I'd like to take this opportunity to explain one of the links at the bottom of this page. It is the website of a great author named James Galloway, who goes by the pen name of Fel. He has yet to publish any of his works that I'm aware of which is really too bad, because he is a very talented author. He has a good sized internet following (including myself), that practically salivate waiting for the next chapter of whichever project he happens to be working on. He has actually produced several series of books, creating an entire universe within each series as complex as any 'professional' work I've encountered.
Currently he is working on the 3rd book of his highly popular 'Subjugation Series'. This is his most popular science fiction series, and rightly so. It is a great story taking the main character from a life as a college student to the life of a rebel in hiding, and finally to finding himself an important member of the very government he wanted to escape. This story might very much appeal to fans of Stargate, as it combines ancient legends with a parallel modern world being artificially infused with advanced alien technology. As an added incentive for Stargate fans, the story even has space based stargates for ships as a standard technology throughout the series. It is definetly a great read for any science fiction fans out there.
Without a doubt, Fel's most popular (and perhaps one of his oldest) series, is The Firestaff Series. It is a long epic story spanning 8 novel length books. It (like Subjugation) has a large cast of characters all of whom go through their own transformations as they journey along their adventure. The main character, a 'farm boy' (rather common motif I guess...), the son of a Ranger (soldiers trained for forrest warfare) and his Ungardt (Nordic type) Princess wife, finds himself suddenly forced from home upon learning he is gifted with exceptional powers as a Sorcerer, and must be trained to prevent harm to his self or others. It is the law. On the way to the Tower (the central place of power for all Sorcerers), they are repeatedly attacked, until finally one attacker, a Werecat, infects him. He is then transformed into a Werecat himself, and then finds his mind at war with an animalistic feral nature he can't control. It gives him powerful magical abilities in addition to the ones he already possessed, but at the cost of his innocence and nearly his sanity. Even after this, they are still constantly attacked, but now he is even harder to kill. However, although he is stronger now, his mind is placed under severe strain and he begins to become paranoid of those around him save his closest friends. Upon reaching the Tower, he finds himself at the center of many conspiracies, some wanting him dead, others wanting to control him. But the cat is an independent creature that will not endure chains, and this drives him further from the company of men. Ultimately, he is forced to leave on a great journey to save the world from an object of terrible power and a deposed god who would use it to conquer the world of Sennadar.
The works of Fel are truly an exciting read, and they will only leave you wanting more. By the time you reach the end of the stories, you wish you were still at the beginning, with the long read still ahead of you. I truly hope that someday Fel decides to publish the works he has at least finished already. As I understand it, he hasn't done so up til now because he didn't want to deal with the publishers. Now that the Firestaff Series is basically completed I hope he will eventually attempt to get it published, as he won't really have to deal with any deadlines.
At the moment the only way to read Fel's stories are in a digital format. An ebook reader of some sort is a boon, but uneccesary if you are willing to read it from a computer (perhaps a laptop?). You can download these books in a complete format (rather than by chapter) from the old Sennadar site, which I believe the forums have a link to. Most copies on the forum are in a Microsoft Word Document format, so you might need to run it through a conversion program to make it a .pdf file or perhaps an .epub file for those using ebook readers.
I wholeheartedly recommend checking out Fel's stories for an amazing read, however... WARNING- Some of the scenes in Subjugation are of an erotic nature, and those who might be offended by such things need be forwarned. That does not mean that the entire story is just a big sex romp..! It is a legitimate, complex, well written story that happens to have some sex scenes in it. This might seem to be an unneccessary part of the story, but it does have a logical and consistant place within the larger framework of the Subjugation universe. The attitudes about sex in the story is completely logical when taken in context of the various characters natures. Many of the characters in the story are Telepaths, who have greater insight into their partners commitment to them, than mundanes (thats us non-telepaths) could ever have. As a result sexual fidelity isn't as much of an issue for them. Also, your dealing with the average human male libido coming into contact with very attractive alien female libidos (nearly human physiology), that happen to be as strong or stronger than the average male libido. It wouldn't be hard to predict the results. The guy wants it, the girl wants it, and neither is willing to say no. It should be noted that the alien females (the Faey) are the dominant gender of their species (as a result of their greater telepathic abilities) and have about the same tendency to hunt down sexual partners as human men.
Okay, now that the warning and explaination is out of the way, I'll end this post here. You might have to deal with some editing errors while reading Fel's work, but other than that, AWESOME read..! I give it 5 gold stars..! 10 out of 10..! Whatever..! Just check it out..!
Does Hat Size Matter?
Does this hat make my head look too big..?
Sunday, October 31, 2010
It's Halloween again...
