest of the (never) hard hitting journalism we practice here at Jimbo’s SF/F Reviews, let’s throw him a softball to get him started. Hi, Hans! How ya doin’?

Hans G Schantz: Doing well! Now that the Based Book Sale is running, I had the opportunity to have a relaxing Thanksgiving with the family.

JSFFR: Good! So I know you’re here to talk about the Based Book Sale, and we’ll get there, but for now, why don’t you tell us a little about yourself.

HGS: I’m a scientist. My doctoral research was in theoretical physics studying how bound or reactive electromagnetic energy decouples from an antenna and radiates away. I put that theoretical expertise to work designing some of the first commercial ultra-wideband (UWB) antennas, developing the theory to describe near-field wireless links. I’m an inventor with about forty U.S. patents to my credit including UWB antennas, near-field indoor location systems, and a host of other inventions. Finally, I’m an author. My first book was The Art and Science of Ultrawideband Antennas in 2005 which went to a second edition in 2015. I’ve also written a series of science-fiction alternate-history technothrillers, The Hidden Truth, A Rambling Wreck, and The Brave and the Bold. My latest book is The Wise of Heart, a courtroom drama of biological science versus transgenderism that brings the Scopes Monkey Trial into the twenty-first century. My current project is Fields & Energy: How Electromagnetism and Quantum Mechanics Work and Where Physics Went Wrong.

JSFFR: Good to know. Now, Hans, we are not Communists. We believe that you should be compensated for your time. In order to do that, I’m going to need to get some people to buy your books. It is Christmas time after all. So, tell me about about your latest book, The Wise of Heart: A Modern-Day Re-Imagining of the Scopes Monkey Trial. If you throw in a buy link you’ll save me from having to do it myself. Not that I’m lazy or anything.

HGS: No problem! One evening in the early summer of 2022, I settled in to watch Inherit the Wind on YouTube - not the 1960 film starring Spencer Tracy, but rather the 1988 television movie version starring Jason Robards and Kirk Douglas. I got a few minutes into watching it, and I had a sudden epiphany. This would make a great story set in the present day, featuring a high school biology teacher caught up in the transgender craze arrested for teaching the facts of biological science in defiance of a state law requiring unquestioning gender affirmation. I turned off the movie, and instead, I hunted down the transcript for the Scopes Monkey Trial.

And so, The Wise of Heart was born.

I commissioned Elin Chancey to illustrate my novel. As we got close to release, I decided to launch a crowdfund campaign to pay for the art. Kickstarter approved my campaign. I was fully funded and days from closing when they changed their minds, cancelled my campaign, and returned all the pledges. I described what happened here: https://wiseofheart.substack.com/p/cancelled-by-kickstarter The evil they intended turned to good. I replatformed on Funding Into Comics, and the resulting publicity on Fox News, The Blaze, Bounding Into Comics, and Upstream Reviews more than doubled the pledges Kickstarter took from me, including funding an audiobook production. I described how “cancelled by Kickstarter” became the new “banned in Boston,” here: https://wiseofheart.substack.com/p/cancelled-by-kickstarter-is-the-new 

The real-life story behind the book was an adventure almost as exciting as the story itself. The real heros are the backers who refused to let my cancellation stand and who followed me over to Fund My Comic and the additional backers who supported me when they heard what was going on. I’m very grateful for the wonderful support Elin and I received to get this project funded. 

JSFFR: Sounds like fun. Actually, I follow your Substack, so I’ve seen parts of it already. Speaking of which, why don’t you go ahead and drop links to your Substack, your author page and anywhere else the fans can find and interact with you and/or purchase your work. Enquiring minds want to know. 

HGS: I’m serializing The Wise of Heart at my Substack: https://wiseofheart.substack.com/ 

And I’m also serializing it on Arktoons: https://www.arkhaven.com/comics/drama/the-wise-of-heart 

Or you can buy the book in ebook, paperback, or hardcover, here: https://amzn.to/3QZfBPM 

My Amazon page gives you access to all my books: https://amzn.to/3GfwH7l 

JSFFR: Thanks! I appreciate it. Now, I know that The Wise of Heart: A Modern-Day Re-Imagining of the Scopes Monkey Trial isn’t your first published work. Tell us a bit about your earlier work.

