Marc Aplin's Blog, page 21

After much deliberation we have come to our picks for our 8th Annual Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off Round One semi-finalists! Today we are announcing our 5th place semi-finalist, out of our 30 original books! You can see the list of finalists and their scores here. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, you can […]

* Disclaimer * Everyone is different and likes and dislikes different things. Reading is no exception. One person’s all-time favorite might seem too bland or too high stakes for another. That being said, the opinions of our judges in this contest are just that, opinions. Just because we let a book go, doesn’t mean it […]

* Disclaimer * Everyone is different and likes and dislikes different things. Reading is no exception. One person’s all-time favorite might seem too bland or too high stakes for another. That being said, the opinions of our judges in this contest are just that, opinions. Just because we let a book go, doesn’t mean it […]

* Disclaimer * Everyone is different and likes and dislikes different things. Reading is no exception. One person’s all-time favorite might seem too bland or too high stakes for another. That being said, the opinions of our judges in this contest are just that, opinions. Just because we let a book go, doesn’t mean it […]

* Disclaimer * Everyone is different and likes and dislikes different things. Reading is no exception. One person’s all-time favorite might seem too bland or too high stakes for another. That being said, the opinions of our judges in this contest are just that, opinions. Just because we let a book go, doesn’t mean it […]

* DISCLAIMER * Everyone is different and likes and dislikes different things. Reading is no exception. One person’s all-time favorite might seem too bland or too high stakes for another. That being said, the opinions of our judges in this contest are just that, opinions. Just because we let a book go, doesn’t mean it […]

The Pact is the second, and final book in The Black Hinds Wake duology. She trembled like a poked jellyfish, shaking her head in panic. I loved revisiting old friends and exploring ever more of the world. There’s a whole new layer of mysteries and complications, and our crew has to dash and suffer a […]

I listened to the audiobook for The Crimson Queen, book one of Alec Hutson’s The Raveling, back when it was a finalist in the first SPFBO in 2018. At the time, I was blown away by the breadth of worldbuilding and the luscious prose, and was ready for book two, The Silver Sorceress. The narrator, […]

*Content Warning for novel: racism, child murder, drugs.* A new(ish) entry into the grand tradition of reimagining or sequelising classic novels, Ahab’s Return explores what might have happened if Ahab had survived his final encounter with Moby Dick and eventually found his way back to the USA in search of the wife and son he […]

Narratives are stories about characters who are trying to achieve a goal. Regardless of whether or not they are protagonists, antagonists, villains, other characters, etc., these characters are willing to do anything to get what they want. There are times when such goals are self-motivating, and there are moments when such plans are part of […]