Joshua P. Simon - The Accidental Author

The Cult of Sutek: The Epic of Andrasta and Rondel, Vol. 1 is available at Amazon.


If you do not have an ereader or a phone capable of acting as an ereader and are interested in reading the story, you can always download the Amazon Kindle application for your desktop or laptop and read it from your computer.

If you prefer a paper version, The Cult of Sutek is also available in print at Amazon for just $11.99.

Here is a brief synopsis of The Cult of Sutek.

His life has no purpose. She’s out to prove hers. An unlikely alliance forms. Their legend is born.

Rondel, a once famous minstrel is crippled and rotting away in prison. He has nothing to live for until Andrasta, a mysterious warrior, gives his live meaning again. The pair escapes prison and in the aftermath, form a partnership they hope will lead to fame and fortune. Their journey is a long one, filled with peril, adventure, and even failure.

The ancient cult of Sutek grips the land of Iget. Framed by the cult for kidnapping and attempted murder, Rondel and Andrasta help a young noble rescue his sister in order to clear their name.

The Cult of Sutek is the first volume in a planned series of sword and sorcery standalone adventures in The Epic of Andrasta and Rondel.

Volumes 2 (The City of Pillars) and 3 (The Tower of Bashan) are also planned for summer releases.

To read an excerpt of The Cult of Sutek, click the “Sample” button below.


If you enjoy the story or any of my other works, please consider leaving a rating or review at the site of purchase as well as other places such as Goodreads and Librarything. Like many other indie authors, I do not have a marketing team working for me and a positive review (even if only a couple of sentences long) can go a long way in enticing others to give my works a try.

You can also shoot me an email at joshuapsimon.author@gmail.com. I’d love to hear from you.

Thank you for your continued support!

Though Sword Sorcery (S&S) as a whole has experienced a resurgence over the last few years, by and large many fantasy readers look down on the very genre that preceded, and in many ways, paved the way for the epic fantasy stories they love today.

I love both sub-genres for they each offer different things. My favorite series blend both sub-genres and blend them well.

Here are my top 12 reasons for why you should be reading Sword & Sorcery.

1. Larger than life characters. Conan. Elric. Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. John Carter (technically Sword & Planet, but whatever). These are all characters that most people who read fantasy know by name alone even if they’ve never read the work. In many cases, sword and sorcery characters are beyond memorable, not just because of appearance, but by accolades, sheer strength of will, and personality.

Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandaled feet.
― Robert E. Howard

“We must be bound to one another then," Elric murmured despairingly. "Bound by hell-forged chains and fate-haunted circumstance. Well, then—let it be thus so—and men will have cause to tremble and flee when they hear the names of Elric of Melinbone and Stormbringer, his sword. We are two of a kind—produced by an age which has deserted us. Let us give this age cause to hate us!”
― Michael Moorcock

Men told that Kane was a giant in stature, more powerful than ten strong men. In battle no man could stand before him, for he fought with a sword in either hand - wielding easily weapons that another warrior could scarcely lift. His hair was red as blood, and he feasted on the still-beating hearts of his enemies. His eyes were the eyes of Death himself, and they cast a blue flame that could shrivel the souls of his victims. His only delight was in rapine and slaughter, and after each victory his banquet halls echoed with the tortured screams of captive maidens.
― Karl Edward Wagner

Talking about Druss the Legend:
When he stares, valleys tremble; where he walks, beasts are silent; when he speaks, mountains tumble; when he fights, armies crumble.
-David Gemmell

2. Potential for deep characterization. The genre usually focuses on a smaller cast of characters than epic fantasy. This allows for a potentially quicker connection by the reader to the characters, but also the potential for the author to really add some depth to what’s going through each character’s minds.

