Monday, September 22, 2008

Wizards First Rule Book Review



This is one of those classic epic fantasy books that kicked off a remarkable new series of books (The Sword of Truth Series). It is also much more than just a fantasy story. There is some thought provoking material and themes in it. This book is also the basis for the new ABC Series titled Legend of the Seeker. I have a complete review of this book on my website here:

Wizards First Rule Book Review

Sunday, July 20, 2008

New Projects and Websites from Will

A Whole bucket full of new projects.

I have been very busy doing a lot of interesting projects and here is a listing with some basic information:

Mead Website - Ever thought about home brewing your own honey wine? On my site I have all the information you could possibly need to successfully brew your own mead.

The Telescope Nerd Website - I am a big fan of telescopes and astronomy. And I really love telescopes. I have created a stand alone site devoted to the instrument. There are lots of articles and lots of information on the site including stuff about famous astronomers from the past and the present. And information about some of the biggest telescopes in the world.

The Classical Guitarist - I have been playing classical guitar for many years and this site has been around for quite a while. Lots of information about the instrument and lots of lessons and sheet music. I even have quite a few pieces that I play and you can listen to.

Some New Specific Projects you can make:

How to make a box kite
How to make a regular kite
How to make a volcano
How to make a paper castle (Neuschwanstein)
How to Make the OGRE Catapult

Epic Fantasy Summer Reading recommendations


Epic Fantasy Summer Reading recommendations
On the Fantasy Guide Website I have put together a new article that recommends new epic fantasy reading for the summer.
The alternate title for the articles is:
"Bring and elf or a dragon to the beach with you this summer"
The great thing about this summer is that most of the big authors in epic fantasy are releasing sequels to their series so if you have been following a series and awaiting the next book this might be the time for it. These releases include Terry Brooks, Terry Goodkind, Stephen Donaldson, and George R.R. Martin.
To check out the article and see my recommendations visit the article here:

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Summer Fantasy Reading for teens


I have a new website called The Fantasy Guide and it is all about Fantasy and epic fantasy. This posting is the most recent article from that site. <----Here is how the site looks



This is a summer reading list for young adults who want to explore fantasy and imaginative fiction without resorting to the current small handful of blockbusters. This list has some classics that might otherwise be overlooked, and some contemporary books that are just terrific. If you are looking for some really good fiction for the kids to read this summer this list can help.

Some Classics

A Wrinkle in Time - (Newberry Medal Winner) This is simply a beautiful book that has blazed a trail in modern children’s fantasy by putting forward a story of several children embarking on a grand adventure; In this case to rescue their father. There is some fascinating and thoughtful stuff in this book like living stars and tesseracts. It is a perennial favorite and on every librarian’s list.

A Wizard of Earthsea – Written by Ursula K. Leguin this is the first book in a series called The EarthSea series. Short and light but extraordinarily beautiful. This first book in the series follows a young boy named Ged as he goes from being a simple goat herd to a powerful wizard. It is simply beautiful and it brings forth some wonderful and magical themes such as the concept that everything (including dragons) has a secret name. And if you know the secret name you can control the thing (including dragons).

The Hobbit - This probably shouldn’t be on this list but it is so good that I can’t leave it off. With the absolute enormous success of the Lord of the Rings movies this book may be overlooked but I consider it better! It is also in the works to be a movie.

Five Children and it – This is one of the most popular books written by Edith Nesbit who is often credited with creating the whole genre of children embarking on fantasy adventures. Her books are in the public domain now and can easily be found for free. The theme of this book is: Be careful what you ask for. You may get it! That's the message in this delightful tale of five youngsters who discover a bizarre sand creature that grants wishes. There's a catch, of course: the wishes come undone at sunset, and worse yet, things often get out of hand!

Dragonflight – This book is a little more complex than earlier ones I have cited here and it tends toward being more of a novel for grownups but it very suitable for teens. We are introduced to a complex world of dragons through the main character Lessa. This book is often credited with being the book that has launched many a young girls writing career. It is the first book in a trilogy of books called The Dragon riders of Pern series.

A Princess of Mars: The first novel in the Edgar Rice Burroughs series and currently in the initial stages of being written into a movie or animation that will be made by Pixar. This is the first book in a series called John Carter of Mars and it is good rollicking fun in the tradition of the old pulp magazines. It is a favorite for young boys who like sword fighting big monsters.


Contemporary fantasy and fiction

When it comes to modern fantasy fiction for teens there is an enormous selection to choose from and that, in itself, could be an obstacle. Here are summaries of some of the more popular ones and I have also picked some that are currently slated to be made into a movie.

