Author Archives: James Pyles

Summer Based Book Sale 2025 is Coming

based book sale

Image taken from the “Based Book Sale” substack.

Cool books are coming on sale for one week and you don’t want to miss out.

The 2025 edition of Summer Based Book Sale will run from July 30th to August 4th. This year the focus is “based books for men.”

All books featured on the sale will be priced from 99 cents down to FREE and available for download from Amazon onto your Kindle device (it’s possible some paperbacks will also be part of the sale).

I’ve known L. Jagi Lamplighter for some years now (online) and she’s responsible for publishing a number of my fantasy short stories in various anthologies including “The Price” in Fantastic Schools: Volume Six.

I responded to her “Do Men Read” survey on X/twitter and followed up by reading her Do Men Read? substack.

It’s often believed that men don’t read or don’t like to read, and because of that perception, bookstores don’t stock books for men thinking they wouldn’t sell.

The real problem is finding books that men want to read.

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Cut Down

stump

PHOTO PROMPT © Dale Rogerson

Emory heard that you could tell how old a tree is by the number of rings in its trunk. He had no idea how to figure the age of the stump in front of his place. The city had ordered the beautiful shade tree cut down because it was a hazard.

Pity. He used to sit underneath it with his grandchildren and read to them. He played hide-and-go-seek with them behind it by never quite hiding. It had been his harbinger of winter and his herald of spring.

Now, like him, it was just a broken relic of the past.

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The Sins of the Son

Chateau

PHOTO PROMPT © Sandra Crook

John Phelps stood at the entrance to the chateau converted into a prison and listened to his sentence read by the bailiff.

“…for the crimes of your son against his family you are to be imprisoned for the rest of your life. May God have mercy on your soul.”

John’s voice cracked. “When will I be executed for I deserve death.”

“No execution,” said the bailiff. “You will be sustained as long as medically possible. Every day, you will be read the details of how your son, the man you raised, terrorized his wife and children. That’s what you deserve.”

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A Finally Perfect World

Chateau

PHOTO PROMPT © Sandra Crook

Ali met Marie after her tour of the old French chateau. In ages past it was the manor or palace of the noble class.

Of course, no one could live like that anymore.

“Was it enjoyable?” Ali asked. He fanned himself. The museum weather simulation was too realistically warm.

“Enlightening, though a bore,” she said stepping into ersatz sunlight.

“Hard to believe people used to live this way.” Ali strode beside her toward the hidden exit.

“I’m glad our world is completely equitable, but let’s hurry.” Feeling an uncomfortable twinge of individuality, she walked faster toward the mental conditioning station.

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Book Review of “Strike Dog: Military Science Fiction Across a Holographic Multiverse” (2018)

strike dog

Cover art for Ashley Pollard’s novel “Strike Dog”

Way back in 2023, I read and reviewed Ashley R. Pollard’s military SciFi novel Bad Dog: Military Science Fiction Across A Holographic Multiverse.

It’s part of the “Gate Walker” trilogy and today, I just finished book two: Strike Dog. This continues the adventures of Marine Sgt. Lara Tachikoma and traveling through these gates to different worlds.

Spoiler Alert! This book was published in 2018, but you may not have read it yet. You have been warned.

Actually, Tachikoma is sent off to officer’s training school (as mentioned in the first novel) so she becomes Lieutenant Lara Tachikoma. She’s also somewhat unusual in being able to stay mobile while the gates are active and to pass through them to alien destinations.

Thus the search is on to find others like her so teams of scientists and military support units can explore these worlds.

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A Lasting Peace

fireworks

PHOTO PROMPT © Roger Bultot

November was a cold month for fireworks, especially on the river, but it was a special day for Charles and his young bride Elizabeth. They held hands as they watched, bundled up as they were in heavy coats.

“It’s over,” she murmured. Charles put and arm around Liz.

“Not soon enough,” said Charles. “Poor Elliot.”

“My brother succumbed to the terrible influenza, not mustard gas or artillery shell.”

“He still died in war,” said Charles.

“But no more will perish as he did,” said Liz.

“Armistice Day.” Charles stood a little taller. “The war to end all wars is over.”

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Coming in December 2025…

far futures

Cover art for “Far Futures: Book Four”

My short story “Awash on Titan’s Shores” has been accepted into this anthology. Marketing won’t officially start until October for publication in December.

I haven’t even started editing the story with the publisher yet. All I’ll say is the anthology requires the story be set on or around Saturn’s moon Titan and military SciFi was acceptable.

Here’s a little taste:

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Homecoming

david-stewart-house

PHOTO PROMPT © David Stewart

“Home.”

Gerald had dreamed of going home for so long. He’d had an idyllic childhood. From the white picket fence, to the front pouch where Grandpa would swap tall tales with neighbors, to the family backyard barbecues.

He stood outside drinking it all in. His dress uniform was crisp, the duffle he’d been carrying which rested on the sidewalk had been light. Gerald tried to breathe a sigh of relief.

But he was sixty years late. Instead of coming home from Nam, he was still buried in an unmarked grave thousands of miles from home. Now he could only dream.

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Book Review of “Turn Coat” (2009), a “Dresden Files” Novel

turn coat

© James Pyles

Last night I finished Jim Butcher’s 2009 novel Turn Coat, the 11th book in “The Dresden Files” series.

You’d think that in eleven books, Butcher would turn in a turkey now and then, but he is the gift that keeps on giving. That said, there’s always the danger things will start to get repetitive, especially as the reader becomes more familiar with the Dresden universe.

There is some of that, at least a little. After all (spoiler alert), the climax of this novel occurs on the same piece of magical real estate as the last one.

But there are surprises throughout.

Remember, I said spoiler alert.

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Review (and Commentary) of “Treasure Island” by Robert Louis Stevenson

treasure island

Cover art for the novel “Treasure Island” by Robert Louis Stevenson.

At the ripe old age of seventy (soon to be seventy-one), I don’t believe I’ve read Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel Treasure Island before. It first appeared in book form in 1883 and before that, was serialized in a children’s magazine from 1881 to 1882 under the title “Treasure Island or the Mutiny of the Hispaniola.”

“Children’s literature” indeed since it describes more than one murder in somewhat grisly detail as well as the threat of torture, hangings, alcoholism, and dismemberment.

Truth be told, I picked it up (figuratively speaking) because I’m interested in authoring a book for an open submission requesting adventure novels written specifically for boys. Not only that, but a boy (probably about age ten) must be an active participant in the story if not the main protagonist.

Stevenson’s classic novel was suggested as an inspiration. Since it is open domain, it’s a free download (available for purchase as well if you want all the bells and whistles) in a variety of formats.

Like other 19th century novels, it’s not written in a way that’s always easy for the modern reader. There are times when it rambles and winds its way toward its ultimate conclusion along several unlikely paths.

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