Any
writer that says he doesn’t read reviews is someone you shouldn’t stand too
close to, because there is a good chance that at any moment their pants may
burst into flame. When it comes to reviews, I can’t say I read them all… just
the ones I find. Recently there have been some very flattering ones about my
collection, Blood, Gridlock, and PEZ:Podcasted Tales of horror. Just thought I’d throw that in there. Reviews
for my novel NotLT, which Sam Stall and I always appreciate, range from fantastic to less
than fantastic. One phrase I’ve seen in many of the reviews, even the positive
ones, goes something like Night of the
Living Trekkies is not great literature, but…then it would continue on and
say something nice. Okay, truth here, when I sat down to write that first draft
of Night of the Living Trekkies, I
wasn’t trying to be Hemingway. Hell, Hemingway couldn’t even be Hemingway, and
he had 61 years to try. Point is, I didn’t sit down to write great literature,
but I didn’t sit down to write mediocre literature either.
So
after reading that NotLT is not great literature line about a million times, I
was pretty excited to hear that NotLT is required reading at Cayuga CommunityCollege in Kelley E. Rowley’s, PHD professor of English, Science Fiction
Literature course. It has been for the past few years along with two other
novels about the undead, World War Z by Max Brooks, and S. G. Bowne’sBreathers. Here is a little bit of what Professor Rowley had to say about why
NotLT fits well into his class.
“The novel brings up veteran
issues. Our community college is close
to Fort Drum and the 10th Mountain Division.
We get a lot of veterans. Our
students understand PTSD and recognize it in the Jim. (Jim Pike) Those that do
not see Jim with PTSD identify a post deployment angst. So one group sympathizes with the PTSD most
all groups feel the angst that he does.
This universalizes the novel for any student going through a
transitional stage. What I like about
the novel is that the angst is not a permanent condition. It gives strategies to overcome the angst.
Last, NotLT
fits into a zombie trilogy that chronicles the post 9/11 world. Many researchers are identifying the modern
Zombie as a metaphor for fears of globalization and the struggle that is
involved in the geopolitical boarder zones.
In these zones we are combating terrorists. The first book we read is WWZ which introduces
the common use of extreme violence to subdue extreme evil. This was the zeitgeist of the early part of
the Afghan/Iraq war. Your novel provides
a different prospective; rather than a zombie that is irrational, unpredictable
and extremely violent, yours are intelligent, connected and persuasive. They are recruiters that persuade some to
their cause. They are the ones that
radicalize citizens into domestic terrorist through the use of the internet.”
And
I’d just like to add a big fat, “Yeah, what he said.”
Along
with NotLT being required reading, a student in France, Chloé Royer, is
currently translating the novel into French as a part of her Master's
dissertation. Before she was allowed to use the novel it had to pass the
scrutiny of her professor to make sure it was a proper literary challenge. It
passed.
In
other news signed copies of Night of the
Living Trekkies were a big hit at this years’ New York Comic Con. Looked like fun.
Few months back (September) marked the three year anniversary of NotLT release, and cosplayer,
Lady Beth Vader, sent us a Happy Birthday picture. Thank you Ms. Vader.
Christa
Abernathy-Meredith seven-year-old son drew this image for us. I assume he hasn't read the book but it’s a pretty nice rendition of Jim Pike taking on the Trekkie undead.
There
is a bit of movie talk going on again for Night
of the Living Trekkies. Some nice folks with some interesting backgrounds
and connections (which I’d love to share more about - not the right time) are
working toward obtaining the novel’s film option. Like I said, I’d love to
share more, but if it goes through I’ll be blogging and posting about it
daily.
Over
at the Night of the Living Trekkies Facebook page I’m getting ready to roll out some new Geeky Holiday Wreaths for 2013.
I have half a dozen ideas, but could always use a few more. Feel free to send
me yours.
My
collection Blood, Gridlock, & PEZ:Podcasted Tales of Horror, had a really good October, climbing up the
Amazon rankings to hit #41 in the comedy horror category, right in-between Jeff Strand and S.G. Browne. Not bad for a collection with no traditional publisher,
marketing plan, or any kind of promotion whatsoever.
My
new novel Night of the ZomBEEs which
was targeting for a Fall release will most likely get pushed back to Winter.
After the holidays is not an ideal time to release a novel but we have fallen a
bit behind on the editing, not my editor's fault, it’s pretty much mine. So we
may be looking at an early Spring 2014 release. Either way, I’m very excited
about this one!
Lastly,
my flash fiction story, The Delivery,
debuted in the anthology Dark Bits from Apokrupha press. Its 52 pieces of flash
fiction that are not only a fast fun read, but the antho has been converted
into a 52 week planner for 2014. (Sold separately) My story is on week
two!
And
for those who give a ninja’s butt, here is what I’m reading, have read, and my
reviews from GoodReads.
Currently
Reading Death Troopers, Odd Thomas, and Forever Odd.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Fantastic idea and execution. A retelling of Star Wars as if written by William Shakespeare. I hope English teachers tasked with the responsibility of teaching Shakespeare to middle and high school students jump all over this. What a great tool to introduce Shakespeare to students. I’m sure the publisher, Quirk Books, is planning to do Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, but I’d really like to see William Shakespeare’s Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, or Serenity. Just a thought.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Masello is a fantastic writer. The narrative jumps back and forth through the centuries and never becomes jarring. I did get a little impatient waiting for the supernatural elements of the story to kick in but when they did it was worth the wait. It did seem that the story could have moved a little faster up front but overall a wonderful read.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
A very nice read. Not thrilling, but nice. I was a bit disappointing, and it is entirely my fault. I skimmed the jacket cover just enough to get the impression that it was a ghost story. It isn't. Well not the kind of ghosts you would think. Valentine is a wonderful writer and spins a thought provoking, coming of age, self discovery, put away the past, and get on with your young life kind of story. A very good, solid young adult read.
2 comments:
Hi Kevin,
I just finished my write-up for NotLT, and decided to do a search on other reviews. Personally, I strongly disagree with the claim that it was "bad writing". I read lots of zombie books and most I can't even finish.
I found your writing to be quite effective, well told, and overall, really well done. It makes me wonder if people reacted to the "pulp" idea of a zombie book that takes place at Star Trek convention. I believe that makes people dismiss the writing without even reading a sentence.
In any case, I posted the review over at jezner.com. Feel free to check it out and I hope you enjoy it. I do look forward to reading some of your other work. Maybe, cough, a followup to Night of the Living Trekkies? Wink, wink, nudge, nudge :)
Cheers!
Brian Douglas Moakley
Wow. When you review a book, you do an in-depth job. Thank you very much for the review. I enjoyed it very much. Sent it to Sam and posted it on Facebook.
If you don't mind, I'd like to put you on my PR list, to be notified of new material.
Post a Comment