March to the Sea

March to the Sea had it's good points. I enjoy the characters. Having said that, I felt the first section of this book was merely good. I feared Prince Roger and Sgt. Despro (not sure of the spelling, sorry) would dominate too much of the story, but that proved a needless concern.

As in the first book, the Marines are required to advance local technology, this time adding riffles, artillery, and blue water ships to the mix.

The military and political intrigue was engaging. I am growing tired of the horrible slaughter of Mardukans, though there is a section that describes Captain Ponner's attempts to avoid it.

I enjoyed March to the Sea, though not as much as March Upcountry. On a positive note, I started listening to March to the Stars and it promises to be excellent.

March Upcountry - David Weber and John Ringo

March Upcountry is the first book I've read by either of these authors, or listened to rather. (Stefan Rudniki does an incredible job narrating this one.)

I love the military science fiction genre and historical military fiction as well. March Upcountry enthralled my imagination immediately. I was intrigued by the cast of characters and thought the intrigue and world building fascinating. Great detail. These authors are clearly very experienced in this genre.

So I was a bit bemused when I realized how dramatically the point of view shifts and how head jumping occurs so frequently that I hear writing coaches all over the world writhing in misery. However, there is something to be said for the fact I didn't notice the much derided technique at first.

Probably because I was wrapped up in the story and dying to see what happened to each character. My writer's mind wrote this phenomena off as something I shouldn't try but perhaps works for these two master story tellers.

In the end, I was really glad to have bought the book and listened to it. The details and suspenseful plot combined with characters I really empathize with has made March Upcountry worth every moment of my time. One group of antagonists are called Saints, a sociopolitical group dedicated to removing Terran influence from the universe. They are depicted as fanatical conservationist, a group that has taken a possibly noble ideal to a destructive extreme. This book does not delve into the minds of the Saints, but I imagine future books will. It should be interesting at least.

March Upcountry is a great book. I recommend it.

Film Friday 3: Warrior

This week's Friday night film was Warrior. I've had this one on my list for a long time. I know the movie received good reviews and Nick Nolte earned an Academy Award nomination. Even with all this hype, the promotional trailers left me worried, which is probably why I waited so long to see it. Warrior is the story of two brothers, one a war hero, the other a school teacher, who find themselves fighting for a five-million dollar purse in a brutal MMA match.

I was wary. The pre-release movie trailers looked slick, the movie had good reviews, but it still seemed that the slightest misstep with this plot would lead straight to cheeseville.

I shouldn't have worried. There turned out to be other plot twists that increased the tension. I thought the acting was superb and the dialogue excellent.

If you just want a lot of MMA, it is probably only a decent movie. On the other hand, if mixed martial arts violence turns your stomach, this show isn't for you. I still recommend taking a chance on Warrior if you are a little squeamish, because the story, acting, and overall package are solid and the execution is great.

I give this one five stars, because my rating scale doesn't go to six.

Thanks for reading this blog. Happy viewing.

Priceless: A Rylee Adamson Novel (Book 1) - Shannon Mayer

Shannon Mayer is such a good writer. I've been a fan for a while now. Priceless has been on my reading list since it came out. And though I have at least a dozen books I planned to read first, I pulled it up on my phone and dove in.

Priceless is a fun new adventure into urban fantasy. The main character, Rylee Adamson, is a woman on a mission. She finds lost children when no one else can. Mayer quickly defines the genre without beating me, the delighted reader, over the head with world building details. Character back story, descriptions, and motivation flow easily making the reading experience pure enjoyment. The pace of the story is superbly managed.

I see a cast of characters that will rock the rest of the books in this series. If you like books by Ilona Andrews, you will enjoy reading this one by Shannon Mayer.

#FLF 2: IRON MAN 3

Welcome to week two of Film Loving Friday. Not quite sure it's a tradition yet, but maybe--just maybe it will be.

If I seem surprised, it's because I actually forgot all about my plan to watch and review a movie each week. I really love a good movie, but it's hard to find two hours of uninterrupted time these days.

