tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39657826038002079702024-03-13T23:56:36.837-07:00The Culbin TrailI.J. Parnhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08933834936324859175noreply@blogger.comBlogger407125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965782603800207970.post-19033165238274996672019-01-30T04:43:00.000-08:002019-01-30T04:43:00.301-08:00Paperback version of Calhoun's Bounty now available<div style="text-align: center;">
<i></i> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Nf-4nMlY1fo/WztilWt0acI/AAAAAAAAFH0/tZYJ6zfq44EgM8ajx03u1D4-U0t_uM60ACLcBGAs/s1600/Calhoun.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="993" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Nf-4nMlY1fo/WztilWt0acI/AAAAAAAAFH0/tZYJ6zfq44EgM8ajx03u1D4-U0t_uM60ACLcBGAs/s320/Calhoun.png" width="198" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i></i> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>A bullet-ridden man staggered into Stonewall’s saloon clutching a gold bar and with his dying breath he named bounty hunter Denver Calhoun as his killer. Although the dead man turned out to be one of the bank-raiding Flynn gang, when the gold bar was offered as bounty on Denver’s head every man in town was on the hunt for him.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Denver himself had moved on to Bluff Creek where he joined a high stakes poker-game, and when the formerly impoverished Horace Turner wagered a gold bar, Denver reckoned the Flynns had to be behind the gold turning up in the hands of the most unlikely of people.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Despite all the guntoters on his trail, Denver vows to bring the Flynn gang to justice. But can he succeed now that the bounty hunter has become the hunted?</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em></em><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Available as a paperback and download from <a href="http://mybook.to/CalhounsBounty">amazon</a></div>
I.J. Parnhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08933834936324859175noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965782603800207970.post-22222537116977432792018-11-28T04:37:00.000-08:002018-11-28T04:37:04.133-08:00Paperback version of Bad Moon over Devil's Ridge now available<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r0qW6fcJH_U/WztgmPmGpQI/AAAAAAAAFHo/obMFPbNFgQYq-s8b_gtd57K0qLkQnk6EACLcBGAs/s1600/Bad_Moon.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="993" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r0qW6fcJH_U/WztgmPmGpQI/AAAAAAAAFHo/obMFPbNFgQYq-s8b_gtd57K0qLkQnk6EACLcBGAs/s320/Bad_Moon.png" width="198" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<em>When Sheriff Cassidy Yates rode into Eagle Heights he never expected he would be in jail by nightfall on an unfounded murder charge. Although Cassidy answered the charge, it was only at the cost of implicating his own wayward brother in both this murder and the kidnapping of the dead man’s widow. </em></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>Against an escalating conspiracy of fear operating in the town, Cassidy gains the help of a young newspaper correspondent in his quest to find the real killer and the kidnapped woman. But with gun-toting ranchers and numerous hired guns standing between Cassidy and justice, can he prove his brother’s innocence?</em> <br />
<br />
Available as a paperback and download from <a href="http://mybook.to/BadMoonOverDevilsRidge">amazon</a>.</div>
I.J. Parnhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08933834936324859175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965782603800207970.post-37251995172843744582018-09-26T05:39:00.000-07:002018-09-26T05:39:00.517-07:00The Mystery of Silver Falls in paperbackMy 2015 Black Horse Western in now available as a large print paperback.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VyZL2lXTzW4/WtCmzEGP4FI/AAAAAAAAE_k/wTRCnHoQwq0wDzXaa6_yrDqQSA1Fmv_VgCLcBGAs/s1600/Linford.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1085" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VyZL2lXTzW4/WtCmzEGP4FI/AAAAAAAAE_k/wTRCnHoQwq0wDzXaa6_yrDqQSA1Fmv_VgCLcBGAs/s320/Linford.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
<br />
I find this cover very entertaining. It's so uncompromisingly dull that I can't help but love it. Even better, this is my 27th Linford Western, and that's something of a landmark for a deeply sad git like me. I've enjoyed watching the list of titles on my 'By the same author' page grow steadily over the last fifteen years or so and the last book filled the page making me wonder what would happen for the next one. <br />
<br />
And now I know. I got a second page!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>The whole town turns out to watch the first train journey when the bridge at Silver Falls is completed, but the day turns sour when Kane Cresswell and his gang arrive. They raid the train and, in the ensuing chaos, $50,000 falls into the river, seemingly lost forever. Wyndham Shelford is determined to find the missing money, but when bodies start washing up, unconventional lawman Lloyd Drake arrives. He is convinced the train raid wasn't everything it seemed...</em></div>
I.J. Parnhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08933834936324859175noreply@blogger.com339tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965782603800207970.post-48247352772150384472018-08-29T04:19:00.000-07:002018-08-29T04:19:00.208-07:00The Secret of Devil's Canyon now available on Kindle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pQnIp4i9hEQ/Wi0m9GBqtoI/AAAAAAAAE9U/dXuIDUHblcU5o1EiHsavbbkR80kosFjHACLcBGAs/s1600/Devil%2527s_Canyonjpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
<em>The Secret of Devil's Canyon</em> is now available on Kindle. This was my 21st Black Horse Western and the 5th Nat McBain yarn. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1v12fTMGtPk/WztfGR2CqOI/AAAAAAAAFHc/HieNba1Z-VscjBbb3nVJFOF8ud86whb3ACLcBGAs/s1600/Devil%2527s_Canyonjpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1v12fTMGtPk/WztfGR2CqOI/AAAAAAAAFHc/HieNba1Z-VscjBbb3nVJFOF8ud86whb3ACLcBGAs/s320/Devil%2527s_Canyonjpg.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
This tale follows on directly from <em>The Gallows Gang</em>, in which Nat McBain and Shackleton Frost agree to work together to take prisoners to jail. It also has a sub-plot about bone-hunter Jim Dragon and his eternal conflict with Pierre Dulaine. I enjoyed this sub-plot so much that Jim returned in <em>Incident at Pegasus Heights</em>.<br />
<br />
I've only just realized that like <em>Bleached Bones in the Dust </em>a key moment in the plot revolves around finding bones that have been buried out there somewhere....<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>When Mayor Maxwell and his
daughter are brutally murdered, feelings in Bear Creek run high. Even when the
killer is caught and sentenced to life in prison, the townsfolk demand a
lynching. So Sheriff Bryce calls in Nathaniel McBain to spirit the killer away
through Devil’s Canyon to Beaver Ridge jail.
</em></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em></em> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>
At first, Nathaniel manages
to stay one step ahead of the pursuing mob; but as he loses ground, he realizes
he faces an even bigger problem: his prisoner could be innocent after all. . .
</em></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em></em> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>
A <em>dark secret about what
really happened is buried in Devil’s Canyon. Will Nathaniel be able to uncover
the truth before the mob reaches him?</em>
</em></div>
<br />
It's now available from all good <a href="http://mybook.to/TheSecretOfDevilsCanyon">amazon</a> stores. I.J. Parnhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08933834936324859175noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965782603800207970.post-88636524298180849072018-07-25T01:36:00.000-07:002018-07-25T01:36:01.494-07:00Paperback version of Calloway's Crossing now available<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qJARke6n4PM/Wztd5Pyx9sI/AAAAAAAAFHQ/3DvXOfM88z8fWSmUc-n80jnGldLGtackACLcBGAs/s1600/Calloway_Crossing.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="993" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qJARke6n4PM/Wztd5Pyx9sI/AAAAAAAAFHQ/3DvXOfM88z8fWSmUc-n80jnGldLGtackACLcBGAs/s320/Calloway_Crossing.png" width="198" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";"><em>When Trip Kincaid saved Milton Calloway’s
life, Milton was so grateful he gave him his saloon at Calloway’s Crossing. But
when Trip arrived to claim his property, the saloon wasn’t what he expected –
it had in fact collapsed into a bubbling pool of mud!<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em></em><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";"><em>Undeterred, Trip rebuilt the
saloon. Within hours of opening, Ryan Trimble’s protection gang muscled in on
him and his only compensation was the distraction his bartender, the beguiling
Grace Theroux, provided.<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em></em><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";"><em>Trip needed help to defeat
Ryan and it arrived in the form of a mysterious gunslinger – but at what price?
Before long, Trip faced the fight of his life to save not only the saloon but
also himself and Grace.</em></span><br />
</div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";"></span> <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";">
Available as a paperback and a download from all <a href="http://mybook.to/CallowaysCrossing">Amazon</a> stores.
