Marc Aplin's Blog, page 186
March 13, 2015
Sir Terry Pratchett (1948 – 2015)
We at Fantasy-Faction are heartbroken by the loss of such a great man as Sir Terry Pratchett. There is a hole in fantasy and science fiction that will not soon be filled and a pain in our hearts that will not soon be comforted. Below we have collected the thoughts of some of our contributors […]
March 12, 2015
Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances by Neil Gaiman
In the introduction to Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances, Neil Gaiman tells us quite plainly that writers live in houses other people built. In this collection of short stories, it often feels as though Gaiman is going through other writers’ closets. Some of the stories mimic the tones and themes of Gaiman’s literary predecessors, […]
March 11, 2015
The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King
In The Drawing of the Three, his second step along the journey towards the Dark Tower, King creates another mind-boggling, wonderful, weird, fascinating, adventure akin to the original but with a far better grasp on narrative structure and characterisation. In this second volume, we follow the Gunslinger in his attempts to, as the title aptly […]
March 10, 2015
Lamentation by Ken Scholes
The world is built on tragedy. Every piece of civilization, from small village to sprawling city, is altered by the events that cause pain and suffering to its people. While there are countless tragedies that have happened throughout the Earth’s history, it is those that happen without any warning that can affect us the most […]
March 9, 2015
The Super Relaxed Fantasy Club
An urban nightscape. Soft up-lighting casting blue petals against the wall. Flame captured in tall glass pyramids heat the room. The quiet chatter of people at the bar and staff placing chairs in silence. It surrounds you, entices you, relaxes you. And that’s good. This was my first time. I’d meant to go before, things […]
March 6, 2015
The New World by Michael A. Stackpole
War can be a tricky set-up for the final book in a trilogy. The fights in the first two books that have been leading up to the climactic battle need to have engaged the reader thus far, but the last major conflict needs to top them all, no matter how amazing and epic the others […]
March 5, 2015
Tie-In Fiction: Fantasy’s Gateway Drug
Tie-in fiction—specifically the Dragonlance universe—was my first introduction to wonderful world of epic, serial fantasy. Before Eddings, before Jordan and Feist, there were Weis and Hickman. The Dragonlance Chronicles are a touchstone for me and countless others. Just take a look at the forum here on Fantasy-Faction, or at the r/fantasy or r/Dragonlance subreddits. The […]
The Kitschies: 2014 Winners Announced!
Our good friend Jared of Pornokitsch may no longer be heading up the Kitschies (although he is still heavily involved), but they are still one of the most interesting awards for me as a genre fiction fan. Unlike the majority of SFF lists out there which tend to focus on mainstream books – the books […]
March 4, 2015
Saturn Awards Nominees Announced…
The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films have announced the nominations for this year’s 41st Annual Saturn Awards. Captain America: The Winter Soldier leads the nominations with a total of 11 with the space adventure, Interstellar, receiving 10 nominations. Guardians of the Galaxy follows closely behind with 9 nominations. In television, The Walking […]
Game of Souls by Terry C. Simpson
Keedar is a dreg, a peasant, a motherless rogue, a boy. All around him, the people of the Smear struggle in abject poverty. Above it all, the nobles play a dangerous game, struggling for power and control. Money is power, but in the world that Terry C Simpson has created it is not the ultimate […]
