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WRITING SAMPLES (STORIES AND ESSAYS AND REVIEWS) PUBLICATION CREDITS  |
D.K. Latta (a.k.a. Darren
Latta)
is a Canadian writer and commentator.
His short stories,
mainly in the genres of fantasy and science
fiction and horror, have been published in dozens of magazines &
anthologies and
posted
on many webzines. In the realm of Sword & Sorcery he has created
such recurring characters as Neekin and Kainar & his enchanted
battle axe, Hawk's Wood, and in other genres, the pulp adventures of
the albino Mountie, Kit Thunder, and the costumed adventurers of
the Fellowship of the Midnight Sons. His non-fiction commentaries and reviews of books, graphic novels, movies and more, have been published and posted in various venues including The Great Canadian Guide to the Movies & TV, The Masked Bookwyrm's Graphic Novel Reviews and he is a featured reviewer of graphic novels at UGO. Other commissioned reviews have been featured at Starlog Magazine, Amazon.ca, Pop Culture Shock, and the webzine Strange Horizons, and he was a staff reviewer for Psycomic (a web site which included regular columns from filmmaker Kevin Smith and TV writer J. Michael Straczynski). Some of his oh-so trenchant reviews and commentaries have actually been re-posted at various places on the web -- not always with his permission (hmmm.) |
Reviewed by James S. Reichert
"Swarm"
by D.K. Latta is an exciting
cliffhanger involving an attack
of alien beings on a deep space mining site. The alien beings are
energy
absorbing amoebas that destroy deep-space human habitats. Marvox, a
miner,
is outside in an environmental suit when the Bwakies attack. At great
personal
risk, he must come up with a way to lure the aliens away and save his
fellow
miners, who are trapped in the shelters as the power and air are
drained
off. Swarm appeared in Challenging
Destiny #12
and...
http://blindside.net/smallpress/read/Absolutes/ChallengingDestiny/review_12.htm
Reviewed by Forrest Aguirre
"Swarm"
by D.K. Latta is a testosterone-filled, scifi movie-influenced
adventure tale of invading aliens and barrel-chested bravery. It is an
unabashed tale of no-nonsense machismo. Just right after a long day at
the office
Author's comment: I was
always kind of fond of this tale -- unpretentious though it is. I just
wanted to write a decidedly old-fashioned, "classic"-style, Boy's
Adventure type SF story. Though not one to bite a complimentary hand,
the descriptions "testosterone-filled" and "machismo" weren't quite
what I was going for in a story more about a plucky everyman facing
seeming insurmountable odds. But, hey, two gushing reviews for one tale
isn't bad, eh?
Reviewed by Chuck Rothman
D.K.
Latta has mixed fantasy and
science fiction in "The Burning
Ones,"
with the idea that the faery folk have returned, making Earth their
domain...I liked some of the elements here a
lot (like what you can do to pay a creature made of stone) and the
story
is generally well done. The
Burning Ones appeared in Space
&
Time #89
Author's comment:
Mixing traditional fantasy creatures like gargoyles and elves in a
post-Apocalyptic, "Mad Max" style setting, I
actually like to think I created a whole new genre with this one (but
someone probably did something like it before me) -- Post-Apocalyptic
Urban Fantasy. The climax at the top of Toronto's CN Tower was a touch
I was kind of proud of, as well.
Reviewed by Sydney Sowers
Just when I began to despair, I came upon "Small Sacrifices," a wonderful little story by D.K. Latta. It's got a surprise ending that I won't spoil for you. It begins darkly with everyone euthanizing their family pets, introduces a character called Meriem L. Cornweather, who "looked a lot like a fried-chicken magnate," and ends with a solution for overpopulation. It's a clever little tale. Small Sacrifices appeared in TransVersions #8/9 (a double issue)
Reviewed by Polly Bird.
In
this issue there are six excellent
stories of which the most
gripping
is THE OIL-SPATTERED CORPSE by DK Latta set in a future where the only
way to survive as a human is to pretend to be a machine but where
although
machines rule only a human has the insight to solve a murder. The story
plays on our fears of a future devoid of life but cleverly demonstrates
the limitations of machines. The Oil-Spattered Corpse appeared
in Challenging
Destiny #7
Author's comment: An SF
murder
mystery, in which a human gumshoe is called upon to solve a crime of
passion in a robot society that believes it runs only on logic.
Reviewed by Daniel E. Blackston
Darrin
(sic) (or "Drooling" D.K)
Latta's "The Garden of Death" scores a
perfect ten for readability and an eleven for tantalization! If you're
like me, you appreciate a story where the heroine gets tied up and
(nearly) ravaged a few times to keep things interesting. Add to that
Latta's protag, Neekin's, Houdini-like gift for escape artistry and
you've a recipe for some of the best adventure SF on the web or off.
"Drooling" D.K. Latta spoofs himself only somewhat apologetically with
his anime-like, Eros-driven plot, setting, and host of horny villains.
"Her knife-wielding nimbleness", as his Neekin is affectionately known,
is an addiction quickly succumbed to -- at least by anyone looking for
top-notch adventure fiction in thrill-a-minute chapters, tailor-made
for the online attention span and presented with soulful color and
gusto absolutely free of charge...
...What
is highly notable about both
of
the Latta (Jeffrey Blair Latta as well as D.K. Latta) brothers' fiction
from a technical standpoint is the enviable
compression they've achieved; in essence, delivering the 'hot spots' of
a traditional adventure novel in distilled, highly entertaining form.
