The Best Fantasy Series You've Never Read....

...and probably never heard of.

Recently I've been trying to become more socially active, to try and push back against the blockades that my poor mental health has put in place over the years and left me as near a hermit for practically half a decade. This means over the last two months I've been attending weekly D&D sessions organised by a local 'Guild' and a monthly creative writing group.

Both of these have motivated me in reading various articles, blog posts and other such media from various fantasy authors on the subjects of writing, worldbuilding and other internalised finesses (for example I recently looked in-depth into Sanderson's Laws of Magic on his own blog). A lot of these authors refer back to their own work and the works of other authors (often these overlap a lot when you read the different articles and blog posts back-to-back) when giving instances and examples that fit the points they're trying to make.

However, across all the articles, blog posts and even recommendation lists of fantasy series, one name has never come up, which I think is a shame: Cecilia Dart-Thornton. I discovered her first series of books (The Bitterbynde Trilogy) in 2004 in a case of sad serendipity. I was looking for a new series of books to read and found this trilogy going really cheap in a chain bookstore. The blurb on the back described a world and style of writing so different to anything I'd read before and I knew there and then that I had to, figuratively, devour this trilogy. Yet this isn't the series I want to focus on in this post.

Before moving onto her second (and so far, final) series of books, I'll describe a little more about the author herself. Australia born, she seems to have slipped under the radar when it comes to being a public figure despite her books receiving great reviews and making it onto a few bestseller lists, and after her second series of books were published, she all but disappeared; falling silent for nigh on a decade aside from a few short stories and articles published in magazines. Nevertheless, she is a consummate student of British folklore and that reflects deeply in the worlds she built in her novels, so if we are left with only these two series to her name, then they are, by sheer weight of grandeur, her magnum opus.

That would have been an excellent line to end on, however, I've yet to get to her second series of books. These hold a special significance to me as I again discovered them quite by accident. I had been made street-homeless for the second time and my access to new literature was restricted to what I could borrow from the city library. Again, I was looking for something new to escape into and there, settled betwixt other volumes was the first book of the Crowthisle Chronicles; The Iron Tree. Despite my bleak situation, I was overjoyed by this thin, angel-fingered ray of light and in between dragging myself out of the pit I had foolishly found myself in (it was a hard road, but I did get there in the end) I quickly devoured it, followed by The Well of Tears, Weatherwitch and Fallowblade. Much like her previous series, the Crowthistle Chronicles had threads of folklore expertly woven into the tapestry of her world, from mythical creatures to the use of ancient Brythonic languages. Dart-Thornton had taken what she had learned from writing the Bitterbynde trilogy and refined it tenfold.

The Crowthistle Chronicles stands as one of the best fantasy series I've ever read, so much so that it made me cry frequently, more so than any other novel or collection thereof I've read since. Its breathtaking scope is worthy of the title 'epic fantasy' and its ending left me with that hollow ache of a much-enjoyed series finishing but leaving behind a craving for more. I urge everyone who reads this to please consider my words and give the Crowthistle Chronicles a chance, you won't be disappointed.

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The Iron Sleet Invitational - Take Two

Well, I managed to get four of my squaddies ready for the Iron Sleet Invitational, but I was delayed with the officer for lack of a torso. Anyway, I was kindly given a week to finish him and retake the photos for the Sleeters big reveal. Despite a couple of modelling dead-ends and a minor design shuffle, I got him finished in record time (well, a personal best anyway).

I decided that a mounted officer was the way to go, so I packed his horse with the same distribution of equipment seen on the cavalrymen in WW1. The steed is also wearing a style of gasmask seen in the latter months of the war (which covered the muzzle, but didn't include glass lenses for the eyes). I've already talked about the differences in swords between officers and NCOs, so whilst my sergeant has one forged in their thousands on an assembly line, my lieutenant one bespoke, crafted by artificers (although it is his father's sword - my lieutenant is young, given his commission by virtue of his family's social standing; the Thorn Moons is his first field of battle).  

I remounted my boys on a 1912 copy of the Kings Regulations that I found in the depths of my library for added flavour.

