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Reviews

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Epeolatry Book Review: The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

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Title: The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time, Book 1)
Author: Robert Jordan
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: November 15th, 1990

Synopsis:

Soon to be an original series starring Rosamund Pike as Moiraine!

Robert Jordan’s #1 New York Times bestselling epic fantasy series, The Wheel of Time®, continues.

The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and pass. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.

Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time.

The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and go, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. In the Third Age, an Age of Prophecy, the World and Time themselves hang in the balance. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.

When The Two Rivers is attacked by Trollocs-a savage tribe of half-men, half-beasts- five villagers flee that night into a world they barely imagined, with new dangers waiting in the shadows and in the light.

I first came across and tried to read Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series well over a decade ago. I worked as a fry cook in downtown Seattle and filled the hours to and from work on the city bus reading. I made it into book five before getting distracted and dropping the series.

That is, until the upcoming Amazon Prime series rekindled my interest. Plus, after all this time, I wanted to know what happened after book five.

On my second time around, after reading many other books and becoming a writer myself, the story reads differently for me. It’s amazing how a person’s tastes can change so much over a decade.

This book introduces a typical “chosen one” prophesy about someone who will save the world from a great evil. I know this sounds cliché but stick with me. This chosen one is one of the teenage boys from a small village in the Two Rivers. A strange woman who wields magic arrives looking for a subject of the prophesy. When a horde of monstrous humanoids arrive, Rand (one of these teenage boys) and his friends must flee with woman, and the book follows their adventures as they try and get to safety.

Yes, this sounds like half of the fantasy on the shelves today, but the simplified plot isn’t the main pull. Robert Jordan has built a complex world for this adventure to run through. Varying political interests vie for power with different ideas of how to handle those who brandish magic.

There are some problematic elements to the story. The two-sided gender-based magic system seems a little dated at this point. Also, many of the female characters are one sided. For example, Nynaeve, the village wisdom from the Two Rivers, is constantly angry and tugs on her braids when she is upset. There also many scenes where women cross their arms under their breasts when scorning a man.

Still, this is a wonderful book which has influenced the full landscape of modern fantasy writing.

I give it 5 out of 5 stars. A modern classic.

Available from Amazon and Bookshop.

Articles

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Looking For A New Podcast? Check Out Tor Presents: Voyage into Genre

Genre fans have reason to rejoice as Tom Doherty Associates and Literary Hub (LitHub) are giving us a new podcast. Recently launched, ‘Tor Presents: Voyage into Genre’ is “a new biweekly podcast hosted by Drew Broussard.” It is sadly a limited series but will “feature authors of all backgrounds from the science-fiction fantasy imprints Tor Books, Tordotcom Publishing, and Tor Teen.”

Broussard also co-hosts LitHub’s So Many Damn Books

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Anthology / Events / Flat Amount

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Taking Submissions: Out of Time: True Paranormal Encounters

Deadline: November 15th, 2021
Payment: $20
Theme: True ghost stories, unexplained occurrences, and weird encounters with the paranormal or supernatural.

Out of Time: True Paranormal Encounters

Timber Ghost is proud to present, Out of Time: True Paranormal Encounters. We are seeking true ghost stories, unexplained occurrences, and weird encounters with the paranormal or supernatural. If you have such a tale, please send it to us, and if it is creepy enough, it just might end up in this anthology (bonus if you have pictures that go along with the story).
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Articles / Guest Post

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6 Ways to Touch the Feelings of Your Reader

Photo by Eliott Reyna on Unsplash 

6 Ways to Touch the Feelings of Your Reader

 

Even though many people see writing as something easy, actually touching your readers’ emotions with your text is pretty difficult. Yes, anyone can write. But not anyone can create powerful and compelling stories that have the power of immersing the reader into that story. When it comes to horror stories and books, doing this is extremely important. If you are not able to entice the feelings and emotions of your reader, the story will pass by unnoticed. 

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Trembling With Fear

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Trembling With Fear 07/11/21

Please note: We are temporarily closed to short flash stories (unless for one of the Specials) but open to drabbles, unholy trinities and serials. We hope to reopen later in the year once we have caught up with the publication of those already accepted.

After a number of rejections – like so many writers! – I’ve been able to announce this week my involvement in the A Silent Dystopia anthology, a collection which features stories set in a shared world originally formed by Dave Jeffereys in his A Quiet Apocalypse and related publications. With writers like Kev Harrison, John Palisano, Dave himself and a whole range of others, it’s going to be a great read.

This actually makes up for a continued wait for the Crystal Lake Classic Monsters Unleashed decision on my submission. I’ve got down to the last bit and the wait has whittled away my nails! Writers certainly need their share of resilience and patience!

I’ve read a few books lately and want to give them shoutouts. Ronald Kelly’s Fear is a big book but a wonderful page-turner, absolutely immersive and I adored it. Sarah J. Huntington is a newer writer and I picked up her collection Iron Maidens the other day. Her writing is exceptionally strong and original, enough to make me get her other collection Paint it Black and Other Stories. From the strength of the writing I’ve seen, I think she will be one to watch out for.

