Trees in Fantasy – Part One: Trees as Symbols
Steff Humm
Magic in fantasy, myth and legend usually occurs as a natural phenomenon, with its own place in the world of the story outside of what is created by mankind and…
Steff Humm
Why Characters Play Their Parts: Human Identity in Storytelling
The exploration of human nature has been a writer’s responsibility since the dawn of the word. Storytellers are accountable, whether or not they aim to be, for a representation of…
Nimona by Noelle Stevenson
The popularity of Noelle Stevenson’s 2012 webcomic Nimona led to its release as a printed graphic novel earlier this year, which immediately leapt to the top of the New York…
Peter Newman Interview
Stephen King may have had a point when he wrote that talk is “sneaky”. Although we’re often told that the majority of communication is nonverbal (93 percent is the popular…
The Voyage of the Basilisk by Marie Brennan
When writing memoirs, or indeed anything, it seems essential to cluster events thematically, throwing away all the boring bits in the process (such as laundry and visits to the bathroom)…
The Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan
Society doesn’t look kindly on women who want to expand the world’s knowledge of dragons through scientific study, scandalous affiliations and hazardous adventures across the globe but, as we well…
Underground Fantasy – Part Three: Tunnels and Secret Passageways
So far in this series we’ve wandered through caves, dungeons, tombs and enclosed mazes to find out what makes underground fantasy settings so atmospheric and alluring. In the third and…
Underground Fantasy – Part Two: Dungeons, Tombs and Mazes
The first part of this series on underground fantasy looked at caverns as settings and pathways to worlds below. Next we will explore dungeons, tombs and underground mazes to ascertain…
Underground Fantasy – Part One: Caves
The name Dungeons and Dragons sums up the appeal of the fantasy genre perfectly. Giant magical creatures and dark, mysterious settings create images of mythic adventure and enchantment that provoke…
Trees in Fantasy – Part Three: Trees as Setting
So far in our exploration of trees in fantasy we have looked at trees as both symbolism and characters across a range of mythic and modern fantasy tales. We discovered…
Trees in Fantasy – Part Two: Trees as Characters
In the first part of this series we looked at trees as symbolism in fantasy literature. We discussed the role of individual trees in mythologies and creation stories around the…
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: What it Means to be a Female Hero
It’s been nearly eleven years since the end of the cult TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer but after all this time it remains a significant contributor to fantasy history.…