A Bucket Full Of Randomness
Online Serial Fiction
. What other online serials are out there?
Doc Savage Winner
Congrats to Glenn. I’m sending him the Doc Savage novel “The Annihilist.” After reading it, Glenn will no longer be satisfied by second-rate action heroes (like Jason Bourne, James Bond, Batman…), although I hope he keeps reading Oasis anyway.
Red Alert
In random news, somewhere between half and three-quarters of all my spam is now coming to me in Russian.
I’m Losing My Fingernail
I shmooshed it while changing a tire for a friend. Now it’s all black and starting to come off. Just thought you should know.
Oasis In Paperback
I’ve been asked by several people if I’m going to attempt to get Oasis published. The answer is yes. I am currently planning to do a few edits after I’ve finished and then self-publish via lulu.com or somewhere similar. Unless somebody mysteriously offers some great publishing deal between here and there. (My definition of great publishing deal = pretty much anything)
Halloween
My wife, daughter, and I went to two Halloween parties over the weekend. My wife used to work in a costume shop for a theater, and I’m just a nerd, so we spent a lot of time on our costumes this year. Maybe if you’re lucky, I’ll put up pictures of our costumes her in a couple of days.
Amusing Spam
My wife got an amusing piece of spam the other day. This is what it said:
Three houses in your neighborhood have had high amounts of spiritual activity. Our instruments show strange energy radiating directly from your home.
Please dont wait until it is too late!
***Scum-sucking spammer url deleted here***
Click Here to find out if your house is Haunted.
For some reason I just thought that was funny.
Oasis: Chapter 29
[note: Yes, I changed my mind on the chapter name. At least, I pushed it off till next week. It's my story, and I can do that. If this is your first time hearing about Oasis, you'd do well to go back and start with Chapter 1.]
First Aid
Max’s body flopped around as the garden cart bounced along the old pavement.
I just kept on running. If he didn’t have a concussion before, this’ll certainly do the trick.
The cart hit a particularly hard bump as we entered the parking lot.
Max groaned again.
I was relieved to see that there weren’t any deads waiting between me and the warehouse. I ran for the stairs leading to the door we had exited and slowed the cart so it wouldn’t slam into the wall. I looked back to see how much time I had.
Fifty, maybe sixty deads clogged the road, all making their grim march directly for me.
I scanned for the closest group and guessed I had a maximum of one minute to get inside.
I stopped the cart, ran up the stairs and pounded three times on the door.
Almost before the third knock, the door flew open.
I didn’t bother to (more…)
Doc Savage Rules
I just finished “The Annihalist.” It’s a Doc Savage novel originally printed in the 30′s. The copy I have is a reprint, published in the 60′s.
Before I go any further, let me just say one thing; They sure don’t write ‘em like they used to.
Honestly, this book was awesome in more ways than I can count.
There’s no possible way that it could be mistaken for “Literature,” but that doesn’t matter. It is pulp, pure and simple. And its a lot of fun. Reading it made me feel a lot better about some of the absurdities that creep their way into Oasis. More on that later.
If you are not familiar with Doc Savage, let me introduce you. First, think of the manliest man you have ever seen, heard, or read about. Now, multiply that by Chuck Norris. That’s Doc Savage.
Seriously, he’s a better detective than Sherlock Holmes, in better shape than Batman, he’s sneakier than The Shadow, he’s a world class chemist, surgeon, martial artist, engineer, rock climber and besides all that, his skin and hair are in perfect shades of bronze. You won’t forget that if you ever read a Doc Savage book, because the book will remind you pretty much constantly. (The bronze giant entered the room completely silently… The metallic man punched left and right, beating the snot out of the two largest henchmen… (This is actually better than I make it sound.))
At one point, a man just watching Doc work out breaks out in a sweat, due to the power of suggestion inherent in the intensity of the exercises.
And if that weren’t enough total pulpy goodness, as it ends up, Doc is above the law. That’s right, when Doc Savage catches bad guys, he doesn’t send them to the police. They are shipped to his private rehabilitation center called the “crime college”(guarded by remote control machine gun nests).
It gets even better.
