Burdens

Ugliness Men #1

by Peter Trinidad, Brian Behel (Editor), Maarta Laiho (Illustrations)

In the long years after the world ends, elder empires struggle toward an uncertain rebirth under the shadow of the relentless demiurge Pantherion. A horse-headed man, a wizard always in need of a drink and a cast of other strange, unlikely souls struggle against the growing darkness, the machinations of a foe that can twist beasts into monsters in service of a scourge that could end all humanity. Join Burroughs Viklund, a morose man-monster who'd rather be tending his watermelons instead of saving the world, Shaw, a somewhat-shifty magus reluctantly willing to die (and die again) for his Art, and Viday, a truly deer friend, on their journey through the spindled Island of Caiphon in an adventure laden with action, wonder, pathos, talking dogs and surprisingly effective (though certainly off-label) uses of canned goods. Lose hope for the future of humanity, while having a blast doing it! BURDENS is Peter Trinidad's first novel in the UGLINESS MEN series. He wishes for you to learn to suffer as he has. Remember, if you look into the ugliness long enough it becomes a part of you.

Genres: Fantasy

256 pages, Paperback

First published May 20, 2013

About the author

Author and main server to the Cosmic Pizza Buffet, Peter Trinidad writes both science fiction and fantasy stories with his own humorous tilt. The Ugilness Men series marks his first entry into publishing. He is a member of the Joseph Campbell Foundation, and his works draw inspiration from the collected works of both Joseph Campbell and Terry Pratchett.

Cosmic Pizza Buffet functions as a blog and sharing space for Peter’s shorter works, musings on the function of myth and language, and supplementary materials for his larger projects.

Direct any questions, comments, and vitamin solicitations to: peter.trinidad@cosmicpizzabuffet.com

Reviews

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note: I won a copy for free in a Goodreads giveaway.

Three companions thrust together by circumstance embark on a mysterious journey in what appears to be a post-apocalyptic world.

The only thing that stopped me from giving this book five stars was that it needed more editing. But even the bits I noticed weren't enough to detract from the book for me.

One of the first things I quite like is the book's cover. It really gives the reader a feel for the setting. Another is the intriguing characters. On the one hand you have the two abberants, Viday and Burroughs. One's a deer and the other a horse, both having human characteristics. On the other hand is Shaw, a wizard who has died six times. Even the side characters were interesting. The plot moved quickly in this bizarre, quirky world. There was action right from the start that made me not want to put the book down even though I had to at times. Yes, I also got a kick out of the puns and word play.

I think that those who enjoy reading Terry Pratchett will love this story.

[Dan Barr · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to say, this book took me by surprise. I didn't really pay as much attention as I should have when I signed on to the giveaway of this book, so when I won a copy of it and decided to give a closer look to what I had won I felt sorta bad because it didn't seem like the kind of book I would like. Still, I'm nothing if not willing to give anything a chance so I cracked open the book the same day it came in the mail. Turns out I liked it, I liked it quite a bit.
It's a pretty solid, well-written fantasy. It meets all the fantasy checkpoints:
Comepelling characters--check
Unique setting--check
Epic battles--check
Internally consist--chiggity-check
It's fun. At the risk of revealing myself to be a huge nerd; this book actually reminds me quite a bit of some of the better role-playing games I've been involved in. It's got a sort of natural flow that you'd expect from a well organized game.
But, I can't be all praise and no scorn. The book has it's issues, many of which I blame on the editor (that's right Brian Bethel! If you're going to put your name on it so prominently you'd better make sure that all the spelling, punctuation, and grammar is correct). There are some scenes that could use some tightening or clearing up, again, things an editor should spot and suggest solutions. The author is not completely without blame. The chapter heading-puns are agonizing (just a word of warning Mr. Trinidad, in Saudi Arabia "a truly 'deer' friend" is punishable by having your fingers cut off), and there is an annoying cat poster subplot that I know the author insisted just had to be in there which ended so poorly that it actually angered me. The puns and the subplot are the only things keeping this from being a fantastic book, a book I was completely prepared to give 4 stars to until I got angry.
It also would be nice for more background on the characters, especially the non-human ones. I understand that perhaps there is an element of mystery that the author would like to communicate, but what you buy in mystery you pay for in reader disconnect. I couldn't wrap myself into the characters as much as I'd like. Of course, this is part of a series, so these things could be revealed, which leads me to the golden question: Do I continue the series? And the answer is, I don't know. "What?" you may be asking, "but you said you enjoyed the book." Yes, but I hate series (see paragraph 1). So maybe, I'll have to play it by ear.
In the meantime, for anyone who is interested in a fun, unique fantasy (series) and is willing to look past painful, painful puns, I would very much recommend Burdens

[Niffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.

I had a hard time getting into this book. It starts out with a little intro/prologue that was kind of unpleasant, including a rather graphic suicide. Then it moved to an entirely different setting with completely different characters. It wasn't until the beginning of maybe chapter 3 or 4 that we actually met the main character.

Once he was introduced the book picked up the pace a lot and was much more interesting. The writing was still a little weak occasionally but it was a decent enough story.

It just took a lot to get to that point.

[Karen Bainbridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

tremendous, striking characters, wild new-world. GoodreadsFirstreads Advance copy