Thoughts On: The Horde (Ch 7- 12)

The Horde

By:  Patrick Scaffido

Genre:  Urban Fantasy Horror

Format:  Podcast, Ep 3 ~ 46:30 mins

Chapters:  7, 8, and 9

Book Synopsis:
www.thehordewilleat.us

The Horde, a mysterious force that brings nightmares to life, devours everything in its path.

Bridan, a lone traveler, seeks the key to the Horde's destruction at the expense of all else- bystanders, worlds, and broken lives be damned.

Cyrack, the Horde's inhuman master, follows Bridan across the Worldcycle seeking Bridan's heart- literally.

Terry is caught between them, dreaming their battles across the blasted wastes of Farrakan from the safety of his dull nine to five life and the arms of his loving girlfriend.

None of this is true.

Terry glimpsed the hideous intelligence hiding behind the struggle and it has driven him mad.

Something watches, hungers, and manipulates events keeping the Horde moving ever closer to the center of creation, leaving only empty husks in its wake.

Planet by planet, town by town, life by life, friend by friend, Bridan makes his way forward.

And as the Horde follows without rest, Terry knows that their next destination is Earth.

The Horde is a genre bending novel incorporating elements of Science Fiction, Epics, Dark Urban Fantasy, Horror, and Surrealism performed in the style of acoustic deathfolk and released weekly as short albums. You've never heard anything quite like it.

My Thoughts and Summary:
Bridan is dreaming. Terry struggles with the real world and his loss. Terry's mother takes him for help and he learns, from God, that he is to help Bridan survive Farrakan and Earth. He's their only hope...

Terry notes a few inconsistancies and questions I did previously. Things I wonder how or why those in Farrakan would know about. I'm curious to find the answers.

We come across two new characters; a Beastman and a girl. The girl we learn is strong of power and is the Beastman's daughter. The girl can see Terry, in his dragon form.

We get a time frame in real life here. It's been three weeks since the huge trama event in Terry's life. The event that seems to have driven him over the edge and to the point of looking for something to change the past. In this we also see a God come to Terry and talk to him. He created a whole world for Terry and even mentions stopping the horde. It's important that Bridan survives. Bridan is their last hope.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Format:  Podcast, Ep 4 ~ 44:24 mins

Chapters:  10, 11, and 12

My Thoughts and Summary:
As a dragon Terry tries to interact in the world (after talking to the one and only girl that can see him) to distract the Hunter and save Bridan and Oren. The Horde, the Devourer, has caught up with Bridan and Oren. Beastman shows up to help them. When told which direction is town, Bridan says they don't belong among the town people.

There is some great symbolism here in this episode. And in hindsight I'm seeing there was some previously too. This episode is how people can change and the unknown affects of a darkening in them. The Horde is easier to become a part of and it 'eats' people up from the inside out.

Terry starts to realize he's angry with everyone and everything for what's happening to him and for being in the position he is in. But he seems to pass that as he believes he is working for a better good, and to bring back his love. Then Terry learns something he didn't know of his Farrakan form, the dragon. I was curious about this for a while now. Things are starting to fall into place and become a bit clearer. I've been thinking about this god that talks to Terry, and who I think he is...but that's something to come. I know it. And soon.

You can learn more about Patrick Scaffido's works at her site:

Thousand Heads

You can listen to The Horde by Patrick Scaffido for free at:
(the whole book is available for listen now)

i Tunes 

Podiobooks

Listen on YouTube

Thoughts On: The Horde (Ch 1-6)

The Horde

By:  Patrick Scaffido

Genre:  Urban Fantasy Horror

Format:  Podcast, Ep 1 ~ 49:28 mins

Chapters:  1, 2, and 3

Book Synopsis:
www.thehordewilleat.us

The Horde, a mysterious force that brings nightmares to life, devours everything in its path.

Bridan, a lone traveler, seeks the key to the Horde's destruction at the expense of all else- bystanders, worlds, and broken lives be damned.

Cyrack, the Horde's inhuman master, follows Bridan across the Worldcycle seeking Bridan's heart- literally.

