Gary Caplan
Autor von Talcon Star City
5 Werke 24 Mitglieder 10 Rezensionen
Reihen
Werke von Gary Caplan
Getagged
E-Book (1)
Fantasy (1)
Fantasy/Science Fiction (1)
Fiktion (1)
gelesen in 2013 (1)
K (1)
Kindle (1)
Magie (1)
noch zu lesen (3)
Science-Fiction (1)
Space Opera (1)
travel between worlds (1)
Untoter (1)
various races (1)
Wissenswertes
Für diesen Autor liegen noch keine Einträge mit "Wissenswertem" vor. Sie können helfen.
Mitglieder
Rezensionen
Gekennzeichnet
ronploude | Oct 27, 2018 | 
Rightful Heir – A review of the novel ‘The Return of the Ancient Ones’
“Whatever most captures your mind controls your life.” – Kare Anderson
In author Gary Caplan’s book ‘The Return of the Ancient Ones’ we return back to the land of Illúmaril. It has become an area that resembles an extended battleground with various forces and foes battling each other to reign supreme. It’s also a land that is awaiting its destined leader Gideon to employ the Sword of Order and vanquish the dark forces known as Thatos and his army. Gideon and his gang get unexpected help from an enemy group called the Darkspawn after they are betrayed by Thatos. An under threat Illúmaril’s future rests on the skills of one man.
The Return of the Ancient Ones (hereafter referred to as TROTAO) is a complex story involving multiple important heroic characters and numerous soldiers fighting on the side of both good and evil. Connoisseurs of topical popular culture will immediately make a connection between the storyline of TROTAO and that of Star Wars. But here’s where it one-ups the latter; this thought itself might be blasphemous to some, but if someone had wondered what would happen if full-on magic were introduced to the Star Wars empire – TROTAO would be the answer. The narrative introduces telepathy, spell-weaving, skyships, powerful crystals, swords, beasts & demons to an action packed story that’s full of combat and the revelation of the purpose behind the main hero’s life.
Staying true to the genre, the narrative is highly descriptive and builds up the land of Illúmaril and its various inhabitants vividly in your mind. In fact Mr. Caplan must be appreciated for utilizing his imagination to the hilt and coming up with such diverse characters and then arming them with unique powers and accompaniments like special swords and amulets. You also get to experience the story from different perspectives as the author tells the story from multiple characters’ point of view.
The novel gives equal weightage to both characters and story. The character of Gideon coming to grips with his destiny and forming an alliance to take on a much powerful enemy is explored nicely. And the plot moves along steadily leading to a big and expected clash at the end where the identity of the victor won’t leave anyone surprised. The characters, be it Draeborn, Almaren, Gil, Bernord and Gideon’s other friends grow and develop as the plot moves along. These characters appear honest because they aren’t afraid to portray fear & doubt. And it’s their honor, courage and camaraderie that make them heroic.
There’s not a lot here that you could underscore as bad, especially if you’re into this genre. But for some, the sheer number of names of geographical locations, Knights, Lords and demons might be overwhelming; as might the battle scenes that run the risk of being slightly repetitive.
In the end, the action in TROTAO keeps the story moving forward at a consistent pace and provides for an engrossing read. The novel has won the Indie excellence award for fantasy.… (mehr)
“Whatever most captures your mind controls your life.” – Kare Anderson
In author Gary Caplan’s book ‘The Return of the Ancient Ones’ we return back to the land of Illúmaril. It has become an area that resembles an extended battleground with various forces and foes battling each other to reign supreme. It’s also a land that is awaiting its destined leader Gideon to employ the Sword of Order and vanquish the dark forces known as Thatos and his army. Gideon and his gang get unexpected help from an enemy group called the Darkspawn after they are betrayed by Thatos. An under threat Illúmaril’s future rests on the skills of one man.
The Return of the Ancient Ones (hereafter referred to as TROTAO) is a complex story involving multiple important heroic characters and numerous soldiers fighting on the side of both good and evil. Connoisseurs of topical popular culture will immediately make a connection between the storyline of TROTAO and that of Star Wars. But here’s where it one-ups the latter; this thought itself might be blasphemous to some, but if someone had wondered what would happen if full-on magic were introduced to the Star Wars empire – TROTAO would be the answer. The narrative introduces telepathy, spell-weaving, skyships, powerful crystals, swords, beasts & demons to an action packed story that’s full of combat and the revelation of the purpose behind the main hero’s life.
