To Green Angel Tower by Tad Williams
Alister Davison
To Green Angel Tower is literally a book of two halves. Following a hardback heavier than a house brick, the publishers made the decision to release the paperback version as…
Consider Worldbuilding
Adrian Faulkner
One of the great joys of fantasy are the worlds those stories inhabit. In many of our beloved classics, the worlds are as important as the characters themselves. But the…
The Table Theory of Characterization
Ryan Howse
So you’ve written a fantasy novel. It’s full of political intrigue and clashing armies, nefarious wizards and heroic last stands. Now strip all of that away. That rollercoaster of a…
Malice by John Gwynne
Mike Shackle
“A black sun is rising… Young Corban watches enviously as boys become warriors under King Brenin’s rule, learning the art of war. He yearns to wield his sword and spear…
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Zachary A. Matzo
At 24fps, and in two easy-on-the-eyes dimensions, Peter Jackson’s first installment of The Hobbit is simply a movie, as opposed to an experience. It is a good movie, at that.…
The Chaotic Champion – Part One: Introducing the Champion
Nyki Blatchley
The honest, hardworking peasants of a village are being harassed by bandits and decide they’ve had enough. They can’t actually do anything about it themselves, so they hire a group…
The SFF Weekly Round-Up 31/01/2013
Paul Wiseall
Welcome back to the Fantasy-Faction weekly round-up of all the best SFF news, fun and nonsense from around the web. To brighten your day this week we have everything from…
Fortress Frontier by Myke Cole
Eric Christensen
Editor’s Note: This review contains spoilers for Control Point. If you have yet to read the first book please read with caution. Control Point, the first book in the Shadow…
Writing Rules and Fantasy: Stories Need Conflict
Victoria Hooper
This is the fourth in a series of articles about common writing rules and how they apply to fantasy writing. Here are the earlier articles in the series: – Show,…
The Creatures in the Shadows: West Africa
James Calbraith
Elves, trolls, dwarves, goblins… There’s no denying that the Western fantasy is strongly entrenched in a Northern European mindscape: those ancient myths of the Celtic and Germanic people that inspired…
Sci-Fi Book Club – February 2013: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Lisa Taylor
The Sci-Fi Book will be reading in February is Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. “Ray Bradbury’s internationally acclaimed novel Fahrenheit 451 is a masterwork of twentieth-century literature set in a bleak,…
Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger
Liz Fellshot Ambrose
For some people the formula for young adult steampunk seems simple. Step 1: Find some classic science fiction from the mid to late 1800’s. Step 2: Add a “plucky” heroine.…