The pros and cons of the voting processes behind major SFF awards: Part 2
Wei Ming Kam
Hugos: Nominees are chosen by anyone who is either a supporting or attending member of the current annual Worldcon, and the Worldcon in the years before and after i.e. 2014,…
May 2015
Monthly Short Story Winner: Science Fiction
Xiagan
We’re as far in the future as we’ve ever been – what a good reason to write a science fictional story. wikipedia: Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing…
The Least Worst Option – Democracy, the Hugos and other Sci-Fi & Fantasy awards: Part 1
With more than two weeks since the election in the UK, the usual politics fatigue has taken over conversations across the country. Social media has shouted itself hoarse (no matter…
The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black
Sonia Grace
If you’ve ever read anything by Holly Black you will know that when it comes to fairy tales, she does not mess around. She takes every trope you’ve ever heard…
Unmade by Sarah Rees Brennan
Jo Niederhoff
Unspoken made me fall in love with the most remarkable cast of characters I’d ever encountered in a young adult novel. Kami Glass, intrepid high school reporter (and girl who…
Guardians of the Flame by Joel Rosenberg – Series Review
Geoff Matthews
“A one. How did I roll a one?” “Your mage miscasts his spell and, without warning, the white filaments of the web spell smother your friends in a sticky embrace,…
Under the Empyrean Sky by Chuck Wendig
Dan Hanks
Chuck Wendig is a name most readers here will recognise. A stellar writing force on the internet, his opinions, arguments, sage advice and (often) sage profanity are well known and…
Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues edited by J. M. Martin
Richard Bray
The overwhelming majority of characters in Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues, edited by J.M. Martin, are not very nice people. These aren’t loveable rascals, playing harmless tricks in…
Suicide: More Than a Plot Device
Peter Orullian
When I built the world for my fantasy series, The Vault of Heaven, I intentionally made it a dire place. Not bleak, I don’t think. At least, not all of…
Monthly Short Story Winner: Religion
December. The darkest month with the longest night of the year. Harsh and cold days and mankind struggling in winter’s iron grip. Separated through walls of snow from others, one…
Bloomsbury Reveal First ‘Harry’ image for upcoming Harry Potter Illustrated Edition Re-Releases…
Overlord
Bloomsbury Books have revealed the first picture of their ‘new’ Harry Potter. Unlike some of the other images they’ve released that will feature in the upcoming Illustrated Editions of the…
Genres: Stirring The Pot
Peter Higgins
I was a reader for decades before I began to really work at becoming a writer. Ever since I was a boy I read anything I could get my hands…