I finished up listening to 7th Son this morning on my way to work, and it was a little like what I imagine it must feel like to come down off a high.  Three novels’ worth of hard-hitting, gut-wrenching action ends with a bittersweet goodbye to our heroes and a feeling of loss that says, Oh, great.  What am I supposed to listen to now_?_ I just wanted to keep on listening, to stay with these characters that I’ve come to love so well.  J.C. has certainly done a fabulous job of weaving his tale of science fiction, horror, and intrigue, and I hope that he is successful in getting the trilogy into print.  I know I’ll have a copy of the set on my bookshelf as soon as he does.

And the man is just sick in the way he doesn’t let up on you.  Even in the final chapter, he doesn’t let you find complete resolution.  It’s close, but not close enough.  And the epilogue, of course, just leaves the lid off of that can of worms ever so slightly.  Leaving your foot in the door for a possible follow-up are we, J.C.?  Hm?  Man, that would be a joyride of undoubtedly epic proportions.

If you haven’t checked out 7th Son, then you’re missing out.  Go click on the link above and start downloading and listening.  Or grab J.C.’s iTunes feed from his website and pull it directly into your iPod.  It’s good stuff – just like shooting up on heroin.  (I’m guessing…)

I’m really enjoying getting caught up on J.C. Hutchins’ 7th Son podcast novel trilogy.  I’m about a third of the way through listening to his second book now and really loving every minute of the show. 

For those of you who aren’t familiar with 7th Son, the trilogy follows the story of seven clones as they attempt to track and capture their predecessor.  John Smith Alpha, the original, is a nefarious villain with devious plans.  It’s up to the John Smith Betas to stop Alpha before he can wreak havoc across the globe.

J.C. has written a powerful trilogy of books and has graciously recorded them for consumption by the masses.  One of the things that I love about J.C.’s writing is that literally no one is safe.  I don’t generally like predictable fiction, so it’s always a pleasure to come across an author who isn’t afraid to mix things up and take chances that keep the reader guessing about what’s going to happen next.  J.C. does this consistently with 7th Son.  It’s speculative fiction at its finest, and I’m looking forward to seeing where things go from here.  I still have a ways to go before I’m completely caught up, but I’m looking forward to the ride.

From the sounds of this review (Warning!  Spoilers!) of the Heroes season premier, I’m not at all sorry I’m ignoring the show this year.  Sounds as though Kring is still writing flimsy plotlines, and I think I’d find myself ranting on and on about that.  I had (very) small hopes that the writing might improve this season, but it sounds like the show is already off to a shaky start.  Nope, not sorry at all.  I’ll wait for another show with writers who actually know what they’re doing.