StanleyWheeler

  I finished reading this book, Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson. I can't think of another book by the late Anderson that I've read, and my expectations weren't high. They sagged even lower when the story began with the hero finding a splendid charger with armor, lance, and sword awaiting him as he regained consciousness in a strange new world after blacking out at a WWII skirmish against the Nazis. Fortunately, I didn't abandon the book. Our hero, Holger Carlsen, comes across as a little John Carter-esque. Actually, he's got advantages Carter didn't because he seems to intuitively know how to ride and sword fight and doesn't have to deal with gravitational issues. He does have to get to know the strange place, but he has advantages there too. All these unearned advantages at the start of the story put me off. Nevertheless, I continued and eventually found myself caught up in the adventure with Holger, Alianora, and Hugi in this Middle World wh...

  Interview with Bruce Nesmith Author of The Loki Redeemed Series   Please tell me a little about your current work in progress. Ymir’s Return is the third book of my Loki Redeemed trilogy. The main character is the Loki of the Norse myths (not the movie or comic book version). He’s hiding out on earth, working as a stage magician in the suburbs. In the first two books, Loki is drawn out of his self-imposed exile and back into the problems and politics of Asgard and the Nine Realms. In the third book, he must contend with the prophesied return of the frost giant Ymir, who seeks to destroy the world tree and all the Nine Realms with it. Where did you get the idea for this book or series? I’ve always been fascinated by Norse mythology. Their gods are viewed more like the heroes of American tale tales, such as Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill. Larger than life characters with outsized capabilities, but underneath very human and with all those foibles. So what if they were real pe...

   It's been a long weekend. I'm tired. So tired. You needn't suffer. Feast upon this excerpt from Crisis in Fire and Snow : Hugh ran through trees and brush along a narrow trail. Leaves and branches passed in a close green blur, occasionally grabbing at his clothing or slapping him in the face. Two braves followed close behind. One of them whooped from time to time, and Hugh renewed his flagging efforts at the unnerving encouragement. He broke into a clearing. A little field of wheat stretched between him and a rail fence. A log cabin rose beyond the fence. Hugh leaped into the wheat, still running at top speed. He went faster without the leaves and branches clawing at him. The wheat was pale and mature, but not tall, and offered little resistance. Fifty strides into the field, he heard the whoops of two warriors. He didn’t look back. Hugh leaped the rail fence without slowing. He had doubted for a moment that he would clear the obstacle, but the memory of jumping ov...