Staying true to the genre, the narrative is highly descriptive and builds up the land of Illúmaril and its various inhabitants vividly in your mind. In fact Mr. Caplan must be appreciated for utilizing his imagination to the hilt and coming up with such diverse characters and then arming them with unique powers and accompaniments like special swords and amulets. You also get to experience the story from different perspectives as the author tells the story from multiple characters’ point of view.
The novel gives equal weightage to both characters and story. The character of Gideon coming to grips with his destiny and forming an alliance to take on a much powerful enemy is explored nicely. And the plot moves along steadily leading to a big and expected clash at the end where the identity of the victor won’t leave anyone surprised. The characters, be it Draeborn, Almaren, Gil, Bernord and Gideon’s other friends grow and develop as the plot moves along. These characters appear honest because they aren’t afraid to portray fear & doubt. And it’s their honor, courage and camaraderie that make them heroic.
There’s not a lot here that you could underscore as bad, especially if you’re into this genre. But for some, the sheer number of names of geographical locations, Knights, Lords and demons might be overwhelming; as might the battle scenes that run the risk of being slightly repetitive.
In the end, the action in TROTAO keeps the story moving forward at a consistent pace and provides for an engrossing read. The novel has won the Indie excellence award for fantasy.… (mehr)
Diese Rezension wurde von mehreren Benutzern als Missbrauch der Nutzungsbedingungen gekennzeichnet und wird nicht mehr angezeigt (Anzeigen).
Gekennzeichnet
Kevin_Peter | Jan 11, 2016 | 
Space Battles – A review of the novel ‘The Phoenix Rising’
“If you will not die for us, you cannot ask us to die for you.” – Jacqueline Carey
Author Gary Caplan’s novel ‘The Phoenix Rising’ is set in a futuristic time period hundreds of years from now. Planet Earth and the various nations as we know today are history and in their place are space faring civilizations, doing what all great civilizations do best – explorations and combating for supremacy. Alliance of Worlds is a huge group in space, made-up of more than 250 civilizations engaged in space explorations for resources and defending their vast assets against enemy infiltrations and misadventures. And there’s no dearth of it as groups like the Varlons and the Accadians harbors dreams of space dominance. Recently promoted Commodore Robert Allen Sheppard has his task cut out while manning the Phoenix ship and going into battle against such enemy forces.
It is as much a story about the main character’s journey as it is about a civilization’s journey to expand and also protect itself from enemy incursions. Often, the various thought processes and actions undertaken by the space civilizations and their leaders will remind you of the actions and decisions taken by various nations and their leaders here on Earth. The description of the space combat scenes, especially the strategies and tactics used by the opposing and defending forces will lights up the battle scenes in your mind. But it’s not just mindless action that fills these pages, as the book also delves into the actions taken by the political and military leadership and fills the narrative with political intrigue.
Robert Allen Sheppard has many attractive qualities in him that makes him a great leader. He is smart and is a brilliant tactician, but he is also a compassionate individual who is well aware of his own mortality. His interactions with his crew members also reveal a lot about the character.
The quality of a book can generally be judged by the words in it, in addition to its story. It's not just what you say, but how you say it that matters. Taking off from this ‘The Phoenix Rising’ can be judged in two distinct ways. Firstly, it handles the theme of space battles and culture quite well. The detailing in this fully imagined world and the description of it manages to paint a lively picture in the minds of the reader. But alternatively it’s the same point that gives the novel a feel of an overwritten work. Fantasy/Military fiction genre books are generally more descriptive than others but you still feel this story could have been narrated more succinctly.
The setting and the characters have enough in them to warrant a sequel adventure story or even a prequel explaining how they all got here in the first place. If the writing can shrug off the extra weight it displays here then it can become a good adventure series.
Despite the numerous intricate and technical descriptions ‘The Phoenix Rising’ by and large is an entertaining read. That is if you are willing to overlook a few glitches here and there and are not expecting a life altering novel here. The plot, the setting, the characterization, and the writing all have a simple objective and that is to provide you with mindless entertainment and in that respect the book succeeds.… (mehr)
“If you will not die for us, you cannot ask us to die for you.” – Jacqueline Carey
Author Gary Caplan’s novel ‘The Phoenix Rising’ is set in a futuristic time period hundreds of years from now. Planet Earth and the various nations as we know today are history and in their place are space faring civilizations, doing what all great civilizations do best – explorations and combating for supremacy. Alliance of Worlds is a huge group in space, made-up of more than 250 civilizations engaged in space explorations for resources and defending their vast assets against enemy infiltrations and misadventures. And there’s no dearth of it as groups like the Varlons and the Accadians harbors dreams of space dominance. Recently promoted Commodore Robert Allen Sheppard has his task cut out while manning the Phoenix ship and going into battle against such enemy forces.
