I met Mr. Caskabel yesterday. He’s like me, working on both the Greek and English markets (USA). He’s also helping out budding authors in Athens, running a printing press, so many things.
This is his book series, Drakon. It has been praised by everyone I know, so check it out. It is bloody, dirty, sexy, powerful. If you liked Game of Thrones, you’ll like this too. If you are squeamish, hoo boy, click away now.
“A quick-paced, exhilarating story that, after only the first volume, is already epic.” — Kirkus Reviews
“If you like dark fantasy, this is a fantastic installment.”
“Fast-paced and full of action, but it is the first-person narrative that makes it so powerful.”
“No magic or strange creatures, just people brainwashed by powerful stories full of symbolism and dark beauty.”
“The first in a new high fantasy series, Caskabel introduces us to his protagonist (Da-Ren) through the grueling and cruel coming of age gauntlet called The Sieve that will lead him to find his place in the culture. Caskabel has built an elaborate mythology and religion that he skilfully weaves into his story as we watch Da-Ren survive.”
“This book took me to a place that was dark, mysterious and new.”
“A haunting, captivating book that immerses you in its lyricism only to drown you in its barbarism a couple of pages later.”
“The Hunger Games and Maze Runner meets Genghis Khan.”
“DRAKON travels you to a magic world of bravery, treachery, and love. The book does not just create a new universe of characters and norms: it also takes you there.”
The novel Slow Up has a lot of things going on. While knowing these is not a necessity in enjoying the story, a deep background in the possible technologies and techniques involved will make it a much better read.
10. Rapid Serial Visual Representation
Can you read it?
It’s a speed-reading trick where text is parced into single point. Some speed readers like it, others do not.
9. Most of the IT Scenes Are Inspired by my Own Job at Wind Telecommunications HQ
Most of the tickets came in at a frantic pace, just like in the novel.
The scenes have nothing to do with real persons and situations. But the feeling of an uphill battle, that Sisyphean task of fixing hundreds of computers every day is there in Galene’s job.
8. For More on Nootropics, Check Out Reddit
Nootropics are real and have measurable effects. If you want to try them out, consult an expert. There is a lot of info online, but don’t push yourself too hard. Again, consult a doctor, not the marketing brochure.
Nothing is like the movie Limitless of course, that was a magic pill with insane powers. Real nootropics help you focus, help with creativity, memory.
7. Polyphasic Sleep is Real But You Should Take it Slow
Going directly at Uberman will most probably make you a zombieman.
We’ve all heard about geniuses who simply skipped sleep like Leonardo Da Vinci. That is not actually possible, of course, they only took short naps, powernaps as they call them now, to help their brain recharge.
My opinion is that getting good sleep is more important that gaining a few drowsy hours. I’ve seen that sleep deprivation cuts down on creative thinking. And there are serious medical risks involved.
The logical next step in athletic events is to have augmented races. Some augmentations actually give an advantage over other athletes, like in swimming. Especially with world-powers sending out troops at stupid wars and having young veterans come back disabled all the time, the day where augmentations are common-place is today.
The Cybathlon is not quite an Olympic-level event yet. But it showcases what can be done, and it won’t be long before augmented athletes can compete side-by-side with regular ones, like Pistorius did in the Summer Olympics of 2012. Yes, we know what he did afterwards, that’s not the point.
You can watch the scene mentioned by Gregoris in the novel, where the winner shows unprecedented evgenis amilla (fair game spirit) and swaps out his number with Oscar’s so he can be the winner:
5. Humans With Amplified Intelligence Could Be More Powerful Than AI
Frankly, a merge of mind and machine where a trained user can hook up and amplify his intelligence for short amounts of time is what we consider most plausible.
Another archetype of this is the Mentat from Dune. Human Computers that crave information and can help with decisions.
Wacky hair is a must
From David Lynch’s Dune, we got the Mentat Mantra (It’s not from the Frank Herbert novels but fits so well it got adopted instantly):
It is by will alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the juice of sapho that thoughts acquire speed, the lips acquire stains, the stains become a warning. It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.
It looks adorable. The real-live version, not so much.
External wombs are being researched and seem to work just fine. There are many real medical conditions where external wombs would be suitable. Of course, that opens up a can of worms, since humans could be raised from prime genetic material without people knowing. It’s almost like a dystopian sci-fi story.
Slow Up is Available to Read Now
Limitless meets Black Mirror in this novel that pushes the limits of a couple’s minds.
When Galene meets a man who’s only goal in life is to make his mind go faster, she ends up falling for him. But will she manage to keep the relationship going at the top of the glass tower, when in reality she’s too much of a slob and is bogged down with all her unfinished goals, when their age difference becomes too much of a problem, and when his work places them in the sights of an unforgiving huntress?
Do you want to know what’s next for the computer geek Galene? Do you wanna meet Artemis? Then read this bittersweet story in a world where thinking too swiftly can get you killed.
When your corporate overlord tells you to post something, you post it. We got an email basically saying, promote this, or else. We don’t really wanna know how many delivery drones will fall on our heads if we don’t comply.
We have no affiliation with either Mr. Fry or the publisher.
I simply waited for this retelling for so long. If you can’t remember where you know Stephen Fry from, it’s from the Harry Potter audiobooks. Or the dozen shows on BBC.
