Marc Aplin's Blog, page 175
June 21, 2015
Peter Newman Interview
Stephen King may have had a point when he wrote that talk is “sneaky”. Although we’re often told that the majority of communication is nonverbal (93 percent is the popular figure), the concept of having a voice is often linked with ideas such as freedom, justice and identity that make being without it a huge […]
June 19, 2015
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell – Episodes 1 – 3
It feels like fantasy for adults has almost become respectable of late. Game of Thrones keeps raking the viewers in, while the adulation for the BBC’s lush adaptation of Susanna Clarke’s novel has been almost universal. There have been, predictably, a few whispers from those who still have hang ups about liking – whisper it […]
Cover Reveal of Twelve Kings by Bradley P. Beaulieu
I am honoured to say that I’ve been involved in the cover design of Bradley P. Beaulieu’s Twelve Kings and possibly even played a (tiny) part in how it turned out. OK… so when I say ‘involved’ all I really did was give Bradley my thoughts on the cover’s numerous drafts over a period of months and when […]
And tonight’s award goes to . . . Meh.
Following the mass-interest of M.D. Lachlan’s recent Nutty Nuggets post on Fantasy-Faction, we asked around amongst our author friends as to whether there were any more thoughts on the whole Hugo Awards mess. One author who came back to us, Stephen Hunt, whose In Dark Service we really enjoyed last year, put together a really good ‘in […]
June 17, 2015
Fantasy and Gaming
Fantasy literature and fantasy games are and will always be intertwined. Certainly, fantasy fiction predates Crossbows and Catapults, Warhammer, Thieves World, Dungeons & Dragons or Magic: The Gathering, but for many readers fantasy games—even if you didn’t play them growing up—were a gateway to novels of similar subject matter. The reverse is true as well. […]
The Rebirths of Tao by Wesley Chu
It’s been over a decade since the climactic events of The Deaths of Tao. Now both of the Quasing factions have to combat a new threat. Mankind. The Genjinx are closing in on their goal of terraforming Earth into the new Quasing homeworld, and it’s up to the dwindling Prophus forces along with the Tan […]
June 15, 2015
Knight’s Shadow by Sebastien de Castell
Knight’s Shadow is the second book in The Greatcoats series; this review will contain spoilers for Traitor’s Blade. Read with caution if you have yet to finish the first book. Castell’s next installment of the series takes everything that made the first book great and gives it a little extra kick. The plots get more […]
ARC Cover Reveal & Competition for Bradley P. Beaulieu’s Twelve Kings
It has been a great year for readers looking to jump aboard a new series and an equally good one for those who like to be wowed by SFF cover art. For those of you who like both (a new series and some damned decent art), we’ve got a treat for you today. Renowned fantasy […]
June 14, 2015
Meeting Elric
Unlike many people who’ll see this post, I am a total newbie to the character and world of Elric and indeed to author Michael Moorcock. Lest I be burned by the fantasy community for heresy, I decided to seek out the Elric books, but quickly discovered that finding a place to begin wasn’t so simple. […]
Breakfast of Bullshit: Futurephobia, the Hugos and the Invention of SF’s Past
Today we have a guest blog by MD Lachlan who has a lot to say about the recent Hugo fiasco. Many of you will be familiar with Mark, who has cemented his place as one of the UK’s top fantasy authors with his Wolfsangel series (the forth of which, Valkyrie’s Song, has just been published […]
