War Horse

We saw the play War Horse at the Fisher Theatre a few days ago and it was remarkable. The set design is sparse but effective. Suspended above the stage is what looks like a giant torn piece of paper that acts as a projection screen. For the majority of the scenes simple black and white pencil sketches are displayed, ranging from  Devon in the English countryside to war torn France. Most of the props are handheld, which may seem crude and childish at first, but turned out to be  very effective. The elegant simplicity helps place the focus on the actors and the puppets.

The stars of the show are the mechanical horses, etched manned by three skilled puppeteers. The story revolves around Joey the horse and his companion Albert, who enlists in the British Army after Joey is drafted into service at the outbreak of World War I. War Horse is based on the children’s book by Michael Morpurgo and was adapted for the stage by Nick Stafford.
The first half of the play moves quickly. Some of the scenes seem a bit drawn out but it showcases the the beautiful mechanical horses and the skill of the puppeteers. The second half at first seems a bit incoherent if you’re not familiar with the story, but accelerates to an emotional climax when Joey and Albert are reunited at the end.

War Horse is impressive and a worthwhile theatrical experience. The simplicity of the set and striking, and the mechanical horses and the puppeteers are nothing short of magnificent.

Free Download: The Day Detroit Went Dark

To celebrate and help promote The Day Detroit Went Dark audiobook, the Kindle version of The Day Detroit Went Dark will be a free download on Amazon.com starting December 24th through December 28th.

Get it here: http://www.amazon.com/The-Detroit-Went-Dark-ebook/dp/B00BIOR5K0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361485307&sr=8-1&keywords=the+day+detroit+went+dark

Here’s a few reviews:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrifying and excellent, June 19, 2013

This review is from: The Day Detroit Went Dark (Kindle Edition)

As an ex-Detroiter I can assure you that if what happened in the book really did happen, this is about as close to what would happen without use of a crystal ball. Sadly the city of Detroit has been little more than a war zone for the last fifty years and it only gets worse with each passing decade. Mr.Silver has crafted a great and terrifying read. At once gut-wrenching and in some very small ways hopeful. I finished this in less than twenty four hours. Haven’t done that in a long time. Great book.

4.0 out of 5 stars good story!, March 30, 2013

This review is from: The Day Detroit Went Dark (Kindle Edition)

This is one of those books you just can’t put down, plenty of action and you “just have to know what’s going to happen next.

5.0 out of 5 stars PHENOMENAL BOOK!!! February 22, 2013

This review is from: The Day Detroit Went Dark (Kindle Edition)

This book is incredible. The author pulls me in and keeps my attention throughout. I love the characters. It’s like I’m literally watching a movie and it’s an easy read. Great Job!*****

4.0 out of 5 stars Much better than I had anticipated!, September 23, 2013

This review is from: The Day Detroit Went Dark (Kindle Edition)

So nice to be pleasantly surprised when giving a book a chance! Not to say that this was a pleasant book! No. In fact, both the implications AND feasibility of the story is frightening to say the least! The storyline was smooth and non stop. Not lots of flowery filler. Every word necessary to moving the story along. The short length of the story was enough time to get to know and care about thanks to the author’s style.

The audiobook is here: http://www.amazon.com/The-Day-Detroit-Went-Dark/dp/B00HEFDJCK/ref=tmm_aud_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1361485307&sr=8-1

And here: http://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/The-Day-Detroit-Went-Dark-Audiobook/B00HCP9C64/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1387841012&sr=1-1

The Day Detroit Went Dark is also available on iTunes.

Thanks, everyone for making this book a success and Happy Holidays!

Wallpaper, Editors and Updates

A few people asked me where I got the wallpaper for my iPhone. Here it is:

It’s the cover of a new book that will come out early in 2014. It’s called …evil…

Here’s the short teaser:

A friendly game

A deadly player

It’s name is …evil…

If anyone wants to use it as wallpaper, please go ahead. Just copy it from here.

On another subject, David Gatewood has agreed to edit The Field, which is very exciting. The only downer is that he won’t be able to start until April 22nd, 2014. I’ll be done with the third rewrite by then so it will be interesting to see what his edits are.

I planned on releasing The Field around the end of March 2014 so this will set the release back, but that’s a trade off I’m more than willing to make. The Field is going to be longer than I thought. First estimated at 60,000 words, it looks like it may wind up in the 90,000 range.

In the meantime I’ve started work on …evil… and plan on having it finished and released possibly before The Field.

This is probably the last post for 2013, so everyone please have a happy and safe holiday season!

 

The Day Detroit Went Dark Audiobook

The Day Detroit Went Dark hit retail yesterday on audible.com and on iTunes.

Getting the book into production was a lot of work, mostly on the narrator’s part, Stephen Marsden, PhD. Steve is a great voice talent and his work ethic is unparalleled, making the whole process painless.

