New Models for Magicians
Eric Christensen
In many fantasy stories, magicians often follow one or two traditional models. Many are often portrayed as guides or teachers that assist the protagonist. Often this mentor is described as…
April 2016
Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel
Overlord
Just like the smash hit Red Rising by Pierce Brown, Sleeping Giants has been turning heads because it has managed to sell movie rights before even being published. Its Publishers…
Angry Robot signs Eric Fischl
We keep a close eye on Angry Robot’s latest signings here at Fantasy-Faction HQ. This is because we know that when Angry Robot snap an author up, there’s two things…
Interview with Sylvain Neuvel
I was lucky enough to get a super-early Advanced Review Copy of Sleeping Giants. It was a book that immediately grabbed me and kept hold of me until I turned…
Excerpt from ‘Wrong Place, Wrong Time’ – A short story from Sharp Ends by Joe Abercrombie
There are very few authors that Fantasy-Faction forum users and Facebook group members talk about more than Joe Abercrombie. There are many reasons for this, but in addition to truly…
Monthly Short Story Winner: Fairy Tales
Xiagan
Some are funny and silly. Some are dark and strange. But all of them have a morale, a (more or less fixed) narrative, and rules. This month’s short story contest…
Fantasy and the Collector Mentality
Zachary A. Matzo
Raise your hand if own more than one copy of Lord of the Rings. I own four: the ebooks, my first mass market paperbacks from when I was 7 or…
Diverse Fantasy Is Better Fantasy
I recently I submitted a story to my writing group for critique. It was a secondary-world fantasy set in a pre-industrial port city. Of all the comments I received, the…
The Paper Menagerie And Other Stories by Ken Liu
Jonathan Thornton
“Time’s arrow is the loss of fidelity in compression. A sketch, not a photograph. A memory is a re-creation, precious because it is both more and less than the original.”…
The Chronicles of Malus Darkblade – Volume I by Dan Abnett & Mike Lee
Aaron Miles
For Malus Darkblade a feat of heroism involves raiding a coastal village for plunder and slaves, butchering his enemies and successfully bringing back his spoils without being thwarted or assassinated…
Berserkers In Fantasy
Nicola Alter
In fantasy, we see a lot of magicians, shape-shifters, werewolves and all manner of humanoid characters with supernatural qualities. One type of powerful character that crops up more rarely, however,…
Hereville: How Mirka Caught a Fish by Barry Deutsch
Jo Niederhoff
Mirka of Hereville has defeated a troll in a knitting contest and won her home back from a meteorite that tried to take her place in her family, but now…