Let’s talk about spells. One of the things I loved about Jack Vance’s Dying Earth series, and some of his other works, was the naming of his spells, magical items, and magic practioners. Iucounu the Laughing Magician; that has a certain ring, doesn’t it? Or the Walking Boat, which has legs, and, naturally, clambers over …
Starting a new series on this site, Worldbuilding Wednesday, a selection of randomly generated people, places, things, and concepts suitable for incorporating into fantasy — or any speculative — fiction, courtesy of my continued experimentation with Gammadyne’s excellent Random Word Generator. All are free for any writer to use; I have no claim on them. …
The Cecaelia is an octopoid mermaid who, instead of having a fish’s tail, has the arms of an octopus. The villain of Disney’s The Little Mermaid was one. (X-Ray Art by Benedetta Bonichi)
Gilgamesh Adapted by Stephen Mitchell Freepress, 2004 [Challenge # 11: A book written before 1700] Gilgamesh is one of the oldest pieces of fiction in human history. I chose it to read for the “Ye Olde Book Shoppe” — a book written before 1700, which Gilgamesh certainly qualifies for — segment of my reading challenge. …
Faeries of Dreamdark: Blackbringer by Laini Taylor G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2007 [Challenge # 6: Out of the Park at First Bat] (Note: I am reading and blogging these Challenge books out of order) I’ve gotta say I have a lot of problems with post-Harry Potter YA books — the ones published after that first …
Stardust by Neil Gaiman HarperCollins; Reprint edition [Challenge # 1: Coming to theater near you] I had never read Neil Gaiman before, so I was pleasantly surprised by his “Fairy tale for Grown-ups” Stardust. (A movie was made of it in 2007 starring Clare Danes and Charlie Cox, but I haven’t seen it, so can’t …