</span>I.J. Parnhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08933834936324859175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965782603800207970.post-29251782389991858892018-06-27T01:43:00.000-07:002018-07-04T05:51:12.025-07:00All Must Die in paperbackMy 2015 Black Horse Western in now available as a large print paperback. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EmNzjvio1k4/WtCkxlhIXDI/AAAAAAAAE_Y/pdALh9ltz2Uk4HZWLuClaEOr7WW2Wb4ZACLcBGAs/s1600/Linford.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1086" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EmNzjvio1k4/WtCkxlhIXDI/AAAAAAAAE_Y/pdALh9ltz2Uk4HZWLuClaEOr7WW2Wb4ZACLcBGAs/s320/Linford.jpg" width="217" /></a></div>
<br />
It would have been nice to get a more dramatic cover than this, but . . . only joking. This one goes right near the top of my favourite covers. In fact I like the cover a lot more than the one on this book:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-exQitAbyL0E/Wzs2g4_C-tI/AAAAAAAAFAc/LNwRaAxdxp8_ouuVC_TizGdpngLxxR2HACLcBGAs/s1600/51bq%252BXoxecL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="324" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-exQitAbyL0E/Wzs2g4_C-tI/AAAAAAAAFAc/LNwRaAxdxp8_ouuVC_TizGdpngLxxR2HACLcBGAs/s320/51bq%252BXoxecL.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
<br />
On the other hand it's about as good as this one:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OeRs38XLAf4/WzzCfKmWFII/AAAAAAAAFIM/NXU_AXEiqzQkS2Jvz1UZDX32TM_PAqmMQCLcBGAs/s1600/51IgmdUsrML__SY346_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="215" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OeRs38XLAf4/WzzCfKmWFII/AAAAAAAAFIM/NXU_AXEiqzQkS2Jvz1UZDX32TM_PAqmMQCLcBGAs/s320/51IgmdUsrML__SY346_.jpg" width="198" /></a></div>
<br />
Although, on balance, it's perhaps not quite as good as this one:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DNJfQ5Ro7f4/Wzs2ytxpvmI/AAAAAAAAFAk/vLe1A_yO_18ETDORu5Jhdeq2Zv8ykchDwCLcBGAs/s1600/710Sfdm4NvL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1360" data-original-width="850" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DNJfQ5Ro7f4/Wzs2ytxpvmI/AAAAAAAAFAk/vLe1A_yO_18ETDORu5Jhdeq2Zv8ykchDwCLcBGAs/s320/710Sfdm4NvL.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Anyhow, this is my 26th Linford Western.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>Ten years ago, a spree of murders shocked the townsfolk of Monotony. The victims were shot and dumped, with words scrawled on the ground beside them. When Sykes Caine was arrested for a bank raid, the killings stopped... Now Sheriff Cassidy Yates must deal with a perplexing case. A man is shot to death - and words are scratched into the ground by the corpse. With Sykes now released from jail and back in town, the finger of suspicion is pointed squarely at him...</em><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
I.J. Parnhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08933834936324859175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965782603800207970.post-2531071366616943272018-05-30T01:45:00.000-07:002018-07-03T01:52:37.106-07:00Gunfight in the Red Eye Saloon now available on Kindle.<em>Gunfight in the Red Eye Saloon</em> is now available on Kindle. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WStDE_BwzSQ/Wzs5OE8Wo_I/AAAAAAAAFAw/9wAWFDchy_g3JbokJ8rjMdnJz-ukDCdawCLcBGAs/s1600/Red_Eye_Saloonjpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WStDE_BwzSQ/Wzs5OE8Wo_I/AAAAAAAAFAw/9wAWFDchy_g3JbokJ8rjMdnJz-ukDCdawCLcBGAs/s320/Red_Eye_Saloonjpg.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
I started writing this story with the intention of it being my next Black Horse Western, but it ended up being about 10% short of the required length for the series. I put it aside for a while and then came back to try to bulk it out, but I only ended up shortening it some more. <br />
<br />
After several more failed attempts I decided to just leave the tale well alone and publish this as a Kindle title. This is the 6th Cassidy Yates's yarn, in which he rubs up against a fellow lawman he doesn't trust. . . .<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>Sheriff
Cassidy Yates reckoned he’d foiled a bank raid in Monotony, but then he discovered
that a safe deposit box had been broken into. Nobody knew what had gone missing,
but Cassidy suspected that the robbery was connected to the infamous gunfight
that had erupted in the Red Eye saloon two years earlier, an incident in which
five men died.
</em></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em></em><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>Severin
Lorde never paid for the crime he committed that day, but in a twist of fate he
was appointed as the sheriff of Carmon. Cassidy was determined to prove that
Severin had a murderous past, but to bring a fellow lawman to justice he will have
to risk not only his life, but his faith in the law he has sworn an oath to uphold.</em> </div>
<br />
It's now available from all good <a href="http://mybook.to/GunfightInTheRedEyeSaloon">amazon</a> stores. <br />
<br />I.J. Parnhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08933834936324859175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965782603800207970.post-60102478893361416622018-04-21T17:00:00.000-07:002018-04-21T17:00:03.082-07:00Babylon 5<em>It was the dawn of the third
age of mankind. . . .<o:p></o:p></em><br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cFIBcO_y1nA/WtCntqPdamI/AAAAAAAAE_w/k9kl3ZWtnBEQfHmW3AFp1qoRbOiLwdvxQCLcBGAs/s1600/babylon_5_station.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="825" height="179" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cFIBcO_y1nA/WtCntqPdamI/AAAAAAAAE_w/k9kl3ZWtnBEQfHmW3AFp1qoRbOiLwdvxQCLcBGAs/s320/babylon_5_station.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
This week sees the end of
Pick TV's rerun of the SF series Babylon 5, this being the show's first airing
in the UK since its only appearance around 20 years ago on Channel 4. I watched
and enjoyed that original run, but this time round I ended up recording about
80 episodes before I watched the first one as I feared that cold reality would ruin my nostalgic memories.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
That trepidation is probably
warranted. When first shown B5 was popular, although not massively so leading
to it being axed and then resurrected at least once and being seemingly on the
verge of cancellation the rest of the time. Then there was the alleged nerd war
between B5 and Star Trek: Deep Space 9 fans, who both claimed that their series
had been ripped off by the other. As I liked both series I didn't have much
interest in the debate, although I tended to think that any two shows set on a
space station were likely to have similarities.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Once the show ended, B5's
fortunes plummeted rapidly. A lot of the main cast died, and all way before
their time. The spin-off series Crusade was cancelled before it aired, the six
movies weren't all that good, and the subsequent attempts to make more
spin-offs or reboots failed. All this, along with a mixture of studio apathy
and production mistakes such as losing the special effects files, led to B5
quietly disappearing. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Other SF franchises have
grown ever larger or at least remained in the public consciousness, but aside
from Sheldon on the Big Bang Theory deeming that B5 <em>'fails as drama,
science fiction and is hopelessly derivative</em>', its largely been absent from popular culture. Despite this, or
perhaps because of it, its reputation amongst devotees remains. Many rate it as
the greatest ever SF series, while others view it as a flawed masterpiece that
was ahead of its time. My opinion was the other popular view that it was
greater than the sum of its parts.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
It was that rare thing of
being an SF series that actually contained some SF. It avoided the approach
most other shows used that as long as it was set in space and had some robots
in it, it could be called SF. Instead, it appeared to have been made by people
who had read Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein and Bester. Even better, it was the first
SF show, and arguably the first of any kind of TV series, to do something that
is common these days of devoting its whole 5-year run to a single, pre-planned serialized story
arc. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Unlike every show that came
after it, though, B5 was almost entirely the work of one writer, J. Michael
Straczynski, to the extent that aside from Neil Gaiman's episode, JMS wrote
every episode from the midpoint of season 2 to the end of season 5. This
singular vision enabled an extreme level of foreshadowing, plot development and
continuity that made the show deeply involving (and impenetrable if you
happened upon it in mid-run). So, for example, it's revealed in the very first
episode how a main character will die and it takes the whole 5 year run for the
full, tragic context to play out. Heck, you have to wait until season 4 to find
out why the narration over the opening title credits mentions the third age of
mankind.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qMe09drADYc/WtCn9hNrmeI/AAAAAAAAFAA/8I6m_z61TyU7uwMPz4mr71Dj3GGsSr5wQCEwYBhgL/s1600/timthumb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="406" data-original-width="650" height="199" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qMe09drADYc/WtCn9hNrmeI/AAAAAAAAFAA/8I6m_z61TyU7uwMPz4mr71Dj3GGsSr5wQCEwYBhgL/s320/timthumb.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<o:p></o:p> </div>
I guess if the show was being