Let's be real. Halloween is an excuse to party, but then, aren't most holidays? To be clear, I don't hate 'All Hallows Eve', which precedes the largely forgotten 'All Saint's Day' of November 1st. After all, monsters and spooks are muck more exciting than some long forgotten prudes. Halloween itself is just another example of the Catholic Church hijacking a formerly Pagan holiday, just as it did with the Christmas and Easter. I do not begrudge the average person their fun, after all, if it weren't those holidays it would be others. In more modern times we've created Thanksgiving, Independence Day, and the Super Bowl as reasons to party.
I have to say my personal favorites are Thanksgiving and Christmas, as these holidays provide strong incentive to gather with ones family. Independence Day and Easter do as well, but not with quite the same pull as the previous two. On the other hand, holidays can often make lonely people feel a bit more lonely than they already do. I have personally experienced this with even my most favorite holidays. I remember feeling strong depression during those times because I was trapped where I was, and had no one to spend the holiday with. So, I just tried to pass it off as just another day. In reality, I suppose it is just another day, however perception is everything. It is why I empathize with all the military personnel away from their families over the holidays, because I've been there. It sucks.
The last time I actually dressed up for Halloween specifically, was many years ago, and I had dressed up as a werewolf, which at the time was my favorite 'monster'. I managed to gather a small, but reasonable amount of candy in my bag, so I suppose it could be called a successful Trick or Treat. Nice to know my last one actually worked out okay. After that, my family had gotten more serious about attending church and the secular parts of Halloween were pretty much ignored from then on. The church did have an annual 'Harvest Festival', to give us kids something to do on Halloween, so that was good. I also dressed up as various Bible characters over the following years, so the dress up aspect of the holiday wasn't completely lost. There was candy and activities at the festival at least, but I never did go Trick or Treating again.
Today as I sit here, Halloween for me, is yet again just another day. Perhaps if there were some party I were actually invited to, I might would dress up for Halloween again, but perhaps not. I don't drink alcohol socially or otherwise, so most parties wouldn't fit me anyways. If holidays are an excuse to party, than it wouldn't be far from the truth to say that parties are often excuses to drink alcohol. That isn't entirely true or fair though. Parties are occasions to socialize with others in a usually light mood. Alcohol is just often used to 'soften' the mood. I suppose having lived in a home where alcohol was abused, I have a pretty negative view on alcohol in general. However, I don't begrudge others their right to drink and enjoy it. Just leave me alone when you get drunk, unless your a really hot girl that's only slightly drunk. For some reason many drunks think they are great to be around, but given my personal experience with them, I'd prefer to be far away. It's just too messy in general.
In any case, I wish you a Happy Halloween..! May it give you more joy than it does me. I've just gotten out of the habit of doing anything about it, so it really is just another day for me. I may buy a bag of candy for any kids that come by, but that'll be the furthest extent I celebrate the day. Maybe if the Charlie Brown cartoon special, 'The Great Pumpkin' airs on TV, I'll watch that too.
I have to say my personal favorites are Thanksgiving and Christmas, as these holidays provide strong incentive to gather with ones family. Independence Day and Easter do as well, but not with quite the same pull as the previous two. On the other hand, holidays can often make lonely people feel a bit more lonely than they already do. I have personally experienced this with even my most favorite holidays. I remember feeling strong depression during those times because I was trapped where I was, and had no one to spend the holiday with. So, I just tried to pass it off as just another day. In reality, I suppose it is just another day, however perception is everything. It is why I empathize with all the military personnel away from their families over the holidays, because I've been there. It sucks.
The last time I actually dressed up for Halloween specifically, was many years ago, and I had dressed up as a werewolf, which at the time was my favorite 'monster'. I managed to gather a small, but reasonable amount of candy in my bag, so I suppose it could be called a successful Trick or Treat. Nice to know my last one actually worked out okay. After that, my family had gotten more serious about attending church and the secular parts of Halloween were pretty much ignored from then on. The church did have an annual 'Harvest Festival', to give us kids something to do on Halloween, so that was good. I also dressed up as various Bible characters over the following years, so the dress up aspect of the holiday wasn't completely lost. There was candy and activities at the festival at least, but I never did go Trick or Treating again.
Today as I sit here, Halloween for me, is yet again just another day. Perhaps if there were some party I were actually invited to, I might would dress up for Halloween again, but perhaps not. I don't drink alcohol socially or otherwise, so most parties wouldn't fit me anyways. If holidays are an excuse to party, than it wouldn't be far from the truth to say that parties are often excuses to drink alcohol. That isn't entirely true or fair though. Parties are occasions to socialize with others in a usually light mood. Alcohol is just often used to 'soften' the mood. I suppose having lived in a home where alcohol was abused, I have a pretty negative view on alcohol in general. However, I don't begrudge others their right to drink and enjoy it. Just leave me alone when you get drunk, unless your a really hot girl that's only slightly drunk. For some reason many drunks think they are great to be around, but given my personal experience with them, I'd prefer to be far away. It's just too messy in general.
