New Blog Announcement & Pat Pitches Future Fiction & The Dark Stars Trilogy

Hello Star Tugs,

I hope you are all doing well.

Today I would like to announce my new blog: The Occasional Express. Since my train article posts were super popular, I decided to try out another blog. My reasoning behind this is:

A) Trains aren't a big interest of all my readers, so to best serve my audience, I've split up my posts so that people don't have to wait too long for posts they are interested in.

B) I'm in an Entrepreneur class this semester, which inspired me to take a risk. Who knows how successful it will be? I won't unless I try.

Now I should note the reason why it's called the Occasional Express. Tuggin' & Trammin' Blogging will still be my main blog and will have more updates than Occasional Express. Another point I should make is that if I'm talking abut a writing project which includes trains, it will stay here.

That's all for the Occasional Express, if you're interested you can find the blog here: https://theoccasionalexpress.blogspot.com

I also have a Social Media page set up on Facebook for The Occasional Express, which you can find here: www.facebook.com/groups/445304499527314/?ref=group_header

Pat Pitches

All right, let's get to the main topic of the post. Today, I want to delve into a topic I've been meaning to discuss for a while, but haven't had the time to. This will probably be a lot shorter than my History of Yankee Girl post, as this' me sharing my opinion on what I've been reading, what I'm gonna read. (Shout out to my Weekly Wackadoos/Weekly Planet Podcast fans who get that reference).

Unrelated note, this' my first blog post written on my "new" computer. (I switched from one Windows 10 to another one that was less used, so put that on your trivia quiz!)

Today on Pat Pitches, where I pitch a thing I've read, seen, etc., I will be discussing two science fiction books. These are Future Fiction and the Dark Stars Trilogy.

DISCLAIMER: There will be some minor spoilers for both, read at your own risk. Or go read the books, then come back here.


All right, let's get to it!

Future Fiction 

Future Fiction: New Dimensions in International Science Fiction is an anthology collaboration between Bill Campbell's Rosarium Publishing, famous for their anthology Mothership: Tales from Afrofuturism & Beyond, and Italian publisher Francesco Verso.

The stories in Future Fiction are mostly written by International Writers, and provides readers a look into fiction from other countries. They deal with Global superpowers (America is mentioned a lot in the stories, and not always in a good light, which gives American readers such as myself a look at how our country is perceived in other countries).

Future Fiction includes stories which deal with artificial intelligence, weather control, media consumption, people with mutant powers to pull life from people and to give it, and.... VR Panda Sex. (That last one is more complicated, basically: scientists use a VR controlled panda robot to teach Pandas in captivity how to have sex).

I need to mention that it's been a while since I read Future Fiction, which was the original sole subject of this post. But that Panda VR Sex...... it's stuck with me folks, I can't get it out of my mind!!

Jokes aside, I really enjoyed all of the stories in Future Fiction. Each felt different from the last, and they all kept my attention. Not only that, each short story in Future Fiction develops its world quickly and very entertainingly. They all feel like they could be the first chapter or expanded into a full on novel, which I would love to see.

Future Fiction also gives international writers a boost. Bill Campbell helped to translate several of the stories into English, to expand their readership. If you want to read stories by more international writers, than give Future Fiction a read. I'll leave the link for it on Amazon here:

www.amazon.com/Future-Fiction-Dimensions-International-Science/dp/0998705918

All right, let's go to the next book!

The Dark Stars (Book 1): Crystalline Space

The Dark Stars trilogy is written by A. K. Duboff, and follows a group of civilians living in a galactic government, where worlds can be reset using an ancient crystal system. However, when a darkness begins to corrupt the crystals, the civilians are saved from limbo and reprinted with more advanced bodies that allow them to use magic and the magical artifacts needed to save the galaxy.

The Dark Stars trilogy is written in the 1st person perspective of Elle, a young woman who wanted to become a Space Ranger, but accidentally got an injury that stopped her. Elle is a very relatable character who is a lot of fun to follow. She's bold and willing to do whatever it takes to save her home world and family from being trapped in an eternal limbo.

The Dark Stars trilogy has 4 main characters, known as the Dark Sentinels: Elle, Kaiden, a cool boy magician who reminds me of Alucard from Castlevania, Toran, the giant brawler with a gentle soul, and.... Maris, another magician.

Maris is added later into the book, and is personally my least favorite character. She complains a lot and comes off as annoying, and only reluctantly helps the others. However, she does grow a bit, and towards the end is less annoying.

I really like the world building that Ms. Duboff does in book 1. There's a good mix of fantasy, video game and sci fi elements. The Dark Sentinels all feel like character types you would see in a Dungeons & Dragons game, you have the magicians (Kaiden and Maris), the brawler (Toran) and skilled fighter (Elle).

The series feels like it has influence from The Matrix, because the characters quickly develop fighting skills once they're given their new bodies.

I also find the idea of (again, minor spoiler) the Dark Sentinels' new bodies being printed. I'm not sure why, the visual idea of that, perhaps inspired by The 5th Element, sounds really cool to me, that's the stuff I want to see in Science Fiction.

I'm currently reading Book 2, A Light in the Dark, after a small break in between Book 1. I definitely recommend you give the entire trilogy a read. I'll leave the Amazon link below.

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HHCHQYZ/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i7

You can also find A. K. Duboff on twitter here: https://twitter.com/AmyDuBoff so go give her a follow on there.

Okay, so since writing this blog post out initially, I've been reading more of A Light in the Dark.....and I'm almost finished. Wow!!

A. K. Duboff's writing is so smooth and inviting that it's hard to stop reading, which is definitely a testament to Ms. Duboff's skill. I wouldn't be surprised if I finish the book before this' published. (I did).

Book 2 also takes a lot more risks and halfway through completely changes the game and the plot. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'm not even going to hint at what the book does. You need to read this for yourself.


All right, that's all for me today. Have you read either of these books? What're your thoughts? Let me know here on Blogger or on Twitter, my username is @ConductorPat. Thank you for checking out my blog and my blog series Pat Pitches. I hope you enjoyed both.

Thanks for reading. Remember to Keep Writing and I'll see you on the Tramway!