The End

It’s the end of the year and the end of a decade. It is also the end of the book.

George Harrison once said, “All Things Must Pass.” And so it is with Yellow30 Sci-Fi. For this particular blog site, this will be the last posting. We have come to the end of the final chapter. We have finished the novel. The majority of the staff have moved on with their real jobs, while leaving a couple of older guys to handle the ship. Now, the winds have turned and we’ve put into port.  It has been remarkable eleven years since we first began our amazing journey through the Internet. Now, the old guys have decided it’s time to close the book and give it a rest.

We will keep this blog site up as long as possible and if by chance you come across this place please check out the links that will take you elsewhere.

The Top 25 Books

The end of the decade is drawing to a close within a few days. Originally we had been doing these small press reviews under a different entity, Alien Alerts. The past decade has seen many changes to the small press world and to self-publishing as a whole. Now, new digital formats and services makes it so easy for the aspiring writer to showcase his or her words and brings the world to their door steps. We have seen and read very bad books. But in all the stuff that came into our mailbox, gems were found that made it worth the effort of drudging through the piles of really horrific material. In closing the decade, we thought it appropriate to identify the top picks of all the books we reviewed over the years. These that follow have been real gems in a coal mine of self-published and small press efforts.

The Top 25 Books of the Decade

1. The Oneprince by Bill Hand
2. The Light of Eidon by Karen Hancock
3. Sojourn by Jana G. Oliver
4. Flashpoint by Frank Creed
5. Virtual Evil by Jana G. Oliver
6. Crown of Vengeance by Stephen Zimmer
7. The Winter Soldiers by Andrew Miller
8. The Bark of the Bog Owl by Jonathan Rogers
9. The Ballad of Bawdy McClure by F.S. Vander Meer
10. Chronicles of the HEdge by Jeff Ovall
11. Mars Harvest by James Armentrout
12. Never Ceese by Sue Dent
13. Time Masters: The Call by Geralyn Beauchamp
14. A Lever Long Enough by Amy Deardon
15. The Lion Vrie by Christopher Hopper
16. War of Attrition by Frank Creed
17. Faith Awakened by Grace Bridges
18. Bone Walk by Kevin Howe
19. Tractrix by RJ Archer
20. Hinge of Destiny by James Armentrout
21. Dixie by Stephen Sulkey
22. Cascade Effect by James Armentrout
23. Future Imperfect by F.S. Vander Meer
24. Rise of the Dibor by Christopher Hopper
25. The Mushroom Circle by Clare C. Newbury

The Oneprince

The Oneprince
by Bill Hand

ISBN-13: 9781448632145 (Trade Paperback)
564 Pages
Pub. Date: June 2009
Publisher: CreateSpace

With the advent of movie versions of The Lord of the Rings, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, and the Harry Potter books, a new surge in fantasy epics is causing readers to flock to bookstores. But before the hubbub began in recent years, a little gem of a story remains quietly in the wings. That little pearl is a tale of a young boy who doesn’t want to be king, a talking rat and a villain with designs on more than a little piece of the kingdom. Bill Hand has penned into existence a story in the fine tradition of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. It is a tale that will cause the reader to laugh and cry as young Quad and Friend Rat venture out in search of the Oneprince, who is the only hope for the kingdom. Look beyond the tale to the Truth behind the legend.

Originally published in 1992 as the first of a two part series, The Oneprince, slowly began to gather a following. But alas the second book would not see the light of print. Through unfortunate circumstances, Thomas Nelson Publishers decided not to negotiate another book deal. As with any good book, success may not be measured in the surge of overnight glories, but in the slow building of readership that last years and years. Failing to find a suitable major publisher to take on the project again, Bill Hand decided to self-publish the complete series in one volume. With the release of the Xlibris edition in 1999 The Oneprince has continued to gather readers from around the planet. Now, with a new publishing format, the story continues to bring excitement to readers everywhere, even a little over a decade later after the first self-published effort. Though this is a little known book, it is well deserved the attention of any true fantasy reader / fan. If you love the richness of Tolkien and Lewis, you will fall in love with the world of The Oneprince. Remember Bill Hand, the future holds many more tales for Quad and Friend Rat.—Steven Fivecats, Editor

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Editor’s Note: We originally published this review back in early 2001 when we had another entity called: Alien Alerts. We’d had wondered if this book had gone out of print again as most of Xlibris’ early books had. It was a great discovery to find out that Bill Hand has brought this wonderful, and yes, classic work, back out for others to enjoy. Readers will not be disappointed in this one. It is truly a classic!!