Marc Aplin's Blog, page 159
December 11, 2015
The Aeronaut’s Windlass by Jim Butcher
I should, in the interest of fairness, begin with two disclaimers. The first is that I freaking love Jim Butcher, to an extent that would make both him and my wife uncomfortable were it ever discovered. The second is that I really, really dislike steampunk. Of all the subgenres in fantasy, it is the one […]
December 9, 2015
Sídhe in Fantasy: From Gaelic Origins, To The Modern Market
Recently on Fantasy-Faction, Janie wrote an excellent article on some of the origins behind faeries in mythology. This piece will both go a little further back, and a little farther forward: I’m going to talk about fae in a less conventional sense in regards to modern SFF, as well as exploring their origins in Gaelic […]
December 8, 2015
Time Salvager by Wesley Chu
It’s always an exciting time when an author you follow releases something new. Not new, as in the next book of an established series, but something brand new. Something you have never experienced before from that writer. Something you didn’t even know you wanted until you had it, then look back and wonder how you […]
The War of the Worlds – Sequel Signed!
Gollancz have announced that they are set to publish The Massacre of Mankind in 2017, an ‘official’ sequel to The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. The book will be written by multi-award winning author Stephen Baxter who, in addition to writing plenty of his own bestselling novels, wrote The Long Earth series of […]
Women Dominate Graphic Novels in 2015
Looking at the Goodreads Choice Awards for 2015, of the top 8 Graphic Novels, 7 of them have women on their covers. It’s also worth noting that Attack on Titan, which is the the eighth cover that does display a male, actually stars the incredibly strong willed, skilled and determined woman – said to be as deadly as one hundred soldiers by […]
December 6, 2015
Writer’s Den: Describing the Indescribable
Hoglers don’t exist. You’ve never heard of them, and I’ve certainly never heard of them. As an object of the imagination, they defy description. This is a challenge that faces all science fiction and fantasy writers. How do you go from an idea of an object, creature, race or place that only exists at the […]
Joe Abercrombie update and Sharp Ends cover reveal
Fantasy-Faction is a huge fan of Joe Abercrombie. He has spent a great deal of time at the top of our ‘Most Anticipated’ and ‘Best Novel’ lists over the years and based on the quality of his Young Adult novels this isn’t going to change anytime soon. It’s not just us though, one of the most […]
December 5, 2015
What To Do In December Now NaNoWriMo Is Over
It’s done. After 30 solid days of eye-bleeding writing NaNoWriMo is over. You step into December blinking, the ordeal over and your life strangely empty. After frantically trying to spend every spare minute of the last few days of November writing, December leaves you feeling all out of sorts. So whether you made the golden […]
December 4, 2015
Game of Thrones Season 6 Teaser… Is Jon Snow Dead? If not… how not?
This post contains spoilers for the show and book. I didn’t disguise the title as the subject has trended on the news, Facebook and Twitter… I don’t think there are too many people alive who don’t know that Jon Snow is ‘dead’. Just ’cause they died doesn’t mean they are dead… It’s kind of A […]
December 3, 2015
Steve McHugh Interview
Today we have the pleasure of interviewing Mr. Steve McHugh, author of the Hellequin Chronicles, an urban fantasy series that currently spans five full length novels and two short stories. His latest book, Lies Ripped Open, was released in August 2015 by 47North. Now on with the interview! For folks, and there may be a […]
