Mission

"We created this blog as a hub; the nerve center of our collective social-networking, homepages, books and distribution.

This is a place for our unyielding, genuine selves to pool together as many badass books and as much information about as many rock-star writers as we can.

We've done this to give readers, fans, players, and watchers of badass entertainment the badass material they need...

We do not fit the stereotypical author profiles.
We like heavy metal, epic movies, video games, and high octane, in-your-face, full throttle materials.
Many of us have a dark mindset, others are just wild and scattered, and some may or may not need an attitude adjustment.
But that's just the way we like it.
Raw, real, harsh to some, but an epic home for our ilk.

Some of us you may not have discovered until the moment you set your digital foot into this space, but we have bound together a group to prove that quality writing isn't restricted to genre-favoritism and big-publishing.

Our philosophy:
If you like a Thriller written by a badass, chances are, if that badass wrote a Fantasy, you'd like it too. So, if another badass with similar a mindset wrote a fantasy, we believe you may just enjoy that too.

Genre is now irrelevant in this new publishing world.

Instead, we take a good long look at the people behind these stories, and suggest you read them based on who they are; not what genre they write.
Why?
Because a badass book is a badass book no matter where it lands on the shelves!
This is because their authors share badass interests and have similar mindsets...Mindsets like your own!

Many of us aren't even "just writers," but artists in a variety of forms.

Here, you fans of the badass slice of life we all thoroughly enjoy, will have a source for new and unexpected originality, and a powerful, ever-expanding collection of soulful stories by badass people.

But more than just books; you will find more about the artists themselves than you might find in other blogs.
We give you their social media, home pages, distribution and the like, so you can connect with some of the most accessible, badass writers out there."
~M. P. and all the Badasses

...Welcome to our second home...

Friday, June 13, 2014

New Release from Badass Author, Bex Pavia!

This marks Bex's 3rd Poetry release as we await her forthcoming debut novel publication!

The Dark Ones:
a Collection of Rhyming Poetry

by Bex Pavia



~A book of poetry that often lingers in the darker corners of rhyme, this collection offers everything from the slightly twisted, to the nonsensical with a few 'shady' stops in between.

Fantasy, myth, and legend bring a touch of light to the morbid and the morose.

The Dark Ones revisits a selection of poems published in the Soul Bearer, and the Moon Queen, edited and slotting in perfectly with many newly written and never seen before poems from Bex Pavia.

Step inside and rest a time,
Enjoy the darker side of rhyme.
Betwixt the pages of this tome,
Within the shadows, you will roam.


Lyrical, no? 
Bex's third release is available in the BA library at right, both in eBook and Paperback, through Amazon/Kindle!

Friday, June 6, 2014

New Release from Badass Author M.P. Ness!

The Blight has begun!
BA Author and Admin, M.P. Ness' second novel, "E.L.F. Vol.2 Blighted Leaves", is now LIVE to the world (on CreateSpace and Kindle already)!
But, the Contest to win a Nook Color($140 value) has begun as well!

E.L.F. 
Vol.2 
Blighted Leaves

~Against all odds, Shannon Hunter, the Lady White Leaves, has vanquished the interminable Powers that be, and spared mankind total genocide at the hands of the elves...
Yet the Cataclysm brought on by the Elvine proved unstoppable. The world has awakened to a potential utopia, and the Tree of Life has charged Shannon with the impossible task of achieving world peace.
But the Tree is changing; true Demons are rising as a new bough bearing Blighted Leaves arises; and a sect of Men has returned from the forgotten annals of history to resurrect the E.L.F. banner and dethrone the Elvine.
An unending Faewar looms on the horizon. 
Peace never comes without a price.
Sometimes the cost may be all that we cherish. 
Sometimes it is the one we love.
And to fight for it...is to be alone.


Oh, and for this, his second novel release, M.P. Ness has something special planned. 
Lottery/Contest!
Prize: Nook Color ($140 Value)

Here's the skinny:
Easy as 1, 2, 3!
1: eBook purchase of E.L.F.: White Leaves and/or E.L.F. Blighted Leaves gets you 1 entry to raffle (each)!
2: Paperback purchase of White Leaves and/or Blighted Leaves gets you 3 entries to raffle (each)!
3: Leaving a Review of either book on Amazon, gets you an additional 2 entries (each)!