made today the first ten minutes of every episode would be taken up with a
'Previously on. . . .' sequence to help you recall the main plot threads, but
B5, aside from a few flashbacks and chunks of exposition, never spoon-fed the
viewer. So, with its heady mix of clever storytelling, interweaving plots,
complex characters, great twists, memorable incidental music, improbable
hairstyles, unexpected deaths and most important, consequences, I ought to have
been excited about getting a chance to revisit the show, but I wasn't. That's
because of the other stuff, the stuff that got in the way of the greatness. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
There's season 1 with the
goofy stories in which every week a new alien arrives and for no good reason
tries to take over the station armed only with dodgy special effects, but is
defeated during a massive punch-up. There's those unconvincing muppet aliens
(quite simply the worst idea anyone has ever had). And there's Sinclair. When I
first saw B5 I reckoned Sinclair had to be the worst actor ever to appear on
screen and his ponderous delivery sapped the life out of every scene he was in,
which was a problem as he's the main character. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Even when the alien of the
week, the muppets and Sinclair left in season 2 the bad acting continued with
guest actors either phoning in their performance or hamming it up like
pantomime villains. Even the great Season 3 had Grey 17 is Missing, an episode
that was so bad the writer apologized before it was transmitted. Then there's
the rushed season 4 with the galactic war that took seventy episodes of rising
tension before it finally broke out, only for it to be fought and won between
commercial breaks. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
And there's season 5 when
two popular characters had left and way too much time was devoted to the
war of the long-haired, soppy telepaths, which some die-hard fans reckon is so unwatchable
they refuse to acknowledge it exists. Even the show's main claim to fame works
against it with so many characters making cryptic predictions and having
prophetic dreams that by the time you get a resolution, often around four years
later, it's hard to remember or care any longer.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
With all that in mind I
wondered whether to delve back in, but to my relief I enjoyed it a lot more
than I expected. As it turned out, B5 is a show that was designed for binge
watching decades before the term became popular. Having a seer opine that 'to
avoid your fate you must<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"> save the eye that does not see' works better when you
find out in a week </span>what it means rather
than having to wait a year.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QY9C3NqAe5Y/WtCoWVgqhRI/AAAAAAAAE_8/ffsIs9snxVApL1NZNV2yzmOg6ktGtREWACLcBGAs/s1600/untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="205" data-original-width="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QY9C3NqAe5Y/WtCoWVgqhRI/AAAAAAAAE_8/ffsIs9snxVApL1NZNV2yzmOg6ktGtREWACLcBGAs/s1600/untitled.png" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
In addition, season 1 wasn't
as bad as I remembered. I don't think it was down to now knowing about the
personal problems the actor who played Sinclair was having, but this time round
I enjoyed his stiff-backed approach. The other acting also wasn't as bad as I
feared, with the scenery chewing performances being fun along with seeing
actors I hadn't remembered were in it such as Bishop Brennan from Father Ted
and Citizen Smith's dad. In fact there was a strange overuse of English actors,
who all had that odd English accent that's only ever used on US TV shows. Even
the weak stories were watchable as they usually had a decent B-plot, or a
memorable scene, or something that advanced the arc story.<o:p></o:p></div>
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
I'd also forgotten how funny
the show is. Amidst all the angst, pain, suffering, self-sacrifice, unrequited
love and the epic battle between order and chaos for the control of the
universe for all eternity, there were plenty of good jokes. The docking guard
stating that nothing ever surprises him any more only for Elvis to walk past,
Ivanova somehow keeping a straight face during her boom-shaba-laba dance, the
usually verbose G'Kar working on a swearing-in oath for days and coming up
with: 'Do you want to be President?' My favourite joke was one that livened up
an all-too-familiar scene in which Garibaldi has to get past a guard to break Sheridan
out of a cell. Garibaldi tries the novel approach of telling the guard he's
been on TV, only to get the deadpan response of:<em> 'I
don't watch TV. It's a cultural wasteland filled with inappropriate metaphors
and an unrealistic portrayal of life created by the liberal media elite.'</em>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333;">Season 5 was
also more entertaining than I'd expected. Although Byron's hair,
the singing and the dopey telepaths were
far, far worse than I remember. What I did like is that it gave the characters
a long goodbye. Most shows cram a resolution to the story along with tearful
goodbyes into the final few minutes of the final episode, but B5 devoted
several episodes to letting everyone depart in their own good time. The fact
that many of the characters' fates were tragic made them all the
better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: #333333;">Just about the
only drawback was that the main storyline no longer feels plausible, as it
features the follicly-challenged President Clark ascending to power with help from secretive outside forces and then instigating a Make Earth Great Again policy that
involves promoting extreme patriotism, starting wars and victimizing alien immigrants. Then
he diverts attention away from his fascist agenda by stirring up race hate
and social divisions, and sacking anyone who disagrees with him. After which he
imposes increasingly dictatorial policies while using state controlled media to
support his alternative facts and to dismiss all opposition as fake news. This
sort of stuff is just too fanciful and could never actually happen, but then
again I suppose it is SF.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SkenI8fToWE/WtCozqnyT4I/AAAAAAAAFAE/wPbO9m5vFNU3DbECjESVDPeZ24yjTjZxQCLcBGAs/s1600/cmegw3mossqm3oij6v7l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SkenI8fToWE/WtCozqnyT4I/AAAAAAAAFAE/wPbO9m5vFNU3DbECjESVDPeZ24yjTjZxQCLcBGAs/s320/cmegw3mossqm3oij6v7l.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<br /></div>
<span style="color: #333333;">Anyhow, I'll
stop banging on and leave the final word to G'Kar with his closing speech from
season 3, another one of those epic moments I'd forgotten about that got the
show its reputation as being the best ever SF TV series: <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: #333333;"><em>'There is a
greater darkness than the one we fight. It is the darkness of the soul that has
lost its way. The war we fight is not against powers and principalities, it is
against chaos. . . <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and despair. Greater
than the death of flesh is the death of hope, the death of dreams. Against this
peril we can never surrender. The future is all around us, waiting, in moments
of transition, to be born in moments of revelation. No one knows the shape of
that future or where it will take us. We know only that it is always born. . . in
pain.'</em></span><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
I.J. Parnhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08933834936324859175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965782603800207970.post-57540990306724472912018-03-28T06:52:00.000-07:002018-07-03T04:26:21.669-07:00Paperback version of Yates's Dilemma now available<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gw4ZJKTF8gg/WztdRtm5x6I/AAAAAAAAFHI/V1IEiQumjC84Pds0jN3bC4qvbDiEO1CwwCLcBGAs/s1600/Yates_Dilemma.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="993" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gw4ZJKTF8gg/WztdRtm5x6I/AAAAAAAAFHI/V1IEiQumjC84Pds0jN3bC4qvbDiEO1CwwCLcBGAs/s320/Yates_Dilemma.png" width="198" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";"><em>When Wendell Moon hightailed it out of
Monotony, he left in his wake a murdered lawman and a mob braying for his
blood. Fifteen years later the word is out – Wendell Moon is back! But, for
Sheriff Cassidy Yates, Wendell’s unwelcome return rekindles old vendettas and
ignites three days of raging gun battles.<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>
</em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: center; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";"><em>Now the sheriff has the
impossible duty of keeping the peace, but as if that isn’t enough Wendell also
claims he never killed the lawman!<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>
</em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: center; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";"><em>If Cassidy doesn’t unearth the
truth quickly, Wendell’s trigger-happy enemies will deliver their own form of
gun-toting justice. Real trouble lies ahead!<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<br />
