Marc Aplin's Blog, page 178
May 26, 2015
Guardians of the Flame by Joel Rosenberg – Series Review
“A one. How did I roll a one?” “Your mage miscasts his spell and, without warning, the white filaments of the web spell smother your friends in a sticky embrace, slowing movement and stopping the warriors from swinging their weapons. The orcs step back, laughing at your misfortune, certain of their victory. At the rear […]
May 25, 2015
Under the Empyrean Sky by Chuck Wendig
Chuck Wendig is a name most readers here will recognise. A stellar writing force on the internet, his opinions, arguments, sage advice and (often) sage profanity are well known and usually well received. I have long followed Chuck through the magic of Twitter and via his blog terribleminds, and have been a fan of his […]
May 24, 2015
Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues edited by J. M. Martin
The overwhelming majority of characters in Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues, edited by J.M. Martin, are not very nice people. These aren’t loveable rascals, playing harmless tricks in the shadows – the very best of them are merely thieves. The rest are assassins, murderers, cutthroats and rapists. This is not an anthology for […]
May 23, 2015
Suicide: More Than a Plot Device
When I built the world for my fantasy series, The Vault of Heaven, I intentionally made it a dire place. Not bleak, I don’t think. At least, not all of it. But I established some places and practices that lead to suffering—a need-state, some call it. And when people suffer, sometimes their needs are met—they’re […]
May 22, 2015
Writing Contest Winner: Religion
December. The darkest month with the longest night of the year. Harsh and cold days and mankind struggling in winter’s iron grip. Separated through walls of snow from others, one feels tiny and alone. What better time to remember that there are gods looking out for you? Gods, who may help you through these hard […]
Bloomsbury Reveal First ‘Harry’ image for upcoming Harry Potter Illustrated Edition Re-Releases…
Bloomsbury Books have revealed the first picture of their ‘new’ Harry Potter. Unlike some of the other images they’ve released that will feature in the upcoming Illustrated Editions of the Harry Potter books, this image by Jim Kay can’t be called a complete reimagining. It certainly looks and feels very similar to the artwork in/on […]
May 21, 2015
Genres: Stirring The Pot
I was a reader for decades before I began to really work at becoming a writer. Ever since I was a boy I read anything I could get my hands on, history and science and poetry and every kind of fiction, Wuthering Heights to The Thirty Nine Steps, Kemlo of the Space Lanes to Dr […]
May 20, 2015
Mad Max: Fury Road
George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road is an absolute cinematic tour de force and the only ones in disagreement are a small group of men who found the women in this movie too strong for their sensitive ego’s and, well….those that require a complex narrative or are less than entertained by epic car chases. For […]
May 19, 2015
Robert A. Heinlein: More Fantasy than Meets the Eye
Robert A. Heinlein is known as the dean of science fiction, and was the first Grand Master of the genre. Heinlein, Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke are collectively known as the ‘Big Three’ of science fiction. Just the other day, I saw someone mention in a blog that they had read a science fiction […]
Waterborne Exile Cover Reveal & Preview
It’s no secret that Angry Robot Books are amongst Fantasy-Faction’s favourite SFF publishers here in the UK. Having been lucky enough to meet a number of their team at conventions and through the interwebs I know that each and every one of them are true genre fans. And, because they are true genre fans, they […]
