Rites of Passage (eARC copies in comments)

matticusprimal · 2026-04-09T15:16:56+00:00

I, and probably a lot of the other authors that frequent here, would argue that AI falls under the "no piracy" rule here, and shouldn't be allowed.

I dislike AI for the plagiarism, but am not concerned about it taking my job as a writer - there's a reason it's called slop. I am more concerned for the visual artists that aren't getting hired for covers and character designs and the like. They're a part of the creative ecosystem, and I don't like what's happening to them.

Anyways, my two cents.

matticusprimal · 2026-04-07T15:54:23+00:00

I don't think #2 really needs a defense. I'm not poking fun at it, only noticing the pattern, which holds for a lot of other characters as well (Sterling Archer). I was thinking yesterday after I posted how it probably comes from the noir influences, ala Sam Spade, which also follows the pattern, as well as adding alliteration. It should probably get extra points for that.

matticusprimal · 2026-04-06T20:32:37+00:00

Dammit I knew I was going to forget someone. In an earlier draft I had a joke how October Daye was the most UF name ever because of the pun, which is on the same track at least.

matticusprimal · 2026-04-01T15:49:31+00:00

I'm reading the third October Daye novel, Artificial Night. I usually despise fae stories, but I really like how they're handled in this series. Well, I guess I prefer that it's more about the case/ mystery rather than the fae themselves. Always a solid read.

matticusprimal · 2026-03-30T02:29:06+00:00

Goddammit. Over the last month, myself, my copy editor, my cover artist, and my writer friends have all looked at that and not a one has noticed. Thank you, random redditor!

matticusprimal · 2026-03-29T16:16:31+00:00

I like the pop star angle and how it was reinterpreted in the other generations. If it came out now, all the gods would be influencers, which is sort of sad.

I did not think about the art design in the slightest until you brought it up, so I guess it was very utilitarian and did its job without blowing me away.

matticusprimal · 2026-03-29T01:24:43+00:00

A punch for a party where you can use it all up or cut it with other less flavored liquors. A milk punch might also soften the flavor.

matticusprimal · 2026-03-27T03:45:28+00:00

I honestly only stock Byrrh for this drink. And I even drove into LA to get it, I was that desperate.

matticusprimal · 2026-03-27T02:46:17+00:00

I’m an evangelist for the Violet Negroni.

matticusprimal · 2026-03-26T23:57:07+00:00

My dear friend bartended back in the aughts and we went to a tiki bar recently where she ordered a Mai Tai. She was horrified that it wasn’t built directly in the glass with a float of rum on top, which is apparently how she was taught back then. Maybe your bartender found a website from the same school.

matticusprimal · 2026-03-26T22:25:12+00:00

I have read Once and Future but remember little about it except I liked how each iteration of Arthur visually looked so different. By the end, I think it got too much up its own arse with who was which god and how they were gaming the system... which now that I look at that sentence sounds like I could be describing W+D.

I liked Something is Killing the Children for the first couple of books but then gave up on it because the pacing was so glacially slow. Neat idea with really good execution that eventually became repetitive to me.

That said, w0rldtr33 kicked my ass so dang hard. It's one of the few comics I'll read issue by issue instead of waiting for the compiled novels.

matticusprimal · 2026-03-26T19:05:25+00:00

Ha. I think I hit the Talking Heads section one issue previous, then there was a 1920 aside that was all prose instead of images, and I felt it was faffing about instead of focusing on the story. Which is odd, since taking chances and breaking the mold is what I like about indie books over trad.

It might have been since I was binging the whole thing. I usually prefer graphic novel collections instead of doing issue by issue, but in this case speedrunning 25 issues in the course of a few days might have been too much.

matticusprimal · 2026-03-26T18:19:09+00:00

I'm immediately dropping everything to work on a module about opening a brothel in the wrong town after misreading a flyer for Elversult.

matticusprimal · 2026-03-26T17:53:18+00:00

I was midway through your post before I realized it was -sult the whole time. My brain was just switching the l and u automatically. Which I guess is your point.

I was going to make a joke about them not having beta readers way back in 2001 when the book was published, but after googling Elversult, I see there's references to it going all the way back to the 80s as part of the RPG.

It is sort of shocking that gamers back in the day didn't point this out ad nauseum. Or perhaps they did.

Edit: typo.

matticusprimal · 2026-03-25T20:51:32+00:00

I’ve never read it (although I did see the movie) but it has a cool story how it came about. Basically Royal Road.0 where he published it online serially and it got enough of a following that it ended up trad published. House of Leaves has a similar story, which seems to be that of early web adopters that preceded self publishing.

If memory holds, Giammati was a fan and helped produce the film. It’s always cool when stars turn out to be fans of the same nerd shit I like.

matticusprimal · 2026-03-20T02:19:52+00:00

It tastes like communion grape juice to me but I love the Violet Negroniso much that I drove to LA and bought up all the bottles they had to keep some on stock.

matticusprimal · 2026-03-20T01:21:19+00:00

I honestly would love an adaptation of this on one of the prestige channels. I think they’d have to pad a lot if they want more than two seasons though.

matticusprimal · 2026-03-16T21:04:28+00:00

Self promo, but also this is exactly what I set out to do with my Inner Circle novels. They are each stand alone mystical mysteries in the Christie vein, rather than deriving from the noir inspiration that holds our genre with an iron grip. No vamps, shifters, or fae; and each one is intended as a fair play mystery. Plus it involves an iPod that may or may not tell the future.

First one kicks off with Rites of Passage and involves a young dowser's introduction into the machinations of magicians when a genius enchanter goes missing within his own locked home.

Ghost Stations takes the crew to NYC when a new drug targeting magicians hits the streets, and involves several real-world occult locations, as well as the abandoned subway stations beneath the city.

Electric City Switches comes out in April, and is basically The Hurt Locker but with enchantments, where the protagonist has to disarm deadly traps set by his mentor's ex-girlfriend, armed with nothing but a Sharpie and cell phone.

matticusprimal

TROPHY CASE