My brother, David, and I will sign our new books at 1 pm, Saturday, December 5, 2015 in the Stephens Central Branch of the Tom Green County Library in San Angelo, Texas. Light refreshments will be served. If you’ve read my blog, you know that my book is the “The Schnoz of the Rings: A Parody of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.” My brother’s book is “OinK! Only in Korea! Based on true events that happened in and around the Demilitarized Zone, Republic of Korea circa 1980.”
The Schnoz of the Rings: A Parody of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.
“What would happen if Mel Brooks, Cheech and Chong, Monty Python, and Mad Magazine partnered on a parody of the Rings Trilogy? You’d have something very close to the Schnoz of the Rings. Spooferrific!” – Lawerence E. Musgrove.
Caroline McCullagh, writing in The Mensa Bulletin. says, “How could you possibly parody something so wonderful (as Tolkien’s LOTR)? Well, he did, and he did a good job of it. What is interesting to me is that Osterhout has created something that has a life of it’s own. I don’t think you need to have read the trilogy to enjoy this book. He creates a world that parallels Tolkien’s world, but it works on its own merit.”
See the Press Release for the Schnoz of the Rings and read more about the Schnoz and my other projects on the Books page.
OinK! Only in Korea!
Based on true events that happened in and around the Demilitarized Zone, Republic of Korea circa 1980.
After being an officer in the Army for 23+ years, I found this book to be funny and heartbreaking; realistic and tough, with no holding back. I could feel myself shivering through the cold and feeling hungry, tired, and irritated at the sometime incompetence or lack of common sense of some in leadership positions. I felt the short-lived relief of a hot steam bath, and sadness for the way of life of many women near the DMZ in Korea (and elsewhere). Soldiers will identify with the events that occurred in this book and find the humor as the usual medicine military folks rely on to carry on in rough times. They will also see how one presses on through pain to take care of his comrades and complete his tasks first. Although this is a novel based on events that happened while the author was in Korea, it pulls you into each fast moving minute as extremely real, humble, and without heroics – what a movie this would make! I’d like to add that this is a good read for anyone who might like a taste of what military life is like in a danger zone, like the DMZ in Korea then, and is still to this day. Five stars – hard to put down! – Jeannie Hoffman
For more information about David and Oink! visit his website DavidOsterhouttx.com. David has a gallery of pictures from his time in Korea and a collection of news clippings from the period.