COMPLICATED MAGIC SYSTEMS SHOULD BE BANNED FROM FANTASY NOVELS
I have a big problem with complicated magic systems which now seem very popular in the fantasy genre. They irritate me. I don’t want my magic to be explained as a logical process. You might as well call it science. Perhaps we should have a new sub genre – Science Fantasy. Let’s face it. Magic is the mysterious and unexplainable. Once you start to explain it, it stops being magical.
As a fan of Grimdark fantasy, I am not big on the modern concept of a hero. You know the type: noble and willing to sacrifice themselves for others. I identify far more with the amoral, selfish and cowardly anti-heroes. Nevertheless, there are some heroes in fantasy it is impossible not to like, even root for. Here are some of my favourites
Everyone who does a fantasy podcast seems to do a top ten list of their favourite books. I find this too much of a challenge as so many books are part of a series and cannot stand alone. So I have compiled a list of my ten favourite authors instead. I don't expect anyone to agree with it. But perhaps it will point people towards some great books they haven't read yet.
The Library of the Dead by T L Huchu may be Young Adult Fantasy but it is so well written it can be enjoyed by anyone interested in the genre. Grimdark but with a light touch. A great read and a great introduction to a very gifted writer.
If you're looking for a character driven epic grimdark fantasy then books by Robin Hobb will be right up your street. And there is no better place to start than the first in her Farseer Trilogy, Assassin's Apprentice. She crafts a great story but her path to becoming a best seller was not an overnight success. It was only after she'd chosen an androgynous name, where she could be mistaken for a male writer that her books started to fly off the shelves.
Christopher Nolan's blockbuster film adaptation of the epic Greek poem The Odyssey is now breaking box-office records all over the world. Most people love it but there are those who can't help finding fault with it. Helen of Troy is too black, the plume on the helmet of Odysseus is too red, the armour worn by Greek warriors belongs in a Batman film, not the Bronze Age. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. It's brought the Woke Brigade out...
THE TIGER AND THE WOLF. THE FIRST IN ADRIAN TCHAIKOVSKY'S ECHOES OF THE FALL TRILOGY
One of the stars of modern SFF has to be Adrian Tchaikovsky. I first came across him through his science fiction novels and have recently started to read his fantasy. His world building, plotting and character development is on a level with the very best. The Tiger and the Wolf is the first in his Echoes of the Fall trilogy. It’s gripping stuff and I’ve already bought Book 2, the Bear and the Serpent
This summer sees the release of the blockbuster film, The Odyssey, based on a Greek epic written nearly three thousand years ago. The movie has already received rave reviews, and its all-star cast will almost certainly ensure it's the cinematic event of the summer. It seems destined to win a few Oscars when the time comes. But the Odyssey is not the oldest fantasy epic ever written. That honour goes to a Sumerian epic known as Gilgamesh, which...
The Princess Bride is known to many people through the film. It was based on a book of the same name by William Goldman, who also wrote the screenplay. It is a cult classic, a delightful fantasy, and although written in modern times, it matches the best in traditional fairy tales. Wonderful stuff.
While I prefer Fantasy to Science fiction, a long-forgotten series about a space surgeon by James White has recently been republished which remind me how good stories set in the future can be. The novels he wrote epitomise everything I love about science fiction. They are based on original quirky ideas, they are thought-provoking and linger in the mind long after you finish reading them. Things that are sadly lacking in most SF today.
One of the most underrated and perhaps overlooked fantasy trilogies of recent times is The Cemeteries of Amalo by Katherine Addison. Best known for her standalone novel, The Goblin Emperor, her three books based on the doings of a humble priest who can speak to the dead are just as good, if not better. Gentle and whimsical on the one hand while at the same time set in a world believable enough to almost be considered Grimdark
Roger Zelazny is quite rightly acclaimed as one of the all time greats of Science Fiction and Fantasy. He is my favourite author of fantasy and one of the biggest influences on my own writing. He is best remembered for his Amber series and for the marvellous Lord of Light. But for me, his best book is This Immortal.
And while you are here. Please have a look at one of my own books. A Jade Treasury. A collection of the legends and myths surrounding Jade, the...
For this episode I am going to recommend a novel that I haven't read as it hasn't yet been published. A Trade of Blood, the third in a the Shadow of the Leviathan trilogy, by Robert Jackson Bennett The first two instalments were so good I have no doubt part 3 will be equally entertaining.
Michael Moorcock is best known for his stories about the albino prince, Elric and his magic sword, Stormbringer. Perhaps rightly so, but for me his finest work is his Dancers at the End of Time trilogy. Far ahead of its time and thought provoking. Written by a story teller at the top of his game.
One of the most charming books written in the fantasy genre has to be Princess Bride by William Goldman. Both the book and the film that was made from it are cult classics. As fresh today as the day it was first published. a tale of true love and swashbuckling adventure.
TERMINATOR, THE FILM, STARRING ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER
Although this is mainly a podcast about fantasy books that I love and recommend, I occasionally branch out to talk about a film that is classified as either fantasy or science fiction. This week I want to talk about what I consider to be one of the best SF movies of all time. It also happens to be one of the best 'chase movies' ever filmed. I am talking about the original Terminator, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as a killing machine sent...
It is difficult to put your finger on which sub genre of fantasy the Goblin Emperor fits into. Most of the elements that most people associate with good fantasy, like sorcerers, dragons, enchanted blades, and mighty heroes are missing. And the hero is an ordinary man, or half elf half goblin in this case, with no special powers who just has to muddle through when plonked on the throne and told he's now emperor. A great read. Unputdownable
Ann McCaffrey might be best known for Dragonsong and other stories set on the world of Pern but I prefer her Crystal Singer Trilogy. Perhaps this is because the woman at the centre is a deeply flawed character who should be difficult to like - but isn't. Wonderful stuff.
One of the best debut novels in the world of fantasy has to be King Rat by China Mieville. He is better known for his later works, such as Perdido Street Station, but my heart belongs to his first novel, King Rat, which updates one of the best-known fairy tales by placing it in the London of the 1990s
And while you are here. Please have a look at one of my own books. A Jade Treasury. It's about the legends and myths surrounding Jade, the Stone of Heaven. To ancient...
