Marc Aplin's Blog, page 113
April 20, 2017
Introducing ‘Cruising the Cosmere’!
Show of hands: how many of you started reading Brandon Sanderson’s books with no idea of what the Cosmere would be? When I picked up Mistborn way back before his first Wheel of Time book came out, my entire goal was to get a sense of the writing style of this Sanderson guy who was […]
April 19, 2017
I Know This is Fantasy-Faction, but Science-fiction Matters Too
I don’t think I have a strange reading history. I’m pretty sure it is the same as many other people. At a young age I started reading books, because that’s what you do once you’ve exhausted the excitement of cereal packet ingredients. I had a library card because it was much cheaper than buying lots […]
April 18, 2017
Interview With Brian Staveley
By now you should all probably know that the point of my interviews is simply to celebrate Wednesdays (doesn’t matter if it’s actually Wednesday or not). This time I have with me Brian Staveley, author of Skullsworn and the Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne trilogy, and a big lover of Wednesdays as well. Let’s see what he has […]
April 17, 2017
Books Do Not Sell Without Covers
The secret to book selling is not so secret anymore. The answer lies in the unspoken pact between an author and reader, which agrees a great cover equals excellent writing. Honestly, we know the premise is false—great stories exist inside shoddy covers and vice versa—but the expectation remains. In fact, I know readers who have […]
April 16, 2017
Urskuul’s Reading Circle (Second First Official Meeting)
Hello, and welcome to the first official Urskuul’s Reading Circle Newsletter! Read on for brand new details of the discussions that occurred at the latest meeting (wherein we reviewed the book of the month), and of the thoughts and insights that were raised during the meet. Now, as some of you may be aware, we […]
April 15, 2017
2016 Aurealis Award Winners
The winners of the 2016 Aurealis Awards were announced on Friday as part of the Swancon Convention in Perth, Australia. Congratulations to all the finalists and winners! For those who don’t know them, the Aurealis Awards are the leading speculative fiction awards in Australia, and have been recognising the works of fantasy, science fiction and […]
April 13, 2017
A Wizard Alone by Diane Duane
Whatever else may be your opinion of A Wizard Alone, you have to admit that you will likely never read any other book which opens with a boy arguing with a DVD player as the DVD player argues back. I’ve noticed in checking out the Young Wizards series from the library that they all come […]
April 12, 2017
The Necronomicon to the Nokizi: Creating Texts For Secondary Worlds
Welcome to Fantasy-Faction’s new feature, Worlds Within Worlds. Writing in-world texts offers an anchor for characters, readers, and authors—when everyone is working off the same information, there’s a sense of immersion and verisimilitude, that this world could exist. You can write up as much lore as you want for your own personal file, but once […]
April 11, 2017
The Hammer and the Goat; The Vagrant and the City by Peter Newman
Covers count; every author knows this. Covers can make you buy books, they pose questions, raise mysteries – draw in the eye and the imagination. It is rare, however, for the cover of one book to make you buy a different book, but so it was with me this weekend. Later this month, the final […]
Interview with Peter Newman
You know that a book deserves your attention when Mark Lawrence says that it’s “the best thing he’s read in quite a while.” You know that you have to read said book when it wins the David Gemmell Morningstar Award for Best Newcomer. The book in question is none other than The Vagrant, and today […]