HGS: Sure. When I was updated The Art & Science of Ultrawideband Antennas to a second edition, I made a remarkable breakthrough in understanding how electromagnetism works. Conventional wisdom is that electromagnetism is due to one entity: a photon that is a union of opposites encompassing both wave and particle behavior. Instead, I realized that electromagnetic energy flow consists of two distinct phenomena: fields or waves guiding the flow of energy. And since the fields and the energy take different paths through electromagnetic systems, they cannot be the same thing.

 I am amazed that the idea I uncovered wasn’t picked up on by Hertz or Heaviside or one of the other nineteenth century electromagnetic pioneers. What if they had? What if the result had been suppressed by an evil conspiracy? After all, Hertz, Fitzgerald, and even Maxwell himself died young. Could it have been murder? And what if that conspiracy were the secret masterminds who pull the strings behind all the other groups and coalitions people think are trying to run the world? That was the premise behind my Hidden Truth novels: https://amzn.to/40Szz3v.

I wrote the first novel in 2015, and I set my stories in an alternate history timeline, because I was afraid such far-fetched and outrageous concepts as hopelessly corrupt government agents doing the bidding of their evil technocratic and oligarchical overlords in a massive plot to establish totalitarian social control over global society might defy readers’ suspension of disbelief.

While a number of readers have expressed their delight at realizing the physics actually works out as described in my novels, far more enjoy just reading them: “…[A] masterpiece of alternative-history techno-thriller science fiction.” “Like a Heinlein juvenile, but frankly, better.” You can check out The Hidden Truth and its sequels and judge for yourself.

JSFFR: Let’s get down to the purpose of this interview: Tell us a little bit about The Based Book Sale. First things first, why is it important, and what made you decide to start it?

HGS: The Conservative Libertarian Fiction Alliance held a monthly “Booknado” with a similar concept. Authors would all pick the same week of the month to offer books for sale and then all mutually promote the sale and each other. I thought that was a great concept, so when they discontinued it, I picked up the ball and ran with it. 

JSFFR: Terrific. Just to confirm, let everyone know what the pricing for your sale looks like and why you picked those numbers.

HGS: $0.99 is the lowest price Amazon lets you set a sale price. Some people like setting books to free for a sale, but I prefer pricing at $0.99 so the reader has a bit of skin in the game and incentive to read the book to make their investment worthwhile. Many authors will set the first book in a series to $0.99 in hopes that a reader will like the first one and buy the rest at full price, or perhaps read through the series on Kindle Unlimited.

JSFFR: Cool. Now, give us a list of a few authors that are on the list. Also, since you’ve had these types of sales in the past, how would an author get put on the list in the future? I am well aware that there is one going on now that ends on November 28, 2023, but do you have your next one planned yet?

HGS: It’s easier for me to just give you the complete list. We have works that have previously appeared in one of my sales from these authors: P. Abbott, Kyle Adams, James Alderdice, P Alexander, J.M. Anjewierden, Hawkings Austin, Daniella Bova, Leigh Brackett, Graham Bradley, Timo Burnham, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Howard Butcher, Jonathan P. Brazee, Henry Brown, Rachel Fulton Brown, Bokerah Brumley, V. A. Boston, Jacob Calta, Blake Carpenter, Carlos Carrasco, Kit Sun Cheah, Paul Clayton, Travis J.I. Corcoran, Lucca Dejardins, Jon del Arroz, Declan Finn, Marina Fontaine, Milo James Fowler, A.M. Freeman, Jake Freivald, Adam Furman, Dennis Garcia, Leonard Getz, Peter Grant, Steve Griffiths, Paul Hair, David Hallquist, Eric M. Hamilton, M. Anthony Harris, Harry Harrison, Julian Hawthorne, Frederick Heimbach, Alexander Hellene, Robert E. Howard, Daniel Humphreys, C.S. Johnson, Becky R. Jones, Michael R. Kayser, Joseph Knowles, Robert Kroese, L. Jagi Lamplighter, Moe Lane, Christopher Lansdown, N.R. LaPoint, Frank B. Luke, Robert A Lupton, Loretta Malakie, T.J. Marquis, Russell May, Yakov Merkin, Connor Mccoy, Plum McCauley, Jack Mikkelson, Jonathan Moeller, Neovictorian, Brian Niemeier, Richard Nichols, Andre Norton, Christopher G. Nuttall, John M. Olsen, Chance Paladin, Julie Pascal, Richard Paolinelli, Iris Paustian, George Phillies, P.A. Piatt, Francis Porretto, Justin Robinson, J. Trevor Robinson, Matthew W. Quinn, Hans G. Schantz, Thomas Sewell, Richard Sezov, E.E. “Doc” Smith, R.H. Snow, Steve Stinson, John Taloni, Michael Tierney, Kevin Trainor, Kalkin Trivedi, Henry Vogel, Erik Waag, David J. West, H.G. Wells, Benjamin Wheeler, Ryan Williamson, Christopher Wilson, Dawn Witzke, Fenton Wood, and John C. Wright.