Doc has discovered the cause of crime.
You ready for it?
In your (and everybody’s) brain there is a crime gland. Oh yeah. A crime gland. And when the crime gland is broken, you lose the natural inhibitions that would normally stop you from committing crimes. By the way, one of the things that happens at the crime college is every patient is given a surgery (without their consent- he’s above the law, remember?) that fixes the crime gland.
In “The Annihilist,” someone has figured out a way to kill using the crime gland. Rather, they’ve created something that, when the crime gland gets excited, causes your eyes to pop out and you die. And the police think it’s Doc Savage who’s doing it. Awesomeness ensues.
The bottom line is this: it may very well be hokey, pulpy, campy, totally impossible and cheesy, but it is a whole lot of fun.
Good luck finding your own copy, though. I bought mine (along with a bunch of other Doc Savage books) at a local used bookstore for $0.75 each. You might be able to get it at Amazon – The Annihilist (Doc Savage #31).
Or, I have a sweeter deal for you. Because I want Doc’s greatness to live on, I’m willing to send my copy of “The Annihilist” to one of you, free of charge. If you’re interested, leave a comment and tell me why I should send it to you. As soon as somebody gives me a good enough reason, I’ll send it off. If nobody wants it, that’s OK, too. It will simply return to its hallowed place upon my bookshelf.
Oasis: Chapter 28
[note: If this is your first experience with Oasis, you should go back and start with Chapter 1.]
The Gauntlet
Working in the ER I had treated at least ten serious victims of their own stupidity. I had just never been present for the injury itself.
I guess there’s a first time for everything.
The propane tank exploded, but not in a ball of flame.
The bullet didn’t make enough of a spark to ignite the contents. It did, however, make a small hole in the the front and tore a gaping hole in the back.
The propane inside exploded outward in a furious burst of pressure.
I heard a great pop and a whooshing sound and the tank leapt from the ground.
It slammed into the leg of the dead walking nearest to it.
The leg flew from the ground and the body was lifted and spun about by the force.
The collision with the dead was just enough to redirect the hurtling propane tank in our direction.
My instinct was to (more…)
Oasis: Chapter 27
[note: If you’re new to Oasis, you should probably start with Chapter 1: The Last Shift]
Fire To The Fuel
The shot was much louder than I had expected.
My ears rang, but I could still hear the shot echoing down the streets.
Another shot, loud and echoing.
The knot in my stomach tightened. That was too loud. It probably sounded like a dinner bell to deads six blocks away. We have to hurry. I stole a glance behind me.
Max was examining the dead man in the street, rifle at the ready.
I hurried on.
The shops to the left and right had broken windows and smashed doors. Either infection or looting had torn everything apart. The street was in ruins.
I knew in my gut things were about (more…)
Oasis: Chapter 26
[If you're new to Oasis, you should probably start with Chapter 1: The Last Shift. In other news, it looks like I've settled on how the header pictures for the chapters should work. Also, If you haven't seen the Oasis page recently, you should go check out the doodle I did of Corbin with a baseball bat.]
Fuel To The Fire
It was plenty hot inside the warehouse by now. As a bonus, the morning’s arguments had dropped off into lazy napping and sitting around.
Carl was having another meeting with the family leaders.
As I approached the door, I could see them arguing through the big window.
I knocked on the door and stepped into the room. “You looking for me?”
They all turned their heads and stared at me. It was even hotter in the office than in the main room, and no one looked particularly pleased to be there. My arrival didn’t seem to make any of them any happier.
It felt like I was on trial.
Carl stood. “Don’t bother sitting, you won’t be long.”
I straightened and looked around at the various upset faces. “So, what can I do for you?”
Carl stared at me a moment before speaking. “Everybody under this roof has proven themselves both useful and faithful.”
My first urge was to (more…)
Ghost Hunters
If you’re in the mood for a ghost story, (and it is October, so you should be) go check out Ghost Hunters, by DarcKnyt.
It’s a serial, like Oasis (although different genre) and as of this writing has 17 chapters.
One sentence synopsis:
Three friends become entangled by supernatural happenings in an old mansion with a bloody past.
Go check it out.
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