Review of Dark Knight Rises

I saw this one week ago and waited to review it as I wanted to let it sink in a bit. So, in order to review, i had to answer a few questions.

Promotional Poster

Was the movie epic? You bet. Did it entertain? check. Did it suspend belief but still let you believe? Yes it did (kudos to Christopher Nolan and all actors involved.) Were there scenes that were silly or not true to the comics? Of course. All that being said, it was a pretty darn good movie overall. I'd give it 4.5 out of 5 stars, despite the things I did not like about it. That should tell you something.


Let me start with what I didn't like. Bane's mask, albeit very cool, made it really difficult to hear his dialogue. I loved the effect and probably would have done the same thing, but the end result was annoying. 'Robin' John Blake showed up at the end and gave a foreshadowing into the future about where the series might be going if they ever decide to make more of these movies. I thought this was a bit contrived. The story did a poor job of explaining the back story of Bane, attempted to gel a bit too many story-lines into one movie (can you say Daredevil and Spiderman 3?) and had just a bit too many political undertones for me for a comic-book movie (Occupy Wall Street, give the city back to the people, etc), which they claim was coincidence...perhaps, but very coincidental. And, At one point about ¾ of the way through the movie, it was almost laughable that all this bad stuff was happening to Gotham and that you knew Batman was going to win the day. Alfred leaving was kind of silly and the scene about finding him somewhere with a woman having dinner was forced if ever I saw a forced scene. Minor quibbles, right? Again, just my opinions, I am sure yours will differ. 

Anne Hathaway as Catwoman

Now, what I did like! I liked the dark feel of the movie to a certain extent. The overall story was cool, I love Bane as a Batman villain. The wrap up of the over-arching storyline was nice, despite the 'Robin' thing. Loved seeing Talia, too. The acting overall was phenomenal and as much as I do not like Christian Bale, he was really good as Bruce Wayne throughout the entire series. Kudos to him. Finally, Catwoman. Loved her. period. Everything about her, her scenes, Anne Hathaway, her grace, style and charisma should be in discussions for an emmy in my opinion. And yes, even her corny transformation into a 'good guy' at the end. However, I will give you my take on why this could work and why you should justify it if it bothers you. Catwoman’s thefts and stealth mean nothing in an apocalyptic world that Bane created and in seeing the city as such, it minimizes her abilities and everything she is about...though, I did not get her roommate, unless they were more than roommates…maybe? Either way, she was awesome. The special effects were phenomenal and the bat-(copter?) was the coolest thing in the batman movies to date…even better than the Batmobile and motorcycle.

Any thoughts?

 Please join me and the other amazingly talented authors over @ Skulldust Circle where we have formed a Writer's Circle that must be seen--a collection of brilliant, up & coming independently published speculative fiction authors with much to give both now and in the future!

All of my work can be found on AMAZON -- Kindle versions here

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase my full length novel, Covenant of the Faceless Knights, the short stories: Wothlondia Rising, and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2012 unless otherwise noted.

First Review of Secrets of the Ebonite Mines!

First review for Secrets! Thanks, James!

James Vernon's review

Jul 24, 12

Read from July 11 to 23, 2012

Secrets of the Ebonite Mines picks up right where Covenant of the Faceless Knights left off, finding our group of heroes still on the trail of the stolen artifact. Through a series of events, the heroes stumble upon the trail of the artifact and set off to try and complete their quest. Meanwhile, the dark powers behind the problems rising in the realm continue to consolidate their power and plot their conquest of the different kingdoms.

The characters again are the driving force in this epic fantasy novel. Each character, both the good and the evil, are crafted with such detail that it becomes easy to picture them in your mind as well as understand their hopes and desires. Gary Vanucci does an excellent job of expanding on the heroes backgrounds while at the same time catching up those that might have forgotten about certain aspects of each character or that have missed the first book in the series or the collection of short stories for each of them. New characters are also introduced, and Gary Vanucci does an excellent job of providing them with just as much personality as he did with the original characters.

The battles, of which their are plenty, create the appropriate amount of tension and excitement. Again instead of mashing all of the different character's fights into a few paragraphs, the author breaks up the fights into each characters perspective. This not only allows the fights to go into greater detail, but it also generates a great deal more tension for the reader as it puts you right in the eyes of that particular character. You can really feel each parry, dodge, and would inflicted in each fight.

