Category Archives: Fantasy

Art/Photography, Book Reviews, Fantasy, Friday Favorites, Science Fiction

Friday Favorites–Mark Schultz: Various Drawings Volume 4

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Mark Scultz: Various Drawings Volume 4 ~Mark Schultz

–published 2009
–Flesk Publications
–48 pages
–5/5 stars

The 2010 Friday Favorites continue with another Saturday edition, courtesy of a forgotten computer power cord and an all-day work conference. This post serves as both a celebration of art and a book review as I finally was able to sit down last week to slobber over this Christmas gift from my wife, Flesk Publications‘ latest release, Mark Schultz: Various Drawings Volume 4.

The tag line for this book reads: “A collection of images for those who enjoy process as well as result”, and this book delivers on that promise every bit as successfully as the three previous volumes.

Continue reading Friday Favorites–Mark Schultz: Various Drawings Volume 4 →

Art/Photography, Book Reviews, Fantasy, Friday Favorites, Science Fiction

Friday Favorite: Spectrum 16 Book Review

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(cover image by Melanie Delon)

Spectrum 16: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art ~edited by Cathy and Arnie Fenner

–published 2009
–Underwood Books
–264 pages
–4.25/5 stars

Each and every fall I await the release of the latest issue of Spectrum with fevered anticipation, for each and every year it is a delight to read. This year’s annual perusal with my friend Jeff was delayed due to ordering issues, but this past Wednesday we sat down to savor our first read-through. It most certainly will not be my last (a fact proven by my having read through it again since Wednesday!)

As I have in past years, I wanted to show you a tiny sampling of the massive art selection offered on the pages of Spectrum.

Continue reading Friday Favorite: Spectrum 16 Book Review →

Book Reviews, Comics, Fantasy

Peter and Max: A Fables Novel ~Bill Willingham

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Peter and Max: A Fables Novel ~Bill Willingham, illustrated by Steve Leialoha

–published 2009
–Vertigo, 400 pages
–4.75/5 stars

For those of you who are not reading the award-winning comic book series, Fables…and you really should be…here is a brief synopsis:

The creatures inhabiting the many familiar, and not-so-familiar, fairy tales are real. Their worlds were taken over by an evil Empire and as many as could fled to our world for Sanctuary, where they now live and slowly but surely plot the retaking of their realms.

Wow, that was a very, very simplistic, and rather boring synopsis of what is a fascinating, rich, deep and engaging world rendered in wonderfully creative ways both by the artists involved and by Bill Willingham’s mastery of storytelling.

In this stand-alone novel set in the Fables universe, Willingham once again uses his mastery of the English language to craft an attention-grabbing, sleep stealing, ‘I-have-got-to-keep-reading’ adventure that not only proves that great fairy tales for adults can be written but that they should be written, and written more often.

Continue reading Peter and Max: A Fables Novel ~Bill Willingham →

Book Reviews, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Short Stories

Eclipse Three ~Johnathan Strahan, ed

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Eclipse Three ~edited by Jonathan Strahan

–published 2009
–281 pages, Night Shade Books
–4/5 stars

Eclipse Three is the just released third volume in Jonathan Strahan’s annual series, meant to showcase new, previously unpublished science fiction and fantasy short stories, unrelated to any specific theme.

To observe an eclipse is to witness a rare and unusual event. Under darkened skies the sun becomes a negative image of itself, its corona transforming the landscape into a strange space where anything might happen, and any story may be true…

In the spirit of classic science fiction anthologies such as Universe, Orbit, and Starlight, master anthologist Jonathan Strahan (The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year) presents the non-themed genre anthology Eclipse: New Science Fiction and Fantasy. Here you will find stories where strange and wonderful things happen–where reality is eclipsed by something magical and new.

I was there at the beginning, or nearly so, when the Eclipse series began. Older science fiction fans have had the privilege of “being there” when some of the great stories were told, revealed first in magazines and anthologies that, were I to try, would take years to go back and collect, let alone read. I remember being very excited to learn that this new anthology would be released and I, as a fan of the short story genre, would be able to follow along with it year after year. Eclipse One and Eclipse Two found their way to my local Barnes and Noble months after their official release dates. So it should come as no surprise that I was more than thrilled to visit the science fiction and fantasy section last week and see Eclipse Three waiting there patiently for me, at least two months before I thought I would have a chance to read it. I gifted myself a copy and started in on it right away when I arrived home. As with anything one is anticipating, there is always the chance of a let down. Couple that with the controversy surrounding the Eclipse series (which I will touch on later) and it is safe to say that I experienced a bit of trepidation.

Continue reading Eclipse Three ~Johnathan Strahan, ed →

Book Reviews, Fantasy, Mystery

Burn Me Deadly ~Alex Bledsoe

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Burn Me Deadly ~Alex Bledsoe

–published 2009
–Tor Books, 320 pages
–5/5 stars

In March of 2008 I wrote of the first Eddie LaCrosse novel, The Sword-Edged Blonde:

In private investigator Eddie LaCrosse, Bledsoe creates a character who is equal parts witty and charming, rough-and-tumble and roguish. LaCrosse’s journey reveals him to be a character of surprising depth in a novel that is short (232 pages) by today’s standards. Bledsoe uses each page to his advantage and has crafted a page turner story that had a few “I didn’t see that coming” moments as it reached its conclusion.

Alex Bledsoe had merged the genres of sword-and-sorcery and pulp noir so successfully that I was unsure if such an amalgam could ever be topped. To which Mr. Bledsoe has now replied (to the voices in my head, at any rate), “Take that!”

Continue reading Burn Me Deadly ~Alex Bledsoe →