Simmons, Wm. Mark Books

Dead Easy (Halflife Chronicles)

Wm. Mark Simmons

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Amazing 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 5 people found this review helpful.

So many literary and pop references per page it makes your head spin. I actually LEARNED things while reading a book about vampiric werewolves. It is so much fun to be entertained AND educated at the same time. Be it mythology, classic literature, or actual history, this book manages to cram it all in with a healthy dose of wit and a keen eye for the absurd.

One word of caution: you need to start with the previous book in the series (Habeas Corpses) in order to keep up with the score card. Especially when you get to the end. Ideally you should read from the beginning (One Foot in the Grave).

Editorial Review:

What do you get when you mix a squid-headed Ancient One, a mystical force-five hurricane, Rasputin’s privates, the city of New Orleans, and an undead Captain Nemo? Christopher Cséjthe, the reluctant hero stuck halfway between being undead and alive, is back, and is going to find out, whether he wants to or not.

But now he’s in for an underwater Mardi Gras of epic proportions complete with an army of drowned vampire zombies. Not to mention a Lovecraftian take on Gidget and The Creature From The Black Lagoon. Many brave hearts are asleep in the deep, and Christopher may be about to join them. . . .

Dead on My Feet (The Halflife Chronicles)

Wm. Mark Simmons

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 27 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

A year ago, Chris Csejthe (pronounced "Say-thee") was completely human-then a blood transfusion with the Lord of the Undead changed everything. Now he is a hunted man, sought by human and vampire alike for the secrets he knows and the powers that his mutated blood may bestow. So far he's dodged undead assassins, werewolves, a 6,000-year-old Egyptian necromancer, and Vlad Dracula himself. But now he's really got problems. The dead are turning up on his doorstep after dark to ask for justice and the police want to know where all those corpses are coming from. Undead terrorists are testing a doomsday virus on his new hometown and he's caught in the crossfire between a white supremacist militia and the resurrected Civil War dead. His werewolf lover, jealous of his dead wife's ghost, has left him. And the centuries-old and still very beautiful (and very deadly) Countess Bathory is determined to have his uniquely transformed blood for her own dark purposes. Now, more than ever, life sucks!

One Foot in the Grave

Wm. Mark Simmons

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 40 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Darkly humorous and clever 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I'll be frank. The best reason to read this book is to read the sequel "Dead on my Feet". Chris is more brooding and angry in this book and Simmons doesn't hit his stride with the character until the next one.

That being said this is an original take on the vampire series. It's a parody of the entire horror Genre and Chris never misses an opportunity to mock it.

fun 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I bought this book thinking to read a gay-themed vampire novel which unfortunately is not the case.

Luckily enough though, this story is quite good. Christopher, the likeable main character, very well rounded, witty, deep, finds himself thrown into a new world populated by every possible mythical creatures, many of which not exactly friendly.

While the book is undoubtedly fun there are still some flaws: from time to time Mr Simmons loses his compass: his writing gets confused, hurried, most of all during action scenes; his sentences are clumsy and disconnected, whole paragraphs in need of a thourough editing.
Some minor inconsistencies are to be found here and there; literary references are not always to the point while pop culture ones are hard to grasp for a foreigner.

Because of gore this book is not suitable for children.

Editorial Review:

Unknowingly infected with half the combinant viral strain that transforms the living into the undead, Christopher Csejthe is in a state of suspended transition, neither alive nor truly undead, and has caught the attention of vampires, werewolves, and witches, who want to destroy him.

Habeas Corpses

Wm. Mark Simmons

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

, who never met a wisecrack, pun, or pop culture reference he didnores different degrees of deadness in his latest Christopher Cjesthe novel. Poor Chris . . . if hemade unwilling ruler of the vampires, heted and floating through walls. Lupe the Werewolf, Suki the cat/vampire, the voluptuous Deidre, and, oh yes, Teresa all are back for this lates event-packed romp through a vivid world that leaps into existence every time we open a Simmons book.

Harris

s to combine enough wacky hilarity to satisfy a Terry Pratchett fan, and a plethora of puns guaranteed to make a Piers Anthony buff groan. . . . Mark might even have created himself a new genre¿cybercaf©.¿

Lackey

e Chris Haim has more problems than merely protecting his secret . . . a jealous werewolf can ruin your whole day. Plots and subplots and vignettes abound . . . fans of the early Terry Pratchett or Eric Flint's Joe fantasies will enjoy the humorous bits.¿

¿Publishers Weekly

he] is back for a new and even greater (and funnier) adventure. . . . Snappy dialogue, lots of amusing details, a clever plot, and a generally witty sense of humor combine to make this one of those rare novels that combine levity and the supernatural in just the right balance.¿

¿Chronicle

¿Readers who desire something off beat but humorous in their fantasy/horror literature will want to read Dead on My Feet [prequel to Habeas Corpses]. . . this book is fun.¿

¿Midwest Book Review

¿[Dear on My Feet] works because it is simply over the top . . . I love the way Mr. Simmons plays with the standard action scenes¿for instance a philosophy discussion during a car chase. . . .¿

¿Philadelphia Weekly Press

Pathfinder I

Wm. Mark Simmons

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Excellent Book! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This chapbook (which is a form of book that is what is called saddle-stitched) is published by Yard Dog Press which is a most excellent legitimate small press.

