The Book Plank

Best Epic Fantasy of 2015 Epic Fantasy. Swords or magic? Anything is possible. There are lots of variations on this theme. It's no longer a knight on a quest for a golden chalice. The stories have gotten a lot in terms of complexity and character development. Below are my favorite Epic Fantasy book of 2015. Brain Staveley's debut, The Emperor's Blades,   featured last year also on the Best Epic Fantasy list. This was precisely one of those book that had everything that I mentioned above. It laid a solid foundation for the series, but this is just a start and no guarantee for a good series. With the sequel, Providence of Fire, did proof that Brian Staveley is a terrific author he used the foundation flawlessly in his sequel. There are some definite bold moves in the ending of the book that will pay on the third book.  A Darker Shade of Magic was one of my most anticipated book of 2015. When I read V.E. Schwab's Viscous I knew she was destined to do great things and thi...

Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues by J.M. Martin (ed) ROGUES. ASSASSINS. MERCENARIES. Coin is their master, and their trade, more often than not, is blood. These are  BLACKGUARDS . Whether by coin or by blood...YOU WILL PAY. Swift from the shadows, comes an 'edgy' anthology, edited by J.M. MARTIN, featuring sundry tales of roguish types—assassins, mercenaries, thieves—many of whom are already established in well-known fantasy series.  Fantasy is a very broad genre and when I truly think about it, my heart has always had that special place reserved for those EPic Fantasy stories featuring well rogues, assassins and the like. It's with these characatures or elements whatever you want to call them that you can write such a good story. They feature well in funny, humorous stories as well as those that have a much darker and grimmer undertone, or what is often seen is the combination of both. I am of the opinion that this latter option is the best path...

 Media Alert: Blackguards the anthology I recently developed quite the taste for anthologies, I read a few great ones and while I was just browsing for new ones I came across Blackguards , and just the names alone that feature in this book are quite something. Some of the very best fantasy writers have donated their stories. The expected publication date is around the 15th of December. I definitely know what I will be asking from Santa!  So which stories will feature in the anthology? Here is the list: CAROL BERG , " Seeds "   RICHARD LEE BYERS , " Troll Trouble "  DAVID DALGLISH , " Take You Home "  JAMES ENGE , " Thieves at the Gate "  JOHN GWYNNE , " Better to Live than to Die "  LIAN HEARN , " His Kikuta Hands "  S NORRI KRISTJANSSON , " A Kingdom and a Horse "  JOSEPH LALLO , " Seeking the Shadow "  MARK LAWRENCE , " The Secret "  TIM MARQUITZ , " A T...