Fantasy’s Tricksters
Fantasy loves a big, strong hero, almost as much as we love a big, scary villain. We love to see a good, old-fashioned epic showdown, preferably on top of a…
Fantasy loves a big, strong hero, almost as much as we love a big, scary villain. We love to see a good, old-fashioned epic showdown, preferably on top of a…
We’re going to talk about faeries. For the purposes of both my sanity and authenticity, leave any and all notions of Disney’s Tinker Bell at the door. Tinker Bell is…
More than any other genre, fantasy tends to examine ancient epics. Whether it’s the study of archetypes and ectypes, or a historical understanding of narrative itself, or simply a desire…
I’ve talked before about creating a mythology using fantasy, and I’ve delved a little into world mythology and folklore through various articles on dragons, demons, fae, and magic, but this…
I will never look at Greek myths the same way again, and I’m not sure if I am happy about that or not. Greek mythology was my childhood introduction to…
It’s Chinese New Year, and in honour of the Year of the Monkey, I’ve gathered some my favourite adaptations of the Monkey King stories. The Monkey King is one of…
The holidays are always a time for stories of magic and miracles. Whether the stories are told at a place of worship, at home in front of the fireplace, or…
Recently on Fantasy-Faction, Janie wrote an excellent article on some of the origins behind faeries in mythology. This piece will both go a little further back, and a little farther…
The last few years have seen the publication of several of Tolkien’s versions of the literary works that sparked his imagination and influenced Middle Earth. From the poems of Sigurd…
A fire is burning in Bird Spirit Land. My bones smoulder. I must journey there. Forests are naturally places of mystery and wonder. Full of life and growth, they are…
When we think of typical fantasy, we tend to imagine a setting influenced by western medieval ideas, complete with knights, horses, longswords and dragons. However, there are much deeper, older…
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…