Brian Tubbs

On Christmas Day, my teenage son and I decided to give Aquaman , the latest DC Comics superhero film, a try. He and I generally prefer Marvel superhero films (though we both love  the Dark Knight trilogy starring Christian Bale). Still, we felt Aquaman looked promising, so with a new AMC gift card in hand, we headed for our local theater to catch the DC superhero film in 3-D. And today, I wanted to give my readers my take on the film. Though this blog generally focuses on science fiction and fantasy books (mainly because I want to encourage reading ), I will occasionally review a film. Hence, this spoiler-free review of  Aquaman . The film stars Jason Mamoa as the title character and Amber Heard (with red hair) as Princess Mera. It's directed by James Wan. According to Screen Rant , production costs on Aquaman came in at around $160 million. Let me start by saying that I consider myself a Jason Mamoa fan. I thoroughly enjoyed Mamoa's turn as Ronon Dex in the spect...

"Commander Nolan ducked through the hatch into the combat information center of the UFC Johnston ." That's the opening line of Destroyer , the first installment in Chris Fox's Void Wraith saga. And there's something about that line that hooks this Star Trek fan. It's not just that line. Fox knows the military sci-fi genre well. He hits all the right buttons and kept me riveted from beginning to end. Indeed, Destroyer is one of the few novels that I've read more than once! The setting is simple, yet compelling. Human colonies on the edge of explored space are disappearing without a trace. The UFC Johnston , our heroes' destroyer, undertakes the task of finding out why. In so doing, they tangle with the cat-like Tigris and their own headquarters all while uncovering signs of a seemingly invincible new enemy and a horrifying conspiracy. Nolan is the Johnston's first officer, a veteran of Fleet Intelligence who was relegated to the aging Joh...

In Ryan Decker's gamelit novella Deadly Realm: Fighting for Freedom , a young game tester is thrown into a fast-paced, virtual reality world that tests not only his survival skills, but his sanity! The story begins with Paxton Tyler selected to test out a new game that supposedly will help advance autism research. His brother is autistic, so Pax sees this a triple-win: He can help his brother, get paid, and enjoy playing inside a computer game. Pax loves computer games. Unfortunately for Pax, it isn't that simple. And the experience is more terrifying than enjoyable. He's greeted by a tough, mean-spirited guide who claims she is trapped inside the game. Within a few pages, his guide softens and warms to him. But she's pulled away from him after the first three levels. The nature of her 'reality' is part of the story's mystery. And he faces a succession of monsters that cause him intense pain, panic, and medical crises back in the real world testing fac...

Clay Hopewell was sentenced to die. His crime: He somehow got infected with the ZERO virus -- a virus that either kills you outright or turns you into a zombie. The details of said virus, including which is more likely, are not really explored or discussed in The Chosen , the first installment in Jakob Tanner's Arcane Kingdom Online . It's just clear that having the ZERO virus is a death sentence. Only Clay doesn't just face a normal death. Not in this story. Once Clay tests positive for the virus, he is whisked away to a quarantine zone, which is basically a re-purposed airport hangar. An airport hangar devoid of life, save for a crazed, shrieking female cannibal that's ready to make Clay into her dish of "zombie chow-mein" (one of my favorite terms from Tanner's book). Clay is rescued in the nick of time and given a choice. He can die (either as zombie food or when the disease runs its course) or ... He can play a computer game. So goes the premi...

Do you read fantasy novels? Do you enjoy playing tabletop or computer role-playing games? If so, RPG Literature may be right up your alley. What is RPG Lit? RPG Literature (or RPG Lit for short) is a fantasy and science fiction sub-genre combining the conventions of role-playing games (RPGs) with, you guessed it, science fiction and fantasy novels. This subgenre is more popularly known as GameLit (Game Literature) or LitRPG (Literature or Literary Role-Playing Game), however there are some distinctions between GameLit and LitRPG, which we will discuss shortly. RPG Lit is all about following fictional characters through a (hopefully) high-immersion, virtual reality ‘world,’ specifically a massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). In the last few years, I've become a big fan of this subgenre. My introduction to RPG Lit / GameLit / LitRPG was author J.A. Cipriano's World of Ruul series. Cipriano, a  New York Times  bestselling author, has written three insta...

This is an older article (dated July 5, 2007) pulled from EzineArticles.com for all those who may be interested in traveling to New Zealand to experience the sites and locations associated with Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings masterpiece. The article is written by Rene Smith.  **** The Lord of the Rings: Finding Middle Earth in New Zealand by Rene Smith The Lord of the Rings story has captured the imagination of millions of people around the world. New Zealand has been lucky enough to be involved in this global phenomena thanks to Peter Jackson's critically acclaimed Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. The wide-open spaces, diverse landscapes and spectacular scenery of New Zealand were the best place to film the movies, allowing New Zealanders to showcase their country and create a growing Lord of the Rings tourism industry. The Lord of the Rings back-story When J.R.R. Tolkien wrote the original Lord of the Rings novels between 1937 and 1949, he would have had no ...

