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Is violence an essential part of life.

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I was musing on all the wars and skirmishes in the world at the moment. We all know about Ukraine and Gaza, and the fallout from those conflicts. We now have Finland wanting nuclear weapons! 

Image by Welcome to All ! ツ from Pixabay

There is also a civil war going on in Sudan, Turkey is fighting the PKK, China is threatening Taiwan, North Korea is building rockets that can carry nuclear warheads, border conflicts between Venezuela and Columbia, as well as between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Other conflicts in Africa. Military coups. In Haiti, gangs, or a gang, vowing to remove the government with violence.

That’s just a few. Then there is violence that doesn’t come from governments. Criminal gangs, football hooligans, fights outside pubs, schoolyard fights, fights with police at demonstrations, etc. Sometimes even in a sports match, it breaks down into fighting. And, of course, people love to watch a boxing or wrestling match.

In the past, people (men) fought duels over perceived wrongs.

Then of course, there’s domestic violence. 

Everywhere there seems to be people willing to hit first.

When I’ve heard interviews with football hooligans, they claim to enjoy a ‘good fight’. I’m sure some soldiers enjoy shooting the enemy. 

I looked at the animal kingdom. Violence abounds. There is a saying about ‘nature red in tooth and claw’. What do the animals fight about? Mainly food, mates and territory. And dominance, too, of course, but the dominant animal gets the food, mates and controls more territory. Controlling more territory gives him (usually him) access to more food.

Image by Chris Stenger from Pixabay

Even fish fight. Ever heard of Siamese Fighting Fish?

Image by Natthapat Aphichayananthanakul from Pixabay

I don’t think protozoa fight, but mammals, birds, crustaceans, fish and insects certainly do. Here is a picture of some stag beetles fighting.

Image by Emilian Robert Vicol from Pixabay

Even some plants ‘fight’ by producing chemicals that inhibit the growth of others close by. Dandelions, for example.

Fighting is competition in the extreme, but we don’t balk at seeing red deer fighting for dominance, or capercaillies fighting for the attention of the females.

We accept seagulls squabbling over a packet of chips, and that we must not put two male hamsters in the same cage.

Image by Ruth Archer from Pixabay

Now, we humans like to think we are ‘above’ the animals, but are we? Russia and Ukraine, China and Taiwan, the Falklands War are over territory.

The civil wars everywhere are over power, or, if you like, dominance.

Not so much fighting over food that I can see, though.

But men and boys still seem to think that they can fight over women and girls.

So is there any hope? 

I think there maybe, but only if people can use the brains they have to think logically, and not with their instincts.

Fingers crossed.

What do you think about this? Are you optimistic about human ability to dispense with violence? And what happens if we can’t?

fantasy, novel

The Wolf Pack Characters

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I’ve been having fun with Microsoft’s free image creator. Diana Wallace Peach posted some she made using it on her site, Myths of the Mirror. I thought I’d try to create something of the characters from Book 1. The Wolf Pack.

Here they are:

This is the half elf mage, Carthinal. He is an apprentice at the beginning of the book, just about to take the tests that will let him enter the ranks of mages. He is someone whom the ladies all go for. He has some feelings that he is inadequate, although he becomes the leader of Wolf, the name the group give to themselves.

The elf, Aspholessaria, known as Asphodel. She is a priestess of the goddess Sylissa, whose remit is life and healing. At the beginning she is a novice. She is strong-minded and will always follow her conscience, no matter what the consequences are to herself. That is the reason for her being sent from Bluehaven to Hambara where there is a stricter leader.

The dwarf, Basalt. Met on the road to Hambara. He has a somewhat grumpy exterior, but inside he is caring. He left his homeland when he was cheated out of his part of the family mine’s inheritance by his brother and wife. An excellent metalsmith, he can also carve wood.

Fero. He is a ranger from south of the Great Desert. He was turned out of his home when he refused to follow his father in his sandal-making business. A man of the outdoors and wild places, he cannot live for long in a city. His skin I would have liked to be a little darker, but not black. A bit like someone from India, or the middle east.

