Vaelin Al Sorna has returned, both literally and spiritually. While Blood Song, the book that introduced us to Vaelin, is a must-read for any fantasy reader, its follow-ups left much to be desired. Disappointing is the best way to describe them, as they are in themselves not bad books, but they are a decline from …
What a ride it’s been! We went from Murder Hogwarts to Magic Spartacus to this, a dark, Tolkienian triumph I’m going to dub Return of the Goth. Surprised? Me too. But we shouldn’t be. Jay Kristoff may write with some pop turns of phrase (and filthy cussing), but his ambitions have always been Epic with …
Growing up as a blerd, loving speculative literature was always a conflicting experience. On one hand I absolutely loved the world building of science fiction and fantasy novels, but on the other, I rarely saw myself or themes that represented my personal experience. Published by BLF Press, “Black From the Future: A Collection of Black …
There are always trends in publishing, but a recent one was particularly odd: the use of “nine” in titles. Was everyone excited about 2019 for some reason? Is there some kind of numerology pact among authors? Are the nine muses subtly signaling for attention? I don’t know. But hey, here’s a list to keep track …
Oh, Dustin. You have confidence, but your charisma-based checks don’t always succeed. Also, nobody believes you have a girlfriend from summer camp. But that’s ok, boo! You just keep singing. Riddle-Master Trilogy (Patricia A. McKillip) – If you wanted to build a character and a story out of the riddle-battle scene from The Hobbit (which …
Here is our live show from GeeklyCon 2019 in Columbus, OH titled Trans-Dimensional Possibilities, Or, What Were They Thinking?: The Greatest Multiverse Characters of All Time. Join us as we explore the multiverse and talk about the strange characters we find there. We are also joined by Mike Bachmann of Greetings, Adventurers, and you’ll never …
Max jokingly claimed in the second season of Stranger Things that she would be the party’s “zoomer.” Obviously that’s not a thing. And since we never actually saw a successful game of D&D in Stranger Things 3, we don’t know how the gang would interpret that. I choose to believe Max would have ended up …
Poor Will Byers. While everyone else was having teenage drama (whether or not they were teenagers), all he wanted to do was play D&D. I sympathize, Will! In his honor, here are books to help you develop your cleric, and maybe help fight a Mind Flayer or two. City of Stairs (Robert Jackson Bennett) – …
The Bone Garden, due out next week, has already been compared to The Graveyard Book and Coraline, which is certainly accurate in the broad strokes. It takes place in a graveyard, and features two children having dangerous adventures between the tombstones. And like Coraline, the heroine is a young girl investigating a very strange mystery, …
If you only read one book this summer, let it be Margaret Owen’s The Merciful Crow. Actually, if you only read one book this year, let it be The Merciful Crow, too. I’m serious. I’ve read a lot of good books this year, but none have this absolutely magical combination of first-class worldbuilding, stellar characterization, …