I haven't come up with many 'I' words to do with fantasy, but IMAGINATION must be one of the big ones. Imagination -- the faculty or action of forming new ideas, or images or concepts of external objects not present to the senses. Fantasy comes in many guises -- but no matter whether you're talking … Continue reading A-Z of fantasy: I is for Imagination
I've finished reading three fantasy novels this month -- that's much more like it! The slight drawback to this has been the wrecking of my sleep patterns. In my determination to find books to immerse myself in, I forgot the part where this means I keep reading to 3 or 4 or 5am... which in … Continue reading Three fantasy books by Aussie women for January
ASH My eyes feel as though they are clamped shut, but I force them open. At first the light is dazzling, but gradually the puckered faces of my companions resolve themselves. They are leaning over me, all four of them. Above is a dappled canopy of trees. The forest. Yes. I remember. The pressure in … Continue reading D&D Chronicles: In which Ash loses part of her soul and gains a wolf
It’s been good to finally get my teeth into some contemporary epic fantasy in the form of Australian author Jo Spurrier's Winter be my shield (Children of the Black Sun - Book 1). From the very start this novel gripped me in its icy vices and – even if perhaps it faded a little in the … Continue reading Book Review: Winter be my shield
Here's a quick tip for reading big fat fantasy novels on e-readers. Particularly fantasy books with a MAP (or maps) at the front. Take a digital photo of the map with your phone. This makes it so much easier to refer to the map while you're reading the novel. The lack of navigability of e-readers is their biggest … Continue reading Quick tip for reading fantasy on e-readers
ASH Day 1 After we reluctantly agree to play guard duty for our latest ally, the dodgy necromancer Dulgahar, he goes down to his mysterious underground lair and we explore this strange dilapidated building. What can it be about this place that attracts so much interest? The rooms are dusty and empty -- and then … Continue reading D&D Chronicles: Fast talking and fast walking
The top ranking posts on this blog for 2013 make interesting reading, I think. 1. But what if Hogwarts really does exist? (February 2013) The number of people who regularly find me using search terms like 'does hogwarts really exist' and 'does hogwarts exist' is amazing. Do you suppose they are all kids reading the … Continue reading Blog highlights from 2013
It's becoming a habit of mine at the end of each year to reflect back on the books I've read in the past 12 months -- and invariably I decide the list is not long enough, or diverse enough, or recent enough and I resolve to do better. (Here's what I read in 2012.) This … Continue reading What I read in 2013
As a huge fan of the Peter Jackson et al movies set in Middle Earth, I once again rocked up to the latest installment of The Hobbit hoping it would be wonderful. Once again I enjoyed the movie -- the lavish and dedicated depiction of Tolkien's fantastical world, the rousing adventure, the eye candy in … Continue reading Thoughts on The Hobbit – The Desolation of Smaug
ASH Oh, the past few days have been glorious! Our swords drip with blood, a trail of corpses in our wake. Turns out the monastery was teeming with undead -- skeletons, zombies, ghouls. We defeated them all in two stupendous battles. And then a wraith attacked us and somehow we defeated that too. There is … Continue reading D&D chronicles: A trail of corpses
Ellen Gregory 