Marc Aplin's Blog, page 203
October 23, 2014
The Avengers: Age of Ultron Trailer
Well, here it is, the trailer we’ve all been waiting almost 2 years for has finally arrived a few days earlier than planned (due to a leak). That movie is, of course, The Avengers: Age of Ultron. With S.H.I.E.L.D. destroyed and the Avengers needing a hiatus from stopping threats, Tony Stark attempts to jumpstart a […]
October 22, 2014
On The Trail Of Evil – A Look At Villainous Main Characters
The skies have darkened and night has come to the world. Thieves and assassins skulk in every shadow, waiting for their chance to strike. Ruthless politicians claw their way up the ladder, smiling politely before they stab you. Dark sorcerers seek out ancient artefacts and perform forbidden rituals in pursuit of more power. And across […]
October 21, 2014
Trial By Fire by Josephine Angelini
After a fair debut from this author with her Starcrossed trilogy, this new beginning of another left a bit to be desired. What compelled me to pick it up was the blurb: Suddenly, Lily is in a different Salem—one overrun with horrifying creatures and ruled by powerful women called Crucibles. Strongest and cruelest of them […]
Assassin’s Apprentice FREE on UK Kindle
Someone somewhere is feeling generous, because right now Assassin’s Apprentice by Robinh Hobb is completely free on the Amazon Kindle in the UK. So far no word on why (that I can find), but we’re presuming it is just to turn even more readers towards Hobb’s books and, especially her new series – that begins with […]
October 20, 2014
Malazan Book of the Fallen – Redux
So, over a period of close to a year, I’ve waxed lyrical about Erikson’s epic series Malazan Book of the Fallen but, with today’s demands on our time, the question remains, should you even bother? Chances are good that you can guess my answer to this question but it may not be as clear cut […]
October 19, 2014
Underground Fantasy – Part One: Caves
The name Dungeons and Dragons sums up the appeal of the fantasy genre perfectly. Giant magical creatures and dark, mysterious settings create images of mythic adventure and enchantment that provoke cult-like attachments that are enough to sustain entire communities. We talk about dragons a lot as a dominant feature of fantasy but in this series […]
October 18, 2014
Vowed by Liz de Jager
Vowed is the second book in The Blackhart Legacy and reunites us with kick-ass hero Kit Blackhart. I was impressed by Kit the first time around and I’m pleased to say that this subsequent adventure impressed me even more. Vowed has the feel of a detective story, which contrasts nicely with Banished’s straight-up action adventure. […]
October 17, 2014
Revisiting Thieves’ World Anthologies – Part Two
Welcome back to our stroll down memory lane in the city of Sanctuary. We’re revisiting the Thieves’ World series, the twelve anthologies that resulted from an idea by Robert Asprin and friends to write sword and sorcery stories in a shared universe. The concept made an impact on generations of readers, including best-selling fantasy author […]
Learn Dothraki on your Iphone
You’ve got a while until season 5 of A Game of Thrones starts, so perhaps you are looking for something to do in order to kill the time? Something productive, that will come in useful in the near future (so long as that future includes heading to a nomadic land full of warriors), perhaps then it […]
October 16, 2014
Dragonlance – Thirty Years Old
“Evil turns in upon itself.” Very rarely has a truer phrase been written so simply and we’ll come back to that later. The Dragonlance Chronicles first appeared in bookshops thirty years ago. The first book, Dragons of Autumn Twilight, was published in 1984. The second in the trilogy was released the same year and the […]
