My review of Milton Davis' novel From Here To Timbuktu. A really impressive tale!

 From Here To Timbuktu is a 217 page steam-funk novel by Milton Davis, which is set in an alternate timeline, and was released as a e-novel in March of 2015. Steam-funk is a variation of the steam-punk genre, with many of the same trappings that one would expect, told mainly from an African and African-American point of view. Here's a short interview with the author, over at YouTube, where he explains the genre more fully. As someone who has been reading (and enjoying the hell out of) the steam-punk genre, along with adventure fiction and pulp/New Pulp fiction for quite some time, the one thing lacking in my enjoyment of these genres has been a lack of strong, well-written heroes/heroines of color (with some notable exceptions). Milton Davis' novel admirably fills this gap, with a burst of full-on action, detailed/engaging characters and settings, along with an organic and fluid style of narrative that invariably draws the reader deep into his fictional universe.


Set in an alternate timeline, in the year of 1870, the young country of Freedonia is preparing to celebrate its bicentennial. The Haitian Revolt of 1791-1804 has succeeded far beyond its participant's greatest hopes, and after spreading to America, Freedonia is founded in its wake. Deacon Ezekiel Culpepper is one of the residents of this young country, trying to settle down and lead a normal life, but he never seems to be able to escape the blood-and-fire of his past life as a soldier. While he attends church during the day, he surreptitiously works as a bounty-hunter to makes ends meet, lacking any real desire to operate the family farm that was left to him. The skills that he learned as a soldier serve him far better in his secondary profession, and he wholeheartedly admits to himself that he will never be able to run a fully functioning farm on his own, nor does he want to...


Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Famara Keita labors to complete his task. A horro (Soninke for Warrior) from the kingdom of Mali, Famara has been given the duty of recovering an ancient book that was stolen from the Elders of his people. The book contains technological secrets that are far beyond the current capabilities of the nations of the world, and it would be an absolute disaster if it fell into the wrong hands. After seeking the book for over two years, his quest is close to an end, if he can manage to overcome the forces of the greedy and murderous El Tellak, leader of the Ihaggaren people. El Tellak seeks to sell the book to the newly formed Prussian empire, adding another adversary to the list of those that the horro must overcome, but the most deadly one is still to come... El Tellak's sister, Menna, a deadly assassin and a bitter rival of her brother for the leadership of their people. The various factions are in place, the prize has been revealed, and all will soon come together in a thrilling, globe-trotting adventure, as our two heroes and their allies combine forces to preserve the world as they know it...


With this release, Milton Davis crafts a detailed, many-faceted world, and populates it with interesting and relatable characters, along with some truly loathsome villains that revel in their actions. A world which inexorably draws the reader into its mythos, and absolutely begs for an expansion of the setting and characters, with future entries in this setting being an absolute must have. The dialogue is natural and free-flowing, the core personalities of the characters well-defined, and the background settings are vividly rendered. The action sequences are equally sharp and detailed, never becoming muddled or confusing around the edges of the scene, and usually don't call for too much of a suspension of disbelief. After being introduced to the characters, and reading about their capabilities and individual skill-sets, you come to believe that they are fully capable of pulling off their various exploits. The story is streamlined and fast-moving, with the 217 page novel racing by, largely due to the author's accessible style of writing. Really good stuff...


I'll briefly respond to some of the negative points that I've seen online, regarding this release. Yes, it does have some typos that could have been cleaned up by a full-time editor, and no, it doesn't detract from the reading experience, at least as far as I go. I noticed them, here and there, and kept reading. They weren't egregious enough to affect my appreciation of the story, and I quickly moved past them. This is a small press, so just move on down the line, and appreciate a well-told story. There has also been some talk about the nature of the end-game, and how it plays out. While not being a confidante of the author, or aware of his mindset, I'll put forth a theory. One, the two warriors are absolutely death-on-wheels, so the final events take place as they should. Two, this is a classic setup for a sequel, as some things happen off-camera (if you'll allow me to mix metaphors), and other events only add to the apparent certainty of a sequel. So stop complaining, my friends, and keep your fingers crossed for a series set in this world, with these characters. If you won't, I will...


To sum up my thoughts on this release, Davis has crafted a wonderfully engaging tale of adventure, populated by characters that are fully-formed, lovingly rendered, and sadly missing from a large swath of published genre fiction. With an intricately-detailed setting, a history that is rife for future expansion, and a knack for creating characters that are both relatable, and easily assimilated into the reader's psyche, this is recommended reading. All told, it's one of my favorite stories that I've read in quite some time. Do yourself a favor and check it out...


Here's where you can get the Kindle edition of the story. Here's the publisher's FB page, where you can find more quality stories. And here's the publisher's website. With that said, I'll sign off... As usual, happy reading, all!

