'Angel of Vengeance' Descends to Kindle

It's taken a while, but Fenriswulf Books have now just released the complete 'Angel of Vengeance' story for readers on the Amazon Kindle platform. Originally planned as a three-part illustrated series, this release features the complete text (the first part of which received some jolly good feedback on Authonomy.com), as well as a selection of artwork from the original two ebooks as a bonus feature.

UK readers can download it here.

US readers can find it here.

Oh, and the book will be available free to all between the dates of 25th - 29th September.

Please note: this one's definitely not for kids, even while some of the original content has been toned down for a general audience. At its heart, though, it remains an earthy parable of redemption and the will of the individual, and is not intended as a serious philosophical statement on the nature of divinity, or morality!

'Angel of Vengeance': Issue 1 Gets Good Critique

The prose of Issue 1 of Chaz's dark and adult graphic adventure series recently got some remarkably good feedback at www.authonomy.com, despite it being only the first part of the story, and without any of the integral artwork and design. The text was included in an online anthology entitled 'Read With Mother' (Part 2). Chaz has since departed that site, having not enough time, sadly, to do justice to his fellow writers' works, but came away with some great comments for the first part of Bosch and Aldaraia's twisted adventures:

FrancesK wrote:

"Angel of Vengeance - loved it. Though I can't see how it will translate into a graphic novel - will you leave out the descriptions? I'd give this 5 stars for the wing removal scene alone. That really got to me, having been an angel in the school nativity play age 5 and being unaware of anything - the audience, the other actors, the story - because of the intoxicating rustling of my enormous wings. Cool stuff, Chaz!"

Iso Nuys said:

"I can easily see an audience for this kind of novel, Chaz. The very beginning feels a bit of a trek at times. I like the informal interjections, but at the same time they do take you out of the moment. I think it probably gives you a bit of leeway to streamline some of these (the more biblical) first passages and get things moving a little quicker. There’s no doubt it’s nicely written, but the formal tone can feel leaden.

The wry humour works. The introduction of Bosch is wonderfully played out. I would give some consideration to what he is able to narrate and what he clearly can’t have witnessed first-hand. ‘This is where I come in,’ comes after a passage of description, and so the reader thinks, well, how does he know what just happened then? This is a very promising and fun read."

Bunderful said:

"This read like a cross between Danielle Trussoni's "Angelology" - and Terry Pratchett/Neil Gaiman's "Good Omens" - but darker. A combination of graphic yet lyrical description, comedy and sex. I'd like to see where you are going to take this... "

JS Watts said:

"I like the shift from epic, biblical language into chatty everyday demon.. Although written as a graphic story, it worked well as just pure, un-illustrated, and very smooth prose. The story had my attention and the characterization of Bosch worked well and was amusing. Not surprisingly, it is a very visual piece of writing.

Apart from a few nits note below, my only gripe is that it is clearly an extract. I like my short stories to have a beginning, a middle and an end. This has a beginning and a middle but no proper ending. I was left wanting more, which is a good thing, but I missed the satisfaction of a good conclusion. It isn’t really a story in its own right, but it is good writing."

The 'RWM' discussion forum, for those curious enough, is here. You can also sign up to the site for free - Chaz thoroughly recommends the site for those who enjoy reading and critiquing others works, many of which are of an astoundingly high standard. (Be wary of the 'popularity contest' culture therein, however.)

Issue 1 is still avilable for download as a full PDF file right here.

Venus in Saturn: Just Published!

At long last, the prequel to Maranatha is out there, in a special illustrated edition available only from Lulu.com.

While Maranatha was in many ways an occult thriller with some horror trappings, Venus has more of a horror mentality with much of the action (and weirdness) taking place in the mind of heroine Vanessa Descartes, and contains some of the most disturbing material Mr. Wood has ever written to date. (He concedes that if a writer can freak himself out while writing something, then it bodes well for readers who enjoy that kind of thing!) While avoiding gratuitousness, Venus is nonetheless a macabre exploration of the deepest reaches of the human psyche, and is recommended for readers who like their horror with a cold, cutting edge, and a forensic level of detail.

Still as complex and layered, however, Venus has been almost three years in production, and sets up the cosmic background for the third book in the Trinity Chronicles series, The Keys of Heaven.

The Origins of the Trinity Chronicles

Prior to the release of the next book in the Trinity Chronicles series (Venus in Saturn), Chaz has been working on a piece to set the scene for the whole background to these labyrinthine and layered books. In this short story, Beneath the Lion, we are taken back over ten millennia to outside the walls of the Garden of Eden...and a date with destiny for a certain notorious fallen angel. Heavily influenced by the forbidden lore of the Watchers and the Nephilim, Beneath the Lion also helps to set the scene for the third book in the series, and which sees the ultimate resolution of the complex mix of themes and conflicts which have entwined themselves through the past twelve thousand years of human history.

For Fenriswulf's Followers - A Springtime Freebie

Taking a break from editing Venus in Saturn, the next book in the Trinity Chronicles, Chaz thought it might be a nice idea to offer a free sample of the text to Fenriswulf's visitors and followers.

Simply browse to the e-Book page here and download the PDF. The free 63-page sample contains the first half-dozen or so chapters of Venus as things stand at present. Some of the work is still in 'beta' format, so any feedback or opinions at all will be gratefully received.

Warning: some disturbing and adult content lies within.

Venus in Saturn: Cover Preview

Among other art and design projects, Chaz has still been finding valuable time to coax the final draft of Venus in Saturn towards a conclusion. With so many plot threads it's taken a long time to get there, but official release is now slated for this Spring.

Here's Chaz's finished artwork for the cover, front and back, featuring heroine Vanessa Descartes (in the background) and the sadistic 'Destroying Angel of Dunkelsburg', nazi war criminal Dr. Else von Hinterstoisser. As with all of Chaz's works, however, the lines between good and evil are somewhat blurred...as our tormented protagonist soon finds out to her cost:

As a further taster, here's the back cover blurb text in full:

"Days before the turn of the Millennium, it is Vanessa Descartes' last criminal forensic case and seven years before the events of Maranatha, where Vanessa first met Dr. Khalamanga and Professor de Carranza.

A brutal psychopath stalks the streets of Whitechapel, echoing the crimes of Jack the Ripper, 111 years before.

The police are scratching for clues. Only Vanessa believes she understands the true meaning of the case from a series of bizarre occult, historical and scientific anomalies that stretch their
dark shadows over 10,000 years of human history.

As she infiltrates a cultish church based around the mythology of fallen angels, she begins to uncover even more terrifying details of a past she has tried to forget for so long...and one
that she never knew she had, until now.

How can she convince the police that the trauma she experienced as a child, and the strange propensity for madness and suicide in her family, are essential to the investigation?

As she struggles to reconcile her lingering guilt over the tragic suicide of her elder sister with the baffling twists and turns of the case, Vanessa is forced to examine the depths of her own mind in a shattering descent into psychological horror which drags her to the blackest depths of human depravity, madness, and purest evil...and beyond..."