Available as a paperback and a download from all <a href="http://mybook.to/YatessDilemma">Amazon</a> stores.I.J. Parnhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08933834936324859175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965782603800207970.post-67426024522892946162018-02-28T06:45:00.000-08:002018-07-03T04:24:02.921-07:00Bleached Bones in the Dust now available on Kindle<em>Bleached Bones in the Dust</em> is now available on Kindle. This was my 20th Black Horse Western. <o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HOFI4-Klogw/WztcO6pNQ0I/AAAAAAAAFG8/1GNF4JQUnRsk4OabhKDmptMhCD2k7vrLwCLcBGAs/s1600/Bonesjpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HOFI4-Klogw/WztcO6pNQ0I/AAAAAAAAFG8/1GNF4JQUnRsk4OabhKDmptMhCD2k7vrLwCLcBGAs/s320/Bonesjpg.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gr4XufY9VoY/WiqhgfoYw-I/AAAAAAAAE74/nVXkp_4KEncb6zfYmVVtV7MWAVmUXnXEwCLcBGAs/s1600/Barren_Plainsjpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The inspiration for this tale came with the title, which sounded like it ought to have a story attached. So I started off and wrote about some old bones being found. Then I just carried on writing until I found out who had died, why he had died, and whether there were any more bones buried out there in the dust. . .</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><em>For twenty years, bounty
hunter Montgomery Grant searched for Lomax Rhinehart, desperate to make him pay
for an atrocity he committed during the dying days of the war.<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>
</em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><em>So when Grant’s friend,
Wallace Sheckley, told him that he had found Lomax, Grant followed him to
Sunrise, but Arnold Hays and his gunslingers were holding the town in the grip
of fear. Nobody would help him and worse Wallace had gone missing and Lomax was
nowhere to be found.<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>
</em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>With Arnold Hays the key to
Grant finding out what has happened to both his friend and his enemy, he must
turn to his gun to get the answers he needs. . . .<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></em></span></span></div>
</div>
It's now available from all good <a href="http://mybook.to/BleachedBonesInTheDust">amazon</a> stores. I.J. Parnhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08933834936324859175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965782603800207970.post-49486240222760675532018-01-12T14:00:00.000-08:002018-01-12T14:00:02.311-08:00The Vengeful DeputyI’m pleased to report that
Crowood Press have accepted my western The Vengeful Deputy. It’ll be my 37<span style="font-size: small;"><sup>th</sup>
Black Horse Western and it should be published later in the year.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
Here’s my draft blurb:<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The town of Lone Ridge was a lawless hell-hole until
the ruthless Nyle King provided order by eliminating all the gunslingers. With
Nyle then controlling the town and ensuring that everyone who opposes him ends
up dead, U.S. Marshal Caine tasks his deputy Gabriel Flynn with bringing Nyle
to justice.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gabriel goes to Lone Ridge, but only because he's been
searching for the outlaw who killed his brother and Nyle may be the key to
finding him. As it turns out, Nyle claims that the recent deaths in town aren't
his work and that someone is trying to frame him.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">With Gabriel no longer knowing who to trust, all he
can be sure of is that only hard lead will unmask the guilty and let him
finally have his vengeance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
I.J. Parnhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08933834936324859175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965782603800207970.post-33043185390012070002017-12-31T04:00:00.000-08:002017-12-31T04:00:51.448-08:00The bad... reduxI guess I should apologize to
the makers of Safe House. Last week I droned on about how this was the worst thing
I’d seen on TV in 2017. With only 10 days left in the year I doubted it was
possible for anything worse to come along. Then along came Bancroft.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LiG24QyyNYs/WkS7gl9klnI/AAAAAAAAE-M/PsExVJGjeuUUL54Vz61SYd3IPCLTytqZACLcBGAs/s1600/Bancroft-final-ITV-tv-series-Sarah-Parish-season-2-1162304.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="386" data-original-width="590" height="209" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LiG24QyyNYs/WkS7gl9klnI/AAAAAAAAE-M/PsExVJGjeuUUL54Vz61SYd3IPCLTytqZACLcBGAs/s320/Bancroft-final-ITV-tv-series-Sarah-Parish-season-2-1162304.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
With a stellar cast of Sarah
Parish, Kenneth Cranham, Art Malik and, er, Ade Edmonson it sounded like a good
drama, but it started off badly, went downhill fast and ended in the gutter.
Somehow it managed to take all the bad things in Safe House and crank them up a
notch. <br />
<br />
I poked fun at Safe House for ‘restaging’ a scene from Line of Duty.
Bancroft went one better and ‘restaged’ the entire plot from LoD, with
cops shooting cops, evidence tampering, cops interrogating cops, secret meetings in
a police van etc all happening in exactly the same points in the story. Except LoD had Ted Hastings and his meticulously gathered stack of compelling evidence to destroy the bad guy and Bancroft had Eddie Hitler and his illegally obtained used condom (don't ask) so Bancroft walked away without a stain to her character.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Safe House had a daft solution
to the murder mystery, so Bancroft went one better with the killer, who was straight,
killing her lesbian lover because the lover had only pretended to love her in
revenge for having had an affair with her husband, or something like that. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Safe House failed to have a
single scene that made sense because nothing was explained, so Bancroft went
one better and had stuff that could never make sense even if everything was
explained. At one point the title character fire-bombed the house of the
key witness she was supposed to be protecting as part of her cunning plan to
discredit another cop, and got away with it, and this didn’t even get in the
top 5 implausible things to happen between the commercial breaks.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
I’ve always thought there
should be more shows where the bad guy is the main character and they get away
with it. Then I watched Bancroft. I never want to see another show do that again.</div>
I.J. Parnhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08933834936324859175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965782603800207970.post-87433491780627226362017-12-28T12:00:00.000-08:002017-12-30T01:33:55.418-08:00The king is dead. Long live the queenSo it’s goodbye to Peter Capaldi
and welcome to Jodie Whitaker. When the news first broke about the identity of
the new Doctor I was disappointed. I reckoned Doctor Who needed a shake up and I
liked the idea of a change of dynamic with a female Doctor, but I wasn’t sure
about the choice.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Bud08S_m5jE/WkS7rO8MKFI/AAAAAAAAE-Q/0EwGIlsEq1MGne8jIskm2Ljwf3mtRHuCQCLcBGAs/s1600/14924954-low_res-doctor-who-862926f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w329LV7sCAI/WkS77LR4JkI/AAAAAAAAE-U/sdgduQAmAkkj1_IXxztenYcTAHACuDjFgCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen-Shot-2017-12-25-at-183119JPG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="615" height="180" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w329LV7sCAI/WkS77LR4JkI/AAAAAAAAE-U/sdgduQAmAkkj1_IXxztenYcTAHACuDjFgCLcBGAs/s320/Screen-Shot-2017-12-25-at-183119JPG.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
If the new showrunner wanted
an actress from Broadchurch, JW wouldn’t have been in my top 3 choices. Phoebe
double-barrelled something, the bookies’ favourite, was tall and quirky enough
to pull it off, Vicky McClure’s eyebrows are just as watchable as Capaldi’s,
and Olivia Colman is great in anything, but having seen Jodie being the Doctor
for a few seconds I reckon she’ll work – provided she gets some decent stories.
<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Seeing PC try his best to
spark life into yet another plot-free story just showed that a new take on Doctor Who
is long overdue. PC should have been the greatest ever Doctor. Heck, he’s
Malcolm Tucker. The guy can do comedy, tragedy, menace and drama, often all at the same
time, and yet he just never got the chance to let rip. The ending brought this
home to me when his nostalgic look back on his achievements only produced a sick
dalek from an episode I’d forgotten about and a couple of dopey assistants
looking sad. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
I watched David Tennant’s
regeneration episode over Xmas and his prolonged death scene is annoying, but I
have to admit it was deserved as he did have numerous great call backs to be
nostalgic about, but sadly PC just didn’t have any epic moments. He was a
brilliant Doctor trapped in a poor run. So as even his closing monologue was
pedestrian, I thought I’d recall Malcolm Tucker’s closing
monologue (edited for language) from The Thick of It, as curiously it works for
the Doctor, too. Now that’s how a character should leave a show with his head
held high. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><em>"You know Jackie
effing Chan about me. You know eff all about me. I am totally beyond the realms
of your effing tousle-haired effing dim-witted compre-effing-hension. I don't
just take this effing job home, you know. I take this job home, it effing ties
me to the bed, and it effing effs me from arsehole to breakfast. Then it wakes
me up in the morning with a cup full of piss slammed in my face, slaps me about
the chops to make sure I'm awake enough so it can kick me in the effing
bollocks. This job has taken me in every hole in my effing body.
