Posts Tagged ‘dragons’

Dragon Slayers Wanted

This summer, dragons are hotter (*ahem*) than ever. Orbit is celebrating all things scaly, fire-breathing and treasure-guarding by pairing readers with their ideal dragon-slaying quest. Looking for a bounty of gold and eternal glory? Or just up for a challenging fight? We can find the perfect dragon for every occasion. If you think you’re ready to defeat the beast, get your dragon slaying quest today.

Dragon Slayers Wanted

Plus we’re publishing three brand new titles over the next three months that feature magnificent drakes in one form or another: THE WAKING FIRE by Anthony Ryan (UK | AUS), DRAGON LORDS: FOOL’S GOLD by Jon Hollins (US | UK | AUS), and CHASING EMBERS by James Bennett (US | UK| AUS). Look out for these in a bookstore near you!Dragon Book Covers

 

The power of the ordinary: hero tropes in epic fantasy

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There’s a whole fantasy trope based around the protagonist of the story discovering that, after the initial skirmish with the forces of evil, he or she is the Chosen One, the one person who has all the skills – mental, physical and magical – to defeat the big bad and win the day.

And we love hearing about them because we can dream we are them. We’re no longer ordinary; quite the opposite. We become, for the length of the tale, extraordinary; possessing such skills, strength and stamina that no other mortal can command. The Chosen One is the archetypal super-hero story: think of Greek and Persian legends, and you’re halfway there already.

But when the story ends, the clouds come over, the sky darkens, and the world becomes colder, harsher and less caring. We’re not the Chosen One. We’re nothing unusual. Not only can we not take the battle to the forces of evil, we don’t even know where to start. We simply have to accept the way things are, with no hope of changing the slow grind of life.

But hang on. That’s not necessarily the case. We know through experience that we can claim small, if temporary, victories that bring life and light to us and ours. And we know that being inspired by our fictional heroes and heroines can make us better people – G. K. Chesterton spoke the truth when he said: ‘Fairy tales don’t tell children that dragons exist; children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children that dragons can be killed.’ (more…)

Dragons, giants, bloody battles – MALICE has it all!

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A month ago John Gwynne won the David Gemmell Morningstar Award for his debut novel, MALICE, and we’re thrilled to be able to bring this story to US readers now. To find out more about John and the excellent worldbuilding that he brings to the table, check out the interview below.

Your book has several viewpoint characters. How did you structure your writing process to tie their stories together?

Writing MALICE was one big learning curve – it began as a hobby and grew slowly into something bigger. Initially I had no thoughts of being published, I was just writing for my own entertainment, with the only likely readership being my wife and children, and perhaps the odd overly-polite friend. I wrote multiple POV because that is my favourite type of read – most of my decisions were made that way – I like seeing a story from different angles, and enjoy it when diverse characters come together.

As far as how I wrote the multiple points of view, I mapped out the big picture first – the general brush-strokes of the overall plot, breaking it down into the major strands and plot arcs. Then I put some thought into the characters that I would like to view the tale through. After that I started writing. It was a bit like letting a bunch of hounds off of the leash, watching them sprint off, paths diverging and intertwining, some going off in very unexpected directions, but I knew there were key events at certain points down the line that would bring them together, some of them quite explosively.

Read the full interview here.