Trapped on Draconica now available as a paperback!

Hi guys. Some great news for Pandragon Publishing! Their breakthrough novel, Trapped on Draconica is now available as a paperback novel!

After trail runs with other print companies, we have now printed Trapped on Draconica in a brilliant paperback novel - complete with shiny cover! Those of you who were unable to download the book on Kindle can now have your very own copy.

Currently available through Createspace store, but will appear on Amazon shortly Please see the link below and purchase your copy:

Createspace Store

Speaking of downloads, you can also view the latest chapter of the free ebook series The Quellers, whereby their story takes a dark turn.

The Quellers - Chapter 2

More updates to follow. Exciting times ahead!

Don't forget to check out the Pandragon website for all the info on the other projects currently going on.

Pandragon Publishing Website

Thanks

Pandragon

Pandragon Publishing Announces it's brand new set of short stories

For those of you who have purchased or downloaded a copy of Trapped on Draconica, thank you very much. And to those who have reviewed it, thank you as well.

Today, Pandragon Publishing announces a new title within the Draconica world - The Quellers. Available now through Smashwords.

The Quellers tells the story of two sibling warriors turned bounty hunters, Dylan and Alix. Formerly of the supernatural society called The Quellers, this story follows both brother and sister as they struggle to make do with their new lives. Alix is happy with her new life, but Dylan is unable to cope with the fact that he now works as a petty hunter. And he can't let go of the pain that he once felt.

Little do they realise that both of them will soon be called up for a mission that could have an effect on the whole of Draconica.

This is the first episode in a series of short story chapters, designed to show a little more of the world of Draconica. It's currently available through Smashwords as an ebook and will be updated almost weekly. Best thing about this is the cost... absolutely free!

That's right, each chapter you read will be free to download and read at your leisure (you lucky people!). Each story ends with an exciting cliffhanger that will make you want to come back to the next chapter.

For full details, check out the first chapter of The Quellers. Link below:

The Quellers Chapter 1

And hey, while you're there, why not check out Trapped on Draconica, also available through Smashwords.

Trapped on Draconica

Keep watching the blog for future updates.

All the best

Pandragon

Pandragon Publishing First Impressions - Dexter Season 5

WARNING: For those of you who haven’t seen Seasons 1-4 of this excellent series please be aware, this review will contain MAJOR SPOILERS. If you don’t want to ruin the surprise, please see those seasons first before reading this review.

On that note, let’s dive right into Season 5 of...

Dexter has been a show I’ve been following closely since its first viewing in the UK. As a character, Dexter is one of the most interesting anti-heroes in TV culture. For one thing, he’s a serial killer – but he only kills villains, living by a strict moral code. Another, he claims to be a monster, devoid of emotions – but as the series progresses, he realises that he DOES have emotions and he CAN live amongst society if he tries hard enough – or can he?

And that’s the moral dilemma with Dexter, despite the rather cruel and wicked ways he brutally murders people, he’s played with so much vulnerability that you actually come to like him as a character. I want him to settle down and have a normal life – but as we’ve seen in previous instalments, Dexter’s dark path always comes back to bite him in the ass and stick the middle finger in his attempts at normality.

Before I get into the opening episode (which I recently caught up with on FX), let’s recap what happened. Dexter was married to Rita and they had a baby called Harrison. Dexter was struggling with family life, while at the same time keeping his dark secret to those whom he loves. The target of this series was a serial killer called the Trinity Killer – who, in my opinion, was one of the greatest TV villains ever and played amazingly by John Lithgow (who in turn won both a Golden Globe and an Emmy). To explain why I think he was so great would take far too long – just watch the series and decide for yourself.

Anyway, during the run of the series, Dexter sees the Trinity Killer (real name Arthur Mitchell) as a kind of role model as he also has a family and is a killer – but manages to keep both sides of his personality away from the people he loves. Naturally, as the series progresses, things go a bit Pete Tong and Dexter realises what a monster he is. So, come the final series, Dexter kills Trinity and he returns home to his wife Rita... only to find that she’s brutally murdered and left in a pool of her own blood!

