Unforgettable images shimmer from the pages of The Golem and the Djinni. A palace of glass and gold glittering in the Syrian desert. The bustle and heartbeat of New York in 1899, populated with a cast of intriguing characters, two of them creatures of magic. Chava is a golem crafted by a rogue rabbi, herContinue reading “THE GOLEM AND THE DJINNI – a masterpiece of fantasy literature”
Tag Archives: Fantasy
All our genres be broken
Take a look at this marvellous think piece by Gareth L Powell on the problems with defining science fiction by its Golden Age origins. (I should add that the Golden Age isn’t the origin of science fiction any more than McDonalds was the origin of the burger. It’s just the moment it got reduced inContinue reading “All our genres be broken”
London Gothic
Mystery is the doorway to fantasy. Dark forests, far away galaxies, roads that wind into the distance: any space that allows our imagination to play without the interference of mundane reality can be a portal. And there are few places more expectant with mystery than cities. Every road, building and doorway is a new unknown.Continue reading “London Gothic”
SF & Fantasy need to stop being so damn eager to please
“It just seems to me that, from Ballard to Herbert, SF was on a mission to invent and explore unknown fresh new psychologies. It was a fascinating, daunting task. We were on to something- and we lost the nerve to do it.” There’s nothing less interesting than something which only exists to please you. AndContinue reading “SF & Fantasy need to stop being so damn eager to please”
The battle for geek culture
As a fan of fantasy fiction, it’s been entertaining watching mainstream cultural critics’ baffled responses to Game of Thrones, which has surprised many by becoming the biggest show on TV this year. Gina Bellafante of the New York Times was among the first to come a cropper when she made the rash statement that noContinue reading “The battle for geek culture”
Fantasy must be a struggle with life
The more experienced I become as a writer, the more I realise I was closer to the soul of the art when I started out than after a decade and some lose change years studying its craft. Jonathan Franzen is a writer I discovered through The Corrections some time in the last year or so.Continue reading “Fantasy must be a struggle with life”
Can fantasy tell the truth?
There is nothing wrong with escaping reality now and again. Like a well brewed ale, or a good malt whisky, a finely crafted escapist fantasy can be a thing of joy and beauty. But while the occasional tipple can be a good thing, most of us recognise that a bottle of Jameson’s a night isContinue reading “Can fantasy tell the truth?”
Reality is for people who can’t handle Science Fiction
It’s all too easy to dismiss science fiction and fantasy stories as escapist nonsense. But there’s ultimately something despairing about the charge of running away most readers of these genres encounter at some point. It tends to come from an authority figure of some kind – a teacher, a boss, a parent. It is oftenContinue reading “Reality is for people who can’t handle Science Fiction”
Why can’t the BBC grow up about fantasy?
Grit your teeth. Now pull your lips back into the widest grin you can manage, tense your entire body and, starting in your chest and moving through your throat up into your nasal cavity, generate a high-pitched “squeeeeeeeeeee” while waving you hands frantically on either side of your face, Broadway-style. There, you’ve just had aContinue reading “Why can’t the BBC grow up about fantasy?”
Damien Walter 