Casting Shadows Like Nets

As some of you might have noticed, I’m not the most social-media obsessive of people; I’m not even on Facebook. However, I do find Google+ a not inhospitable place. Unfortunately, it is closing down next year.

So, in preparation, I’m auditioning a couple of new social media sites:

MeWe: mewe.com/profile/5bbc7ccb2ee15f2bb8b142ce

Pluspora: pluspora.com/people/a49b62c0adda013646c5005056268def

It’s too early to be sure whether I’ll stay active on both (or either), but if you are looking for the sort of things I post on social media rather than this blog, pop by.

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Stone and String by Stephanie Flint

Flint mixes a youthful viewpoint with magic capable of resurrecting the dead to create brief but poignant perspective on the death of a family member.

This short story takes place at the same time as events in Magic’s Stealing , but does not share characters or primary plot arcs with it.

UnOccult Secrets

Matt Larkin (author of some rather spiffing riffs on Nordic mythology) posted an article recently suggesting fantasy novels can benefit from the lack of systematized magic. While I find his arguments engaging, for me the best answer lies in what is revealed rather than what is systematized.

Unelmoija: Paradox by Elle Boca

Boca balances the mutability of the past with temporal inertia to create a time-travel story that is neither burdened with the irrevocable nor rendered insipid by the opportunity to redo things until they are right.

This book is the fifth in Boca’s Weeia series. Potential spoilers for previous volumes ahead.

Clawing Back Sanity

The home and garden centre around the corner has one stand of Halloween decorations but half a floor of Christmas paraphernalia. The carols have started. The online retailers have started their reminders to shop early.

With only the Conservative Party Conference remaining true to the mix of horror and hearkening back to a mythical past that should mark October, it is time we take a stand.

There is only one solution:

The Forest Beyond the Earth by Matthew S. Cox

Cox layers the concerns and perspectives of a girl with overt and implied facets of a post-apocalyptic world, creating a quest that offers an engaging experience to both readers of both young adult and more gritty fiction.

Ain’t Dead Yet

As followers of ImmerseOrDie will know, only a few books make it past the 40:00 mark. Of those, an even rarer few keep the reader’s complete attention for their entire length. Those books are now listed in one place: The ImmerseOrDie Family Jewels.

Blood Lust by Garrett Robinson

Combining a sound portrayal of character with an engaging perspective on the gritty fantasy world and one of its more famous monsters, Robinson creates a tale that please both high and low fantasy readers.

This book contains references to events during later books in the Nightblade saga. So, a small risk of spoilers ahead.

Almost Ex-Com

I have a momentous announcement: I have almost completed X-COM: Enemy Unknown. I installed the game at the start of January 2013, so it’s taken me nearly six years, including some agonising over how to replay missions if one of my mistakes was accidentally reversed by benevolent techno-goblins.

The Book of Peril by Melissa McShane

Expanding on the metaphysics and politics of the previous book without sacrificing pace or characterisation, McShane provides a second instalment of urban fantasy that will appeal to readers across the gamut of the genre and beyond.

This book is the second in The Last Oracle series. Appositely enough, readers who proceed beyond this point before completing the previous volume might receive insights into the future.