Marc Aplin's Blog, page 213

A Matter of Perspective by Jeff Salyards

A few months back, I was lucky enough to be sent a review copy of Jeff Salyards’s first novel, . As well as an excellent premise, what really struck me was the rather unusual form of narrative that Jeff chose to tell his tale. For those who haven’t read the book, Jeff’s protagonist is a […]

Editor Abigail Nathan Interview – Part One

“There is no good writing, only good rewriting.” The writers among you will have heard this many times. Likely you’ve heard different variations of it, but the message is the same: First drafts are about getting something down on paper. It will be rough. It will probably stink. But it’s simply part of the process. […]

The Fair Folk edited by Marvin Kaye

I have no doubt that those of you reading this have a fair sized book collection and can admit to owning at least a few novels on your shelves that, perhaps, are coated in a thick layer of dust. These poor little guys have generally been purchased on a whim while just “taking a look” […]

San Diego Comicon 2014 Report

I got lucky once more this year and managed to join the mass nerd migration to the San Diego Comic Convention. As always, the lines go for miles (literally) and it’s the worst place to be if one isn’t somewhat comfortable moving in an extremely close mass of humanity. There is way too much for […]

Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis – Series Review

Kat, Incorrigible is a fun and charming series of children’s historical fantasy books combining magic, adventure, romance and the Regency period, and I’d highly recommend them to both children and adults who are looking for a quick and very enjoyable read! The first book is either Kat, Incorrigible or A Most Improper Magick, depending on […]

Trees in Fantasy – Part Three: Trees as Setting

So far in our exploration of trees in fantasy we have looked at trees as both symbolism and characters across a range of mythic and modern fantasy tales. We discovered in part two that, while tree-ish characters are common residents of fantasy worlds, they are especially significant when also considered in their roles as symbols […]

Using Questions To Expand Your Story

I think it’s safe to say that we are all daydreamers. Whether you only enjoy reading fantasy or you write your own stories, we all enjoy getting lost in our imaginations. But when we’re writing our own stuff it’s often hard to craft a story to go along with our collection of good ideas. Good […]

The Relic Guild by Edward Cox

There are many things to love about The Relic Guild. First and foremost, it neatly delivers the reader into a unique world – rare in the saturated fantasy genre – that’s peopled with a great cast of characters and a conflict spanning decades. This conflict has shades of the Biblical: the Satan-like Spiral – a […]

Truth and Fear by Peter Higgins

Truth and Fear, book two of Peter Higgins’s Wolfhound Century Trilogy is not one you can just jump into. It is vast, rich, complex, and without the context of events in the first book, you will inevitably find yourself lost. With that in mind, let me introduce you to a little of book two. It […]

Brent Weeks Interview

Running a fantasy blog, I’m often asked who my favourite authors are. Upon giving my answers, people are often surprised that the likes of Robert Jordan, George R.R. Martin, J.R.R. Tolkien and so on aren’t in my top 5 (or even 10). I think it’s because when I started reading fantasy it was because I […]