Tag Archives: Carroll

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Review – The Pariah by Philip ‘Norvaljoe’ Carroll (Podcast)

pariah I’ve known Philip for a long time. He’s a good writer and we worked together on a number of projects. He has a solid sense of story. When I saw that he was putting out a new podcast and supporting it via Patreon I knew it would be something worth checking out. It’s still in production. Usually I wait until a story is finished but I thought I’d help boost the signal. This review covers the first 8 episodes.

Synopsis: The kingdom of The Highlands has been peaceful for many centuries and has developed great wealth in that time. Her neighbor nations saw the country’s riches and grew jealous, plotting to take some for themselves.
Keo Noshahne new from a very young age that he was destined to do great things. He knew he would be one of the country’s special empathic creature handlers. He was unaware of his destiny to save the kingdom and possibly the entire world. Though, in doing so he must become The Pariah.

Production: The audio quality is sound. Not a lot of bells and whistles.

Grade: B

Cast: Philip does this as a dramatic reading. His talents as a reader are strong. He injects the story and characters with personality and energy.

Grade: B+

Story: This is a low fantasy universe that reminds me quite a bit of Ravenwood by Nathan Lowell. It’s not a YA fantasy per se, though that may be the target audience. I think it, like most YA, is easily accessible by a wider audience. The characters, even by this point in the story, are already developing and changing. There’s a lot of potential for growth. This feels like a fairly traditional “chosen one” kind of story line. The promise of the premise is that he will somehow become an outcast. We haven’t hit that part of the story yet, so I’ll be interested to see how that plays out. The pacing is a little on the slow side, giving the audience a chance to get to know the main characters and to develop the world. There’s a lot of potential here and I look forward to each new episode as it comes out.

Grade: A-

Verdict: I really think this is a podcast you should give a listen to. If you like low fantasy or are looking for new YA/MG stories, I highly recommend it.

Grade: A

Podcast Page
Amazon Page
Patreon Page

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It’s An HNoR (Part Two)

iPOS6 It’s time for another Head Nod of Respect (see the first one here). These are people whose works I enjoy, and who deserve to be helped along down the path.

Doc Coleman – Doc and I have been friends and collaborators for a while. He’s a very good writer, a great voice actor, and an all around cool frood.

Gus Grappin – I met Gus at Balticon last year. Between the podcast I’ve linked to and the voice acting Gus has contributed to my stories, this is a person whose talent deserve Clint’s approving gaze.

Philip ‘Norvaljoe’ Carroll – We were cohorts at Flying Island Press, so I’ve been long aware of his love of story and ability to tell a good one. He’s got a podcast novel that he’s putting out over at his site and at Patreon. Seriously, you need to check out his stuff.

Nuchtchas – A geek goddess, she’s a podcaster and visual artist. I love her personality and the courage she has to push herself to greater achievements. She’s also a fantastic supporter of her fellow creators and a great encourager.

Jennifer Melzer – Jenny and I have known each other for years. I can’t do nearly enough to say how awesome she is. She’s an editor and writer. She’s funny, wicked, and sharp as a katana. You should check out her books, and if you need someone to read your words she’s one of the three I’d recommend.

Sue Baiman – My editor is Sue. This is a thing I’m proud of. She’s made both Ginnie Dare books better (coming soon to online retailers!). She’s unafraid to lay things on the line. Passionate and driven to help authors be better at their craft, if you hire her you won’t be sorry. She’s also a very talented poet.

I hope to give more head nods down the line. Please feel free to give your own in the comments and provide links!

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Dead Ends – New Horror Anthology

DeadEnds-002-sm In a week I’ll be releasing a brand new horror anthology. It will contain the following stories:

“In The Deep Dark” by Justin R. Macumber – A sinister power is overtaking men at the bottom of a West Virginia coal mine.
“Morning Dew” by Edward Lorn – A golden liquid surrounds a boy’s treehouse and its taste for human flesh is standing between the boys and safety.
“Power In The Blood” by Scott Roche – Reggie discovers that his thirst for blood can give him strength, but may cost him his soul.
“Getting Even” by Philip Carroll -The wealthy and reclusive Mr. Scott Hasbrook must pay for his sins of greed and murder.
“Breakers” by Paul E. Cooley – People known as “Breakers” remove the broken ‘cogs’ from society’s machinery as ruthlessly as possible.
“Breakup” by JR Murdock – Ruby wants to leave her boyfriend Victor, but he wants eternity or nothing.
“Blister” by Jake Bible – Going to the doctor early is a good idea, particularly if your affliction makes you a happy little psycopath.

The release date for this e-book is 7/26/13. All proceeds for the books sales will be donated to the Office of Letters and Light. If you’re interested in an ARC for review, a full size image of the cover or any more information, leave a comment or email me at scott@scottroche.com.