Category: Fantasy

Three Fantasy Novels Everyone Should Read

On By MG MasonIn Fantasy, ListsLeave a comment

(That are not Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones)

Not, of course, that I don’t or wouldn’t recommend reading them! I just think it would be the lazy choice to include one or all of them. Readers of my blog know that I am very fussy about fantasy. LOTR and Game of Thrones filled me with indifference but I do love Harry Potter. What puts me off fantasy the most is seeing rainforest-murdering tomes with a caption on the back “Book One of this Exciting 40 book series!”
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Book Review: A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

On By MG MasonIn Book Review, Fantasy4 Comments

There’s probably not a single person in the Anglophone world who has not heard of this – the first book in the hugely popular Songs of Ice and Fire fantasy book series. If you haven’t read the book, you’ve probably seen the series or heard somebody rave incessantly about it. It was one of the first books I bought on Kindle when I got my first device three years ago and it’s taken me this long to get around to feeling the urge to read it. I initially started it this spring but quickly put it down again as I was completely failing to absorb it. Better luck this time around though, so what’s the verdict?
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Reflections on “Les Revenants” (The Returned) Season 1

On By MG MasonIn Fantasy, Horror3 Comments

This is the French drama that is taking the world by storm. Based on a 2004 French film by the name of They Came Back (which has a pretty average rating at IMDB), somebody somewhere clearly thought this would make an intriguing series with all the flexibility that television permits but feature films do not. I haven’t seen the film and I doubt I will until the series finishes in however many years that takes. Continue reading “Reflections on “Les Revenants” (The Returned) Season 1″ →

American Gods coming to our TV screens?

On By MG MasonIn Fantasy, Science fictionLeave a comment

Neil Gaiman fans sit down before you start hyperventilating because it seems that a TV version is in the works for his megaselling classic American Gods. According to Starburst magazine, Gaiman started penning a script for the pilot and announced it on Twitter in November. The idea is that it will be a six season long story, perhaps taking some inspiration from the epic nature of The Walking Dead which was adapted from a series of graphic novels.
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The Rise and Rise of China Miéville

On By MG MasonIn Fantasy, Features / Articles, Science fiction2 Comments
Author China Mieville.
image from guardian.co.uk

The Arthur C. Clarke Awards take place next week. China Miéville stands as the only man who has won the award more than twice and he hopes that 2012 will mark a fourth such award having been shortlisted for Embassytown. The novel has also bee nominated for a Hugo Award this year so it seems that his star is on the rise.

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Accents in fantasy are mostly British. Does this make it more authentic?

On By MG MasonIn Fantasy, Features / Articles6 Comments

I’ve been pondering this BBC article since yesterday and I think there is a rather simple explanation. Arguably, Tolkein invented the modern fantasy saga in The Lord of the Rings. It is widely acknowledged that the people and races that populated the series were based very much on specific periods of English history. Continue reading “Accents in fantasy are mostly British. Does this make it more authentic?” →