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Epic

SATURDAY! Q and A (and PRIZES!) with MELISSA OLTHOFF, author of DAUGHTER OF SHIPPO

June 25, 2025 by hpholo Leave a Comment

H.P. Holo/Edie Skye chats with author MELISSA OLTHOFF about her new military sci-fi novel DAUGHTER OF SHIPPO … and gives away a signed copy!

Read DAUGHTER OF SHIPPO Here: https://amzn.to/3ZJzEqW #AmazonAffiliate

Enter to win a signed copy here: https://forms.gle/Sj4KPfzV6Ym9x3wU8

Visit Melissa’s Website Here: https://www.melissaolthoff.com/


Support the podcast (and/or buy Dazzle treats) at …
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Kailey Jackson never wanted to be a fighter.

All she’d wanted out of life was to be normal. To fit in with Humans after being raised by Kitsoonay, to master the Asur language, to discover their hidden outposts… and to maybe solve the mystery of their disappearance.

But after her academic ambitions resulted in the invasion of her homeworld, Kailey’s quiet life spiraled into one disastrous adventure after another. She became a mercenary, embraced her Kitsoonay soul, and found a new family. A family she would do anything to protect—including bonding with the last Asur Warbird.

With Kailey’s fate irrevocably tied to the Warbird, finding the Asur is no longer an academic pursuit. It’s her only hope for survival. But the Knights aren’t the only ones searching for the Asur, and Kailey will have to risk everything she’s fought for—her old home, her found family, her new life—in order to save the Asur from their ancient enemy.

And maybe save herself one last time.

NOTE: As Amazon Associates, we earn a wee little commission on any Amazon purchases made through qualifying links on this page.

Filed Under: Q&A Tagged With: Author Q&A, Epic, Melissa Olthoff, military sci fi, Military Sci-Fi, Military Science Fiction, Military SF, Q&A, Science Fiction

FRIDAY! Q and A (and PRIZES!) with SHAMI STOVALL, author of WORDS OF POWER

June 10, 2025 by hpholo Leave a Comment

H.P. Holo/Edie Skye chats with author SHAMI STOVALL about her new progression fantasy epic WORDS OF POWER … and gives away a signed copy!

Pre-Order WORDS OF POWER Here: https://amzn.to/4kXhvxL

Enter to win a signed copy of WORDS OF POWER here: https://forms.gle/Sj4KPfzV6Ym9x3wU8

Visit Shami’s Website Here: https://sastovallauthor.com/


Power is not given. It’s taken.

In the Tze Empire, spirits and demons rule the wilds, but Ring Warlocks control civilization. For Rimon, the son of a courtesan and lowest in society, Ring Warlocks seem like gods.

Each has their own magic drawn from Titans, and they can do whatever they please, regardless of how it affects the prefectures they rule.

But when a chance encounter places one of the ancient and powerful rings in Rimon’s hands, everything changes. For there is a trick to the rings, and Rimon sees through the test given to him.

Suddenly, he is no longer a player at the fringes of power; he is a Ring Warlock and granted his own territory.

Determined to make sure his prefecture thrives, Rimon must contend with jealous rivals, demons seeking his ring for themselves, and forces he cannot yet name, all while mastering his new abilities. He will prove even the lowest can rise to challenge gods.

Rimon will have to grow twice as strong as his rival warlocks just to survive in this new Progression Fantasy Adventure by Shami Stovall, the Dragon-Award winning author of Knightmare Arcanist!


Support the podcast (and/or buy Dazzle treats) at …
Buy Me A Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/holowriting
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/holowriting

NOTE: As Amazon Associates, we earn a wee little commission on any Amazon purchases made through qualifying links on this page.

Filed Under: Q&A Tagged With: Author Q&A, Epic, Fantasy, progression, progression fantasy, Q&A, Words of Power

Empire of Silence – Book Review

April 11, 2021 by hpholo Leave a Comment

I finished reading Empire of Silence a little over a year ago, but it was one of those books that I enjoyed so much, my only reaction at the time was *excited pterodactyl noises.*

(Admittedly, I don’t actually know what an excited pterodactyl sounds like, nor what sort of noise it would make after discovering a new favorite book, but I imagine it would be something like the distinctive gibberish that screeches out of my mouth every time this happens.)

Anyway, now that I’ve had the time to articulate that noise into human words, here goes.

