REIGNfall – Audiobook Delights

October 1, 2015Leave a comment

Welcome to REIGNfall, our weekly series on book topics where we talk fiction and ponder the world of storytelling.

We’re talking about Audiobook delights in this show. Audiobooks have a kind of sweet, long-lasting flavor.

We just had a knockdown, drag out fight over digital vs paper (the verdict is still out), so we have to give audiobooks their due. It’s a growing market, and the experience of audiobooks is not to be ignored. Some of the narrators are so good, I get chill bumps. Look at history; oral storytelling is where it started. Know your roots people!

We reminisce over some favorites and Jon calls me a country bumpkin (in a nice way) for not “reading” more audiobooks.

Digital VS Paper debate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMhQ7vd0GyY

REIGNfall – Paper vs Ebooks (A Kinda Mature Debate)

September 23, 2015October 1, 2015Leave a comment

Welcome to REIGNfall, our weekly series on book topics where we talk fiction and ponder the world of storytelling.

Listen:

The age old debate of “paper or digital” rages on. Lots of emotions come out in this discussion. Feelings get hurt. But we talk it out, and surprising confessions are made. No books were harmed in the making of this video.

PLUS A GIVEAWAY (our first, so excuse our clumsy announcement…not everyone who makes a comment gets a book…it’s a drawing contest, kind of like the Hunger Games, but in a good way!)

GIVEAWAY PRIZE:
Newish perfect spine paperback copy of Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk.

RULES:
Subscribe and leave a comment on this video.
Global population welcome to enter. No Martians allowed.

WINNER: One winner because there’s only one book. We’ll draw a name from a fishbowl – or the digital equivalent – on Oct. 15, 2015.

Last Humans Survive Outerspace and Each Other | Seveneves by Neal Stephenson BOOK TALK

September 23, 2015October 16, 2016Leave a comment

REIGN Book Talks – We highlight our book reads and share what made us fans of the story. (aka spoiler cliffnotes)

In Seveneves, Stephenson addresses how to keep a planet calm when the end is near (he alludes to lots of couplings), he immerses us in the technical challenges of space flight (orbital mechanics are geeky cool), and he creates major conflict as well as haunting scenes of daring and loss.

Spoilers ahead.

REIGN 54 – Space As You’ve Never Seen It (Seveneves, pt2/finale)

September 22, 2015October 16, 2016Leave a comment

Every part of this story rises to the occasion – from the intimate and personal decisions of the characters to the larger geopolitical struggle to execute the space mission to the daunting reality of life in the cold bleak wasteland that is outer space.

Stephenson takes us on an the proverbial “unforgettable journey” with a stunning ending.

Part 2 of 2 discussion. Spoilers ahead.

REIGNfall – How quickly should a book series come to market?

September 17, 2015September 17, 2015Leave a comment

Welcome to REIGNfall, our weekly series on book topics where we talk fiction and ponder the world of storytelling.

In this episode we’re talking about book series and how slow (or quickly) it takes for them to be completed and come to market. What’s better for a book series? Get it written and get instant gratification and legions of fans gobbling up your goods or waiting years for amazing stories? Can there be a happy middle ground?

Yes, the Song of Ice and Fire series inspired this.

Books offer writers the opportunity to breathe life into their characters over several years, decades even. Some of you literally grew up with Harry Potter. Others trudged along with Roland Deschain for three decades to find out what awaited at the Dark Tower.

On the opposite extreme, some series are cranked out so fast, you sometimes can’t help be cynical about the quality of the material. Looking at you Twilight, or so I’ve heard. Divergent started off promising, but fans seem split (pun!) over the quality of the ending. So is writing too fast the enemy?

Check out our discussion and tell us what you think is best for the life of a book series. Enjoy.

REIGN53 – The Sky is Falling (Seveneves, pt1)

September 15, 2015October 16, 2016Leave a comment

Seveneves is one of the most amazing, audacious and mesmerizing pieces of fiction I’ve ever read. Period.

In the face of an extinction-level event, do we have what it takes to save the species? With current 21st century technology, we’re about to find out: We plan to send a few thousand people into space to the International Space Station and a hastily built fleet of rocket soda cans that will form our future civilization. Desperate times, desperate measures.

Part 1 of 2 discussion. Spoilers ahead.

A Crazy Weekend of Celebs, Cosplay and Creativity

September 8, 2015September 9, 2015Leave a comment

Dragon Con 2015, the annual mecca for scifi and fantasy lovers, transformed Atlanta for a weekend and filled downtown with unbridled energy.

This was the year of Mad Max. With so few Mad Max panels, I thought maybe my fellow war boys and wives might be in short supply. But they came in droves, emptying the Citadel and showing up in spectacular cosplay.

My friend went as Dead Pool, and our mission of making a Dead Pool album made for an entertaining weekend. I was officially indoctrinated into the crazy world of this juvenile, obnoxious (anti)hero.

I also got to photograph cosplay star Monika Lee for a story being published by Georgia Tech (where she attends). But Monika already has some amazing photography. What’s a photgrapher to do? I settled for capturing her in the city to set the atmosphere for the con. I can’t share those photos yet, but I did get one fan pic with her that I included here.

More updates later this week on the authors at DC and other memorable moments.

Go to Full Gallery

Winning at Any Cost | Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis BOOK TALK

August 23, 2015October 16, 2016Leave a comment

In an alternate reality, WWII rages and the British pay a high price to win the war, a price perhaps greater that outright surrender to the Nazis. Great Britain’s men and women must decide what they are willing to sacrifice in this interesting morality tale. 3 of 5 stars. Spoilers ahead.

REIGNfall – Game-to-Book Adaptations; Are They Worth the Read?

August 23, 2015September 17, 2015Leave a comment

Welcome to REIGNfall, our weekly series on book topics where we talk fiction and ponder the world of storytelling.

We know movie adaptations of games are pretty much disasters. Just look at Super Mario Brothers. Not even John Leguizamo could save that mess. And please don’t even mention Doom and Street Fighter.

But we’re not talking movies. We’re talking books. So what about game-to-book adaptations? Are they all universally ridiculed? Are some worth reading? We have a winner and a loser in this discussion of game-based books that we’ve sampled.

Games-to-Books on Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_novels_based_on_video_games

MEME- What Have We Done

REIGN Ep52: Standing Against Titans (Bitter Seeds pt2, finale)

August 22, 2015October 16, 2016Leave a comment

The characters are changed by the war and it’s a reflection of the devastation that years of conflict cause. British soldier Raybould Marsh and Warlock William Beauclark make comprises that cause innocent people to be killed. They are continually faced with decisions that would drive lesser men insane, but in the process they sacrifice a part of their souls. Such is the nature of war.