Simply do screen grabs of your proof of purchase pages, and send them to M.P. Ness @ www.facebook.com/authormpness or to email michaelpness@gmail.com and you will be entered with the appropriate number of entries.
Available here first! - https://www.createspace.com/4696862
(More links coming as soon as Amazon gets it together.)
(*Prize available to US residents only*)
(*Contest Ends July 30th 2014!*)
(*Winner to be chosen At Random draw from a good ol' fashioned hat*)

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

New Release from Badass Author, Rachael L. McIntosh!

The long awaited debut release from Rachael L. McIntosh, is finally here!

In actuality, it's been out for days, I'm just a little behind.

But who cares! It's finally released! (And doing quite well already, from what I hear!)
Let's take a gander!

Security Through Absurdity
Book One
"Little Yellow Stickies"


~Jocelyn McLaren is a beautiful, hard working, yet naive visual artist who, through a twist of fate, ends up working for a major US defense contractor during the lead up to the Iraq War. 

She unknowingly witnesses and unwittingly participates in crimes that haunt her, and are ultimately interlinked with the most nefarious psychopaths on the planet.

Divided into three books, Security Through Absurdity, is the story of corporate shenanigans, an unstable home life, and a quixotic presidential campaign. These situations propel Jocelyn through a believably bizarre journey, and into dangerous psychological territory. 

In a matrix of life threatening situations, she is forced to question the very fabric of her GenX American upbringing.~

Little Yellow Stickies is available in all three formats, eBook, Paperbacks, AND Hard Cover!

Friday, May 9, 2014

A Badass Reviews - "Say My Name"

Resident Badass Author, Justin Osborne, author of the EPIC series(Legacy/Exodus) among many other shorts, has taken in Badass Author, Michael Loring's newest short, "Say My Name."





~"Michael Loring does it again!


Matthew Hatcher is tormented by nightmares every night, nightmares of a beautiful woman who makes one seemingly simple request, "Say My Name." Matthew, as will you, begins to question his sanity as his nightmares spill out into the real world; culminating in a satisfyingly ambiguous finale.

Descriptive narrative was spot on; I could see every nuance and detail in vivid colours in my mind. The dialogue, which some authors struggle with, was natural and flowing. This story is nearly flawless. if there were any flaws, they got past me. A great read, and receives my honest endorsement. I look forward to more great work from this young Author, a young Author far more talented than many others far older and experienced.

Well worth the price of admission. Pick it up!"

Five out of Five Stars!

*****/*****

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

A Badass Reviews - "Song of Simon"

Badass Authors Admin, and author of "E.L.F. Vol. 1 White Leaves," M. P. Ness has read, and enjoyed, Badass Author, C. A. Sanders' "Song of Simon"



~"Song of Simon," very much caught me by surprise in a variety of ways. It has a power and subtlety laced within a story comprised of some familiar, and common plot devices. This makes it all the more evoking. Sanders manages to create something decidedly 'his own' using these familiar strokes. And that, from me, is saying a great deal.

Simon, our hero, is an unfortunate youth, living an unfortunate life; but it is a life with which many may feel connected to. Musically gifted, Simon is a meek one; pestered by bullies, both in his home and at school. I found him sympathetic immediately.

He is transported to another world, rife with magic. This is a common mechanism for contemporary fantasy. However, the world building and system Sanders executed in his alternate world, are unique in a number of ways. I will not spoil anything, but I must say it was a refreshing twist on religious powers belonging to a different world all its own. Not at all tied to our own, oft poorly conceived and surely misguided, religious systems.
Not saying its anti-religious, exactly, but it doesn't pull any punches; which leads me into my favorite remark to make.