“I have known many gods. He who denies them is as blind as he who trusts them too deeply. I seek not beyond death. It may be the blackness averred by the Nemedian skeptics, or Crom's realm of ice and cloud, or the snowy plains and vaulted halls of the Nordheimer's Valhalla. I know not, nor do I care. Let me live deep while I live; let me know the rich juices of red meat and stinging wine on my palate, the hot embrace of white arms, the mad exultation of battle when the blue blades flame and crimson, and I am content. Let teachers and philosophers brood over questions of reality and illusion. I know this: if life is illusion, then I am no less an illusion, and being thus, the illusion is real to me. I live, I burn with life, I love, I slay, and am content.”
― Robert E. Howard

“I may be stupid, as you say, to believe in honour and friendship and loyalty without price. But these are virtues to be cherished, for without them we are no more than beasts roaming the land.”
― David Gemmell

“There is evil in all of us, and it is the mark of a man how he defies the evil within.”
― David Gemmell

3. Great Action/Fight scenes. Yes, there are parts of Howard’s work that come across as dated such as his dialogue or treatment of minorities. However, everyone could learn a thing or two about writing action from the man. And he is not alone. S&S may not have as many scenes of massive army against massive army, but what it does offer is the personal nature of your POV trying to survive against one or several attackers.

4. Tight Focus. Rarely does a writer of S&S include pages of information unnecessary to the main narrative just to show off the world they’ve built. An economy of words is used when writing S&S and this leads to a much more focused tale.

5. Fast Pacing. Whether in short story form, or in novel length, S&S lends itself to quicker paced stories. This doesn’t necessarily mean a low word count which admittedly is often the case, but just a story that rarely drags.

6. Imaginative settings. Everyone gives epic fantasy the nod when it comes to creative worldbuilding. However, worldbuilding is just as interesting and creative (if not more so) in S&S. These imaginative settings are often what drive much of the story along as obstacles and creatures spring up from places the characters visit.

7. Tone. S&S works vary significantly between something very dark to something light-hearted and funny, offering something for everyone.

“I ask you now, is any little thing like being damned eternally a satisfactory excuse for behaving like a complete rat?”
― Fritz Leiber,

“I do not understand exactly what you mean by fear," said Tarzan. "Like lions, fear is a different thing in different men, but to me the only pleasure in the hunt is the knowledge that the hunted thing has power to harm me as much as I have to harm him. If I went out with a couple of rifles and a gun bearer, and twenty or thirty beaters, to hunt a lion, I should not feel that the lion had much chance, and so the pleasure of the hunt would be lessened in proportion to the increased safety which I felt."

"Then I am to take it that Monsieur Tarzan would prefer to go naked into the jungle, armed only with a jackknife, to kill the king of beasts," laughed the other good naturedly, but with the merest touch of sarcasm in his tone.

"And a piece of rope," added Tarzan.
― Edgar Rice Burroughs

“One can only know as much as one has lived to know, though it is certainly possible to learn a great deal less than this.”
― Saladin Ahmed

“What will you do now?'
I think I will become a monk and devote my entire life to prayer and good works.'
No,' said Rek. 'I mean, what will you do today?'
Ah! Today I'll get drunk and go whoring,' said Bowman.”
― David Gemmell

8. Self contained story. Generally speaking, most S&S short stories and novels have a definitive beginning and end. Granted, there may be an overarching theme in a series as characters grow, or hints of a larger threat lurking that can be used for future stories. However, I don’t think I’ve ever read an S&S tale that ended on a cliffhanger or left a large question unanswered.

9. The weird. Bizarre customs and strange creatures even Lovecraft would have a hard time fathoming are sprinkled throughout most S&S stories. Who needs something boring like a dragon when you can create a half-human, half-lion hybrid with wings?

10. It influences almost all fantasy works. Most of what you’re reading has elements of sword and sorcery anyway whether you know it or not. Steven Erikson with Karsa Orlong, Joe Abercrombie with Logen Ninefingers, etc. are all examples of larger than life characters swept up into adventures they had no intention of beginning. The other plot threads in these massive series are what moves those characters from the S&S genre to Epic Fantasy, IMO.

11. S&S is tried and true. Jason and the Argonauts, The Twelve Labors of Hercules, The Odessey, and even the Epic of Gilgamesh are all S&S tales—heroes going off on strange adventures. It worked then, and it works now.

12. Because my new S&S series, The Epic of Andrasta and Rondel is coming out soon. (Wink, wink. See what I did there?) In all seriousness the first book in the series, The Cult of Sutek, will be released in May 2014. Afterward, I plan to release The City of Pillars in June, and hopefully, The Tower of Bashan in July. Three books in as many months with several more planned over the next couple of years, all of which contain the very things I love about the genre as listed above.