Davrael is the son of the chief of the Swooping Hawks tribe. He is a Horselord, and has lived all his life on the plains beyond the Western Mountains. He and his wife, Kimi, eloped when their parents refused to allow them to marry.

This is the nearest I could get to Davrael. His facial tattoo is actually a hawk with wings over his brows, head down his nose and talons on his cheeks, giving him a rather scary appearance.

Kimi is Davrael’s wife. They were married after they eloped. She is a settler, belonging to a group of erstwhile wandering Horselords who decided they could breed better horses if they didn’t wander.

She is a rather plain girl, tiny in stature with brown hair and eyes. Davrael calls her ‘Little Mouse’. She can’t get over how she has won the love of Davrael.

Randa is the only child of Rollo, Duke of Hambara, and heir to the duchy. She considers all beneath her except others of the nobility, and especially foreigners and other races. Hence there is tension in the group, especially since she thinks she is the natural leader and not Carthinal. She is an excellent horsewoman and is the only one who can ride and control her beautiful black stallion, Storm.

She decides to follow Carthinal and his friends when they leave Hambara to search for Sauvern’s Sword, which is prophesied to be needed soon to save the country.

Thad is a very young thief, around 15 years old, from the Warren, the poor quarter in Hambara. He met Carthinal when he stole a figurine from the mage. Carthinal managed to persuade him to get it back.

Thad followed the group because he felt he was in danger in the city.

This is the main cast of The Wolf Pack. I was reasonably pleased with the results, although they are all rather handsome. If I was disappointed in any, it would be Kimi as the picture is a little too pretty.

If you want to have a go, here’s a link. It’s great fun.

https://www.bing.com/images/create

If you would like to find out about the adventures of these people, click on the book cover, The Wolf Pack, in the side bar.

book reviews, novel

Review of Someone Close to Home by Alex Craigie

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Blurb

Talented pianist Megan Youngblood has it all – fame, fortune and Gideon.

But Gideon isn’t good enough for Megan’s ambitious, manipulative mother, whose meddling has devastating repercussions for Megan and for those close to her.

Now, trapped inside her own body, she is unable to communicate her needs or fears as she faces institutional neglect in an inadequate care home.

And she faces Annie. Sadistic Annie who has reason to hate her. Damaged Annie who shouldn’t work with vulnerable people.

Just how far will Annie go?

‘Someone Close To Home’ is a story of love, malice and deadly menace.

Overview

This is a gripping book. I couldn’t put it down, and when I had to, I was anxious to return to it.

Story

Megan Youngblood is an only child in a disfunctional family. Her parents don’t get on and she spends much time looking forward to visits to her loving grandparents from both sides.

When one of her grandparents gives her a piano, she finds she has a talent, and devotes much time to music. Then her beloved grandparents die and she feels bereft. Crying at the end of her garden, she meets a sympathetic boy of her own age. They strike up a friendship.

Her mother is a snobbish and manipulative person who takes over Megan’s life, organising her appearances as a child prodigy, playing the piano at concert venues, around the country at first, then worldwide.

Her friendship with Gideon develops into love, but when a famous actor shows an interest in her, her mother begins her machinations once more.

The story is told in a series of flashbacks from Megan, who is in a care home after a severe stroke that leaves her unable to move or speak. 

Characters.

Megan is a young girl at the beginning of the book. She is eager to do what her mother wishes. Her friendship with Gideon helps her to overcome her timidity.

In spite of this, as soon as she sits in front of a piano, all her fears disappear. She becomes a famous concert pianist.

Throughout the book, she develops into a more confident person.

Gideon is a kind, likeable young man. I was rooting for him to win Megan’s love.

Megan’s mother is a snobbish, manipulating woman. Selfish on the extreme, she looks on Megan as a means to boost her own influence.

The staff at the care home vary from caring, efficient to downright cruel. One member of staff in particular, Annie, Megan particularly fears, but we don’t find out the reasons until near the end of the book.

