Spinward Fringe and a New Tattoo.

I bit the bullet. I was so taken with the kodama tattoo idea that I went ahead and did it. Here's the result:

I'm really happy with it and think it's very very cute. This one hurt a lot more than my previous one. There were points when I was very glad I was lying down. The after care is a bit more awkward with this one as well. I had some funny incidents today at work when I was sat with my trouser leg rolled up and various people walked into the office. I can't say that the placement of the little guy was my idea. It came from an image I saw on Google so all credit goes to whoever put that up. Yay!

I wanted to write a little bit today about a series of books that I've been reading for about a year. They're called Spinward Fringe (there's a blogspot here) and are written by an author going by the name of Randolph Lalonde. If that's his actual name then I am seriously impressed. The books are all available for a very low price on most e-readers and some of them are available in print but cost a lot more. The first three books are free as the collection "Origins". The series then goes on as Broadcasts 1,2,3... up to 6. The books are in sub-trilogies as well. I'm currently (very eagerly) waiting on Broadcast 7 which wraps up the Rogue Element Trilogy. The interesting thing about this series is that they have been pretty much only published off the author's own back. And they have been consistently on the sci-fi top-sellers list on Amazon.

As books they are seriously addictive. I gobbled them up as quickly as I could when I first read them. The plot whisks you along quickly from book to book and before you know it you're at the end waiting for the next book. Like I've been for the last year. The characters are engaging and well written, with a strong leader in Jonas Valent and enough love interests and character interaction to keep everyone happy. The baddies are bad and the goodies are ultimately good but not without a few moral wobbles along the way. The sci-fi aspect is pretty standard with bits and pieces inspired from various other movies, TV series etc etc. But in a good way, they're not copied, they're just made use of in the background to enhance the action.

I think the thing I really enjoy about this series is the normality of parts of it. There are some lovely stretches of the books where the crew is training or building up a new ship. These are the bits that get glossed over in series or films. But because they're books, we get to see all the day to day stuff; where the characters sleep, how they work together, how they relax together. I miss these scenes in TV series and films. It's almost as if these bits are fanfic of the main story. We get to see couples yelling at each other, making mistakes and living. The characters aren't perfect heroes and they don't always behave how the stereotypical characters in some shows or films do. They feel very real to me and I love them for that. I love Ayan's intelligence, I relish all the fights between Stephanie and Frost and the build up of Laura and Jason's relationship. There are some HUGE twists as well. You are always kept guessing.

This series proves what can be done when someone is truly talented but maybe hasn't quite been found by the big publishers yet. The rise of e-readers has something to do with it. The internet a lot to do with it. But it's wonderful none the less. Some of the production value is lost yes, but the fact that the author can keep writing these books is fantastic. It would take a lot for me to stop reading them, even the occasional spelling and formatting error haven't put me off.

The books are easy to read and follow. There are a few big issues raised but they don't quite hit you in the face like in some other sci-fi series. They're there if you go looking; corporate greed, what counts as human and the question of artificial intelligences, but you don't need to think about them if all you're looking for is a good story. And a good story it is.