Interview with author Darrell Pitt! I must say I'm mighty chuffed... Take a look.

I'd like to say that I'm really excited to publish an Email interview that I had with Darrell Pitt! Author of "The Steampunk Detective" and "Diary of a Teenage Superhero", Darrell graciously took some time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions I had for him. Thanks Darrell, much appreciated! With that said here's the interview...

1.) What authors/works influenced you in your younger days? More specifically, which of these do you credit with motivating you as a reader, and later, as an author?

Stephen King was an early influence. You can’t beat his first books – The Shining, The Stand, Carrie etc. He really is ‘The King’.

Richard Matheson was another strong influence. I loved his work on ‘The Twilight Zone’, and in movies like ‘Duel’, his short story collections and novels such as ‘The Incredible Shrinking Man’ and ‘I am Legend’. He wrote a very particular style of story – the single protagonist against the world, and I think my own work reflects that.

Later, I became a big fan of comic books such as ‘The Dark Knight’ and ‘Watchmen’. I’m so glad that the comic medium is receiving the respect it has so long deserved. It’s a much underrated art form.

  (2.)  Do any of these overtly influence your personal writing style?

Interestingly, some of my earliest reading was an old series called ‘Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators’. These were a boy’s series similar to the Hardy Boys, but far better written. I read and re-read these books as a boy. When I look at my current books, I can see ghostly reflections of that old series. Maybe children’s/YA authors really do relive their childhood through their writing...

  (3.) How long have you wanted to be a writer, and when did you decide that you were ready to publish your work?

Succeeding as an author is a long, difficult route. I wanted to be a writer from the age of twelve, but life got in the way. Life, and the fact that becoming a successful author is near impossible.  

I had written three books by the time I decided to self-publish ‘The Steampunk Detective’. My first unpublished novel was a pile of doggie-doo, the second was markedly better, but it still wasn’t quite right. When I finished writing ‘The Steampunk Detective’, I felt I had written something that was truly good. It read very much like something you would buy in a shop – and that’s a good sign.

  (4.) How was your experience e-publishing, and do you recommend that route to other aspiring authors?

Self-publishing gives authors a foot in the door they never previously had. They can work at building a career as a self-published author, or they can use the book sales to leverage a book deal with a traditional publisher. It’s opening up opportunities for writers and that’s a good thing.

Whether people choose to self-publish or not is up to them. There’s a lot of reasons why people write. Some just want to write their novel and put it out into the world. That’s fine. Others want to build a career. It’s completely up to the writer – which is a good thing.

  (5.) Out of your existing works, which is your favorite, and why?

I’ll always have a soft spot for ‘The Steampunk Detective’ as it was my first real novel. Having said that, I really love ‘Diary of a Teenage Superhero’. It’s a relentless action adventure story with a ‘high concept’ idea behind it. I’ve been contacted by two producers, interested in turning it into a movie, but nothing has eventuated yet. If you know Steven Spielberg, tell him about it! 

  (6.) Are there any genres that you have not yet written in, but would like to?

Probably crime. I think some of the best writing is happening in crime. There are too many good authors to list, but Australian writer Michael Robotham is excellent as is Henning Mankell and Lawrence Block, Harlen Coben...ah, like I say, there’s too many to list.

(7.) How smoothly does your personal writing process go? Is it fairly structured for you, or more random in nature? 

I’m a goal-oriented kind of guy. I need goals to operate by, otherwise I’d just stare at the ceiling all day. When writing a first draft, I set the goal of 2,000 words a day. When I’m editing, I set myself the task of twenty pages a day. I have a chapter by chapter breakdown that I follow, but I don’t have a lot of detail in each chapter. I usually know how it starts and how it ends – but I have to make up the stuff in between.

 (8.) "The Steampunk Detective" is getting a re-release as "The Firebird Mystery". Very hearty congratulations! Can you talk a bit about the story, release date, working with the publisher, and any other pertinent information you might wish to share?

I think steampunk is a great genre and I’ve always loved Sherlock Holmes. Bringing together those two ideas resulted in ‘The Steampunk Detective’.

Ignatius Doyle is a quirky detective looking for an assistant. Jack Mason is an orphaned boy who has grown up in a circus. They join together with Scarlet Bell to investigate a centuries-old mystery involving an organisation known as The Phoenix Society.

Since signing an 8 book publishing deal with Text Publishing, the book has been re-edited and expanded. It is being released as the first Jack Mason Adventure, a book called ‘The Firebird Mystery’ and it is due out on the 26th of February. The sequel, ‘The Secret Abyss’ is coming out in July with the third book scheduled for November, 2014. Here’s the link on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Firebird-Mystery-Mason-Adventure-ebook/dp/B00GW3H1P6/

My editor at Text Publishing has been Michael Heyward and I’m very fortunate to be working with such an experienced person. There’s a lot of excitement around the release of the book, so I’m looking forward to the big day!