Terry is caught between them, dreaming their battles across the blasted wastes of Farrakan from the safety of his dull nine to five life and the arms of his loving girlfriend.

None of this is true.

Terry glimpsed the hideous intelligence hiding behind the struggle and it has driven him mad.

Something watches, hungers, and manipulates events keeping the Horde moving ever closer to the center of creation, leaving only empty husks in its wake.

Planet by planet, town by town, life by life, friend by friend, Bridan makes his way forward.

And as the Horde follows without rest, Terry knows that their next destination is Earth.

The Horde is a genre bending novel incorporating elements of Science Fiction, Epics, Dark Urban Fantasy, Horror, and Surrealism performed in the style of acoustic deathfolk and released weekly as short albums. You've never heard anything quite like it.

My Thoughts and Summary:
Terry is drawn to a world that reminds him of a Renaissance fair. A world where Bridan travels the road, and Terry sees his travels. Bridan is warned that he's not left it behind, it's coming. The next dream shows a storm of a different kind is coming and Birdan will take advantage of its stopping to destroy the village, so Bridan can move on to finish his mission.

This first episode has raised loads of questions for me, in the first 15 minutes. The dream realm Terry is drawn into in his sleep is a fantasy feel but there is something not right. There is troubles here. And Birdan is a man with a past I'm curious to find out about.

We meet Terry and Tanya (in the "real" world) then Bridan, Oren, and another creature affiliated with Bridan's past. There is mention of Cyrack and the Horde that's on it's way.

Patrick is very talented at telling of doings, things, and emotions with more than simply saying so. He tells by using other words giving a descriptive detail and strong feelings.

We really get into the fantasy realm of Terry's dream world. But I get the feeling there is more going on with Terry. Maybe someone manipulating him? But for what and how? The voice makes me wonder these things.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Format:  Podcast, Ep 2 ~ 44:32 mins

Chapters:  4, 5, and 6

My Thoughts and Summary:
Terry is drawn to the dream realm of Faircon. He rather be there than here in the real work, and he doesn't know why as he loves Tanya. Tanya... how Terry finds her at home is sad. Something has come to this world as well. Some history of Terry's long lost being has been awakened.

We learned a bit more of The Devourer, the devouring Horde, from Oren and Bridan. Even a tad more of Bridan as well. There was a prophesy mentioned by Oren... "Nothing can stop the devouring Horde." Yet there was mention of two people that come together in their travels, and it sounds like a description of Oren and Bridan. We learn of Bridan's connection to the woman that attacked them, and that the Horde is after him, for a reason.

Terry has a new form when in Faircon. He flies above, watching Bridan, as a dragon. Terry comes to speak to the Grim Reaper, but not in good circumstances. And what Grim Reaper has to tell Terry will be more than he understands, at this time.

It feels like things are moving fast so far. I'm not sure of time that's passed, but I don't think Terry is either - with the dreaming and the draw to that world. I'm curious as to what the Grim Reaper spoke of with Terry's awakening and the ancestory. And what happened to Tanya! Terry is looking for the secret and magic that could help him with Tanya.

I wonder if Terry and Bridan are the same soul, or connected in some way. There is a dark tool used by the Horde seem like zombies.

You can learn more about Patrick Scaffido's works at her site:

Thousand Heads

You can listen to The Horde by Patrick Scaffido for free at:
(the whole book is available for listen now)

i Tunes 

Podiobooks

Listen on YouTube

Mythical Monday (60)

It seems there are many books based on or influenced by Myths and Mythological Beings.

There are so many different Mythology and Mythological Beings recorded. Some are very popular and well known, others not so much. There are many similar beings, yet different depending on the culture it’s based in.  The definition of Myth covers about anything in the Urban Fantasy/Fantasy realm to me.

I’ve invited authors to share briefly the Mythological being or Myth that influenced their character(s) or story, or what their character(s) are based on influencing their books.  Hosting here, one author and being or myth per week.

This week we have:

Author Patrick Scaffido

Talking of mythical African Zombies.

