Last-Minute Holiday Shopping

It's weird if I give copies of my books for the holidays, but if you do it it's awesome.

Prince of Wolves is an a mystery & horror novel full of savage werewolves, decadent nobles, and evil cultists.

Master of Devils is an action & intrigue novel full of martial monks, wicked sorcerers, and magical spirits.

You can read free short stories of the heroes of the novels in "The Lost Pathfinder," "A Lesson in Taxonomy,"* or "A Passage to Absalom." You can also buy an ePub version of these stories and more for a few bucks.

And if you simply must get me something, a glowing review at Amazon or Paizo is the perfect gift.

* Don't read this one first.

Pathfinder Tales on iTunes

I should mention more often that the Pathfinder Tales novels are available via iTunes. If you prefer Kindle, I understand it's a cinch to translate the files to that format.

Here is as good a place as any to start, especially if you like gothic mysteries. Or perhaps you would prefer something more Asian-influenced? Of course, you could always start at the beginning.

All of the Pathfinder Tales novels and many of the Pathfinder Journals and web fiction are available via iTunes. Check 'em out.

John Carter of Mars

The second trailer for Disney's John Carter has made me cautiously optimistic about the upcoming film. The cast list alone is reassuring.

The trailer also reminds me of the criticism of James Cameron's Avatar, which positions a human hero as savior of a (superficially) savage indigenous population. Perhaps I'm sensitive to this issue since a few readers leveled it against Master of Devils. I can't deny that's a reasonable take-away even though I, as an earnest fan of wuxia films, saw it differently while writing the book. All I need to do to emphasize with those critics is to remember my negative reaction to Tom Cruise's role in The Last Samurai.

It occurred to me while watching John Carter leap tall monsters in a single bound, that his situation (and to a lesser extent Jake Sully's) is the same as that of Kal-El of Krypton. The difference is that Superman is the alien, and all humans are the benighted natives.

Usually the inversion of a cliché bores me, but this one seems useful in examining what we find objectionable about the outsider as hero. It raises hackles when that outsider comes from the dominant demographic. Yet except for his Kryptonian powers, Kal-El is the epitome of a straight male European hero (unless you agree that he's more of a benign golem).

Is the only difference then that the natives are the local majority "us" rather than the local minority "them"? That feels like it might be the crux of the issue.

I don't have any answers to suggest, but I'm curious as to your thoughts.