Thanks to imyril, I wanted to pick up on her tag, Fantasy Characters of the Year, which she first saw at Space & Sorcery. I’m adapting it to Favorite Fantasy Characters of the past year or more without identifying a favorite male, female, villain, etc. – just fictional people that I find unforgettable. This theme […]
Amazing Cities in SFF – 3
To round out for now this series on cities in SFF, I’m revisiting a few novels that capture the importance of how people experience urban environments and how the massive structures affect their language and thought. A city, after all, is not just buildings and a way of physically organizing dense populations, but also a […]
Five Favorite Fantasy Novels Read This Past Year: Wyrd & Wonder
It’s Wyrd & Wonder time again and, though I’ll have other kinds of posts this month as well, I thought I’d start with this Fantastic Five meme. I’ve read a lot more than five great fantasies since last May, but here are the most recent ones (actually six) that haven’t yet been in any other […]
The Horizon by Gautam Bhatia
In The Horizon, Gautam Bhatia has written a masterful sequel to his first novel, The Wall, that brings together a close examination of the politics of radical change with the songs and stories that can sustain but sometimes also limit the imagination of what is possible in life. Directly following the climactic ending of The […]
My Favorite 2021 Locus Recommendations
As a fan and amateur writer who doesn’t go to conferences, there are few awards I get to vote for, so I’m happy to see several of my favorites on the Locus 2021 recommendations long list. As a subscriber to this venerable magazine, I can actually participate and sent in my ballot as soon as […]
The Wall by Gautam Bhatia, Book One of The Chronicles of Sumer
Gautam Bhatia’s The Wall is an intricate and compelling cross between fantasy and fable that strikes at something deep within human nature, a yearning to break through the barriers that hem us in. In the world of The Wall, the barrier is a literal one, vast, black, blocking out every sign of a world beyond. […]