Overall, Secrets of the Ebonite Mines is a great continuation of a series that is both fascinating and entertaining. I would recomend you pick up Gary Vanucci's first book in the series or his collection of short stories first, as all of the stories combined really help you feel connected to the wonderful characters the author has created.

 Please join me and the other amazingly talented authors over @ Skulldust Circle where we have formed a Writer's Circle that must be seen--a collection of brilliant, up & coming independently published speculative fiction authors with much to give both now and in the future!

All of my work can be found on AMAZON -- Kindle versions here

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase my full length novel, Covenant of the Faceless Knights, the short stories: Wothlondia Rising, and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2012 unless otherwise noted.

Skulldust Circle Anthology Coming Soon!

I am excited to announce that Skulldust Circle is working on an anthology of short stories! The main goal here is to give our fans and readers who may not know us or that may only know one of us, a sampling of our writing styles. So far, we are putting together stories based on whatever worlds we’ve already created. That should be happening in the next 2 weeks or so, if all goes according to plan, so keep your eyes peeled! We are still in the latter stages of development, but once the book goes live, we will certainly let you know.

Possible titles: ‘Skulldust Circle’ (I know…weird, right?) or ‘A Gathering of Dust.’

The tome shall include works from William Kenney, Jeremy Laszlo, Ross Kitson, Ben Martin & Gary Vanucci (me) at the moment. I don’t pretend to know what the others are writing about, but I expect them to make comments possibly on what it is they are doing or even do their own posts with explanations to that end.

My story is about the scorching drake (more commonly referred to as a red dragon) that started it all: Ashenclaw! Ever want to know what happened those years ago when the land was burnt to ash by the scorching drakes? Ever wonder where my realm got its name? Wonder no more!

And the best part about the whole thing is that I involved some of my friends that I used to play certain MMO’s with and I was able to put a good deal of them into the story! It was a ton of fun to write and I hope that the readers really enjoy it, especially them! The story is simply entitled ‘THE LEGEND OF ASHENCLAW’ and it runs approximately 21K words. I look forward to feedback and would love to hear your comments about the whole Skulldust Circle project!

 Please join me and the other amazingly talented authors over @ Skulldust Circle where we have formed a Writer's Circle that must be seen--a collection of brilliant, up & coming independently published speculative fiction authors with much to give both now and in the future!

All of my work can be found on AMAZON -- Kindle versions here

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase my full length novel, Covenant of the Faceless Knights, the short stories: Wothlondia Rising, and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2012 unless otherwise noted.

Review of Gauntlgrym

I have just finished this book (finally!) and a few things jump to mind. First off, Salvatore has done a phenomenal job moving the storyline forward a hundred years. I’ve read some reviews that did not enjoy this transition or the writing in this one and I must disagree. Secondly, I very much enjoy the new characters introduced in this story and hope to see more of them, especially Dahlia.

Drizz’t is much darker and justifiably so. He has endured many deaths in his life, none more so important than Cattie-brie. He is beginning to give himself over to the hunter. His exterior is more callous and his heart torn asunder at the loss of so many of his companions. And with each passing year or event, the drow faces life alone.


*SPOILER ALERT* If you have not read the book and do not want to know pertinent events, turn away now!

Dahlia and Drizz't

It’s hard not to discuss spoilers in this one as many epic things take place in the world of our friends from Icewind Dale. Since the book has been out for almost two years, the discussion should not surprise anyone! A good deal of things happen in this one including many shocking deaths, the destruction of Neverwinter, and Bruenor finally finding his beloved Gauntlgrym

The primordial and the destruction of Neverwinter were defining moments, as was the passing of the mighty Thibbledorf Pwent, who shows up from nowhere to help his king! Alas, the biggest event was the passing of King Bruenor Battlehammer. He goes out in style, going toe to toe with a pit fiend, possessed of the power of the gods, Gauntlgrym itself and the ghosts within, and saving the day from the primordial waking to lay waste to the realm. Also, Drizz’t begins to understand that Jarlaxle is something more than he has ever let on before, even considering him a friend.

All in all, I enjoyed the story, the way it was told and the introduction of many new characters, who valiantly come to the forefront of Drizz’ts world. They will never replace the companions of the hall, but Salvatore has done them justice and given them all a fairly rich background and depth. 

