Marc Aplin's Blog, page 202
October 31, 2014
Fantasy Book Club – November 2014: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
For November, our members have voted to read Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. Under the streets of London there’s a place most people could never even dream of. A city of monsters and saints, murderers and angels, knights in armour and pale girls in black velvet. This is the city of the people who have fallen […]
October 30, 2014
The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss – Extensive Review
Reviewer’s Foreword Picking up The Slow Regard of Silent Things you are greeted by a number of warnings from the author: “You might not want to buy this book.” … “I think it’s only fair to warn you that this is a bit of a strange story.” … “I don’t go in for spoilers, but suffice to […]
October 29, 2014
A World of Ice & Fire is… Here!
Hey, Westeros fans, finally you’re able to get your hands on the bestselling A World of Ice & Fire and if you’ve not yet been convinced to pick it up already then get ready to be, because the publishers have put out this awesome video in order to tempt you to hitting that add to basket button […]
Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor – Video Game Review
Author’s Note: This review is spoiler free! Licensed video games do not have the best of reputations. E.T., for the Atari 2600, is considered one of the worst games ever made. The recent Legend of Korra game has been widely panned. Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi? Well, the less said about that train wreck, […]
October 28, 2014
Firedrake by Richard A. Knaak
The land is ruled by the Dragon Kings. The icy north, the land of the Ice Dragon. The south, the city of Irillian by the sea, is ruled by the Blue Dragon. The Black Dragon rules in Lochavar, the land of the grey mists. The wasted lands are ruled by the Brown Dragon. The Red […]
October 27, 2014
Daughters of the Storm by Kim Wilkins
The warrior. Through blood and steel, Bluebell has forged a reputation as an unkillable soldier. The eldest of the five princesses, she is fiercely protective of her family, unashamedly bloodthirsty in battle, and is ruthless in her decision-making. Pragmatic though she may be, though, Bluebell is not heartless. Nothing is more important to her than […]
October 26, 2014
Dictionary of Phrase and Fable by Ebenezer Cobham Brewer
In August of last year, I wrote about a variety of resources that might be useful to fantasy writers. Recently, I came across another resource that I found so amusing, so educating, so irresistible, that I had to share it: Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. This Dictionary was inspired by Ebenezer Cobham Brewer’s habit […]
Eliza Crewe on her Crushed protagonist, Meda
Regular readers of Fantasy-Faction will remember that following the closure of Strange Chemistry – an event that saw many writers thrust into the unfortunate position where they were unexpectedly out of contract – we offered our site to those authors who were going to pursue the self publishing route. Because the closure of Strange Chemistry […]
October 24, 2014
Acacia: The War with the Mein by Anthony Durham
Reading fantasy can tend to feel like traversing the width and breadth of your home country. You’re seeing the beauty of the land and its people, taking in all the sights of differing regions and the varying cultures that make them up but, at the end of the day, it all starts to feel a […]
October 23, 2014
Fool’s Assassin by Robin Hobb (spoiler free)
This is a spoiler free review of Fool’s Assassin. HOWEVER it does contain spoilers for all of Hobb’s previous books. Read with caution if you’ve yet to finish her previous series. It’s been a long journey. Fitzchivalry has survived torture, dragons, the loss of many close friends, enough psychological and physical damage to break a […]
