20230328 - Hiding One's Tracks (BATT-LE Colosseum Part I) (Release Announcement)

Trailer [ https://youtu.be/4QDnzzqkEDY ]

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Alone in the snow. \\ The single row of footprints, \\ covered by a squall.

#HAIKUPRAJNA - Hiding One's Tracks (BATT-LE Colosseum Part I)

Read online [ https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2023/03/20230328-hiding-ones-tracks-batt-le.html]

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Hello readers,

In a dual announcement, BATT-LE Colosseum has been split into two parts; "Part I : Hiding One's Tracks" is now available, and Part II will be released April 2023! Parts I and II will first be released as digital ebooks, while the collected edition of BATT-LE Colosseum will contain both Parts as a paperback book and will be released May 2023.

Download the eBook or save it to be read later through the below links:

Amazon [ https://www.amazon.com/BATT-Colosseum-Part-Hiding-Tracks-ebook/dp/B0BZMSYGJ4 ] [Read with Kindle Unlimited]

Goodreads [ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/123998971-batt-le-colosseum-part-i ]

Our protagonist controls Nina, a playable character in this fictional augmented virtual reality video game. While playing BATT-LE Colosseum, Nina prefers to operate solo--because she was using a modified game client to play outside of the MEGA Corporation's GamePlex--and she struggles with grouping together with other players, like Ian the Turtle. This metaphysical science fiction story took inspiration from a wide variety of pop culture, from video games (like Smash Bros, Halo, Team Fortress 2, Fortnite and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon) to books (including stories by Philip K. Dick and Douglas Adams) and back to anime (such as Neon Genesis Evangelion and Gurren Lagann). I even took the names of the characters from the pets in our family, and I stuck in some references to Electric Armchair’s music. 

Blurb

" Welcome to BATT-LE Colosseum!

Here, using over one hundred unique armours such as Ian the Turtle, engage other players across the environments spread across the arena.

Use your telekinetic abilities in the game!

Secure badges and compete for the Champion position against old allies and new foes!

Score the highest today in BATT-LE Colosseum, where only one will survive! Exclusive to your local MEGA Corp. GamePlex. "

Cover for BATT-LE Colosseum Part I by Allen W. McLean

Banner

Nina designed by Allen W. McLean, illustrated by April Salisbury-White

I am really proud and confident in BATT-LE Colosseum, and I have been putting in a meticulous amount of work into this story since Spring 2021. BATT-LE Colosseum resonates with those who struggle with relying on others, as Nina grapples with the choice of reducing what she's reliant on versus being comfortable in any situation, including being dependent on her teammate.

Thank you for reading.

Allen W. McLean 

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Readers are gifted a Kindle eBook on Fridays and Mondays--short story selection rotates every few weeks, so visit My Author Profile and follow via email [ https://www.amazon.ca/Allen-W-McLean/e/B0867C5D24 ]

I write mindfulness meditation scifaiku and haiku poetry on my book reviews and on previews of my metaphysical stories, such as "Escape Perennial City". Learn more about my reviews here [ https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/book-review-summary-study-notes.html ]

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April's psychedelic music videos, art and poetry is available on all streaming platforms; Electric Armchair - Goblin (Official Music Video) (Animation) [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cOlhiArWpM ]

Electric Armchair - After Party (Full Album) [ https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/electricarmchair/after-party ]

 

The Wisps Book IV - Summond the Scarecrow is available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited! Add to Goodreads and learn more [  https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/summond-scarecrow.html ] 

Support by buying a sticker [ https://haikuprajna.redbubble.com ]

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These poems will be collected in future editions of the HaikuPrajna Collection.

20230314 - Castle in the Air [Book Review]

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Magic carpet chase \\ cold mist above desert dunes, \\ courtyard made of clouds.