And the sale has new works from these authors: Tony Andarian, J.M. Anjewierden, D.S. Blake, Graham Bradley, Henry Brown, R.J. Burle, C.J. Carella, J.D. Cowan, C.M. Craig, Richard Davis, Mel Dunay, Jeff Dunteman, Declan Finn, Milo James Fowler, Julie Frost, Karl K. Gallagher, Mark Goldblatt, Josh Griffing, M. Anthony Harris, Seth Hobbs, Rob Howell, Michael F. Kane, Joseph Kellogg, Chris Kennedy, L.S. King, Robert Kroese, L. Jagi Lamplighter, Frank B. Luke, TJ Marquis, Russell May, Christopher Menkhaus, Diana Murray, Ron Nielsen, M.A. Nilles, Melanie Nilles, John M. Olsen, Chance Paladin, S.Kirk Pierzchala, George Phillies, Thomas Plutarch, Francis Porretto, James Pyles, Alexander Robb, David Rowlett, Denton Salle, Steve Stark, K Steele, Kevin Steverson, James R. Strickland, Donald Jacob Uitvlugt, S.C. Vincent, Allison Wade, Matt Waterhouse, Thomas J. Weiss, David J. West, Ryan Williamson, Marisa Wolf, John C. Wright, and Page Zaplendam.

Email has become unreliable. For instance, if I send an update to the fifty or so of my authors who use GMail, GMail assumes I’m a spammer and blocks the message. 

The next sale is tentatively scheduled for: (LibertyCon) Wednesday, June 19, 2024, 12:00 AM PDT through Wednesday, June 26, 2024, 12:00 AM PDT. The best way to keep in the loop is to follow me online or at one of the author groups I’m in:

• Telegram: 𝔸𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕔𝕫𝕒𝕣'𝕤 𝔸𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕞 http://t.me/aetherstream 

• Gab: @aetherczar https://gab.com/aetherczar 

• Twitter: @aetherczar https://twitter.com/AetherCzar 

• Wise of Heart Substack: https://wiseofheart.substack.com/ 

• Facebook (Write of Center Authors): https://www.facebook.com/groups/writeofcenter 

• Facebook (CLFA Group): https://www.facebook.com/groups/CLFAgroup 

The sale has grown so big, I’m going to have to evolve my processes to deal with it. But I’ll make announcements through my social media and in the Facebook groups.

JSSFR: Good to know. Tell everyone where they can find the sale.  Drop a link. 

HGS: Right here: https://aetherczar.com/black-friday-cyber-monday-based-book-sale-starts-soon/ The sale runs through Tuesday November 28.

JSFFR: Thanks! Last question, and I ask this of everyone I interview: What question should I have asked that I didn’t, and how would you answer it?

HGS: I’ll take the opportunity to discuss my current project. I’m serializing Fields & Energy: How Electromagnetism and Quantum Mechanics Work and Where Physics Went Wrong. At a separate Substack: https://aetherczar.substack.com/ If you’re interested in a novel take on electromagnetism and how it works, check it out.

JSFFR: Awesome. Thanks for spending some time with us! It’s been an honor having you. Let me know next time you have a sale I can help promote it again. Stop by again sometime. You're always welcome at Jimbo's.