Tag: fantasy

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I Shall Return With Winter by CF Welburn

I Shall Return with WinterI Shall Return with Winter by C.F. Welburn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An intriguing fable of revenge and of prophecy, this was like reading a metaphysical Dances with Wolves.

Like Welburn’s Ashen Levels, there is a sort of dreamlike quality to this tale, so that you are never quite sure what to expect next. It’s a book that defies categorisation, both its strength and weakness.

Our setting is a sort of fantasy version of the Viking North Sea (for me). Oben, the mc, a farmer from lush Edale (England?) travels to Skaligar (Scotland?), occupied by the Skalgs (Vikings) from Eisalhelm (Scandinavia?)

He is on a mission of revenge. Except it takes us a while to understand why. Even then, there’s something about it that doesn’t quite make sense. When the fearsome Skalgs take him, they become convinced he is an agent of destiny and prophecy. And, of course, the reader is never quite sure if they’re right about him or not.

Despite this mysterious aura around him, Oben is one of those ordinary characters doing extraordinary things. Set a series of tasks like a character from Greek legend, it becomes increasingly clear that, whatever his own thoughts on it, he will be at the centre of a clash between his old home and his new, adopted one.

Written as a standalone, the author is obviously tempted to return to this new world he created. Good news, because I enjoyed the mystery of it – this is almost Welburn’s trademark. But at other times I wanted the fog to clear and get to know these characters and their world a little bit more than I came to.

For those who’ve read Welburn before, it goes without saying how well written it is. Have a read yourself for some grimdark style moral greyness, gritty adventure, myth, mystery and madness.

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Orconomics by J Zachary Pike

Orconomics (The Dark Profit Saga, #1)Orconomics by J. Zachary Pike
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

With both books satirising the D&D side of fantasy – from a place of love – it’s no surprise this one has a lot of similarities with my first Og-Grim-Dog book. Many fantasy authors of a certain age recall the freedom of delving into a dungeon with a group of adventurers, happily looting and killing whatever inhabitants they found. Now we’re older and wiser, we tend to complicate simple pleasures. What would that life really be like? Surely, it would only be a matter of time before adventurers unionised and some organisation and bureaucracy grew around the whole process. Hence Pike has the Heroes Guild and I have the Bureau of Dungeoneering. And what about those hapless dungeon dwellers? Shouldn’t we spare a thought for them?

I had feared the books would be too similar. But while mine focuses on one character and is content to be silly about the whole thing, Orconomics is a full fantasy novel, with multiple points of view, backstory and original worldbuilding. It leans into the economics of the subject and by the end has delivered some pretty blistering social commentary.

First things first though, if you’re going to dare to enter this territory, it had better be funny. And this book delivers on the laughs. They’re not try hard; they’re not “look, I’m being hilarious, aren’t I?”; they’re genuinely giggle inducing – the goblin got me, more than once.

The main character is Gorm Ingerson – the classic tough, cynical dwarf. I thought this was a great decision. Because we look at much of the story through his eyes, the madness of the world and the people who inhabit it are made all too clear. He is supported by a great cast, especially his fellow adventurers. Some of these get their own POV sections and all have their own storylines. They are all twists on the stereotypes to some degree and I think the author got the balance between characters and plot/humour just right – it’s not easy juggling so many balls.

There is one sequel at the moment. It doesn’t surprise me to see such a big gap between titles – a lot of thought and care and love has gone into this novel and I highly recommend.

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Audiobook Release

Og-Grim-Dog and The War of The Dead is now out on audio and is live in all stores.

I have updated my Audiobooks page: it’s now much cleaner and easier to see where you can buy the various titles.

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Cover Reveal: Og-Grim-Dog and The War of The Dead

Take a gander at the new cover for book 3 in the Me Three series, Og-Grim-Dog and The War of The Dead.

This episode in Og-Grim-Dog’s story combines fantasy with horror as the undead arrive in Gal’azu. I think Andrey’s artwork nicely depicts the struggle as Og-Grim-Dog, Assata and Borte fight off the creatures! The back cover reveals that Raya and Sandon are also in the fight!

No surprises then that this is a darker tale than the first two books in the series, with the silly humour present but taking a bit of a back seat. Maybe that was inevitable since this was written at the height of lockdown.

The ebook will be released on 18th September, while the paperback should come not much later.

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Og-Grim-Dog Character Design

In these strange times, my daily schedule is relatively untouched, though I do now have my children at home with me as the UK self-isolates.

I’m excited to introduce the character design for Og-Grim-Dog. I think the artist has done a fantastic job of bringing the brothers to life. At the moment he is working on the cover for book one, so I hope I will have news on this for you before too long.

I like the fact that the fantasy community is still active online during this period – it’s nice to be able to interact with other people in this way. In that vein, I’m letting you know about an online reading festival I’m involved with over on Fantasy Sci-Fi Focus. It’s on virtually all day (especially if you’re in North America) this Saturday, so make some time to check it out!

 

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Where Loyalties Lie by Rob Hayes

Where Loyalties Lie (Best Laid Plans #1)Where Loyalties Lie by Rob J. Hayes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Making a conscious effort to read some of the ebooks on my ipad and went for this one which I’ve wanted to read since it won spfbo3 which Toric’s Dagger was entered in.

The story follows ‘grimdark pirates’ struggling against one another and the local empires who would like to see the end of the pirates. The characters – Drake Morass, Keelin, Elaina Tanner and more are mostly piratical types who, let’s say, have their own moral code. Certainly a morally grey grimdark (TM) style of novel here. I found them convincing and entertaining. They are at each other’s throats – the question is, are they capable of uniting to save their skins?