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Efrafan Warrior

♫ A long long time ago, I can still remember, when Games Workshop only had five stores ♫

Actually I can't, because this harkens back to the misty age of 1983, some months before I was born when the Manchester store first opened it's doors and they give away this very cute little miniature to celebrate: a unique Broo variant for Runequest.

Photo courtesy of Solegends

Some six years later, being a very precocious child obsessed with mythology (mostly Greek at that point), I was given my first 'choose your own adventure' book entitled; Steeleye and the Lost Magic.

Now this gem of a book was filled with some rather macabre and dark illustrations that may well have sparked my first interest in the larger fantasy genre. However, despite the years that have passed, this particular illustration has stayed with me.

I don't know why this particular illustration stayed with me above all the others in the book, but it's one I have been meaning to emulate in miniature form for a while. After a few false starts a year ago, I put it on the back burner until the DAoS movement started recently and I was inspired to give it another go.

 

The Efrafan (a name appropriated from Watership Down by Richard Adams) are native to the Realm of Ghur and, as warriors of Order, they are currently embattled in the bitter and protracted Underwarren War against the Skaven.

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Citadel of Cthulhu - Chapter 2

Chapter 1 can be found here.

Chapter 2 - Sigil in the Undergrowth

If Kaliaera was ‘the city of sunshine’, the arboreal jungles that made up the remaining southlands were a balancing, verdant twilight. I was warned repeatedly that venturing beyond the city walls was an almost certain death sentence, but I would not be deterred: I was too close to securing another piece of the puzzle.

In recent years a hidden pattern had started to reveal itself in the worldwide media of Providence. Rags, tabloids and broadsheets had become unusually filled with the recent exploits of famed (and infamous) explorers and archaeologists as they proudly declaimed their latest, ancient discoveries. Indeed, it was one of my more learned associates, Professor Humbolt Copernicus, whom had proposed to me of a linked history between the archaic edifices of this world and enlisted my aid to uncover further proof to his hypothesis. That was three years ago and so far it was appearing that his assertions were become more and more conclusive with every site I searched.

Kaliaera though was proving a much more formidable region to traverse, and despite the fact I considered myself something of an inveterate traveller of exotic lands, the dank humidity of the jungle southlands was a seriously punishing endeavour. Even my canine companion, a snowy-haired hound called Sleet, who had been ever at my side as I traversed windy mountains and frigid steppes, was suffering; lying exhausted upon a nearby rock, panting and whimpering.

My guide, a haggard and unwashed rogue, from the city’s paramilitary (and the only individual lunatic enough to venture out this far, I am assuredly told) who answered to the name of ‘General’ Alcazar had, so far, dutifully escorted me to the location of the ruins in recompense for a reasonable sum of money. He was now stood nearby, rifle in arms and gazing intently at the thick canopy above. I was not certain, but I swear I could hear him muttering something about eyes on us in the trees as he ruminated upon the stub of a thick cigar, sat firm between his unshaven lips.

I wiped away another trickle of sweat with a damp cuff as it rolled down the black Bakelite skin of my cam-visor before returning to the arduous task of ripping away entrenched vines from the surface of large carved stone, embossed with unfathomable runes. I was looking for one character in particular, one with seemed to bridge the gulf of time and distance, one which had so far appeared at all the sites I had visited.

There! Almost disguised in the large body of indecipherable text was a sigil that blurred when you looked at it directly and caused a sharp migraine pain to erupt behind the eyes. Even as the flash-image of tentacles which spurred from my imagination faded, I was jubilant that I had found further evidence for the Professor.

“So, it is here too then,” affirmed a cultured voice from behind me and one that I instantly recognised. I drew the Lockyer .32 handgun that I had borrowed from the General from under the flap of my rucksack lying next to me and stood slowly, prepared to meet my nemesis….

So, my first character for the 40Kthulhu project is Remi Étain, writer and investigative journalist extraordinaire with his faithful hound Sleet. Naturally my inspiration for Remi is Hergé's internationally renown character Tintin, and the rest of my planned warband will include members inspired by the supporting cast. It was actually a single panel from the graphic novel 'Tintin in Tibet' that prompted this whole decision.

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RIP to the Watch Series

Today is a very sad day for me as I say goodbye to one of my most beloved literary series.

