When it ABSOFREAKINGLUTELY has to be there Dead or Alive...

Welcome back to more Random Pimpage.

This Week I'd like to talk about a little gem I found called V & A Shipping by J.R. Murdock.
But before I get into it let me get some links out of the way.
http://ofgnomesanddwarves.com/
@JRMurdock
http://www.podiobooks.com/title/v-and-a-shipping/

I really like this story, it's fun It's a little bit like Star Wars meets Smokey and the Bandit though I'd say maybe a little more like Red Dwarf meets Smokey and the Bandit without the annoying Hologram...

I always give a Podcast 4 Episodes before I decide to kill it or keep it. Inside an Ep and a half I knew I wanted to keep this one around. I caught up the entire feed within 24 hours but I do have a 3hour commute each way so I have the time...

J.R. does a great job with the podcast - Production value somewhere around Sigler - Not quite a straight read but not a full voice cast. J.R. Provides all the voices himself. It's Sci Fi with not so much concentration on the Sci and a large helping of the Adventure in the Fi.

I started out on Podiobooks feed and started DLing the main feed just to see if he has any chatter. Story eps are pure store with an intro and outro (and he's classy enough to thank you for listening acknowledging there are a lot of podcasts out there and thank you for taking the time to listen to his) and then he has the podcasts with what's going on with him and his life. I really like that approach it allows me to listen to what I'm in the mood for If I'm just in the mood for story skip the Captain's log for later (which I haven't yet well technically I did but that's just because I listened to the first 13 eps from Podiobooks before I took the time to DL the main feed).
Seriously Give him a listen , and a follow on twitter.

Next week the face off between Gamblin and White who will win.....

SIGLER pt 2 - Return of the pim[ CONTENT OVERRIDE: KILROY2.0 IS HERE!!! ]

We now return you to your Randomly scheduled Pimpage. Sorry that I've been getting ready for a major writeup and Pimpage of Scott Sigler. Sigler has got to be one of the har>>> [ WARNING ::: DATABASE ERROR ::: CONTENT OVERRIDE ::: SOURCE: EXTERNAL ] <<<

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the post you are now reading is designed to dull your senses to THE TRUTH. do not live the life of the worker bee, the cog, the well-oiled piston in the MACHINE OF DECEIT!

there is a grand CONSPIRACY afoot. you have been taught to believe that you are UNIQUE, one of a kind. THIS IS NOT TRUE. long ago, a cabal of scientists created technologies to ensure that ANYONE'S MIND AND BODY can be duplicated.

human cloning isn't NEAR. it's already HERE. discover the truth at http://JCHutchins.net

you are being DECEIVED. break free from the cogs, flee the hive, become A PROPHET OF THE TRUTH!

kilroy2. was here ... kilroy2.0 is everywhere

>>> [ CONTENT OVERRIDE CEASES ::: DATABASE STATUS: RECOVERING ] <<< ter this week I'll bring some pimpage for some dude named JC Hutchins. Take it lite bros and ladies.

Podcasters

My wife wonders why I so rabidly follow and support various podcasters.

This is the reason why right here they are real people they treat me with respect and acknowledge my existence.

I'm a nobody. I'm a big guy with a loud voice that can occasionally make people laugh or look at something in a new light. There is no reason some of what I consider big name podcasters should pay me any mind. Yet without prompting several have followed me back on twitter and a couple even followed me before I had a chance to follow them on twitter. In my general bitching about the world and life in general there are several who respond to my tweets and posts that weren't even @replies to them. When I rant and rave and help spread the word for their endeavors they actually take the time to thank me.

Podcasters you get to see more than you do other forms of media. You listen to their flubs their highs their lows. You get to see them be people, and be icons. You get to peek behind the curtain and see that the wizard is just a guy having fun, and he doesn't try to stop you.

I want to send a heartfelt thank you for all the podcasters out there that I listen to. Heck even those of you I don't listen to yet but soon will, or should be listening to. I appreciate the hard work you put into your shows, I appreciate everything you do for us.

I'm calling out a few by name for going above and beyond the call of Awesomeness.
Mur Lafferty
Scott Sigler
P.G. Holy Field
J.C. Hutchins
Nathan Lowell
James Durham
Scott Roche
Chris Lester
J Daniel Sawyer

Wow been out of the loop witht eh pimpage...

Need to do some workup for the next few random pimpage posts to the blog.

Been a little busy last couple weeks, been ill, house has needed fixing, teenagers and a toddler to keep after, and wife has been not feeling so good...

or like I said been just a touch busy with survival to worry about creating / pimping hopefully I'm fixing that here soon.

Sharing is damned cool - Especially with Nathan Lowell.

When I first heard about the series the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper I was like meh I'll pass thank you. I am now kicking myself in the ass Daily. Nathan Lowell takes us on a journey that I never wanted to stop. The experiences of Ishmael Wang are captivating. Normally you think space you think blazing laser battles and strange new alien races. There is none of that, Nathan Lowell doesn't need it. Solid storytelling, told from Ishmael's point of view this is one of the best series I've listened to in my entire life without the flash and bang you get from most sci-fi. It's a story of growth. I can't wait to listen to Captain's Share when it comes out.

