September’s Newsletter

Derek Landy’s new novel is just as exciting, just as break-neck and just as addictive as his wildly successful Skulduggery Pleasant series. I tore through those books because I loved the characters and in Demon Road, we have a brand new set, some of whom will seem reassuringly familiar to Skulduggery fans. Amber is sixteen, […]

Following the awesome response to my article on beginner writers choosing to Self Publish, we’re having a bit of a ‘means of publishing your work’ month on Fantasy-Faction. A piece of this will be my follow up article where I talk about when Self Publishing is probably more sensible than seeking the Traditional route and where […]

Romance isn’t a word that we usually think of as being inseparable from fantasy; some people enjoy love stories with their fantasy and others vehemently object to them. But romance is not simply about love as it is represented in the modern romance genre. Look up romance in the dictionary and you will find a […]

Congratulations to the winners of the 2014/2015 David Gemmell Awards. Although I wasn’t able to make it this year, I’m told the evening – hosted at Nine Worlds Geekfest – was absolutely awesome. Here’s a reminded of who picked up what: RAVENHEART AWARD (Best cover art) Sam Green for Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson […]

You’ve all thought it, haven’t you? Come on, be honest. You’ve had that heart sinking moment when you are reading a book and a new character appears in the narrative and… She crashed through the window. Shards of glass and splinters of wood scattered across the floor of the Dog and Duck Inn. The customers […]

The living dead. Zombies made their first documented appearance in 1929 when William Seabrook recorded his participation with Haitian voodoo ceremonies in The Magic Island. Seabrook had been interested in witchcraft for many years prior to traveling to Haiti where he was inspired to write about the undead. He advocated cannibalism and fully described the […]

One of the joys of writing second-world fantasy is the ability to create your own world. You can set up spectacular vistas, ancient empires, mysterious ruins, or whatever else you’d like without worrying about real-world geography and history. You can organize it into places that the protagonists must visit, and in doing so, highlight the […]

As a fantasy fan it’s hard to avoid MMORPGs. Even if you’re not personally a fan of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games, it’s likely you’ve heard of games such as World of Warcraft, Everquest or Lord of the Rings Online. Those not already based on beloved franchises have spawned books and collectibles. Many a writer […]

Sony Pictures just announced its movie lineup for 2016-17. Among the releases which includes the new Ghostbusters movie is a date for Stephen King’s The Dark Tower. The movie is set to be directed by Nikolaj Arcel, famous for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009), A Royal Affair (2012) and King’s Game (2004). It […]

Sad news for fans of Locke Lamora, Scott Lynch’s latest Gentleman Bastards book, The Thorn of Emberlain, has been set back a bit. It’s disappointing news as a reader, but sadder news as a fan of Scott Lynch. The guy is such a role model, such a friendly guy, such a funny person, someone who […]

Writer, publisher, MMA aficionado, editor and a man of myriad talents, Tim Marquitz stopped by the Fantasy-Faction Headquarters (which caused a bit of a stir because we didn’t know we had one) and graciously agreed to be interviewed about his publishing empire, his writing, books and Kickstarter. Without further ado, here we go. So, Tales […]

I am either the best possible choice as a judge for Mark Lawrence’s ‘The Great Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off’ or the worst choice. I should probably explain that, shouldn’t I? When someone comes to me asking whether they should self-publish a book I almost always convince them that no, they should not. The process of convincing […]

We’ve made no secret that we are big Myke Cole fans here at Fantasy-Faction and it is undeniable that with each book Myke’s work gets better and better. If you’ve not read Gemini Cell yet then you’re really missing out because it is one heck of a good book and shows how far Myke has […]

This review contains spoilers for book one, The Hersey Within. Please read with caution if you have yet to finish the first book. In the Wilds, you either adapt or you die. Rob J. Hayes seems to have learned that lesson himself, as his second novel in the Ties that Bind series brings quite a […]

Peter Newman’s debut novel, The Vagrant, tells of a man who “friendless and alone…walks a desolate, war-torn landscape”. After recently enjoying the latest Mad Max movie, I was immediately struck with the feeling that this would be a fantasy equivalent, swapping engines for horses and guns for swords. The Vagrant’s cover depicts the man himself, […]

A couple of days ago, James A Moore popped up in a Facebook Group I’m a member of and announced that he’d just signed a deal for a new series. Naturally intrigued, I searched the net for details and was unable to find anything… Then, moments later an e-mail appeared from Angry Robot telling me […]

This is a humble little book, appearance-wise, but it holds a lot of wonder. The list of contributors to this anthology are just the start of it, many of them being notable simply because of the length of their writing careers, not just because of the New York Times Bestseller statuses. I originally picked this […]

In what I see as a complete U-Turn, HBO’s President, Michael Lombardo, he is now saying that Game of Thrones will go at least eight seasons. I must admit that this does genuinely frustrate me as a fan of the television series. For years HBO and the writers have told us that they’ve always planned for […]

Karina Sumner-Smith’s debut novel is an edgy tale of friendship and the dark economies of magic. She twists traditional fantasy elements in utterly unique ways and creates an overall enjoyable read. Xhea lives on the rough streets of the Lower City, below the floating towers of the City where those with innate magic trade and […]

When creating a believable fantasy world, we often focus on things like politics, religion, culture; but there’s a tiny (microscopic, in fact) detail that can flesh out a story world and be used to create tension and conflict. Protagonists in fantasy novels often get cuts and bruises, or spend a few nights camping in the […]