Review of ‘The Ruins’

Static Multimedia’s review of ‘The Wood’ likened it in some aspects to Scott Smith’s ‘The Ruins’.  It wasn’t a story I’m familiar with and I still haven’t read the print version, but I have managed to get my hands on the DVD.  From reading both synopses on Wikepedia the two seem to be slightly different so this review will concentrate on the film version.

(Static Multimedia’s review of ‘The Wood’ isn’t live any more, but I have a Word copy which I’ll post at some stage.)

Anyway, I can see why Static Multimedia would think ‘The Wood’ similar to ‘The Ruins’.  Both feature a group of people thrown together, whose numbers are reduced as the horror picks them off one by one and both are, as the review says, tales of ‘…unbeatable odds.’

‘The Ruins’ is as much psychological as bloody, with most of the gore being less explicit than I’d expect of an 18 certificate film.  That, of course, is an observation rather than a criticism, and the film has enough tension and a good enough ending to be a worthy, if somewhat routine, watch.

On the downside, the deaths are nearly all the same, with little variety.  The plot has several unplugged holes and as an (ex)archaeologist I was disappointed that the Mayan setting provided nothing more than the film’s location.

Overall, this is one where the tension just about overcomes the flaws and I’d give it six out of ten.

Doe-Dragon Print Release

Rogue Phoenix Press have confirmed to me that the print version of ‘The Doe and the Dragon’ will be available around a month after release, although this is flexible. 

This might put the print release at some time in early June.

Release Day!

So, I woke up this morning to find myself a published novelist for the fourth time (okay, ‘The Shoot’ was a novelette…).

‘The Doe and the Dragon’ is released today, from Rogue Phoenix Press.

As with any book it’s my name on the cover, but there are a number of other people without whose help it wouldn’t have happened.  So, thank you to, in no particular order:

* Rogue Phoenix Press for accepting the work and all the editing;

* Genene Valleau for a great cover;

* Philip McCormac for, as usual, ploughing through the very first draft and helping me get the outline plot in shape;

* Carole Ann Moleti and Cathy Chance who read the novel, and in particular for their help refining the characters, their relationships, and the romance (which I found the most difficult elements);

* The numerous Critters and others who provided suggestions and advice along the way;

* Finally, but by no means least, to Emma and Peter for their support and their willingness to walk across stunning Welsh scenery (often weighed down by ice creams) to help me check out various locations in the novel.

Doe-Dragon Trailer

Here’s the trailer for ‘The Doe and the Dragon’ from my YouTube channel: 

 

Acknowledgement to Peter Richardson.

Trailers for all my books are on my YouTube Channel:

http://www.youtube.com/user/AndrewJRichardson

The Well

So, contracts have been signed, so I’ll confirm that The Well will be published by eTreasures Publishing.  A big thank you for showing faith in the story.

A possible publication date is 30 May, but this still has to be fully confirmed.

‘The Doe and the Dragon’ Preview

Thank you to Carole Ann Moleti for providing a preview of ‘The Doe and the Dragon’:

http://caroleannmoleti.blogspot.com/2011/04/doe-and-dragon-by-andrew-richardson.html

Monkey Hangers…

I’ve pointed out several times that ‘The doe and the Dragon’ incorporates myths and legends from Arthurian North Wales.  It also includes one story that has little to do with Wales, but which gave inspiration for one of the events in the novel.

The Napoleonic Wars are separated from Arthur by a thousand years, and then some, but there one event from the Napoleonic era that I couldn’t resist slipping into the novel.  Legend is that a French ship was wrecked off the coast of Hartlepool, in north-east England.  The only survivor was the ship’s monkey, who was dressed in a French uniform, and, naturally, spoke gibberish that the people of Hartlepool didn’t understand.

The locals hung the monkey as a French spy, and since then the good people of Hartlepool have been known – with varying degrees of affection - as ‘Monkey Hangers’.

The story may or may not be true, but I couldn’t resist having a couple of monkeys mistaken for the enemy by a naive character in ‘The Doe and the Dragon’.  Of course, I don’t have the monkeys hung, they end up…well, you’ll just have to read the book!