I will most likely be away until the 28th, so until then…
may your Yuletide be blessed with joyous revelry and celebration.

See you next week.

HERE BE SPOILERS
READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

The premiere LOST Fan Site is a little place called DarkUFO. Dark has access to some terrific insider information and his confidential informants never cease to thrill and entertain the LOST devoted with insights, snippets, and spoilers often parceled out throughout the various seasons we find ourselves in.

As a sort of Christmas present to the LOST Faithful a game of Hangman was offered up with a slow procession of letters revealed at calculated intervals. Now that the puzzle has been revealed in full, it’s time to give it a closer look.

A CHESS GAME IS AN APT ANALOGY AS WHITE AND BLACK MANIPULATE THE PAWNS. THE EYELINED ONE IS TORN, AS “SAMUEL” AIDS HIM, BUT FOR A PRICE.

White and Black are obviously Jacob and MIB, two men locked in some kind of philosophical conflict and their weapons are the survivors of Flight 815, among others. “Samuel” is code for MIB and it appears based on this spoiler that he and Richard have a connection. Other spoilers have placed them both on the Black Rock, so it will be interesting to see what dilemma befalls our unaging and enigmatic friend that he would be forced to turn to MIB for aid.

ALDO, DOGEN, MARTIN, LENNON, AND OMAR ARE NOT LONG FOR THIS WORLD. SOME FALL TO A TRAINED SOLDIER WHILE OTHERS DISCOVER THEIR DARK SIDES FOR THE FIRST TIME.

The “trained soldier” is a reference to Sayid. Nice to know that he’ll be returning true-to form in season 6. As to the “others discovering their dark sides”, I believe this is a reference to the survivors being drawn into the conflict and taking sides in the Jacob/MIB conflict.

OTHERS THOUGHT GONE REAPPEAR, INCLUDING AN ATTENDANT AND TWO YOUNGSTERS.

Ah, the return of Cindy the Flight Attendant and the two kids, Zach and Emma.

DISCOVERIES ARE MADE. JONATHAN ACCOMPANIED BY JIM FORD READ THE CRUCIAL WRITING ON THE WALL, LITERALLY. THE LATTER FROM ABOVE STUMBLES ONTO A MACABRE PILE, “KENDALL” AND A TRAP SPRUNG SEVERAL TIMES.

John Locke and Sawyer, together again… and they are to discover the heart of the matter. I assume the “macabre pile” to be a reference to the Dharma Massacre pit, filled with the remains of Sawyers’ old friends.  The “writing on the wall” will reveal the “trap”, which is that Jacob and MIB’s conflict has brought people to this island for centuries to take part in their little war. Could “Kendall” be the missing part of the Trimurti? Is she the Creator? Is she the “mother” to these two warring “brothers”? Could she be the physical embodiment of Tawaret herself?

LANDING BRINGS MIXED BLESSINGS. CHRISTIAN’S A GRANDFATHER, A CHANCE ROMANTIC DATE ISN’T REALLY BY CHANCE AT ALL, AND ALTHOUGH MANY OLD FRIENDS CROSS PATHS, NORWOOD IS NOT TO BE A LOCKE NOR JAZEEM A JARRAH.

As expected, the Alternate Reality in which the Survivors of 815 actually make it to LAX does not exactly mean that they all live happily ever after. Helen and John Locke do not get their happy ending, and neither do Nadia and Sayid. The more interesting part of the above spoiler pertains to Christian Sheppard. We already know he’s a grandfather via Claire and Aaron, but this seems to refer to Jack becoming a father. As has been hinted at in other spoilers, the AltReality Jack seems to have a kid that he will visit, but I think it goes deeper than that. I believe that Kate was pregnant when they returned to the Island by way of Ajira 316, that she was Claire’s proxy on that flight. It makes one wonder what the ramifications of this will be.

AND SOMEWHERE, LITTLETON KILLS KATE… ALMOST.

Looks like Claire and Kate are destined to have a serious misunderstanding.

BUT WHOSE SIDE IS ANYONE REALLY ON?

Good question. AltReality aside, the Jacob/MIB conflict is going to heat up and the Survivors are going to choose sides and be at war with one another. Does anyone doubt that this is going to be one epic endgame? In 40 days from now we’ll find out…

A newly discovered piece of stained, wrinkled paper conjures up the details of a Jewish exorcism that appears to have been performed sometime in the 18th or 19th century.

The ghostly document details the prayers that were performed on Qamar bat Rahmah to try to rid her of the spirit of her dead husband, Nissim ben Bonia. According to the handwritten but well-preserved Hebrew text, the rabbis asked the ghost to “leave this woman, Qamar bat Rahmah, [and forgo] all authority and control that it has over her; and Nissim ben Bonia shall have no more authority and control whatsoever over Qamar bat Rahmah in any form or manner at all.”