"Malcolm!" it's gone, you can't know Malcolm because Malcolm is not
here. Malcolm effing left the building effing years ago. This is a effing husk,
I am a effing host for this effing job. Do you want this job? Yes? You do effing
want this job? Then you're going to have to swallow this whole effing life and
let it grow inside you like a parasite, getting bigger and bigger and bigger
until it effing eats your insides alive and it stares out of your eyes and
tells you what to do. I'm going to leave the stage with my head held effing
high. What you're going to see is a master class in effing dignity, son. The
audience will be on their feet. "There he goes!" they'll say. No
friends - no ‘real’ friends. No children, no glory, no memoirs. Well, eff them."</em></span><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
I.J. Parnhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08933834936324859175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965782603800207970.post-770808839939695662017-12-22T16:00:00.000-08:002017-12-22T16:00:26.891-08:00The good, the bad, and the uglyAround this time of year I
usually have a moan about something I've seen on TV, usually Sherlock, but as
thankfully that's unlikely to ever annoy me again I thought that this year I'd
bang on about the best, the worst and the most entertainingly daft things I've
seen this year.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S8fy3bOwtg4/Wi2rX7k6rwI/AAAAAAAAE9k/ihk6myyXnM01FCOvCTKk41OjKJPs0P6JwCLcBGAs/s1600/1032477_1_3440667_02_800x600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S8fy3bOwtg4/Wi2rX7k6rwI/AAAAAAAAE9k/ihk6myyXnM01FCOvCTKk41OjKJPs0P6JwCLcBGAs/s320/1032477_1_3440667_02_800x600.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
First, the good: Twin Peaks,
Season 3, Episode 8, Gotta Light. When I first heard that Twin Peaks was being
revived I wasn't too enthused despite the fact that the original makers were behind
the endeavour. I loved the show during its original run, but then again,
thinking back, I struggled to work out why. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
I enjoyed the weird backward-talking
dancing dwarf side of it and I liked the murder mystery element. The optimistic
Coop and the folksy Truman are probably my favourite cop double-act, ably
backed up by mystical Hawk, goofy Andy and even goofier Lucy. Other characters
such as Leland, Ben, Norma, Denise and the Log Lady were superb, Bob will
always be the scariest character ever to appear on screen, and things like the
Invitation to Love soap in a soap and Josie getting turned into a doorknob are
still memorable. Then there's the other stuff. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
There's the endless teen
angst. There's the filler material like little Nicky, James's noir exploit, and
Nadine becoming superhuman. There's the theme tune blurting out ten times an
episode. There's James singing, Audrey dancing, Bobby being cool. . . The
list of annoying scenes and sub-plots and characters is longer than anything
else I like, so whether a return would work depended on the balance between the
soap-opera, the murder mystery, and the surreal. To my surprise the return got
that balance right. It even included James singing, Audrey dancing and Bobby
being cool and made them all work.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Someone once said that
revivals of once-popular shows should give viewers what they need rather than
what they want. Most shows try to do the latter and they usually fail because no
two fans of anything can ever agree about what they want. Twin Peaks gave me
what I needed, which was something that had little to do with Twin Peaks
and more to do with a retrospective look back at the highlights of David
Lynch's film career.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Episode 8, Gotta Light, was
the thing I needed the most. I hadn't considered it before seeing that episode,
but a sequel to Eraserhead was something that was missing from my life. It was
an hour of mainly silent, black and white surreal imagery of scruffy blokes
shuffling around in search of a light interspersed with the first atom bomb,
the giant floating in a music hall and the convenience store mentioned in passing
by the one-armed man twenty-eight years ago. Nothing else I've seen this year,
or perhaps any year, was as inspired or as perfect. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
In essence it was a Bob
origin story, but unlike every other origin story I've ever watched in which
explaining the motivations and forces that create a memorable character only go
to diminish the character, this origin tale worked. Although that could be
because I missed seeing Bob's face in the pile of goo, so I ended up watching it
three times before I even realized it was a Bob origin story. This was pure
story-telling that worked on an emotional level without any consideration given
to character, plot or any of the usual techniques. But before I get too
pretentious in trying to explain why I liked it I'll just say: this is the
water and this is the well. Drink full and descend. The horse is the white of
the eyes and the dark within.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rPKCB-9mg6k/Wi2rjQw2A2I/AAAAAAAAE9o/gtVxHzfDHvkzX3a2DeOMuPuB5IY3S72HACLcBGAs/s1600/SAFE_HOUSE_EP3_26-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="413" data-original-width="620" height="213" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rPKCB-9mg6k/Wi2rjQw2A2I/AAAAAAAAE9o/gtVxHzfDHvkzX3a2DeOMuPuB5IY3S72HACLcBGAs/s320/SAFE_HOUSE_EP3_26-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<o:p></o:p> </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
If quoting those lines didn't send you to sleep, I'll move on to the bad: Safe House,
season 2, episode 4. IMDB's rating for this episode is 3.6. This is very low. It's
also too high. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Safe House has an odd
history. Season 1 starred Christopher Eccleston as a maverick cop who left the
police under a cloud after an undisclosed incident and who now battles the
demons of the past while trying to single-handedly solve an old crime and run a
safe house with his wife. It was entertaining and ended on a cliffhanger that
was interesting enough to make me watch season 2. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
It was then that the bad news
broke. After a falling-out behind the scenes the cast, production crew and
location were replaced, so series 2 ignored the cliffhanger and started a new
story. This one concerned another maverick cop who left the police under a
cloud after an undisclosed incident and who now battles the demons of the past
while trying to single-handedly solve an old crime and run a safe house with
his wife. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
The first three episodes were
formulaic, but watchable. The cop is the only one who believes that the serial
killer known as the Crow, who is behind bars, had a partner in crime and when
the killings restart he sets out to find him. He's blocked by his ex-boss who
doesn't want the truth to come out, while he tries to find the kidnapped victim
before she's killed and at the same time keep other potential targets safe.
Everything was set for a final episode that revealed all. That didn't happen,
and although I'd normally applaud any show that confounds expectations, the
ending was just as bizarre as Gotta Light, but not in a good way.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
First the episode took the
novel approach of ignoring everyone and all their plot strands from the
first three episodes. The kidnap victim, the incestuous daughter, the dodgy
bloke from the village, all the suspects, the controlling ex-boss, the prisoner were
all absent. In addition to their sub-plots being left unresolved, we didn't find out why the Crow's son was recreating the
crime scenes in his bedroom, or why the Crow set up tents in his victim's
living-rooms, or even why he was called the Crow. Instead the episode concentrated
on the big reveal that the actor Jason Watkins was the real Crow, which every viewer
would have figured out before the titles rolled in episode 1 as Jason Watkins
is always the killer.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
The revelation itself was strange.
Jason is in the safe house as the cop fears he'll be the Crow's next victim and
nobody suspects that he is, in fact, the Crow. Jason makes a fatal error in
packing the Crow's trademark balaclava in his overnight bag. His son gets drunk
and spills wine on his jumper and Jason suggests he gets a clean jumper out of the
overnight bag. The son opens up the bag and discovers the balaclava. He's seen
the scene in Line of Duty where Jason Watkins pulls a balaclava out of an overnight
bag and astounds the viewers with the shock revelation that he's Balaclava Man,
so he wanders off into the night and isn’t seen again. Jason realizes he's been
rumbled, so he restages the balaclava scene from Line of Duty and attacks the
cop.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Jason is fat, short and
middle-aged. The cop is a macho hardcase who in the previous episode chased after a
bus for ten miles and arrived before it without getting out of breath. Jason
easily overcomes the cop and ties him to a chair. He reveals that his original
killing spree was to get revenge against the men who had affairs with his wife
and he returned to serial-killing because he was annoyed that his son had to
work in Manchester. Then he kidnaps the wife and despite having got away with
the perfect crime, he leaves the cop alive to ponder what's so terrible about Manchester. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
The cop can't figure it out, but thirty seconds
later he escapes. Unfortunately he's too slow to stop Jason driving off with her. He chases
around a bit and can't find him, but obligingly Jason returns and parks on the
beach. The wife isn't with him, so the cop demands to know where she is. Jason laughs,
so the cop tries to drown him. Then the police arrive and save him. They ignore
the cop's serious assault on a suspect and arrest Jason, leaving the cop to fall
to his knees in the surf and curse the sky. Roll credits.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
I can only assume something
went wrong during filming as none of this made sense. Perhaps it was paying
homage to the ending to Seven, but then again we don't know what happened to
the wife, or the son, or how the Crow persuaded someone to join him on his
killing spree, or, basically, why anyone did any of the things they did. In
Gotta Light I didn't need to know if the girl at the end was Sarah Palmer or what
Laura Palmer's face in the orb implied about the nature of time and destiny, but here I
needed answers, although as nobody behaved in a way that any human being has
ever behaved it was hard to care. Which brings me to my next choice, the ugly.
