Monthly Archives: September 2010
Explaining World-building: Magic Systems, Monsters and Technology
Over in another corner of the blogosphere, I’ve been enjoying Brandon Sanderson and Brent Weeks’ interesting discussion on magic systems in epic fantasy. While they agree that one must balance world-building with the audience’s sense of wonder/fear, their discussion leaves … Continue reading
Eee! Books en route from Amazon!
Just a quick lil’ post with a dance and a jig for my most-recent order from Amazon. A more substantial post will follow tomorrow, as always. I’ve got a couple of (hopefully) fun reads coming in the mail over the … Continue reading
REVIEW: Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay
Title: Under Heaven Author: Guy Gavriel Kay Pub Date: April 27, 2010 Chris’ Rating (5 possible): An Attempt at Categorization If You Like… / You Might Like… Bridge of Birds: A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was Across … Continue reading
The Secret to Great YA Science Fiction & Fantasy Characters
The other week, my girlfriend brought Suzanne Collins’ Mockingjay home from work. I did what any reasonable fan would: I grabbed it out of her hands and locked myself in the family room to read it cover to cover in … Continue reading
Is Steampunk the New Gothic?
Is steampunk the new Gothic? On a recent trans-Atlantic flight I started to reread Michael Moorcock’s brilliant Wizardry and Wild Romance and was struck by the following passage: [Gothic romances] did not merely look back to “romantic, antique days”…they added … Continue reading
A Brave New World: Setting Expectations
Outlines the purpose, content and organization underlying this blog. Continue reading