Christopher Ruocchio’s Empire of Silence is an epic space opera that reads like Frank Herbert’s Dune, if Dune were set in Space Rome and if its writing wasn’t as dry as its setting. It follows the young life of Hadrian Marlowe, heir to the Sollan Empire—which, if he is to follow in the footsteps of his father (and under the powerful influence of the Chantry), involves becoming a ruler who maintains his power through fear and torture. Not wanting to rule through atrocity, Hadrian makes an elaborate plan to escape—but his plan goes awry, and while he successfully escapes his future, he tumbles into a life of poverty and violence harsher than anything he’s ever known. And even when he manages to pull himself out of that, it’s into a world of intrigue that’s even more complex than the empire he escaped from…and which points toward even darker ends.

After all, one doesn’t get named “the Sun Eater” without good reason.

This, of course, is a vast oversimplification of everything that takes place in this massive 624-page tome, but that doesn’t matter because, if you like deeply complex epic science fiction, you’re going to read it anyway.

Before you go in, though, you should know it’s not a fast read.

Empire of Silence is a novel that is as much about the inner workings of its world as it is Hadrian’s struggle, and it’s written in a way that asks the reader to savor the world. This is a setting so wildly advanced that social class is defined not only by economic opportunity, but through access to technology and genetic modifications, where the upper classes lean so heavily into artificial modification that they can no longer procreate naturally lest they produce a child with birth defects. Through this (and other details), the novel asks a lot of interesting questions about the future societal implications of extreme human modification. Granted, it’s all peripheral to the heart of Hadrian’s story, but it’s still deeply intriguing.

Just as intriguing, Hadrian’s is also a world where access to specific technologies and even to the depths of human history is regulated by the quasi-religious Chantry, which keeps a stranglehold on even the ruling families of the Sollan Empire and isn’t above using truly medieval techniques to enforce its will (and the ignorance of the people beneath its power). Yet, outside the power of the Chantry and Sollan Empire, there are multifarious other cultures that indulge in these banned technologies and explore those histories. Not to mention the truly otherworldly alien species that show up. Because of this sheer variety—and the inherent conflicts it causes—this is one of the few modern epic sci-fi worlds that actually lives up to the “epic” descriptor. The violence is epic, sure, but so is the sheer sense of scale and wonder that emanates from the page. The contrasts between all these human and alien cultures—and what they show Hadrian about himself and his home empire—make for engrossing reading.

Just not fast reading.

There were indeed moments where I wondered where exactly the story thought it was going—but those moments were immediately dismissed because even when the plot was slow, the artful writing kept me absolutely entranced. I’d almost call this novel literary fiction, except that where most literary writing is merely pretentious, Ruocchio’s writing features frequent gems of unexpected, genuine wisdom. There were more than a few moments where I had to stop reading just to admire a specific turn of phrase or the clever perceptiveness of a single line.

But of course, artful writing—and even an artfully-realized world—is worthless if the characters that inhabit it aren’t interesting, and Hadrian himself is definitely that, though for reasons one might not expect.

Hadrian’s story is a bildungsroman told in the framed style of Patrick Rothfuss’ The Name of The Wind, to draw another popular comparison. Protagonists in these kinds of stories often come across as too-capable or too-perfect (as Kvothe does in NOTW), but if anything, Hadrian is the opposite. While he has his kick-butt, heroic moments, and while he’s certainly capable in his own ways, many of his problems are, in fact, caused by himself. Whether it’s a plan going awry for reasons he should have anticipated, the result of a badly-timed impulse, or some ill-considered curiosity, Hadrian frequently becomes his own worst enemy—and yet does it in a way that keeps the reader rooting for him. Reading about Hadrian’s adventures is very much like watching the exploits of a well-intentioned but occasionally dumb little brother, who you genuinely like but sometimes want to smack in the back of the head. He’s definitely a flawed character, but flawed in the best way. After all, as much as readers enjoy a good, straightforward hero, they do get boring after a while, and even when Hadrian gets himself into stupid situations, they’re situations that make sense in the context of his established character—and, importantly, are fun to read as he works his way out of them. (Or deeper into them. It’s Hadrian, after all.)

