The Blind Man: Blog

I posted the last chapter of Game World this morning. I know that many of you expressed the view that you'd like to see it run for many more chapters but at this time it isn't possible. As some have rightly pointed out I painted myself into a corner with Hope and right now I'm stymied at where to go next. I have come up with a few ideas for a possible sequel but for now I want to work on something different. I've got a short erotic one off story halfway done that I'm going to post soon and then I'm going to introduce an new adventurer to SOL and see where I can take him. I also have a half dozen stories that I've written long ago that need cleaning up and editing before I can get to posting them. All will take time and unfortunately I can't maintain the same writing schedule with Game World and get to those stories as well.

I would like to say thank-you to all my readers and in particular those who gave me feedback. Good or bad it was appreciated. Hopefully I will hear from you again once I start posting again. Until then I wish everyone a good life, a merry Christmas, and a happy holiday in the coming month. Thanks.

I just took a look at my stats for Game World today and I saw that the number of bookmarked readers had gone over a thousand and I wanted to say thank-you.

While I realize that some people stopped reading the story (I've received feedback telling me that they had) I still find it impressive that over a thousand people gave my story a chance. So to all of you who did and to all of you who are still reading - thank-you.

I've made a couple of small changes to Chapter 85 based on feedback from a reader. I changed 'timed fuses' to 'proximity fuses' for technical accuracy in regards to the AA fire that Sam was taking. I had originally thought 'proximity fuses' when I was writing the chapter but the word went out of my head while I was typing and it wouldn't come back, thus why I ended up writing what I did. I also clarified that the wooded area that the AA gun tractor was parked in was on the crest of a hill. Hopefully it allows readers to visualize how the gunner's brought their weapons to bear so quickly against Jack and then Sam.

As for my narrative in regards to missle lock-on and hitting targets, that is a little artistic license. I know that once you've got a look on with a missile it is basically fire and forget (unless the thing is wire guided) and I also know that most missiles can be launched from miles away once lock on has been achieved, however where is the excitement in that. Writing it out might not be realistic but I do hope that it adds a little excitement to the chapter that it is in. If not, well I'll have to find Charles a different toy to play with.

Thanks for the feedback and for reading.

Just some clarification on the two battle groups approaching the resort. The first clarification is that the force is post-WWII era in technology which means that most of the vehicles are not similar to what we would recognize from our history. The tanks in the northern battle group are sort of a cross between a late model PZKW IV and a Soviet T-34/85. The vehicle has a frying pan turret and an 88-mm main gun. As for the personnel carriers they are closer to an M113 in appearance than anything else. The SP guns are turreted 155-mm Howitzers similar to the M-109 in configuration. Finally the vehicle mounted anti-aircraft gun is a 37-mm weapon being carried on a chassis similar to a large Sdkfz 9 tractor except that the vehicle is fully tracked.

Another clarification is that the Nazi force has no radar supporting the AA or FA detachments. However it did not mean that the Nazi's were caught unaware. Sentries had been posted arount the hill where the vehicles had been encamped and the hill where the AA was parked was higher than the surrounding terrain. Somebody spotted the three Sparrow Hawks and they used field phones to call back and alert their command post. Still it only allowed the first AA vehicle to engage the Sparrow Hawks before Charles and his flight could react.

Again thanks for reading.

To clarify the Sparrow Hawk is a VTOL aircraft that is similar in configuration as a V-22 Osprey. In Game World it is a smaller, sleeker aircraft with the cockpit forward of the wing / engine assembly. Here the craft looks a bit like a Cobra gunship. The craft has a nose mounted chain gun and several hard points and weapons pods mounted on its fuselage. The big drawback to this craft is that the pilot is the weapons officer as well and the craft has a limited range due to fuel consumption. I hope this helps people visualize the craft when I describe it.

Thanks for reading.