I have a confession. This is my first ever Cassandra Clare book, despite being the perfect age when The Mortal Instruments came out they somehow never made it onto my radar. So this is a review from someone who is brand new to Cassandra Clare’s writing.
Tor Books
SFF Addicts Ep. 146: Bringing the Funny to Sci-Fi with John Scalzi (Writing Masterclass)
Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson and Greta Kelly as they delve into a writing masterclass on Bringing the Funny to Sci-Fi with bestselling, award-winning author John Scalzi. During the episode, John sets up the punchline for sci-fi comedy, including what humor means to us, humor as a skill that you develop, Douglas Adams and the progression of humor in sci-fi, the marketability of humorous sci-fi, why sci-fi and comedy combine so well, deciding how to infuse humor into a story, balancing humor with drama, action, etc., character voice and comedic delivery, worldbuilding with humor in mind, the subjectivity of humor and more.
SFF Addicts Ep. 145: John Scalzi talks When the Moon Hits Your Eye, Publishing, Luck & More
Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson and Greta Kelly as they chat with bestselling, award-winning author John Scalzi about his new novel When the Moon Hits Your Eye, luck and career longevity, major changes in the publishing landscape, Old Man’s War book 7 and writing without pressure, fandom and avoiding burnout, turning the moon into cheese, using the lunar cycle as a story structure, writing dozens of POV characters, cheese science, research, touring and much more.
Review: Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky
This is Adrian T doing what Adrian T does best. Writing stories that’ll make you sympathise with the aliens.
When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi
Synopsis From the New York Times bestselling author of Starter Villain comes an entirely serious take on a distinctly unserious subject: what would really happen if suddenly the moon were replaced by a giant wheel of cheese. It’s a whole new moooooon. One day soon, suddenly and without explanation, the moon as we know it […]
REVIEW: The Devils by Joe Abercrombie
SYNOPSIS A brand-new epic fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Joe Abercrombie, featuring a notorious band of anti-heroes on a delightfully bloody and raucous journey Holy work sometimes requires unholy deeds. Brother Diaz has been summoned to the Sacred City, where he is certain a commendation and grand holy assignment awaits him. But his new flock […]
SFF Addicts Ep. 134: Consequences in World Creation with Adrian Tchaikovsky (Mini-Masterclass)
Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson and M.J. Kuhn as they delve into a mini-masterclass on Consequences in World Creation with award-winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky. During the episode, Adrian confronts the many consequences of worldbuilding, including establishing a logical fictional “reality”, the depths and possibilities of world creation, being flexible with your world and its consequences, immersion and logical inconsistencies, mapping out consequences and knock-on effects, organizing story/world information, how characters test the limits of your world, fixing bad worldbuilding choices and more.
SFF Addicts Ep. 133: Adrian Tchaikovsky talks Alien Clay, Days of Shattered Faith, TTRPGs & More
Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson and M.J. Kuhn as they chat with award-winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky about his new novels Days of Shattered Faith and Alien Clay, growing up on Doctor Who, how TTRPGs inspire him, ideation and the strangeness of nature, empathizing with aliens and non-human characters, creativity and limitations, authoritarianism and bureaucracy in The Tyrant Philosophers series, experimenting with multiple POVs and vignettes, colonialism, symbiosis and much more.
SFF Addicts Ep. 127: Convincing Details & Descriptions with Nghi Vo (Mini-Masterclass)
Join Adrian M. Gibson and guest co-host Greta Kelly as they delve into a mini-masterclass on Convincing Details & Descriptions with award-winning author Nghi Vo. During the episode, Nghi gets into the nitty gritty of details, exploring what details/descriptions can do for readers, how to approach details in your writing, delivering effective details, setting expectations for your descriptive style, description in short vs. long form fiction, surface detail vs. hyper detail, describing characters, character actions, world details, plausibility and more.
SFF Addicts Ep. 126: Nghi Vo talks The City in Glass, Love, The Great Gatsby & More
Join Adrian M. Gibson and guest co-host Greta Kelly as they chat with award-winning author Nghi Vo about her new novel The City in Glass, The Singing Hills Cycle (The Empress of Salt and Fortune and its sequels), Siren Queen and Hollywood history, The Chosen and the Beautiful and reimagining The Great Gatsby, cities and evocative settings, vibes vs. plot, angels, demons and love, change, character growth and much more.
SFF Addicts Ep. 125: Omniscient Narration & POV with Cat Rambo (Mini-Masterclass)
Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson and M.J. Kuhn as they delve into a mini-masterclass on Omniscient Narration & POV with award-winning author Cat Rambo. During the episode, Cat lays out all there is to know about omniscient narration, exploring what it is and when to use it, the benefits and challenges of an omniscient POV, finding a narrative voice, how to transition between characters, internal vs. external characterization, experimenting with POV styles, the viability of omniscient stories with agents/editors and more.
Book Review: Blood of the Old Kings by Sung-Il Kim
TL;DR Review: Compelling, colorful, and complex. Epic storytelling that sinks into your bones and keeps you turning pages. Synopsis: Powered by the corpses of sorcerers, the Empire has conquered the world. It claims to have brought peace and stability to its conquered lands, but some see that peace for what it is—a lie—and will give […]