Praise For The Books I Write:
"Santa, Godzilla, & Jesus Walk Into A Bar..."
If you've ever wondered what Douglas Adams would have been like if they'd locked him in a room for weeks at a time to get him to write... oh, wait, they did lock Adams in a room for weeks at a time to get him to write. Okay, if you've ever wondered what Adams might have produced if he'd been locked in a room for weeks at a time with only Twinkies and Jolt cola, you should read "Santa, Godzilla... ...It has that same frenetic energy that Adams has only weirder. Yeah, I know; how can you get weirder than Adams?
...Somehow, Mr. Pagel manages to weave all of the essential elements of our Christmas traditions into a linear story. ... No, it doesn't always makes sense, but, then, that's why it reminds me of Adams.
The story is wild and crazy enough that there's not much you can say about it in a critical way. It's one of those things you like or you don't like. I happen to like.
"Santa, Godzilla, & Jesus Walk Into A Bar..."
Reviewed by author Andrew Leon:
If you've ever wondered what Douglas Adams would have been like if they'd locked him in a room for weeks at a time to get him to write... oh, wait, they did lock Adams in a room for weeks at a time to get him to write. Okay, if you've ever wondered what Adams might have produced if he'd been locked in a room for weeks at a time with only Twinkies and Jolt cola, you should read "Santa, Godzilla... ...It has that same frenetic energy that Adams has only weirder. Yeah, I know; how can you get weirder than Adams?...Somehow, Mr. Pagel manages to weave all of the essential elements of our Christmas traditions into a linear story. ... No, it doesn't always makes sense, but, then, that's why it reminds me of Adams.
The story is wild and crazy enough that there's not much you can say about it in a critical way. It's one of those things you like or you don't like. I happen to like.
Reviewer BJ Fraser writes: Don't confuse this "Eclipse" with that other one. There are no vampires or werewolves in this. Instead, this Eclipse is a psychological sci-fi mystery in the tradition of the old Twilight Zone, 2001, or Solaris. It's hard to describe the plot, because it's such a mystery that you never know if what's happening is real or if it's imagined. All we know is that it involves a man named Claudius. Did he go into space? Did he pilot a ship too close to the sun and have to bail out? Or is he lying in a prison, imagining everything?
Even at the end it's hard to be sure and that's what keeps you guessing and will have you looking at it more than once.
And Lisa Pepin writes:
Eclipse was truly wonderful as well. You really know how to build up the suspense, I must say. And the passages describing Claudius's abuse at the hands of his father were so vividly terrifying, I found myself re-reading them before moving on, to experience the sense of horror again. How on earth did you come up with the idea for this story? I'm jealous now, that I'll never be that creative. So, was it all a dream? Did he really go into space? Did he really murder his crew and then get rescued? Or was he the rescuer? Or the doctor? ....
In brief, though, BRAVO!!! I'm very impressed.
Author Michael Offutt said:
This book is brilliant. I'm still trying to figure it all out much in the same way that I sit on my couch trying to figure out a David Lynch movie like Mulholland Drive. There is just so much to wrap my head around that it becomes a little mind-boggling.
If my idea is correct, then the title of this book is dead-on. It takes three bodies to create an eclipse and we see this motif of "three" over and over in the novella. I think that the main character, Claudius, ran away from his abusive father one night and got hit by a car.
Because of brain damage, he's in a facility where a doctor treats him for his "craziness". He lives out his life in his mind hoping that someone will reach out to him because he is very alone...drifting through space. And this is the story that Mr. Pagel tells us. He makes us think that the protagonist is an astronaut but I think it's all in the boy's head.
If I am completely wrong about this then I'm completely wrong. But I still enjoyed the read. But yeah...this book is a mind-bender and well written.
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About Thinking The Lions, and 117* Other Ways To Look At Life (*Give Or Take), Lisa Pepin writes: Wise and witty, a greatly entertaining read. Eat your heart out, David Sedaris!
The Scariest Things, You CAN'T Imagine:
A shape-shifting demon torments children while their parents stand by. A widower haunted by the ghost of his wife tries to understand her requests. A baby stolen from his mother by gargoyles returns, full of hatred for the life he's led. A family of children raised by grave-robbing corpse stealers tries to discover a way out. An elderly man possesses the power of life and death in his retirement. These stories present images and people who will haunt your thoughts for a long time after you read them.
Buy it here, hardcover, or
Buy it here, on Kindle.
Author Patrick Dilloway writes: "These stories are really fucking good. Put that blurb on the cover!" And then gets serious and adds that it's "A brilliant collection of short stories that will keep you guessing until the end--and sometimes even after that!"
People like my blogs:
Lesbian Zombies Are Taking Over The World!: "well written, is definitely pulpish, and oh, yeah, there's erotica. Readers are also treated to a photo of two women kissing in each post, if that's a draw. ; ) If you like this kind of fiction, you'll like this blog." The Kindle Blog Report.
I'm Priceless!
Dorothy H., on Gather, said:
Oh, how I love your stories, your thought processes, and your writing style! I never regret delving into your long articles, which (long articles) can be daunting, tedious, boring, and or fruitless, thus making me fidgety, but your long articles are, "PRICELESS"!
...
I know I feel better about the future having come across your thoughts, in your writings. I feel better about the world, it's future just knowing that,...somewhere, out there, you, and others like you, are thinking those thoughts, writing them down and leaving them around for others to discover.
Yup. I think Disney needs you.
I'm a funny guy!:
Over on Twitter, Emmy-winning writer Martin Pasko has compared me to Stephen Colbert, Zach What's-his-name-anakis, Rob Corrdry, and others:
