The Kraken Revue

Welcome! I’m glad you’ve stopped by. Well, honestly, I’d prefer that you were out there, reading some of my actual work. But this item is here to help you decide what part of that actual work of mine you want to read…if you want to read any of it at all. I suppose that’s the first thing we should do: make sure you’re even in the right place by giving you a general overview of my portfolio and its major themes.

At the top of my portfolio page, right below this guide, is "Quorilax"  [13+]. This position is appropriate on several levels, since not only was it the first work I posted on this site—sharing it was the original reason I joined, in fact—but I also believe it to be my best work and the one most meaningful to me. I designate science fiction as its primary genre, but I choose fantasy as its secondary genre, and I consider it a “science fantasy” story—like “Gulliver’s Travels in space,” as one reader remarked.

Part of my inspiration for Quorilax was to completely flip the portrayal of aliens as “little green men” on its big, bulbous head by creating a race of furry, cat-like giants whose definition of “petite” would include anyone under a hundred feet tall. However, I do poke fun at the extraterrestrial stereotype more overtly in the aptly titled "Little Green Men"  [13+].

“Little Green Men,” which is written as something like a Socratic dialogue, contains perhaps the least subtle philosophical content out of anything in my portfolio, but philosophy and religion play a large role in much of my work. As a churchgoing atheist—yes, I’ll write churchgoing atheist again, and even italicize it, to show you that I didn’t put those two words together by mistake—I’m intrigued by religion, and I believe I bring a unique perspective to the issues surrounding it. I like to dispel stereotypes, whether those clichéd conceptions are of otherworldly folk being little green men or of atheists being bitter, arrogant, amoral people with no sense of wonder. "Science vs. Religion"  [13+] best sums up my thoughts in that area.

In that essay, I specifically mention black holes as an object of fascination, and I take you "Into the Wild Black Yonder"  [13+], but nature in general serves as an endless cause for awe, whether it’s a destructive "Force of Nature"  [ASR] or a soothing source of tranquility.

I enjoy satire, which is a major reason why Gulliver’s Travels is my favorite book of fiction. I think madlibs are an excellent tool for that genre, as I demonstrate with "The Ultimate Madlib Trilogy"  [13+]. In "The Mythtery of Creation"  [13+], meanwhile, I satirize the Christian creation story, one of the most notable differences between the two tales being that I portray the divine as female, and in regard to the humans, the woman appears before the man. I think highly of women, and I like to see strong female characters. While this world has made progress toward equality of the sexes, practices such as "Female Genital Mutilation"  [18+] clearly indicate that we still have a long, long way to go.

If you want to take a break from reading, I host three activities, none of which are typical writing contests. "ACRO*BATICS [Round Over]"  [13+] features writing, but each entry will be fifteen words or less, depending on the round; "Crack Kraken's Code Contest [Round Over]"  [13+] asks you to decode a decrypted message rather than write something; and "The Amazing Race Club"  [E] is related to a show on television. I know…television is books’ mortal enemy, but I’m all about bringing together conflicting worlds.

Seriously, I do strive to seek harmony and balance between often opposing forces, whether science and religion, humanity and nature, male and female, or another duality entirely. Even the structure of my poems and stories sometimes reflects this desire to connect two ends of a spectrum, to bring everything full circle. The first two lines of "Dawn of the Phoenix"  [ASR], for example, are the same as the last two lines, emphasizing the phoenix’s status as a quintessential symbol of death and rebirth, and the metaphor of the phoenix makes an appearance in other works of mine. The seasons are another prime example, exemplified by "As I Wander'd Lone through Nature"  [E]. Even Quorilax suggests another natural cycle in its chapter’s titles.

It’s fitting that I end where I started, with Quorilax, because it touches on each of the themes above, to varying degrees. It’s the keystone of my portfolio, in physical position as well as subject matter. I have plenty else available for you to read, however, some of which I referenced above but much of which I didn’t. If your work features some of the same themes as mine, there’s a good chance I’ll be interested in giving a return review, so don’t be afraid to look around and let me know what you think!