Comments on: Sample Synopsis – Annihilation Squad

By: r delavarre

r delavarre — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:20:09 +0000

This was of great help to me! Well done, extremely well done. I have a memoir out. checkout amazon.com -plug in rene de la varre and you will see. Currently working on a fiction based on nonfiction called THE MELLOW GEEZERS.

Working on query and synopsis. Taking lessons from you! If you have any thoughts on writing a kick ass query, I would love to hear from you. Your story would make a great film! Thats what I am trying to do. Best wishes,
Rene Paul de la Varre
fitteryou@gmail.com

By: forthegamergood

forthegamergood — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 18:24:10 +0000

Along with The Eye of Terror, 13th Legion was the book that really reeled me into Black Library, to the point where I’ve not touched a model in five years, but I’m still buying the fiction on a monthly basis.

As a videogames journalist I’m slowly building up a lot of published work, and beginning to poise myself to move over into sci-fi much later in life. I’d love to write for Black Library, but we’ll see how that goes.

As I speak I’m actually re-reading this part of the Kage saga, so I didn’t want to remind myself of too much of the plot, and scrolled to the bottom.

Keep up the blog, it’s fantastic to see someone update so often that holds a position of much envy by myself and others, I’m sure. I still remember Games Day 2001 and going to a seminar on a game-type I didn’t even play to hear you speak, after being so impressed with the current Orks Codex for 40k.

Best of luck.

Christos

By: William Wilson

William Wilson — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 21:36:09 +0000

Your Last Chancers reeled me in for Warhammer 40K. It was very entertaining ride, though, in Annihilation Squad, I suspected Kage of being possessed. You might wonder, however, if you reeled me in, who finally caught me. Answer: Graham McNeil and his Ultramarine Omnibus. Couldn’t stay away from the Marines too long. Thanks.

By: Robert

Robert — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 11:15:01 +0000

Hi,
Well, good luck…I suppose…However, I have to tell you that plenty of druchii.net members were completely disgusted @ the new High Elf armybook… Particularly as not all of them play Druchii and you gave the Asur the ASF rule?! Why was this anyway?!

By: gavthorpe

gavthorpe — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 12:52:51 +0000

I deliberately left in the typos so as to give unadulterated text, though it is very poor, you are right. It’s worth reading the intro notes here:

http://mechanicalhamster.wordpress.com/2008/04/17/get-your-synopsis-firing/

Cheers,

GAV

By: Fergo

Fergo — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 12:06:39 +0000

Hey Gav, it’s great to see this, very useful. You might want to do a sweep for typos, though.

I think I may just re-read the Last Chancers books. I really liked the ending of the third one–cheesy but ultimately awesome!

Anyways, I hope this will come in useful for writing any sort of synopsises in the future. Here’s hoping for another BL comp in the next few months!

By: gavthorpe

gavthorpe — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 11:05:04 +0000

Hello Durlek,

I’m glad you like the Last Chancers. Kage’s final act is deliberately at the opposite end of his usual behaviour. Throughout the series, the theme is that of redemption and what someone is required to do to earn it (in fact, the working title for 13th Legion was Deadly Redemption…). By focussing on his survival rather than his redemption, Kage can never free himself from the endless war and suffering he must endure as punishment for his behaviour. At the end he realises that his only release is his death, and so embraces his fate not only with equanimity but with a sense of achievement.

“It is a test I have always failed. I have lied and cheated and killed my fellow men for my own reasons. I have squandered the opportunities for glory that I was given. Time and again I have stood upon the precipice of true sacrifice and turned away.”

GAV

By: Durlek

Durlek — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 18:07:12 +0000

The Last Chancers novels really hooked me, took me a while to finnish Annihilation Squad due to various reasons but i still found myself reading nonstop once i got some spare time. Loved every part of it, though… the ending got me a little bit disapointed, i knew it was going to be the last of The Last Chancers but still, reading about Kage going “heroicly” tossing himself off into the “vally” was a little vague wasnt it? Love the books, love this one, but him dieing from a kamikaze action doesnt feel right for him, a survivor to the end.

By: Get Your Synopsis Firing « Mechanical Hamster

Get Your Synopsis Firing « Mechanical Hamster — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 15:38:40 +0000

[...] As I promised at the start, I have now uploaded a synopsis of one of my published novels, Annihilation Squad. Lots of first-time writers ask what goes into a synopsis, so here’s something to look at. [...]