Seriously, this is one of the most shocking moments in TV history and it still chills me to the bone. The way I describe it doesn’t do it justice – watch the series finale and you’ll realise how shocking it is!

Series 5 picks up where this left off, with Dexter now distraught over his wife’s death. After series 4 ended, I figured that Dexter would now be infuriated at his loss, thus leading him on a self-destructive path where he embraces his dark side.

Amazingly though, this is not how the show goes. Dexter is emotionally distant from everyone, a combination of inner guilt, combined with his lack of basic human emotion, makes him an empty shell of a man – unable to truly grieve for Rita. There’s even a really heartwrenching scene where he has to tell Aster and Cody (Rita’s kids) that their mother is dead and all he can say is “sorry for your loss”, which is what he picked up from when he visits the undertaker (no, not the wrestler!) and he is impressed that the undertaker can say this and show emotion, yet not really give a toss.

It’s this strange turmoil in Dexter that really is the focus of the show. The fact that he has so many conflicting feelings, but is unable to show them, is a testament to Michael C Hall’s brilliant acting ability and the skill to make such a dark character sympathetic. Soon, Dexter realises that if he stays his poison will affect everyone he loves... even his son. Therefore, he makes the choice to run away and leave his life behind. Does he stay gone for good? Without giving too much away, it wouldn’t be much of a series if the main character left in the first episode.

What’s really good about this episode is that we are intercut with scenes of when he first meets Rita on their first date, whilst at the same time hunting a new criminal. It’s quite sad to know that, even back then, his line of work conflicted with his relationship with Rita and he begins to realise how much of an impact his line of work has affected those he loves without him trying to. And for, once, Harry isn’t on hand to help him out, leaving Dexter to face his demons alone.

Overall, this was a very sombre episode, dealing with Dexter’s grief and making choices that would ultimately affect those he cares for. Unlike usual season openers, it didn’t introduce the new villain or even have any murders other than Rita, but that wasn’t what this show was about. It was a tribute to a character that was a very important figure in his life. She showed him a human side that Dexter didn’t realise he had – and paid the price for it. Now she’s gone, we are left wondering, how will this affect Dexter? Will he go on a murderous rampage, or try and maintain the last few pieces of humanity he still has?

Well, judging by trailers for the next episode, Dexter will be tested. With the FBI on his trail, having found new evidence that he was at Arthur Mitchell’s house, and Quinn now on Dexter’s case, his world could be about to unravel. Is this foreshadowing the end of Dexter?

SUMMARY

For those new to Dexter, I recommend you watch a few series first to get an idea of what’s going on (or at the very least Season 4 so that you get an idea what’s going on). This episode does really depend on you watching the previous ones so you get an idea of what’s going on. However if, like me, you have been watching Dexter from the word go, you will find this both a sad – but intriguing start to the season. It’s not about who the villain is this time, but rather where Dexter is going to go from here now that the love of his life is gone; and whether he can stop the monster inside him from poisoning anyone else in his life. I, for one, will be watching this series to see what happens very closely.

Regards

Pandragon

Trapped on Draconica Now Availlable through Whatever Comics

Exciting news indeed! Canterbury based comic company Whatever Comics is now stocking paperback copies of Trapped on Draconica for a limited period. Those of you based in the Kent area will now have a chance to own your very own copy of Trapped on Draconica in paperback form.

For more information about Whatever Comics, or to enquire about available copies please visit their website on:

Whatever Comics Website


Or their Facebook:

Whatever Comics Facebook

Have a good weekend guys

Pandragon

First Thoughts: Reynard City

Since I started using Twitter to make people aware of Pandragon Publishing, and the books that have been put out through it, I have met a lot of fellow writers/creators of projects who I enjoy talking to and sharing stories with. Recently, I had the pleasure of becoming a sponsor of Reynard City, an online comic.