 (9.) What are you working on currently, and what's a tentative schedule, if you can share?

I’m editing the second Jack Mason adventure at the moment and will shortly begin the edit of number three in the series.

In my spare time, I’m working on another book – but that’s a secret project. I expect to be working on the re-release of the Teen Superhero books in the next few months. Exciting times!

  (10.) In my opinion, your stories would translate very well into graphic novels/ comic series. Have you thought about this at all, and if the opportunity came up, would you be open to working in this medium?

I think comic book art is a wonderful merging of writing and art. I’d love to work with a good artist and publisher to produce some comic stories.

  (11.) A random question to round things out. If you could have any artist to do covers/interiors, who would it be? (I have really liked the artwork on your releases to date.)

Boy, that’s a good question! There are so many good artists out there! I like Frank Miller, Alex Ross and so many other comic artists. Then there are so many of those ‘old time’ artists like Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko who helped to invent the medium. There’s Bernie Wrightson, Will Eisner... okay, I’m out of control now.

I think the trick is to make the art work with the words. Sometimes good writing can be let down by poor art and visa versa. I think the two have to work hand-in-hand.

Thanks for the opportunity to answer your questions! It’s been a blast!

My review of Darrell Pitt's excellent "The Steampunk Detective".

Well, after re-reading "The Steampunk Detective" by Darrell Pitt, I've come to a couple of conclusions. Not only does the story stand up to repeat readings, it actually gets better, in my opinion. Various details and nuances came to my attention that made me appreciate Jack and Mr. Doyle's adventures even more. However, let me present an overview of the story before going further. The two main characters of the tale are Jack Mason, a sixteen year old orphan; and Mr. Ignatius Doyle, consulting detective. The setting is a steampunk version of Victorian England. Despite a rocky first meeting, Jack and Mr. Doyle gradually become true friends and partners. Engaged in a case to find Miss Scarlet Bell's missing father, the duo stumble upon a much greater plot that endangers the world itself. Up against Nazi's, a secret society, and the nefarious M, can the two save the day? Mr. Pitt takes some elements from a more established consulting detective, combines them with his own unique characters, and then turns them loose in his wonderful alternate history setting. Rest assured, this is not a homage or a pastiche. Mr. Pitt takes some inspiration from the world of Sherlock Holmes, but the story he tells here is both well-crafted and uniquely his own. The level of world building put into the setting and it's history is inspiring, and Mr. Pitt's prose is both fluid and highly cinematic. I could easily see this being adapted either into a graphic novel or on the big screen. The world really comes to life through the wonderful prose. The plot itself is seamless, and a grand adventure. Moving from more character-driven moments, to large scale action scenes, to moments more focused on Jack himself, the story behaves organically; nothing is superfluous, everything lends to character development and the advancement of the plot. The characters are well drawn, and as they journey, the journey changes them. They are not the same as they were before their adventure, and have grown considerably. Basically, the story is well written, and a joy to read. I'd like to thank the author, and I look forward to reading more of his wonderful adventures. I enthusiastically recommend "The Steampunk Detective" to anyone wishing to lose themselves in a grand adventure. 5 out of 5 stars.

Well, I finished reading Darrell Pitt's excellent book "The Steampunk Detective", which definitely holds up after repeated reading. Very cool story... I'll be posting my review sometime in the next couple of days, 5 star, of course. I've got a number of things to take care of this weekend, but I'll post it before Monday.

A few more thoughts as I am reading through Darrell Pitt's "Steampunk Detective"...

As much as I have enjoyed Darrell's "Steampunk Detective" the first few times I read through it, looking at the story with a critical eye has revealed a few things I had missed. Mainly that I really stand in awe of the way everything fits seamlessly together, and how the story moves from scene to scene without skipping a beat! Really, this is the definition of fluid storytelling. While having more than enough action to satisfy action/adventure junkies, Darrell really allows the story to grow organically. The characters learn and change with their new knowledge throughout, and react in ways that actual people would, as opposed to cardboard cutouts that are used to frame a story idea. The genuine world-building and attention to detail involving the setting's history is also superb. This is first and foremost a story that hinges on character development, and secondly on the many details that make a reader feel at home in the story's environs. Very well written, greatly appreciated, and I count myself lucky to have experienced this tale. Thankfully, I have it on good authority that sequels are in the works, and that this story is being rereleased as "The Firebird Mystery". With that, I'll get back to reading.

