P.H. Solomon's Blog, page 55

Episode 81: Victoria Aveyard Interview

Travis interviews author Victoria Aveyard about Realm Breaker, the first book in her new series from HarperTeen. This epic fantasy begins where hope is lost and asks: When the heroes have fallen, who will take up the sword? Victoria and Travis discuss how she builds new worlds, ways to apply screenwriting techniques to writing novels, […]

Last Memoria by Rachel Emma Shaw [SPFBO]

Add to GoodReads Sarilla has learnt one thing from stealing memories. Everybody lies. There’s nothing Sarilla hates more than stealing memories, but the king forces her to take them to keep his subjects in line. She wants to escape to where nobody knows what she is or what she can do, but her plans go […]

Forty years of the 5th Doctor

Peter Davison’s first season as the Doctor aired in 1982, and Big Finish are marking the 40th anniversary with special releases. Comprising two anniversary box sets released in April and September 2022 respectively, Doctor Who: The Fifth Doctor Adventures – Forty celebrates four decades since the Fifth Doctor made his first regular appearance in Doctor Who.  The dynamic dramas are […]

Movie Review: 1917 (2019 film)

Image Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1917_(2... MTSU subscribes to a couple of movie databases that professors can use to request movies in order to show students and discuss them in class. I’ve actually used the databases before as an instructor, requesting Frankenstein for the students in my Themes in literature: Science Fiction class (funny story, I was actually […]

Spotlight ~ One of Us: The City of Secrets by M.L. Roberts

The witch wants her dead, the fae want her alive, the police want to bring her in for questioning. High school should not be this way. Olivia knows the rules: study hard, never lie, do unto others, but when a witch makes the rules and the others are fae, telling the truth will get her […]

Interview with Evangeline Rain

Evangeline Rain Fantasy/Sci-Fi Focus (FSF): Hi Evangeline! How’s it going? How has this crazy year been treating you? Evangeline Rain (ER): Hi Michael! I think everyone around the world has been very affected and it’s crazy indeed! I hope the crazy tones down soon. FSF: I fully agree. It handy effected us much due to […]

What Weird Ancient Artifact Escaped the London Blitz? Pagan’s Ark by Matt Eaton

Kate says… President Roosevelt’s envoy views a huge and ancient sarcophagus that may deliver ancient technologies to protect America from more than the Nazis. This story involves The Church (as a Catholic would say) and international conflict in a way that reminds me of Dan Brown’s DaVinci Code. It’s a short read so not nearly […]

Voice of War by Zack Argyle [SPFBO]

Add to GoodReads While preparing for the birth of his first child, Chrys Valerian is tasked with uncovering the group responsible for a series of missing threadweavers–those able to see and manipulate threadlight. With each failure, the dark voice in his head grows louder, begging to be released. A young girl from a secret city […]

Shadow of a Dead God by Patrick Samphire [SPFBO]

Add to GoodReads It was only supposed to be one little job – a simple curse-breaking for Mennik Thorn to pay back a favor to his oldest friend. But then it all blew up in his face. Now he’s been framed for a murder he didn’t commit. So how is a second-rate mage, broke, traumatized, […]

Building a Fantasy Army Part 8: Weapons and Tactics

‘Dis be the final part of the series. ‘Ere we go! Weapons and Tactics Weapons and armour In antiquity and early Middle Ages, main weapon was spear. Both infantry and cavalry used spears to stab enemies. One exception was Macedonian Phalanx, which is one of (if not the) earliest pike formations in history. Byzantine Kataphraktoi […]