Books to Read in Fantasy: A Look at Lists
Recently a question was asked in the Fantasy-Faction Facebook Group. This is that question and some of the reasons why its answer looks the same, every time the question is asked. Question: What are the books which you think are a great introduction to fantasy—the books which every fantasy should read throughout their journey? Now, […]
Fantasy-Faction’s Best Fantasy Books of 2019
Hello Factioners! I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season full of family, friends, food, and fantasy books! We spent a lot longer working on our Best Of list this year than we normally do, as there were so many amazing titles to choose from. Even after weeks of debate, we couldn’t fit […]
Mark Lawrence Interview – The Girl and the Stars
Today we are very happy to have back Mark Lawrence! Lawrence is the author of multiple bestselling series: The Broken Empire, The Red Queen’s War, The Book of the Ancestor, Impossible Times trilogy,and his new upcoming trilogy: Book of the Ice. Again, thank you Mr. Lawrence for agreeing to another interview with Fantasy-Faction. What influenced […]
Figures Unseen: Selected Stories by Steve Rasnic Tem
Figures Unseen by Steve Rasnic Tem is a collection of horror tales for grownups. Oh sure, if a reader really wants to find them, there are ghosts and werewolves and corpses and other staples of the commercial side of the genre to be found. But there is also a boy on a fishing trip in […]
Year in Anime 2019
2019 is coming to its end. Anime has reached new heights in popularity in the Western Hemisphere and now even popular streaming services like Netflix have taken up producing original animes. And despite the volume of anime there is content that is quite good and deserves to be watched and enjoyed. So, I stand here […]
God of Gnomes by Demi Harper
I first heard of LitRPG a little over a year ago—and my understanding extended only so far as it was a genre that in some way combined novelisation with role playing games. However, this was not in the R. A. Salvatore way where Crystal Shards and Halfling’s Gems guide characters through a world totally recognisable […]
To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
Have you heard of Becky Chambers? If you’re a regular reader of Fantasy-Faction, then perhaps you remember an article about her back in August 2018. Jessica Juby reviewed Record of a Spaceborn Few, where she chatted about Chambers’ Wayfarer series, how she was able to go meet Chambers (be still my heart), and sang the […]
Cover Reveal: The Girl and the Stars
I first got my hands on work from Mark Lawrence back in 2011. He was pitched as the next George R.R. Martin (most authors are!). What I read wasn’t that. It was something much different, but at least as good… a book I described at the time as “Disturbing, Beautiful, Chaotic, Poetic, Haunting, Exhilarating…” and […]
The War of the Worlds – 2019 BBC Adaptation Review
Imagine you go to a concert to see a classic band perform their greatest hits. However, the band only performs some of their best-known songs, and many of those are in unusual arrangements. How many songs does the band have leave out, and how strangely do the familiar songs have to be performed, before you […]
On Character Agency
What will a character do next? What can they do next? These are the questions that drive the narrative of a story forward and determine what direction it will follow. While they may follow a greater plot arc, the best characters have agency of their own that directs their narrative. Character agency is usually defined […]
The Gutter Prayer by Gareth Hanrahan
Every once in a while, a book is released and it’s all everyone talks about. How great the story is, how rich the characters are, how the worldbuilding matched the dark tones and the originality of the story, etc. And, it was the author’s debut book! When I finally read (or, more accurately, listened) to […]
NaNoWriMo 2019: My Personal Experience – Part Two: I WON!
This is part two of my experience participating in NaNoWriMo 2019, a writing exercise where one attempts to write a novel (50,000 words) in a month’s time. If you haven’t done so already, be sure to read part one first. Huzzah, I did it! I won! I am very much relieved I survived the grueling […]
