Review: The Demon King of Bergher (Harbinger of Doom)

 The Demon King of Bergher by Glenn G. Tather


This is short review for a short story I just finished reading.

It's a fantasy/horror story in a fantasy world setting with dwarves, elves, etc, etc, about Lord Torbin Malvegil and the events surrounding a demon king visiting his chambers and leaving him a gift. The story is written in the first person point of view of Lord Torbin Malvegil.

I'll start with saying I'm not a great fan of the first person POV, but it was bearable in this story. I had more problem with the telling, it felt like reading clumps of info dumps. It may be necessary for the story, but I rather it was done more subtle or toned down.

It's a good thing Glen G. Tather can write well, because despite the story being a whole lot of telling it still conveys an image and a sense of its own character, and in the portions where there is actually something happening it was even an exciting read. I rather had more of those moment and less lore, though I'm sure there are readers out there who would not mind this abundance of lore.

 Did I like The Demon King of Bergher? I sort of did and sort of didn't.

Like is said, I liked the story once it got moving, but I disliked it when it didn't. If it was a novel I probably wouldn't have finished it, but as a short story it's bearable. If you like fantasy, with a descriptive back story, and slow reading, this story certainly is for you. If you are more like me, who love less description, and the back-story takes second place to a fast pace, then you might have to reconsider it.


This short story is available at Amazon.

Under the Dome

Under the Dome by Stephen king.

It's been a while since I read a story of his. I don't know, somehow after his accident he changed his voice, and I couldn't get so much into his stories since then. So I've stuck to (re)reading those he wrote before that time. But as time passed, I've grown a little older, and my wants changed, so I was ready to try a new novel of his. With the TV-show being made, and intrigued by it enough to want to watch it, I wanted to read the book first. It took me about two months to finish the read.

The story was long, overtly long to say, but because Stephen King is Stephen King, he can write in a way that will make it bother you less than if someone else wrote it. His voice is entertaining, and I've felt more of the old King in this story. However the story in itself was not great, it's the storytelling which made it an entertaining read, despite it being overtly long.

I've read reviews trashing the ending and I can uderstand many not liking it, though I thing the story couldn't have had any other ending. Weird and unnerving as it was, the ending might not sit very well with many people, mainly because it gave out a sense of total powerlessness. I think people wanted the feeling of empowerment instead, but that isn't what the story was about.

I liked reading Under the Dome. I liked the way Stephen King told the story. I liked the ending.

You can't go wrong with this novel if you like Stephen King's writing.

Book Review: I Eat Butterflies: Tales of Vampires, Mages & Mutants

The book's description as found on smashwords:

I EAT BUTTERFLIES - Tales of Vampires, Mages & Mutants is a trio of sinister & sexy erotic horror / urban fantasy / dark & dangerous sci-fi stories from the creator of THE WORLD OF SYNNIBARR and CRYPT: THE PHARAOH’S CURSE.

THE BRIDES: The Brides of Dracula have always been secretly calling the shots by making Draculii as fall guys. What happens when you create the wrong dark prince?

MERLIN’S KNOT: Upon discovering the secret code interlaced within the Celtic knots, a group of college students learn how to use real magic, and the knowledge propels them into a world of intrigue and adventure.

VELOCITY SYNDROME: An Orwellian take on the near future, where there are groups of low-powered mutants, humans have chips in their brains, and the world is drowning. And the answer to one murder may save the world or lead to total destruction

My Review

The stories in themselves are okay to good: Velocity Syndrome being the better one. While reading I had the feeling that the author was new at the craft of writing. This was evident from his overuse of "purple" prose, so much it distracted me from reading his story, which is a pity. Luckily he improved. In his third short story "Velocity Syndrome" he writes much more fluent and readable. Because of that I could immerse myself better in the third story than the previous two.

The brides was a drag to read. The story is an interesting one. It's a new way (for me at least) describing vampires. However the writing was distracting, and this made reading it less enjoyable. For example in the story the brides talking amongst themselves about the past, one retells the story how they started. A flashback by retelling. It's nice getting some back-story, but it's weird and awkward way of doing it. Why would one of the three people, who have lived and experienced the event, retell this to the other two who lived it along with her? It's made it too obvious it being a flashback, and this can distract readers.

The story picked up when the brides found a new prince. The writing started to flow better at the end. This made it more a pity, that while improving in his writing style, the story suffered a little fall. It felt chunks were left out, and stuff started happening ad hoc. The ending was a little abrupt and left things not so clear. It felt it rushed by leaving me to ask my self; "What happened!"

MERLIN’S KNOT is less flowerly written. The story follows a clearer path than The Brides. It has an interesting take on magic and technology. Too bad the story gets convoluted by having too much going on at once. I'm sure some will like that. To me it has an B action movie feel to it. There are things added to the story that I felt were not there to add to the story(because it didn't make sense), but for the cool factor. However the writer is improving in his craft. Merlin's knot is less a drag to read.

Velocity Syndrome is more coherent and read fluent compared to the first two, it is less distracting written. I enjoyed reading this one. The setting is great and the story draws you in. At the end it has a twist, only too bad it is a tad confusing.

From reading "I Eat Butterflies: Tales of Vampires, Mages & Mutants" I have come to believe Raven c.s. McCracken has an imaginative mind and that he shows he improves with every word written. If he keeps writing I'm sure he'll come to a point he'll be writing great stories. These being his first, they are however not so great, but still worth reading.