#HAIKUPRAJNA - Castle in the Air [Book Review]

Read online [ https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2023/03/20230314-castle-in-air-book-review.html ]

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Hello readers,

Castle in the Air,  the second book by Diana Wynne Jones in her Howl’s Moving Castle series, follows another charming cast of characters with Abdullah, his friend Jamal, Jamal’s dog, a magic carpet, a Soldier, mother cat Midnight and her kitten Whippersnapper, a genie in a bottle, djinns, angels and strong princesses who avoid the helpless damsel in distress tropes.

A cool part of this world, which helped to distinguish the books in the series, was how the names of other locations change depending on which kingdom or country one was within, such as Ochinstan being Ingary. The cast of Howl’s Moving Castle was also hiding among these new members from Zanzib; I will avoid spoilers because I had a lot of fun trying to figure out their disguises, but Sophie’s peculiar brand of magic was still prominent and well used throughout the story.

Abdullah used his polite flowery morals as his magic charm while living the life of a carpet merchant.

He was sold a magic carpet by a djinn in disguise, and the carpet carried Abdullah, as he slept, to where the Sultan kept Flower-in-the-Night, his daughter, locked away. Their romance, along with Sophie and Howl’s, felt authentic, real and charming; Flower-in-the-Night's keen intelligence and dry wit were great trade-offs from Sophie’s in the protagonist duo.

Flower-in-the-Night was stolen, among all the other princesses across the world, and taken to the eponymous castle in the sky by a giant djinn, where Abdullah was blamed but he escaped with the carpet to embark on a dreamlike journey to rescue the missing princesses. I want to reread these books soon in order to absorb just how much thought went into little things like the thief Kabul Aqba; the plot threads were woven together and were resolved or explained with complete satisfaction.

Diana Wynne Jones wrote Castle in the Air about topics like respect--as in modesty, but also in terms of idealism and honor, such as with the appearance of a family--where social cues were described like magic spells, with examples like people crying to bully others into submission, the belief in prophecies and dreams, and sultans giving orders; this was made clear when godlike beings admitted to manipulating the cast through their fearful beliefs in fate. 

That is where the best part of this book shines, in its real life metaphors designed to be palatable for all, as the author made it known that such fatalistic deities were bound to their rules and codes of conduct in ways which a virtuous child could work with to mutual benefit. As Abdullah learns to be careful about what one wishes for, the reader learns the benefits of accepting that, rather than scorning nature, such Big Ideas do know better than humans.

Thank you for reading.

Allen W. McLean 

P.S. Read my Howl's Moving Castle review [ https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2021/12/20211229-review-howls-moving-castle.html ]

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Readers are gifted a Kindle eBook on Fridays and Mondays--short story selection rotates every few weeks, so visit My Author Profile and follow via email [ https://www.amazon.ca/Allen-W-McLean/e/B0867C5D24 ]

I write mindfulness meditation scifaiku and haiku poetry on my book reviews and on previews of my metaphysical stories, such as "Escape Perennial City". Learn more about my reviews here [ https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/book-review-summary-study-notes.html ]

Read the latest Project Roadmap [ https://medium.com/haikuprajna/20221230-my-year-in-reviews-project-roadmap-2022-12-6b6c671e575 ]

Thanks to you, over ONE-THOUSAND (1000!) readers have joined us on Medium! Need to stay in the Medium Partner Program? Please follow and turn on email notifications; I will follow you back! "Ado the Owl" and "Hector Blake" are available to read, right now, on Medium. [ https://haikuprajna.medium.com/subscribe ]

April's psychedelic music videos, art and poetry is available on all streaming platforms; Electric Armchair - Goblin (Official Music Video) (Animation) [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cOlhiArWpM ]

Electric Armchair - After Party (Full Album) [ https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/electricarmchair/after-party ]

 

The Wisps Book IV - Summond the Scarecrow is available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited! Add to Goodreads and learn more [  https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/summond-scarecrow.html ] 

Support by buying a sticker [ https://haikuprajna.redbubble.com ]

Kindle ebooks can be read on any device at www.read.amazon.com

These poems will be collected in future editions of the HaikuPrajna Collection.

