When I was a kid, I didn’t have very much money for comics. As such I decided that I should stick with the one comic franchise I was really enjoying, the X-Men, and get as deep into their story as I could. While reading the X-Men, I fell in love with one of their classic…
Continue reading ➞ Shadowblack – Same Great Writing, New Darker Color
Series transitions can be rough. This year Sebastien de Castell stuck the landing as he wrapped up his astounding Greatcoats quartet and sealed it as one of my favorite series. Simultaneously he has launched the first book in his second series, Spellslinger. It is always interesting to see the direction that authors go post-series completion.…
As I have gotten older I have noticed a change in my reaction to the conclusion of series I love. When I was younger, I would buy final books the moment I could and then power through them immediately, dying to know what happened next. Now, I look at them nervously with a little sadness…
I had the privilege to trap one of fantasy's most underrated authors, Sebastien de Castell, in a conversation the other day. In it he revealed some interesting tid bits on both his Greatcoats series as well as his new upcoming novel, Spellslinger. For those of you who have read the novels, hopefully this gives you some…
Continue reading ➞ The Greatcoats – An Interview With Sebastien de Castell
Saint’s Blood is the third book in The Greatcoats quartet by Sebastien de Castell. I have written about both of his previous two novels, Traitor’s Blade and Knight’s Shadow, and ranked them among some of my all-time favorites. They earned this distinction because they are two of the funniest books I have ever read featuring…
Continue reading ➞ Saint’s Blood – by de Castell-Who-Keeps-Getting-Better
The time has come for ‘Best of 2015’ threads and to reflect on all the wonderful books I enjoyed over the year. This piece will address my top 10 reads published in 2015, but is missing some of the amazing older books I read throughout the year. I read roughly 80 books this year, about…
I like to think of myself as a fairly harsh critic. I think I have an eye for good world building, character development, plot, etc. and I think I am very fair in how I assess different books perform at these various metrics. That being said, I have noticed an interesting effect when I read…
Continue reading ➞ Knight’s Shadow – A Thick Second Chapter in a Heartfelt Story
In contrast to part 1, below are a few unknown and under-read books that are phenomenal. I will likely do longer reviews of each of these to give them more justice in the future, but for now here is a blurb: Heroes Die (The Acts of Caine) - By Matthew Stover When people ask me…
Continue reading ➞ The First Post – Part 2: Hidden Gems of Fantasy