I give the book 5 out of five stars as the story moved quickly, kept me on the edge of my seat and handled the passing of time very well! Kudos! Oh, I almost forgot...who is Barrabus the Gray?!  *wink*

I look forward to reading the next few…just as soon as I finish another stack of books I promised to read first!

 Please join me and the other amazingly talented authors over @ Skulldust Circle where we have formed a Writer's Circle that must be seen--a collection of brilliant, up & coming independently published speculative fiction authors with much to give both now and in the future!

All of my work can be found on AMAZON -- Kindle versions here

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase my full length novel, Covenant of the Faceless Knights, the short stories: Wothlondia Rising, and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2012 unless otherwise noted.

Wothlondia Rising Anthology Sale for 99 Cents Through July!

As of today I have pulled all of my 99 cent single short stories in the WOTHLONDIA RISING series that I had released since January of this year. In their place is the Anthology, now on Amazon kindle AND in Paperback, which includes ALL 5 of the short stories (Distant Familiarity, A Rose in Bloom, Maturation Process, Tears of Blood, Strength of Faith) and includes a never-before-released story about the half-ogre barbarian, Orngoth, called Reflections.

Cover to the CreateSpace Paperback

As an added bonus, the prologue to Covenant of the Faceless Knights follows the story entitled Distant Familiarity which details the events just prior to Covenant. So, as you can see, this is a worthy addition to the Realm of Ashenclaw series and I have given it the name: Beginnings Book 0. It adds depth, history, character and gives you a glance into events that placed these heroes on the path they now walk. If you enjoyed Covenant (and even Secrets of the Ebonite Mines, which is also available), I would recommend you stepping into the past of these exciting characters and learn a bit about what makes them tick!

As an incentive, I have reduced the cost from $2.99 down to .99 cents until the end of July! I hope you take the time to check it out and look forward to any and all reviews you might give.

 

 Please join me and the other amazingly talented authors over @ Skulldust Circle where we have formed a Writer's Circle that must be seen--a collection of brilliant, up & coming independently published speculative fiction authors with much to give both now and in the future!

All of my work can be found on AMAZON -- Kindle versions here

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase my full length novel, Covenant of the Faceless Knights, the short stories: Wothlondia Rising, and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2012 unless otherwise noted.

Hard Copy or Ebook?

As I sit here with Nick Titano of Infernal Titans @ DEXCON in Morristown, NJ, I can't help but think: Is it worth doing print at all anymore?

I have met several nice folk and each of them has asked me if my books were on kindle. I of course answered yes. At this point, they each informed me that they would purchase my works there. Odd? Does this happen to authors more often than not? I am just curious because as I love to feel the paper and weight of a book in my hand, I know that kindle/eBooks rule. I cannot print a book and sell it for anywhere near what I can see an eBook for.

I am thinking that the appeal would be to receive an autograph, but there are programs out there where you can sign eBooks now! Amazing, right? Or is it?

So, with that in mind, do you readers/writers out there prefer to read with your eBooks? And if so, can you tell me why?

All the best and I hope to see anyone in the North Jersey area @DEXCON today and tomorrow. Sadly, I will be missing Saturday as I must work my day job, but I will hopefully be returning on Sunday!

 Please join me and the other amazingly talented authors over @ Skulldust Circle where we have formed a Writer's Circle that must be seen--a collection of brilliant, up & coming independently published speculative fiction authors with much to give both now and in the future!

All of my work can be found on AMAZON -- Kindle versions here

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase my full length novel, Covenant of the Faceless Knights, the short stories: Wothlondia Rising, and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2012 unless otherwise noted.

PROMOTIONAL GIVEAWAY Extended Thru July 4th!

Gifting FREE copies of my debut novel, Covenant of the Faceless Knights thru JULY 4th in exchange for reviews. I would like to get a few more reviews up on both Amazon & Goodreads (copy and paste is fine). I would like some avid/voracious readers that can get the reviews up in 30 days or one month’s time. The limit I have set is between 50 and 100 copies, first come-first served, so you may have to hurry.

Criteria: This is pretty simple

1.  Must have an active Amazon account
2.  The account must be in the United States of America
3.  Must visit ƦЄƛԼM ƠƑ ƛSĦЄƝƇԼƛƜ and click on the CONTACT tab at the top right (Or simply click this to bring you to the CONTACT PAGE) and fill it out. Under the 'How may we help you line', simply put: Send me my FREE book! 

That’s pretty much it!

