This is one of my favourites, of the kinden stories I've posted up here, although it is something of a change of pace. There are three people in particular I should acknowledge, on the road to Queen of the Night. The first is a Mr Mozart, of whom you may have heard, whose contribution to the story is, hopefully, […]
The Moth-kinden were once the dark masters of the Lowlands, holding the lesser races as their slaves. Then the revolution came and their power was broken by the new weapons and machines that their former subjects devised, and that they could not understand. Now, centuries later, they plot and argue in their mountain […]
Well! Less than a month til the release of Dragonfly Falling (1). Another story soon, this time to do with the Moth-kinden, or sort of. Hopefully also a little reference piece on art and literature in the Lowlands. We'll see (3). However, I acquired some new reading material this Christmas, and I wanted to share a couple of quotes with you, […]
Some snips from the back-catalogue. All the best for Christmas, New Year and whatever else you have to everyone.
It's the turn of the Beetle-kinden for December, as we begin the home run to February and the release of Dragonfly Falling. The Beetles are a mainstay of Empire in Black and Gold and its sequels: Stenwold and Cheerwell are two of the most important protagonists, Collegium perhaps the single most key place. Still, this is […]
This month's story is a delve into the history of Collegium and the Beetle-kinden, taking place a generation before the events in Empire in Black and Gold. The world of Empire is the immediate product of the world shown in this story, from the advances of the Apt to Collegium's burgeoning conflict with the Ant-kinden of neighbouring […]
Industrious and adaptable, the Beetle-kinden are the Lowlands’ great innovators, forever labouring to improve their lot. Merchants and artisans, scholars and artificers, their tireless drive for progress has driven forward the boundaries of technology and trade through an interplay of philanthropy and ruthless self-interest. Beetles truly embody the best and worst of the post-revolution world, […]
Fascist Britain! Bit of politics there, as Ben Elton used to say. No, we're not fascist Britain (1), not by a long way, but we've been close before, and we can go there again, and it's worth opening up a few classics of fantasy literature just to remind ourselves. Recent politics brings this to mind: […]
Firstly, the music in my previous post about multimedia is now properly linked, so please go have a listen here. Secondly, and remarkably, Empire in Black and Gold made it into the Amazon "Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of 2008" here. I have no idea how this is compiled or what it's based on, but I feel […]
Firstly, a little further autotrumpetry (1). Scott Carter of The First Book has put up an interview here. This is a particularly nice site, as it focuses on the first works of new authors, as the site title suggests. Having spent so very long in becoming one, I'm all for encouraging the new. I should note that — […]
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