Sanders' writing style is familiar to me. In his execution of his Serial Fiction, "The Watchmage of Old New York" available at JukePopSerials.com, I could tell he had chops...and the intangible inventive something that makes a great writer. He debuts in novel publication with Song of Simon and exhibits not only the same chops, but more of them. By holding nothing back and writing honestly, Sanders puts together a series of dynamic characters and a fantastic world, and absolutely takes no prisoners.
It's just a Badass story.

I love saying that.

It has a few twists, which I didn't see coming, and a few moments of exposure a lesser author might have shied away from...if not entirely...then at least in some marginal way that would have left the scenes in question with less impact than they struck me with.

I seriously recommend giving it a read. You'll be pleasantly surprised what can be done with a stranger-in-a-strange land, coming of age, magical story. The commentaries in the subtext target a variety of topics, and I encourage you to look for them.

The Cons?
Editing. Only editing. Which is somewhat confusing/amusing for a book released by a house, Damnation Books. This isn't a bash on the book, and it takes very little away from the story or the writing style. I just thought a house would have better representation in the Editing department.

Now, I'm also not saying there are so many editorial mistakes as to be troublesome. In fact, there were only just enough for me not to ignore them entirely, and omit them from my review.

However, there is a bright side.

Sanders has since gone through and re-edited, and the house has taken a new look. Happily, I get to tell you, its going to be even better, and is re-releasing.


Overall, this is a five-star fantasy.

But, given the editorial issues, I had to dock it just a lil bit in the form which I got the privilege to read it."

****.5/*****
Four-and-a-Half out of Five stars!

(Five Stars, very likely, after re-release/re-edits)

Sunday, April 6, 2014

New Cover Arts for Two Badass Books!

A lot going on today here, it seems.
That's what happens when you're playing catch up.

So, I'm pleased to announce the revamping of a pair of Badasses books.
Truth be told, for one of them, this is a long-overdue notice to the Badass Authors public.
The other, is freshly remade, and not yet reflected in the distribution databases where it is respectively sold. 

So, for the first book and its new cover art; check it out! 
If you haven't gotten this book, you really should, especially now that its cover is remade!

I (M.P. Ness) personally liked the old, original rendition of Rich B. Knight's "The Darkness of the Womb" cover art. It was simple and beautiful, and had a certain feel to it that I really appreciated with its simplistic black and white design.
And when I was told it was being revamped, I had suffered some small amount of woe. 
However!
The new cover art for Rich Knight's "The Darkness of the Womb," still has a unique, striking, and simplistic two-tone artistic design. Perhaps more impactful for the book's recognition amongst the sea of book-covers out there in the publishing world.
As a visual artist as well as an author, I'm as much a critic of book covers as I am of the books themselves. Yes, yes, we all know the adage; "Do not judge a book by its cover." And you know, the statement is true. We should absolutely not forget it.
That being said, you have to understand, a cover helps a book stand out and get noticed. This is just fact. A good looking, sharp, impactful, or perhaps most importantly; a style-appropriate cover for the respective book's overall feel, Does Not Hurt.
And though I was sad to see the old cover go, I think artist, John Dylewski created something just right for "The Darkness of the Womb".

"The Darkness of the Womb"
by Richard B. Knight
(eBook Cover)
by John Dylewski


Second on the list of to-do cover-art revamping notification is Badass Author, Pauline A. Ramsey's "The Memoirs of Katherine deRion."

As I said before, I'm also an artist, and Pauline decided to hire me for her reworking.
My initial thoughts were to go with a similar look and design as she had done for "The Memoirs of Katherine deRion" the first time.
But, after a quick consideration, I scrapped that idea. 
As a critic, I did not like the original cover art. As an artist, I could see that the creator, who shall remain nameless, was a complete hack.
*Insert my artistic professional's rant here*
I cannot believe some artists these days...or "So-Called" artists. 
I mean, I get it, aspiring artists need to consider themselves artists, and work to get better as they go.
But to charge someone their hard earned money disproportionate to the quality of the product they are even capable of putting out....? That is absolute bullshit.