So, what are some of your favorite S&S stories?

When I was a kid, I unfortunately didn’t ready much fantasy. This is because I really didn’t know the genre existed as no one I knew read it. Therefore, most of my fantasy consumption resulted from films (i.e. the Conan movies, etc) which later drove me to find Robert E. Howard as an adult and finally be exposed to something I had always been looking for.

With that being said, I did read the fantastical as a kid. However, this mostly revolved around mythologies such as King Arthur and Merlin (loved these stories) and the ancient myths of the Greek, Roman, and Norse pantheons. When you think about it, isn’t the story of Jason and the Argonauts really just a Sword and Sorcery tale?

Anyway, the stories I loved the most involved Hercules. I read anything and everything I could find about him. I also watched every movie about the character from as far back as the Steve Reeves and Reg Park films (pretty good for their time) to the Lou Ferrigno atrocities and the Arnold Schwarzenegger B movie that is worth watching if only for a good laugh.

The problem I had with most of these movies was that they never really focused on the stories already there. Well, finally it seems that Hollywood is going to get it right. The new Hercules trailer (starring The Rock) came out the other day and I’m as giddy as the 6th grader who read the same novelization of the twelve labors four times in one school year.

Finally, we get the twelve labors (or at least part of them in a flashback), and finally we’re going to see the troubled character I remember and felt connected to as a kid.

I haven’t been this excited about a movie in a long time. Hopefully, it doesn’t fall flat.

. . . and the story comes to an end!




Trial and Glory: Book Three of the Blood and Tears Trilogy can be purchased from the following locations for only $3.99 in ebook form. Use Smashwords for your non-Kindle, Kobo, and Nook ereaders.



If you do not have an ereader or a phone capable of acting as an ereader and are interested in reading the story, you can always download the Amazon Kindle application for your desktop or laptop and read it from your computer.

Trial and Glory will also be available in print at Amazon for just $14.95. However, the link for the product has not gone live yet. I expect it to in the next couple of days.

Here is a brief synopsis of Trial and Glory (warning, contains some spoilers for Rise and Fall and Steel and Sorrow).

A warleader seeks redemption. A High Mage doubts his success. A commander faces his past. A queen hardens her resolve.

Tobin’s domination of Hesh has left him feeling empty, the cost of victory too high. A recurring nightmare drives him to learn the one truth that could ease his heart. Just when he thinks he may have found peace, an unlikely foe pushes him back into a life he wanted to avoid.

A High Mage is on the cusp of victory when a power he did not anticipate reveals itself. Rattled, his aggressive strategy changes to one of caution. He searches for a way to overcome the new threat while guarding himself against traitors among his would-be allies.

Kaz’s returned memories of wife and home are a mixed blessing. The memory that brings him the most joy causes pain to someone he cares for greatly while the memories of his brother only inspire hate. Before he can return home he must win a battle against insurmountable odds. More than ever, the support of the Hell Patrol will determine his success.

At the High Pass, Queen Elyse’s war-torn army faces a massive horde of invading warriors. In Lyrosene, her throne is threatened once again, but by someone she never suspected. The two conflicts consume her night and day as she wrestles with a solution to her problems.

Following the events of Steel and Sorrow, Trial and Glory is the third and final book in the Blood and Tears Trilogy.

To read an excerpt of Trial and Glory, click the “Sample” button below. However, I would warn you not to read a sample unless you’ve already read Rise and Fall and Steel and Sorrow as the sample does contain spoilers for the first two books.


If you enjoy the story or any of my other works, please consider leaving a rating or review at the site of purchase as well as other places such as Goodreads and Librarything. Like many other indie authors, I do not have a marketing team working for me and a positive review (even if only a couple of sentences long) can go a long way in enticing others to give my works a try.

You can also shoot me an email at joshuapsimon.author@gmail.com. I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks!

It’s the end of the year which means another end of the year list. I’ve read a little over 60 books/short stories/novellas this year. If you want to see a list of them all, you can check out my shelf on Goodreads here.

