Tag Archives: Fantasy

The Keeper’s Six – Kate Elliott

Coming in January 2023 from Tordotcom Publishing, Kate Elliott’s portal fantasy novella The Keeper’s Six explores a fascinating world of secretive dragons and realm-travelling magic through the eyes of a weary but ruthlessly determined mother. Esther is one sixth of a Hex, a magically-empowered group of disparate characters whose talents allow them to cross the Beyond and move between worlds, although not without risk. When her son Daniel is kidnapped – apparently by a dragon – Esther calls on the other members of her Hex to help her find the culprit and retrieve her son, despite the fact that their licence has been suspended by the Concilium – a sort of inter-realm bureaucracy. As they brave the dangers of the Beyond, their mission delves into Esther’s work and family history, and the strange politics and power plays of dragons, the Concilium, and a world of many realms spanning infinite possibilities.

Continue reading →

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Mike Shackle Talks The Last War

Hello and welcome to this Author Interview here on Track of Words, where today I’m welcoming the brilliant Mike Shackle back to the site to talk about his epic, dark fantasy trilogy The Last War. With the third volume – Until the Last – having been released in 2022 the trilogy is now complete, so it seems like a good opportunity to chat to Mike and look back at the whole thing now that it’s done and dusted. If you haven’t started this great trilogy then this is the perfect introduction as Mike starts off by giving an overview of what to expect, before talking about his experience of writing and publishing these books over the last few crazy years.

Continue reading →

The First King of All the Earth – Original Fiction by Edoardo Albert

Hello and welcome to this exclusive piece of original fiction here on Track of Words – The First King of All the Earth, very kindly provided by the wonderful Edoardo Albert. Author of the historical fiction trilogy The Northumbrian Thrones, Black Library novels Silent Hunters and Kasrkin, and non-fiction titles Warrior: A Life of War in Anglo-Saxon Britain and The Perfect Sword: Forging the Dark Ages (with Paul Gething), Edoardo is a fantastic writer, and I’m a big fan, so it’s a real delight to be able to publish an original story of his. The First King of All the Earth leans a little more into the historical side of things than straight SFF, but I can definitely see a little fantasy in there too, and I really loved reading it. I hope you will do too!

Continue reading →

John French – New Stories, Old Truths

Hello and welcome to New Stories, Old Truths on Track of Words, where I’m handing the reins over to author John French to tell us a bit about some of the ways he’s using his website to build a new fictional world, and give readers something a little different to look forward to. I’m a huge fan of John’s Black Library fiction, with his Ahriman series being a particular favourite, so when I spotted some new original fiction showing up on John’s website, along with some really insightful articles, I had to find out what was happening! Whether you’re a Black Library fan or just interested in SFF and the craft of writing, I really recommend you check out John’s website to see what he’s up to.

Continue reading →

QUICK REVIEW: Snow White, Green Mantle – Jude Reid

Available in issue 32 of Grimdark Magazine, Jude Reid’s short story Snow White, Green Mantle is a sharp, bloody tale of desperation and survival in a world turned upside down. In a gloomy, run-down village on the edge of the woods, hunter Fionn is hired to do what the headman can’t, to take his daughter into the forest and slit her throat. She doesn’t relish the job but in a life always lived on the move, the prospect of earning a warm bed for the night is enough to get her to agree to it. Once in the woods, however, she soon learns that there’s more to the headman’s daughter than she realised, and the creatures who live away from the feeble light of humanity – the Othermen, who have reclaimed the world for themselves – want the girl for their own reasons.

Continue reading →

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Mike Brooks Talks The God-King Chronicles (and a Busy 2022)

Hello and welcome to this Track of Words Author Interview, where today I’m welcoming Mike Brooks back to the site to chat about his epic fantasy trilogy The God-King Chronicles, which is now complete with the recent release of book three, The Godbreaker. It seemed like the perfect time to look back on the trilogy as a whole, what readers can get out of it, what inspired these stories and the world in which they’re set, and how Mike feels now that it’s all done. But that’s not all! It’s been a busy year for Mike in terms of book releases, so once we finished chatting about The God-King Chronicles we moved onto discussing several of Mike’s Black Library novels that have been published this year, featuring Chaos Space Marines, Orks and…more Chaos Space Marines.

Continue reading →

Even Though I Knew the End – CL Polk

A standalone novella set in 1940s Chicago, CL Polk’s Even Though I Knew the End is a beautiful little story of magic, mystery, demons and angels, and the lengths someone will go for love – both familial and romantic. Kicked out of the Brotherhood of the Compass after selling her soul to the devil in order to save the life of her brother, Helen Brandt is now relegated to scraping a living as a magical private eye. When she takes a commission to photograph a particularly violent crime scene, Helen tells herself she won’t get involved beyond the initial job, but it’s not long before she’s on the trail of the horrifying White City Vampire. Her reward, should she complete her task, is to have her soul returned to her, allowing her the life with her girlfriend that she never thought she’d get. If she survives that long, of course.

Continue reading →

The Flower Path – Josh Reynolds

The third book in Josh Reynolds’ Daidoji Shin series of Legends of the Five Rings detective novels, The Flower Path sets its mystery within the walls of a theatre during the chaos of opening night. Coming worryingly close to a semblance of respectability, Daidoji Shin is now the proud owner of the refurbished Foxfire Theatre, and has high hopes for the first production and its new, somewhat high maintenance lead actress Noma Etsuko. A lot is resting on this opening performance for both Shin and the theatre company, but when Etsuko collapses on stage during the first act, Shin has to put his investigative skills to good use and find out who poisoned the little-liked diva, and why. Tensions among the cast, crew and even the high-ranking representatives of many of the great clans in the audience, however, don’t make his investigation any easier.

Continue reading →

Queen of Eventide – Matthew Ward

First released in 2015 but with a nice new cover and an audiobook edition published in 2022, Matthew Ward’s Queen of Eventide explores the history, folklore and mythology of Nottingham in a bleak and mist-shrouded tale of the fantastical bleeding over into the real world. Returning to Nottingham in search of a fresh start, Maddie Lincoln finds only painful memories and unsettling dreams. Those dreams come to terrifying life when she finds herself drawn into a strange world of fearsome hunters and mythical figures, as the hidden realm of Eventide begins to overlap with her own comfortable reality. Nothing has prepared Maddie for being caught up in a magical conflict spanning centuries, but the strange laws and terrible truths of Eventide reveal in her a strength she didn’t realise she possessed.

Continue reading →

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Peter McLean Talks War for the Rose Throne

Hello and welcome to this Track of Words author interview, where today I’m thrilled to welcome Peter McLean back to the site to talk about his brilliant fantasy series The War for the Rose Throne. The fourth and final book in the series – Priest of Crowns – is now out, and it brings the series to a brilliant conclusion, so I thought it was a good moment to chat to Peter and look back at the series now that it’s finished. We talked a little bit about what readers can expect from this final book, but the main focus of the interview is on the series as a whole, from planning and writing to characters and themes. There’s nothing particularly spoilery here, so whether you’ve been following the War for the Rose Throne from the beginning or you’re just about to take the plunge, check this out for a fascinating insight into one of the absolute best fantasy series of recent times!

Continue reading →