I see this happening ALL the time in the indie art, and more importantly, in the Indie Author world.
Poor, fledgling authors are paying WAY too much money for inferior works of art by people who are simply taking advantage of their ignorance. This PISSES me off!
How dare some amateur aspiring artist walk around portraying themselves as someone an unexperienced art-commissioner can trust?! Worse, how can they even promise something at least satisfactory, at the prices they charge, when they know damn good and well, how inadequate their skills are.
Artists, of all forms and mediums...are their own worst critics. So I KNOW they KNOW exactly what their work is worth.
Also: NEWS FLASH art world. This is not the Renaissance, and you are no daVinci! Your work is not worth what it might have been in the days of yore...even if you're GOOD! But most of these wannabes, charging far more than their skill level warrants, are out there sucking the life blood out of their clients.
It is maddening, infuriating, and despicable.

As I said above, a good cover helps you to get noticed as an author. Perhaps indirectly. But it can certainly help a work you release get noticed, and that bleeds over into your name going farther than it might with an inferior cover.

I will leave the actual monetary figures out of this mess and rant altogether. Suffice it to say, Pauline was ripped off, and executing a revamp for her personally, was a matter of pride for me.

"The Memoirs of Katherine deRion - Book One: The Beginning" was a book I personally read and reviewed here on the BA blog. (I gave it 4 stars, despite it not being my usual fare.) It was a good book, and deserved a good cover. 
So, while the distribution sites have not yet been revamped; I urge you to take a look at the cover, and take an interest in this story.
Keep your eyes open for when the distribution channels are updated, so you can get this book with it's fancy new cover.

Thank you, 
M.P. Ness

"The Memoirs of Katherine deRion - Book One: The Beginning"
by Pauline A. Ramsey
(eBook Cover)
by M. P. Ness

"The Memoirs of Katherine deRion - Book One: The Beginning"
by Pauline A. Ramsey
(Full Paperback Cover)
by M. P. Ness




A Badass Reviews - "E.L.F. Vol. 1 White Leaves"

Resident Badass, english teacher, and author of "The Darkness of the Womb," Rich B. Knight, gives us his take on Badass Author and Admin, M.P. Ness' "E.L.F." series debut, "White Leaves."



~"Let me just start this off by saying that I'm not a big fantasy guy. 
I mean, I can enjoy fantasy if it's light on the fantasy and more on the realistic side of things, but I've never been a guy who's into elves or sorcery. 

E.L.F. starts off on a realistic note, given that it's about eco-terrorists, but then it goes off into a different territory involving elves and stuff like that. That's where it threw me a little. That said, I am probably one of the only people who cannot get through the "Lord of the Rings" books, and I did get through this book, so that's definitely saying something. 


M.P. Ness shines when he's writing action scenes, as I know another critic noted. 


The story of the Black Leaves and Lady White Leaves is intriguing in that there is a good central female character in Shannon Hunter, who it takes a little while to like, but once you do, you're with her all the way. The writing is good, even though I feel there could have been more description with setting scenes, and the pacing goes quickly once you get to about to page 50 or so. 


Overall, if you dig fantasy, give this book one more star to my review. 

It's a good book. 
It's just not my thing."

***/*****

Three out of Five Stars

****/*****

Four out of Five Stars (if you're predisposed to fantasy to begin with, says Rich.)

Saturday, April 5, 2014

New Release from Badass Author, Natasha Wetzel!

Natasha Wetzel has done it again!
She's given us a huge fantasy to enjoy!

"The Blessings of Zinaith : End of Ashbringer" is a true epic Fantasy @ a healthy 664 delightfully immersing pages!

Fans of Fantasy and Big books of escape from your daily toil and long hours of entertainment,...rejoice!

"The Blessings of Zinaith : End of Ashbringer"
by Natasha Wetzel


~"Elves, Fairies, Goblins, Trolls and a world of new and exhilarating creatures, plants and places, collide in an epic battle and fight for a nation that is dying under the rule of a tyrant king. 


It would seem one would need the blessings of a god... 