I thought I would post the top 10 books I’ve read in 2012 (note: most came out years before).

I copied and pasted my Goodreads review under each book, a few contain minor spoilers which I note in the beginning, so be aware.

10. Monster Hunter Alpha


Another great read by Larry Correia. He is fast becoming one of my favorite authors...great dialogue, well-written action sequences, strong plotting that continues what had been built upon in the previous books, and description that's kept to a minimum (just enough to set the scene, but not enough to bog down the pacing).

9. The Heroes


Abercrombie does it again. I can’t wait to get my hands on Red Country next.

Pros:
-Great characterization. He’s one of the few authors who does a good job of ensuring every character has their own distinct personality. It’s hard to feel empathy for the worst of the worst, but Joe manages to pull it off each time.
-Larger than life characters.
-A very honest take on war, examining all of the ups and downs associated with it. Yet, the philosophy/thoughts never feel forced and instead come across naturally in the narrative.
-Great battle/action scenes. One of the best in fantasy. Despite the battle’s scope, everything feels personal.
-After Glen Cook, Abercrombie might be the person at writing dialogue in fantasy.
-The perfect amount of worldbuilding/description…just enough to set a scene and give the reader a sense of place. He never drones on and on about the world, but instead slowly reveals the details throughout the course of the story.
-Stands nicely on its own, yet does a good job of tying in previous works.
-Very satisfying ending for each storyline, yet enough is left unanswered to set things up for future stories.
-Tight plotting that flows very naturally.

Cons:
-After the first chapter (which is great), I found the next several felt a bit off in flow. Some of the characters took a bit longer to get into than others.
-Abercrombie’s prose was a little jarring to read in the first third of the book. I know he’s slowly developed this style of purposefully leaving words out as he combines a limited third person POV narrative with first person POV touches every now and then, yet at times it just didn’t work. Things evened out though as you kept reading.
-Corporal Tunny as a character, and really most of his storyline, seemed pretty unnecessary. I know he showed a different aspect of war unseen elsewhere, but it slowed the pacing at times and didn’t add a whole lot to the story.

8. Fight Club



Wow, this was a great book. Its style and content are so unique I don’t even know if I can properly go over the pros and cons. The narrative is immediately engaging and pulls you right into the story. Something is always going on and the more you read, the more you want to continue. I will say that I saw the movie years ago and for the most part the film stays true to the book. However, I think the book is much better. As a writer, I’m humbled that someone could pull off something so original and something so odd.

Highly Recommended.

7. The Princess Bride


Every bit as good as I hoped it would be and then some. Completely original idea with the framing story. Even without it, the main narrative would warrant 5 stars.

6. The Crippled God


Great ending to a great story. There will be some spoilers.

Pros:
-Lots of emotion and tension.
-The main characters of the series each had a moment to shine.
-Lots of references/nods to other events within the series that really ties things in nicely.
-Managed to tie in all the various plot threads and characters about as good as anyone can imagine considering the scope of this series.
-Great battle sequences throughout. Erikson is definitely one of the best at this in the genre.
-Loved the endings to Icarium/Mappo, the Bridgeburners, the Parans, the Bonehunters.
-The ending of the book had a pretty good mix of happy/sad emotions which I felt matched the tone of the series.
-The last scene (at the dock) in the epilogue was about as perfect of an ending scene as I could imagine. Perfect person to end with and I really like that it tied things back to Gardens of the Moon. Cons:
-As usual, the book could have been significantly shorter (mainly in the beginning). Certain scenes/conversations with the various soldiers were ridiculously repetitive. And as usual, the philosophic moments ran on way too long and just go to be boring in spots.
-In regards to the philosophic moments, my biggest gripe with them has always been that they never sound like the character and instead come across in Erikson’s voice.
-The Adjunct. I felt like her character was just forced on us. Every character tells us how awesome she is, but other than a few minor things here or there, we rarely see her do anything remotely worthy of all the praise she’s given. The whole “she asked” bit just seemed really silly.
-Not enough Karsa. His few scenes were awesome. Yes, I know he’ll get his own trilogy eventually, but man do I wish he had a bigger role in the book.
-No closure to certain characters I felt deserved closure (i.e. Kruppe). This isn’t too huge of a gripe since I haven’t finished reading all of ICE’s books yet to know who gets covered in his books and who doesn’t.