Reynard City is the brain child of Will Turner, whose story tells of three superpowered foxes fighting for their lives on their homeworld of Animal Kingdom. Fighting for their lives against the villainous Mega Fox (a villain so badass that even Megatron would cover before him), the start of the story throws you right into the action and doesn’t let up; until the foxes (and Mega Fox himself) find themselves teleported in Reynard City, amongst the humans.

Split up from each other and constantly hunted by their enemies, the team take on human personalities and now have to juggle double lives as both humans and crime fighters.

However, Reynard City is a lot more than your traditional superhero comic. The three fox characters have difficulty adapting to their new lives and their problems are evident. The comic tackles some issues rarely seen in a lot of modern comics – such as Wondervixen’s weight disorder problem, or AK’s girl allergy to caramel. The characters have enough faults so to avoid them being Mary-Sue’s and do come across as more layered than most other superheroes.

The artwork is done by a collection of different artists, each adding their own spin to the project. This means that every issue is a surprise as you never get the same art style twice. The artwork ranges from colourful images that you would get in Marvel Comics, to gritty black and white, reminisant of Frank Millers Sin City. Whilst this can sometimes be a little jarring and occasionally the art style makes it a little hard to see what’s going on, it none the less adds a different element to the piece and it’s a great opportunity for these artists to demonstrate their abilities.

All in all Reynard City is a comic that I can enjoy. It has characters that have interesting complexities in the same way that the characters in Alan Moore’s Watchmen had, but also a wide variety of artwork from fresh new talent and a story that you’re never too sure where it is going to go, but you’ll keep reading just to find out. Will Turner has a great imagination and talent for storytelling – as do the rest of the creative team. Let’s hope that Marvel and DC pick them up in the future as I would be most interested in seeing these guys go far.

You can check out Reynard City at this website:

Reynard City

Pandragon

First Thoughts: Camelot

Hi guys, welcome to a new section of my blog where I check out the latest tv shows with a fantasy/sci fi theme. I did something similar to Game of Thrones when it first came out, so thought that I would make this a regular occurance with new shows coming out. And here's my first one, where I look at the newest program from Starz Entertainment - Camelot.

(It's only a model)

(Shh)

I think it’s fair to say the story of King Arthur is one of histories most endearing legends, told and remade more times than the Star Wars series. And seeing as Fantasy shows seem to be in the in thing right now, what with the major popularity of Games of Thrones, it seemed natural that someone should have another attempt at one of histories most told legends.

(NOTE: I am aware that Camelot came out BEFORE Game of Thrones in the states, but Camelot has only just come over to the UK so for all intents and purposes, Game of Thrones came first)

And so we have the latest telling in the Arthurian legend, produced by Starz Entertainment, who gave us such family friendly delights as Spartacus: Blood and Boobs... er, I mean Sand! So expect a lot of kid friendly action, with little to no nudity or blood. Hold on, let me just turn off my sarcasm button.

As an interesting side note, the executive producer of the show is Chris Chibnall, who is most famous for his work on shows like Life on Mars, Doctor Who and Torchwood. Surely we must be in good hands, you would think? Well, I saw the opening two episodes last night so here’s my view.

So anyway, the story basically follows young Arthur (played by Jamie Campbell Bower), illegitimate son of Uther Pendragon, who at the beginning is poisoned by his daughter Morgan (played by a smoking hot Eva Green. Having been separated from his real mother as a child, and given to a foster family, Arthur is now contacted by Merlin (played by a surprisingly bland Joseph Fiennes) to take his rightful heir as king and... well, you get the idea.

 

Now, you think that as this was done by Starz Entertainment, it would be chock full of sex, blood and nudity. But surprisingly, it’s quite restrained and unlike Spartacus, it’s not shoved in your face as much. So those of you expecting a sexy romp every five minutes may be left slightly disappointed.

 

The biggest challenge I found in watching this was trying not to make any Monthy Python and the Holy Grail references. Especially when they arrive at Camelot itself (you know the scene I mean!). But that’s not the biggest problem I found. For a show that was supposed to be ‘Adult’, it felt little more than a glorified kids show. The dialogue is clichéd beyond belief, the acting is substandard at best and you can clearly see the twists a mile off! And the problem is that it takes itself so seriously as well, even though the dialogue is so cheesy it may as well be a cheese factory!