20230305 - Little Snow White [Book Review]

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The Fairest of All \\ attracting the jealous Queen, \\ blood red on white Snow.

#HAIKUPRAJNA - Little Snow White

Read online [ https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2023/03/20230305-little-snow-white-book-review.html ]

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Hello readers,

Little Snow White is a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm about an evil Queen's attempts at killing her stepdaughter (or biological child if you are reading the original version).

Under Snow White's surface, the Grimms crafted a story about the dangers of allurement and envy. What was emphasized for me was the different forms of magic used in the story, from the Queen's wish upon the blood stained snow, to her use of a looking-glass to not only compare the Evil Queen's beauty with Snow White's, but for the Queen to also verify her own fairness, while employing disguises and alternate appearances against Snow White.

The Queen grew so jealous that she hired a huntsman. In an act of persuasion, Snow White begged for her life and, due to her beauty, was spared, so the huntsman tricked the Queen into eating what she thought was Snow White's heart, all of which acted as a display of Snow White's superior abilities over the Queen's.

The princess took shelter in the house of the Seven Dwarves who found and welcomed her to stay, provided she did their housework while they were mining for gold.

Meanwhile, the Queen used her magic looking-glass to be told how fair she was, only to be told that Snow White was living with the Dwarves.

The envious Evil Queen disguised herself, tricking Snow White with affordable trinkets in order to strangle her. When the Queen found she survived, the Queen poisoned her twice; the first toxic hair brush failing, the Dwarves at last found her dead from the apple.

The main takeaway from the Queen's failures was, despite her certainty of having finished the deed each time, she still needed confirmation from the looking-glass, contrasted with Snow White's doubtlessness.

The Dwarves shut her in a glass coffin, but the apple had only put her in a coma, so when another kingdom's Prince finds and wins her from the Dwarves with his profession of love, versus buying the sealed coffin, she awakens as a Queen.

The story ends with the jealous Evil Queen arriving at Snow White's wedding, only to be executed by being forced to wear red hot iron shoes, symbolizing the Evil Queen's fatal restlessness. 

Thank you for reading.

Allen W. McLean 

...

Need more Bite-sized Insights to relieve your stress and suffering?

Banner : Tomothy and the Overseer of the Forest

Connect via email or social media [ https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/follow-on-social-media.html ]

Readers are gifted a Kindle eBook on Fridays and Mondays--short story selection rotates every few weeks, so visit My Author Profile and follow via email [ https://www.amazon.ca/Allen-W-McLean/e/B0867C5D24 ]

I write mindfulness meditation scifaiku and haiku poetry on my book reviews and on previews of my metaphysical stories, such as "Escape Perennial City". Learn more about my reviews here [ https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/book-review-summary-study-notes.html ]

Read the latest Project Roadmap [ https://medium.com/haikuprajna/20221230-my-year-in-reviews-project-roadmap-2022-12-6b6c671e575 ]

Thanks to you, over ONE-THOUSAND (1000!) readers have joined us on Medium! Need to stay in the Medium Partner Program? Please follow and turn on email notifications; I will follow you back! "Ado the Owl" and "Hector Blake" are available to read, right now, on Medium. [ https://haikuprajna.medium.com/subscribe ]

April's psychedelic music videos, art and poetry is available on all streaming platforms; Electric Armchair - Mister Valentine (Official Animated Music Video) (With Lyrics) [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrJcLSsCSsQ ]

Electric Armchair - After Party  [ https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/electricarmchair/after-party ]

 

The Wisps Book IV - Summond the Scarecrow is available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited! Add to Goodreads and learn more [ https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/falgara-giant.html ] 

Support by buying a sticker [ https://haikuprajna.redbubble.com ]

Kindle ebooks can be read on any device at www.read.amazon.com

These poems will be collected in future editions of the HaikuPrajna Collection.