Marc Aplin's Blog, page 134
July 26, 2016
Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off #2: The Next Five
It has been a little while since our last update, but the pace should pick up a little now. As of 24th July, every book we were given has had its first three to five chapters read by two, some by four, of our team. We have, at the very moment I am typing this, […]
July 24, 2016
Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer
“Some books have to be sad to get across the ideas the author wants to talk about. Victor Hugo is describing a very sad part of real history. Hugo wants you to understand that moment in time, what was beautiful about it, and what was horrible. Books, even made-up stories, can’t all have happy endings […]
July 23, 2016
Chains of the Heretic by Jeff Salyards
We all know that there’s a fine line between patronising your reader and confounding her. Well-meaning experts – scattering words of advice as though they were tuppence a bag – stress how important it is to “always assume that your reader is smarter than you”. But like most things this is easier said than done, […]
July 22, 2016
Serial Reader: Reading Books One Bite at a Time
Serial Reader is a new app that delivers daily chunks of books that can be read in 20 minutes or less to your phone. After a few weeks, I’ve become hooked. It’s perfect for my commute on the subway, while waiting in line for coffee, or while eating my lunch. Books that might seem intimidating […]
July 21, 2016
Stranger Of Tempest by Tom Lloyd
If you could judge a book by its cover then Tom Lloyd’s Stranger of Tempest would be one of the finest books of the year, unquestionably. However, we all know that doing this – judging a book by its cover – is a sin. So, instead, you need to read the thousands upon thousands of […]
July 20, 2016
The Waking Fire by Anthony Ryan
In the first book of this new series, Ryan introduces readers to a fascinating world where nations have been replaced by companies, and the most precious resource available is the blood of a drake, which can be used by Blood-burners to fuel their magic. Similar to the way that different metals provided different skills in […]
July 19, 2016
The Jim Henson Company Making a Wee Free Men Movie!
If you’ve been patiently (or not so patiently) waiting for the next Discworld book to hit the big screen, then your wait is over! The Jim Henson Company, creators of some of the best fantasy movies ever, The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, MirrorMask and more, have joined up with Narrativia, Sir Terry Pratchett’s production company, to […]
July 18, 2016
The Winner’s Kiss by Marie Rutkoski
A roller coaster of emotions in the conclusion to the Winner’s trilogy, The Winner’s Kiss is one of the few books I’ve read this year that made it difficult to part with in exchange for sleep. Reading late into the night, only to stay awake thinking about it, and then counting the hours the next […]
July 17, 2016
MJ-12: Inception by Michael J. Martinez
Michael J. Martinez first hit our shelves with the incredible Daedalus series, which dazzled critics and fans alike with 18th Century battleships in space and multi-dimensional plotlines. It was a trilogy (and spin-off novella) that mashed a range of genres into a fresh fantasy adventure that we really hadn’t seen before and I couldn’t help […]
July 16, 2016
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
I should confess that I am not a great aficionado of contemporary vampire stories. I’ve watched a few fragmentary episodes of Buffy, but I’ve have never read Twilight, nor watched any of the movies. However, I am aware of a sub-genre that Stephanie Meyer seems to have almost single handedly spawned of young adult vampire […]
