An Exercise in Futility: How Do You Define Fantasy? (A Fantasy With Friends Post)
I dithered for a bit looking for a more colourful expression. Something like pounding sand down a rathole. But, hey, I’m already starting this post late as Pages Unbound’s Fantasy With Friends is meant to go out on a Monday and it’s 1am Tuesday, so lets stick with the obvious. The obvious here being that…
Portrayals of Religion in Fantasy (Fantasy with Friends)
Hello all! I’ve been absent for a while but I’m back now for this Fantasy with Friends topic, which promises to be fascinating. I’m going to go read the post at Pages Unbound while my thoughts marinade, although given recent discussions on SFFChronicles, this topic has been in my mind for a while. You see,…
What Do You Think Of Cosy Fantasy: A Fantasy With Friends Discussion
Hello, and welcome to another Fantasy With Friends post based on the prompts from Pages Unbound. The exact prompt goes as follows: “What do you think of the current trend for cozy fantasy? Why do you think it is currently so popular? What makes a good cozy fantasy?” I missed the last one as I…
Witch World by Andre Norton
Back in 1963, there wasn’t much fantasy. The Sword & Sorcery revival was picking up some speed, there were various riffs of myth and fairly tales, but nothing like the plurality we know today. There was also Witch World, the sorta planetary romance sorta sword & sorcery from Andre Norton that turned an accomplished pro…
The Eternal Moment by E.M. Forster
I decided to go with this short story collection from EM Forster for the best of reasons, that being black metal band Lychgate basing a lot of their recent album Precipice off of one of the stories here, “The Machine Stops”. It’s the sort of album that makes you want to dig deep. Hell, you…
Lies, Damn Lies, and Reading Goals – Peat’s Plans for 2026
Normally, I do lists of 11 types of authors to read in the coming year. But I was reading Zezee’s accounting of her reading goals for last year and thinking they look cool. And I’d been struggling to get my lists down to 11, and I’m reading someone’s project to read the Ballantine Adult Fantasy…
So What’s The Deal With Romantasy? A Fantasy With Friends Discussion
Ever since I first saw the Fantasy With Friends schedule over at Pages Unbound, I had this one earmarked as one I was excited to see. You see, to nobody’s shock, as a mumblemumble year old dude who spend most of his time backlist diving, I don’t really talk to a lot of people about…
Summer Knight by Jim Butcher
When I reviewed Grave Peril a while back, I found myself unsatisfied with Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files. It’s a series I’ve enjoyed a lot but there and then, I didn’t. But back in December, struggling with edits and the world and everything, I dipped back in with Summer Knight. And a fine time was had…
Idle Thoughts on Fantasy Archetypes: The Knight
It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these but since I’m editing a book about a knight right now, it’s been on my mind. Funnily enough, one of the ways it’s been on my mind is that it’s borderline not a fantasy archetype at all. I can see the raised eyebrows now. We…
#musicmonday – Dust to Dust by Contemplation
Hello all, it’s Music Monday time. To start doing this for the year, in the hope I remember to do it, here’s my song of the year for last year. Why was it my song of the year? Because it’s doom/death metal that makes me feel like I’m dying. I imagine less people are reading…
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