Helen Lowe's Blog, page 78
June 17, 2018
Having Fun With Epic Fantasy Tropes #6: The Sweep Of Time & Its Twin, War Without End
Time: “Wibbly wobby, timey wimey…stuff”
Now you may say I misled you last week when I said that this week’s topic would be “the sweep of time” and now I’ve gone and added in “war without end” as well: how does that work, you may well ask. Now I could say that it’s for no reason at all (at all!) other than that in the final analysis I liked today’s heading best. As the blog owner, editor, and poster-in-chief, that is of course my privilege but I’d like to assure those following this series tha...
June 13, 2018
About The Characters: Meet The Minor Players In “The Wall Of Night” Series — Meet Duar
UK/AU/NZ
In 2017, I resumed my “About the Characters” post series that focuses on the minor characters in The Wall Of Night series, because :
“I think it’s the presence of the smaller characters that “makes” a story, creating texture around the main points of view.”
Initially, the series focused exclusively on characters from The Heir of Night, but now I’m continuing on with minor characters from both The Gathering Of The Lost and Daughter o...
June 10, 2018
Having Fun With Epic Fantasy Tropes #5: Meet “The Big Bad”
Here be dragons… Art Credit: Antonio Javier Caparo
I believe all fiction requires an antagonist in some form, but just as epic fantasy frequently includes a wham-kapow, no-holds-barred apocalypse, it also inclines toward what I have previously described as ‘a great, world threatening evil, aka “the Big Bad.” ‘
In fact, you’re probably seeing how these tropes fit together, so that the farm boy/gal or prince/princess (and sometimes both) with a destiny, must go on a quest journey (aka a road t...
June 6, 2018
A Geography of Haarth: (The) Long Pass
The Wall of Night Series map; design by Peter Fitzpatrick
The A Geography of Haarth post series traverses the full range of locales and places from The Wall Of Night world of Haarth.
From January 25, 2013 to November 25, 2014, the series explored locations encountered in The Heir Of Night and The Gathering Of The Lost.
Now it’s returned to gazette the geography of Daughter Of Blood (The Wall Of Night Book Three.) The new series comprises updates of previous entries as well as new listings.
—...
June 3, 2018
Here’s A Few Photos For You :-)
Here in the Southern Hemisphere we’re shifting from autumn to winter, so here are a few ‘wild south’ photos to capture a little o’ the chill in the air but also the muted beauty of the seasonal transition.
I love the delicate flame of the bare willow branches, as well as the spectacular outlook over one of Canterbury’s famous “braided” rivers, with the southern ocean beyond.
This view (right) is overlooking the river mouth. As you can see it’s a mild day,
but I hope you get a sense...
May 30, 2018
About The Characters: Meet The Minor Players In “The Wall Of Night” Series — Meet Darrar
USA
In 2017, I resumed my “About the Characters” post series that focuses on the minor characters in The Wall Of Night series, because :
“I think it’s the presence of the smaller characters that “makes” a story, creating texture around the main points of view.”
Initially, the series focused exclusively on characters from The Heir of Night, but now I’m continuing on with minor characters from both The Gathering Of The Lost and Daughter of Blo...
May 27, 2018
Having Fun With Epic Fantasy Tropes #4: Apocalypse Now…
Now where would we be in epic fantasy without the a really good, no-holds-barred apocalypse—usually in the form of a great, world threatening evil, aka “the Big Bad”, and quite probably with an all-in final battle, aka Armageddon or Ragnarok.
You do remember Ragnarok from last week right? In case you missed it, Ragnarok is the famed “twilight of the gods” of the Norse myth cycle, with its notions of doom, that profoundly influenced JRR Tolkien, and through the great JRR shaped the epic fanta...
May 23, 2018
A Geography of Haarth: (The) Little Pass
The Wall of Night Series map; design by Peter Fitzpatrick
The A Geography of Haarth post series traverses the full range of locales and places from The Wall Of Night world of Haarth.
From January 25, 2013 to November 25, 2014, the series explored locations encountered in The Heir Of Night and The Gathering Of The Lost.
Now it’s returned to gazette the geography of Daughter Of Blood (The Wall Of Night Book Three.) The new series comprises updates of previous entries as well as new listings.
—...
May 20, 2018
Having Fun With Epic Fantasy Tropes: #3 — Dreams and Portents, Prophecy and Destiny
Strange Magic…
Dreams and dream magic are an important part of my fantasy novels to date, featuring in Thornspell as well as The Wall Of Night series. And although I would love to claim it as “all my own idea” I am compelled to acknowledge that several millenia of human history and storytelling have gotten in ahead of me: Gosh dang—foiled again! 
May 16, 2018
About The Characters: Meet The Minor Players In “The Wall Of Night” Series — Meet Darin
UK/AU/NZ
In 2017, I resumed my “About the Characters” post series that focuses on the minor characters in The Wall Of Night series, because :
“I think it’s the presence of the smaller characters that “makes” a story, creating texture around the main points of view.”
Initially, the series focused exclusively on characters from The Heir of Night, but now I’m continuing on with minor characters from both The Gathering Of The Lost and Daughter o...
