Archive for the 'Fiction' Category

Games Workshop Defends Questionable Trademark, Incites Internet Holy War

February 8th, 2013 by Ed Grabianowski

Games Workshop, makers of various 40K miniature and RPG games, has been defending their trademark on the term “space marine,” forcing Amazon to remove an indie author’s book because it had the phrase in the title. The always quick-to-anger Internet people were inflamed. Is GW in the right, or does the mob have a valid [...]

Blood of the City, a Sword & Sorcery Novel about Growing Up, and Vengeance

February 5th, 2013 by Ed Grabianowski

Robin D. Laws’ Blood of the City is a brutal vengeance story, a fantasy novel that’s more Tarantino than Tolkien.

R.A. Salvatore on Charon’s Claw, the Future of the Realms, and Letting Someone Else Write Drizzt (“No Way”)

July 31st, 2012 by Ed Grabianowski

With the future of the Forgotten Realms up in the air and the conclusion to his Neverwinter trilogy imminent, I had a lot of weighty questions for author R.A. Salvatore. He was kind enough to answer them all candidly — I think you’ll find this a very interesting interview, as he discusses his new novel, [...]

In Song of the Serpent, a Thief’s Bizarre Adventures Fail to Enlighten

June 19th, 2012 by Ed Grabianowski

In this Pathfinder Tales novel, a self-centered, money-driven thief is sent on a wild, weird adventure, meets some new friends (including an exceptional troll), hints at some greater destiny, then ends up still self-centered and money-driven. Luckily, there’s a roller coaster ride of a plot in between.

IDW’s Forgotten Realms Comic is Not All That Good, Even with Greenwood

June 13th, 2012 by Ed Grabianowski

Fans of the Forgotten Realms and comic books may have been thrilled to see Realms creator Ed Greenwood’s name as the author of IDW’s new ongoing series. Sadly, the first issue is a muddled disappointment, though it has some bright spots that show the series could improve.

It’s Mortal Kombat in Master of Devils

June 12th, 2012 by Joe Grabianowski

David Gross’s tale of a wizard past his prime and a prickly half-devil takes the reader to Tian Xia, an empire far from the center of Golarion. Drawing on Japanese mythology, classic samurai films, and Mortal Kombat style fighting tournaments, Master of Devils is a twisting adventure told partially from the point of view of [...]

J.L. Bourne’s Day By Day Armageddon Series: the Worst Books I’ve Ever Loved

May 18th, 2012 by Ed Grabianowski

J.L. Bourne’s cycle of zombie apocalypse novels feature a stilted, blunt writing style, virtually no dialog, and an awkward “journal entries” narrative gimmick. Yet, inexplicably, I can’t get enough of them.

Were You Looking for a Pair of Massive Omnibus Editions of War of the Spider Queen?

May 15th, 2012 by Ed Grabianowski

Take six epic fantasy novels, crush them together under immense pressure and uncountable eons (or ten years, whichever comes first), and the result is…a pair of massive tomes containing all the Drow scheming and stabbing you could ever hope to read about, all with R.A. Salvatore’s name on the front.

A Gruesome Mystery Haunts the Dwarves of Eberron in The Shard Axe

April 13th, 2012 by Ed Grabianowski

Sabira d’Deneith is a Sentinal Marshal in the city of Stormreach, spending her days dragging criminals in to face justice and drowning her sorrows at the local tavern. A series of horrific serial killings sends her back to the dwarven holds to catch the killer, and she thinks she knows who’s responsible – the same [...]

Rise of the Underdark Set to Infest All of D&D in 2012

April 9th, 2012 by Ed Grabianowski

A massive new storyline will creepy-crawl across every aspect of the D&D landscape this year, as the Demon Queen of Spiders and her drow minions rise from their underground domains to take on the surface world. Rise of the Underdark will impact D&D RPG books, organized play, novels, a new miniatures game and even D&D [...]

10 Amazing Real-World Locations for Fantasy Worldbuilding

March 5th, 2012 by Ed Grabianowski

When you’re crafting the setting of your fantasy opus, it’s tempting to layer on impossibilities like islands floating in the sky and huge arboreal elf cities. It turns out the world we live in is full of fantastical settings and bizarre natural formations aplenty. Want to ground your fantasy world in reality? Check out these [...]

As the World Burns

February 16th, 2012 by Ryk Perry

It’s the long-awaited return of the Robot Viking webcomic!

Erin M. Evans’ Brimstone Angels: Tieflings, Turmoil and Turpitude

February 8th, 2012 by Ed Grabianowski

In Brimstone Angels, a pair of tiefling twins and their dragonborn foster father stumble into a devilish plot in Neverwinter, a city still reeling in the aftermath of major cataclysm. There’s jealousy, unbidden powers, forbidden lust, and not a magic Macguffin in sight. This isn’t your typical fantasy novel.

Dan Henk Unveils First Novel, Black Seas of Infinity

January 3rd, 2012 by Ed Grabianowski

Dan Henk is an illustrator, painter and renowned tattoo artist. He recently unleashed upon the world his first novel, Black Seas of Infinity, a pulp adventure of conspiracy theories and horrific entities from beyond.