This is pulp-on-the-go-series adventure fiction for the modern age... The
Garden of Death (and other Neekin stories) are available at the webzine
Pulp and Dagger
(http://www.pulpanddagger.com/pulpmag/contents.html)
http://www.sfreader.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=591
Comment by John Hocking (author of Conan and the Emerald Lotus)
There was some talk...about this yarn ("The High Tower"), much of it related to pointing out other Sword & Sorcery heroes who had demonic limbs. That's all cool, but what I marvelled at most was Latta's tale itself, which has to be one of the most balls-to-the-wall, no-holds-barred, doubled-barrelled blasts of pulp Sword & Sorcery I ever read. For Ishtar's sake, we get an endangered damsel, a frothing villain, a fearsome creature and a battle to the death on the first page. And it just keeps hurtling at the reader until it screechs to a halt....reading it is like slamming down a quadruple espresso. If you like Sword & Sorcery it's almost certain to make you smile. The High Tower, though originally published in Gauntlet #6, has been re-posted at the webzine Flashing Swords ('zine worth checking out).
Reviewed by Flint (web name)
(The Stone Man) was a very atmospheric piece from start to finish with a real sense of impending danger although doom was unlikely with such a capable hero and "have a go" heroine. I couldn't help but compare this with the High Tower (see a quoted review below~D.K.) -- which I enjoyed -- but for me this was far superior. The dark setting and sometimes subtle, sometimes vivid descriptions added a horror edge to what would happen. This was superbly done with the changing nature of the stone man and his hinted threats, both sexual and violent--tastefully done I might add.
It's always impressive when a
writer can make your heart race in fear of the main characters' safety
when you know they'll be fine because of who they are. This is
something D. K. Latta has done very well here.
The
Stone Man appears in Flashing
Swords #2
Author's comment:
I created the S&S hero Zargatha for the story "The High Tower", and
received sufficient encouragement that I penned this follow up. "The
High Tower" was meant to be a non-stop action-adventure story, but for
"The Stone Man" I went for a little more a creeping mood before the
action started...and it seemed to garner even better readers' response.
http://www.sfreader.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2066&whichpage=1
Comment by Stron (webname)
..Blood Marsh: was creepy, ookey fun ...Good descriptions of mano a mano-diablo combat. I really like how...(the hero) gets to be a little different than all the other men in black heroes that I’ve read over the years. Not a lot different, but carves out just a bit of personality that sets him apart. Not bad for a short story. The Blood Marsh appears in Flashing Swords #5
And...Comment by John Whalen
..THE BLOOD MARSH I thought was extremely well done. The creation of mood and atmosphere in the swamp was nicely handled and gave me the feeling of watching an old movie where they use the fog machine a lot...I liked the way DK's story ends with an emotional resonance that continues to haunt you after you're finished the story.
..In Blood Marsh, there's palpable atmosphere that permeates throughout.
And...
Comment by John Hocking
..'Blood Marsh' is another dose of pure pulp in the Zargatha series. Fast, vivid, atmospheric and dramatic at every turn, with a twist in the conclusion just like it oughta have. Enjoyable yarn-spinning that really reminded me of reading an old Roy Thomas/John Buscema issue of Conan.
And...
Comment by Nathan Meyer
..the Marsh description...rises to the level of character in the story. It's (sic) effect on mood and character action is so strong it becomes a player in the unfolding of events. Well done stuff there.
Author's comment:
The Blood Marsh is the third Zargatha story -- and these various
postings on a message board seem to indicate it went over okay.
Reviewed by Julie A. Dawson
The second story, D.K. Latta's
"Something Dwells 'Neath Hannah Town", is a gorgeously dark and
exciting tale. When Kainar, Guardsmaster of Hannah Town, begins
investigating a series of grisly murders, he uncovers a strange
underground hideaway full of terrifying creatures. But are these
creatures truly monsters, or are they only seeking to protect their
own? Latta does a wonderful job creating a sense of place for the
reader, carefully crafting each sentence to build the tension and move
along the story. Something
Dwells 'neath Hannah Town appears in the book anthology Lords of
Swords
Reviewed by Kurt R. A. Giambastiani
In "Hawk's Wood" by D. K. Latta, I saw all the things I dislike about S&S fiction. The female is scantily-clad or naked throughout, her only purpose to to be brought from point A to point B, where she will naturally lay helpless on a sacrificial altar. The muscle-brained hero, puzzled why the locals have attacked him, does not think to question any of the multitude he has maimed or disabled. The evil clerics, having drugged the hero, do not kill him, but leave him to awaken and (of course) save the girl. The prose was overwritten and cliché, the climax a remake of Conan the Destroyer. This story deserves to be left unread. Hawk's Wood appeared in Adventures of Sword & Sorcery #4Author's
comment: Hey, it was supposed to be
an unapologetic, old school, S&S saga (though I don't "get" the
Conan the Destroyer reference). Not only have a
number of people told me they liked it, but (in their opinion) it
was among the best things Adventures of Sword & Sorcery ever
published! And I guess some people must've liked it because... A sequel
(or prequel rather) featuring Kainar and his enchanted
axe, Hawk's Wood --"The
Skull
of the Serpent" -- appeared in Adventures of Sword &
Sorcery #7, and a third story, "Something
Dwells 'neath Hannah Town", is in the anthology, Lords of Swords, a new collection featuring
works be Tanith Lee, Nancy Varian, E.E. Knight, Howard Jones and
others. Go to the official website here for more
info.
What
-- me, catty?
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