There are some who would have you believe that the only fiction to be found on the Internet is either on political blogs or fan fiction posted on LiveJournal. Do not believe those people as there is more to the Internet than Kirk on Spock love and self-aggrandizing political musings. In all actuality, I have discovered some truly compelling literature from both established and aspiring authors.

Thirteen Bullets, by David Wellington, is one book that has really drawn me in and I find myself gnashing my teeth in frustration if a day or two goes by without an update. The story is a straight ahead action horror novel about vampires and their hunters. Unlike most of the work involving vampires the ones contained in these pages are brutal monsters that rend their victim limb from limbs when feeding. That and the existence of them seems pretty commonplace enough that people do not seemed surprised when reading in the morning paper about a town whose inhabitants were chewed up and spit out. I am definitely looking forward to his novel, Monster Island, due out this spring.

Someone Comes To Town, Someone Leaves Town, I know little to nothing about short of the fact that I have appreciated Doctorow’s essays and postings on Boing Boing and Craphound. His earlier book, Eastern Standard Tribe, seemed intriguing enough that I picked up a hard copy although it can be downloaded for free. Note to publishers, music and movies included, giving something away for free does not always lessen its value. In this case I see enough in the value of Doctorow’s work to purchase a hard bound copy of his book even though I can read and pass around a digital copy.

War of the Gyro is my favorite of the bunch because Dowler is an average person who has screwed up his courage and is making a go of self-publishing his work as he writes it. He isn’t a graduate of Columbia’s MFA program nor did he attend a Clarion Writer’s Workshop, as far as I know. He is just someone with an incredible amount of imagination and it has been enjoyable to watch his work grow over the past weeks. His novel is based in the RPG universe of Talislanta, which I suppose would classify it as fan-fiction, but even though he is drawing on existing work he has the vision to supply a compelling story and the skill to create worthwhile dialog. Honestly, Morrigan Press should consider extending him a contract to pen a few more novels to generate interest in the game; novel product tie-ins works for WotC, just ask R.A. Salvatore.

There is some good stuff out there if you take the time to look. Give the above a chance and you might find something you like.