Pulsifier: A Fable

by Michael Mott and Wm. Michael Mott

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1424106702
• ISBN13: 9781424106707
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: America Star Books
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.89 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Fantasy Fiction with a Literary Flair

Pulsifer: A Fable took me back down literary highways I'd long forgotten--those of sly satire, caustic wit, wild, unforeseen plot-twists, and hilarious characters and situations! This incredible novel took me back to the reason I used to read: Just for the sheer pleasure of enjoying a really great book! Too bad there aren't more books like this these days, along the lines of Lewis Carroll, Rabelais, and Swift (but in contemporary language)! While I loved the books of Tolkien, this book is very much what Tolkien's work is not--that is, it is NOT plodding, NOT bogged down in minutiae, and definitely NOT sweet and filled with song and cute little characters! In fact, this is the most amazing and believable fantasy world I've seen in a long time. The action is fast, and the author's understanding of human nature--whether rogue, wizard, or anyone else--is undeniable! If you've ever sat in a board-room meeting with a bunch of stuffed shirts, or stifled your amusement at the pomposity of self-lauding academics, then there are scenes in this book that will either make you laugh out loud or smirk in appreciation. And the protagonist himself is a complex, very human character that I would love one minute and revile the next, and then I'd find myself stunned by something he'd had the audacity or luck to pull off! I've known people like that...Read this one, you won't regret it!

A Tale of Purest Fantasy

I do not get enthralled by books. I do not become enamored to the point that I cannot put a book down. I do not spend an entire day reading through a book, in a single sitting. But I did all these things with Pulsifer. Wm. Michael Mott has created a world rich with curiosities, a world of vivid emotion and humor, and a world that is richer, more intense, and more believable with each page. Not settling for the archetypes of elves, goblins, and dragons, Mott has developed a catalog of creatures that is a thousand times deadlier and more interesting than the over-utilized zoologies of current fantasy novels. None of these creatures feel like contrivances, they serve specific purposes in the happenings of their world. Quite frankly, I am more intrigued by Mott's talycent than I have ever been with dragons. As for the main character, Calim Pulsifer, he is a mixture of wit, cunning, and adventurous spirit. His unflagging quest for vengeance leads him from the most treacherous expanses of his frozen world to palaces of manifest opulence and back; however, throughout his journeys, Calim strives for karmic alignment with more dedication than most Buddhist monks, while exploiting more loop-holes than the greasiest Southern lawyer. I recommend Pulsifer to all who enjoy tales of rogues and adventures, monstrosities and magic, bad guys and not-so-bad guys. No, even more than that, I recommend Pulsifer to fans of story. Pulsifer, and the future works of Wm. Michael Mott, have earned a permanent place in my library and imagination.

A Great Read!

For those who enjoyed Michael Mott's nonfiction book, Caverns, Cauldrons, and Concealed Creatures, you will be pleased to know that Mott has not strayed far from some of the concepts in that work in his latest book, Pulsifer: A Fable, the First Novel of Pulsifer the Rogue. Age-old archetypes and folkloric forms are put to use in original and entertaining ways that will keep you wanting more with each turn of the page. In Pulsifer, Mott has assembled a mass of misfit trolls and wizards and every form of flesh-eating monster one can imagine, and we see them all through the eyes of Calim Pulsifer, a conniving, thieving, fast-talking, scoundrel banished from his homeland, roaming distant lands bent on revenge for those responsible for his abolishment. Throughout his wanderings, and despite his best laid plans, Pulsifer always seems to wind up in the wrong place at the wrong time, fighting for his life against an assortment of angered women, unscrupulous wizards, reptilian-like beasts, and bizarre human forms. Regardless of his checkered past, Pulsifer is a very likable guy, an underdog whom we can relate to, whose quick wit and steal charm are equal weapons against any adversary. Mott keeps the reader guessing with each chapter as he gets our rogue hero in and out of trouble and throws in a surprise ending sure to please even the most finicky of readers. It is books like this that remind us why we read: they take us to strange lands, we meet exciting people, and for a short time we leave the everyday world we are accustom to. I think there is a little bit of Pulsifer in all of us.

Journey to a land of mayhem, mirth, monsters, maidens and misadventure.

"Pulsifer: A Fable" is an excellent read. Truly original in concept, uproariously funny and totally unapologetic in it's politic incorrectness. How great is that! I read this book a few years ago on CD and re-read it very recently in book form. It's great to see it finally get it's due. Calim Pulsifer is a perfectly dressed thief, rogue, womanizer, confidence man and misadventurer, who journeys through the frozen wasteland of Teumdoth, a place filled with wizards, warriors, horrible monsters and, unfortunately for Pulsifer, amorous women, on his quest to return to his homeland and take vengeance on his enemies. Cruising from one extreme misadventure after another, he leaves death, havoc, bedlam, and nothing resembling political correctness in his wake. I'm a big fan of Michael Moorcock and the late Karl Edward Wagner. Wm. Michael Mott now sits on my bookshelf right between the two. If you have read the stories of Prince Elric of Melniboné, Jerry Cornelius or the mystic swordsman Kane, I think you will find the tale of Calim Pulsifer to be easily their kin. If you don't read this book may you be cornered in a cave by a hungry parsennoc or left outside at night in the hands of female jinmonanders. So if you want to know exactly how to outsmart a over-confident parsennoc or what drug to take to better your chances of surviving an evening with jinmonanders, then you had better read Pulsifer: A Fable. It's a great read, very well-written with plenty of action and an abundance of belly laughs in between, and I hope Wm. Michael Mott has more stories of Pulsifer the Velvet Knife to come.

A Wicked Fable

A great read! In this mythic world of mighty heroes and low humor, karma is an unstoppable force (more than gravity), but you never know how and when you will get yours. It is high time this book came out. The CD has been travelling from hand to hand and has been highly regarded. The book is actually even better!