Josie Jaffrey’s The Wolf and The Water (Silver Sun Books, 2020) is an eye-opening, addictive fantasy filled with ideas of hope, true friendship and the possibility for a better future. The main character, Kala, represents people living with a disability, but this never holds her back. I connected with her from the first page, and […]
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This year has been particularly prolific in terms of publishing new, exciting black fantasy. The Gilded Ones of course made headlines upon its sensational debut in February, so our writers thought we should highlight our favourite fantasy by black authors from recent years. Title summaries and copy taken from/provided by the publisher. Upcoming release dates […]
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What inspired your debut novel, Cloaked Shadows? It was in March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic kicked the world into a storm, that I suffered one of the most traumatic experiences of my life. I had grown up in the foster care system from the age of eight and when the virus struck, the system […]
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Ewan Morrison’s newest novel writes the COVID-19 pandemic as a moment in history, and a precursor to something much bigger and much worse. At least, that’s what Haley’s Dad believes. This time – he predicts – after the trauma of the 2020 pandemic, relentless testing of possible future viruses means that the next one comes […]
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In fantasy writing, there are two types of magic systems: soft and hard. At their basic levels, a soft magic system is vague, undefined and intentionally mysterious in order to create a sense of wonder and unpredictability. Hard magic systems have clearly-defined rules and limitations but allow the audience to connect easily with the characters […]
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Piranesi (Bloomsbury) is a mind-bending, absorbing book, more slender than Susanna Clarke’s previous work of fantasy, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, but equally dazzling. Clarke’s narrative choices and the classical flavours in Piranesi leave it feeling somehow entrenched in reality despite its magic. The protagonist, Piranesi, narrates the story through his meticulous journal entries. He […]
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Lucy Lillystone looks at the popularity of Dystopian novel adaptations to Film and TV and how easy it is to get wrong…
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Christina Dalcher is making a name for herself as a formidable dystopian writer.
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We chatted to Hannah Westland about publishing a pandemic novel in the midst of a pandemic and other projects at Serpent’s Tail…
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Aristide observes every element of Under the Blue (2021) with intelligence, care and beauty.
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