When the kingdom is being eroded away by a twisted king that is quickly losing his mind, the kingdom cries out for help.... the answer is louder than any yell and it comes from a 17 year old girl on the verge of her 18th birthday, Satya Divya. She knows nothing more than the simple life she has always had in her village as a farmer, and medicine woman. Moved by the speech of a stranger, Satya finds herself compelled to stand up for what she believes is right. 




Damir Lorencrost is an ex military soldier to the king's army and bent on finding fellow men to join in his uprising. But in a nation that is crying out for help, all are too afraid to rise up and fight. Soon he will see that help comes in all shapes and sizes. 




Satya and Damir struggle to save the races facing extermination and bring peace to their land before it's too late. They will find help along the way from unlikely friends and bring together unlikely allies. An unexpected rise to the throne and battle await them as they bring about the end of the Ashbringer."


Its available in both eBook and Paperback, noted here in our library of Badass Authors' works!

Get it now!
I am patiently awaiting my paperback copy!
-M.P. Ness

Thursday, March 20, 2014

New Release from Badass Author, Michael Loring!

You read that rightly! Michael Loring has done us a huge favor and taken All but One of his short stories and compiled them together into .... "Unnatural"

This notice is just a hair late, but as usual, I'm fairly preoccupied with my own(and all the) goings ons.
My sincere apology.

But forget that.
Check it out!

Unnatural, A Collection of Supernatural Stories, By Michael Loring.
only $1.99

Amazon


Looks pretty good if you ask me!
-M.P.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

A Badass Reviews - "The Memoirs of Katherine deRion"

Badass Author and Admin, M.P. Ness takes a look at "The Memoirs of Katherine deRion" by Badass Author Pauline Ramsey.




"Let me preface this review by stating a few things.
One; I was given this book in trade for my own and a fair and honest review.
Two, three and four; this novel, I must say, is not my typical fare.
It is a period piece, historical fiction/dark fantasy.
It is a diary-reading in the first person for the most part.
I don't normally delve into historical fiction, nor am I much into wolves, witches, vampires and the like that oft accompany the dark fantasy genre. And I don't normally read first person narratives like this.
However, I did make it through this reading with a strange vague sense/feeling of enlightenment in its wake.
That being said, I will say, as a sort of diary-reading, it moved about as you would expect a period piece to move. Slow, but in an eloquent way, enough so as to keep even me (one with an aversion to this sort of story), reading to the end.


Being a period piece, something like 16th century England, its pacing and style was in fact the dry/proper affair you expect in period pieces.
So if you like period work...you'll enjoy it for that alone.


However, NONE of this is meant to be a detractor...even for my tastes. It is written to reflect that sense of historical feeling, and the feeling of a diary, so it very much did its job and hit that mark. It takes a steady control to maintain a style from start to finish, and it is clear that the style is deliberate and paced. But more importantly, as I expected of Pauline's work, knowing her as a person a little bit, I am happy to tell you this story pulled no punches. It dutifully marched to its end without compromises. She unabashedly wrote it through and sugar coated nothing. For that I applaud it. If it hadn't been for that, the facts surrounding its genre and subject matter and style would have kept me from reading it simply because its not my type of normal fare.
Yes, closed-minded of me to be that way...but i have a harder time with immersing myself in stories that aren't where I normally tread.


The story of Katherine deRion, is told to us by her diary, which is being read by a young descendant of hers, but this first book has very little to do with a little girl who is reading to pass the time of her current sick-day illness. She starts the tale, has a brief intermission sort of moment, and finishes the book with momentary speculation on what she'd just read with a little nod to an old fantasy movie we've all seen countless times that also follows this sort of reader-reading as a reader reads the story to us mechanism. So, really, this book is Katherine deRion's just as it promises in the title.
And what a story she lived...and might still live.


I do recommend you read it. You'll never understand what it truly is if you don't. If you like period pieces, or dark fantasy alike, high noble aristocracy society in olde England, and/or coming of age female stories, you will enjoy it. Just because its not my thing normally, does not mean it is not a good book, nor that I had trouble reading this one. Quite the opposite really. I held me through to the end. And in the end, that's really the best of notes to make about any book of any style in any genre.
Mission accomplished...I'd say.