It is as much a story about the main character’s journey as it is about a civilization’s journey to expand and also protect itself from enemy incursions. Often, the various thought processes and actions undertaken by the space civilizations and their leaders will remind you of the actions and decisions taken by various nations and their leaders here on Earth. The description of the space combat scenes, especially the strategies and tactics used by the opposing and defending forces will lights up the battle scenes in your mind. But it’s not just mindless action that fills these pages, as the book also delves into the actions taken by the political and military leadership and fills the narrative with political intrigue.
Robert Allen Sheppard has many attractive qualities in him that makes him a great leader. He is smart and is a brilliant tactician, but he is also a compassionate individual who is well aware of his own mortality. His interactions with his crew members also reveal a lot about the character.
The quality of a book can generally be judged by the words in it, in addition to its story. It's not just what you say, but how you say it that matters. Taking off from this ‘The Phoenix Rising’ can be judged in two distinct ways. Firstly, it handles the theme of space battles and culture quite well. The detailing in this fully imagined world and the description of it manages to paint a lively picture in the minds of the reader. But alternatively it’s the same point that gives the novel a feel of an overwritten work. Fantasy/Military fiction genre books are generally more descriptive than others but you still feel this story could have been narrated more succinctly.
The setting and the characters have enough in them to warrant a sequel adventure story or even a prequel explaining how they all got here in the first place. If the writing can shrug off the extra weight it displays here then it can become a good adventure series.
Despite the numerous intricate and technical descriptions ‘The Phoenix Rising’ by and large is an entertaining read. That is if you are willing to overlook a few glitches here and there and are not expecting a life altering novel here. The plot, the setting, the characterization, and the writing all have a simple objective and that is to provide you with mindless entertainment and in that respect the book succeeds.… (mehr)
Diese Rezension wurde von mehreren Benutzern als Missbrauch der Nutzungsbedingungen gekennzeichnet und wird nicht mehr angezeigt (Anzeigen).
Gekennzeichnet
Kevin_Peter | 1 weitere Rezension | Jan 11, 2016 | 
Mirage of hope – A review of the novel ‘Talcon Star City’
“It is often in the darkest skies that we see the brightest stars” - Richard Evans
Prolific science fiction author Gary Caplan’s novel ‘Talcon Star City’ is the sequel to the 2009 release ‘The Phoenix Rising’. Painting the same vast expanse of space and its futuristic civilizations as revealed in the previous book, the new book too narrates the tale of such space faring people. A massive and powerful amalgamation of numerous civilizations, Alliance of Worlds is under constant threat of war and hostility from enemy civilizations who are hell bent on taking over this alliance. And their only hope is in the hands of a stalwart leader in Commodore Robert Sheppard who must not only rely upon his every intuition and skill but also seek help from a couple of new allies to fight the combined evil forces of Varlon and Accads. But he must do so before it’s too late for mankind.
While the space race led to nations competing with each other to send rockets and spaceships, what it also did was to introduce the power of science and create a spark of imagination amongst thousands of young minds, intriguing them about space and the role of man in them. This soon led to a parallel genre in fiction which later came to be known as space opera. And continuing from that initial spark which ignited our imagination, these novels inspired us to think outside of our little planet and become aware of the vastness of space and the potential that it contains. It has also given writers an opportunity to explore the theme of inequality that continue to exist among the different classes of people and the politics of colonizing space which hasn’t brought people closer as initially expected.
The Alliance of Worlds operate under an uneasy truce, with heavy prejudices on all sides and with multiple alien cultures in a race against time and each other to occupy it. And it is huge cast of characters within the vast expanse of space and time that we get to meet here, with a host of returning characters and a few new ones. And no decision of any character goes in vain as we get to see the ramification of their each decision in scenes that come later. It is perhaps the bane of this genre that makes its authors think that their books need to have its share of didactic moments and Talcon Star City is no different in that regard but unlike a lot of other books, Gary through his characters and his tone ensure that such moments are softened by the overall pace of the story. And after a slow start, the book develops and gradually builds up with bigger and better action. The engaging action, great dialogues and well developed characters with Robert Sheppard at the centre of it all rounds off the novel quite nicely.
