Michael Talks Briefly about Wild Stars

Kickstarter will go live on March 7th

Movie Review – The Convent [Run Phee / Senior]

So, my girlfriend picked up The Convent [Run Phee/Senior] on DVD from the library recently, and we just now had a chance to watch it.

I think that there was a really good supernatural murder mystery flick here buried under the worst commercially released dub I’ve ever encountered. Remember the episode of Bob’s Burgers where they dub the Hawk & Chick movie? It’s worse than that.

Not only that, the DVD release did not contain the original Thai audio with subtitles. Imagine releasing an Asian horror movie on DVD in the Year of Our Lord 2022 without original audio and subs!

Anyway, the murder mystery is actually really cool:

• A Thai princess has been murdered
• There’s a will that’s been tampered with by her doctor and her lawyer [both men are married]
• The doctor is having an affair with the princess; the lawyer is having an affair with his secretary
• The princess is intensely jealous of the doctor’s wife
• There’s a little girl who is adopted by the princess as a “niece” who should have been the heir and disappears a few years after what turns out to be three murders all within a short span of time

So, an orphan girl living at a convent school who can “smell” ghosts is approached by a the ghost of a young man who is related to the old groundskeeper who he claims was framed for the murder and executed by firing squad. He wants her help solving the murder so his relative’s ghost can rest in peace; of course, he was also murdered for investigating the mystery, so solving it would also free his spirit.

Some of the effects are pretty cheesy, but the story–particularly the complex and tragic mystery of the princess’s death and disappearance of the young girl she adopted–is actually pretty brilliant. But it’s just so marred by the trashfire english dub that scenes that would’ve otherwise had some real emotional weight are absolutely ruined.

If you can tolerate the bad dub, I think it’s still worth it to watch this. It was easily one of the most interesting Asian horror stories I’ve come across in recent years, never wallowing or at least relishing certain levels of incomprehensibility, and it didn’t pull any weird dumb twist at the end that would undermine the success of the protagonist as so many horror movies [regardless of country of origin] enjoy tacking on after the denouement.

Anyway….

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New Designs in the Cirsova Merch Store

New Designs available at the Cirsova Tee Public Merch Store. Right now, these designs are as much as 35% off [Only $13 for a Tee Shirt!]. If you need another way to support Cirsova Publishing, check out our merch!

https://www.teepublic.com/user/cirsova

What’s Cirsova Reading?

I’ve been trying to do a lot more reading lately, to get through my giant stack of unread books. A big part of why is that I inherited my dad’s gigantic library of history books, and I have nowhere to put all of them, so I’ve been trying to read them as quickly as possible and then give them away to friends and followers to make room for more boxes of books. If you want a chance to get your hands on the books I’m giving away, be sure to follow us on twitter [twitter.com/cirsova], where I regularly raffle off the books I finish.

The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant

This has been a fantastic read. I’m about half-way through. I don’t think I’ve ever read a clearer narrative by a soldier and commanding officer of his campaigns. Even if it were only the first 100 pages covering the Mexican War, this would be a priceless account.

While extremely detailed, it serves to give the reader vivid and precise accounts of the action rather than bog the reader down.

Grant’s deference in his prose to the various commanders under him and over him is delightful–the frank portrait of Zachary Taylor as a commander in the Mexican War, his friendship with and deep admiration for Sherman, his frustration with Halleck as his superior and McClernard as his subordinate, are all laid out from a Grant who is focused principally on the facts of events, generous with praise for men who did their duty’s well and reluctant to disparage those deserving beyond stating what occurred in the course of things.

Lorena – Frank G. Slaughter

I’ve taken a quick break from Grant at roughly the half-way point [Chickamauga & the relief of Burnside in Knoxville] to read a period romance from Frank G. Slaughter. I really enjoyed his Phoenician romantic adventure, The Purple Quest, and have been meaning to read more of his books. I grabbed this and read the first four chapters while my GF was shopping at the Goodwill, and so far, it has not disappointed.

A brilliant young woman from the East coast has married a southern officer who is the heir to a massive plantation. The officer turns out to be a total wastrel and scoundrel; his father, the old county judge, realizes this and, before his death, teaches Lorena the ins and outs of the business of running a plantation.

