Tale, A Story

 

Silent lips.

Screaming eyes.

Every breath a story.

Tales of a forgotten time.

 

Book Review: Fortress Frontier (Shadow Ops #2)

Fortress Frontier by Myke Cole
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Super awesome follow-up to Control Point. And, honestly? Much, much more!

Fortress Frontier is double the story that Control Point was. If Control Point was the Green Arrow, Fortress Frontier is the Batman. There. I said it.

On with the review…

As I was saying, Fortress Frontier is double the pace, double the magic, double the worldbuilding, double the tension, and, of course, double the excitement… (Shame on me for taking longer to finish it than it really deserved.)

Not just from the point of story and worldbuilding, the growth is evident in Myke Cole’s writing too. He is more magnificent a Storyteller.

What I loved the most?

For me, the ability to stay funny while maintaining the tension is a skill reserved only to the best of writers. Myke Cole owns that department without breaking a sweat and, while at it, probably even manages to do a funky chicken dance.

The Characters

Okay. Honestly, I never really liked Oscar Britton that much in first book (though I almost screamed when he finally showed up in this one). He is an interesting character, with his unique conflicts and menacing seriousness, but he really wasn’t my type.

Problem solved in Book 2.

Introducing Alan Bookbinder. I want to thank Myke Cole for introducing this character. I just love him. He has his flaws, he is funny, he is super nervous, he is a misfit, and he is that odd-hero who somehow just about manages to save the day at the end.

Besides the two of them, the supporting characters are also very real and full of life. Though I haven’t had the profound fortune of travelling with a military officer in a hostile territory over the stretch of hundreds of miles, but I do think that they wouldn’t act too far off the way they did in this book.

The Nagas

Great job on creating this unique creature! Though, being a Hindu, it’s not that unique to me, but its portrayal in fantasy setting was priceless. Further goes on to show the hefty work Cole has put in the research. I thank the author for this.

Twists and Turns

I don’t like a spoiler-ish review so I’ll just stick to saying that the book has a few of those twists that leaves you feeling greatly satisfied. Like that time when…

Finally…

I don’t know what I was thinking taking so much time to get on with the second book. This is simply an awesome military fantasy that probably is one of its kind. Action-packed, magical, fantastical, satisfyingly funny, and now a much, much better a story.

Fantasy lovers, do yourself a favor and just read it. M’kay?

View all my reviews

The Blade Approaches (Inktober #2 & Haiku)

 

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The blade approaches

Closer every second, with

The cold bite of death

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My second Inktober entry also works as a character sketch for the book I’m trying to write for NaNoWriMo this November. Or at least that’s what I like to tell myself. As I said earlier, I’m a pretty good procrastinator. 🙂

And while I was at it, I also tried a few other warrior sketches (also with an ink ((also not that perfect)) )…

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Thanks for stopping by and reading, you guys! I can’t thank you enough for this.

Have a great weekend!

Why 2 blogs?

So a few weeks back I started a new blog called Curing the Itch.

I thought I would use that blog for exploring my new journey toward Visual Arts (sketching/digital painting/motion graphics/vfx) and would use this blog for my regular writing/poetry/book reviews stuffs.

But in these few weeks, I have had two new revelations:

1st: It is utterly difficult managing two blogs at the same time. It is also very confusing for myself and my readers.

2nd: Art is art. No matter how it is expressed. Be it be illustrated, written, sang, animated, etc. So… why two blogs!?

There really was no point in creating a separating a blog for writing, the other for sketching, and maybe a third for motion graphics, or whatever. All those are a part of me and I can express all those through this one platform.

Many of you did me great honor and favor by following both my blogs. But I don’t want to make it any more confusing on my part, and want to deactivate the other blog (for now!) before too many others follow it.

I apologize to all the followers of “Curing the Itch”.

Thanks for staying with me!

 

 

P.S. If anyone else has gone through similar problem and have any feedback or suggestion for this… it would be much appreciated. Thanks!

The Battle #haiku #drawing

 

Me vs. Time | Round ???

There are days I wish

For a single day to have

At least forty hours!

*

Many things to do

So many places to be

Ah, but not much Time!

*

I’m sure every person in the world goes through a constant battle with time to fit in all their “to dos” within the stipulated 24 hours limit. Many succeed, no doubt. But for others, it’s always a constant struggle.

So I thought this battle warranted a scribble, albeit a simple one.

On that note. Have a great weekend!

…

P.S. I wanted to draw this one in greater detail, but then I thought… wouldn’t that be defying the purpose? 🙂

Celestial Vessel (Revisited with Drawing Everyday)

She slips inside in sleepless nights
Smiles on me her celestial lights
The blaze of sun and the glaze of moon
She shows them all and leaves just as soon

She moves amidst those dancing shadows
As if she owns me, around she wallows
Whispering thoughts that’s just my kind
I wonder ofttimes if she reads my mind

When the dawn hits, she’s no more there
Conjured of thoughts, she’s not so real
A spirit, a musing, a fantasy, if you will
Only her touch left behind for me to feel

That’s when I pen her down
And all her whispering
Those genius words!
Those genuine thoughts!
I bleed them all out
For the world to see
And to think I’m a genius!
There can be no greater sin.

I am but a vessel
A simple messenger
Hers
For it is I
who can see her, hear her, feel her
So it is I
who must present her beauty to all
Her beauty
Her words
Her thoughts
It’s not me
Oh, not me!
I am but a messenger
I am but a vessel.

_______________________________________________________________________

(I posted this poem waaaaayyyyyyyyyy back, but it went well with the sketch I did today, so… that’s that.)

Let Me Sleep A Little More While

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let me sleep a little more while
Was a long, hard day endured
My hands are numb
my feet are worn
And my soul is torn for sure

Let me sleep a little more while
The dawn would soon be here
The world’s long dead
and the rest can wait
For I’m not done dreaming yet

Anthem of the Pretentious

I am a God

I am a Sage

I am the void

I am space

I am the need

I am the pain

I am the greed

I am insane

I am the con

I am the law

I am perfection

I am the flaw

I see the winds

I hear the light

I speak in colors

I taste the sight

I am beginning

I am the end

I am them all

Or so I pretend

Celestial Vessel

She slips inside in sleepless nights

Smiles on me her celestial lights

The blaze of sun and the glaze of moon

She shows them all and leaves just as soon

.

She moves amidst those dancing shadows

As if she owns me, around she wallows

Whispering thoughts that’s just my kind

I wonder ofttimes if she reads my mind

.

Now the dawn hits, she’s no more there

Conjured of thoughts, she’s not so real

A spirit, a musing, a fantasy, if you will

Only her touch left behind for me to feel

.

That’s when I pen down

All her whisperings

Those genuine words!

Those genius thoughts!

I bleed them all out

For the world to see

And to think I’m a genius!

What can be a greater sin?

.

I am but a vessel

A simple messenger

Hers

For it is I

who can see her, hear her, feel her

So it is I

who must show her beauty to all

Her beauty

Her words

Her thoughts

It’s not me

Oh, not me!

I am but a messenger

I am but a vessel.