How the West was Weird: Campfire Tales 4 out of 5 Stars

How the West Was Weird: Campfire Tales is a very nice page-turner. It contains many elements from various genres that I love; westerns, pulp, adventure, and horror. Starting off with the rather excellent "Mr. Brass and the Crimson Skies of Kansas" proves to be a great choice; author Josh Reynolds absolutely knocks it out of the park with his highly entertaining story. With everything from cavorite powered airships ferrying President Teddy Roosevelt through the skies; to the acerbic verbal swordplay of one Samuel Clemens directed towards Dr. Henry Jekyll (yes, that Dr. Jekyll), every note of this story is spot-on, and aims to entertain. Mr. Brass, who stars in the story, was once human; however, he was remade into a clockwork automaton, and is now one of the Pinkertons involved with protecting the President, along with his partner Jimmy Rast. We have a Martian War mentioned, the Martian's attempted reforming of the state of Kansas into a similar condition as their home planet, and also, the Starry Wisdom cult apparently killing off presidents. Throw that in with Hanoi Xan, former right hand man of the Devil Doctor himself, and a nefarious plot by Dr. Frankenstein, and you have an extremely good adventure. Being a short story, there is not much time for character development, but the hints of emotion and tantalizing tidbits of the characters' history are very much appreciated. Suffice it to say, there is enough action included, and all-around coolness, in general, to satisfy a lover of great adventure tales. I had been hearing good things about the Mr. Brass character, and this was my introduction to him. Josh, and Mr. Brass, certainly lived up to all of that praise. I will be seeking out more by this author as soon as I can. Moving on to the second story, we have "Hell's Own" by Russ Anderson. After all the different characters and allusions to different historic events in the first story, the plot in this one is rather stream-lined and compact. Set in the Old West, we start with something strange falling from the sky in Newton County. Sherriff Gavin witnesses the sky-fall, and really thinks it nothing untoward. A meteor, or such-like, he thinks. Before you know it, we have zombie hordes amassing and converging on the Sherriff's one-horse town, ravening for flesh. I need to get this out of the way, and upfront. I have become a little bit tired of the whole zombie apocalypse scenario, mainly because it's just EVERYWHERE these days. Also, there are so many hacks out there churning out their insipid variations on the concept, that sometimes I feel like screaming. That said, this is a very well written piece of fiction, and I recommend it to fans of the two genres that it encapsulates, or to people who just like to read a terse, bare-bones horror tale. Russ does what a really good writer can do; write about something that's not really your cup of tea, and still draw you in with his execution of the idea. Thanks for the great story! Next up we have "The Tale of the Baron's Tribute" by Derrick Ferguson. The star of the show is Sebastian Red, vaunted sword-slinger, pistolero, and bounty hunter. Searching for some real bad hombres, Sebastian heads south of the border, hot on their trail. Coming across a friendly village of Iahnian farmers, he decides to take a little break, and quickly becomes close with the people. Sebastian and the headman Hu exchange stories, and he learns of the fact that they are soon to pay off their land with one last installment to Baron Orwell, the landowner. After an offer to accompany Hu and his men on their journey to the Baron's manse (which is refused good-naturedly by Hu), Sebastian continues on his journey. Tragedy and bedlam ensue. It seems that someone from Sebastian's past has been tracking him, and has jumped at the chance to draw him into a fight to the death. Will he win out against this shadowy enemy, and bring about justice? Or will he fall, as his past finally catches up with him? With everything from elements of Jonah Hex, to some of the qualities of Solomon Kane, Sebastian Red is an excellent character, who's further adventures I hope to read about in the future. You should also check out Dillon and Fortune McCall, written by Mr. Ferguson. Very good characters, and rousing story-lines. Moving on to the last story in this collection, we have "Gunmen of the Hollow Earth" by Joel Jenkins. Containing such luminaries of the Old West as Doc Holliday, Morgan Earp, Butch and Sundance, we have a tale of double crosses, triple crosses, and so on. After Doc, Morgan, and the true star of the story Crow (a Native American fighter), ambush Butch, Sundance, and the Wild Bunch, everything goes to hell. The first group is working within the law trying to apprehend the lawless Wild Bunch and their leaders. A bunch of banditos and hell-raisers stick to their trail, trying to steal the silver that was recovered by Crow's posse. Attempting to shake them, Crow and company ride lesser and lesser known trails... ending up in Doyle's Hollow Earth setting! Complete with Amazon warriors, and more action than you can shake a stick at, you have a suitably adventurous ending to the collection. The one thing I disliked, is there is not enough development of the personalities of the characters, other than Crow. Being that this seems to be an entry in a possible serial tale of the characters, this can be overlooked. All in all, a very fine collection of stories, that I enjoyed very much. I will be looking forward to reading more from the contributing authors.