Wm. Mark Simmons writes a scary post-apocalyptic future of angels, demons, Army of the Lord, and the paths. Check out this book. It's a quick read and you'll enjoy it.

A Worthy Experiment 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

PATHFFINDER I is a fascinating experiment. Simmons' earlier works, particularly his Half-Life series, were entertaining, with humor leavening the mix. PATHFINDER I is totally different. It's still entertaining, but in a completely different way. It's a continuing, evolving tale set in a post-apocalyptic world.

The story will unfold in a series of chapbooks (for those unfamiliar with the term, a chapbook is a saddle-stapled booklet, usually of about seventy pages and with a business-card quality cover. Chapbooks are often shorter works, collections of short stories, essays, or poetry. In this case, it is episodes of a longer work. Chapbooks are the most, perhaps the only, economical way for a small press to publish, and that's where most of the action now, with the major publishers doing little experimenting.) This one is a work in progress with Simmons working within a story arc but with the execution subject to experimentation. This is called working on the trapeze without a net.

Simmons only gives us glimpses into this scarred world he's invented, with peeks at some of the marvels he'll reveal in good time.

Perhaps the hardest thing for a writer to instill in his readers is trust. It's hard enough to get a reader to pick up any one book, but it's every writer's goal to inspire readers to buy all his/her works because it means the reader has come to trust the writer, saying to himself or herself, "I don't really know what's going to be in this book but this writer creates characters, scenes, situations, and stories I know I'll enjoy."

And having read PATHFINDER I, Simmons is a writer I, more than ever, trust.

The Dreamland Chronicles

Wm. Mark Simmons

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

You've been to Disneyland... You've seen Westworld... You've read Dreampark... Now, in the 21st century, experience your wildest fantasies come true in Dreamland! Beyond rides, beyond robots and simulations, beyond illusions, lasers, and holograms, Dreamland takes you out of your body and into computer-generated "worlds" where anything you can imagine is possible! Ride the open prairie with Jessie James or Billy the Kid, in Frontierworld. Sprout gills and experience an undersea adventure in Oceanworld. Hunt Dinosaurs and meet the missing link in Primalworld. Play beach blanket bingo with Frankie and Annette in Surferworld. Fight a dragon and rescue a fair damsel from the Black Night in Fantasyworld, the oldest and most popular of the Dreamland Programs. You'll have the time of your life! If you survive... The Dreamland Chronicles an onmibus collection of William Mark Simmon's three Dreamland titles...In the Net of Dreams, When Dreams Collide, and in print for the first time, The Woman of His Dreams.

When Dreams Collide

Wm. Mark Simmons

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Good Fun. 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

It would be better to read "In the net of dreams" first. If you have ever played RPG/MUDS and have enjoyed them, this would be one of your dreams.

different fantasy 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

The nice thing about this series is that it's fantasy with a big touch of realism. It is computer rpg to the extreme. But what really sets it apart is the humor, the witty and fast storytelling, twists in the story, all with a well dosed pace. Reading the first book "In the net of dreams" is not necessary, but would let you better enjoy this story more.

move over matrix! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

An fan of VR would love to include this book in their library. The dangers of an unstable computer world seem uncannily real in this novel that takes rpg to the extreme. The main character, Ripley, is so deep you can truly feel his joys and sorrows. If you like cyberpunk, you'll really like When Dreams Collide!

Editorial Review:

Escaping the computer of Dreamland, the psychotic Artificial Ego and Superego begin taking over human bodies and planning nuclear war, and game whiz Robert Ripley must free the captive minds they have enslaved.

In the Net of Dreams

Wm. Mark Simmons, Wm. Mark Simmons

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Dream Park with a Heart 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

Wm. Mark Simmons' "In the Net of Dreams" has been a favorite of mine for years. I picked up a copy of the book when it was first released, mainly because I liked the cover art. (I'd never heard of Simmons, but that was because "In the Net..." was his first novel.) Once I got into the book, however, I couldn't put it down. An almost perfect crossover idea, "In the Net..." is filled with Gnomes and Goblins, Sorcerers and Spells, Witches, Warlocks and Werewolves (actually, it's a Werebear and boy, does it hate fire) and some off-the-wall Science Fiction, all of which comes to life on the pages of the book. When I read the book back in the '90's, I told my friends to go out and get the novel that was "Dream Park" with Heart. I haven't changed my opinion with subsequent re-readings. Simmons has an uncanny ability to grab the reader's emotions and then hold on for dear life. His protagonist Ripley knows love and heartache, fear and triumph, lust and revenge, and half a dozen other emotions that will jump off the page to become real to the reader (Did you cry when Misty Dawn died?). More than anything else, however, Simmons knows how to make the reader laugh. The book is riddled with humorous allusions and a plethora of horrid puns that the tosses about with seeming impunity. For a fascinating blend of Fantasy and Science Fiction (you can't get to Fantasyworld without going through the very hi-tech suspension tanks) with a liberal dose of Freudian psychology thrown in.