There are other characters whom I don’t want to incude here as commenting on their character would be something of a spoiler.

Writing.

I cannot fault Ms Craigie’s writing. It is very readable and she immerses us in the scenes extremely well. I can visualise the places quite easily, like the yew tree outside the window in the care home that Megan spends much time watching. And all the screws, drawers, tiles etc. that she spends endless hours counting.

The novel is told in first person present throughout, with flashbacks as an immobile Megan remembers her past life. 

I think it might have been an idea to put the flashbacks in the past tense to distinguish them from the current time. It didn’t confuse me, but it would help to distinguish the two timeframes.

I give this novel 5*

     My ranking of books. In order to get a particular number of stars, it is not necessary to meet all the criteria. This is a guide only.

5* Exceptional. Wonderful story. Setting well drawn, and characters believable–not perfect, but with flaws. Will keep you up all night. No typos or grammatical errors.

4* A thoroughly enjoyable read. Great and original story. Believable setting and characters. Very few grammatical errors or typos.

3* I enjoyed it. Good story. Characters need some development. Some typos or grammatical errors.

2* Not for me. Story not very strong. Unbelievable and flat characters. Setting not clearly defined. Many typos or grammatical errors.

1* I hated it. Story almost non-existent. Setting poor. Possibly couldn’t finish it.

announcement

Today Is Get a Different Name Day

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I am taking this opportunity to tell you that my website has a new name.

Thanks to Google and Yahoo, who have decided that domains must be paid for, verified and authenticated, or emails might go into spam, I’ve had to purchase a domain from WordPress.

Authenticating it is another problem, that I’ll not go into here!

Anyway, my new name is:

Aspholessaria.co.uk

fantasy, novel, offers

Chance to Get a Book by One of My Recommended Authors for Nothing!

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Echo 1 is FREE for four days (2/6-2/9), Echo 2, 3, and 4 are $0.99 for six days! (2/6-2/12)

If you like dystopian novels, then the Echo books are for you.

Warning, though. They do contain violence and swearing.

But hurry. Today is the last day of the sale.

Sorry npt to let you know earlier but I forgot to hit ‘publish’.

Uncategorized

Pay Someone a Compliment Day and 20 of My Favourite Authors

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Today is Pay Someone a Compliment Day, so I decided to write a post about some of my favourite authors.

But first, I would like all my subscribers to know that I greatly appreciate your reading of my blog. And those of you who comment are super folk. I love interacting with you all.

Here are 20 authors. Actually, my favourite author is often the one I’ve just finished and enjoyed reading, but these are all to be recommended.

There are a couple I feel I should add, but hey-ho! I’ve limited myself to 20.

Now to the list of authors. This is not in any order, so if you find your name there, near the top or bottom, it doesn’t mean you are my favourite or least favourite.

Mary Deal         Suspense/Thrillers; Romance

David Kummer       Horror, although my favourite to date is not horror.

Sean Robbins        Scifi

Debbie Manber Kupfer    Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal.

D Wallace Peach       Fantasy

Randall Krzak        Thriller and Crime

Kent Wayne         Dystopian scifi

Brian L Porter.        Mystery and tales of his rescue dogs.

Cynthia Morgan        Dystopian fantasy and Young Adult

Robert Scanlon        Space Opera

Nicholas C Rossis       Science Fiction and Speculative Fiction

Robert Jordan         Fantasy

Frank Herbert         Scifi

Brandon Sanderson      Fantasy

Emily Bronte         Not sure where this one goes. It’s not romance in the conventional way.

C.J. Sansom          Historical

J.K.Rowling          Fantasy

Anne Bronte          Not quite sure where I’d place her work.

Georgette Heyer        Historical

Terry Pratchett         Comic fantasy.

There are others I’d love to add, but my limit is 20. Maybe I’ll do another post sometime and add these others.

Have you read any of these authors? Do you agree with my list. or are there those on it you would not have on yours? I’m sure there are.

Please let us know in the comments.

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Is Humanity Doomed?

