Kim Falconer's Blog: Supernatural Underground, page 9

What Makes A Hero? #4: Courage

.I believe I may have said I was going to look at "3 C's" in terms of What Makes  A Hero?—in which case I definitely misspoke, because how could that question possibly be answered without examining the part played by courage?What makes a hero?You're so right: it definitely can't be! So having looked at The Call, Circumstance, and Commitment, today's post is zeroing in on Courage. Because in order

The End

Sara Amini  The End - Art RankedI just finished reading Holly Black's Book of Night, and I give it full credit for this month's blog topic.  Yes, I have written about endings before, in the 2018 post, The End is Near, but today's topic is different.Don't worry, I won't tell you how the Book of Night ends, except to sputter words like provocative, shattering and unexpected. I literally can't stop

What Makes A Hero? #3: Commitment

On 1 March, I asked the question, "What Makes A Hero?" and looked at "the Call", the first of three C's that inform my thinking on the subject.What makes a hero? (Valkyrie in Thor: Ragnarok)Last month, on 1 April, I checked out C number two: Circumstance.This month, it's time for Commitment. (I know, I know, you got that from the title already, but hey -- unfolding logic and everything in its

Favorite Fantasy Format

Anime Wallpaper Last month we explored reading preferences in Fantasy - series, or standalone. It boiled down to a basic argument where the beauty of a standalone is containment. When you pick it up, you have the story complete from beginning to end -- no cliffhangers, no unresolved plots.And the beauty of a series? It may not be an all in one volume or even all in three, but oh the depth and

What Makes A Hero? #2: Circumstance

.Last month, I discussed the overlap between epic and heroic fantasy, along with the parts played by heroes, anti-heroes, and occasionally outright villains, and posed the question, What Makes A Hero? In addressing it, I indicated my intention to begin by examining "three criteria—three
C’s in fact—over the next few months." What makes a hero?The first of these was “the call”, which I delved into

What Readers Want - Series or Standalone?

Welcome to the Supernatural Underground!In this post, I'm exploring what readers want in their Fantasy Fiction, series or standalone. Some say it boils down to things like mood, attention span, ability to commit... time constraints. I think it is more about personal taste in literary style and favorite authors. Still, we can't always explain why we love the color blue over red but we feel the

What Makes A Hero?

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Myth & Monsters

 And so it goes... by Mateo DineenLike most Fantasy writers, I have a long-held fascination with monsters. Ghosts, demons, vampires or zombies, anything that makes the heart beat faster captures my eye and may eventually wind up in my books. I mean, among other things, monsters create the perfect context to explore human emotions.  This has always been so!Evil Minotaur by Li WendaMonsters have

Coming To You From Inside "Middle Earth"

 .Wow, what a month it's been, with a whole heap happening here, especially for January!So much so that I am going to have to defer the "Heroes in Fantasy" goodness and instead share a gorgeous pic "from inside Middle Earth" -- NZ having become "Middle Earth" for The Lord of the Rings films (as I'm sure you all know!)This photo is from the Ida Valley in Central Otago, not far from the location

What's New in 2022 Fantasy Books?

Pre-order nowWhat's new?Curse of Shadows release, for one thing! In this title, which can be read as a standalone though it does follow on from Crown of Bones, we are going to discover Ash's secret, Marcus's challenges and Kaylin's... well, we all know there is a LOT more to discover there.... We are going to dive deeper (yes that's a pun) into the Mar, the call of the whistle bones, and the