In order for redundancy, please leave me a comment here on the blog and say ‘I’m in’ or ‘Yes, I’ll review it for you’ or something along those lines as well as your name. I will look for your email to send you out a copy.

This is not until Sunday, so if you feed me your information before then, I will be better prepared! Hope to see plenty of contact forms before Sunday!

 Please join me and the other amazingly talented authors over @ Skulldust Circle where we have formed a Writer's Circle that must be seen--a collection of brilliant, up & coming independently published speculative fiction authors with much to give both now and in the future!

All of my work can be found on AMAZON -- Kindle versions here

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase my full length novel, Covenant of the Faceless Knights, the short stories: Wothlondia Rising, and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2012 unless otherwise noted.

Covenant of the Faceless Knights Sale This Weekend!

Through the weekend and until Monday, ƇƠѴЄƝƛƝƬ ƠƑ ƬӇЄ ƑƛƇЄŁЄSS ĶƝĮGĦƬS, Beginnings series BOOK ONE  is ONLY $2.99 on KINDLE! This Weekend ONLY! So, if you were on the fence about buying it before, here is your chance to get it at a reduced rate!



Some details about the book:
4.9 out of 5 stars on 14 reviews through Amazon~EPIC FANTASY SERIES and it is available in the UK, US, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. I have linked the US and the UK (Though the US is outselling the UK by far...they need to step it up...lol.)

ƇƠѴЄƝƛƝƬ ƠƑ ƬӇЄ ƑƛƇЄŁЄSS ĶƝĮGĦƬS ~ ƲS


ƇƠѴЄƝƛƝƬ ƠƑ ƬӇЄ ƑƛƇЄŁЄSS ĶƝĮGĦƬS ~ ƲĶ

When a dangerous artifact goes missing from the Temple of The Shimmering One, the high priest in charge of the artifact's protection realizes that he will not be able to retrieve the stolen relic without help. Calling upon Garius, the man who was once his own apprentice, Tiyarnon the High Priest enlists the aid of a man who is now an Inquisitor among the Order of the Faceless Knights. Garius, now a man of power and prestige, gathers a handful of allies to help complete his quest—but who among them is worthy of his trust? Aided by the mischievous Rose, a rogue among rogues, the stoic and blood thirsty Saeunn, and a promising but naive elf named Elec, Garius hopes his training as one among the Faceless Knights has prepared him to keep his small company in check, let alone survive the trials to come. Garius must lead his band of allies into dark regions to recover the artifact before it falls into the hands of the evil being that once held it in order to ensure the continued safety of the Realm of Ashenclaw.

 Begin your journey into the Realm of Ashenclaw TODAY!

 Please join me and the other amazingly talented authors over @ Skulldust Circle where we have formed a Writer's Circle that must be seen--a collection of brilliant, up & coming independently published speculative fiction authors with much to give both now and in the future!

All of my work can be found on AMAZON -- Kindle versions here

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase my full length novel, Covenant of the Faceless Knights, the short stories: Wothlondia Rising, and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2012 unless otherwise noted.

Upcoming Promos & New Release!

SЄƇƦЄƬƧ ƠƑ ƬӇЄ ЄƁƠƝƖƬЄ MƖƝЄS is on SALE NOW! In honor of this I have done a price reduction on ƇƠѴЄƝƛƝƬ ƠƑ ƬӇЄ ƑƛƇЄŁЄSS ĶƝĮGĦƬS for the kindle version. Since it is BOOK! in the series, ut will be $2.99 for a week, starting the day I release Secrets, so keep your eye on Twitter, Facebook and here!

This is to entice any who are going to purchase the new novel to get the first one too!

AND, I have reduced the price of ШΟΤΗLΟŊÐΙΆ ŔΙSΙƝԌ: ƛƝƬĦƠŁƠGƳ to $2.99 for the foreseeable future! What more could a fantasy fan want?

So, if you wanted to read the prequels and get all 5 of the Wothlondia Rising short stories PLUS the FREE extra one (REFLECTIONS), there has never been a better time!

Here is another sample of Secrets of the Ebonite Mines to whet your fantasy appetite:

“How long has it been since we left that sickening temple?” asked Rose Thorne who sat lazily at the small table in the center of the wagon. She held the magnificent dagger Zaedra—one of a pair with Avorna—in her left hand, admiring its expertly-made hilt and blade. She absently twirled her long, red hair sporadically with her right hand as she looked out the porthole, waiting for an answer.

