Tag: fantasy

What is Fantasy?

, , , 2

Before I begin, there is one thing I like about fantasy readers as opposed to science fiction readers: they aren’t rigid, even when they attach parts of their self-identity to liking the genre. That’s important, because when trying to define “fantasy,” there is a tension between what constitutes a literary genre as a marketing paradigm (basically, what the readers expect when picking up a book labeled “fantasy”) and what, in a technical sense, makes a fantasy book. “Fantasy” means simply imagination, as the word is used in music composition. So the simple and robust definition of fantasy is an imaginative…

Continue reading

Localization and (Bad) Writing – Unicorn Overlord

, , , , 1

The venerable and beloved Vanillaware just released a brand-new fantasy tactics RPG in their characteristic painted anime aesthetic and it has what is possibly the best name in the history of anything, ever: UNICORN OVERLORD. The gameplay and art are top-notch and perhaps the best the company has ever produced. But I haven’t bought the game. The reason: the translation. Or rather, “localization,” but that word is not robust enough to describe what John Riesenbach and his company 8-4 has done to what should have been the biggest breakout of the TRPG genre. What they actually did is replace the…

Continue reading

Story Setting – What’s Important

, , , , 6

“Setting” covers a large field of elements—not just the place and time but all the extensions of those things. A story taking place in Ancient Rome is not merely a story in a city in Italy in the first century. There is the architecture (which looked different when it was new compared to the ruins we see today). There is the dress, but that is more than the costume that covers the body of an actor. The toga had social significance to the people in Ancient Rome beyond its aesthetic appearance and specific functions, and at certain points in time,…

Continue reading

Games that Inspire – The Legend of Zelda

, , 7

Usually, when an author discusses influence (or is asked about it), his focus is on books, not other forms of media. Perhaps there is some in-built prejudice against taking inspiration from other forms of media besides the mighty novel (although no writer ever seems to decry being inspired by Shakespeare). Maybe movies are too low-brow (certainly if you mention Star Wars); if so, games are positively Neanderthalic. Call me Ugg-ugg. There are many games that have inspired me as a writer, though not always for the writing that was within them. Games, since they utilize sound, music, visuals, words, and…

Continue reading

Moonsong book 3 – Shadow and Smoke now available for pre-order

, 0

I’m proud to announce the conclusion of the first trilogy of Moonsong books, Shadow and Smoke, which is available for pre-order in ebook form. The physical (8×5 paperback) will go live several days before the ebook to allow for shipping time from Amazon’s print-on-demand facilities. Yes, I said the first trilogy. As I mentioned when I released the first book, City of Silver, this series was something I had already written 5-6 books worth of material for. So, why aren’t they all out? The short answer, which is also the answer to why this third volume took so long to…

Continue reading

Wheel of Time, Episode 1 Analysis

, , , , 4

Before I begin, let me say that my expectations for this show were low, simply because it is the year 2021, but also because the author of the source is now dead and the production is being funded by Amazon. I wouldn’t have bothered watching had my subscribers not specifically asked me to watch and review it, and were I not a fantasy author myself. I’ve read the Wheel of Time book series. It’s not my favorite, and I think some of the middle books are among the worst I’ve read, but I have a lot of affection for the…

Continue reading

That Other World

, , 0

Sometimes, somedays, you can almost get there. You can just see it, like it’s on the edge of your periphery, with its blending of slanted light among bright, endless colors. You can lay in a dark room and see it, just for a few moments, without really going there, and you get a smell of the grass, of the wind, of the water running through it. Just a few fleeting seconds… perhaps even a minute, where the mind is free of its shackles but before sleep finally takes you to its churning chaos. The fields stretch on, for forever and…

Continue reading

The Greatness of the Hobbit

, , , , 2

I’m not talking about the movie, which was so far from the greatness of the book it deserves its own dissertation, I’m talking by the original work by JRR Tolkien, originally published way back in 1937. This book was a landmark for fantasy in a whole host of ways, and many of those ways are not at all obvious to those of us who have inherited the literary landscape of Tolkien. None of those new and original things would have mattered, however, if it hadn’t been a great yarn. Let’s talk about a few big ideas: The main characters are…

Continue reading

Eyes in the Walls, Chapter 1

, , , , , 0

My mom used to joke that being a mortician was the best job in the world because all of your customers walk away satisfied. At least, they never complain – of course they never walk away. Except… maybe I saw one of them walk away.

Should I tell you the story?

Continue reading

FANTASY CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR 2019

, , , 0

For a limited time only, you can get all of my published books in one mammoth volume – $9.99 for the ebook or (very appropriately) $20.19 for the gigantic paperback. I thought this would be a fun way to offer all of my stuff in one place, and also to publish a very large, very red book. The paperback is A4 size, set in two columns at size 10 font to pack everything in under 600 pages, making the volume quite affordable for the rather large amount of content within. Check this thing out!   This will be GONE come…

Continue reading