Artemis Fowl Series – This series of books takes a little bit of an unusual position as far as children’s books go because Artemis Fowl himself is a twelve year old genius and a criminal mastermind. The author of these books calls them Die Hard with Fairies! And the books are often characterized as being a high-octane and rip-roaring ride. It is a wildly popular series of books with a big website and even a wiki. There are currently five books in the series with the first being simply titled Artemis Fowl. The sixth book “The Time Paradox” is set to be released in July of 2008.

Here, there be Dragons – The title itself is rather mysterious and harkens back to another time. This was the phrase that cartographers used to write in patches of ocean that were unexplored. The basic premise of this story will really resonate with teens that are fans of fantasy itself because it starts with the unusual meeting of three young strangers John, Jack, and Charles on a rainy night in London. We later find out these three young men are J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Charles Williams.

The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches - This is a series of books that takes place in a world of magic and secrets called Ruin Mist. This book was slow to start but word of mouth turned it into a best seller. It is one of those relatively little known books and series that is very satisfying.
Septimus Heap – If magic and wizards are of strong appeal this series of books make a great alternative to Harry Potter. The Main character (Septimus) is the seventh son of a seventh son and the main line of the story follows two children switched at birth: a boy destined to be a wizard and a girl destined to be a princess. There are currently four books in the series and the first book has been picked up by Warner Brothers and is currently being made into a movie that is scheduled for release in 2010.

Any of these books or series will launch teens and young adults on a remarkable adventure into strange fantasy worlds and no joystick or keyboard is required.

For More Great Fantasy Book stuff visit my site: The Fantasy Guide

Sunday, May 04, 2008

Upcoming books by Will Kalif

I have been up to quite a few different things and here is a look at some of them.
One of the biggest things I have done is a total re-write and redesign of my Fantasy Guide website. If you are a fan of fantasy books you might want to check it out. The site is formatted a little bit different than your typical site in that I have written a lot of different guides that will help you understand fantasy or find particular types of fantasy. You can even get a list of heroes and heroines in fantasy. Here is the site The Fantasy Guide
Well I have been real busy with the websites and all the various projects I have going. A lot of people have been emailing and asking when the next novel "The Left-Handed Sword" will be coming out.
While that novel is more than 3/4's done I have sidelined it for a little while. What I have been doing as far as publication goes is working on two other books.
Fantasy Diorama Book
The first book, which will be published within the next few months is a how to book on making fantasy dioramas. There just isn't a good book on dioramas for fantasy modelers, gamers, and collectors so I have been writing one. Most books on diorama making focus on train modelers and Iuse a lot of the tried and true techniques from these hobbyists and apply them to fantasy dioramas. I will let you know when the book is released. If you want to see what I do with fantasy dioramas I do have a project page where I make a three foot wide diorama which depicts the battle scene at Thermopylae (Made famous in the 300 movie. The 300 Diorama
Mead Making Book
The second project I have going is a book on how to make honey wine mead. It is a very medieval type of wine that is brewed from honey rather than grapes. Quite a wonderful drink. There isn't a good introductory book on the subject so I am writing one. For me it has entailed a lot of learning and a lot of mead making. In the past year I have made quite a few batches of mead ranging in a lot of flavors from pumpkin to Orange spice, Vanilla, raspeberry, and more.
I will let you know when the book is released and if you want to learn more about mead making check out the website I have devoted to it. There are recipes and tutorials on how you make your own mead: Mead Making
I will keep you posted on my writing and I have a lot of interesting stuff coming up in the future. I have already started my fourth fantasy novel tentatively called The Schicksaal Tree. I also have plans for a horror novel which is currently in the outline stage.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Mead making

I have been up to my elbows in a lot of different projects lately and one of them has been the fermenting of Mead.
Mead has been real high on my priority list and I have been brewing up quite a bit of this delicious honey wine. (I have been experimenting with different holiday flavors like raspberry and orange-cinnamon.)
You might have heard of mead or you might be wondering what it is; well, its wine fermented with honey rather than grapes and it is quite delicious. It is not at all like the stigma of rough and tumble horrible drink of vikings. Anyway, I have been putting together a tutorial on how to make Mead including the brewing, bottling and label making. Make Mead

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

My Medieval Websites

I have not posted to this blog in a while but I have been very busy. I have my own domains and some personal blogs. I just don't use the free blogger much anymore.

Anyhoo - If you want to see what I have been up to here are some links:

The Medieval Websites - All Things Medieval

The Heroic Dreams Blog - Daily information and thoughts in the world of all things medieval and fantasy

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Make A Catapult

I ahve a big thing for castles and siege engines and I have created a project called the Build the Table Top Troll Catapult. It is a complete tutorial on how to make this cool little siege engine from materials found around the house. It uses rubber bands for power and it is quite powerful. It was a fun project for me to build and maybe you would like to build your own catpapult?
If so here is the link to the tutorial:

Build a Catapult - The Table Top Troll