Casey Calouette's Blog

A great deal has occurred since my last post. And so far it’s all been good. Like, really good. My doctors recommended the drug pembroluzimab, also known as Keytruda, in January. But, as it wasn’t an FDA approved treatment my insurance wouldn’t cover it. So, after waiting a month and a half on the insurance […]

Some roads we walk are dark. But, like Winston Churchill said, when you’re going through hell, keep going! Unfortunately my latest scans showed a recurrence. So I get to be on the cutting edge of science. In fact it’s rather like I walked into one of my own novels. The treatment is so new the […]

The post January Update : Editing and Treatment appeared first on Casey Calouette.

I’m not a patient person. My wife can tell all sorts of stories about me pacing, staying busy, and generally being very active. I like to get a job, do it right, and move on to the next one. So watching and waiting and worrying if my cancer is coming back is driving me nuts. […]

The post December Update : Watching and Waiting appeared first on Casey Calouette.

Finally.

After almost six months of weekly treatments. I. Am. Done.

I’m not going to wax on about it, finishing the chemo is just one thing that had to be done. Now I can return to my life. Simple enough.

On the writing scene I’ve got a finished novel to edit. Once that’s published I’ll resume work on the third novel about our friends in the Penal Battalion. The Vasilov Worlds are in for a bunch of hurt, and our good friends won’t have any easy way out.

It feels good to be looking ahead. I’ve got so much more to do.

 

The post Done with Chemo appeared first on Casey Calouette.

This will be a very quick update. TL;DR – I’m almost done with my chemo and things are looking good.

My treatment is going quite well. I’m just coming off a three week break and heading into my last three treatments. So in a month or so I’ll be on the path to feeling like a human being again.

Long term I’ll be getting blood tests and CT scans on a regular basis to make sure the cancer hasn’t returned. On the good side I have a syndromic cancer which tends to have better outcomes. On the downside it’s still cancer, and as we all know, cancer is one hell of a monster.

So for now I live life as best I can, continue to exercise, and eventually return to writing. I have a completed novel just waiting for my hand to shape it into a finished product. (And my editor) Hopefully we’ll see that yet this fall.

Also thank you everyone for the kind words. It’s been a long road, but I plan to live to a very ripe old age.

The post Almost done with Chemo! appeared first on Casey Calouette.

A quick update on what’s happening these days. In a nutshell I’ve had two chemo treatments so far and both have had some cardiac side effects. So, in a nut shell, I’m still trying to get the right mix.

36 hours after my first treatment I had severe chest pains. Fast forward through an ER trip, ambulance ride, and a day in the cardiac wing and I get a referral to Mayo Clinic. They try another round of the chemo and we have the same thing after twenty five hours. Bummer.

So now for the next round we’re trying an alternate delivery method that will hopefully not have the same cardiac issues. Normally I wear an infusion pump for 46 hours. This time we’re going to try a quick IV infusion. As long as it kills the cancer cells I’m good with it.

That’s the tough part so far. Right now I’m cancer free. They removed it. But, and it’s a big but, there could be a few stray cells floating about. And that’s the reason for the chemo. It’s a terrible sword hanging over me, not knowing, and just waiting.

So I do all I can. I eat well. I exercise as I can when the nauseau and fatigue isn’t too bad. I take a single supplement (curcumin) and I trust in my doctors.

And I pray for my 41st birthday. That’ll be my five years. If I make it without cancer that long I’m considered cured.

41

As far as my next novel… it’s done. I just need to finish the draft and have it edited. But for now I’m focused on a bigger task.

The post Taking it as it comes appeared first on Casey Calouette.

The newest novel, Cloak of War, is complete! All I need to do is get through the edits and hand it off to the editorial team. The cover should be finished any day. Hopefully in a month or so I’ll have it released.

And an obstacle… colon cancer. Not much to say on this just yet. I had emergency surgery last Friday and the tumor was removed. It’s quite a shock, I’m 35 years old, a long distance runner, eat healthy, don’t smoke, no family history, etc. My doctors were all surprised, though not nearly as surprised as I.

Right now I’m focusing on recovering from the surgery and getting into my chemotherapy. And, beyond that, getting cured. I have no doubt that I’ll beat this, but I know it might be a long road.

But hey, what makes a good novel but some exciting plot twists and adversity?

The post Next Novel and an Obstacle, Cancer appeared first on Casey Calouette.

With the coming snow and looming winter I’ve buckled down on my writing and am in the final stages of my next novel. At the rate I’m going it should be off to the editor by the end of the month, hopefully sooner.

This one has been a departure from my normal style. It’s still mil-scifi, but instead of third person point of view I’m trying out first person. The change from being an omniscient viewer to that of the actual narrator has been a tough shift.

