Marc Aplin's Blog, page 126
October 19, 2016
The Emperor’s Railroad by Guy Haley
Tor’s novella series was started in 2015, with the aim of promoting this shorter medium. The line includes both established authors and those just making their debut, and has included a number of authors from diverse backgrounds. The resulting line is full of interesting and different stories from authors both familiar and new. This column […]
October 17, 2016
Human Stories
I’ve been working my way through the Honorverse by David Weber, a military science fiction series focused on the life and career of Captain Honor Harrington. The books centre on her actions during a war between two great empires, the Star Kingdom of Manticore and the Republic of Haven. There’s adventure, politics, love, loss, friendship, […]
October 16, 2016
Monthly Short Story Winner: Mighty Beasts
You know they’re out there. Lurking. Just out of your sight. Maybe immortal. Or so close that it doesn’t make a difference. Having survived for longer than human history exists. Because they’re tougher, smarter and meaner than anything else. Dragons, leviathans, kraken or other things from deep below – our mythologies are filled with gargantuan […]
October 15, 2016
Star Wars: Life Debt by Chuck Wendig – Spoiler Free Review
The second volume in Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath trilogy—filling in some of the timeline between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens—Life Debt differs from its predecessor in tone, scope and style. Life Debt is a widescreen, traditional Star Wars tale set smack in the eye of the storm raging in a galaxy far, far […]
October 13, 2016
An Accident of Stars by Foz Meadows
“It’s all right to be lost. How else can we find ourselves?” “Apathy breeds more evils than defeat. Keep fighting.” An Accident of Stars (2016) is the new portal fantasy by Foz Meadows and the first book in the Manifold Worlds sequence. The book contains all the magic, adventure and excitement in a land far […]
October 11, 2016
Paternus by Dyrk Ashton – SPFBO Review: And Then There Was One!
The SPFBO team have completed their search for a finalist! Today, only one book remains, and that is Paternus by Dyrk Ashton! Congratulations Dyrk! You are moving on to round two in the Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off! You can read our review of our amazing second place winner for part one of the contest here. […]
Ravenmarked by Amy Rose Davis – SPFBO Review: And Then There Were Two
The SPFBO team have completed their search for a finalist! Today, only one book remains, as we say farewell to Amy Rose Davis and Ravenmarked. You can read our review of our first place winner for part one here. G. R. Matthews: Well, here we are. Our final two. We’ve read a lot of books […]
October 10, 2016
Vampires: Origins, Evolution, and Role in Fantasy Fiction
The vampire: a figure whose folklore origins date back as far as the cradle of civilisation, is one of the major mythic figures bequeathed to us by the English Romantics. Tracing the vampire’s timeline back through folklore we are presented with either twisted, ghoulesque apparitions, or dishevelled corpses that more resemble the zombies and mummies […]
October 8, 2016
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
It’s a safe bet to assume that most if not all of us have heard of Shirley Jackson, regardless of how much of her work we’ve read. My first experience with her writing came from high school, when I was exploring the school library to see what sorts of books were available that couldn’t be […]
October 7, 2016
Pretty Little Dead Girls by Mercedes M. Yardley
Pretty Little Dead Girls was the first of Ms Yardley’s books I ever read. I sort of flirted with the idea of buying it for quite a while. The title, the cover, the blurb all caught my eye and yet the theme seemed so dark it made me hesitate. The book is not fantasy in […]
