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Discussing Fantasy Word Counts
When someone first begins writing books, one of the first things they learn is that page count is far, far less important on the writing end of novels than it is for the reading end. Books are rarely the same dimensions, whether that be in length, height, or both. Line spacing, margins, font and font…
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Book Review: Storm Front (Dresden Files #1)
Okay so I know I’m not the only non-young adult reading mostly YA fantasy. It’s just a thing where young adult narratives remain far more compelling to me as a reader. But it’s also weird, and sometimes a little bit frustrating, being a verifiable adult stuck in the head of a teenager. I figure, you…
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The Lost Queen: Book Review (audiobook)
About a month ago, I found myself having to face a few lengthy drives. The past several times I’ve had to make that trip, I’ve had Wheel of Time audiobooks to listen to (and before that, I would usually listen to the Hamilton soundtrack). So I decided to peruse some audiobook sales and found The…
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Top Ten Moments in Fire By Kristin Cashore
I can’t really do a review of a book I’ve read so many times, I’ve lost count. But I can tell you all the moments, both Big and Small (that’s a book reference, see?), that continue to blow me away, moments that I’m always looking forward to reading. Obviously, spoilers abound. This should be fun…
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Tiers of Fantasy Setting Development
Today I wanted to talk about a topic that I brushed upon briefly in my last post about fantastical entities in Wheel of Time, and that has to do with how much the author allows their world to diverge from the real world, most particular in high fantasy. As is the case with most of…
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The Making of Mythical Creatures (WoT Setting Study #3)
In continuation of our extensive Wheel of Time setting studies, I would like to turn a piece of world-building we have not touched upon at all, and that is the inclusion of mythical creatures. As with practically every other facet of world-building, Jordan was not content to pull from existing fantastical creatures, and chose instead…
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The Prequel Debate
A short preface. Finishing the Raven Cycle crushed me. I tried for about two days to get myself to read the next book on my reading shelf, and just could not bring myself to even open it to the first page. I didn’t think a reading slump was an actual, real thing but apparently it…
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My Five Favorite Fantasy Magic Systems
Last week, I had the pleasure of doing a setting study about Wheel of Time’s magic system, and, knowing that many WoT fans claim it is one of the better systems of the fantasy genre, it got me thinking. I liked Wheel of Time. The complexities of channeling, the differences between saidin and saidar, the…
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Let’s Talk Tropes: The Lost Heir
In a genre that likes to play with monarchy, it’s no surprise that several fantasy stories have a big toolbox when it comes to throne-related tropes. For a genre, too, that frequently attempts to set its protagonist apart from everyone else, transforming them from something “common” to something “special,” it is perhaps also unsurprising that…
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Raven Cycle Wrap-Up
Maggie Stiefvater will be my downfall. It is books like these that make me remember why I gravitate towards high fantasy; urban fantasy, when done well, can utterly destroy the heart. I like my heart. To me, urban fantasy is done at its best when infused with a touch of whimsy, but that whimsy makes…
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Katie Bachelder 