Marc Aplin's Blog, page 130

Michael J. Martinez Interview

I’m fortunate to have the opportunity to catch up with author Michael J. Martinez about once a year, thanks to his ability to so quickly write fantastic books for us to discuss. In 2015 we talked about the end of his dual-universe sci-fi/fantasy Daedalus trilogy. This year we both dressed up in our best James […]

Havens And Hells In Fantasy

When we talk about how we feel when reading we often refer to characters or plot. We vent about a villain we hate or gush about a hero we love. A devastating turn of events or an amazing plot twist might prompt us to express how moved we were. When it comes to setting, however, […]

A Criminal Magic by Lee Kelly

Think 1920s Prohibition, except alcohol is not what is illegal. Magic is. Enough damage was done by past magic users that any and all evidence of magic is shunned and banned. But not all traces of magic are gone. With anything that is prohibited, the lure is just all that more enticing. Shine rooms attract […]

The Heart of Stone by Ben Galley – Cover Art Reveal

Here on Fantasy-Faction we are fans of both cool cover art and cool authors. Today we are lucky to have a little of both! Our once contributor, now successful self-published author, Ben Galley, has a new novel coming out next spring and its cover is AMAZING! But before we show you the pretties, let’s get […]

Monthly Short Story Winner: Politics, Scheming, and Intrigue

Scheming courtiers with different goals, layers of conflict, strings being pulled behind the scenes, power shifting, social climbers, too cocksure of themselves to be careful, poison… Political fantasy stories (think ASoIaF) usually have a lot of worldbuilding and complex plots. Intricate governmental hierarchies need to be created to make them believable. Backstory, motives, complex relationships […]

The Perdition Score by Richard Kadrey

Richard Kadrey’s Sandman Slim series has quietly worked its way into a place of prominence on my shelf. Imagine a punk rock Harry Dresden fresh out of [expletive deleted]s to give, and you’ll begin to scratch the surface of James “Sandman Slim” Stark—Kadrey’s acerbic, violent protagonist. The Perdition Score—the eighth full novel and ninth entry […]

Yseult by Ruth Nestvold – SPFBO Review: And Then There Were Five

The SPFBO team are making steady progress in our search for a finalist. To avoid cruelly stretching things out, we’ll be posting individual reviews for those who don’t make it as we eliminate them rather than waiting till we’ve picked our winner. Please note that we’re not reading (or eliminating) these in any particular order […]

Gilded Cage by Vic James

Gilded Cage began life as a Wattpad success and it’s easy to see why. Sitting halfway between the YA and adult markets, James’ story has a wide appeal and deals with popular themes. While the dystopian ‘us and them’ set-up is familiar, the world of Gilded Cage is far more comprehensively realised than many of […]

A Cast of Roles

Through the course of a novel, the author will create and introduce a wide array of different characters to the reader. Often they might do it on automatic, smoothly introducing a new character that fits the scene without any conscious decision or over-thinking, letting the writing flow. Other times an author will muddle over background […]

Star Trek Beyond – Movie Review

The summer film season is always a mixed bag of emotions for me. There’s the thrill of all the blockbuster films as the studios roll out their big guns to compete in the cinema royal rumble. There’s the excitement at seeing the next epic installment in that film series you love so much. There’s the […]