Marc Aplin's Blog, page 79
June 10, 2018
Great Fantasy Films From Yesteryear
Before I begin, as I wrote this title I thought, “How did the 1970s become yesteryear?” I have to keep reminding myself that there are adults out there—many of them friends—who were born two decades after my childhood years. So yes, Amanda, your own lifetime includes yesteryears and bygone eras. But let’s get to it. […]
June 7, 2018
The Grey Bastards by Jonathan French
In my review of Phil Tucker’s The Siege of Abythos, I felt like that guy at a sports stadium, trying to start the wave, in my attempt to make the hashtag #TrollsArePeopleToo go viral. No such luck. Well, in honor of Jonathan French’s Big-5 release of The Grey Bastards, I’m going to try again with […]
June 4, 2018
Albion Online – First Impressions
I started playing MMOs back when Ultima Online (UO) was only one world, when a red name struck fear into my heart and my armour consisted of a death shroud, my weapon a Katana, and a couple of black pearls in my pack. Oh, and an escape recall rune – sometimes running was the best […]
June 1, 2018
Monthly Short Stories Winner: Rebirth/Renewal
This is a broad theme and it doesn’t have to deal with spring, people, or the New Year. After all, what can’t be renewed? What doesn’t have the right to rebirth themselves time and again? Rules: 1. This must be prose or poetry. 2. The overarching theme must be renewal or rebirth of something or […]
May 31, 2018
It’s That Time Again: Fantasy-Faction Is Looking For Contributors
Do you read fantasy, science fiction, horror, steampunk, or any other of the many subgenres of SFF? Are you writing the next great epic fantasy novel or are at least trying to? Do you have some free time to share your love of genre fiction with others? Then Fantasy-Faction wants you! We are a fan […]
May 30, 2018
A Fantasy Geek’s Guide to YouTube – RPG Let’s Plays Part One: Spotlight
YouTube is an app, a website, and a cultural phenomenon. It’s also a vast and barely-explored wilderness full of content that ranges from dynamic to dire. Whatever your interests are, there’s probably at least one channel out there for you. Still, managing to dig out the channels that cater to your own SFF needs can […]
May 28, 2018
An Introductory Guide to Reading Fantasy
If a reader wanted to dive into the romance genre, they might start with Pride and Prejudice. If they aspired to read historical fiction, they might give The Da Vinci Code a try. The fantasy genre is unlike any other. It has a long and glorious history as well as a healthy population of new, […]
May 27, 2018
The Beast Player by Nahoko Uehashi
Originally written in Japanese and published in 2006, this edition of The Beast Player is translated by Cathy Hirano. At the heart of this book is a coming of age story but there is so much more to it than that. Set in a fictional fantasy world, the story starts when a young Elin’s life […]
May 25, 2018
Golden Age by James Maxwell
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them meets 300. No, not, really. James Maxwell’s Golden Age shares only two things in common with JK Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: you can find them (the books) at the top of Amazon’s Bestseller Lists and both tell us where to find fantastic beasts. (Confession: […]
May 22, 2018
Knocking People Out: Easier In Fiction Than In Real Life
It’s a common scenario in many kinds of fiction, including fantasy: a character passes out, either because they’ve been knocked on the head or injured or drugged, and the world “goes black” or they “fall into darkness”. The unfortunate character usually wakes up several hours or days later in a new place, disoriented and sometimes […]
