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CIRCE BY MADELEINE MILLER

Fantasy is almost as old as humankind's ability to speak. The books we read today come long after the first tales about gods, demons, heroes and mythical beats told by primitive man around the fires they lit at night to ward against the cold and dark, and to keep the wild beasts at bay. Some of the first to be written down come from ancient Greece. Tales of Zeus and Olympus are still told today. And of course we were all reminded of those stories by the recent...

RENN - A GRIMDARK FANTASY by ANDREW SHAW

Very excited to share with you that my new book, Renn, the first in a fantasy trilogy, will be published by Earnshaw Books in late November. It's taken a long while to get it ready for publication, Three serious rewrites, discussions on nuance, plot development, character arcs and so many other things took place before the final proofreading. More information to follow. In the meantime, here is what the cover looks like.

DANCERS AT THE END OF TIME by MICHAEL MOORCOCK

Michael Moorcock is best known for his series of books featuring the albino anti-hero, Elric, and his soul-drinking sword, Stormbringer. They are classic sword and sorcery fantasies and well worth reading. But he also had a deft touch with other forms of fantasy. Perhaps my favourite books by him can be found in his Dancers at the End of Time trilogy. Charming, whimsical and at the same time extremely thought provoking.

DANCERS AT THE END OF TIME by MICHAEL MOORCOCK

Michael Moorcock is best known for his series of books featuring the albino anti-hero, Elric, and his soul-drinking sword, Stormbringer. They are classic sword and sorcery fantasies and well worth reading. But he also had a deft touch with other forms of fantasy. Perhaps my favourite books by him can be found in his Dancers at the End of Time trilogy. Charming, whimsical and at the same time extremely thought provoking.

JACK OF SHADOWS BY ROGER ZELAZNY

My favourite fantasy author is ROGER ZELAZNY. Best known for his Chronicles of Amber, he was also a dab hand at science fiction. He was also the master at blending the two genres. His Lord of Light is the best-known example of how he did this, but a much darker novel called Jack of Shadows is more to my taste.

THE BROKEN EARTH TRILOGY BY N K JEMISIN

This is another in my occasional series on Hugo Award-winning novels. The Broken Earth Trilogy by N. K. Jemisin not only won the Hugo for the first book, The Fifth Season, but she also won the award in the following years for Books 2 and 3. Something never done before.

And while you are here, have a look at one of my own books, SPOIL. The West looted millions of priceless relics from China during the colonial era. It’s time to give them back. This book...

THE EVERLASTING by ALIX HARROW

In last week's podcast, I covered the Hugo Awards held in Los Angeles, where the award for best novel went to The Everlasting by Alix Harrow. Some of you have requested a fuller review of the book. It’s a great read and a departure from the type of fantasy that usually features in the most prestigious award in Science Fiction and Fantasy. Different perhaps but a deserved winner.

THE HUGO AWARDS 2026

There was a surprise winner for best novel at this year's Hugo Awards. The Everlasting by Alix Harrow Although there were some who'd dismissed it as a Romantasy, the award was well deserved and indicates a new direction and bright future for the fantasy genre. I would call it a Grimdark fantasy.

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.

MY FAVOURITE FANTASY HERO

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

MY TOP TEN FANTASY AUTHORS

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

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.

ASSASSIN'S APPRENTICE BY ROBIN HOBB

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.

And...

CHRISTOPHER NOLAN'S BLOCKBUSTER FILM, THE ODYSSEY

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

An epic fantasy even older than The Odyssey

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 BY WILLIAM GOLDMAN

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.

You can read my...

THE CEMETERIES OF AMALO BY KATHERINE ADDISON

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

LORD OF LIGHT by ROGER ZELAZNY

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...