Intelligent, witty, provocative, I simply love most of his work. And with this book, he definitely takes the scepter of Mythographer of the Year.
What? What about Neil Gaiman and his Norse Mythology? Who fucking cares?
We actually prefer that you buy from the major retailers, cause that gets the algorithms rolling. But for various reasons we have the same stories available on our site.
In the future, we will offer variant covers that will not be available on any retailer.
Regarding Kindle Unlimited titles: We are experimenting with KU distribution. That, called Kindle Select, has an exclusivity clause that prevents us from even selling on our own site. Only Amazon stores are allowed. We generally don’t like that but as soon as the titles shift out of select we will update the products here.
We now accept cryptocurrency. Complete your checkout as normal, and you can choose from Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum or Monero. Send us an email at [email protected] after sending payment to verify the transaction and get your files.
Win 52 Sci-Fi & Fantasy paperbacks. Escape to another world for an entire year and enjoy this whopping collection of novels, from classics and bestsellers to new reads.
The giveaway starts at Nov 1 and ends at Jan 31. Sign up for a chance to win one of these epic reads:
The Human Division, by John Scalzi. Mother frickin awesome. I suggested that one, just read it. Fall in love with the B team.
Robert Jordan. Meh, TLDR.
Michael Crichton. Should be a good thriller.
Star Wars. If you’re into the EU.
The Book of Lost Tales. J.R.R. Tolkien. Posthumous publication. It’s worth being on your shelf. Not really dying for it, but I’d want to rifle through it’s pages. Sniff them. My preciousss.
Good Omens. Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Quite good. Falls flat at the climax, though. Will be made into a series starring David Tennant. Read it before it premieres. For hipsterism.
Limitless meets Black Mirror in this novel that pushes the limits of a couple’s minds.
When Galene meets a man who’s only goal in life is to make his mind go faster, she ends up falling for him. But will she manage to keep the relationship going at the top of the glass tower, when in reality she’s too much of a slob and is bogged down with all her unfinished goals, when their age difference becomes too much of a problem, and when his work places them in the sights of an unforgiving huntress?
Do you want to know what’s next for the computer geek Galene? Do you wanna meet Artemis? Then read this bittersweet story in a world where thinking too swiftly can get you killed.
You can start reading the ebook right now on Amazon and get a discount at $2.99 (from $4.99)
This story is in the same series of Crying Over Spilt Light, our divisive but unforgettable story with an android Muse.
While it doesn’t contain the same characters or situations, it’s in the same world and there’s another Muse from the same corporation that meddles with things. We playfully call this series “Hire a Muse.” So this is book 2.
Now available on Amazon, we give you the chance to get a copy at a discount. Cause we love you. Click the buttons and tell your friends.
We don’t actually celebrate Halloween here in Greece. But, in a clear case of culture seepage from Hollywood, we do have Halloween parties!
Tap to accept the mask
Even though we don’t actually have a festival of the dead, the roots of such celebrations are from the ancient Anthesteria, which was a 3-day festival honouring Dionysos. On the third day, the Feast of Pots, cooked meat and fruit were left outside for the souls of the dead. No one dared touched them, they weren’t for the living. And when the day ended, they called out loud for the spirits to begone, that the Anthesteria was over.
In modern times, the only thing close to trick or treating is kids going for Christmas Carols. And we dress up in our Carnival, or Mardi Gras, which is another Dionysian leftover. People dress up in either silly or scary costumes during that celebration.
So yeah, we don’t actually have Halloween but there has been cultural cross-pollination, and we do have scary events and parties on October 31st. Any excuse for a party, really.
But the trick or treating is left to the ghosts.
Here’s a short story set in the God Complex Universe. It takes place on Halloween night, at a party, in Athens.
Wear the mask. It will come off in the morning
When a young man from a village comes to the big city to study, he finds himself overwhelmed by the urban lifestyle. But will he manage to blend in by going to a Halloween party, when his crush asks him to help decorate the place, when the abandoned villa becomes all too spooky for him and when the illusory masks everyone wears seem to never come off?
There’s a project out there, that is quite interesting. Future Fiction translates sci-fi stories from selected authors around the world and makes them available in English (And Italian, apparently).
The one I want to point out to you is the one containing two excellent shorts by my mentor, Michalis Manolios. Mentor is a strong word when you’ve had as many beers together as we’ve had, but it’s accurate. I think it was 2010, maybe 2009 when he read my stories, pushed me forward and told me I could do this, and do it well. I was fascinated with fantasy back then, but my true calling has been science fiction apparently. I shifted towards sci-fi and I honed my craft every year. The results seem to be good, as shown by reader reactions and sales numbers.
So, Michalis has two of his best short stories translated into English. They are not my favourite but they are definitely good. The stories in that Greek collection are pretty mindblowing, and these two fit the bill. Aethra and Quantum Mommy.
The rest of the volumes are either a single novella or two short stories from authors around the world. It’s a shame that we don’t have access to these stories, and that’s what I like about Future Fiction, they bring these unreachable gems to English, thus making them available to us. Some authors you’ve never heard of, naturally, others are quite well known in their countries.
Everything in the collection has the feel of old-school sci-fi, like the books I have in my bookcase. The covers, the stories, the atmosphere is a way to go back to that time when science fiction showed us what was possible instead of just shoving dystopian warnings at us. Which I’m guilty of, obviously.
