Browsing all articles tagged with monsters.
Monthly Short Story Winner: Through the Beast’s Eye
Writing often means putting yourself in somebody else’s shoes and writing from their perspective. The barmaid, the warrior, the shady detective, the witch, or the orphan boy. You do this all the time, becoming somebody else for the time you write that person. If you’re good at it, all the characters will read, sound, and […]
A Monster’s Place
The terrifying monster has been a staple of the fantasy genre since its earliest origins, when bards told tales around a fire at the dawn of time. They frightened listeners with descriptions of horrifying creatures, they talked of scaled hides, the fearsome length of its claws, of hungry eyes peering out of the darkness. This […]
The Creatures We Base Aliens On
One of the interesting things about fictional aliens is that they’re almost never completely alien. We have no real idea what extra-terrestrials would look like, and it’s nigh impossible to imagine an entirely new species unlike anything we’ve ever seen. As such, we usually fall back on earthly species for inspiration, combining known elements to […]
Cover Reveal for PATERNUS by Dyrk Ashton
Hello everyone! Some of you may be familiar with my novel, Paternus, from last year’s SPFBO competition hosted by Mark Lawrence (Archsaint of self-published authors). Paternus was Fantasy-Faction’s pick for the final round and ended up taking third place out of three hundred entries. Even with that success, I’ve decided to give the book a new cover. […]
Why I Don’t Like Dragons
First, a confession: the title of this article is a little bit sensationalist. The truth is, I don’t actively dislike dragons. I don’t go around hating them and huffing and puffing at books with dragons on the cover, and films with dragons in the trailers. My feelings towards dragons is closer to an indifference. They […]
Why Aliens Look Like Octopuses
Have you ever noticed that extra-terrestrials in most “aliens-make-contact” science fiction usually resemble octopuses, squids, or other cephalopods? At least, when they don’t just look like humans in Halloween masks or cheap make up. Arrival, Independence Day, War of the Worlds, The Simpsons… the list goes on. The default non-humanoid aliens seem to always have […]
Our Monsters, Our Selves
The title of this article is taken from a panel discussion at World Fantasy Convention 2012—a panel that had so many voices who wanted to contribute that it had to be split into two parts! The topic of discussion was on the appeal of monsters in fantasy literature: Why, how, and to who do they […]
Monthly Short Story Winner: Mighty Beasts
You know they’re out there. Lurking. Just out of your sight. Maybe immortal. Or so close that it doesn’t make a difference. Having survived for longer than human history exists. Because they’re tougher, smarter and meaner than anything else. Dragons, leviathans, kraken or other things from deep below – our mythologies are filled with gargantuan […]
Vampires: Origins, Evolution, and Role in Fantasy Fiction
The vampire: a figure whose folklore origins date back as far as the cradle of civilisation, is one of the major mythic figures bequeathed to us by the English Romantics. Tracing the vampire’s timeline back through folklore we are presented with either twisted, ghoulesque apparitions, or dishevelled corpses that more resemble the zombies and mummies […]
Fantastical Creatures of Greco-Roman Mythology: The Colchian Dragon
This is the second instalment of a series in which we explore some of the lesser-known creatures and monsters found in Classical mythology, as many of these fantastical beings have similar counterparts in today’s modern fantasy literature and film. It’s my hope that giving more “screen time” to some of the unique creatures from ancient […]
The Last of a Kind: Extinction in Fantasy
We often hear about extinction in the real world – whether it’s a dodo that’s already died out, a rhinoceros that’s on the brink of extinction, a bluefin tuna that’s well on its way there, or more rarely, a Bermuda petrel that provides a glimmer of hope, reappearing after years of being thought extinct. The […]
Create Your Own Fantasy Author Frankenstein Monster
Last year, in the build up to Fantasy-Faction’s Grim Gathering event, it was suggested to me that I would look a lot better if I had Myke Cole’s arms. One kind soul even photoshopped them in to my picture so I could really appreciate the difference. Faced with the undeniable glory of Mr Cole’s biceps […]
