Fantastical Biology – Part Five: Fantasy Creatures in Flight
A dragon soars through the clouds; a fairy flutters through the woods; a gargoyle flexes its stone wings—flying creatures are a staple of fantasy literature. There are the traditional ones above, or whatever creature the author wants to slap a pair of wings onto. With fantasy’s focus on wonder and magic, it’s not strange that […]
Fantasy-Faction nominated for Reddit’s Best Fantasy Website 2014
2014 has been an incredible year for Fantasy-Faction. We were nominated for the British Fantasy Award and the World Fantasy Award earlier in the year and now I’m here, writing this, to offer a huge, huge thank you for nominating us for Reddit’s ‘Best Fantasy Site of the Year’ too! This is the third year […]
Swords and Deviltry by Fritz Leiber
If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably heard the name of Fritz Leiber and his two most famous creations, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Within the subgenre of swords and sorcery (a term Leiber is credited with creating), Leiber and Robert E. Howard, the creator of Conan the Barbarian, loom large, and the impact of […]
Murder by Sarah Pinborough
Years after the horrors of Jack the Ripper and the Torso Killer which terrorised London, not everyone has forgotten about the Upir. Doctor Thomas Bond might have found some peace after Upir stopped lurking in the shadows and started enjoying life in the company of Juliana Harrington, but he is aware that Upir’s terrors are […]
The Fear Institute by Jonathan L. Howard
“Why on Earth did you steal three dead popes?” asked Cabal. “First, to make the Vatican very cross. That was funny. Second reason, delicious.” It’s rare for Johannes Cabal to have visitors that aren’t of the torch-bearing mob variety, so when three strangers show up at his front door asking for his help, he greets […]
Books Make Great Gifts, But For Authors Book Reviews Are Even Better
This is the time of year where most people feel generous. Many believe that the holidays have been spoiled by consumerism, and to a certain degree that is true. However, my experiences throughout the years have shown me that this is the time when people want to express their gratitude, show their appreciation for someone, […]
Irregularity edited by Jared Shurin
I recently began some writing projects into what I thought was a thus far unexplored genre: historical science fiction. Steampunk touches on this but is largely attached to the Victorian era and seems to be more about the spectacle than about the science, and speculative fiction, while an accurate title, is rather broad for my […]
Dreamer’s Pool by Juliet Marillier
I’ve long been a fan of New Zealand-born author Juliet Marillier. I read the first book in her Sevenwaters series, Daughter of the Forest, many years ago and have followed each new release ever since. For those who aren’t familiar with her work, Marillier writes what’s usually classed as historical fantasy. She situates her stories […]
Brandon Sanderson Updates World on his Ongoing Projects & Provides Mistborn Release Dates
Some exciting news came out of the Gollancz towers today: Brandon Sanderson will be releasing two new Mistborn books in 2015/2016 and they’ve got release dates. Mistborn: Shadows of Self will be coming in October 2015. Mistborn: Bands of Mourning will be coming in January 2016. Although not too many details of the books have been released, we know that […]
The Vagrant by Peter Newman – Cover Reveal & Competition
Every year hundreds, if not thousands, of genre books are released. Generally the most looked forwards to of these are by authors who have had previous successes. For début authors you generally have to trust that the person in your publisher’s press department is skilled at their job. You see, what typically happens is that a […]
Diary of a NaNoWriMo Virgin
NaNoWriMo, ah yes. To some, it is just a baffling not-quite-word that clogs up the Twitter trends every November. To others, it is a golden chalice; to partake from its wine is to enter a nirvana of creative solitude. For a month, the belly of the whale is home to you, your laptop, and your […]
Interview with Jonathan Oliver
Here in the UK we have some of the very best Editors and today I feel incredibly privileged to interview one of my favourites and one I truly look up to – as someone who recently published their own anthology and first short story – Jonathan Oliver. For those unfamiliar with Jonathan, he is Editor-in-chief […]