However, there are elements of Hadrian’s character that might grate some readers. He’s pretty clearly the sensitive, artsy son in a family that values ferocious jocks (okay, gladiators, but same idea), which inches toward cliché. Also, at its simplest, his struggle is that of the Poor Little Rich Boy feeling oppressed by the responsibilities of his privilege, which is a hard struggle for some readers to take seriously. But also, like…if the unavoidable trappings of my future required me to turn into a despotic trash can of a human being, I’d nope the heck out of there, too. All that said, a reader’s mileage with Hadrian’s story is going to hinge on how much patience they have with his character (and with the storytelling style in general).

But like many things that require patience, this novel is entirely worth it. Eloquently written, exquisitely detailed, and epic in every sense of the word, Empire of Silence deserves to be a new sci-fi classic.

***

Note: Holo Writing is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and, as such, may earn a small commission from any product purchased through an affiliate link on this blog.

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: Christopher Ruocchio, Empire of Silence, Epic, Favorite Books, highly recommended, Science Fiction, Space Opera, Sun Eater

The Messenger – Book Bomb

October 18, 2019 by hpholo Leave a Comment

Hey, mecha fans! We know some of you are still reeling from the end of the Seraphim Revival series, and though we’re giving its characters a much-needed rest, we totally understand your need to read more action-packed giant robot goodness.
Luckily for you, one of our #authorbuds, Terry Maggert, teamed up with J.N. Chaney to release a thoroughly kick-butt giant robot space epic! 😀
H.P. just finished barreling through The Messenger, and if you’re a fan of Gundam, Voltron, Mass Effect, or really anything that involves big-a** tech blowing junk up in epic fashion, it’s a fun read!
themessenger

Dash never asked to be a mech pilot, but fate has other plans.
On the run and out of chances, he guides his ship and crew into the heart of a relic older than the galaxy itself–and finds himself on the edge of an eternal war he never knew existed.
The relic is a mech, lost to history and forgotten by all who remain. Built by an ancient race to be the ultimate weapon, the machine is capable of unspeakable destruction, and its discovery could unhinge the balance of power throughout known space.
Worse still, the A.I. inside the machine speaks of an ancient evil that will soon arrive–a race whose power far exceeds anything humanity has ever witnessed.
Only the Messenger can stand against them, the A.I. tells its new pilot. Only you can do what must be done.

Even better, if you enjoy it, the sequel is already available for Pre-Order (Release Date Sunday, October 20th)! 😀
dark between
UPDATE 12.21.19: There are more! 😮

starforged silentfleet

Filed Under: Book Blasts Tagged With: Epic, Giant Robots, j.n. chaney, mech, mecha, military sci fi, Space Opera, Terry Maggert, the dark between, the messenger

Epic – Movie Review

June 2, 2013 by holojacob 2 Comments

Epic-2013-Movie-Character-Poster-3
IN SHORT: A race of miniature tree elves are about to choose their next leader in a really stupid way. Hordes of personified tree rot plan to crash the party.
WHAT IT IS: Fun and visually striking, Epic took me on a ride I genuinely enjoyed from start to finish.
WHAT IT IS NOT: Don’t expect much depth beneath the flash. We’ve seen these characters before by different names in different movies.
WHAT I THOUGHT: With a title like Epic, I was expecting more, I don’t know, epic-ness? Is that even a word? But I suppose it’s better than calling the movie Didn’t Suck.
And that’s generally my feeling towards the movie. The characters were likable. The plot was zany, but entertaining. The action was good. The villain was serviceable. Art direction was very cool. Voice acting was solid. The comedic relief was absolutely hilarious (I loved the slug character)!
Yes, this movie genuinely didn’t suck.
Now, that’s not to say it blew me away. While I liked the characters, there really wasn’t anything exceptional about them. They’re all characters we’ve seen before, familiar and not overly complicated. But that’s okay. They weren’t annoying. They didn’t get in the way of my enjoyment of the movie.
I also appreciated the complete absence of a Hollywood Environmental Message™. I generally don’t like it when movies get preachy at me. It’s something of a pet peeve, and honestly, this was my biggest fear going into the movie. Being an engineer who works in Evil Corporate America™, a lot of movies portray people like me or people I work with in a really bad light.
So kudos this time for not making us out to be the villains! Again. For like the millionth time. Seriously, we’re just normal people trying to get by like everyone else.
So, yeah, fun movie. Not deep. Not really all that epic. But fun.
VERDICT: Recommended.

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: Blue Sky Studios, Chris Wedge, Epic, Fantasy, Movie Review, Recommended, Review

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