Marc Aplin's Blog, page 251

I have to say that The Kitschies, presented by Kraken Rum, have become the awards list that I most look forward to. When it comes to the Gemmell Awards, Locus Awards, Hugo awards, etc – I can pretty much guess what is going to show up on it. What I love about The Kitschies is […]

For those unfamiliar, The Clarke Award is given to the best science fiction novel of the year, pulled from a shortlist of novels whose UK first editions came out in the previous calendar year. It was originally established by a generous grant from Sir Arthur C. Clarke in 1987, and is now overseen by the […]

This is one of the tenderly beautiful children’s books that is written with wit and an elegant simplicity for all ages. A close comparison that I’m sure many of you know is The Last Unicorn. If you enjoyed The Last Unicorn, you will enjoy Haroun and the Sea of Stories. That is as much of […]

Within ‘The Hobbit’, J.R.R. Tolkien used words to craft one of the most memorable fantastical beasts all time; the massive, fire-breathing Dragon, Smaug. One reader wasn’t content to use just those words and her imagination to shape our good friend, Smaug, though – oh no! Victoria, an artist based out of Denmark who specialises in […]

In a genre that often sparks debate over fairness to each sex – whether it is the representation within stories, the amount that get published or the amount of that get read/reviewed – it is great to see that, for the second time in so many years, 3 of the 4 quarter final winners in […]

A Dance of Blades was much the same as A Dance of Shadows, in fact, as I mentioned, it wasn’t different enough, in my humble opinion, to warrant an entire book on its own. I wanted something new, something more to challenge Dalglish as an author and me as a reader. Can I say he […]

Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures have released a new trailer for the highly anticipated sequel to 300, “300: Rise of an Empire”. “After its victory over Leonidas’ 300, the Persian Army under the command of Xerxes marches towards the major Greek city-states. The Democratic city of Athens, first on the path of Xerxes’ army, bases […]

I think one could be forgiven for confusing magic and miracle. If presented with a list of remarkable achievements – walking on water, splitting the moon in half, turning sticks into snakes, pulling rabbits from hats – it’s pretty tough to know whether you’re dealing with one or the other. Jesus is said to have […]

Ah, monsters. Who doesn’t love a good, unique monster now and then? As great as it is to read about another dragon or giant spider, there’s something special about a hero encountering a strange, unknown creature that adds both tension and wonder to a story. That said, coming up with a monster that’s “different” can […]

We often see on the news or hear from public figures that children are spending too much time in front of screens playing computer games or watching television. Of course, with new media, children are never going to read as much as the they did in the past, but new research suggests that films and […]