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Randall Farmer

Randall Farmer

About

I am Randall Allen Farmer.  I am an author, science nerd, an amateur photographer, a father, and a pencil and paper game designer and gamemaster.  My formal education was in geology and geophysics, and back in the day I worked in the oil industry tweaking software associated with finding oil.  Since I left the oil industry, I've spent most of my time being a parent, but did have enough time to get two short stories published (in Analog and Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine).  Now I'm giving epublishing a try, and I have an ample supply of novel-length publishable material to polish and publish.

Murdo

Murdo

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Description

<p>When Jessica Bryant pesters her wealthy parents to allow her to have a dog as a pet, the answer is a resounding &quot;No&quot;; but they soon come to regret their decision when thier home is broken into one evening whilst they are out and their daughter kidnapped and held for ransom. The kidnappers, in the form of four seedy and incompetent characters wearing Disneyland-type masks, take her hostage and keep her incarcerated in a place from which there appears to be no escape. However, they reckon without the resourcefulness of our heroine, and the courage of a wonderful stray dog who comes to her aid and whom she names 'Murdo'. And so begins an exciting and humurous accounting of the couples' adventures together as they consistently foil and outwit the abductors whilst on the run together.<br /> This is a lovely story of the friendship between a girl and a dog, bringing out themes of responsibility, camaraderie, redemption, salvation and self-sacrifice. It includes some wonderful dialogue sequences as Jessica teaches her new four-legged friend how to communicate with her, with additional delightful conversations between the animals when a rabbit and a sparrow join forces with them in an effort to outwit the kidnappers and restore Jessica safely back to her parents' home. </p>

Story Behind The Book

Book Two of "The Commander" My wife and I put together the basics of the first two books of the Commander series in a series of conversations about human predators and the effects of captivity on people's minds.

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Reviews

<span style="vertical-align:middle;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Reviews of &quot;Once We Were Human&quot;, the prequel of &quot;Now We Are Monsters&quot;<br /><br /></span></span><span style="vertical-align:middle;"><strong>Hooked!</strong><br /></span>&quot;Once We Were Human&quot; is science fiction, horror, suspense and action adventure all rolled into a great and well told story with interesting characters.<br /><br />I downloaded the sample and read a few screens. I found myself interested in the story and the main character. Half way through the sample I was hooked and bought the book. The author deftly switches between parallel story lines and characters and continually builds anticipation as the story lines and characters converge. By the next morning I had finished it and greatly enjoyed the experience. I am looking forward to the next book in the series. <br /><span style="vertical-align:middle;"><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br /></span></span><div style="margin-bottom:.5em;"> <span style="margin-right:5px;"><span class="swSprite s_star_5_0" title="5.0 out of 5 stars"><span></span></span></span><span style="vertical-align:middle;"><strong>Hard Science, 'Modern' Paranormal and Alternate History...</strong></span> </div><span class="crVerifiedStripe"><span class="tiny verifyWhatsThis"></span></span><div class="tiny" style="margin-bottom:.5em;"></div>This book is a bit of a genre bender and a promising start for a new author. The story follows the trials of Carol Hancock, a human who has been hit with &quot;Transform Disease&quot; which alters her into a superhuman, almost supernatural creature. However, unlike most of the genre, this book deals with the political and social implications of this transformation set in a period with its own transformations, the 1960's. The reactions of the government and the FBI ring true to the period and all of the characters have their own motivations.<br /><br />That aside, it's simply a good read. The story moves quickly and I found myself reading later into the night than I wanted...[I suspect my work the next day suffered a bit :)]... While the book is not one I would normally have read, the premise intrigued me. Though darker in tone than my standard fare, the writing and characters held me. The transformation of Carol from housewife to her new state including her moral and social anguish felt right, though I think she was a bit of a caricature in the beginning. However that soon passes. I am waiting eagerly for the continuation of her story.