Blooms from Iron
The Kaliaer settlement at Nahirazith and, more specifically, its smelting camp, served as one of the major settings for “Tears from Iron.” In the next two articles, we’ll be diving…
He Who Knows No Fear
After spending the past couple months delving into fantasy races, monsters, and the nature of villains, I thought it was time to change things up a bit. Let’s return to…
Nefarious Villainy!
The latest string of articles continues to evolve. We began with elves and the Aestari which included a discussion of good and evil. This led to talking about the nature…
Here there be Monsters
With the previous article concluding on the nature of good and evil, it felt appropriate to follow that discussion with one on monsters. There is a growing trend in epic…
To Be Aestari
[The Aestari] are tall, taller even than the Humans or the Ie’dhae who came after, and slight of frame with long features, sharp noses, angular cheeks, and pointed ears. To…
They’re Just Elves, Right?
One of basic components of fantasy is the blending of the familiar with the fanciful. But sway too far one way or the other and the majority of readers will…
A Tale of Too Many Tales
How long should a book series be? Is there really even an answer to this question?I believe there is an ideal length for a series… somewhere between three to six…
Is Combat Boring? Jordan’s High Lord Turok and Dumai’s Wells
Today marks the conclusion of this four-part revisiting of the theories of combat in literature. I had begun by positing that combat is boring for a myriad of reasons. The…
Is Combat Boring? Lloyd Alexander’s Taran Wanderer
After last article’s break to look at the potential impacts of COVID-19 on the future of fantasy, it is time to return to the current series on the potentially boring…
Corona, Or the Future of Fantasy
With a perniciousness matched only by the disease itself, it seems that Corona has infected all of our communications as well. Fortunately, this particular variety of the contagion is far…