Yes, I pick up books I see others raving about but quite often I will see other voices trying to get their books noticed and I’ll take those as well. I know exactly how hard it is to get people to read your work – it’s still something I have trouble with! – and in doing so, I’ve made some wonderful discoveries.

Our first story this week in Trembling with Fear is The Midnight Tubes by Harris Coverley is a lovely dark tale set in the bowels of the hospital. Working in a morgue can have its upsides. And is this one of the few jogs where you can get away with murder?

Afraid of Freud by Mike Rader. Oh, how we hate the idea of Alzheimer’s and psychiatrists, the notion of being vulnerable and abused. So we take steps to protect ourselves, our loved ones will help. Won’t they?

Reared by Patrick Winters. This is such a tragic story but is testament to the maternal instinct across all creatures.

Tag at Night by Toko Hata. This centres on a dream, something I would normally baulk at publishing BUT take that last sentence into account and you can see why it was accepted, stepping it slightly out of the dreamworld and into possible reality.

Enjoy our stories and send in yours!

Steph

 

Stephanie Ellis

Editor, Trembling With Fear

I’m officially moved into the new house. Now, I just need to find a new desk and finish unpacking boxes. SO MANY BOXES. This has been another crazy week with the move, a visit to my uncle’s lake house for the Fourth of July, my first day returning to the office (this coming week I’ll be back in two days a week), trying to unpack, trying to set up things in the house, helping pack up the old house, and my MBA program. WHEE. 

With all of that in mind, I hope you won’t hold any delays on getting things done for site changes against me.

Trembling With Fear digital copies should now all fully be available! I’ve resubmitted Year 4 for physical so it may be available at the time of reading this though it looks like we have some cover sizing issues on the other two which we’re currently working through and they may take a bit longer. 

I hope all of your reading and writing endeavors go well in the coming week! 

Stuart Conover

Editor, Horror Tree

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Articles

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Indie Bookshelf Releases 07/09/21

Click on the book covers for more information. Remember to scroll down to the bottom of the page – there’s all sorts lurking in the deep.

Got a book to launch, an event to promote or seeking extra work/support as a result of being hit economically by Covid? Get in touch and we’ll promote you here. The post is prepared each Thursday for publication on Friday. Contact us via Horror Tree’s contact address or connect via Twitter or Facebook.

Services

Editing, critiquing, artwork – Eugene Johnson is a man of many talents, an award-winning editor, filmmaker and artist. He will be will be selling his art, book covers, book art, logo designs, making prints, offering short story critiques/edits, special book projects like a coloring book he’s creating with another author and more for a small fee. Initially to fund desperately needed repairs on his car, once that is complete he hopes to turn his focus towards helping others that need support. Join him in his endeavours in getting this help to those who need it. Contact him via https://plaiddragonpublishing.com/ and he can also be found on https://www.facebook.com/eugene.johnson.14855. If you’d like to help him get his car fixed that bit quicker, please drop in on his Fundraiser set up by friends. (I think another link will be set up in the near future regarding his services and I’ll update it here when that happens.)

Editing – Elle Turpitt, elleturpittediting.com, is facing redundancy. Help her by considering her as an editor. She is available for all editing work – short story, novella, novel, or chapter extracts. She also has a Ko-Fi (ko-fi.com/elleturpitt), or if you’d rather send a little gift to help her smile at a stressful time, she has a wishlist set up for this month (amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls). All support is appreciated. 

 

Writing and Editing Services from Ben Long. Go to Ben for ‘Killer Copy, Creative Content, and Eye-opening Edits’! Ben is ‘a passionate and engaging freelancer with 2+ years of experience in a variety of writing and editing endeavors. He is also a regular contributor to several online brands in the horror niche.’ You can find out more about him here https://readingvicariously.net/services/.

 

Events

Please send us details of any online panels, conventions, festivals and workshops and we’ll list them here. Click the images for details!

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Charity Anthologies

 

 Tales Of The Lost Volume Two- A charity anthology for Covid- 19 Relief: Tales To Get Lost In A CHARITY ANTHOLOGY FOR COVID-19 RELIEF by [Gaiman, Neil,, Hill, Joe,, Johnson, Eugene M,]  Flashes of Hope by [Anna Taborska, Dave Jeffery, Amy Grech, Matthew Davis, John Cady, Emma Lee, Gwen Weir, Ken Goldman, Alyson Faye, Theresa Derwin]    

 

Latest Book Launches

Horror Tree Sponsor* and Patreon Releases!

24th June

9th JulyTrembling With Fear: Year 4 by [Stuart Conover, Stephanie Ellis] Trembling With Fear: More Tales From The Tree: Volume 3 by [Stuart Conover, Stephanie Ellis, Catherine Kenwell] Trembling With Fear: Serial Killers: Volume 2 by [Stuart Conover, Stephanie Ellis, Catherine Kenwell]

*All Horror Tree sponsors are able to claim a spot at the top of our listing during the donation of their sponsorship. Please use our contact form for more advertising pricing.
 
 

They Slipped Through the Net!