 

Now, onto the roles. Jamie Campbell Bower as Arthur, to be honest, just bland and uninteresting. The actor clearly doesn’t look comfortable in the role and, even when he’s trying to sound hard, his voice is just too weak to carry any weight. I know that this is Arthur at the beginning of his life, so he has to show some weakness – but they could have a much stronger actor to carry this off. As it stands, he’s only slightly more interesting that the boy that played Anakin in the Phantom Menace.

 

Next, we have Merlin. Whilst I do like Joseph Fiennes, in this he is just dull. Whilst I like the idea that they’ve gone from a different look to Merlin than the usual bearded wizard archtype, Fiennes just doesn’t give any real performance to his character. He has one expression for everything and, to be honest, this version of Merlin is just a prick! He took Arthur away as a boy, now he takes him away from his otherwise idyllic life and puts him directly in harms way without him giving him any say whatsoever. Also, everytime Arthur tries to ask him a question, he just respondes “you must do this! It is destiny!”. Try to imagine Yoda mixed with Gunnery Sergeant Hartman and you may get an idea as to what I’m talking about.

 

The only two role worth mentioning are James Purefoy as King Lot and Eva Green as Morgan. The writers have gone out of their way to make King Lot as big an asshole as possible (such as when he was asked how his parents died and he just says ‘I killed them’), but Purefoy plays him with such charisma and charm that I found myself cheering on for him! Green is pretty good as Morgan and has potential to be a really good Femme Fatale villainess, but these first two episodes, other than killing her father, she doesn’t really do anything other than whine and, occasionally, get her baps out. Hopefully she’ll be given more to do as the story goes on.

 

The one thing I will say for the story is that it doesn’t have any of that stupid slow down/speed up that Spartacus had. Indeed, we get close up shots with flashing images to make it hard to see what’s going on. The fight scenes, for the most part, are pretty well choreographed. I’m hoping for some big battles later on.

 

Now, after seeing these first two episodes, I did actually do some research and it looks like this show has got some pretty positive feedback, so I’m going to give this show the benefit of the doubt and see how it goes from here. However, as it stands, this show is going to need to do a lot to gain my interest.

 

SUMMARY:

Bland characters and clichéd storylines make this more like a kids program with nudity and some swearing. I wouldn’t even go so far to call it a guilty pleasure like I would with Spartacus, at least that didn’t take itself too seriously and was over the top enough so that it had some enjoyment. This one though, does take itself seriously, and for the terrible dialogue, it does make you wonder how the writers thought this would sound good. For all the hype, I came away somewhat disappointed. I just hope the later episodes are good, as if it carries on like this, I may lose interest before it reaches the halfway mark.

 

If you want a good Fantasy series, with strong story and characters, I recommend Game of Thrones. As far as this goes, I say let's not go to Camelot... it is a silly place.

 

Pandragon

 

 

Camelot and Monty Python is Copyright of their respected owners.

No infringment is intended and the images above used only for reviewing purposes..

Pandragon Publishing teams with Reynard City

Hey guys

Pandragon Publishing has recently become a partner with Reynard City - an awesome online Comic book series that one reviewer describes as "the Fantastic Mr Fox with superpowers!" We would like to thank Reynard City for giving us this opportunity to work with them and wish them every possible success.

You can find out more information about the comic on this website

Reynard City

Thanks

Pandragon

Print copies of Trapped on Draconica ordered today!

Hey guys, sorry for the late update, been a hectic few days!

Today I ordered a load of print copies of Trapped on Draconica and am currently in negotiations with local book shops to sell them. Watch this space! Prices of the book to follow.

As with the ebook, a portion of the book will go towards the Red Cross to give aid for Japan. It may be a few months on from the disaster, but the people still need our aid and we must do what we can to help.

Hopefully this will go someway to assist. Have a great week guys.

Kindest

Pandragon