Marc Aplin's Blog, page 88
January 21, 2018
Urskuul’s Reading Circle: The Lost Plot by Genevieve Cogman
Everyone likes libraries, don’t they? They’re normally fair-sized buildings which are chock-full of books. And the main rule that guides most libraries? Other than the normal ones. You know like: – Don’t steal the books. – Don’t burn down the library. – Don’t stage an over-elaborate murder designed to implicate one of your political rivals […]
January 18, 2018
Dungeons and Dragons – An Adventure in Two Worlds
Kenric awoke to the smell of his own urine. Sweet and acrid. He raised a hand to his head and massaged his temples. The thumping ache behind his eyes, threatening to push them clear of their sockets, and a throat more parched than the Calim Desert combined with the burning need to pee once more […]
January 17, 2018
Joe Hill Interview – Strange Weather
Joe Hill is the best-selling, award-winning author of the novels Heart-Shaped Box (2007), Horns (2010), NOS4R2 [NOS4A2 in the US] (2013), and The Fireman (2016), as well as comics including Locke & Key (2008-2013) and Wraith: Welcome To Christmasland (2013) and the short story collection 20th Century Ghosts (2005). His latest book, Strange Weather, out […]
January 16, 2018
Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab – Spoiler Free Review
Victoria Schwab (a.k.a. V. E. Schwab) is a force in the young adult fantasy genre. After her A Darker Shade of Magic series launched a major fan club with cultish devotion, it’s no surprise that Our Dark Duet, the sequel to This Savage Song, ended up on 2017’s Favorite Fantasy Books List. (Because Our Dark […]
January 15, 2018
Creating a Fantasy Race
The fantasy genre is filled with an astonishing array of wildly different races that populate our stories. Some are drawn from older myths and legends like elves and dwarfs while others are brand new creations from the author’s imagination. Would-be worldbuilders might think it’s just a matter of slapping some limbs together and thinking up […]
January 14, 2018
Exile by Martin Owton
Shortlisted for last year’s Best Newcomer prize at the British Fantasy Awards, Exile is the first half of Martin Owton’s Nandor Tales – the story concludes in Nandor, also through Tickety Boo Press. From the cover art, the reader may be expecting a high-stakes, world-shifting epic fantasy, but the truth is a little different: Exile […]
January 11, 2018
His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik
Napoleonic Wars? Check. Age of Sail naval culture? Check. Hints of Asian civilizations? Check. Dragons? Check. The only thing that could make me want to read His Majesty’s Dragon more would be an Ominous Dark Lord bent on world domination. Oh, wait, there is some short megalomaniac mentioned often in Naomi Novik’s alternate world novel. […]
January 5, 2018
The White Song by Phil Tucker
Spoiler Warning: This review contains spoilers for the previews books in the series. Please read with caution if you have yet to finish the rest of the books. It has all been building up to this. At the end of The Iron Circlet, the kragh leader Tharok is beating down on both Kethe and Asho, […]
January 4, 2018
Locked Up Abroad: Lessons From the Streets of Fantasy – Guest Blog by K. S. Villoso
You ever wonder if a fantasy novel can actually help you survive in a real life situation? I don’t mean teach you about sword-fighting and how to slay dragons, or brew your own magic potions to help you teleport out of dicey situations. I’m talking about something more realistic, such as how to survive in […]
January 3, 2018
Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo
Amazon. Born of war, destined to be ruled by no one but herself. Warbringer opens with Diana, Princess of the Amazons and daughter to Queen Hippolyta, struggling to come to terms with her heritage. As the only Amazon born on the secluded and mysterious island of Themyscira, she’s set apart; she does not share the […]