Fast forward to mid-to-late in the Civil War: Lorena has managed to keep things running and profitable after the Judge’s death and while her husband is fighting in the war, though her methods are rather unorthodox for a Southern Lady [among other things, she has made a black her bookkeeper!] Her husband thinks himself a Rebel Hero and looks down on his wife; if he ever gets back and in charge, he’ll run the place into the ground. On the other hand, when the North inevitably wins the war, will Lorena be able to hold things together? She is well-loved and respected by the blacks on her plantation, including some who would be willing to stay on with her after the liberation–but if her rotten no-good husband has anything to say about it, he’ll drive them all to ruination.

Redfox

Okay, this is just a for funsies thing on the side [and no, I’m not raffling these off]. Redfox is a British indie sword & sorcery comic from the 80s. It’s been amusing and pretty fun so far. Redfox is looking for treasure in dungeon, but it turns out that the treasure is bogus and the rumors existed so that at some point someone would come and revive a wizard from a healing torpor he placed himself in.

The wizard DOES reward Redfox, offering to teach her magic; while she’s an apt student, however, magic ultimately disagrees with her barbarian nature.

While the art isn’t amazing, the story has been pretty engaging. It’s a little shlocky and gaggy the way a lot of indie comics tend to be, but it’s not so much so that it detracts from the enjoyment.

So far, I think my favorite character is Whitefox… After Redfox leaves the wizard, the wizard becomes despondent and fixated. He ultimately creates a clone of Redfox who he makes his new apprentice. She is powerful and brilliant but like the other living magical creations of the wizard, she struggles with her identity [it has very strong Dying Earth vibes.] You just want to give her a hug.

Anyway…

We’re going to be taking pre-orders soon for Michael Tierney’s Wild Stars V: The Artomique Paradigm on Kickstarter! Please sign up for notification!

We’ll also begin serializing Wild Stars VI: Orphan of the Shadowy Moon in our Spring issue that will be out March 15th!

Also, I was sick with the flu, so I didn’t get to properly advertise that the retail edition of Absolute Evil & A Goth From Boston is now available on Amazon!

Cirsova Contributor Caroline Furlong on Superversive SF Podcast

Coming Soon: The Artomique Paradigm Collected Edition

Be sure to sign up for notification for our Kickstarter!

75,000 years ago, an immortal being from another universe, known only as the Ancient Warrior, led mankind on an exodus to the stars in the face of a massive alien invasion. While the branch of humanity remaining behind survived the Marzanti attempt to terraform earth into a paradise for aquatic alien nightmares, their cousins settled in the distant reaches of space known as the Wild Stars. 

The Artomique Paradigm takes place at the first formal reunion of Earth and their Wild Stars cousins. Erlik, the son of the Ancient Warrior,  and former President Bully Bravo hope that a summit between the myriad factions now populating space will bridge gaps and build trust throughout the galaxy. However, the Artomique Corporation aims to become one of the dominant players in Earth and interstellar politics using the stolen Wild Star technology they acquired in the late 20th Century. For them, this meeting is an opportunity to solidify Artomique Earth’s dominance over the stars and implement the Artomique Paradigm.

A secret alliance between the Artomique Corporation and space pirates led by the notorious Red Queen threatens to turn the balance of power in the galaxy upside down!

The Artomique Paradigm is the 5th installment in Michael Tierney’s Wild Stars series. The previous four volumes, The Book of Circles, Force Majeure, Time Warmageddon, and Wild Star Rising are available now from Cirsova Publishing, or you can pick up the 35th Anniversary Omnibus that collects all four in a single hardcover.

Quick Update: Absolute Evil & A Goth From Boston Out Now!

We’ll have a major Wild Stars announcement, accompanied with a Kickstarter page, soon, but right now I wanted to let everyone know I’m alive, I’ve just been out with the flu for two weeks.

Advertisements in the Spring issue are closed, but we’re still taking ads for the Summer and beyond.

Absolute Evil & A Goth From Boston is now available on Amazon in ebook and trade paperback. If you missed the kickstarter, you can still pick this up.