iPods in Narnia
Nicole Singer
Okay, so there weren’t iPods in Narnia…but there are in ancient Egypt. Sort of. If you read Rick Riordan’s Kane Chronicles. A lot of fantasy writers find it tricky to…
Nicole Singer
Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley
I was a little surprised how much I liked this book. A race of birds? Songbirds that fly in and out of people’s lungs? Sky vessels and squallwhales? There’s plenty…
Two Characters Walk into a Bar…
What is it about bars, pubs and taverns that makes them so darn fun to read about in fantasy? I don’t know about you, but I get a gleeful little…
Radiant by Karina Sumner-Smith
Karina Sumner-Smith’s debut novel is an edgy tale of friendship and the dark economies of magic. She twists traditional fantasy elements in utterly unique ways and creates an overall enjoyable…
My Favorite Lessons from Independence Day
This weekend is the Fourth of July holiday here in the States, and while that doesn’t mean squat for the rest of the world, it does give us all the…
Friendships in Fantasy
While there’s something to be said for great romances in fantasy (trust me, I love ‘em), it’s really the genre’s deep, unswerving friendships that drive it forward and keep us…
Second Olympus by K. A. Stewart
Dozens of authors have tried their hands at variations on Greek gods-themed storylines over the years—so much so that these stories often start to feel a bit stale—which is why…
A Genre for the Ages
Think back to the first time you picked up a fantasy book. What was it? How old were you? For most of us, the answer is probably pretty young. I…
This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
Last year, I unexpectedly fell in love with the YA space opera THESE BROKEN STARS, so I was excited to see where Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner took the story…
Beloved Fantasy and Sci-Fi Movies of the 80s
Ah, the 80s. A decade of big hair, shoulder pads, and questionable movie soundtracks. I don’t know about you, but I have great memories of 80s fantasy—granted, some of those…
The Start Of All New Things
With the New Year not long gone in our rear-view mirrors, it’s a perfect time to ponder “fresh starts” in fantasy. Usually, they signal a momentous turning point in the…
Fantasy Makes History Cool
I’m a history major at heart, so one of the things I love seeing in fantasy is how authors draw on real-world history to fuel their worlds. Whether it be…