Marc Aplin's Blog, page 243

So, last week we posted up the news that George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice & Fire series was to undergo a cover redesign here in the UK. The majority of our readers – and us too – were less than impressed with the travelbook like designs, but kind of saw where Waterstones were […]

With the publication of She Who Waits in 2013, Daniel Polansky completed one of the most captivating debut trilogies to come along in years. Equal parts fantasy, noir and revenge, the tale of The Warden and Low Town built to an astonishing crescendo that left readers and critics alike singing the author’s praises. Over the […]

A few months ago I blogged about how excited I was that they are working on a new Godzilla movie. Yes, I know the most recent remake/reboot was pretty poor and, to add insult to injury, it spawned a load of terrible cartoons that saw Godzilla essentially becoming a pet (slave?) to humans, but the […]

Last month we were excited to see one of 2013′s most popular debutantes, Brian McClellan, release a Novella, Forsworn, to keep us occupied whilst we waited for the follow up to his first book in The Powder Mage series. Well, yesterday, Brian gave us something else to tide ourselves over with by revealing the cover […]

Romance in SFF is one of those things that people either love, hate, or are frankly indifferent about. I’m not one of those; I will eagerly admit that I love romance. Since Valentine’s has just been and gone in a flutter of rose petals, stuffed bears, wine, chocolates and the odd grumbling status update about […]

For March, we were looking for books with a female protagonist. Our book club selected Seraphina by Rachel Hartman. I’ve seen some great reviews for this one, including on here on Fantasy-Faction where it earned a 10 star rating. I look forward to reading it myself and hope a number of people join us. In […]

Hey there my WOK Readalongees, Firstly, I want to thank each and every one of you who has decided to commit and join me on this journey through one of the decade’s finest fantasy books. Whether you are simply following this readalong to catch yourself up and jog your memory ready for Brandon Sanderson’s Words […]

I’m a big fan of romance. I believe in love at first sight, flowers, and date nights (even if it’s just an hour out of the house, simply to get a break from the kids). However, when it comes to reading science-fiction and fantasy, I don’t find myself straying too close to the ‘romance’ sub-category. […]

In my last article, I compared and contrasted two very popular low fantasy subgenres, urban fantasy and paranormal romance. In this article, I’ll continue with an overview of other major subgenres of low fantasy. As a review, my working definition of low fantasy—the label given to two basic types of works. The first is a […]

If you have d20’s on the brain then you’ll love The Reaver by Richard Lee Byers. This swords-and-sorcery adventure crosses through the Forgotten Realms, the destination of choice D&D campaigns. Aficionados of character sheets will have much to recognize and relish, especially the spells. The magic is the most dazzling element of the novel. A […]