Pirates: Fantasy’s Forgotten Scoundrels
Laura Graham
I’m going to start you off with a quiz this month. Nice and simple, five questions, just to see what you really know about pirates. 1. Apart from as a…
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Layers of Reality
Max Edwards
As an English Undergraduate at a UK university, I often feel an obscene sense of guilt and embarrassment when asked what, specifically, I enjoy reading. When I respond with “science…
Hybrid Fantasy
Eric Christensen
Once upon a time, fantasy stories had a relatively simple format. Typically, a hero fought a monster, and there was often some magic involved. This format goes as far back…
Raiders of the Lost Art
Dan Hanks
It was always a dream of mine that once my book was published, and the film deal secured, Drew Struzan and Ralph McQuarrie would step into Bespin’s carbon-freezing chamber and…
Video Games: Thank You, Fantasy.
R.T. Kaelin
$17 billion. In 2011, US consumers spent $17 billion on video games. That is $54 for every man, woman, and child in the country. And that’s actually down from the…
It’s Only Words
Sandra Norval
After being held back by the deliciously curvaceous Wendy I was finally back on the trail up Mount Publication, trudging up the gravelly path, fighting hard against the gale that…
The Evolution of Sexuality, Homosexuality and Gender in SFF – Part One
Leo Elijah Cristea
One of the most exciting and vast elements of modern SFF is the presentation of alternative sexualities and genders. There is as vast a wealth to mine regarding sex, gender…
San Diego Comic-Con 2012 Report – Part Three
Liz Fellshot Ambrose
When I say say I went to “a lot” of panels this year, I meant that it climbed into the double digits. Usually things like the need to eat something…
Raising Heroes: Fantasy Role Models for Our Kids
Matt Maenpaa
Six months ago, my daughter Freya was born during a snowstorm. It was one of the strangest and most surreally amazing moments in my life, holding her in my arms…
The City’s Son by Tom Pollock – Extract
Overlord
Earlier this year I heard, with moderate surprise, that someone I knew was writing a book. That someone was Tom Pollock and the reason for my surprise was that I’d…
Read, then Heard Again: Why Audiobooks Make the Re-Read Feel New Again
Zachary A. Matzo
More so than most other genres, fantasy aficionados live and die by the “re-read.” Sure, fans of mysteries, thrillers, horror, chick lit, etc. re-read their favorite books. But how often…
San Diego Comic-Con 2012 Report – Part Two
To read the first article in this series on Comic-Con 2012, click here. Strangely enough, this year was a good year for panels that I was interested in. Unfortunately, that…