26th Feb 2nd May

June

5th Paths Best Left Untrodden by [Kev Harrison] 6th 7th The Walking Son by [Eddie Generous] 7th

9th Spiffing: A Cosmic Horror Novella by [Tim Mendees] 11th Metaphoria14th 15th Ride or Die by [James Newman]

15th Trench Mouth by [Christine Morgan]15th Murmur: Collected Horror16th 17th Far, Far Away Anthology - Ebook

18th 18th 24th  25th Dismal Dreams by [Red Lagoe]

26th The Creeping Void: Terror on the Highlands (AFTER: A POST-APOCALYPTIC SURVIVOR SERIES) by [Tim Mendees]29th Savage Island by [Brian Moreland]29th Apocalypse, Zombie (Guardians of the Apocalypse Book 6) by [Jeff Thomson]29th

30th 30th Side Roads: A Dark Fiction Collection by [Rachel A. Brune]

July

1st 2nd Non-Practicing Cultist (Short Sharp Shocks! Book 75) by [Scott J. Moses]4th 6th Lambs Among Wolves by [Russell James]

 7th The Samaritan by [Dave Jeffery]8th Dead Men Tell No Tales by [Jeffrey Kosh]9th 12th Brand New Dark by Beau Johnson

15th Immortelle by [Catherine McCarthy] 20th 20th Slattery Falls by [Brennan LaFaro] 20th Only The Stains Remain by [Ross Jeffery]

23rd Beyond Human 29th Absolute Unit by [Nick Kolakowski, Crystal Lake Publishing] 30th They Come in the Night by [Lynn-Cee Faulk]

August

3rd The Final Gate by [Wesley Southard, Lucas Mangum] 5th 26th The Girl in the Attic by [Jon Athan]

September

1st The Strange Thing We Become and Other Dark Tales by [Eric LaRocca] 1st Writers Workshop of Horror 2 by [Michael Knost] 6th Picture 7th Grimoire of the Four Impostors by [Coy Hall]

10thFloaters by [Garrett Boatman, Crystal Lake Publishing]21st The House of Little Bones by [Beverley Lee]22nd 28th Midnight From Beyond the Stars by [Gabino Iglesias, James Newman, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Tim Curran, Lee Murray, Ronald Kelly, Samantha Kolesnik, William Meikle, Kenneth W. Cain]

October

1st Gorefest: Extreme Horror Anthology by [Wrath James White, Stephen Kozeniewski, Armand Rosamilia, Wesley Southard, Jay Wilburn, Jonathan Butcher, Jack Bantry, Robert Essig, Patrick C. Harrison, K. Trap Jones] 19th

Offers!

The Vegas Rift by [David F. Gray] Until 99c/99p Monday

Kickstarters!

MEMENTO MORI – A Horror Noir Graphic Novel MEMENTO MORI – A Horror Noir Graphic Novel. A 64-page full-color story about the serial killer who resurrects Victorian Post-Mortem photography into a modern work of art.

Happy reading.

Steph

 on behalf of Stuart and the Horror Tree Team

 

Trembling With Fear

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Unholy Trinity: Cosmic Emptiness by Margarida Brei

Our church worships at the altar of the Unholy Trinity. Its gospels are delivered as a trio of dark drabbles, linked so that Three become One. All hail the power of the Three.

I

Some think life insignificant, meaningless. Especially standing alone under a huge sky full of stars. Not me. At night, I shouted up at the cosmos, “I am here with my feet on earth, and you are all alone, light years away.” It was easy feeling safe when the earth was whole. But now? Only a few survived the apocalypse. Living scientists think earth was hit by a giant meteorite. What really matters is earth is dying, our resources are few. There is darkness and despair everywhere. Dystopia is a reality. Now I feel that I am nothing in the world.  

II

I am one. One alone after the apocalypse. It is hard not to feel insignificant when you are the only survivor out of your family. No one to live for. There is nothing to live for. What is the point of building a broken earth when few survived. The only choices are what to die from- starvation, boredom, hopelessness, disease? Out of necessity, I now occupy a beautiful ornate mansion. Oddly, it survived intact, when all around it was destroyed. Endless rooms, glamorous bathrooms, landscaped pool. It is a dream house, but so empty that it brings me no joy. 

III

Shortly after the apocalypse, I woke to mewing. My imagination, I argue and fall asleep. Depressing to be one of only a sparse number of survivors! Listlessly sitting, I hear a tiny weak sound coming from the servants’ quarters. So faint. In my hand a torch and in the other a baseball bat. The torch gives me more confidence in the dark. Amazingly, I discover the maid’s baby is still alive but alone and suspect the parent died during the apocalypse. 

“You will survive. Earth’s hope. I am here for you, always. Call me Mummy.” I sing to the baby.

Margarida Brei

As a female Senior gold,
I think in rhymes and inventive couplets bold.
From England, the land of cats and dogs showers, through Canada, I was chased by the snow-covered Yeti,
Now in Texas, the blazing sun and Vitamin D, in abundance, I getti.
My two naughty dogs inspire me.
From the perspective of a teacher, mother, wife, granny and animal lover, the world I see.
Horror Tree has published some of my Valentine drabble. My historical novel is on Amazon.
As the feature poet Scifaikuest is showcasing some of my ghazal, scifaiku, tanka and drabbun.