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I accidentally scheduled this to go out at 3:35 pm instead of midnight and can’t find a way to change the scheduling! Apologies if you were looking for it earlier!

A week ago I read this.

Professor William Rees, of the University of British Columbia, in Canada, known for coming up with the concept of “ecological footprint” of human actions, talks about a “massive population correction”.

Read here

Many people, I suspect will completely ignore this, saying it’s panic-mongering. The comment that I found the most telling is that there is the science to do something about it, but not the political will.
This (overpopulation) has been ignored by both individuals and governments. It’s somewhat obvious to me that the more people there are, the more we consume, thus increasing the pressure on land, for food production, increasing the release of greenhouse gases (more ‘things’ need to be produced to satisfy demand and more transport) and depleting the Earth’s resources. This is the only place we have to live and get all we need. If that goes, we’re sunk.

What do you think are the likely scenarios of the next 100 years? Do you agree with the viewpoint of these scientists? I would love to hear what you think.

Please add your comments in the comments box.

book reviews, novel

Review of A Mersey Killing by Brian Porter.

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Overview

A gripping tale of murder and mystery.

Story.

A skeleton turns up in a disused wharf in Liverpool as it is being renovated. Closer examination reveals it to be that of a young man of around twenty years of age. He had been brutally murdered.

These findings bring to light a missing young woman. Both young people had been reported missing in 1966, thirty years prior to the setting of the story.It is up to Inspector Andy Ross and his assistant, Sergeant Izzy Drake to discover what had happened and to find the murderer.

Parts of the story are told in flashback to 1966, and tell how a moderately successful young band is trying to make it in the growing pop industry of the time. Brendan, Mickey, Ronnie and Phil have a following in Liverpool, but struggle to make their success national.

Characters.

The individual traits of the characters are not so important in a story like this as it’s not primarily about them. However, I did find Inspector Ross a sympathetic character, similarly Izzy Drake.

Mickey and Ronnie’s father is a thoroughly unpleasant man. He is well drawn, and I dislike him intensely.

Their mother is a quiet woman, pleasant, but unwilling to stand up to her overbearing husband. Mickey and Ronnie I didn’t find quite so clearly portrayed.

Writing

Mr Porter has shown us the pop scene in Liverpool in the 60s very clearly. The young people are obsessed with music. All are working class youngsters who hope to improve their lot.

He has done much research about police procedures and we can easily follow the way the police go about their job with a seemingly impossible task.

While not being bad writing, there are a few things that I found a little annoying. The overuse of the word ‘just’, for example, and repetition of words in close proximity.

I give the book 4* because of the gripping story line.

My ranking of books.

In order to get a particular number of stars, it is not necessary to meet all the criteria. This is a guide only.

5* Exceptional. Wonderful story. Setting well drawn, and characters believable–not perfect, but with flaws. Will keep you up all night. No typos or grammatical errors.

4* A thoroughly enjoyable read. Great and original story. Believable setting and characters. Very few grammatical errors or typos.

3* I enjoyed it. Good story. Characters need some development. Some typos or grammatical errors.

2* Not for me. Story not very strong. Unbelievable and flat characters. Setting not clearly defined. Many typos or grammatical errors.

1* I hated it. Story almost non-existent. Setting poor. Possibly couldn’t finish it.

awards, history, novel, Romans

Please May I have Your Help

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Vengeance of a Slave has now made it through to the last 50 in All Author Cover of the Month. It’s currently at Number 29.

In order to get higher, it needs lots more votes, so please will you pop over to All Author and vote?

In order to vote, you will need to sign up for the site, but you can unsubscribe afterwards, or maybe you would like to stay there and find loads of new books and authors.

It needs a huge push by my friends and followers in order to get to the top. The book currently at the top is one that I dislike the cover of, but I suspect the author has a load more people to call on than I have.

Still, your help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

Here’s the link to the site.

https://allauthor.com/cover-of-the-month/

There are dragons and magic in the world if only you look for them… V.M. Sang