Talcon Star City is a surprisingly quick read even with its sometimes wordy passages. This is mostly due to both the content and the voice narrating the story. Gary Caplan as a writer tends to use his prose and words alternately to paint a vast picture of the universe and also to get to the point faster than other novels in this genre. By placing political, social, and cultural theorems within a readable science fiction atmosphere, Gary has come up with a novel that is highly engaging to say the least. Sometimes deep with subtle symbolisms, it explores the basic human drive to explore the unknown and the dangers that lurk in them. And as it has always been for mankind, the greatest danger it faces is a mix of external threats and internal ideological struggles.… (mehr)
“It is often in the darkest skies that we see the brightest stars” - Richard Evans
Prolific science fiction author Gary Caplan’s novel ‘Talcon Star City’ is the sequel to the 2009 release ‘The Phoenix Rising’. Painting the same vast expanse of space and its futuristic civilizations as revealed in the previous book, the new book too narrates the tale of such space faring people. A massive and powerful amalgamation of numerous civilizations, Alliance of Worlds is under constant threat of war and hostility from enemy civilizations who are hell bent on taking over this alliance. And their only hope is in the hands of a stalwart leader in Commodore Robert Sheppard who must not only rely upon his every intuition and skill but also seek help from a couple of new allies to fight the combined evil forces of Varlon and Accads. But he must do so before it’s too late for mankind.
While the space race led to nations competing with each other to send rockets and spaceships, what it also did was to introduce the power of science and create a spark of imagination amongst thousands of young minds, intriguing them about space and the role of man in them. This soon led to a parallel genre in fiction which later came to be known as space opera. And continuing from that initial spark which ignited our imagination, these novels inspired us to think outside of our little planet and become aware of the vastness of space and the potential that it contains. It has also given writers an opportunity to explore the theme of inequality that continue to exist among the different classes of people and the politics of colonizing space which hasn’t brought people closer as initially expected.
The Alliance of Worlds operate under an uneasy truce, with heavy prejudices on all sides and with multiple alien cultures in a race against time and each other to occupy it. And it is huge cast of characters within the vast expanse of space and time that we get to meet here, with a host of returning characters and a few new ones. And no decision of any character goes in vain as we get to see the ramification of their each decision in scenes that come later. It is perhaps the bane of this genre that makes its authors think that their books need to have its share of didactic moments and Talcon Star City is no different in that regard but unlike a lot of other books, Gary through his characters and his tone ensure that such moments are softened by the overall pace of the story. And after a slow start, the book develops and gradually builds up with bigger and better action. The engaging action, great dialogues and well developed characters with Robert Sheppard at the centre of it all rounds off the novel quite nicely.
Talcon Star City is a surprisingly quick read even with its sometimes wordy passages. This is mostly due to both the content and the voice narrating the story. Gary Caplan as a writer tends to use his prose and words alternately to paint a vast picture of the universe and also to get to the point faster than other novels in this genre. By placing political, social, and cultural theorems within a readable science fiction atmosphere, Gary has come up with a novel that is highly engaging to say the least. Sometimes deep with subtle symbolisms, it explores the basic human drive to explore the unknown and the dangers that lurk in them. And as it has always been for mankind, the greatest danger it faces is a mix of external threats and internal ideological struggles.… (mehr)
Diese Rezension wurde von mehreren Benutzern als Missbrauch der Nutzungsbedingungen gekennzeichnet und wird nicht mehr angezeigt (Anzeigen).
Gekennzeichnet
Kevin_Peter | 3 weitere Rezensionen | Dec 11, 2014 | Auszeichnungen
Statistikseite
- Werke
- 5
- Mitglieder
- 24
- Beliebtheit
- #522,742
- Bewertung
- ½ 4.3
- Rezensionen
- 10
- ISBNs
- 7
Sheppard’s Quest is the third book in its series. While containing references to encounters in Gary Caplan’s prior books, the references did not leave this stand-alone novel wanting. The space scenes are adequately described and the characters were sufficiently developed to make the book an interesting read. Absent was escaping prose. When reading military space operas, I usually cannot put them down. Unfortunately, Sheppard’s Quest was easy to put down. After 20 minutes of reading, my mind was drifting; one time, I fell asleep.
The author has the right formula for a good military space sci-fi but lacks the thrilling prose that captures readers.… (mehr)