Browsing all articles tagged with dark fantasy.
Breaking Chaos by Ben Galley
Spoiler Warning: This review has minor spoilers. Please read with caution if you have yet to finish the book. As I turned, I gave the city one last glower, and saw a faint glow on the edge of the Outsprawls. I was jealous of that ghost, whoever she or he may have been. For they […]
The Girl and the Stars by Mark Lawrence
When I first saw the cover of the US edition of Mark Lawrence’s new book, The Girl and the Stars, I had to read it. I promptly contacted Mr. Lawrence, who was generous enough to provide me contacts for getting myself a copy of his newest novel. The front cover is truly beautiful, with undertones of mystery and wonder, and I was fortunate to be added onto the reviewer list. Lucky me.
Spire – Role-playing Game Review Part Two: Expansions, Supplements and Adventures
All products created and owned by Rowan, Rook and Decard. This is the second half of my review of Spire and describes a number of supplements and adventure modules that can be used to expand the main game. For an explanation of the setting and rules of this RPG please check out Part One, which […]
Spire – Role-playing Game Review Part One: Core Rulebook
What is Spire? Created by Rowan, Rook and Decard, it’s a weird, dark fantasy RPG about waging a morally grey war of resistance against an oppressive and demented regime. It’s a game of espionage, horror and impossible choices. It’s a bubbling stew of fantasy, steampunk, pulp and sci-fi. Most importantly, it’s bold, bloody and beautiful. […]
Vita Nostra by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko – Translated by Julia Meitov Hersey
Readers who enjoyed The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins must read Vita Nostra—the first book in the Metamorphosis series. If not, then they are missing out on this mind-bending, anti-Hogwarts, Russian import! We must show our appreciation to Julia Meitov Hersey as well, for translating the […]
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 […]
Smoke and Stone by Michael R. Fletcher
Smoke and Stone is a grimdark story about two young people who live at opposite ends of their caste system. Both believe one of the gods has chosen them to carry out their desires to improve life in their city. What ensues is not only the beginning of rebellion amongst each caste, but also the […]
Jesse Teller Interview – Onslaught of Madness
Today we are happy to welcome author Jesse Teller to Fantasy-Faction! Teller’s writing is the definition of epic fantasy. The stories are comparable to Steven Erikson’s Malazan in scope and scale, and likewise could be classified as “high grimdark” fantasy. So far, Teller has published eight books set on the continent of Perilisc, with plans […]
A Ritual of Bone by Lee C. Conley
The land of Arnar is menaced by a vicious plague, a tribe of savage cannibals and a growing tide of the living dead summoned by a dark ritual. Warriors, hunters, nobles and ordinary folk will all have to become heroes if their home is to be saved from the cursed hordes. That’s A Ritual of […]
The Red Plains by G. R. Matthews
Spoiler Warning: This review contains minor spoilers for The Red Plains. “Listen, Jiin-Wei, Taiji, I do not ask you what you can do or tell you what you cannot. Do not presume you know the same about me. I have lived more years than you can imagine and seen more of the world than you […]
The Long War by A. J. Smith – Series Review
Introduction The Long War series is an epic fantasy/dark fantasy quadrilogy which deals with courtroom intrigue, politics, magic and gods in a world similar to ours but set during the medieval period. It consists of the following books: The Black Guard, The Dark Blood, The Red Prince and The World Raven. These four books have […]
Aching God by Mike Shel – SPFBO #4 Finals Review
* Disclaimer * Writing and reading are subjective arts. What some folks will absolutely love, others will dislike. It is a bit like Marmite in the UK—normal people dislike it intensely, but some weird folks actually enjoy the taste of warm road surface with fresh roadkill upon their tongue. To each their own, I suppose. […]