But it forced me to really bring the narrator to life. I needed his perspective, his ideas, prejudices, fears, dreams. Which made me have to flesh out the world a whole hell of a lot more than I used to!

So you, the reader, will get a really great story with a really interesting main character. Some of my story tricks, like showing the antagonist view, or even a third party, isn’t possible in this POV, so I’ve really had to rethink how I write a story.

It’s also brought forth an urge to tell more stories like this. It’s almost intoxicating to place yourself as the narrator, to walk in the path of the hero and not just be an observer. It also brings me to tell non-fiction stories such as someone like Gay Talese would. A unique view, an interesting spin, a thread of a story that gets woven into something more. Check out Frank Sinatra Has a Cold.

But for now, more fiction.

Once the current novel is done then I’ll move onto the third in the Steel Legion series, Steel Strike. Beyond that I’m not entirely sure. If the reception for the new novel goes well I’ll probably add more to that. It’s a ripe world with plenty of stories to be told.

As always, I love comments, thoughts, ideas, bitches, and gripes. If there’s something you’d like to see just leave a comment, or hit the Contact Me button above.

Thanks for reading!

The post Writing Update January 2016 appeared first on Casey Calouette.

Science Fiction has come up with some pretty awesome ways to blow stuff up. Starships, mind weapons, even the lowly knife.

Now one thing I learned with my 48 Best Military Scifi list is everyone wants something added!

Which is awesome right?

So leave me a comment and point out what else deserves to be on the list. The more unique, esoteric, and unknown, the better!

We’ll start it off with hand-to-hand or personal weapon systems and then move it along into weapons platforms and finally space based weapons. The list is not all inclusive… yet.

Personal Weapons

The Weirding Way

Source : Dune

A great book turned into a few rather strange movies. Everyone remembers Sting in the creepy underwear with a poison knife.

In the books the weirding way was an ancient martial art developed by the Bene Gesserit. The movies though had it changed to a sort of sonic weapon where by speaking you could generate immense force. David Lynch, the original director, said he didn’t want a bunch of kung fu in the desert, hence the change to a sonic weapon.

Either way it ended up being pretty cool.

Lightsaber

Source : Star Wars

An elegant weapon for a more civilized age. Able to block blasters, other lightsabers, some non-lightsabers, and well, whatever the plot fits. It dices, slices, juliennes… Oh wait, different product.

Guaranteed to make short work of undesirables in no time flat. Fairly implausible, but hey, so’s the force. And you know, a galaxy far away.

Blaster

Source : Star Wars

Star Wars has the big name on this weapon but you’ll find it as a staple through much of science fiction. Even as far back as EE Smith’s Lensman series.

In Star Wars it is an energy weapon that travels significantly slower than the speed of light, hell, I think it’s slower than the speed of sound. I mean come on, a dude with a glow stick can block it. (See above)

Lawgiver

Source : judge dredd

A multipurpose law enforcement weapon with onboard safety features, computer, specialized sighting, and enough modes to keep any tech savvy judge happy. It shoots a ricochet bullet, armor piercing, incendiary, and the crowd favorite heat seeking.

Full auto, semi-auto, grenade launcher, signal flare… you get the idea. It’s the Swiss Army knife of hand held weapons.

Phaser

Source : star trek

We see this one primarily in Star Trek but the concept of a phaser is found in other science fiction as well. Normally a beam weapon, though in Star Trek it is quite varied. (See video above). 

Lethal on occasions, but it can also just stun. Hell, I think you could cook dinner with it.

Noisy Cricket

Source : men in black

The tiniest weapon in our entire list. Now I’m pretty sure it was illustrating a couple of character points. One, it put Tommy Lee Jones into the position of knowing what he’s doing, and two, gave Will Smith a comedy opportunity.

What does it fire? Who knows. But it’s funny to watch like watching cats on treadmills. Eventually someones flying in the opposite direction. Yay physics!

Gauss Rifle

Source : battletech

I went to college with a guy that made one of these. He had this huge capacitor bank tied in to this wicked coil gun that fired a slug so fast that the Navy came to check it out. Unfortunately the sheer electrical density turned the slug into molten metal and it lost all energy after like 5 feet. It was still cool though.

This is kind of like that, but better. It uses magnetism/gauss field and punches the round out. Sounds very plausible, not so much.

Junk Jet

Source : fallout 4

The Junk Jet! A prototype weapon from Arcjet System that fires… anything!

This delightful weapon somehow propels junk at a target. Frying pan? Toaster? Skull? Typewriter? Fuck it! Fire it!

M41A Rifle

Source : aliens

While badass, it’s not badass enough to ensure survival against a bunch of rabid xenomorphs. This weapon first comes on the scene in the movie Aliens. Later we see it in action in video games and the comics.