The only cons I can really remark upon are the grammatical errors. Though, this in itself isn't that big of a deal. Some grammar-nazi types might flip a lid, and have to fight their way through the errs, and whine and complain,...just as they might with much of ANY Indie work...because not all indies can afford a blasted editor, which I must also remark is unfair to our works as indies...because a great editor can go a long, long ways, and unfortunate as it is, many Indies have to suffer because their work doesn't get the same attention as the big house-owned authors.


All in all though, the editorial errors in grammar are mostly confined to occasional word-use errors, and sentence structures...and they aren't as bad as many indie works out there can get. It is clear this story has been worked and reworked editorially to get that grammar under leash, so the effort shows; though sometimes to the detriment of the grammatical correction that seemed to be in mind. There were just a few bad habits repeated occasionally from one end to the other, sentences that looked as if they had started to be edited, and in the correction, the error was not removed. (Like changing the way something was going to be said, but forgetting to erase the original mistake at the other end of the sentence.) Simple problems we all have...and EASILY overlooked if you're following it for the story, not for the grammar. So read it...for the story...and don't be such a stickler. You'll be glad you did.


**** out of *****
I give it a healthy 4 out of 5 stars despite all that it had going against it before even jumping in... (for a reader like me)

As I said, those are my personal hangups...but should in no way deter you.

Saturday, March 1, 2014

New Release from Badass Author, Bex Pavia!

This notice is coming a little late, but we must take the time to let those of you who haven't heard about Bex Pavia's new release, "The Moon Queen: Another Book of Rhyme"!

Bex's second release is another poetry collection, and is ranking highly on Amazon and has Three 5* reviews already!!
It is available in both eBook and Paperback, Here! (Also listed to the right in BA Distribution)
Go Bex!


About The Moon Queen: Another Book of Rhyme:
"From the Author of "The Soul Bearer - and other poems" comes a second collection of rhyming verse. This book offers twenty pieces of poetry that take a walk on the dark side as well as the light; from the fantasy-tale to the slightly humorous - by way of the emotional.

Be taken away to an imaginary world in "The Tower," and chuckle at a common human failing in "Thick Skin".

:Includes four excellent poems by the author's daughter and mother."




In other New BA Release News, Twisted Love, the Badass Authors' first Anthology is now available on Amazon/Createspace, in both paperback and eBook!
It is permanently FREE on Smashwords, only $0.99 on Kindle, and in the $5 range as a paperback! Makes a great travel sized form of anti-romantic entertainment!
(See BA Distribution - At Right)

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Twisted Love - Badass Anthology #1 - Released!

Here at Badass Authors, we are overjoyed to tell you our first Anthology, Twisted Love, an Anti-Valentine's Day celebration in writing, is now published!
Live on Smashwords.com, and soon to be print paperback through Createspace.com/Amazon, it has been an instant success

We are very pleased to let you know, with 58 downloads on day one, Twisted Love has already received its first 5* review! (see below)


So, without further adieu, we give you, Twisted Love!



A collection of romantic tales woven from the frayed threads of the madness of love...

Presented by the deliciously contorted minds of the Badass Authors Collective.

Faerie Curses, Witchcraft gone wrong, Demonic Lovers, Lovelorn Zombies, and much more await you within these pages...if you dare to turn them.


This marks the group's first anthology of short stories and poetry since its inception, released for Valentine's Day 2014.

However, as with their group's spirit, the anthology is... well... twisted.
It's an Anti-Valentine's Day celebration for the darker hearted and minded!

Available !!FREE!! at Smashwords!


Contributing Badass Authors include- 

Bex Pavia 
Michael Loring 
C.A. Sanders 
Rich B. Knight 
Pauline Ramsey 
J.L. Hickey
Justin Osborne 
and 
M.P. Ness

Edited by the wonderful EditorCat, Maryanne Torgerson 

(editor of E.L.F. - White Leaves by M.P. Ness)

Other contributions include-

Formatting and Cover Art by our own Badass, M.P. Ness
BA Logo Design by our own Badass, Natasha Wetzel
Cover Blurb, Font, and General Team Organization throughout the publication process by our own Badass, Justin Osborne

with Photography by Barbara Tillison


With any luck, we will bring even more of the team together to be ready for BA Anthology #2!