I am 99% sure the book is set in the same world as most of Rob’s other fantasy books – there are some references to other parts of the world here and there but you certainly don’t need to read anything else first. The author does the whole pirate thing – from the descriptions of the ships, to the characters’ speech – incredibly well, and for me this makes it stand out enough to earn a 5***** rating. Mr Hayes must have done some significant research and given some serious thought to the world, plot and characters, but writes the story so smoothly that you don’t see any of that. The fantasy and magical elements are low key and woven in with the gritty world of pirating very well and it makes for an original and distinctive read.

The story is certainly adult in every respect and people looking for a YA read about pirates need to go elsewhere. I’m not a massive fan of pirate stories per se but I really enjoyed this. By focusing on such a small scale (relatively, for fantasy) I felt like the writer was able to take his time with the story, giving the pirates the centre stage, when often (in fantasy) they get a bit part and it has a slightly gentler pace compared to the average frenetic fantasy read.

I certainly recommend this one, especially for those wanting something a bit out of the mainstream.

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March Madness

First of all, an update on the writing. I have sent book one of the new series to my beta readers and received feedback so that is due another final edit before it’s ready. I have also made a decent start on the first draft of book two, so I am still hoping for a late spring/ early summer release of the new series.

Meanwhile, I’m running a limited time promotion on The Weapon Takers Saga. You can get Toric’s Dagger free from the 2nd-6th March on Amazon with reductions in all territories on books 2 & 3 (the price varies on this). This has been a good way to attract new readers in the past, so spread the word if you can!

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End of 2019 update

This is a nice moment to look back and forwards at my writing plans.

Publication of my first series, The Weapon Takers Saga, is drawing to a close. All paperbacks and eBooks are released, including the boxset of books 1-3 which has hit the Amazon bestsellers ranks over the last 2 months. The release of the audiobooks will also be finished soon. Greg and Bridget have completed production of books 3 & 4. The Jalakh Bow audiobook is already released, and The Giants’ Spear is signed off and should be available on Amazon and Audible over the next few days.

Writing such an epic series has been a gargantuan effort for me. It’s been exciting to think about what other projects to turn to next. I’m not short of ideas. But I decided I wanted to write something a bit different and less complex, while staying in the fantasy genre. I’ve therefore decided to go for a series of shorter, humourous novels, centred on the character of Og-Grim-Dog, a three headed ogre. I’ve finished the first draft of book one. It will need some work doing to it, but the story feels more or less there. I would also like to finish the first three to four books in advance and then release them within a short time frame of each other, rather than have readers waiting ages for the next one. I will post updates on progress when I have them.

Meanwhile, there are two days left of my competition to Win all the paperbacks of The Weapon Takers Saga – enter over on KingSumo.

Well, that’s it for now, I’m looking forward to 2020 and I wish you a great year ahead.

 

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The Giants’ Spear

 

It’s finally here! The end of the series!

Here’s the cover for Book 4 of The Weapon Takers Saga. The official release date for the eBook is 15th November, but it’s already available to buy on pre-order. What’s more, the price will be set at $/£2.99 until release day.

Feels weird to be saying the series is over, but looking forward to finding out what everyone thinks of it.

Visit The Giants’ Spear on Amazon

 

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When Fantasy Ruled the Charts

Mention fantasy inspired music now and, if anything, you probably think about a niche genre of heavy metal. But once upon a time, in a land not so far away, fantasy was a major inspiration on some of the music that troubled the charts, and on their artwork. Here are some of the albums, all released between 1967-75, from an era when fantasy ruled the charts.

1973. An iconic album cover featuring mystical sites on earth, Tales from Topographic Oceans by Yes, was written at the high point of progressive rock-a genre full of complex lyrics and music that was well suited to literary ideas. This is a concept album inspired by ancient hindu texts. Ridiculed by some for its pretension, you don’t get music like this in the charts any more. Key track: The Ancients/Giants Under the Sun

 

1969. Led Zeppelin II by Led Zeppelin, complete with a steampunk style cover featuring German WW1 fighter pilots. The moment when Led Zeppelin first mix their folk blues music with mystical storytelling. No doubt much of the link between heavy metal and fantastic themes can be traced back to this album. Key track: Ramble On

 

1972. Demons and Wizards by Uriah Heep. Another prog rock cover, combined with heavy music inside. This record is full of fantasy influenced songs. Key track: The Wizard

 

 

 

1968. This debut by psychedelic outfit Tyrannosaurus Rex long held the record for the longest album title: My People Were Fair and Had Sky in their Hair…But Now they’re Content to Wear Stars on their Brow‘. Full of Marc Bolan’s whimsical lyrics, this album was always going to be fantasy influenced when the bongo player was called Steve Peregrin Took. Key track: Dwarfish Trumpet Blues

 

1967. The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion by Scottish folk duo The Incredible String Band was one of the classic psychedelic albums. Key track: Mad Hatter’s Song

 

 

 

1968. A Saucerful of Secrets by Pink Floyd. The last Floyd album featuring Syd Barrett, it retains his interest in fairy tales and fable. Key track: Let There Be More Light

 

 

 

1975. Warrior on the Edge of Time by Hawkwind. Really, any Hawkwind album would do. What makes this one stand out is the fantasy style cover – and the fact that many of the lyrics were provided by Michael Moorcock. Key track: The Wizard Blew His Horn

 

1971. Every Good Boy Deserves Favour by The Moody Blues. A great cover, this is prog rock with some mystical elements. Key track: Emily’s Song

 

 

 

What do you think? Anything missing? Any more recent music deserving of a mention?