. . .<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0cdJ5fxGCTQ/Wi2royu8ldI/AAAAAAAAE9s/YTkf-2fNep0QMDX7l1jscu25QLIk2NXkACLcBGAs/s1600/nintchdbpict000327892931.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0cdJ5fxGCTQ/Wi2royu8ldI/AAAAAAAAE9s/YTkf-2fNep0QMDX7l1jscu25QLIk2NXkACLcBGAs/s320/nintchdbpict000327892931.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<o:p></o:p> </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
The Loch, season 1, episode 4. This
series is set in the Scottish town of Fort Augustus at one end of Loch Ness where a serial killer is on
the loose. Its two leads were in Breaking Bad and Happy Valley, so it was reasonable to assume this would be a quality production, and yet it managed to have a dafter solution to the mystery than Safe
House's killing spree due to a son's relocation to Manchester. Here a doting
mother fears her eldest son will go bad like her husband did, so she drugs the younger
son and keeps him comatose in bed for years while passing her twenty-something
son off as the teenage good son. This cunning plan fails when the good son
wakes up and roams around and the bad son kills lots of people. Unlike Safe
House this was so daft it was a lot of fun.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
The series would make a good
drinking game, but only for alcoholics as there are so many things to count.
There's the number of times the cop finds clues. This is amusing because everyone
reckons she's incompetent as her previous greatest achievement was finding a
missing blow-up Nessie, but despite that somehow she blunders across every
single vital clue, all of which gathers her no recognition. Then there's the
times her daughter is so annoying you want the killer to get her next, or the times when
the supposedly brilliant psychologist is kicked off the case for incorrectly identifying someone as the killer, but carries on investigating only to get it wrong again. Best of all, there's the times that people
behave in ways that nobody would ever behave. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
I can only assume that the
makers of the show had never encountered a member of the human race before as
nobody in a small Scottish town that has never had
any serious crime before is concerned about a killer being on the loose. Children are
allowed out at night to roam around in the dark. Teenagers are nearly killed
and don't tell anyone. At one stage there's a mass
killing by a school kid who tries to gun down everyone in his class during a day trip. Nobody notices the kid wandering around with a massive rifle strapped to his back and afterwards all the dead bodies
generates absolutely no reaction by anyone. It ought to be headline news around
the world, but it gets dismissed in a few lines of dialogue in which one person
asks another whether they'd heard about the shootings and the other says 'Aye'.<br />
<br />
Then there's all the random weird stuff. There's a creepy teacher with his mysterious locked room that interests nobody until the final episode. There's the woman whose child gets impregnated by the even creepier homophobic bible-thumping doctor, so she locks the kid in her bedroom and spends the next six months with a cushion up her jumper pretending she's pregnant so she can pass the baby off as her own. She even goes for phantom check-ups with the creepy doctor. There's the only gay in the village who gets his brains dragged out through his nostrils for no reason that's ever explained. There's the Nessie tour guide who can't bring himself to tell his wife his dark secret, which is that he doesn't believe in Nessie. . . </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
I started finding all this
nonsense amusing in episode 4. There's a scene where two actors have an
altercation by the canal and I recognized the location. I've been to Fort
Augustus a few times and last year I'd taken the dog for a walk by that canal.
He'd started to fall back, so I tugged him only to find he'd taken a walking
dump leaving a trail of pellets over the last twenty feet, and all in front of
a row of foreign tourists eating their lunch. So I couldn't take the dramatic scene
seriously knowing that the actors were standing on the very spot where my dog
did a particularly sticky poo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
From then on I found it hard
to stop smiling, and episode 4 turned out to be a classic filler episode in
which a new character arrives in town and then departs for no good reason
beyond the need to pad the show out to six episodes. This new character is
watching the TV when he sees his old serial-killing partner being interviewed by a news reporter about the mayhem in town. He deduces that the partner has got a new identity and has now returned to serial-killing,
so he tries to join him on his latest exploit. The partner explains that he's a red
herring, but the bloke's not convinced and he spends the episode trying to
prove he's still got what it takes to be a mass murderer by gibbering inanely
and comically hiding in the shadows trying to find someone to kill.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
It ends with a great scene
where he decides to kill the cop's husband, who has gone walking in the hills.
The bloke follows him across several miles of the kind of Scottish bog that
sucks your boots off, all without being noticed. Then, when he's sneaked up on
his victim, he coughs to alert him before he stabs him. An altercation ensues
and things look bad for the husband, but the cop then arrives on the scene.
Curiously in every other scene in the show she's wearing impractical pixie
boots, but luckily she's suddenly wearing wellies. She ignores her husband, who
is bleeding to death in a puddle, while she and the bloke discuss the plot at
length. Then she reads him his rights, marches him over several miles of bog,
gets him into a police car, stands around until it's getting dark, and then
reacts in horror when seemingly for the first time she sees her half-dead
husband being stretchered into an ambulance. The husband gasps that he doesn't
reckon he'll die, so she shrugs and wanders off, presumably so she can get changed
back into her pixie boots for the next scene. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">As I said, never once does
anyone behave like a real person does, and this show is all the better for it.
Roll on season 2, I hope, and roll on season 4 of Twin Peaks, but, please, no
more Safe House.</span></span></div>
I.J. Parnhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08933834936324859175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965782603800207970.post-44514474194400012252017-11-08T07:13:00.000-08:002017-12-20T06:51:37.535-08:00Bullet Catch Showdown in paperbackMy 2014 Black Horse Western in now available as a large print paperback. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ggY2Mr13WJk/Wiqw8hZS8iI/AAAAAAAAE84/HztS11E2frc3sRFb_EGPucJVkb0eAcNeQCLcBGAs/s1600/Linford.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1089" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ggY2Mr13WJk/Wiqw8hZS8iI/AAAAAAAAE84/HztS11E2frc3sRFb_EGPucJVkb0eAcNeQCLcBGAs/s320/Linford.jpg" width="217" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z712OwUzFzY/WASvRhTFE_I/AAAAAAAAE3M/H-Xr0BUniDMbD45lPyslYqsngQqFuEcbACLcB/s1600/9781444828986.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
I really like this cover. The happy-go-lucky critter with the cheeky grin is different to the hard-bitten cowpokes that usually appear on my westerns. As the story is a bit different and involves a magic show it feels appropriate. This one is my 25th Linford Western.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>Stage magician Malachi Muldoon is the world's most dangerous practitioner of the arcane arts with his performance of the notorious bullet catch. His show in Bear Creek draws the interest of Adam Clements and Deputy Hayward Knight. While Clements is keen to join Malachi on stage and become part of his act, Hayward is out to try and solve a mystery: it seems that, wherever Malachi Muldoon performs, a trail of bodies is left behind...</em></div>
I.J. Parnhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08933834936324859175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965782603800207970.post-78055871324814385592017-09-27T06:50:00.000-07:002018-07-03T04:19:58.650-07:00Paperback version of Massacre at Bluff Point now available<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EQeiXyBXYBA/Wztbv5hlD-I/AAAAAAAAFG0/PxxN8SRGuvcipdVm5mEbYs3h8mSF8H-XgCLcBGAs/s1600/Massacre_at_Bluff_Point.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="993" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EQeiXyBXYBA/Wztbv5hlD-I/AAAAAAAAFG0/PxxN8SRGuvcipdVm5mEbYs3h8mSF8H-XgCLcBGAs/s320/Massacre_at_Bluff_Point.png" width="198" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";"><em>Ethan Craig picked the wrong day to start
working for Sam Pringle’s outfit. Within hours of joining up, Ansel Stark’s
bandit gang bushwhacked the outfit at Bluff Point and Ethan saw all his new
colleagues gunned down in cold blood.<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>
</em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: center; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";"><em>He vowed to get his revenge,
but before Ethan could get his manhunt underway his bad luck continued when for
the second time he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and Sheriff Henry
Fisher arrested him. His presumed crime was being a member of the very gang
he’d sworn to track down!<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>
</em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: center; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";"><em>With nobody believing his
