Marc Aplin's Blog, page 151
February 21, 2016
FANTASY TV DOWN UNDER: NEW ZEALAND IS MORE THAN MIDDLE EARTH
Nowadays putting fantasy fiction and New Zealand in the same sentence is hardly unusual. As the home of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy and the subsequent Hobbit movies, the country had been resoundingly stamped as a centre for fantasy film production and lovingly referred to by many as “Middle Earth”. While these films and their director Peter Jackson (who also […]
February 19, 2016
Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard
This review contains spoilers for Red Queen. Read with caution if you have yet to finish the first book. I’m new to this series and tore through the first book, Red Queen, in one sitting. The idea isn’t an original one – we’re talking an ‘us and them’ scenario with the eugenics elements borrowed from […]
February 18, 2016
Interview with Paul Tassi
I’ve been enjoying the blog posts of Paul Tassi – video games, technology, and Internet contributor at Forbes – for quite some time now. Simply put, his tastes are pretty similar to my own (and probably yours too!): Playstation/XBOX Games, Superhero & SFF Movies/TV Shows, the latest innovations in technology. So, despite Science-Fiction being one […]
February 17, 2016
When Does Magic Stop Being Magical?
Many years ago, I did a bit of role-playing. I played various characters in that time, but my favourite one – and the one I advanced to the highest level – was a mage. I remember a particular game when my party was planning to go treasure hunting in a trap-infested dungeon. As you do. […]
The Copper Cat has a face
For many years, one of Fantasy-Faction’s most beloved authors, Jen Williams, has had her books stranded here on our little island. Despite us Brits raving about Jen’s sword & sorcery adventures until we’re blue in the face, Americans have been without word on when/if they’d be able to follow the tales of sellswords Wydrin and Sebastian, and their vengeful […]
February 16, 2016
Interview with Clifford Beal
Hopefully you’ve seen yesterday’s review of The Guns of Ivrea by Clifford Beal. It’s a novel that features pirates, adventure and politics and throws in fantastical elements such as supernaturally gifted humans, magical objects and mermaids. I concluded my review with my feelings that “it’s highly readable, fast-paced, fun adventure novel that somehow manages to be all of that without ever […]
The Guns of Ivrea by Clifford Beal
A few years ago I read and enjoyed Gideon’s Angel by Clifford Beal. It was a novel set in 17th Century England and was enhanced with light fantasy elements, most prominently magical artefacts and religious beings. It was a very clever novel, well-paced, full of masterful descriptions of the times and had some great characters too. That […]
February 14, 2016
Plot Holes and How to Fix Them
Whatever kind of fantasy you’re writing, sooner or later you’re going to come up against the dreaded issue that can bring your whole book to a screeching halt. That is – the plot hole. So what can you do about it? Plot holes are tricky beasts and can come in many different forms. Mostly, when […]
A Renewed Focus
Excuse the personal post here, if you don’t know me very well you probably want to skip it! Some of you may have noticed that I’ve been a bit quieter than usual these last few weeks (less tweeting, less Facebook, less Forum posting, etc). I’d been preparing for a boxing match that took place last night […]
February 13, 2016
Sara Raasch Interview
Sara Raasch is the author of the New York Times Bestselling Snow Like Ashes trilogy. Whilst eagerly awaiting the third and final instalment of the trilogy, why not check out our interview with Sara—and if you’re yet to discover the epic fantasy adventures of Meira and Mather, be sure to check out the first two […]
