Marc Aplin's Blog, page 103
July 26, 2017
A Wizard of Mars by Diane Duane
Maybe it’s because Mars is named for the Roman god of war, but something about the Red Planet has captured human imagination, or at least the imagination of Western media. Think about it: when there are invaders from within our own solar system, where do they most often come from? It’s a trope that’s over […]
July 25, 2017
The Hollow Crown by Jeff Wheeler
Spoiler Warning: While what follows is a spoiler-free look at The Hollow Crown, discussion of the 5th book in a series and the start of a new trilogy necessarily “spoils” much of what came before. If you plan on reading Wheeler’s Kingfountain novels but haven’t quite gotten around to it yet, suffice it to say […]
July 24, 2017
The Court of Broken Knives by Anna Smith-Spark
As I recall, the first rumours I heard of the book that became The Court of Broken Knives was seeing the author’s lament on social media that an agent had found it too brutal, too gory, too grimdark to contemplate representing it. Nonetheless – as has happened to so many authors – one agent’s poison […]
SPFBO3: The First Five Fall…
The Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off officially began on July 1st! In case you missed it, here’s what Fantasy-Faction has posted so far: Our announcement Introducing round one Cover contest winners And of course you can keep track of everything relating to round one on the SPFBO page on Mark Lawrence’s blog. HUGE thanks to my fellow SPFBO judges […]
July 23, 2017
Castlevania – TV Series Review
You know, when I first heard that Netflix was doing a four-episode animated Castlevania TV series, I have to admit, I wasn’t really all that interested. I mean, let’s face it, video game adaptations don’t exactly have a great reputation these days. And, even without having actually played the games, I could tell that a […]
July 21, 2017
Monthly Short Story Winner: 1750
Imagine you or someone from our time is transported back to the year 1750 (the start of the industrial revolution) with everything you/they know. There’s no going back. What is your/their plan? What can or will go wrong? Rules: 1. This must be prose or poetry. 2. The main character must travel back from our […]
July 20, 2017
The Ancient Magus’ Bride by Kore Yamazaki – Volumes 1-7 Series Review
Do you like folklore? Pretty imagery? Stories reminiscent of fairytales without being a direct retelling or adaptation? If so, you should read The Ancient Magus’ Bride. The Ancient Magus’ Bride is the story of Chise Hatori, a girl who happens to be able to see into another realm. Unfortunately, what Chise often sees is frightening. […]
July 19, 2017
Spellslinger by Sebastien de Castell
“I’ve recently discovered that people rarely tell the whole truth.” “Is that what you’re here to do then, Kellen?” Osia’phest asked hopefully. “Tell the whole truth?” I smiled. “No, my Lords Magi, I’m not here for that.” In Spellslinger, the first book in Sebastien de Castell’s new young adult fantasy series, Kellen, a young mage-in-training […]
July 18, 2017
The Rift by Nina Allan
“Remember when we were small, Selena, the worlds we made? I was happy then, at home in the world in a way I’ve never been since. Perhaps it was my dis-ease with the world that lost me my place in it.” “No book is completely true or completely a lie. A famous philosopher at the […]
July 17, 2017
Tabletop Tuesday: Player Characters Keep It Interesting
Not long ago, I wrote about how important it is to be able to improvise when running a tabletop roleplaying game, whether the genre is fantasy, sci-fi, or something altogether different. This is because players are, above all, mad creatures who do not listen to either reason or instructions. If there is room in your […]