innocence and a ruthless bandit to catch, can Ethan ever hope to succeed?</em></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: center; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";"><em></em></span> </div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";">Available as a paperback and a download from all <a href="http://mybook.to/MassacreAtBluffPoint">Amazon</a> stores.</span>I.J. Parnhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08933834936324859175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965782603800207970.post-76424539210761137822017-08-30T06:24:00.000-07:002018-07-03T04:17:10.375-07:00Riders of the Barren Plains now available on Kindle<em>Riders of the Barren Plains</em> is now available on Kindle. This was my 17th Black Horse Western and the 5th Cassidy Yates yarn. <o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-blUd1XfKgFA/WztZBRYT9eI/AAAAAAAAFGo/bfiaMid0Rj0Q0YpDMT567kugS8Q6nvs9wCLcBGAs/s1600/Barren_Plainsjpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-blUd1XfKgFA/WztZBRYT9eI/AAAAAAAAFGo/bfiaMid0Rj0Q0YpDMT567kugS8Q6nvs9wCLcBGAs/s320/Barren_Plainsjpg.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dJn2E_mgYSc/WE6KA8t_LHI/AAAAAAAAE3w/ZqQtYgj29xMpd0UhuCJZ2yE4g0ky1FJQQCLcB/s1600/McClurejpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></span> </div>
This novel heads back to the Barren Plains, a place that has featured in several of my stories. Like many of the Cassidy Yates yarns it has a split narrative alternating between him and another character. In this case the other character is the criminal that Cassidy is after, and writing about both the investigation and the attempt to evade detection was fun as it let me write about the side of the story that I don't usually cover.</div>
It's now available from all good <a href="http://mybook.to/RidersOfTheBarrenPlains">amazon</a> stores. <br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><em>Jeff
Steed rode into Carmon looking for work, but when he got caught up in a bank
raid he found himself running from both Sheriff Cassidy Yates and the bank
raider Blake Kelly. To escape from the net that was inexorably closing in on
him he assumed the identity of a dead man. But as that man was the leader of a
supply convoy, he had to undertake a hazardous journey across the Barren Plains
to the silver miners at Bleak Point.<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><em>With
the convoy being escorted by the lawman who had been trying to catch him and
the bandit he double-crossed hiding out in the Barren Plains, can Jeff ever
hope to survive?</em></span></em></div>
I.J. Parnhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08933834936324859175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965782603800207970.post-10386662105049915072017-07-26T06:40:00.000-07:002018-07-03T04:06:37.794-07:00Paperback version of Six-shooter Bride now available<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WP-ES0M6K0A/WztYMQFi5CI/AAAAAAAAFGc/loJeMOGTaQQVMoc5h-j9dFivcOxYGDHOgCLcBGAs/s1600/Six-shooter_Bride.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="993" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WP-ES0M6K0A/WztYMQFi5CI/AAAAAAAAFGc/loJeMOGTaQQVMoc5h-j9dFivcOxYGDHOgCLcBGAs/s320/Six-shooter_Bride.png" width="198" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";"><em></em></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";"><em>Slammed in a jail cell after killing a
man in a crooked poker game, Ethan Craig’s future looks bleak. Then a witness,
Amelia Ash, comes forward and offers Ethan a way out. But there’s a catch.
Amelia needs someone to escort her on a treacherous journey across
bandit-infested country to her forthcoming wedding.<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>
</em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: center; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";"><em>Ethan agrees to take her, but
with raging rivers to cross and Buck Lincoln’s outlaw gang on her tail, it
isn’t long before he realizes just how treacherous this journey will be. There’s
danger every step of the way in this gripping western.<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<br />
<br />
Available as a paperback and a download from all <a href="http://mybook.to/SixShooterBride">Amazon</a> storesI.J. Parnhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08933834936324859175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965782603800207970.post-5104827386763614222017-06-07T06:36:00.000-07:002018-07-03T04:01:54.945-07:00Paperback version of Wanted: McBain now available<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_Bw7Bl1EHxk/WztXTl4qdtI/AAAAAAAAFGQ/5KEDk1TybFk4arV8H8_GK4GZ-XwZBk9PgCLcBGAs/s1600/Wanted_McBain.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="993" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_Bw7Bl1EHxk/WztXTl4qdtI/AAAAAAAAFGQ/5KEDk1TybFk4arV8H8_GK4GZ-XwZBk9PgCLcBGAs/s320/Wanted_McBain.png" width="198" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";"><em>Sheriff Cassidy Yates couldn’t believe
his eyes when he read the Wanted poster. His ex-deputy, and friend, Nathaniel
McBain was both a wanted man and a member of Rodrigo Fernandez’s ruthless
outlaw gang.<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>
</em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: center; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";"><em>There’s nothing worse than a
lawman gone bad, and Cassidy knows it’s his duty to arrest McBain. But when he
finds him, McBain claims the Wanted poster is wrong and his true intention is
to infiltrate Fernandez’s gang and bring the outlaw to justice.<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>
</em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: center; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";"><em>Is McBain really working
undercover? Only one thing is certain: when Cassidy learns the full truth about
McBain’s plan, it will test to the very limit the strength of his friendship
and his duty as a lawman.<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<br />
<br />
Available as a paperback and a download from all <a href="http://mybook.to/WantedMcBain">Amazon</a> stores.I.J. Parnhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08933834936324859175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965782603800207970.post-40304667989036917392017-04-12T03:22:00.000-07:002017-04-12T03:22:02.575-07:00Dad's Army: The MovieI’ve
finally just got round to seeing the film version of the eternally popular 70s sitcom
Dad’s Army. The mixed reviews it received meant I wasn’t enthused about seeing it, but in
the end it was slightly better than I expected.
<br />
<br />
The
thing I found most interesting was seeing the acting choices that each member
of the ensemble cast took, which came down to either trying to play the
character or trying to play the actor who originally played the character. The
results were a mixed bag.<br />
<br />
Of
those who tried playing the character, I reckon Captain Mainwaring and Corporal Jones
both failed to work. I had thought that Toby Jones would be a good Mainwaring, a man
who’s a pompous idiot with an inferiority complex, but who, for all the
slapstick, is prepared to lead from the front and die for his men and country.
I didn’t get any of that, with Mainwaring just being a fat bald bloke who’s in
charge. This was doubly irritating as in the BBC’s Dad’s Army biopic John
Sessions was a perfect Arthur Lowe in both looks and mannerisms. <br />
<br />
Corporal
Jones was even worse bearing in mind that Tom Courtenay is one of the UK’s best
actors, but his Jones was just an annoying bloke who couldn’t be bothered to say
most of his numerous catchphrases. I think the mistake in casting was that
Clive Dunn was a young man playing an old man, so Jones was an amusing
caricature who could do all the slapstick nonsense, but getting an old actor to
play an old character just falls flat.
<br />
<br />
On
better ground was Bill Nighy, who made no effort to be either Sergeant Wilson or John Le
Mesurier, which was the right thing to do as only one man could ever master Wilson’s
affable ennui, and instead he did what he does in every film role I’ve ever
seen him in and was just Bill Nighy wandering around in a daze. Personally I
think they missed a trick, though, in not getting Ian Lavender to play Wilson,
which would have cemented one of the original sitcom’s best running jokes. Bill
Paterson was also acceptable as Private Frazer, although he had little to do, playing a dour Scotsman
rather than attempting to be John Laurie although, again, I reckon Ralph Riach in the BBC biopic was a better Laurie.<br />
<br />
The
actors who decided to play the original actors feared much better. Michael
Gambon pretty much stole the show as Private Godfrey with all the best lines and a
perfect mimic of Arnold Ridley’s mannerisms and way of moving. Daniel Mays was
a fine James Beck, both looking and sounding like Private Walker, and I was most surprised
by whoever they got to be Private Pike. I don’t who that actor was, but I quickly started
to think of him as being Ian Lavender.
<br />
<br />
Having
got together such a large ensemble cast, with most of the cast being acceptable
enough to make the reboot work, the strange thing was the decision to ignore
them for lengthy sections and instead waste time on telling a story. The sitcom
always worked perfectly when it was just the platoon standing in the church hall
listening to Mainwaring explain a perfectly simple mission to find German
parachutists disguised as nuns, while Wilson yawns and questions whether
Mainwaring is being wise, Godfrey gets told off for being awkward and asks to
be excused, Frazer pours scorn on Godfrey for being senile, Jones tells a
rambling story about the Sudan while waving his bayonet and getting slapped down
for going off in the realms of fantasy, Stupid boy Pike says his mum won’t let
him stay out late, and Walker offers to get his hands on some nuns’ habits
cheaply.
