Interview with Bernard Cornwell
T. O. Munro
As a longstanding fan of the writing of Bernard Cornwell, I was delighted when he agreed to answer some interview questions. The profile of his writing has been raised most…
Reading My Namesake: Guest Post by Titus Chalk
Titus Chalk
Titus Chalk finally reads the book after which he was named – Mervyn Peake’s gothic classic Titus Groan. “Your name is TITUS,” said Sourdust very simply, “TITUS the seventy-seventh Earl…
The Writer’s Plague
Joshua Robertson
If you are a booklover who didn’t die before 1997, I would wager you have difficulty finding a decent story among the piles of…muck. In the past twenty years, authors—henceforth…
Cold Counsel by Chris Sharp
Laura M. Hughes
A troll, a night-hag and an undead goblin walk into a bar. What? Oh, it’s not a joke. It’s how the post-credits scene would look if Chris Sharp’s novel were…
David Gemmell Awards for Fantasy: Ravenheart Award
Michael Everest
The saying goes: don’t judge a book by its cover. No… Put it down. Don’t make me get the hose! The Ravenheart award, one of three categories in the David…
Spiderlight by Adrian Tchaikovsky
So, that Adrian Tchaikovsky is a clever bloke. He tricked me (and plenty of others, no doubt) into thinking Spiderlight was a tropey, cliched, rose-tinted throwback to the ‘good old…
A Beginner’s Recommendation Guide to Fantasy Manga: Shonen (Adventure Fantasy)
Malcolm Pope
You know, it’s interesting to take a look at genres from different perspectives. Here in the West, we have a very particular view of the Fantasy genre, one forged by…
Tabletop Tuesday: It was the Dead of Winter…
Geoff Matthews
I could see them. Even in the growing dark, I could see them. Flickers of flame from the fire threw their shadows against walls of peeling paint. Stupid. Really stupid.…
Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale – Movie Review
Trent Cannon
If you’re anything like me (and gods help you if you are), you’ve spent a lot of time playing video games and watching anime. If that’s the case, you’ve probably…
Marc Aplin’s Dog Walk
Overlord
This coming Saturday, Fantasy-Faction’s founder Marc Aplin will be walking from Bristol to London (around 120 miles) non-stop to raise money and awareness for dog rescues across the United Kingdom.…
Self-Published Fantasy: How the SPFBO is Revitalising SFF
With the exciting kick-off of the THIRD Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off (#SPFBO) already underway, I thought I’d share some thoughts about the complexities of self-publishing and how Mark Lawrence’s SPFBO initiative…
Plot Twists That Defy Genre Expectations
Nicola Alter
Most of us love a good plot twist. We’re always trying to predict where a narrative is headed, but we’re usually thrilled when it takes an unexpected turn, surprises us,…