This is a guest article taken from EzineArticles.com. It was written by Rob Parnell, a prolific author who not only entertains readers but teaches other authors how to write better and be more successful in their literary endeavors. Even though the article is several years old, it still contains useful tips. If any of you are interested in writing fantasy fiction, I believe you'll find Rob's article helpful. ******* How to Write Fantasy Fiction by Rob Parnell Most fantasy writers have been constructing their fantasy world since childhood. It grows with them; they add to it as they develop as writers until it's so real to them that writing about it feels effortless - even when they seem to have created a huge, sophisticated universe. But if you're new to the genre, where do you start? Many professional fantasy writers will joke about 'the formula' for good fantasy because it does exist and good fantasy authors still use it - not because they're laz...

Growing up, I was a huge Superman fan — just as I’ve long been a fan of science fiction, fantasy, and superheroes in general. So, when Smallville aired for the first time in 2001, I should’ve been glued to the TV. But…I wasn’t. For whatever reason, I ignored the series for years. And then, sometime in 2004 or 2005 (I can’t remember exactly when), I started renting DVDs from Season 1. (This was before online streaming took off). And I was hooked. I binge-watched my way through the first few seasons, finally catching up to where Smallville actually was. I’ve been a fan ever since. For those who may not know, Smallville was a TV series about Clark Kent before he became Superman. It starred Tom Welling and ran from 2001 until 2011. The series starts with Clark as a high school freshman and continues forward as he discovers, understands, and develops his abilities. It’s a great concept, though it requires some suspended disbelief to accept Tom Welling, at the time in his mid-twenties,...

On this 4th of July 2018, allow me to break from our traditional fantasy-oriented blog posts and book reviews and wish everyone a Happy Independence Day. Freedom in the United States of America is not a fantasy, thanks to the brilliant and courageous Founders who laid out the foundations of our great nation and the many veterans over the years who have defended it. Happy Birthday, America!

Stan Faryna is an author, blogger, gamer, entrepreneur, technology expert, and an online strategist. As an author, Stan has become known in the emerging sub-genre of gamelit or litrpg. His debut novella Francesco Augustine Bernadone: A Brief History of Tomorrows has been reviewed on this blog. His stories have drawn praise for their depth and thought-provoking nature. "His stories go deep," writes Yomar Lopez, founder of a community of techno-geeks called Geeky Antics. "Stan makes me think," writes a fan on Facebook. He does that in an immersive context of a dystopian world, life-like characters with vivid problems and pain, and Christian hope. A recurring theme across his writing is right out of the bible: Love never fails. Brian Tubbs (BT): Stan, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Stan Faryna (SF): Thank you for honoring me with your kind words and attention, Brian. BT: As Yomar Lopez says in his review, your stories go deep. Tell us abou...

Most of you know me as a Christian and as a pastor, but not all of you know that I'm a fan of fantasy and science fiction . You can blame my father for that. As I write this, we’re heading into Father’s Day Weekend 2018. And I’m thinking of my late father, Edward Tubbs. One of the many things we did as a father and son was come up with stories together and create our own games. We both loved history, science fiction, and fantasy. And I have many fond memories dreaming up various story ideas and making up our own games - and then playing them. In one particular game, we had medieval soldiers, castles, dragons, and wizards. I remember it well. We’d dream up the rules, play out our game to see if the rules worked, and tweak things as we went along. And on a least a couple occasions, when I’d start winning, Dad would want to change the rules. :-). My dad raised me to believe in God, love Jesus, and respect the Bible as God’s word. And it frankly irritates me that some Christia...

Apollos Thorne is the bestselling author of several LitRPG novels, including Codename: Freedom - Survive Week One , Codename: Freedom - The Goblin Siege , and Underwold: Level Up or Die . I had the privilege of interviewing Apollos at the time his first  Codename: Freedom title was released. This interview, conducted back in July 2017, is being republished on this blog for your reading pleasure. July 2017 Interview with Apollos Thorne, author of Codename: Freedom series Brian Tubbs (BT): “Your book Codename: Freedom – Survive Week One releases TODAY. I’m looking forward to reading it. It’s in the LitRPG genre. For the benefit of some of my blog readers, can you explain what LitRPG is all about?” Apollos Thorne (AT): Sure. That is probably the hardest question to answer that I get asked all the time. Tron is a good example. The main character is sucked into a digital world. Although a lot of authors use virtual reality because it’s becoming more and more of a reality. Th...

Adam Horne’s Unwritten Rules is a fantasy LitRPG novel available on Amazon Kindle (free if you have Kindle Unlimited). Last year, I read the book and wrote a review (published originally on a different blog - recently republished here ). And I reached out to the author with a few questions, and he was kind to get right back to me. With his permission, I’m posting the interview below. BT: I really enjoyed  Unwritten Rules . How did you discover the LitRPG genre and what made you decide to write in it? AH: I read Ready Player One . And by read, I mean I put it on my Amazon wishlist, ignored it for 3 years, then rediscovered it and wished I’d picked it up when I first saw it. From there it wasn’t hard to find links to similar books, and I tried several different series, including The Land , Awaken Online , Caverns and Creatures , and some translations of the Russian books. I’d played RPGs, both tabletop and video games, for over 20 years, and I’d also just finished writing my ...