An Interview With Stephen Donaldson

Online now (and somewhat later than promised – sorry!) is my interview with author, Stephen Donaldson.

I interviewed Stephen shortly before the release of Fatal Revenant, the latest book in his Chronicles of Thomas Covenant series, and the interview touches on both this and his many other works, as well as writing and literature in general. The interview originally appeared in issue 10 of Death Ray magazine, but the version now online contains some material not included in the magazine due to space constraints. The complete interview, as well as an overview of Stephen’s work, and a fact file on the author are online now in the Articles section of this website.

Matt

Selected Reading…

Following on from the recent frenzy of blog-ranting on the subject of narrative styles, I thought I’d post a few examples of some novels which I think demonstrate clever use of the omniscient narrator. Note that I’m focusing specifically on books about the legendary/historical characters that my earlier blog posts centred on – I think we’ve covered that plenty enough already, and besides which I think there’s an interesting discussion to be had about the use of narrative mode more generally. These then, are simply three books which spring to mind as good examples of narrative modes other than the most common third-person limited narrator. All three also employ other noteworthy techniques as we shall see…

You can use the comments thread below to leave your own recommendations, and read on to see mine…

Hub Magazine

For any of you who aren’t already aware of it, Hub Magazine is a free, weekly e-zine providing short fiction, reviews and occasional features. The latest issue of Hub features a short story by my good friend Guy Haley, and is highly recommended all round (Guy’s work has previously appeared in issue 35). You can find the current issue of Hub, and subscribe for free, on their website.

I’ve always been of the opinion that short stories the best kind of fiction of all, especially for imaginative genres like science fiction or fantasy. Sadly, the market for short fiction has been in decline for many years and very few dedicated magazines are able to survive. Hub, as a free magazine, published electronically, but which still pays its writers, is an interesting idea and a smart attempt to keep short story publishing viable. If you like short stories, you really should check out Hub.

Reviews!

Apologies for not updating this blog in so very long – I think everybody who attempts to maintain a blog ends up saying this at some time or other!

I’ve made a number of additions to the Reviews section. Online now are reviews of The Spirit Stone by Katharine Kerr, A Princess of Roumania by Paul Park and The Edge Chronicles: The Lost Bark Scrolls by Paul Stewart & Chris Riddell. I’ve also uploaded a DVD review for the first time – the complete series of Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased).

Finally, I’ve resolved to use this as proper blog, and not merely a repository for old reviews, so in future I should be posting more regularly. Check back often – there’ll be at least two posts over the next couple of days, I promise.

Regards,

Matt

Reviews: Infinity Plus: The Anthology/Blood Beast

I’ve made two additions to the Reviews section. Online now are reviews of Infinity Plus: The Anthology edited by Keith Brooks and Nick Gevers and Blood Beast (a children’s book) by Darren Shan. These reviews first appeared in issues 2 and 4 of Death Ray magazine respectively and, as ever, more will follow soon!

Regards,

Matt

Review: Harm

Online now is my review of Harm by Brian Aldiss. This review first appeared in issue 4 of Death Ray magazine and, as ever, more will follow soon!

Regards,

Matt

Reviews: Set the Seas on Fire/Curse of the Night Wolf

I’ve made two additions to the Reviews section. Online now are reviews of Set the Seas on Fire by Chris Roberson and Barnaby Grimes: Curse of the Night Wolf (a children’s book) by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell. Both of these reviews first appeared in issue 3 of Death Ray magazine and, as ever, more will follow soon!

Regards,

Matt