Author Archives: James Pyles

Review of Mel Lee Newmin’s Short Story “Yuddh Ke Khel”

world war 4

© James Pyles

I’m continuing my slow review of the stories in the Zombie Pirate Publishing SciFi anthology World War Four (which also features my short story “Joey,” but right now, that’s beside the point). This evening, as I write this, I showcase the tale of Chinese fighter pilot Chen Fan’s mission to blow up a Russian fuel depot while being pursued by his arch-nemesis, Iraninov.

It reads pretty much like a standard aerial dogfight between to fighter pilots except the aircraft are really spacecraft capable of operating in atmosphere all the way down to the deck. Fan toggles between worrying about his plane’s damage, evading Iraninov’s attacks, and his moral consciousness at the imminent death of thousands of civilians, collateral damage of his mission, the latter a strange consideration for a hardened combat veteran.

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Special Offer for the Kindle Edition of “Magical Reality”

Promotional image for the anthology “Magical Reality”

For a limited time only, the Kindle edition of the Pixie Forest Publishing fantasy anthology Magical Reality, featuring my short story “The Dragon’s Family” is available for $2.99 USD or free with Kindle Unlimited. Don’t miss out.

Signal Boost for “World War Four”

i can haz

Created at the imgflip meme generator

The fine folks at Superversive SF have honored me with a Signal Boost of the Zombie Pirate Publishing anthology World War Four which features my short story “Joey.” According to Urban Dictionary, a Signal Boost is:

Posting to a community forum (mailing list, social networking site, discussion board) in hopes of getting more attention for an event or cause. This is not the primary or first announcement, but rather one of many auxiliary posts or cross-posts to communities with individuals who are likely to take interest.

Click the LINK and please pass it along. Don’t forget the previous signal boost for Magical Reality which contains my short story “The Dragon’s Family.”

Oh and yes, L. Jagi Lamplight Wright, who wrote the signal boost, was the teacher of the online writing class I took last November.

Spring Into SciFi Anthology Update

scifi

Cover art for the Cloaked Press anthology “Spring Into SciFi”

About three weeks ago, I posted an update including news that my short story “The Recall” was accepted by Cloaked Press for their 2019 edition of the anthology Spring Into SciFi. This morning, I got an email with an update from the publisher.

Their editor found “surprising little to use her red pen on” and “passes on her enjoyment of the stories and wishes us luck with this edition.”

In other news…

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Bonnie’s “Impossible Hope” Anthology Moving Forward

hope

Proposed cover for “Impossible Hope” anthology

Last February, I mentioned a charitable effort on behalf of a young woman named Bonnie Oliver where authors were asked to donate a fictional story based on the theme “Impossible Hope.” Bonnie suffers from Complex Chiari Malformation, Craniocervical and Atlanto-axial Instability and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome type three, which in this case means she requires very expensive surgery.

A.M Freeman organized the project to recruit authors providing stories for an anthology which, when completed, will be sold and the proceeds will go for Bonnie’s medical expenses.

My story is called “The Switchman’s Lantern.”

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Debates Still Based on “Feels” Not Facts

Last March, I lamented how climate change advocates seem to present their arguments, at least on social media, using feels, not facts. Okay, it’s not that black and white of course, but if you listen to extremist advocates such as Freshman House Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, she says we’ve got exactly twelve years to cut the United States’ (never mind the rest of the world) carbon emissions in half before unending doom and gloom.

aoc cartoon

Screen capture from twitter

She even produced a seven minute cartoon to “prove” it.

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Review of Adam Bennett’s Short Story “Jackson’s Revenge”

world war 4

© James Pyles

Adam Bennett is the co-founder of Zombie Pirate Publishing and his short story “Jackson’s Revenge” is featured in their SciFi anthology World War Four (which also features my short story “Joey,” but right now, that’s beside the point).

Yes, the tale mentions war and other planets, so the action is set sometime in the future and could definitely involve the aftermath of a fourth world war, but it also takes place in a bar and the weapons involved were merely pistols and swords, so I could easily imagine that the scene was sometime after the American Civil War. That’s a good thing, since it means the story is pretty much universal and you don’t have to be a hardcore science fiction fan to enjoy it.

Bennett’s short story is a study in misdirection, and the reader doesn’t get to find out the meaning of “Jackson’s Revenge” until the last several pages.

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Film Review: Aquaman (2018)

aquaman

Promotional image for the 2018 film “Aquaman.”

I happened upon the DVD of Aquaman (2018) at my local library and couldn’t pass it up. The film has gotten rave reviews, and given the DCU‘s relatively poor track record compared to Marvel, I decided they were due for a win.

First of all, I love Jason Momoa as Arthur/Aquaman. Even as a kid, the blond, orange shirted Aquaman of the comic books seemed pretty silly to me, especially when compared to Marvel’s Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner, so Momoa’s interpretation of Aquaman is an incredible improvement and a joy to watch. I also loved Temuera Morrison as Arthur’s Dad Tom and Nicole Kidman as his Mom Atlanna. An additional treat was the appearance of Willem Dafoe as Vulko.

All that said, I thought the movie was “okay”. Oh sure, plenty of action, thrills and chills, but it didn’t really stand out. There are already plenty of films about reluctant, exiled kings and their rise to power against evil. Frankly, Marvel’s Black Panther (2018) did it better, although it’s tough to compare the two characters.

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“Growing Flowers” by James Pyles in Flash Fiction Addiction

Promotional image for the short story “Growing Flowers” by James Pyles featured in “Flash Fiction Addiction”

The folks at Zombie Pirate Publishing produced 101 promotional images, one for each story/author in the Flash Fiction Addiction. This one’s mine.

 

Review of Brian MacGowan’s Short Story “The Package”

edge

Scene from the 2014 military SciFi movie “Edge of Tomorrow” starring Tom Cruise

Once again, I decided to read and review a short story from the Zombie Pirate Publishing anthology World War Four (2019). My story “Joey” is included in the anthology, and on this blog, I’ve previously reviewed three of the other short stories (for obvious reasons, I can’t review them on Amazon).

Today we visit “The Package” by Brian MacGowan. It’s a military SciFi thriller describing the conflict between the fictional Northern Free States (NFS) and the United Alliance (UA), sort of a civil war scenario as far as I can tell.

An elite team of commandos, led by Sgt. Rick Harrington invades a UA stronghold because they have intel stating that previously stolen UA encryption codes are hidden in the facility. The op is to get in, get the codes, and then evac.

The military action and heroism depicted is first-rate, but I may have missed something in the story line. The codes were initially taken by an NFS ambassador over a year ago as the story starts. Harrington’s Hellhounds quickly find two things. The first is that there’s no human resistance at all as they enter, and the second is one nearly impenetrable security door that doesn’t have any right to be there.

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