In fiction, ‘darkness’ is in the eye of the beholder
As a fiction writer, I tend to mostly work in the fields of fantasy and horror. I don't consider my fantasy works especially dark, nor do I consider most of my horror to be overly gory. But readers as individuals have different tastes and wants in...
Blast from the Past: Marvel Comics Pocket Books
[caption id="attachment_11297" align="aligncenter" width="563"] They're looking a little rough around the edges, but I've had these Marvel Comics Pocket Books nearly 40 years.[/caption] Long before Civil Wars, Spider-Man clones, Infinity Gauntlets, Secret Wars and movie franchises, Marvel Comics drew in readers with what today would be...
Free fiction from Ty Johnston
As some of you might know, after 20 years as a newspaper journalist, nowadays I make my living as a fiction writer, mostly in fantasy and horror though I occasionally dip into other genres. Over the last decade or so some of my short stories have become available to read on one website or another, and a number of my shorter e-books are currently free to read. For those who might be interested, I thought I would provide a brief guide along with links to the stories or e-books.
Concerning the e-books, where available I will provide a link to the Amazon page for those of you with a Kindle or who use a Kindle app, but I will also provide a link to a site called Smashwords where you can download the free e-book in whatever format you desire.
Let’s get going.
Free e-books from Ty Johnston
Mage Hunter: Episode 1: Blooded Snow
A hunt for raiding barbarians turns upon the hunters. But far worse is to come for the sleepy villages of northern Ursia and the soldiers who protect the villagers. The Dartague barbarians have had enough of the Ursians encroaching upon their mountainous borders, and the raids are but a feint to draw out soldiers while a much larger attack is in the works. His squad mates slain, Sergeant Guthrie Hackett finds himself alone in the winter wilderness on the border between his homeland and the nation of barbarians. He discovers the Dartague have a new leader, a wyrd woman who is behind the border assault. Worse yet for the sergeant, he has fallen under the attention of an ice witch, an inhuman creature with secret goals of her own. Seeking to survive, Hackett tries to make it back to his own countrymen, only to find there is relatively little safety for him anywhere in the northern regions.
This e-book is serial fiction, the first in a five-part series that tells the tale of Guthrie Hackett and how he comes to learn a few things about himself while trying to survive an approaching war with outlanders.
Codex Alera – Awesome Fantasy Setting – Great Source of Inspiration
Nerdarchist Ted here and today I am going to share one of my favorite book series with you. Last week I opened up the Star Wars Beginner Box Force and Destiny. You can read that one here.
Many of you may not be into novels, but I strongly recommend it. Not only do you get to see a whole new world but you typically get to see plot and character development. Whether you are a player or a DM it can help your role playing as well as keep you in the fantasy setting when you can’t get the group together. It is also a great source of inspiration.
In case you are planning on reading this there will not be any major spoilers here but I will talk a little bit about the series and some of the minor things that happen over the course of the series so you can just go get your copy and stop reading or continue with this little warning.
Codex Alera – Awesome Fantasy Setting
A Guide to the fantasy writings of Ty Johnston
As someone who writes fantasy fiction for a living, one of the questions I most often get asked is, “Where should I start reading your stuff?” In other words, which book should they read first?
This is not such an easy question to answer. It doesn’t help that all my fantasy novels and stories take place within the same world, Ursia, though often in different time periods, sometimes decades or even thousands of years apart.
The Kobalos Trilogy
Generally I suggest readers start with my novel, City of Rogues. It is not only the first book of this trilogy, but it is the first book featuring my Kron Darkbow character. Kron and his time period are sort of the center of my Ursian Chronicles, the books and stories that take place in my fantasy world, and to some extent all my other fantasy writings are related to Kron’s adventures.
Think you might be interested in City of Rogues? Here is the description for the novel:
“Kron Darkbow seeks vengeance, and he plans to have it no matter the costs. Returning to the city of his birth after 15 years, he hunts down the wizard responsible for the deaths of those he loved only to find out another was responsible for the murders. That other is Belgad the Liar, a former barbarian chieftain who is now boss of the city’s underworld.
Following his path for blood, Kron comes across the magical healer, Randall Tendbones, and accidentally reveals Randall’s darkest secret to the world. It’s a secret about the past, a
Celebrate the upcoming Holidays with Star Wars
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="350" class="zemanta-img"] English: Opening logo to the Star Wars films (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption] Hello and Happy Monday from us here at Nerdarchy. As we are about to move into December and all the holidays and potential time off from School and Work, why...
Grimm’s Fairy Tales Rumplestiltskin Scene 4
Dimensional Illustration by illworx Illustrations
The King is pleased!
Rumplestiltskin Grimm’s Fairy Tales story text:
Grimm’s Fairy Tales Rumplestiltskin Scene 3
Dimensional Illustration by illworx Illustrations
Turning Flax into Gold!
Rumplestiltskin Grimm’s Fairy Tales story text:
How to DM — Cheat With The Lazy Dungeon Master
Hello and welcome fellow Nerdarchists. I’ve got a great way for you to up your tabletop roleplaying game skills. It’s called The Lazy Dungeon Master written by Michael Shea. Don’t worry about which edition of Dungeons & Dragons you are playing. This book is useful. As a matter of fact I’m gonna go out on a limb and suggest you could use nearly all of the advice given for any tabletop RPG. This book is short, sweet and packed with valuable Dungeon Master tips. If you are looking for a how to DM resource this one is at the top of my list. It weighs in at an anemic 123 pages but offers storm giant sized value. If I would have stumbled across this book there is no way I would of bought it, but because a friend recommended it I decided to give it go. At 123 pages I was thinking what the hell is this Michael Shea guy going to tell me about how to DM? I mean, I’ve been gaming for over 30 years at this point.
