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Subgenres come and go and one that I have recently been enjoying is ‘Cosy Fantasy,’ what does that mean? Basically, fantasy with some of the trepidation taken out, a chance to get to know the characters and enjoy a fantasy setting in peace. Riley August’s The Last Gifts of the...
There are many unique and diverse names in horror making it, for me, one of the most interesting genres out there, but to the layperson they may only know a few names. Stephen King, maybe Dean Koontz. In film they may have heard of Wes Craven, or one of the newer horror auteurs. Zombie fans...
The future is uncertain but as long as there are people on the planet, there will be drama. The cities could be crumbling and the seas boiling but a few people gather in the same cave for protection, and it will be mere hours before they are arguing, falling in and out of love and not getting on...
Every summer is the same, inexperienced people think it would be a clever idea to do some wild swimming unaware that under the first foot of warm reservoir water, there are metres of icy water ready to send you into shock. When three members of the Fowler family disappear when out swimming, the...
I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.
Bone Silence is the third book in Alastair Reynolds Revenger series and follows on from the events of Shadow Captain and Revenger.
First off, if you haven't read the first two books in the series, I suggest you do before starting Bone Silence. You could read it stand alone but it...
Unto Leviathan was originally released back in 2001, under the title Ship of fools, winning the Philip K Dick award in the process. It's since been re-released by Orbit under the current title.
The generational ship Aragonos travels the galaxy, looking for signs of life and a...
There is an art to the short story, and I can say from experience that Flame Tree Press have gotten it down. They have produced many excellent short story collections, and their new venture is the Beyond & Within series. In many ways these books are the same as their larger collections,...
What is Fantasy if it is not epic battles against elves and orcs? Fans of the genre know that it can be a lot of other things than just that. Some of the best modern fantasy that I have read have been smaller stories set in fantasy worlds. How about a Die Hard-like experience set in a castle...
I picked this book up as I was looking for more urban fantasy to try. I love the Dresden files and given that new books in that series only seem to appear infrequently, I was getting an urban fantasy itch. This book stood out as it was recommended by talented and under-appreciated author Dave...
Never judge a person till you've walked a mile in their shoes, the late Terry Pratchett might add "because then you're a mile away, and have their shoes". It's something we do all the time, form snap judgements about people and situations, often based on first impressions. Perhaps it's a genetic...
I've been meaning to read this book for quite some time. It's been staring accusingly across the room. But I'm still trying to find time to read right now and it's not the most sveltely of shapes, coming in at a weighty 730+ pages. I finally gave in, and I'm glad I did. This does invariably mean...
I was lucky enough to attend the 82nd World Science Fiction Convention (WorldCon), held at the Scottish Events Campus (SEC) in Glasgow. It's the first time I've had the opportunity to attend and I highly recommend the WorldCon experience, it's something that is well worth doing if you can.
So what exactly is WorldCon?
WorldCon is one of the biggest Science Fiction Conventions in the world, held annually at a...
There are all diverse types of people that make a successful working environment. If everyone were the same, we would all be doing the same thing and loads of stuff would not get done. Some people like to stand out in the crowd and pitch ideas, others are happy to lead. Engineer may be the...
For any author magic is a tricky beast as you can easily paint yourself into the corner. You can make the magic too powerful, or you can develop a whole magic system that is unbalanced. Things become even trickier when you add those tricksy Fae. Fairy magic is all about breaking rules on a...
The only people I know who still believe in hell are the ones who had the proper kind of upbringing.
Who doesn’t love a good pirate story? What about a story that has flying ships that drop gunpowder bombs? Or a story that has magic and mysterious civilisations living on remote islands? These all sound great and are wrapped together in a lovely fantasy package in Michael...
Cyberpunk has always been an interesting mash up of ideas, taking the science fiction forward ideas of technology and giving it a gritty edge. Mixing the equivalent of early 80s synth with the raw punk that preceded it in a giant science fiction blender sounds like chaos, but both have...
There is a long tradition of Folk Horror in the UK, but plenty of other countries bring their own flavour to the genre. American Gothic has all the trappings of classic Folk Horror, but has that distinct US flavour. The woods out there seem different, ancient landscapes unused to the people that...
Cozy crime comes in all sizes, but it still has an odd name. The characters may be eccentric, the setting twee, but when it comes down to it, there is still a dead person lying on the carpet. Marple had her village with its higher crime rate than Gotham, Poirot had various summer vacation spots,...
When it comes to vampires, I understand that there is a rich tapestry of versions you can now read about, but I like mine to have that old fashioned appeal. The type of vampire that does not want to talk about their feelings or act like the average tween, but instead wants to wear lace frills...
What makes a good folk horror story? It is not just the tension and gruesome moments, but the feeling. You need to get the tone right. A visitor to a new place that is familiar in some ways, but alien in others. You can experience some of this unease yourself just by travelling to somewhere...
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