Before an audiobook goes into production deadlines are agreed upon, and Steve hit them way in advance. I think the worst thing that could happen is that someone, either the rights holder (author or publisher) or the narrator slacks. The disaster scenario is that the contract is voided and the rights holder starts the audition process all over again. This could set the production back by many months.

The System – A Detroit Story is categorized as “headed for retail” in the production process and will be available soon, both on audible.com and iTunes.

Steve has agreed to narrate Reckoning in Escobara which makes me very happy. Here’s the new cover:

Having a quality narrator is more than just a good voice. A voice without a professional behind it is the equivalent of a pretty face with no brains behind it. One tires of that in a hurry. I got lucky.

New Thomas Edison: RESURRECTOR Cover

I’ve refreshed the cover for Thomas Edison: RESURRECTOR since I felt it needed a change. Here it is:

I took the photograph inside Edison’s Menlo Park lab at Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan.

Also just got word that The System- A Detroit Story and The Day Detroit Went Dark are ‘headed for retail’ on Audible.com. They should appear on Audible any time now. The covers had to change, since Audible requires square covers (just like CDs) instead of rectangles.

Diego Rivera Mural Studies at the DIA

One of the gems at the Detroit Institute of Arts is the Diego Rivera mural. The main panels depict workers at the Ford Motor Company River Rouge Complex. The murals, painted in 1932 and 1933, were considered controversial at the time, partial due to Rivera’s Marxist views. Also, some clergy members were offended by what they perceived to be blasphemy, and petitioned to have it destroyed.

It stands today as one of the DIA’s most significant works and represents Rivera at his best.

The controversy was so great, during the Joe McCarthy years the DIA posted this disclaimer:

“Rivera’s politics and his publicity seeking are detestable. But let’s get the record straight on what he did here. He came from Mexico to Detroit, thought our mass production industries and our technology wonderful and very exciting, painted them as one of the great achievements of the twentieth century. This came after the debunking twenties when our artists and writers found nothing worthwhile in America and worst of all in America was the middle west.”

“Rivera saw and painted the significance of Detroit as a world city. If we are proud of this city’s achievements, we should be proud of these paintings and not lose our heads over what Rivera is doing in Mexico City today.”

I’m wondering where the Rivera mural will wind up if the DIA eventually closes…

To see the rest of the photos go here: http://stefanstudios84.wordpress.com/dia-rivera-mural-studies/

To learn more about the mural go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_Industry_Murals

and here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103337403

Black and Blue Friday

We’re witnessing another significant decline in culture, and it involves Thanksgiving. What is Thanksgiving? Gathering with family and friends, looking back at the good things that happened during the year, eating turkey and maybe watching some football. That’s more like what was Thanksgiving. Now it seems to be all about Black Friday’s bottom line. Black Friday (and its associated violence) is becoming the holiday, not Thanksgiving.

Cases in point:

A fight over a parking spot at a Wal-Mart in Claypool Hill, VA resulted in one man knifing another in the arm “so viciously that he hit bone.”

A man was pepper sprayed and arrested at a Wal-Mart in Garfield, NJ after arguing with another man over a TV. He then lunged at a cop trying to intervene, resulting in charges of aggravated assault against the officer.

A police officer’s wrist was broken while attempting to stop a fight between swarming Rialto, CA Wal-Mart shoppers. The doors were opened early and 3000 people bolted inside.

There were reports that a woman used a stun gun on another during a Franklin Mills Mall brawl in Northeast Philadelphia. 

Check out this link and watch the videos: http://nypost.com/2013/11/29/cop-shoots-shoplifter-near-chicago-amid-black-friday-chaos-others-hurt-around-country/

From Reuters: “A suspected shoplifter was shot by police in a Chicago suburb and a woman spat on another woman’s child in an argument over baby clothes.”

Check out this link and videos: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/29/us-usa-retail-blackfriday-crime-idUSBRE9AS0ON20131129

Check out this video at a North Carolina Wal-Mart:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101235261

 According to the website medicaldaily.com, Wal-Mart “took in over 22 million shoppers this past Thursday.” Check out the videos here: http://www.medicaldaily.com/black-friday-violence-2013-top-7-worst-displays-mayhem-caught-video-263983

 According to the New York Post, the hash tag #WalmartFights started to trend early. One of the best tweets compared the Black Friday masses to Spain’s Running of the Bulls, “but replaced with badly dressed people.”

 It’s not just Wal-Mart. Even the more upscale Macy’s broke a 155 year tradition by being open on Thanksgiving. 15,000 people lined up the Herald Square Macy’s for the doors to open at 8:00pm.

 So where does Black (and blue) Friday lead us? Nowhere good. Where is the traditional Thanksgiving trending? Severely downward. So what can we do about it? Simple. Stay home and enjoy our friends and family.