<br />
<br />
Frankly,
ninety minutes of that would have kept me amused because that’s what the show
is: a group of blokes coping with the boredom of waiting for something bad to
happen by irritating each other, but being always ready to go into battle or at
least extract Jones out of a combine harvester. Instead too much time was taken
up with the war, spies, romance, and other uninteresting nonsense, which often made me
think I was watching a comedy war film instead of Dad’s Army, which is a
character comedy set during the war. <br />
<br />
On
the other hand the decision to spend more time with the usually underused female
characters worked well. Giving Mrs Fox and Godfrey’s sisters something to do
was fun, even though I was irritated to see Godfrey lived in town, and Mavis having
a role other than being Pike’s mum was entertaining. Strangest of all was the
decision to have Mainwaring’s wife on screen, which at first felt like
sacrilege, but is a good example of when it’s best to ignore canon. Maintaining
the running joke that we never see her wouldn’t work well in a one-off film, so
it was better to make her into a female version of Mainwaring.
<br />
<br />
I'd guess the inspiration for the story came from one of the sitcom's best episodes Mum's Army, in which Mainwaring decides to use the womenfolk to help out, which leads to him falling for one of the recruits. In half-an-hour that episode managed more laughs than the film managed, and the romance plot was more believable. Despite that,
on the whole, the film was a decent revival that works best if you’re in a good mood,
although I’d have still liked a few more jokes and a few more scenes where
the cast are standing together in the church hall trading catchphrases and
rambling on pointlessly.I.J. Parnhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08933834936324859175noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965782603800207970.post-2783311825388447262017-03-29T03:15:00.000-07:002017-03-29T03:15:07.528-07:00Incident at Pegasus Heights now publishedMy 36th Black Horse Western is now available.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kFNNT4Fkb7c/WINDXi3zHHI/AAAAAAAAE5w/S2HXCkMYW4IflUimlGvhBmZO2w_Gvhc2gCLcB/s1600/Pegasus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kFNNT4Fkb7c/WINDXi3zHHI/AAAAAAAAE5w/S2HXCkMYW4IflUimlGvhBmZO2w_Gvhc2gCLcB/s320/Pegasus.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
<br />
This is the second book to feature fossil-hunter Jim Dragon, except this time he's the main character. As with last month's Devine's Mission this book previously appeared as a Kindle title, which is still available. <br />
<br />
This time Jim gets a sidekick in Elmina Fay, and I enjoyed writing her scenes so much I reckon she might just appear with Jim again one day . . .<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>When fossil-hunter Jim Dragon is on his way to Bear Creek to sell his latest discovery, he goes to the aid of a woman in distress, Elmina Fay. Unfortunately, Pierre Dulaine takes advantage of the situation and steals his fossils. Jim vows to reclaim his property and Elmina offers to help him, but only if he'll do something for her. She has heard a tale about the bones of a winged horse being found nearby and she wants Jim to find Pegasus' remains for her. At first, Jim is sceptical about embarking on such a mission, but before long he discovers that the truth behind the tale is even stranger than he could ever have imagined.</em></div>
I.J. Parnhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08933834936324859175noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965782603800207970.post-23727135128758868912017-03-22T03:24:00.000-07:002018-07-03T03:58:14.752-07:00Paperback version of The Last Rider from Hell now available<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VMp9n3Ue2K4/WztWiTbASEI/AAAAAAAAFGI/uWrOYqzs_486AcnwzLaI8MX8kel3cb0cwCLcBGAs/s1600/Last.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="993" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VMp9n3Ue2K4/WztWiTbASEI/AAAAAAAAFGI/uWrOYqzs_486AcnwzLaI8MX8kel3cb0cwCLcBGAs/s320/Last.png" width="198" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>Staked out under the baking heat of the desert sun by Frank Chapel’s riders from hell is no way for any man to die. Only someone as resilient as Matt Travis had the courage to endure the heat and the vultures and survive. When finally he manages to escape a gruesome death only one thing is on his mind – revenge.<br />But his memory has been blasted to oblivion and he is even unsure of his own name. All he knows is that everyone wants him dead!<br />Justice must be done and Matt will be judge, jury and hangman. First, though, he must face up to the truth of his past and, that accomplished, lead begins to fly.</em></div>
<br />
Available as a paperback and a download from all <a href="http://mybook.to/TheLastRiderFrom%20Hell">Amazon</a> storesI.J. Parnhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08933834936324859175noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965782603800207970.post-39415232344668709772017-03-15T01:50:00.000-07:002017-03-15T01:50:17.609-07:00The Return of Elmer DrakeIt always amuses me when characters that have appeared in the cover art of one of my books make a guest appearance on the cover of someone else's novel, so I was pleased to see the return of Elmer Drake in the latest batch of Black Horse Westerns.<br />
<br />
Elmer appeared in the Linford Western version of Beyond Redemption, and I was delighted with that picture as Elmer is a religious nutjob and the cover had him lurking in bottom left hand corner appropriately brandishing both a gun and a cross.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3ynUZafRnWM/WKAwkVtwLeI/AAAAAAAAE6U/lENZopFS8xMTGj1bPcXTCSHLFLgq0Jh7gCLcB/s1600/frid1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3ynUZafRnWM/WKAwkVtwLeI/AAAAAAAAE6U/lENZopFS8xMTGj1bPcXTCSHLFLgq0Jh7gCLcB/s320/frid1.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<br />
Now he's appeared in Sam Clancy's Valley of Thunder where he's got a star pinned on his chest, presumably because he's given up on the cross and got hold of another gun.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g0XkCdifjJ0/WKAw789sUKI/AAAAAAAAE6Y/fhqG5vaDd3AZpdAN3xDyTSU84SsH0GO9QCLcB/s1600/frid2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g0XkCdifjJ0/WKAw789sUKI/AAAAAAAAE6Y/fhqG5vaDd3AZpdAN3xDyTSU84SsH0GO9QCLcB/s320/frid2.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
I.J. Parnhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08933834936324859175noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965782603800207970.post-87886058764651838852017-03-08T03:22:00.000-08:002018-07-03T03:54:40.558-07:00Paperback version of The Ten Per Cent Gang now available<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5d490lYHpv8/WztVnyChpwI/AAAAAAAAFF8/TtIDlN2_npgjw1i-J7TEUGwoI-aW2pqdACLcBGAs/s1600/Ten_Per_Cent_Gang..png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="993" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5d490lYHpv8/WztVnyChpwI/AAAAAAAAFF8/TtIDlN2_npgjw1i-J7TEUGwoI-aW2pqdACLcBGAs/s320/Ten_Per_Cent_Gang..png" width="198" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>Sheriff Wes Creed has suffered yet another disastrous day. Earlier, Clayton Bell’s bandit gang raided a cash shipment bound for Lincoln’s bank. And while Creed fruitlessly pursued the bandits, the vigilante organization, the Ten Per Cent gang, calmly tracked and reclaimed the stolen cash. And for their trouble, the vigilantes retained their usual fee – ten per cent of the cash.<br />With the Ten Per Cent gang now threatening to enforce all justice in Lincoln, Creed realizes he has to slap them in jail, even if it means riding roughshod over every law in the land.<br />So Creed has no choice but to forge an alliance with the only man who hates the Ten Per Cent gang as much as he does – Clayton Bell.</em></div>
<br />
Available as a paperback and a download from all <a href="http://mybook.to/TheTenPerCent%20Gang">Amazon</a> storesI.J. Parnhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08933834936324859175noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965782603800207970.post-19236155677899325082017-03-01T03:04:00.000-08:002017-03-01T03:04:00.148-08:00Devine's Mission now published.My 35th Black Horse Western is now available.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RgYDqktigxE/WINChUc_SSI/AAAAAAAAE5k/GuJh2i9-MegaIBT1px5wf6dr3t_1NK6SACLcB/s1600/Mission.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RgYDqktigxE/WINChUc_SSI/AAAAAAAAE5k/GuJh2i9-MegaIBT1px5wf6dr3t_1NK6SACLcB/s320/Mission.jpg" width="206" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
This book is the third to feature Marshal Jake T. Devine as the central character, and he's still using his traditional approach to law-enforcement of killing anyone who makes the mistake of threatening him.<br />
<br />
I'd previously published this book as a Kindle title and it's still available now that the book has gone to hardback.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>When Lachlan McKinley raided Fairmount Town's bank, the four-thousand dollar bounty that was posted on his head attracted plenty of manhunters, but everyone that went after him ended up dead. Bounty hunter Jonathon Lynch reckoned he could do better. Lachlan was Jonathon's step-brother and his mission was personal, but when he joined the hunt he soon discovered that all was not as it seemed and Lachlan may, in fact, be innocent. Worse, U.S. Marshal Jake Devine was also after Lachlan. Devine is more likely to destroy the peace than to keep it, and so can Jonathon bring the guilty to justice before Devine does his worst?</em></div>
I.J. Parnhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08933834936324859175noreply@blogger.com0