Fortunately, my mom is visiting and we decided to check out this film with the kids via direct TV. I'll probably finish this tomorrow, since I actually have a spectacular headache. Over the years I have developed a policy of never skipping something I want to do for the sake of a headache unless it is literally bad enough to put me in the hospital.

Because I have a lot of headaches. This one promises to be a classic. My hands keep going numb. That's never a good sign.

However, in the spirit of minor heroics, I better make a few notes.

First things first; Iron Man 3 entertained. I was pleasantly surprised, but (spoiler alert) there we too many Iron Man suits. It fit into the plot, given the genre, well enough--but come on people. Shouldn't the hero be in the suit. The movie is called Iron Man, not Stark Enterprises. The invulnerable super suits seemed awfully disposable.

On the up side, Stark's use of improvised weapons, quick thinking, and partial suits did offer a change of pace from what I would expect from an otherwise unstoppable master of weaponized technology. The more powerful each generation of the Iron Man suit becomes, the harder it is going to be to find a bad guy worth the time of day. (Note to Hollywood script writers: stop leveling up.) 

I admit that taking Tony out of the super suit is the only way to put him in danger, so I give the movie props for that. "A" for effort.

The family had a great time. We made our own popcorn at home, so it was about a $5 event. #SpendingTimeWithFamily #WinnerWinnerChickenDinner

Tomorrow I will take another Excedrin Migraine around 2100 hours if I need to, and think about catching up in the Marvel movie series. I'm pretty sure most of them are now on Netflix.

I still haven't seen Captain America or the Avengers. Come to think of it, is there another Hulk and another Thor movie? I need to get a life. I'm so behind on my movies.

See you all later. I have NaNoWriMo word goals for today, so I'd best get started. See you next Friday, I hope.

Film Loving Friday #FLF

A now for something totally different: Film Loving Friday

Fridays are normally a good day for writing. Today I completed over 2,200 words on the first draft of my science fiction WIP (the sequel to Enemy of Man), took a break to review an old project that may someday be my masterpiece, and planned to write more before hitting the sack. I've had my nose, yea I say to you, my whole face, to the grindstone. So I think I'll watch a movie on my newly acquired Netflix account.

Tonight's showing: Never Back Down 2

I love martial arts and MMA. As part of this years goals (I always make a new agenda in October) I've been looking at a new Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Kickboxing gym. The instructor is highly recommended by several people I respect, and I trained with the instructor at Fox Fitness a few years ago once or twice. He knows his stuff.

Needless to say I'm in the mood for some martial arts cinema. Don't judge me.

I'll put the You Tube trailer here, then make some comments.


Never Back Down 2 follows the tried and true martial arts movie formula: underdog (in this case underdogs) train for a big fight. I really enjoyed the training segments, which were quick, yet full of some real MMA moves. Boxing, Capoeira, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and kick boxing. Some of the highlighted BJJ moves included interesting arm bars and triangle set-ups, plus the Rubber Guard (courtesy of Eddie Bravo, who made a cameo in the movie). Bravo developed a unique style of BJJ and is well known in the MMA world for unorthodox techniques that work. Traditionalist aren't a big fan of his. I own one of his books, though I lack the extreme flexibility many of his moves require.

Lyoto Machida (former UFC light heavyweight champion) also had a nice cameo. Which brings me to Michael Jai White, Case Walker in the film. This guy has some cool movie moves, and eight black belts in various martial arts. In Never Back Down 2, he plays the Sensei teaching four young fighters. His troubled past ruined his career, but it is implied even the best and most famous fighters in the world respect his skill. (That is where Machida comes in. The martial arts legend drops in for a quick training session. Sounds corny, but it was cool.)

Now, the plot thickens, into a cheesy soup. I enjoyed the movie. I liked the characters. The plot survived mostly because I wanted it to and was having fun with all the fight scenes and waiting to see if Eve and Stokes get together. This was expected, and fulfilled, though a little awkward since the movie starts off with Eve being the girlfriend of Stoke's friend and training partner, Gomes. Fine, fine. But to make the expected hook-up happen, Gomes had to be out of the picture, since the movie's hero couldn't very well steal his friend's girl. So Gomes starts being a jerk, cheats, and breaks up with Eve. It was abrupt and dumb, though it provided an excuse for a lot of strippers to flash cleavage at the Gomes character.

