Browsing all articles by Steff Humm.
Trees in Fantasy – Part One: Trees as Symbols
Magic in fantasy, myth and legend usually occurs as a natural phenomenon, with its own place in the world of the story outside of what is created by mankind and civilisation. The connection between magic and nature has been a common theme in fantastical tales since the earliest days of storytelling. Trees, both individually and […]
Why Characters Play Their Parts: Human Identity in Storytelling
The exploration of human nature has been a writer’s responsibility since the dawn of the word. Storytellers are accountable, whether or not they aim to be, for a representation of their society and culture and producing a record of the time period they are writing in, as well as presenting a medium for mankind to […]
Nimona by Noelle Stevenson
The popularity of Noelle Stevenson’s 2012 webcomic Nimona led to its release as a printed graphic novel earlier this year, which immediately leapt to the top of the New York Times’ bestseller list. Charming in its playful deconstruction of genre tropes and visual humour, the young adult (YA) comic may initially appear to be a […]
Peter Newman Interview
Stephen King may have had a point when he wrote that talk is “sneaky”. Although we’re often told that the majority of communication is nonverbal (93 percent is the popular figure), the concept of having a voice is often linked with ideas such as freedom, justice and identity that make being without it a huge […]
The Voyage of the Basilisk by Marie Brennan
When writing memoirs, or indeed anything, it seems essential to cluster events thematically, throwing away all the boring bits in the process (such as laundry and visits to the bathroom) to tighten the story into something resembling a plot. The first two volumes of Isabella Lady Trent’s fictional life story, A Natural History of Dragons […]
The Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan
Society doesn’t look kindly on women who want to expand the world’s knowledge of dragons through scientific study, scandalous affiliations and hazardous adventures across the globe but, as we well know by now, Isabella, Lady Trent cares not a whit for society’s glances or approval. The Tropic of Serpents is the second volume of fictional […]
Underground Fantasy – Part Three: Tunnels and Secret Passageways
So far in this series we’ve wandered through caves, dungeons, tombs and enclosed mazes to find out what makes underground fantasy settings so atmospheric and alluring. In the third and final article on this theme we will look at tunnels and secret passageways as a means of connecting all these subterranean settings together. Discussing their […]
Underground Fantasy – Part Two: Dungeons, Tombs and Mazes
The first part of this series on underground fantasy looked at caverns as settings and pathways to worlds below. Next we will explore dungeons, tombs and underground mazes to ascertain the root of their popularity. A dungeon is traditionally a room or cell where prisoners are held. Often associated with medieval castles, the setting is […]
Underground Fantasy – Part One: Caves
The name Dungeons and Dragons sums up the appeal of the fantasy genre perfectly. Giant magical creatures and dark, mysterious settings create images of mythic adventure and enchantment that provoke cult-like attachments that are enough to sustain entire communities. We talk about dragons a lot as a dominant feature of fantasy but in this series […]
Trees in Fantasy – Part Three: Trees as Setting
So far in our exploration of trees in fantasy we have looked at trees as both symbolism and characters across a range of mythic and modern fantasy tales. We discovered in part two that, while tree-ish characters are common residents of fantasy worlds, they are especially significant when also considered in their roles as symbols […]
Trees in Fantasy – Part Two: Trees as Characters
In the first part of this series we looked at trees as symbolism in fantasy literature. We discussed the role of individual trees in mythologies and creation stories around the world, deforestation as a representation of the declining age of nature, and trees as a symbol of natural magic. As we have seen so far, […]
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: What it Means to be a Female Hero
It’s been nearly eleven years since the end of the cult TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer but after all this time it remains a significant contributor to fantasy history. The show is lauded as ground-breaking, not necessarily for its overly original speculative fiction elements but ultimately because the development of character, combined with a […]