It’s technically a pulse rifle, but seems to fire regular bullets. Who knows right?

Battlemech

Source : battletech

Giant. Fucking. Robots.

Battletech is doing this quite well right now with both Mechwarrior Online and the wildly successful Battletech Kickstarter. It’s prevalent in other worlds such as Titanfall, and the titans from Warhammer 40k.

Tactically it’s kind of a fail. You can easily pack enough explosives in a man portable warhead to put a dent in this things ass. Plus it’s, you know, 60 feet tall. Where’s it going to hide from a jet?

But lets put reality aside and bask in the glory of big fucking robots.

Deckard’s Pistol

Source : bladerunner

Technically a blaster by definition, but it really looks like a pistol to me. It’s not iconic for much more than the look, the function, and the punishment it hands out. I saw a very well done replica of this weapon and I have to say, it feels like something that could actually exist.

Good Samaritan

Source : hellboy

And this feels like something that would snap your arm off at the elbow. It’s a four round revolver. Get that? 4 rounds.

If that was the only thing it had, it’d be cool enough, but it’s forged from holy steel, church bells, and fragments of wood from the cross. Yah, The Cross. Remember, it’s fired by a grumpy demonling fighting for the forces of good.

Lasrifle

Source : 40k

The most iconic user of the lasrifle is the Imperial Guard from Warhammer 40k. In most fiction it’s pretty well shit. Useful only against other humans. Which is fine, except for the orks, and chaos demons, and necrons and…

While it is a laser, and is an energy weapon, it has both recoil, and moves slower than the speed of light. But this is in a universe with giant demons fist fighting space nazis. So we can’t be too picky now can we?

Boltgun

Source : 40k

The boltgun is another 40k weapon. It fires a jet powered explosive bullet, and lots of them. Almost always used by Space Marines (because it’s .75 caliber and would knock over a regular human). Very good at purging the unclean, killing aliens, and generally making someone have a bad day.

Needler

Source : Halo

A Covenant weapon that fires some sort of crystal that tracks the target. This isn’t nearly as cool as the one used by the Stainless Steel Rat. His could fire darts tipped with poison, truth serums, and sedatives.

You see it in other scifi as well, think of it like a very short range shotgun.

I know a guy who actually made one and tried to sell it to the CIA. Yah, long story on that one, but he had a weapon that could accurately fire a needle like 60 yards. It was totally silent. I should really dig up his sales literature of him in a leather jacket and Elvis haircut wielding a dart gun.

No shit.

Monomolecular Cord

Source : johnny mnemonic

Johnny Mnemonic was a pretty bad movie. As I understand it they were hoping to capitalize on the whole Neuromancer vibe. This was the age of Lawnmower Man. Remember VR headsets big enough to beat someone with?

This weapon is a string of molecules that can somehow cut through well, anything. The only things I remember from the movie is the monomolecular cord, Henry Rollins, and a combat dolphin.

BFG9000

Source : doom

Big Fucking Gun.

In the original video game it show energy-explosive bolts that made short work of anything it hit. More than anything it was fun to get and shoot. Every incarnation of Doom has had this weapon.

Arasaka HLR-12X

Source : akira

The Arasaka HLR-12X is likely a take on an actual Japanese weapons manufacturer, Arisaka.

It’s a battery powered energy weapon that is somehow both a laser beam and a contact explosive. This is one of the few weapons on the list that actually shows a realistic looking ammo pack. I mean look at the phaser, there’s hardly room for a couple of AA’s in that thing.

Vibroblade

Source :

A simple weapon. Take a knife and attach a vibrator. No, you sicko, not that kind, it’s a super-duper science fiction vibrator.

Kind of like that weird knife your Uncle Wayne uses to carve turkey and threaten your cousins with except way cooler.

Laser

Source : All Scifi

Everyone loves the real, actual, laser. Not those clunky industrial jobs we use today, but actual lasers, on sharks! Maybe I’m exaggerating a little bit…

I do love the James Bond laser fight. No recoil, instant fire, and pretty accurate physcis. Though Bond should have just flown in with a mirror.

Disruptor

Source : star trek

Klingons got dibs on this one for the cool factor. More form than function in this example. Some versions of this act like a phaser, others like an evaporator of flesh.

You see it in other scifi works that vary between a ship based weapon or even a vehicle mounted type.

Chainsword

Source : 40k

Now I’ve spent a lot of time with a chainsaw and I can tell you that it sounds a lot cooler as a weapon than it really is. But that doesn’t keep this beauty off the list.

One part chainsaw, one part brass knuckles, mix with giant teeth, and voila, a ripping shredding weapon capable of eating armor.

Jaffa Staff

Source : stargate

The Jaffa Staff is cool because it fits a unique niche. A weapon of terror, hand to hand combat, and long range ballistics. Whoever designed it obviously didn’t want to have different weapons laying around.

