Keen-eyed readers may have noticed that Heirs of the Blade brings in a number of characters previously seen in the short stories on this site. This is obviously because of my immense skill in foreshadowing and plotting ahead and not at all because several of those characters just wouldn't leave me alone until they got a serious […]
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, […]
One of the reasons I’m so in awe of Gene Wolfe is the amount of very scholarly debate inspired by his work. Now, I’m not in his league when it comes to utterly, intricately baffling (1) writing, but hola, what’s this? Following the review at Eve’s Alexandria (an extended version of the earlier SFX magazine […]
There were just plain punks, of course. Still are, probably, if they can sufficiently distance themselves from Vivian in the Young Ones. The iconic hair and attitude are memes that has survived the actual subculture's descent into the voracious jaws of commercialism (1). Especially the attitude, and the curious legacy it left in the nomeclature […]
Because that's the point, after all. Stormtroopers with faces would be creepy. You might have to think a bit before you mowed them down in swathes. Because you've got to have orcs, right? Or insert your alternative — urgles(1) or cultists or zombies, demons, in short — minions. Dread legions of mindless (and most often useless) […]
Just a brief post. I promise a full scale rant in the near future, probably as a much-threatened sequel to this post (1) However, whilst out trawling the net (2) I came across this very informative little piece by James Long of Speculative Horizons. Fantasy authors who don't read fantasy. What is one to think? Now, as I hope that I've made […]
Off indeed. My monster has now torn itself free from its bindings and, energised by the electricity of publication, is rampaging across the countryside, wholly beyond my control. Let us see what devastation it enacts. I'd like to thank (1) everyone who turned up at the booksigning in Reading. I hear we shifted a goodly number of […]
Well, the moment fast approaches to see whether this beastie can survive in the wild, so… To celebrate the publication of his debut novel, Empire in Black and Gold ADRIAN TCHAIKOVSKY will be signing copies of the book at Waterstone's, United Reform Building, 89a Broad Street, Reading RG1 2AP SATURDAY 5th JULY, 3–5pm […]
Welcome to the Official ™ website of the series Shadows of the Apt First things first: who the hell am I, that I have the right to comment? Am I, for example, award-winning author Neil Gaiman, internationally celebrated fantasist, whose excellent book, American Gods, has already been the subject of a blog about the post-writing process? No, I am […]
There are reasons why many fantasy stories take place in an ersatz Merrie Englande composed of equal parts Robin Hood, King Arthur, Prtince Valiant and cheese. Of course, one reason is imaginative bankruptcy, but there's more to it than that. The more you sing a tune the audience has heard before, the more they can fill […]
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