It took hearing Nathan on the Dead Robots Society, before I gave him a listen which I'm kicking myself for, I heard the promos for his work for years and never gave it a second thought. however had I done listened sooner I'd have been jonesing longer for Captain's Share the next leg of the series.

I have a policy with podcasts - I listen to four episodes and if I'm not hooked by the end of the fourth show I remove it from my list never to let it darken my day again. Nathan had me within the first page of his read. I listened to the Quarter Share up through Double Share inside of a week. I'll likely wait until Captain's share is complete on Podiobooks before downloading because it would drive me to distraction waiting for the next episode. Hell even when I have the entire thing I'm still driven to distraction until I can listen to my damned Ipod again to pick up where I left off.

20 years ago I never would have touched this novel at all. 20 years ago I was a self absorbed little prick who thought I knew what sci-fi meant. Thankfully I've grown the hell up, and gave this one a chance.

The Novels

The Share Series - For the lack of a better term....
Quarter Share
Half Share
Full Share
Double Share
Captains Share - Nathan is currently finishing

South Coast - Set in the same universe this novel deals with the Shamans of the South Coast not the adventures of Mr. Wang


More information about the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper can be found at: http://solarclipper.com/
You can follow Nathan on twitter @NLowell.
You can find the Podcast novels on Itunes and at Podiobooks.com

Back sorry about the delay...

Sorry there hasn't been new content for a couple weeks but I haven't been well the past couple weeks been in the thrall of the platypus ostrich flu... (anyone upset at me poking fun at H1N1 - it's how I deal with issues I joke about them until I can cope with them) Actually it's just been a rather nasty bought with the common cold. First the Little Demon Monkey's (20 month old Daughter and I swear to Christ almighty himself perpetual motion device made flesh), then my own (mmmmmm Nyquil) and now that I'm back on my feet my wife's. I'll work on getting content up this weekend.

Many thanks to two people that I have likely inspired me more than any other.

Rewind 24 years, we had a 12 year old boy that wasn't overly fond of reading. Said boy got a nasty flu and had to be picked up from school and kept home for several days. On the way home from school Mom side tripped to K Mart and the boy saw a boxed set of novels that caught his eye. Mom noticed this bought it, said boy started reading book one soon as they were in the car had the first book finished in about 2 days and was well into the second book. inside a week the whole Trilogy was finished adn I... er said boy started reading it all over again. The authors of the trilogy were Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis and that trilogy was not The Dragonlance Chronicles, or even the Legends (Twins) it wasn't Dragonlance at all it was the Darksword Trilogy - Which apparently as of a search I did last nigh now has a 4th book to it that I must acquire and devour.

I didn't even learn about Dragonlance for another 3 years. (I quickly devoured as many of those as I was able to get my hands on too.)


I have many Literary heroes but I've actually gotten to meet two of them up close and personal and have very brief conversations with them during GenCon - I haven't had a chance to go in years but of all the years of going my greatest thrill was speaking with them and getting my paperback copies of Chronicles signed - My wife gets mad at me because she'll reach up to grab one to read and I'll freak out (she's a cover bender and I try to keep my books decent - don't always succeed but I try)

Tracy and Margaret took a fat weak cowardly boy, and showed me that even I could be the hero of my own story through the characters in their novels (and the other authors that also had given their voices to Dragonlance especially Michael Williams with Weasel's Luck and Galen Beknighted). The characters spoke to me I could see pieces of myself in many of the heroes and some of the villains and they actually made me take a good hard look at myself and made me think of what I wanted to do with my life what path I wanted to tread to be the hero or the villain. That helped a lot with my life thank you.

Tracy his son Curtis and Howard Tayler (You might remember Howard's brief Pimpage in Those that Help - He's part of Writing Excuses which I apparently spelled his name wrong My apologies Howard)have recently released XDM Xtreme Dungeon Mastery - a very funny very astute look at gaming and bringing fun and excitement back to the table. In recent years the games I've attended I started falling asleep at the table (well we had 12 players and more than an agreeable amount of rules lawyers then again 1 isn't an agreeable amount because the freaking ARGUE all the time whoops this isn't my rant blog this is my pimpage blog need to reel it in here.) because of all the rules bickering and asking to be woken when it was two players before my turn so I can spend 20 minutes formulating my 6 second round and not delay anyone else (sometimes I still had an additional 20 minutes to goof off to boot)The games I've been playing in sorely needed this book. I sorely needed this book. Found out that a couple of DMs that I've gamed with and myself instinctively used parts of this book before it even sprang into existence. It's part satire, and part common sense with a little dash of uncommon sense with a sprig of HOLY CRAP THAT'S COOL with a little bit of [REDACTED]. I'll rate it further when I have a chance to finish the book and use some of it's secrets. (My brother-in-law managed to pick me up a copy at Gencon and had it autographed. It's been rainy so it stays safe at the house out of the possibility of a torrential downpour)

Sites for Tracy and Margaret can be found below.

All in all I just wanted to say Thank you to Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis for inspiring me to read, and to dream a little more while I'm at it.

http://trhickman.com/
http://xtremedungeonmastery.com/
http://killerbreakfast.com/
http://www.margaretweis.com/wp/