Marc Aplin's Blog, page 58
June 26, 2019
What If… – Guest Blog by Tom Lloyd
Writing—It’s all basically the same whatever genre, right? No, of course I don’t believe that! If I did, I’d be trying to make my fortune in romance or something. There are a few reasons why I’m not (much to the disappointment of my friends, family and every person I’ve had to tell, “No, not that […]
June 23, 2019
Unicorn Mirror: A Compendium of Unicorn Lore
Introduction: The Ethereal Glimpsing of a Unicorn “The unicorn lived in a lilac wood, and she lived all alone. She was very old, though she did not know it, and she was no longer the careless color of sea foam, but rather the color of snow falling on a moonlit night. But her eyes were […]
June 20, 2019
Quill by A. C. Cobble
Quill is the first book in a new series, The Cartographer, by A. C. Cobble (author of the Benjamin Ashwood series). It is a fantasy wrapped in steampunk, inside a buddy cop story—except that in this universe sorcery (spirits) is present alongside the industrial revolution. Duke Oliver Wellesley, the youngest son of the king, and […]
June 18, 2019
Seven Blades in Black by Sam Sykes
Seven Blades in Black is the first book in The Grave of Empires series. The central theme is the contest for power between mages—those with any magical or superhuman ability—and non-mages—regular humans. Before the events of this book, the Empress—a mage from a lineage of powerful mages—gave birth to her first child and heir, who […]
June 16, 2019
Chronicles of Ancient Darkness by Michelle Paver – Series Review
Chronicles of Ancient Darkness is a six book historical fantasy series by British author, Michelle Paver. The series consists of Wolf Brother, Spirit Walker, Soul Eater, Outcast, Oath Breaker and Ghost Hunter. It is aimed at younger readers, but can be enjoyed by a range of ages. We follow a twelve-year-old boy, named Torak, who […]
June 14, 2019
A Fantasy Geek’s Guide to YouTube: Vampires
Vampires. They’re better than zombies. I’ve demonstrated this conclusively in a previous article. From True Blood to Let the Right One In to V Wars, vampires are all over literature, films and TV and they show no sign off stopping. But let’s talk about vampires as they appear in that little corner of the world […]
June 11, 2019
Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
When I first said I wanted to review this book, I mentioned the prologue as what drew me in. That wasn’t entirely true. While I did enjoy the prologue (and I’ll mention the chills it gave me later on), it was the title that really caught my eye. How could it not? There’s something enticing […]
June 9, 2019
On Planning My First Solo Author Event
Planning a book related event is stressful on all accounts, no matter if it’s a simple reading or a large writing conference. Regardless of size, the same questions remain: Will people have a good time? Does the agenda flow smoothly? Will people discover something exciting? Are there enough networking opportunities? What about food and drinks? […]
June 5, 2019
The Dreaming Land by E. P. Clark – Series Review: Books I-III
I discovered E. P. Clark a couple years ago when I read (and loved) the first book in the Zemnian series, The Midnight Land. Set about a hundred years later, The Dreaming Land books provide a highly entertaining finish to this series set in a fantasy version of the Russian Empire, in which women hold […]
June 2, 2019
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood – Book Review
Set in the near future, society has become something different; there’s a new hierarchy at play. The government has fallen and life has fractured as a result of pollution and radiation. The Republic of Gilead rises from the ashes. Men have taken the position of power as head of the household. They are in charge; […]