The 150-word text provides a haunting insight into the often forgotten world of the Jewish occult. While exorcisms are frequently described in Jewish texts from the Middle Ages on, this appears to be the first text that provides the prayer used in a specific exorcism.

Continue Reading HERE

Coming to the US in September 2010

KING MAKER:
THE KNIGHTS OF BRETON COURT (BOOK ONE)

by Maurice Broaddus

Described as The Wire meets Excalibur, King Maker takes place on the streets of Indianapolis where the ancient Arthurian cycle is replaying in the lives of rival street gangs. Told through the eyes of King, as he gathers like-minded friends and warriors around him to venture into the fastness of Dred, the notorious crime lord, in a stunning mix of myth and harsh reality.

“There are fewer greater pleasures in a reader’s life than witnessing a writer whose work they have enjoyed reached a new plateau in their storytelling skills, and such is the case here… Broaddus delivers in a voice that both whispers and roars and cannot be ignored.”
— Bram Stoker and International Horror Guild Award-winner Gary A. Braunbeck

UK/Australia
4 March 2010
416pp A-format paperback
£7.99 UK $tbc Aus
ISBN 978 0 00 734331 7

US/Canada
September 2010
416pp mass-market paperback
$7.99 US, $10.99 CAN
ISBN 978 0 06 199425 8

Yes, I realize this seems out of place on this site, but if you know me at all then you know that Football is a big part of my life. The game is a thrilling testament to the human spirit. It is compelling… dramatic… and inspires a fiery passion inside my primordial soul. On the field of battle two teams square off in a chessmatch of strategy and gamesmanship, in which more than just physical prowess is required. It takes heart and courage, patience and dedication to win the day… in this, Football becomes a great metaphor for life. This game is a microcosm of the greater human condition and I love it.

Are you ready for some Football?

Why yes I am.

Two players… Two sides… One is Light… One is Dark…

Do you want to know a secret?

LOST returns February 2 on ABC.

My good friends at Belfire Press made a little announcement today that may be of interest to some of you:

Belfire Press is proud to bring you a new signing announcement just in time for Yule and Christmas!

We are pleased to add Bob Freeman not only to our staff as an artist, but to our growing family of authors. Bob’s novel Descendant, will debut in Fall of 2010. Descendant is the first in a trilogy of occult detective thrillers, and having had the opportunity to read it, I am eagerly awaiting the next installments.

This will be followed in February of 2011 by an unrelated novel, Autumn Moon and the Book of Secrets.

I couldn’t be more excited to be working with Jodi and Louise at Belfire Press. Knowing that both Descendant and Autumn Moon are in such capable hands is very encouraging. It is an honour to be counted among the growing stable of talent that Belfire is corralling.

No, I’m not talking about Woods’ roving eye… instead I’m talking about a little reality game show you just might have heard of — Survivor.

Survivor is at its best when it is populated with great characters and make no mistake about it… Russell (aka Evil Russell) was a great character.

He may not have won the million dollars (though I certainly felt he should have) but he played the game like few others.

Finding every hidden immunity idol.

Winning the final individual immunity challenge.

Manipulating and controlling every aspect of the game save for one… and that one is the most important: The Jury.

It’s hard to beat sour grapes, and it seems to me that the Jury were embarrassed that they got played so thoroughly.

My hat’s off to you, Russell. You made this season one of my favorite of the past ten years and you were the one who finally knocked Rupert off that lofty perch reserved for my favorite Survivor Competitor ever.

My Top 5 Castaways are:

5. JT Thomas

4. Tom Buchanan

3. “Boston” Rob Mariano

2. Rupert Boneham

1. Russell Hantz

Author Tom Piccirilli has interviewed one of my favorite storytellers, Peter Straub.

Peter Straub is the New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen novels, including the classic GHOST STORY. Two of his most recent, LOST BOY LOST GIRL and IN THE NIGHT ROOM, are winners of the Bram Stoker Award. He lives in New York City. Learn more at his official website: www.peterstraub.net.

PIC: At its heart A DARK MATTER is a mystery about a horrific event that haunts a group of teens through four decades. You leave so much “off stage” in the story, patiently filling in the gaps as we progress, leaving enigmatic characters and situations shrouded in fog longer than I suspect a lot of writers would. Are you driven by the idea that the mystery is the important aspect and not the answer?

PS: I guess I have been working my way toward this position for a long time now. A resolution is very satisfying, especially in fiction, but in life hard to come by. People who have Final Answers always have partial answers or are horribly wrong.

Continue reading HERE

Remember this? Well, here’s Connor helping me play-test a homemade version of The Occult Detective Game. It still has some things that need ironed out, but we had one hell of a good time. I’ll be printing up a more finalized product and tracking down player pieces soon…