Meta Worlds.
Written by Harry Harris and CD Mick.
Published by Mediaaria CDM - 336 pages - £12.00 - Black and White interior illustrations.
The Story - ‘META WORLDS was conceived with the intention to introduce a new type of storytelling. Storytelling with a focus on interconnected, on-going storylines which comprises of a range of characters and factions of complexity, scope and depth.’
‘The concept behind Meta Worlds originated in C D Mick’s and Harry Harris’ mutual love of the comics genre and high drama storytelling, with influences ranging from science-fiction to gritty crime thriller fiction. The launch of Meta Worlds introduces a new line of publications, comprising compelling characters, concepts and themes, rooted in both the contemporary and fantastical worlds.’
‘MMi (Meta-Mercs Investigations), is the second of Meta Worlds’ ongoing anthology stories, which introduces MMi, - the Crime-Fighting Team of extra-ordinary individuals made up of law-enforcement operatives that nobody wants, but society soon discovers that they desperately need...’
The Review - Every so often we see a prose novel about super heroics come along. Who remembers books like The Wild Cards series written and edited by George RR Martin himself, Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman or Prepare to Die! by Paul Tobin. Meta Worlds came along recently and was a little different from the norm but nonetheless enjoyable. It’s about a group of super powered Black Ops heroes but it’s not told in the traditional prose style that you might expect from previous iterations.
This volume has two stories and I have just finished the piece by Harry Harris, a story entitled ‘MMi - Meta-Mercs’. It mixes a modern Detective/Spy drama with all the touchstones we loved about books like The Knights of Pendragon or even Espers. It has that British feel about it, you can hear some of the characters talking with a Sweeney style cockney lilt. It’s brash and cocky and cool in all the right ways.
This is a Special Ops Superhero team that I’d love to see return and feature in more novels and comics. Characters include Danny Carter (Codename: ‘Bulldog’) an ex Detective Sergeant in the Metropolitan Police and now the leader of the group. Alexandria Sinclair (aka ‘Red Soldier’), an ex army officer with extraordinary abilities and Steven Green (aka ‘Minotaur’) an ex Marine who looks like he could tear your head off and poop down your throat! The story opens on a brutal underground powers fight club, the tension build and never stops even after the fight ends.
If you looked at the structure of the writing on the page you might be forgiven in thinking that it was prepared as a film or tv script but upon closer examination it has richer scene settings and a more elaborate descriptive style. This script(ish) style also allows for the action to race along and the superbly pulpy language to spark. I soon warmed to this style and found it a cracking reading experience. It had me remembering books like Don Pendleton’s Mack Bolan series or The Destroyer from Warren Murphy. An unapologetic hard boiled action thriller fiction and a perfect distraction from the BS of the modern world.
I’m yet to read the other story ‘Silencer’ in this volume that is written by CD Mick but after enjoying ‘MMi’ it’s certainly next on my list.
Not only is this a cracking read it also features the spot illustrations of my Awesome Comics Pod Brother - Dan Butcher. A perfect choice to illustrate this series you get a fleshing out of some of the designs of the characters. Dan is the creator of Vanguard, an ongoing British superhero webcomic that you can find at www.VanguardComic.com and on twitter @VanguardComic You also get some of those classic character profile breakdown pages in the back matter.
The cover is by Ciara McAvoy a noted Scottish artist and respected illustrator in the Film Industry, where she has won numerous awards for her work; including a Davey Award and a Creativity International Award for her Filth poster in 2014 and five total Communicator Awards in 2015 for Filth, X-Men and Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. Ciara’s art for Meta Worlds is her first book cover artwork.
The author Harry Harris has served in the British Military and in UK Law-Enforcement for thirty- three years. A lifelong Comic, Sci-Fi and Action movie fan, “MMi” is his first published work. You can find more about this creator on Twitter @HHarrisMMI
A Writer, Publisher and Founder of the publishing company, MEDIAARIA CDM, CD Mick is a lover of Literature and Storytelling in all its forms, dedicated to exploring the craft of creative writing to its fullest potential.
Find out more about this new publisher and their other books at www.mediaaria-cdm.com
META WORLDS was awarded a Gold Davey Award in the ‘Design/Print –Promotional Covers (all inclusive)’ category at the 13th Annual International Davey Awards 2017. Winners of the Davey Awards are selected and judged by the Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts (AIVA); an assembly of leading professionals from various disciplines of the visual arts, dedicated to embracing progress and the evolving nature of traditional and interactive media.
You can find this book on Amazon here https://www.amazon.co.uk/META-WORLDS-C-D-MICK/dp/0992715555/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523045345&sr=8-1&keywords=Meta+worlds
Many thanks for reading.
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