Dan Koboldt

Koboldt, Dan, editor. Putting the Fact in Fantasy: Expert Advice to Bring Authenticity to Your Fantasy Writing. Foreword by Scott Lynch. Writer’s Digest Books, 2022.
Putting the Fact in Fantasy is a collection of short pieces by writers with knowledge in areas related to the sort of world-building encountered by most fantasy writers. There are articles on history, with an emphasis on life and society in the Middle Ages. A section on archeology contains a fascinating piece on linguistics and show more translation. Translating an ancient language is not as easy as it looks in the movies. There are pieces on ecology and one on warfare and weapons that will give you respect for the humble knife as a weapon. An article on horsemanship by Amy Perkins-McKenna, also tells fantasy novelists not to get their images of horses from the movies, because movies often use the wrong types of horses for the jobs at hand. Horse gender matters, she says, because stallions are much harder to control than mares and geldings. The mantra among riders is “tell a gelding, ask a mare, and negotiate with a stallion.” I do not intend to write a fantasy epic, but the advice offered by Koboldt and company will make me a more knowledgeable reader. 4 stars. show less

Ah, what a fun, light fantasy read! Rogue Retrieval offers a delightful twist on the classic portal fantasy: a stage magician from modern day Earth is recruited to assist a corporation on their forays through a hole into a real-life fantasy world with magic. One of the heads of the operation has gone rogue, escaping into the other world, and he needs to be retrieved before he introduces dangerous technology and ideas to the other world. Mayhem ensues, of course. It's a fast read--a show more frolic--and feels like a wonderful set up for a series. My one gripe is that it felt like some vital information was held back for the sake of plot... but the book also manages to work in some brilliant Journey and He-Man jokes, so I won't complain too loudly. show less

I have to say, I had mixed emotions about starting this one. I don't know where my head was at when I read the description, but I wasn't expecting what I got - and I loved it!

Quinn Bradley is a Vegas magician with dreams of headlining on the strip. His personality and charm, sleight of hand, and innovative illusions have finally attracted some head hunters, but they've also caught the attention of a large and powerful corporation who want to use it for their own. All his best options show more blocked, Quinn agrees to sign the non-disclosure agreement (against the advice of a mysterious stranger) and finds himself thrown into a whole new world.

Alissia exists through a portal on an island controlled by CASE Global. It's like a medieval, pristine earth over there - except that there's magic, and a whole host of flora and fauna the likes of which earth has never seen. The mission for the crew Quinn is on is to retrieve Dr. Holt, an research employee that's gone rogue, but Holt isn't making things easy. Pursued by beasts and thugs, the team's military training and field research help keep them safe. Quinn's razzle-dazzle can also give them an edge -- as long as he doesn't get caught by the enclave of Magicians who would kill him for impersonating a true Alissian Magician.

This novel is full of adventure, an incredibly believable alternate world, and magic. I laughed so much (quoting Journey lyrics to convince guards he's a monk? :D ), and followed the story eagerly to see what's next. I'm so pleased there are sequels scheduled, because this story left on a kind of major cliffhanger. Quinn's time with Alissia is not done, and I'm eager to see where it all goes.

I'm so glad I took the dive into this story, and I would whole-heartedly recommend it. show less

This collection of essays about the current state of science is a well written assortment of warnings about factual errors that you might otherwise insert into your Sci-Fi. Space ships should not have windows. Bugs can’t be too big or gravity will squish them for you. Aliens likely see the world differently than humans, literally. So how would their x-ray vision affect their society? Many of the articles encourage the reader to ask the experts about details, and give contacts and sources. show more Of course, you can’t throw out all the good stuff like faster than light travel, or you would have a very different genre, but be selective. The most disturbing truth I noticed was that most, if not all, the high-tech breakthroughs and advanced technology are group efforts. Victor Frankenstein may have worked alone, but it’s not done that way anymore. Heroes probably have to be cogs in the machine rather than Captains of their own Nautilus. show less