Covert Nerd Podcast

Darkness and horror stories from Carl then some encouragement I know you need. Finally two fantastic comics you will want to check out.  Let’s get started and nerd it up.  ----more---- Links in the episode: Art of Lee Bokma MEGA podcast That One Time I was abducted by Aliens  Nation of Nerds podcast. Covertnerd.net   As full disclosure, certain products and links to products on this site are affiliate links, and I will earn a commission for any purchases you make. There is no additional cost to you.      We continue diving into local creators by looking at two books by Carl D Smith The Darkness Out of Carthage and L is for Loon.   But first I want to comment on the advantages self-publishing has brought to creators. They now have the advantage of putting out the content they want with zero changes by an editor or publisher.  The barrier of entry for creators is low with the age of self-publishing.  As a writer you can put together your book and publish it much faster and easier than a writer could have only 15 years ago.  I remember talking with someone about how easy it is now versus 20 years ago.  He said now anyone can publish a book, as if that was a bad thing. I get what he’s saying to some extent. He’s saying almost anyone can publish book makes achievement less significant.  I don’t necessarily agree, after all it still takes a lot of work to complete a book and still more to have the guts to put it out for the world to see and criticize. My hats off to anyone who has decided to publish their work, whether it’s books, comics, art music.  No matter what anyone says you are still among the elite If you’re looking for an historical fiction book then The Darkness Out of Carthage is a gem of a story. Carl does a fantastic job mixing Roman history during the Punic Wars with HP Lovecraft style horror. He comes up with a story that will keep you turning the pages.  You can tell Carl has done his homework in describing the soldiers uniforms, weapons, terrain and names of locations.  Carl keeps the reader guessing whether the narrator (Roman soldier) is delusional or if it’s all real. A contrast to this story maybe Carl would consider would be the same story from the perspective of a soldier of Carthage. The book is well paced jumping from present to the near past enough to keep the reader from getting to set on one timeline. This was a good move on Carls part. It Also gives the reader the opportunity to find out more about the main characters origins.  It’s a fast read, even for me who reads at a snail’s pace. Carl is meticulously detailed when he describes his surroundings here’s what I mean “Gloom clung to the streets between the gutted building. The entire city was drowned in obsidian fog. To breathe was to choke on hot ash.” When you read those few sentences you can picture the broken buildings and almost start coughing from the ash as you read the words. The whole story has the HP Lovecraft vibe, but also a bit Conan flavor too with some of the combat scenes the main character gets involved with. Some of the sorcery versus sword add to the Conan feel to it as well. If you like this type of genre then you won’t be disappointed. I hope he does some sort of sequel/prequel that takes place in the same time. If you haven’t read it I suggest you do you won’t be disappointed, plus it would help Carl out financially and boost his moral too. His other book I read is L is for Loon. It has one main story, but mixed in is a collection of short horror stories as well. I like how he uses local locations for a few of his stories and even mentions Eisner award winning Legends Comics and Coffee as a scene for one of his stories. In that particular story it wasn’t the typical gory way people die like most horror stories.  It was the uncanny feeling the antagonist made his victims feel when he would torture them in a way that would hurt each victim.  It was like the move seven where the way he killed his victim mirrored their per