Marc Aplin's Blog, page 37
February 10, 2021
On Writing Flash Fiction
December was a really fun month for us nerds here at Fantasy-Faction. In October 2020, we had a call for microfiction submissions from our existing pool of contributing writers as a present for all of you. And as one of the writers who submitted a piece—“The Clockwork Bee”—it was a lot of fun! This wasn’t […]
February 8, 2021
Infernal by Mark de Jager
A man called Stratus wakes up paralysed in the middle of nowhere. He has no memory of how he got there or of anything else, except his first name. Vultures are preparing to eat his unmoving body. Stratus is ‘rescued’ by a group of soldiers, led by a Deacon who heals him with magic. His […]
February 3, 2021
The Children of D’Hara by Terry Goodkind – Excerpt
Last year we lost one of epic fantasy’s biggest names, Terry Goodkind. Goodkind appeared on the scene in 1994 with the first book in his world-famous Sword of Truth series, Wizard’s First Rule. Since then, the series has been translated into 20 languages and sold 26 million copies. The Children of D’Hara series picks up […]
February 1, 2021
Scarlett the Fantasy-Faction Dragon Gets a Makeover
If you’ve been with us for a while you will probably recognize our site mascot Scarlett the dragon. If you’ve not met her before, here she is in all her original glory! She has been with us from the early days of Fantasy-Faction. And since we are ten this year, I thought she might like […]
January 27, 2021
Darkness Forged by Matt Larkin – SPFBO #6 Finals Review
Vengeance is wrought. Darkness is forged. The greatest crafts on Midgard come from the dvergar realm of Nidavellir. Volund, a gifted smith and once apprentice to the dvergar, escaped their dark realm to find solace in the arms of a Valkyrie. Nine years of respite. And then she was gone. What would you do to […]
January 25, 2021
The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison
It was the name that first attracted me to this book. An angel associated with a pagan symbol of death and mysticism; the possibilities set my mind racing. Then, I learned that Addison was the same author who wrote the highly inventive, characterful, and absorbing fantasy novel, The Goblin Emperor. I was pretty much sold. […]
January 19, 2021
Black Stone Heart by Michael R. Fletcher – SPFBO #6 Finals Review
A broken man, Khraen awakens alone and lost. His stone heart has been shattered, littered across the world. With each piece, he regains some small shard of the man he once was. He follows the trail, fragment by fragment, remembering his terrible past. There was a woman. There was a sword. There was an end […]
SPFBO 6: Finalist Review Black Stone Heart
A broken man, Khraen awakens alone and lost. His stone heart has been shattered,littered across the world. With each piece, he regains some small shard of the man he oncewas. He follows the trail, fragment by fragment, remembering his terrible past. There was a woman. There was a sword. There was an end to sorrow.Khraen […]
January 10, 2021
A Wind from the Wilderness by Suzannah Rowntree – SPFBO #6 Finals Review
Hunted by demons. Lost in time. Welcome to the First Crusade. Syria, 636: As heretic invaders circle Jerusalem, young Lukas Bessarion vows to defend his people. Instead, disaster strikes. His family is ripped apart. His allies are slaughtered. And Lukas is hurled across the centuries to a future where his worst nightmares have come true… […]
January 4, 2021
Fantasy-Themed Cookbooks
Hello fellow nerds! A little while back I wrote about the Firefly: Big Damn Cookbook and how awesome it was to prepare recipes inspired by the show. Well, that got me thinking, are there other cookbooks themed around our favorite fantasy books and movies and such? Hell yes, there are! Here are a few that […]