Perhaps the most interesting and potentially risky plot device / character development tool was Stoke's inner conflict. Basically, everyone learns his dad left his mother for another man. I wasn't really pay attention the first few times this was mentioned. Then I realized Stokes is mad and embarrassed because his dad is gay, or so it seems. He's actually more upset about something else, but that comes later.

End the end, he accepts his dad and reveals he is more angry that his dad left than why or how. Of course, everything works out in the end.

The part I didn't care for was the villain. One of the four training partners turns out to be a psycho who they all have to fight. This character seemed like a good guy, a comic store clerk at first, who eventually becomes one step away from a serial killer. I'd say more, but that would spoil what little plot there is.

My rating: 3 stars, 4 if you really like martial arts. Now, as I often do when rating a movie or book, I'd like to mention the bottom line. I enjoyed the movie. You might think it's awesome or complete crap. I use the 5 star rating (5 meaning I'll watch it again and again, 1 meaning I feel robbed, 3 and 4 meaning the cathartic experience was worth my time.)

I hope you enjoyed this review. Since this is my blog, I will now promote my books: Dragon Badge and Dragon Attack (urban fantasy / cop thrillers) and Enemy of Man (a military science fiction tale of adventure and deadly aliens). All three books are currently $0.99 ebooks, but will normally be $2.99.

Check out my web site, www.scottmoonwriter.com for more information and audio book links.

Thanks for reading. You're the best.

Never Back Down 2 cast:
Michael Jai White (Case Walker)
Alex Meraz (Zack Gomes)
Dean Geyer (Mike Stokes)
Evan Peters (Max Cooperman)
Todd Duffee (Tim Newhouse)
Jilian Murray (Eve)
John McCarthy
Laura Cayouette (Vale Newhouse)
Lance E. Nichols (Official Agent)
Rus Blackwell (Cop)
Beau Brasso
Scottie Epstein (Justin Epstien)
Stacey Asaro

Story Engineering: Mastering the 6 Core Competencies of Successful Writing

Story Engineering, by Larry Brooks, is an excellent resource for planning a story in four parts. I'm using the techniques in my work-in-progress and analyzing movies and books I like. (For screenplays it's a three part structure, but the same principles apply.) With Story Engineering in mind, I watched World War Z (a movie that was much better than I had dared hope. Instead of special effects overkill, the movie turned out to be a dramatically told story). The plot points arrived exactly where Mr. Brooks predicted. Interesting.

I had expected Story Engineering to focus on the outlining process, but soon learned that either organic or outlining styles can be used with proper story architecture. Mr. Brooks goes so far as to claim seat-of-the- pants organic writers are doing the same thing with multiple drafts that organizers do with outlines. This book focuses on the mission of each of the four parts. Understand the missions, and the execution of the story can be achieved through outlining or pantsing. Flexibility is a good thing, right?

The only problem I had with Story Engineering was the sales pitch. I quickly grew tired of Mr. Brooks trying to convince me that story structure was important. I bought the book. I was looking for information and techniques on plot and structure. The constant examples and metaphors wore me out unnecessarily.

Don't get me wrong. I highly recommend this book. I just can't give it a five star review. Because the nonessential parts annoyed me.

As I read each chapter, I analyzed my work-in-progress. I was relieved to learn I have been close on some structural components, right on the money other times, and some needed work. Personally, I cherish the revelation of the parts needing work. Might be, I can make them better.

So I got my money's worth (and this is one of the rare, more expensive hard copies I have bought recently).

Story Engineering, by Larry Brooks, is making me a better writer. I can't ask for more.

For more about Larry Brooks and his work, visit his web site: http://storyfix.com/books-by-brooks

I am in no way affiliated with Mr. Brooks, and paid regular price a book store for this one.