Peter Haynes Interview – The Willow by Your Side
Peter Haynes’ debut novel The Willow by Your Side has just been published by Unsung Stories. It is a haunting exploration of British folklore, mythology and landscape set after World War I, and follows the journey of a boy into the magical woods to find his missing sister. Peter Haynes was kind enough to speak […]
Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen by Garth Nix – Series Review
Five Great Charters knit the land. Together linked, hand in hand. One in the people who wear the Crown. Two in the folk who keep the Dead down. Three and Five became stone and mortar. Four sees all in frozen water. Written by Australian author Garth Nix, the Abhorsen trilogy is set in the fictional […]
Blade & Rose by Miranda Honfleur
An R-Rated Kushiel’s Dart. For Miranda Honfleur’s fantasy romance, Blade & Rose, I originally considered using the tagline, Versailles meets Empire Strikes Back. Set in a second world French royal court, with plenty of intrigue, it initially appears as if the bad guys are using the heroine’s best friend as bait—just like Darth Vader tortures […]
5 Supernatural Tales to Scare Away the Christmas Cheer
What’s better than roasting chestnuts on an open fire? How about reading a novel to send shivers up your spine? The holiday season is almost upon us, and it’s high time we fought back the good cheer and colour with ghosts, goblins, and creatures of the night. The following novels are ideal stories for a […]
Chasing Graves by Ben Galley
Spoiler Warning: This review contains minor spoilers. Read with caution if you have yet to finish the book. “They must die in turmoil. They shall be bound with copper and water of the Nyx. They must be bound within forty days. They shall be bound to whomever holds their coin. They are slaved to their […]
Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
The Dragonlance books were published between 1984 and 2011, and are a group of connected fantasy novels set in the world of Krynn. Krynn was an official setting for Dungeons & Dragons, so it’s fair to say that Dragonlance was an “official” D&D product. Most of the novels were set in Krynn’s “present day”, but […]
Elizabeth Haydon – The Cauldron Interview
Spoiler Warning: This interview contains spoilers for The Symphony of Ages and The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme series. Please read with caution if you have yet to finish the books. Editor’s Note: This interview was originally published on The Cauldron fan forum, hosted at the time by freeforums.org, which has sadly passed into internet […]
Spellbound by Debbie Viguié and Nancy Holder
Somehow, I forgot that it got weirder, but I really should have expected that. To recap: I have been going on a reread of the Wicked series by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié. I first read the books when I was a young teen and for various reasons (too many other books, not enough time, […]
Neuromancer by William Gibson
As debut novels go, this one kicks arse. Written in 1984, Gibson’s cyberpunk tale was a culmination of various cult influences and pressure from a looming deadline. We’re introduced to body modifications, cybernetic implants, and ‘the matrix’ – an online information highway. Bear in mind that the World Wide Web wasn’t invented by Tim Berners-Lee […]
Ripple Grove Press Interview – Fantasy in Children’s Picture Books
When I was at Portland State University going for a master’s in book publishing (Yes, that’s a real thing!), I had the amazing opportunity to work one-on-one with some local publishers. One such opportunity was my internship with a family-owned, children’s picture book publishing company called Ripple Grove Press. The owners, Rob and Amanda, were […]
Paternus: Wrath of Gods by Dyrk Ashton
Stephen Hawking meets the Dalai Lama. (And they agree on everything about the universe.) In my review of Paternus: Rise of Gods, I mentioned my first impression was it felt like an urban fantasy; though neither it nor Paternus: Wrath of Gods belong to that genre. In the end, I compared Rise of Gods to American Gods […]
Dark Moon by Meredith Ann Pierce
Meredith Ann Pierce doesn’t miss-a-beat with the second instalment of her wonderfully original Firebringer Trilogy, Dark Moon. But before I begin, I feel that the following needs to be stated. Anyone that might be wary of reading Pierce’s Firebringer Trilogy solely based on the fact that it is unicorn fiction, you are missing-out on a […]
