Interestingly, in about 2007 I wrote a never-published book in response to Albom titled "Five People You Won't Meet In Heaven," but it's more of a theological thing that would likely bore you to tears.
That's a toughie, Vortex. I poked around online and the only things I found that were even remotely close were "magic circles" (for which I could find no other 'technical' name), but the resemblance was limited to the circle because the interior designs were very different. Glpyhs look more...
One fine day while on my way to Ipswich by sea
I met a rather charming chap who asked me in to tea
It seems he was a dragon You know, the kind with wings
teeth and tails, and claws, and scales,
and all those dragonlike details.
I admit I jumped a bit when he began to sing:
"I'm the Reluctant...
Kit, I'm late to this thread but it's fascinating to read your posts. I practiced Shaolin kung fu for about eight years, and your descriptions are dead-on. So much of kung fu, and especially tai chi, are about deflecting the opponent's force and redirecting it in a smooth flowing motion...
Recent personal faves include "The Lies of Locke Lamora" (Scott Lynch) and "The Way of Shadows" (Brent Weeks). Both are excellent first novels in their respective series but stand alone just fine without any need at all to continue in either one
Possibly my all-time favorite novel is Gogol's Dead Souls. Hilariously funny stuff. Also a big fan of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, great psychological thriller.
As far as fantasy novels, some of my favorites are the original Black Company series, and more recently I was very...
Hey guys, not sure if anyone else has run across this resource (I don't remember how I found it), but this site has a helpful name generator. It's pretty random in what it spits out, but I have gotten some good ideas from it.
Fantasy Name Generator