EM-1

Source : Eraser

This is in the obviously ridiculous movie category. It violates about every law of physics and is useful only as a plot device. But it can shoot through walls, and even see through walls with magic x-rays.

The best magic scifi part, no recoil.

Weapons Platforms

Glitter Boy

Source : rifts

This is our first entry as a weapon system. Now, first things first, Rifts is an Over The Top kind of place. Do you want robots? How about skulls and flying robots and dinosaurs ridden by vampires fighting old Aztec gods with Germans in tanks and… you get the idea.

The Glitter Boy is a pre-cataclysm suit of power armor that was the best that the good ole USA could make. In fact it was one of those things that actually started the war that led to nuclear annihilation that created the rifts.

It has a rail gun known as the “Boom Gun” and has a ridiculous amount of variants.

ZF1

Source : fifth element

The one size fits all kitchen gadget of the science fiction world. What happens when a weapon is designed by a committee like the M4 Bradley, except in this case the technology actually works!

Normally the more things something does, the worse it becomes at all of them. Somehow Mr. Zorg manages to break that engineering golden rule and give us a really great weapon. Too bad it’s for the bad guys.

But at least it has a red button.

Marauder Power Suit

Source : starship troopers

The Grand Daddy of them all. The original power armor. Starship Troopers. Not the movie. In fact just put that thing out of your mind. In the book we have suits of power armor in as modern of terms as we think of it today.

A self contained suit with an autonomous power supply, weapons, missile launcher, enough power to crush a car but delicate enough to hold an egg. All of it conceived in 1960.

 

Old Man’s War Japanese Version Cover

Genetically Engineering Soldier

Source : old mans war

The next step beyond making a purely mechanical war machine, a biological one. I won’t spoil the plot details but this is as much a super soldier as you can make on a biological level. Especially once you start combining DNA from different sources.

Beyond that it’s an exceptional read from a really great author. John Scalzi is top notch on many different levels.

Ogre Tank

Source : sj games

An inhuman, AI controlled tank with so much armor that only a nuclear weapon can stop it. The game was originally released in the midst of the Ameritrash boardgame boom in 1977. Where most other games of that era have disappeared, this grognardy looking title has not only hung on, but had a very successful Kickstarter in 2013.

Digital Weapons
Shadowrun Deck

Ono Sendai Deck

Source : neuromancer

The Hosaka Ono Sendai was Case’s drug of choice. Well, at least until the Yakuza burned out his cyberjack and he had to live in the meat space. Then his world took on a more… chemical feel.

The deck jacked one in to cyberspace. William Gibson penned the term, but you see it used in Shadowrun and other RPGs. Basically before anyone realized that browsing Pinterest would be the net, they thought you’d need a specialized neural interface with haxx0r sounding names and crazy cybernetics. The Chinese made Kuang virus was pretty cool though.

Yah, look at Pinterest now eh?

Space Weapons

Megamaid

Source : Spaceballs

In addition to Ludicrous speed, Spaceballs brings us the MegaMaid. This darling specialized in sucking the atmosphere from an entire planet. Not bad as far as megaweapons go.

Not only did it suck, but with a flick of a switch it could easily go into “blow” mode.

May the Schwartz be with you, eh?

Death Star

Source : Star Wars

In case just sucking the air out of the atmosphere isn’t good enough, you can blow up the entire planet. It’s an iconic weapon from a movie that redefined space opera science fiction movies. Of course we all know what happened in the end to the Death Star.

But the bigger question, what happened to all those independent contractors working to build the second Death Star? That place had to be filled with plumbers, pipefitters, and electricians.

Doomsday

Source : eve online

In its original incarnation the doomsday could fire through space, even across star systems, and annihilate an entire area of starships. Eventually this was deemed too strong and now it’s primarily used (when its used) to kill other super capital ships.

While it’s impressive to watch one fire it’s weapon, you should see a hundred at a time going at something.

Photon Torpedos

Source : star trek

Another science fiction staple that has found its way into many universes. It just sounds scifi, a photon torpedo, I mean, how does that even work? Who knows! It sounds cool.

Star Trek lays the main claim to this one. The Enterprise could spout out a cloud of these things in no time flat. At times I kind of wondered why they even bothered with the phasers. These things just seemed so much cooler (and powerful)

The post Are These 34 of the Best Science Fiction Weapons Ever? appeared first on Casey Calouette.

As luck would have it Toady released the new version of Dwarf Fortress. Judgedlance was to be the fort that held me over but since the new release is here I’m abandoning my Dwarf Hipster Paradise.

Sorry Urist and Friends. But a new version beckons!

Stay tuned for failures in DF 42.01

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