For our wedding anniversary, the Runtherd bought me Sergei Lukyanenko's latest Watch instalment on its day of release. I discovered the Watch series rather late on in their publication lines in 2006 and very swiftly chewed through the first three books (Night Watch, Day Watch and Twilight Watch) in a matter of days. Back then, they were still referred to as the Night Watch trilogy, so after I finished the third book (Twilight Watch), I put it down with a distinct feeling of glowing satisfaction, knowing absolutely that this had become one of my favourite literary trio.

When I found out that a fourth book (The Last Watch) had been released in 2008, I can say shamelessly that I practically wet myself with excitement. From that day on, I kept one eye on the horizon, so I knew that The New Watch and, subsequently, The Sixth Watch were being published well in advance.

I cannot express in words just how much this series has filled me with reading pleasure and the series remains close to my heart (being choc-full of Russian folklore, it's perhaps not that surprising). So when I closed The Sixth Watch, having read the epilogue with an aching sense of 'this cannot be the end', please imagine how cold my heart became when I later read (from none other than the man himself) that this was indeed Sergei Lukyanenko's final book in the Watch series, with no more to follow......ever.

So, RIP to one of my most favourite literary series, but that still won't stop me from flying your pennants and urging anyone who will listen to read you with a fiery enthusiasm.

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The Reliquary

The idea for the Reliquary came about as I was discussing the newly released version of Kill Team with a local hobbyist. I had recently finished reading the latest novel in the Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman (a little disjointed and sometimes frustratingly under-fleshed series, but well worth the read) and moving from discussing the typically gothic-industrial/underhive setting that would work really well for Kill Team (seeing as it is something of a simplified Necromunda) I proposed the idea of a continent-sized baroque library would be fun too. Indeed, I could easily imagine a protracted firefight between the likes of PDH's Ordo Scriptorum and the Reliquary archivist guards.

As for tangible imagery concerning the Reliquary, I immediately turned to graphic representations of Lord Sepulchrave's library in the Gormenghast series and Vincent Ward's concept art for the Monastery (to be used in the original Alien 3).

Almost every Shrine World has some kind of centralised reliquary, where the sacred artefacts of the subsector (and sometimes the entire sector) are housed, alongside varying copies and editions of religious texts (some rare, some not). The Reliquary on Glebe IV is the largest in the galactic cluster, easily spanning several million kilometres. It is a continent-sized edifice of crenelated spires, curved domes, gargantuan arches and intricate stained glass windows that stand miles tall.

They say that many pilgrims that enter its monolithic walls, can spend their entire lives looking for that one relic hidden amongst the twisting labyrinths of packed shelves. They say that some internecine skirmishes over the ownership of certain holy artefacts ground to a stalemate several centuries ago, with the newer generations born since unwilling to break the attrition.

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Media Break - Books (part 1)

It took me a while to decide upon which order I wanted to do the next Media Break in and eventually settled upon books. Now books are a tricky one for me really because I am a bit of a bibliophile so it is difficult to nail down on particular favourites without rattling off a list that would take me hours to type. So instead I will focus on my favourite genres and my personal recommendations within.

First off is a relatively unknown genre that is something of a newcomer with very old roots, and that is; urban fantasy. This particular genre is characterised by the idea of a fantastical (or terrible) demimonde hiding beneath the layers of mundane reality. Now, I say this genre has old roots because the works of one of my very favourite authors, H.P. Lovecraft, can easily be considered an urban fantasy (fantastical yet harrowing). More contemporary authors that I would highly recommend are Sergei Lukyanenko and his Watch series, Kate Griffin and her Urban Magic series and also Ben Aaronovitch and his Rivers of London series.

Second on my top list of genres is that of the cyberpunk, characterised by 'low life and high technology'. Now the considered king of the cyberpunk genre is William Gibson, yet there are many more authors to choose from today. Top of my personal list in this genre is the Petrovitch series by Simon Morden, closely followed by often hilarious Avery Cates series by Jeff Somers. Another author worth of note here, despite not strictly fitting into the cyberpunk genre, is the extraordinary Hungry Earth/Mortal Engines series by Phillip Reeves.

I guess that's enough for part one. Hopefully I've named some authors you've not yet read and inspired you to check them out.

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