Marc Aplin's Blog, page 123
January 15, 2017
The Dreaded Adverb Problem
The poor adverb. No part of speech is more maligned than this little modifier. When authors want to insult each other, what do we do? We accuse each other of using too many adverbs. It’s the writer equivalent of “your mama.” But to say that all adverb use is lazy or a sign of bad […]
January 14, 2017
Exploring Rural Landscape
The quest is a hallmark of great fantasy fiction and some of the best quests see our heroes traverse a variety of locations before reaching their goal. When done well, the environment can become a character in its own right. But all too often in writing fantasy, the environment can be bland, the landscape uniform. […]
January 12, 2017
Plotting – What Happens Next?
“What happens next” is a question that has the power to freeze a writer’s hand over the keyboard, paralysing them with potential issues. Which route should your characters take? How would they respond to story events? Does it make sense? Does it slow the pace? Does it feel right? Creating a coherent and successful plot […]
January 10, 2017
The Moonlight War by S.K.S. Perry – SPFBO Review
The Moonlight War is one of ten novels in the final round of Mark Lawrence’s Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off (SPFBO) 2016. Updates on the contest’s progress can be found here. Three caravans have vanished traversing the Cowcheanne Way. The legendary Tahsis platoon, warriors thought by most to be invincible, are dispatched to investigate and are never […]
January 8, 2017
Gender and Stereotyping in Fantasy – Part Six: Historical Accuracy
This final part of our extended series on gender and stereotypes in fantasy and science fiction will be both a conclusion and a sweeping reflection on what we’ve already examined, but in the context of that one thing many who fail to see the lack importance (and, indeed, those who oppose diverse and inclusive representation […]
January 7, 2017
Rogue One – Book and Movie Review
Note: This review covers both the film Rogue One and the prequel novel Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel. Small “spoilers” abound but I’ll say without reservation that there is no way this review can really spoil anything. The conclusion was foregone. We already know how the story ends. What I haven’t spoiled are some of […]
January 6, 2017
High Wizardry by Diane Duane
Even though I’ve only reviewed two books in Diane Duane’s Young Wizards series, I’m sure people will be able to guess from the previous two reviews how this one will go. I’ll swoon over the friendship between Nita and Kit, and how the two of them are such a perfect example of a bookish friendship […]
Theology in the Godserfs Series
You may remember that a few days ago we revealed this awesome cover for the latest novel in the Godserfs series? Well, the author of Godserfs has stopped by to talk a little Theology with us as a means to open our eyes up to the kind of exploration that awaits you just beyond that aforementioned […]
January 5, 2017
New Gas-Lit Empire Series & Give Away!
Many Fantasy-Faction readers would have heard about Rod Duncan’s Gas-Lit Empire series. The first novel, The Bullet-Catcher’s Daughter, was shortlisted for the Phillip K. Dick award back in 2014. For those unfamiliar, Duncan’s novels are fast-paced and set within a steampunky alternative history. The new series will be entitled ‘The Map of Unknown Things’ and […]
January 4, 2017
Cover Reveal For ‘Among The Fallen’
If you like religion, questing, powerful magic and dragons in your fantasy, then you really should have checked out the Godserfs series by now. The series is by N S Dolkart and the first book featured five refugees and a sinister wizard who awaken a dragon and defy the gods. Yep, not the kind of […]