Saeunn sat in a chair to her right while Orngoth lay down on the floor where the group had spread out several bedrolls in an attempt to make it more comfortable for the giant half-ogre. The three apprentices were present, including the badly injured but recovering Rolf, who was not in the best of shape, but whose condition was stabilized at least.

Elec Stormwhisper and Garius Forge moved about the caravan, pacing back and forth. Garius was brooding and Elec seemed to be suffering from an intense nervousness of some kind.

Rose regarded Garius just then, inspecting silently the powerful Inquisitor from the Order of the Faceless Knights, a very esteemed and feared organization. Garius continued walking the floor with ease in his heavy plated armor, seeming not to tire. He wore it as effortlessly as a sage might wear a robe, Rose noted. She found herself, strangely enough, wondering what his body might look like beneath it, lean and full of muscles, she guessed.

“Two days now,” Garius suddenly answered her question. His words startled her and she happily disengaged from her embarrassing line of thinking.

“We near the northernmost section of the Oakcrest Mountains,” stated the Inquisitor as he paused to stare out the porthole opposite Rose, “as you may be able to tell from the sudden rumbling of the wagon rolling over the uneven road below. We shall be reaching that point within the next half day, and then will be heading back due south around the mountain. Once we hit Heartwood Valley, beyond the Oakcrest Mountains, we will stop for several hours where you will be able to stretch your legs. The road should become less treacherous, too.”

Rose peered outside and watched as the sun disappeared behind a cloud, pondering the recent events that had brought them here. They had been traveling for two days straight and planned to go another before stopping so that they could eat something other than dried bread or stale fruit. The construct that drove Nimaira’s magical caravan continued onward, seemingly paying no heed to those within.

Garius turned from the porthole and regarded the half-ogre, who occupied a huge portion of the caravan’s floor in front of the alcove where their beds were kept. His battered leg was elevated and resting on a chair. They’d all taken note that Orngoth’s leg was mending at a much faster rate than they’d anticipated but it seemed that the bone was fusing in an uneven fashion. They had not gotten the chance to set it properly after the escape from the temple and now it appeared it was too late, which Garius explained that he did not fully understand. Rose’s ankle and Saeunn’s elbow, however, were completely healed now thanks to a combination of both Garius’ healing abilities and Elec’s alchemical ointments.

They trudged along for another day. Elec conversed with Saeunn, in between his lengthy disappearances into his extra-dimensional lab space. When the barbarian did speak to the inquisitive elf, he intently consumed the information with an attentive gaze. But Rose spent all of that time in deep consideration as to why she kept thinking of Garius. And in ways she’d never thought possible after their initial encounter in the conference room of the High Council.

Final stage of cover art by William Kenney

Don’t forget to join the blog @SKULLDUST CIRCLE and know that we are preparing another anthology that will sample as many of us as possible. We are still trying to iron out the details as to when we can expect to have this book ready for you as all of us are feverishly working full time jobs as well as continuing our own sagas! I can tell you that my story will revolve around the history of the big, bad queen of the scorching drakes. So be prepared to have fun reading The Legend of Ashenclaw soon enough! Excerpts of my compilation will no doubt soon follow,

Once again, I hope you enjoyed the excerpt! Keep your Eye on Ashenclaw for more news!

Please join me and the other amazingly talented authors over @ Skulldust Circle where we have formed a Writer's Circle that must be seen--a collection of brilliant, up & coming independently published speculative fiction authors with much to give both now and in the future!

All of my work can be found on AMAZON -- Kindle versions here

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase my full length novel, Covenant of the Faceless Knights, the short stories: Wothlondia Rising, and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2012 unless otherwise noted.

Quick Announcement!

I was on Gelati's Scoop GZONE blog talk radio 6/21/12 @ 4pm doing an interview if anyone is interested in checking it out.It was a ton of fun and I had a good deal of information to share with any fans of Realm of Ashenclaw or fantasy in general. I also mentioned SKULLDUST CIRCLE and plans for me being @ GENCON this August!

The link for the show is here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/gelatisscoop/2012/06/21/gary-vanucci-and-gay-balliet-drop-by

Blog post here: http://gelatisscoop.blogspot.com/2012/06/gary-vanucci-4-pm-est-g-zone-be-there.html