Sam Tyler

Back in the nineties, Fantasy had a comedic moment. Led by Sir Terry Pratchett, other authors were signed up to produce lighter fantasy with a sense of humour. Whilst none became as popular as Discworld, I still miss those days. T Kingfisher agreed and Nine Goblins is the author’s homage to that era...

They say never judge a book by its cover and this is a good lesson to take heed of with Peter McLean’s Paved With Good Intentions , as the UK cover stars Eline dressed in regal splendour. You see, Eline is also someone you should not judge from by her looks. She may be presenting as a member of the...

My partner and I have differing opinions on ghosts. I like to read about them but am incredibly cynical that they exist. My partner is more of a believer. I just refuse to believe that ghoulies can exist without more evidence, we live in a surveillance society at this point. However, even I would st...

Conan has fought against Gods his whole life. The little ones that try to interfere with the ways of man, and the Old Ones that nestle in other dimensions waiting for their chance to absorb the Earth. The only God that Conan has had little trouble with is Crom, his own God, and that is because Crom...

How do you push a story forward? One method used in movies is known as a MacGuffin, a meaningless plot device that someone must find that will drive all their intentions. It does not happen as often in literature, but in the case of The Blackfire Blade by James Logan it has one of the most Macguggin...

I enjoy a dose of Low Fantasy; a bit of grimdark and violence feels like a good counterpart to High Fantasy with its heroism and magic. A fantasy tale that is told from the muck and the trenches just feels more real, even if it is fantastic, a fantasy for our modern troubled world. But there is Low...

What modern fantasy has shown is that you do not need to set your fantasy world in alternative medieval Europe. Our planet is full of varied and rich cultures that can be married with fantasy concepts to make alternative takes on the genre. The Door on the Sea by Caskey Russell is the latest unique...

If you could invite anyone to a winter retreat, who would it be? Family, friends, someone famous. What you should never do is invite a detective, anytime you do, someone always seems to end up dead. In the case of  Jekyll & Hyde: Winter Retreat  by Tim Major, you get two private detectives for the p...

We only have so many books in us, and an author may just not have the time to experiment with different formats or genres, unless they are very prolific. They do not come much more prolific than Adrian Tchaikovsky, a writer who dabbles in various types of genre fiction, always bringing high quality....

Conan was a character that had a rich and long life. You may be a fan of the films and only imagine the man as a loincloth wearing barbarian, cleaving the heads of various cult leaders. That is a large part of his appeal, but he was also a bandit leader, pirate and eventually a King. In fact, he was...

I love programming because I find it the opposite of magic. I find it logic. I know that if I tackle a problem using certain rules I will finally get it to work. When I show a person the finalised product, they often comment that it seems like magic, but it is not. It is just hardwork, processing an...

The fantasy genre is a form of comfort reading for me. The genre often follows similar tropes, and you can get into the rhythm of the story quickly. However, increasingly often in modern fantasy, authors are creating new and challenging ideas to shake up the genre. Magical systems are an area you ca...

The fantasy genre has the reputation of producing books big enough that you could use as a casual seat, trilogies that you could line up, throw some cushions on top and make into a settee. It does not have to be this way and T Kingfisher has certainly bucked the trend with Clockwork Boys, which come...