Marc Aplin's Blog, page 114

Running a D&D Campaign

Welcome to Tabletop Tuesday! Here at Fantasy-Faction, we’re passionate about all things fantasy, be it books, films, or video games. However, this new semi-regular feature aims to celebrate the classic medium of tabletop gaming. Last week, Stephen Rhodes offered valuable advice on planning a D&D campaign; today, Trent Cannon is here to follow that up with tips on […]

Interview With Ben Galley

Ben Galley is an award-winning fantasy author from the UK. He is the author of the epic Emaneska Series, the weird-west Scarlet Star Trilogy and the brand new standalone The Heart of Stone. When he’s not dreaming up lies to tell his readers, Ben works as a self-publishing consultant, helping fellow authors to self-publish and […]

Sins of Empire by Brian McClellan

Brian McClellan earned scores of new fantasy fans with the Powder Mage Trilogy. With Sins of Empire, the first book in his new Gods of Blood and Powder series, McClellan may have found an entirely new level. As he demonstrated in the Powder Mage Trilogy, characters continue to be McClellan’s greatest strength, as his latest […]

Red Sister by Mark Lawrence

As a reviewer, Red Sister set me a challenge I have not had since The Girl with All the Gifts: the conundrum of capturing how it made me feel and why, but without spoiling the experience for anyone who comes after me. (By the way – as far as The Girl With all the Gifts […]

Books That Made Us Cry: Kings of the Wyld

*Disclaimer: This article contains significant spoilers for Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames. If you haven’t read it yet, go away, buy it, read it, and then, AND ONLY THEN, come back and read this article. You have been warned…* ‘The best stories make you feel, question or consider something about yourself’. I said […]

UK Cover Reveal for Ed McDonald’s ‘Blackwing’

I first heard that Ed McDonald had written a book through our Facebook Group… He happened to be a member and commented about having recently won a book contract. I followed Ed’s posts for a while and they all proved he was someone passionate about the genre and who obviously had real knowledge on the darker […]

New African folklore inspired fantasy snapped up by Angry Robot Books

Some exciting news from the folk over at Angry Robot Books today… They’ve signed an author named Micah Yongo who has written a fantasy novel set in a world with a world inspired by Africa. It’s called Lost Gods and is the story of a teenage assassin hunted by his own Brotherhood, as he seeks to […]

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

It isn’t often that you bring home a game that is a legitimate contender for the title of Greatest Game Ever Made. Games, like books, are so personal and subjective that one player’s favorite feature could be the bane of another’s gaming existence. The reasons I abhor a game may very well be the reasons […]

The Failed Novelist (And Why ‘Giving In’ Is Not The Same as ‘Giving Up’)

Editor’s note: The following piece is an impassioned response to a recent controversial article. Please be aware that it contains one or two instances of ‘colourful’ language! Giving in isn’t giving up. Everyone has been there – everyone has experienced it. That frozen moment, that heartbeat, standing on a knife-edge; step off and return to […]

Cover Reveal & Extract for ‘LOST BOY’ by CHRISTINA HENRY

If you’ve been keeping up with the recent retellings of Alice by Christina Henry, you will surely be excited to hear that she is set to release a new version of Peter Pan. For those who haven’t picked up Alice or it’s sequel The Red Queen yet, much of the story matches the original (the same white rabbit […]