Interview with Brian Staveley
Charlie Hopkins
Brian Staveley is one of the breakout authors of the past few years. His ‘Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne’ series has a ton of admirers from all around the world…
City of Blades by Robert Jackson Bennett
Overlord
The first question I expect you to ask about City of Blades is: ‘Does it live up to the Locus, World Fantasy, British Fantasy and GoodReads Choice Award nominated City…
Down Station by Simon Morden
Lucy Hounsom
I made the mistake of reading the first few chapters of Down Station on the Tube…which in Morden’s world is consumed by a terrible fire, along with the rest of…
Trying Out Science Fiction: A Guide for Fantasy Purists
Nicola Alter
Are you a reader who sticks purely to fantasy and looks suspiciously at the science fiction side of the shelf in the bookstore? Perhaps you’ve thought about trying out some…
Monthly Short Story Winner: Plot Twists
Xiagan
Plot twists are often a specialty of short stories and you find them there more often than in other forms of writing. The most famous examples I can think of…
Hidden Treasures: Los Nefilim by T. Frohock
A.F.E. Smith
Part of a series that reviews small press and digital first fantasy works. “Time stood still and soft, like the moments embedded in midnight’s silence.” Frohock’s trilogy of Los Nefilim…
Chinese Mistborn Cover
We’ve featured work from Jian Guo before when we highlighted his incredible Chinese covers for Book of the New Sun and The Lord of The Rings. It seems China liked…
Marked in Flesh by Anne Bishop
Joie
If you are familiar with the Black Jewels trilogy by the same author, you know Bishop’s talent for great character-driven plots and excellent worldbuilding. Her latest series, The Others, is…
What a Difference an Editor Makes
T. O. Munro
Marc Aplin, Fantasy-Faction’s own Overlord, wrote persuasively and eloquently a few months ago about the absolute necessity of editing for self-published authors. “The worst thing I see is when an…
Calamity by Brandon Sanderson
Richard Bray
This review contains some spoilers for Steelheart and Firefight. Read with caution if you have yet to finish the first two books. “Life was so unfair. You couldn’t both destroy…
Heroines on the Edge
Antonia Honeywell
Lalla Paul, the main character of The Ship, isn’t born a heroine. It might be the end of the world, what with the military government periodically bombing the hell out…
The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers
Alister Davison
The Anubis Gates was first released in 1983, and I was fortunate enough to pick up a paperback copy at the time from my local library. Back then, I would…