Let's talk about zombies. Not your modern movie zombie that shambles in packs, infects with bite wounds, and eats a few brains on the side; but the mythical African zombie, the creature forced back into life against its will as a slave for a twisted and insane master.

In Haitian and African myth, sorcerers control plantations and mines where the enslaved dead work to make the dark sorcerer rich. In secret, the sorcerer uses magic and poison to attack potential zombies and then claims their bodies to reanimate. These zombie masters might be witches or sorcerers, male or female, neighbors or strangers. The terror of the zombie is not just the monster itself, but the malignant being that forces that fate of zombie on someone else.

To be a zombie, you must be stolen. The sorcerer digs up your body then mutilates you to prevent rebellion and speech. Unlike the mindless flesh eaters of Hollywood film , there exists a soul in traction to the master. The victim is still there: tortured and controlled. The idea of a loved one stolen and lost features heavily in the mythology and many stories have family members searching for loved ones only to find them mute and mutilated, one of many slaves. We don't fear the zombie itself. We fear becoming the zombie or finding our loved ones transformed into the zombie. We fear what we might be forced to do when our will is no longer our own.

The zombie represents a loss of control, an enslavement more powerful than imprisonment or shackles or ownership. The zombie shambles through its life, completing tasks it cares nothing for, all to benefit a cruel master. The parallels with an unwanted 'day job' seem forms easily. The barely conscious suburban worker going through the motions of life is played for laughs in Shaun of the Dead but in the tradition of the mythological zombie, we could take the comparison so much further.

This mythical zombie inspires the antagonist Myra in the Horde, a zombie ex-girlfriend of the dark swordsman protagonist who has been turned to a zombie in order to torment the hero. To make her a more viable character, I played with some of the specifics of how zombies were created. Instead of removing her speech, I had the villain leave her the ability to form words she speaks with a harsh rasp, the result of torture at her master's hands. I loosened the control of the sorcerer a bit as well, letting her retain her memories and feelings for the hero leading to scenes where instead of merely following the sorcerer's every whim, she fights the hero due to her own mixed emotions towards him. Intended to be a mix of terrifying and sympathetic, I intend to explore more of what can be done with the master-slave relationship that makes this particular myth so emotionally resonant and frightening for me.

For the Hounds of Tartarus, my story in the Dirty Magick anthology, it began with the idea of what if a man became his own slave and was forced in every moment to follow their ambition instead of being free to make their own choices. I have a human who returns from the grave intent on revenge who repeatedly finds difficulty veering from that course that he was raised for, even as the events change around him and he starts to question his original motivations. A man without self control and reflection can make a poor master of himself, especially when his goals are ill considered. The protagonist of that story is in many ways mindless and without self control, but simply acts out his dying impulses as he walks through his second life.

There's so much as yet unused potential for inspiration with the African myth of the zombie- the relationships between zombie slaves and their masters, the attempts by loved ones to retrieve their family members from this state, what happens to a zombie freed from sorcery. As zombies continue to spread across film and television, I would love to see more stories make use of this much more resonant, emotional, threatening and tragic creature instead of the motivationless plague victim that has become the zombie du juor.

For more on the available tales of the African zombie, I suggest starting with the wikipiedia page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie), where you can find out about the idea of cultural pressure turning people into zombies and the idea of the witch train staffed by zombies roaming the African railroads.

About Patrick:

I’m Patrick Scaffido. I write, play guitar, sing, and do readings.

I taught for 8 years. Then I got sick. Till I get better, I work on the artsy stuff to keep myself going. I miss helping students.

I’m wrote the novel the Horde, currently being released as a musical through podiobooks and a spoken word story through the Headcast.

I run a Youtube vlog called Morning Coffee.

I’m into philosophy, music history, semiotics, video games, literature, empowerment, nonsense, and exploration. I’m kind of a private person and always felt the easiest way to know me is through my work. If you’re curious about something, ask.

Find Patrick:

Blog:  Thousand Heads
Twitter:  @thousandheads
Facebook:  The Thousand Heads

Books By Patrick:

The Horde  - Links to listen at: http://thousandheads.wordpress.com/the-horde-and-related-works/

Dark Magick anthology