In any case, I wish you a Happy Halloween..! May it give you more joy than it does me. I've just gotten out of the habit of doing anything about it, so it really is just another day for me. I may buy a bag of candy for any kids that come by, but that'll be the furthest extent I celebrate the day. Maybe if the Charlie Brown cartoon special, 'The Great Pumpkin' airs on TV, I'll watch that too.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
...and so it begins!
This is my first post on my new Blog..!
I suppose I could write about anything for a first blog, but why not begin with why I'm here in the first place. I've considered blogging in the past, and have never really done it outside of some posts in a few forums I frequent occasionally. Hopefully this will be an outlet for the thoughts and ideas that make me who I am. I intend to write about anything and everything I feel motivated to speak out about. On the other hand, isn't that what everyone that blogs does after all? So why not my 2 cents worth as well? I suppose this first post is really about hope. I hope that this will be a positive experience for myself and anyone that reads my blogs. Yes, it would be nice if someone actually does read it.
A little about myself first I suppose... I'm a geek, nerd, or whatever label you might want to put on me. Yes, I like Star Trek, although I identify with the Stargate franchise more. Star Wars too, since we're talking about major sci-fi universes. I also like some fantasy too, but that was probably expected by this point. Oh yes, and let us not forget the Japanese Anime and Manga. I'm there too. Since I brought up Manga, yes, I also like Marvel and DC comics characters to various degrees. Spiderman is probably my all time favorite for Marvel, and Superman for DC. I could go on, but is there really any point? I think I've proven my geek-hood by now..!
Just as a point of possible interest, my Spiritual affiliation these days go with an ideaology I've coined (but found the term already existed, in roughly the way I meant it.), Monopantheism. I won't go into much detail about it now, as I'll save that for later. Suffice to say, it sounds a little New Age I suppose, but I wouldn't characterize it that way per say. I'm not an Atheist, but I wouldn't necessarily view God by the usual standards. To put it in a certain perspective, I believe that science and spirituality have equally strong roles in understanding God and the Universe. The Sci-fi show, Babylon 5 touched on those kinds of things at times. Okay, enough of that for now..!
I think I've written enough for a first blog, but this by NO means covers all the various topics I may speak up about. I'm sure at some point I'll cover politics, the weather, gadgets, theories, and maybe even some psuedo science. Any topic could come up, it just depends on the tides and flows of fate.
I suppose I could write about anything for a first blog, but why not begin with why I'm here in the first place. I've considered blogging in the past, and have never really done it outside of some posts in a few forums I frequent occasionally. Hopefully this will be an outlet for the thoughts and ideas that make me who I am. I intend to write about anything and everything I feel motivated to speak out about. On the other hand, isn't that what everyone that blogs does after all? So why not my 2 cents worth as well? I suppose this first post is really about hope. I hope that this will be a positive experience for myself and anyone that reads my blogs. Yes, it would be nice if someone actually does read it.
A little about myself first I suppose... I'm a geek, nerd, or whatever label you might want to put on me. Yes, I like Star Trek, although I identify with the Stargate franchise more. Star Wars too, since we're talking about major sci-fi universes. I also like some fantasy too, but that was probably expected by this point. Oh yes, and let us not forget the Japanese Anime and Manga. I'm there too. Since I brought up Manga, yes, I also like Marvel and DC comics characters to various degrees. Spiderman is probably my all time favorite for Marvel, and Superman for DC. I could go on, but is there really any point? I think I've proven my geek-hood by now..!
Just as a point of possible interest, my Spiritual affiliation these days go with an ideaology I've coined (but found the term already existed, in roughly the way I meant it.), Monopantheism. I won't go into much detail about it now, as I'll save that for later. Suffice to say, it sounds a little New Age I suppose, but I wouldn't characterize it that way per say. I'm not an Atheist, but I wouldn't necessarily view God by the usual standards. To put it in a certain perspective, I believe that science and spirituality have equally strong roles in understanding God and the Universe. The Sci-fi show, Babylon 5 touched on those kinds of things at times. Okay, enough of that for now..!
I think I've written enough for a first blog, but this by NO means covers all the various topics I may speak up about. I'm sure at some point I'll cover politics, the weather, gadgets, theories, and maybe even some psuedo science. Any topic could come up, it just depends on the tides and flows of fate.
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