Overall, no one has ever attempted anything this massive and delivered so well in my opinion. Best of all, Erikson churned these doorstoppers out with an impressive amount of consistency.

5. The Forever War


Great book that improved as the story progressed.

Pros:
-Strong narrative voice from protagonist that was both likable and believable.
-Great insight into the psyche(s) of a soldier.
-Though I’m usually not into the hard technical aspects of science fiction, I thought they were handled well within the text.
-Strong dialogue
-Great pacing.
-Really enjoyed the inventive ideas for how technology and general fighting strategies might progress over the years.
-Thoughtful ideas on how society might advance given enough time.
-Found myself looking for reasons to continue reading the story until I finished it.
-An ending I found fitting (although a bit predictable) given the rest of the story.

Cons:
-Started a little slow.
-I liked the relationship between William and Marygay. However, I thought it should have been introduced a bit sooner or at least have had stronger hints that something existed between them before it was presented to the reader. It felt a little odd for their relationship to suddenly become an integral part of the story when it hadn’t been discussed for the first 25% or so of the novel.

I’ll definitely need to pick up more stuff by the Haldeman in the future.

4. World War Z


One of the best books I've read this year.

Pros:
-Completely fresh and original idea on very old topic.
-Well thought out.
-Cool futuristic takes on how certain countries would survive/cope and who would come out on top.
-Great use of real history to forsee this possible future.
-Great voices to each of the people interviewed. Believable characters and situations.
-Felt like a history book.
-Awesome imagery.
-The stories left unsaid held as much weight as those topics covered.

Cons:
-None.

3. Kings of Morning


After finishing two complete series by Paul Kearney (The Monarchies of God and now The Macht Trilogy) I think he might officially be my 2nd favorite author (behind Glen Cook). Another awesome book by perhaps the most underrated writer in fantasy today.

Pros:
- The hallmark of Kearney's writing is that he says so much in so little and it makes me insanely jealous. His books are ridiculously short for an epic fantasy author...so much so that the font is larger and the spacing is wider than most other paperbacks to give it the appearance of being bigger than what it is. Yet, the length is only a bad thing in that I wish it wouldn't end. The man does not believe in unnecessary description, exposition, and scenes.
- Great plotting that is consistent with the rest of the series.
- Awesome characterization which included the addition of several new characters to this book. That could have ended badly if done by someone less skilled.
- Vivid descriptions and great worldbuilding.
- Natural and believable dialogue
- Hands down, Kearney is the best at writing battles/action/fighting and this book is another prime example of his skill.
- A very satisfying ending

Cons:
None

2. Caliban’s War


It's official. After only two books, the Expanse series is now one of my favorite Sci-fi/Fantasy series.

Pros:
- Great characterization...new POVs were introduced and connected to quickly.
- Awesome short and long term plotting.
- Smooth action scenes.
- Witty and natural dialogue.
- Strong and believable world-building.
- Despite its length, the book maintained great pacing throughout.
- Satisfying ending with a great set up for Book 3
- Improved upon Leviathon Wakes.
- Started to make time to read it.

Cons:
- Some of the science/technical tangents got a little longwinded and were ultimately unnecessary to the plot, IMO.

Great book...anxiously awaiting the next one.

1. Leviathan Wakes


Wow. This book blew me away. Highly recommended read to anyone who enjoys the genre. Let's get right into the pros/cons:

Pros:
- Extremely original plot that starts off small and continually escalates as the book goes on.
- Strong characterization.
- Great worldbuilding which I found myself extremely interested in(a rarity).
- Cool and inventive uses of some standard tropes including a joke about "woolgathering."
- Good changes in tone with the right mix of humor and tension.
- Awesome ending that I found completely satisfying. Though the story is pretty self-contained, there are definitely a lot of cool places where it can go in the future and I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series.

Cons:
- Kind of nit-picky but some of the Miller POVs toward the end of the novel could have been trimmed down a bit.

What are some of the best books you’ve read this year?