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The Samyuzot
Short Stories
History & Fantasy
On Fantasy Narrative
Commentaries
On Writing
Table of Contents
About
✹ Start Here ✹
A Tour around the Forge
Aug 24, 2024
•
Eric Falden
19
2026 Is For Stories
On Focus, Fiction, and What’s Changing
Jan 7
•
Eric Falden
37
8
6
Best of the Forge 2025
My most popular, most fun, and most important pieces from this year
Dec 16, 2025
•
Eric Falden
24
2
Most Popular
View all
The Failure of Frodo Baggins
Mar 25, 2025
•
Eric Falden
487
80
115
The Most Important Narrative Tool No One Told You About
Mar 6, 2024
•
Eric Falden
345
77
73
What Were Castles Actually For?
Jul 29, 2025
•
Eric Falden
181
47
32
What Did Kings Actually Do All Day?
Jun 17, 2025
•
Eric Falden
182
40
41
The Heart of Fantasy According to Tolkien
Oct 1, 2024
•
Eric Falden
153
27
48
Why Hard & Soft Magic Systems Matter
Jul 23, 2024
•
Eric Falden
142
37
40
Short Stories
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The Codex of Duncleary
A guard tries to do his duty.
Oct 28, 2025
•
Eric Falden
6
2
3
Stoneheart
Two riders meet at a border stone to settle a forgotten oath.
Aug 19, 2025
•
Eric Falden
12
5
5
The River Bears Gold
A boat drifts downriver with two passengers and one oar
Jul 22, 2025
•
Eric Falden
5
2
3
Lessons From His Father
A short story of a poacher, his quarry, and words from his boyhood.
Jul 15, 2025
•
Eric Falden
47
17
16
The Second Death of the Samyuzot (Part II)
The Final Anecdote of The Samyuzot (Part Two of Two)
May 27, 2025
•
Eric Falden
33
22
10
History & Fantasy
View all
How to Break a Castle
Castles and Fantasy Part 2: Sieges
Aug 12, 2025
•
Eric Falden
81
23
13
What Were Castles Actually For?
Castles and Fantasy, Part 1: Purpose
Jul 29, 2025
•
Eric Falden
181
47
32
What Did Kings Actually Do All Day?
It's not politics. It's personal.
Jun 17, 2025
•
Eric Falden
182
40
41
Recommendations
Dunmore Dispatch
Ian Dunmore
Clarke's Corner
B. A. Clarke
Falden's Forge
Where I hammer out my stories. Join this ragtag fellowship to explore the intersection of history, narrative, and the fantasy genre. Adventure awaits.
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Commentary
View all
Tolkien's "Errors" and Their Lessons
What The Hobbit teaches us about worldbuilding, setting, and fantasy.
Oct 14, 2025
•
Eric Falden
127
33
29
A Conversation with Hilary Layne
The mind behind The Second Story and 'The Blue Prince'
Sep 23, 2025
•
Eric Falden
and
Hilary Layne
66
18
16
Does Eye of the World Hold Up?
The worst book I ever loved
Aug 26, 2025
•
Eric Falden
78
40
10
Sailing on Shadow and Soul
A Review & Reflection on Le Guin’s “A Wizard of Earthsea”
Jun 24, 2025
•
Eric Falden
40
20
14
On Fantasy
View all
Tolkien's "Errors" and Their Lessons
What The Hobbit teaches us about worldbuilding, setting, and fantasy.
Oct 14, 2025
•
Eric Falden
127
33
29
A Conversation with Hilary Layne
The mind behind The Second Story and 'The Blue Prince'
Sep 23, 2025
•
Eric Falden
and
Hilary Layne
66
18
16
Magic Says More Than You Think
Why magic should explain stories. [Magic Systems, Part 3 of 3]
Apr 22, 2025
•
Eric Falden
and
Ian Dunmore
61
27
21
In Defense of Soft Magic Systems
Why stories should not explain magic. [Magic Systems, Part 2 of 3]
Apr 15, 2025
•
Eric Falden
and
Ian Dunmore
97
31
25
In Defense of Hard Magic Systems
Why stories should explain magic. [Magic Systems, Part 1 of 3]
Apr 8, 2025
•
Eric Falden
and
Ian Dunmore
90
41
24
Is Tolkien Old-Fashioned? What Happens when Substackers Dissect “On Fairy-Stories.”
Pt. 5: Highlights from the Community
Oct 30, 2024
•
Eric Falden
and
Clifford Stumme
35
6
9
Embracing Reality by Escaping to Faërie
Pt. 3 on Tolkien's "On Fairy-Stories," with Clifford Stumme: Escapism, Technology, and Endorsing Reality
Oct 15, 2024
•
Eric Falden
50
20
24
The Heart of Fantasy According to Tolkien
Pt. 1 on Tolkien's "On Fairy-Stories," with Clifford Stumme: Exploring Faërie, Fantasy, and Myth.
Oct 1, 2024
•
Eric Falden
153
27
48
Why Hard & Soft Magic Systems Matter
It’s not about worldbuilding. It’s about narrative.
Jul 23, 2024
•
Eric Falden
142
37
40
How To Classify Fantasy Subgenres
And why its important to get it right.
Jul 12, 2024
•
Eric Falden
67
41
22
How “Real” Should Fantasy Be?
Using history to build realistically unreal worlds.
May 31, 2024
•
Eric Falden
93
19
32
The Moment I Learned To Love Fantasy
... and love myself a little bit too.
May 17, 2024
•
Eric Falden
57
48
16
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