And soon, look for Twisted Love, BA #1, in paperback!
We will keep you posted, as always, on any of these sorts of developments...
So stay tuned for any news of that!

And now, the Review for Twisted Love, from All Things Book! 5*'s!

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Cover Reveal! - "Twisted Love" - Badass Author's Anthology #1

"Twisted Love"
Badass Anthology #1
-Cover Art by M.P. Ness 
-BA logo by Natasha Wentzel

-Edited by Maryanne "Editor Cat" Torgerson

The Anti-Valentine's Day anthology from the BA's will release on Valentine's Day, and the eBook/Kindle edition will be free...permanently. It is our V-Day gift to you!
Paperbacks, however, will be available if you feel like supporting our efforts.

It might be a bit twisted, but we're betting that's exactly what you expected from us.

BA's of participance this first time around are:
M.P. Ness 
C.A. Sanders
J.L. Hickey 
Bex Pavia
Pauline Ramsey
Michael Loring
Justin Osborne


*There is a photo-credit due, but in this late hour, I'm tired, and I spaced our photographer's name!
I'm sorry!
Don't kill me. 
I'll fix asap! 

A Badass Reviews - "Epic: Legacy"

Badass Author and admin, M.P. Ness shares his thoughts on "Epic: Legacy" by Badass Author, Justin Osborne.

"It's a very straight forward story of a young stranger in a strange land.

Our protagonist is a teenager, a musician, a good guy who will stand up for the less fortunate. He is the kid in school who was kind of a Badass; a loner in ways, by choice, but capable of having lots of friends if he cared enough to choose to collect them. But, he is realistically flawed in that and other ways.
In fact, a Badass in our world, Deacon is so flawed that when he falls through a fairy mound into another world, he isn't much of a Badass anymore. He must adjust to and overcome many new challenges and troubles as a smaller, less capable outsider.

One of the many things I found great about this story was something you don't see a lot of in epic fantasy -and especially not expected in a book entitled "Epic"- is Justin's ability to keep the story small. Many times, epics simply grow and grow in scale as the tale moves along. But in Epic: Legacy, he manages to keep the events less monstrous in themselves, and focuses on the characters in their smaller challenges and lives in a larger scenario involving the total sundering of an entire world.

Overall, I feel like the author's strength is in his vividly painted characters.
But I must say this also includes his antagonists/villains.

I especially liked his ultimate villain's unique concept. Read it, and you'll understand just what I'm talking about (I won't spoil the ingenuity Justin Osborne has come up with in his baddy, Uru, as I came to call him).

Now, the one major con.
The book is like many indies, and could use a thorough editor, and that would make it a five star work, really.

But, if you're the type who can read through spelling typos, word misuse, and grammar errors, and just focus on the tale and enjoy it in your mind's eye for what it is, then you'll enjoy the ride!

It was a fun swift read, and I look forward to my read of the sequel and forthcoming third book in the series, where I imagine it will grow to focus on the aforementioned Epic events that were set up but also evaded in this first book.

One thing I must remark, part of the reason it moved so softly was a penchant of the Author's, which I think he should avoid and overcome; the use of often times extremely short chapters, created out of brief little scenes which would be better off as simply scene breaks instead.

However, he might also be on to something in these short scenes, because it flows like film does, filling us in on little details and important little moments. In doing so, each has a savvy title, and he could develop a little niche for himself by maintaining short scenes as breaks but WITH their titles still intact...rather than as individual titled chapters -as I haven't seen that before. Titled scene breaks? might be worth giving a shot.

Overall, despite the form and function problems I mentioned, I still give it a four out of five stars, because the characters were colorful and believable, and the story, while focusing small to contradict the title, was a sound foundation to the forthcoming books."

**** out of *****
4/5!