Author Archives: James Pyles

Book Review of “Ghost Story” (2011), Book 13 in “The Dresden Files” Series

ghost story

© James Pyles

I’ve been systematically going through The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher and late last night, I finished Ghost Story (2011) the thirteenth in the series.

Oh man.

Spoiler Alert!

Stop here if you haven’t read the novel and want to be surprised (and there are a lot of surprises to be had). You have been warned.

This story begins six months after the end of the preceding novel Changes. In that book, everything Harry ever possessed was taken away from him including a daughter he didn’t know he had.

In order to save her from the Red Court vampires, Harry literally sells his soul and ultimately has to murder the love of his life and his daughter’s mother to save his child and really, the whole world.

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The Last Visitor

melt

PHOTO PROMPT © Dale Rogerson

Another séance, another summoning, another mystery solved, or whatever. Robert lost count of all the spectral visitations he had performed in order to pay for his modest home in the suburbs (ridiculously overpriced).

The clients and spirits had all left half an hour ago, the candles were burnt out, and he sat back on the patio sipping a brandy. He could already feel tomorrow’s hangover.

Robert had hardly closed his eyes when a new voice disturbed him.

“The gateway to the beyond is closed,” he complained.

“Not for the Angel of Death.” Her words were ice. “This is your time.”

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The Second Wave is here!

second wave

Promotional image for the upcoming Starry Eyed Press anthology “Second Wave.”

Ten of my drabbles (the maximum number allowed) are featured in this anthology.

A SINGLE MOMENT –– A HUNDRED WORDS –– A UNIVERSE OF POSSIBILITIES
What happens after the unknown has arrived? When the echoes of first contact fade, humanity is left to navigate the tremors of change — new alliances, fragile peace, simmering conflicts, and the birth of strange, dazzling futures.

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What About The Bob?

the bob

PHOTO PROMPT © Lisa Fox

“Not this one either, Lilly,” Martin complained. “This isn’t a person, just some building.”

“You wanted a bob,” said the virtual avatar.

“As in haircut, not a…” He consulted his heads-up menu. “Big Old Building.”

The immediate environment shuffled through a series of images like cards.

“You didn’t like Hailey Bieber, Jenna Ortega, Zendaya, Megan Thee Stallion…”
“Megan Thee Stallion, yuck,” spat Martin. “1920s. I said I wanted a VR simulation of an actress from the 1920s…”

“…I know,” said Lilly “…bob haircut.”

“Wait. That’s her!”

“Louise Brooks,” said Lilly. “Yes, she’s rather fetching.”

“Run her first movie for me.”

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We’ll Come Back To Wake You Up

graveyard

PHOTO PROMPT – © J Hardy Carroll

“Where are we, Sarah?” Five-year-old Emily sat in the grass with her best friend from kindergarten.

“The old graveyard,” said Sarah. “It’s where you find dead people.”

Emily’s mouth gaped. “You mean like my pet turtle that Mommy buried in the backyard?”

“I mean like Great-Grandma who was so old she didn’t know her own name anymore.”

“She’s under here?” Emily touched the flat stone.

“They’ve been dead lots longer,” said Sarah.

“Are we supposed to be here?” Emily looked to see if Mommy was watching.

“No, but it’s okay. We’ll sneak back tonight and wake one of them up.”

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Book Review of “Changes” (2011): A Dresden Files Novel by Jim Butcher

changes

© James Pyles

I just finished Jim Butcher’s Changes (2011), book twelve in The Dresden Files series and it is over-the-top great.

Spoiler Alert! If you haven’t read this book yet, are a fan of the series, and want to be surprised STOP READING HERE!

You have been warned.

One of the dangers any series faces is falling into a pattern or formula. After all, as a writer, if you’ve found something that works, you tend to repeat it over and over for the sake of success. Publishers like success too, so they might even encourage such repetition for the sake of profits.

But as we’ve seen in all forms of entertainment, becoming “formulistic” can also mean the death of creativity and the loss of readers.

So Butcher changed all that.

Here’s the “spoilers” part.

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Film Review of “Sketch” (2024)

sketch

Promotional poster for the film “Sketch” (2024)

My ten-year-old granddaughter and I just got back from watching the 2024 movie Sketch, which just had its general release to U.S. theaters yesterday.

Spoiler Alert! This is a brand new film, so if you don’t want to know more, stop here. Well, actually, you should know up front that the PG rating pushes right up against PG-13 for violence and horror. It is actually a children’s horror movie but without the blood, guts, and killing. However, it’s pretty intense.

The story surrounds a Dad Taylor Wyatt (Tony Hale) and his two kids Amber (Dianca Belle) and Jack (Kue Lawrence). The mother has died (no details) and the Dad’s response is to pretty much bypass the anguish and grief and try to push the family beyond it.

That doesn’t work out so well for Amber. She’s always liked to draw, but now, her creations take on a much darker tone including depicting a monster attack on a bullying schoolmate (Kalon Cox as Bowman Lynch). This comes to the attention of a school counselor who actually encourages Amber to draw her darker feelings rather than acting on them (such has having her monsters suck out Bowman’s eyeballs).

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Battle of the Pots

pots

PHOTO PROMPT © Jen Pendergast

“You are both fools,” sneered Potted Plant. “I’m the one she checks on daily to see if I have enough water. Look how my glorious green leaves adorn the kitchen.”

“Oh, shut up,” groused Electric Pot.

“You tell her,” said Other Pot.

“Whatever,” said EP.

“You think your coffee is better?” complained OP.

“Coffee? That horrible smelling stuff? It makes me wilt.”

“Quiet,” hissed EP. “She’s coming.”

“Who gets the water this morning?” whispered OP.

Marcia stumbled into the kitchen that fateful Monday morning after a long weekend of partying. “God, I’d kill for a cup of coffee right now.”

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The Based Books for Male Readers is Live NOW!

based book sale

Image taken from the “Based Book Sale” substack.

The Based Books For Male Readers (I’m sure some women would enjoy them, too) is live starting today, Wednesday, July 30th through August 5th.

Tons and tons of digital books, all priced from 99 cents down to FREE are available for download from Amazon.

Here’s part of the blurb:

Whether you’re a father, a fighter, a builder, or just a man looking for stories that resonate with who you are and what you face, the Based Book Sale delivers. This is where you’ll find battle-tested wisdom, thrilling adventures, dangerous ideas, and the kind of timeless values that modern publishing tries to suppress. In a literary world flooded with sensitivity readers, diversity checklist characters, and sanitized stories, this sale is a direct challenge to the decline. We offer books that speak to masculine virtues, moral struggles, and heroic ideals.

All of the books are presented in a linear list, which means the substack page is really, really long. At the bottom, you may find your list is truncated, but there should be a button or link to expand the page so you can see every thing.

The sale is supposed to contain two of my books, but one has been left off. I’m looking into that.

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Out of the Chrysalis

crystals

PHOTO PROMPT © Marie Gail Stratford

The crystals surrounded and penetrated me. It didn’t hurt, but I did experience the horrifying feeling of my very identity being drained away.

The corporations sold the government the idea that instead of changing the climate, they could change human beings to adapt to the rising temperatures and levels of carbon dioxide.

They told us it worked. They never said what it cost. The people behind “the change” were isolated from the crystals in underground bunkers. That wasn’t going to help them.

We did change. When we emerged from our chrysalis, we were far too deadly for them to control.

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