Marc Aplin's Blog, page 161
October 28, 2015
The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin
“Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall; Death is the fifth, and master of all.” N. K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season is a strikingly original fantasy novel. It is set in The Stillness, a continent ruled by the Sanzed Empire on a world plagued by constant tectonic plate movement, causing frequent devastating earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. There are […]
October 27, 2015
Gender and Stereotyping in Fantasy – Part Three: Balance
Last time we focused entirely on characters drawn from the YA SFF spectrum, visiting authors from Cassandra Clare to Maggie Steifvater and Meagan Spooner/Amie Kaufman. Whilst we’re still not done examining gender and stereotypes in YA, we’re going to swing the spotlight onto more regular fantasy in this instalment. Note that I veer away from […]
October 26, 2015
New York Comic Com 2015 Report – Part One
Once upon a time, the Supreme Overlords of Fantasy-Faction asked if anyone on staff lived in the general area of New York City and would be willing to take one for the team and go to New York Comic Con with a press badge. “It’s a tough job,” I said to myself, “but somebody’s gotta […]
October 25, 2015
Under A Colder Sun by Greg James
A city in peril, a king with a daring plan, a mysterious bandit and a guard driven by idealistic honour. It all makes for a good set-up and promises a great deal. The actual story begins in an inn, as many good fantasy novels do, and the tone it strikes is dark and brutal. Leste […]
October 23, 2015
For Your Consideration: Fantasy Podcasts
If you’re anything like me, you spend a considerable amount of time commuting to and from work. And while satellite radio, streaming music and audiobooks can alleviate some of the boredom that comes with epic amounts of “windshield time,” the rise of the podcast is what has truly made my time behind the wheel bearable—if […]
October 22, 2015
What Makes A Good Protagonist?
From the humble page all kinds of fantastic characters can spring to life: dashing heroes, devious villains and everything in between. But only a few of these creations will reach the elite position of main character. A good central protagonist is the core of the story, it doesn’t matter how spectacular the world is, or […]
October 21, 2015
The Use of Drugs In Fantasy
As fantastical as our genre is, there has always been some leakage from the real world to the ones lodged between the pages we devour. Love, war, anger, sex, despair, greed, politics, disease, mythology…After all, it is hard to forge a book 100% removed from ours. My question today is if real-world elements sneak into […]
October 20, 2015
The Golden City by J. Kathleen Cheney
Historical fantasy is something of a weakness of mine. I love anything that combines magic and history, especially when that magic actually has an effect on history. My first reviews for this site were about a series of books set during the years preceding the American Revolution, and now I’ve stumbled across a series set […]
October 18, 2015
Bloodmoon by Ben Galley
“Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of bloodrushing.” In the opening book of the Scarlet Star Trilogy, readers get to immerse themselves in an alternative Wild West, complete with deadly railwraiths, fairies and blood magic. In the sequel, Galley immerses us in circus life, even as he builds upon our understanding of Tonmerion Hark’s […]
October 17, 2015
Tower of Thorns by Juliet Marillier
In the second book of the Blackthorn & Grim trilogy, we hunker down with the two main characters as they wait out the seven-year condition set by Blackthorn’s benefactor, Conmael, a fey who freed her from a death sentence in Dreamer’s Pool. Now, I’m not usually a fan of Marillier, but the synopsis of Dreamer’s […]
