Marc Aplin's Blog, page 78
June 28, 2018
Small Press, Big Stories: Detox In Letters by Cheryl Low – Cover Reveal and Excerpt!
When I spoke to Sarena at World Weaver Press last year we talked about Cheryl Low’s Vanity in Dust, which I reckoned was pitched like Moorcock’s End of Time characters in a more urban fantasy setting. That sounded more than fascinating enough to get added to the TBR mountain, and now it’s time to reveal […]
June 27, 2018
Karen Joy Fowler Interview – We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves
Karen Joy Fowler is a critically acclaimed and multi-award winning author of both literary and speculative fiction. Her work transcends genre boundaries but frequently explores issues around feminism, alienation and what it means to be human. Her debut novel, Sarah Canary (1991), follows a mysterious woman who suddenly appears in the Pacific Northwest of America […]
June 26, 2018
Orbiter 9 – Movie Review
For those that don’t know, I’m a military wife. That means I spend 3-5 nights a week sans husband. Most nights I choose to read (duh!), but every now and then I get in a movie mood. I typically browse Netflix and end up watching something random. In recent months, I’ve developed a fondness for […]
June 24, 2018
Creating a Magic System
The naming of a thing gives you power over it. Sorcery is the will and the word. Cast fireball now and you won’t be able to again until tomorrow and have finished your revision. Magic systems exist in scores of fantasy novels. Diverse in their rules, varying in complexity, they instruct us in how the […]
June 21, 2018
Orconomics: A Satire by J. Zachary Pike
Dungeons & Dragons meets The Big Short. As I have confessed in previous reviews, I am shallow in my book buying habits. All it takes for me to snap up an ebook is a shiny cover and discount price (and all it takes for me not to give up on a book is having spent […]
June 19, 2018
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
I first discovered magical realism in twelfth grade, when my English teacher assigned us to read One Hundred Years of Solitude. It was a wonderful book – and still is – but I wasn’t quite sure how to define it. It was definitely historical, even if I couldn’t quite figure out exactly where in history […]
June 17, 2018
The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
My first introduction to The Man in the High Castle was not in printed format – I first watched the adaptation that Amazon produced. I was intrigued by the concept of an alternate reality where World War II culminates in the triumph of the Axis powers. The first season of the show was gripping and […]
June 14, 2018
Empire of the Dead by Phil Tucker
Gilgamesh meets Oceans 11 meets The Walking Dead. As much as I raved about Phil Tucker’s Chronicles of the Black Gate, you would think I would’ve jumped at his Empire of the Dead, book one of the Godsblood Trilogy. You would be wrong. Partially. I actually one-click bought the book when it first came out, […]
June 13, 2018
Anna Stephens Interview – Darksoul
Today we have the honor of interviewing the fantastic Anna Stephens! You might remember Anna’s debut novel Godblind, was our number ten pick for Best Fantasy Novel of 2017. For those who are unfamiliar, Anna is a UK-based writer of grimdark and whose second novel, Darksoul has been highly anticipated by many a Fantasy-Faction fan. […]
June 11, 2018
Candy by Lavie Tidhar
“A long buffet table on the other side was laden with sweet pastries, chocolate and cream, in flagrant violation of Prohibition. They must have been brought in from out of town. I was shocked to see them there, but only for a moment. I’d already known not all grown-ups played by the rules – even […]
