#fantasy: epic

[shadow-words]

Book Review: Between Dragons and Their Wrath by Devin Madson

_Book Review: Between Dragons and Their Wrath by Devin Madson_ In which three people stumble into conspiracies, politics and dark secrets. #books #fantasy #bookreview

I have some complicated feelings about this book. On one hand, it’s extremely well written,  with some fascinating worldbuilding. On the other hand, the Protagonists are trashfires and I want to strangle them a little bit. (Silver lining: I am very engaged in reading. Lead lining: these people are trashfires.) This book is split between three characters, Tesha, an apprentice glassmaker with…

[prompt-heaven]

a list of 100+ buildings to put in your fantasy town

academy

adventurer's guild

alchemist

apiary

apothecary

aquarium

armory

art gallery

bakery

bank

barber

barracks

bathhouse

blacksmith

boathouse

book store

bookbinder

botanical garden

brothel

butcher

carpenter

cartographer

casino

castle

cobbler

coffee shop

council chamber

court house

crypt for the noble family

dentist

distillery

docks

dovecot

dyer

embassy

farmer's market

fighting pit

fishmonger

fortune teller

gallows

gatehouse

general store

graveyard

greenhouses

guard post

guildhall

gymnasium

haberdashery

haunted house

hedge maze

herbalist

hospice

hospital

house for sale

inn

jail

jeweller

kindergarten

leatherworker

library

locksmith

mail courier

manor house

market

mayor's house

monastery

morgue

museum

music shop

observatory

orchard

orphanage

outhouse

paper maker

pawnshop

pet shop

potion shop

potter

printmaker

quest board

residence

restricted zone

sawmill

school

scribe

sewer entrance

sheriff's office

shrine

silversmith

spa

speakeasy

spice merchant

sports stadium

stables

street market

tailor

tannery

tavern

tax collector

tea house

temple

textile shop

theatre

thieves guild

thrift store

tinker's workshop

town crier post

town square

townhall

toy store

trinket shop

warehouse

watchtower

water mill

weaver

well

windmill

wishing well

wizard tower

[mint-wreck]

Alexa, play "No Longer You"

Animatic by yours truly An extended version will be uploaded on my YouTube channel

[tismoonie]

I hope y’all like greek mythology here…

Anyone else obsessed with EPIC??

[the-soft-hoodie]

This ✨ destroy ✨ me

[victusinveritas]

Tom Gauld

[atomic-chronoscaph]

Dante's Inferno - art by Gustave Doré (1861)

[l-otr]

Sowing stars by Valera Lutfullina

[silmarillion-ways-to-die]

Two British Fantasy Authors, a play in one act.

JRR Tolkien: So my epic fantasy has elves and dwarves and gods and demons and vampires and werewolves.

CS Lewis: Cool cool cool.

JRR Tolkien: What about yours?

CS Lewis: Mine? It's got fauns and a witch and a talking lion and precocious children—

JRR Tolkien: I like the talking lion.

CS Lewis: —and Santa Claus.

JRR Tolkien: ...

JRR Tolkien: ...

JRR Tolkien: What?

CS Lewis: Santa Claus. You know, "ho ho ho."

JRR Tolkien: I know Santa Claus! I wrote the book on Santa Claus! But you can't have Santa Claus in your High Fantasy!"

CS Lewis: Why not? You have Tom Bombadil!

JRR Tolkien: HOW DARE YOU

[pearlsdiamondsandvodka]

damn i almost wish the intrepid heroes had done worse this episode because the concept is of this battle was epic as hell. i would have loved to see more of baron being creepy, a confrontation with jawbone and i would have loved to see the other players play baron

[magitekconveyor]

When does a comet become a meteor?

When does a candle become a blaze?

When does a man become a monster?

[shadow-words]

Book Review: Blood of the Old Kings by Sung-il Kim

_Book Review: Blood of the Old Kings by Sung-il Kim_ What if the evil empire was evil, but the alternative was possibly worse? #books #bookreview #fantasy

Blood of the Old Kings seems to ask the question, “what if the Evil Empire was Evil, but the alternative is possibly worse?” The Empire in Blood of the Old Kings is incredibly vast and has managed to conquer the entire world. (It’s organization is very Roman Empire themed, and the overal feel is very Western fantasy setting.) It is an empire run on the power generated by dead sorcerers. There are…

[sahind]

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (2001) Directed by Peter Jackson

[mint-wreck]

POV: You're a Lotus Eater

[obsob]

happy and proud!!

✷(print shop)✷

[wordsmithic]

unpopular opinion but with the new tide of Greek mythology stories and retellings, Greek Cultural Sensitivity Readings are absolutely necessary. We are in 2024, with thousands of fics and retellings out there!! How is this not a thing yet?? There's vast improvement one can achieve by working professionally on their text with a Greek. I've seen it so many times!!

Also, duh, I'm offering the service BUT I want you to know that the situation with the inaccuracies of SERIOUS works is so dire that initially I didn't even do it for money. As a writer I just wanted to... fix things, to set a new standard for writers and the industry that sells us the most heavily Americanized pop-culture material and passes it as "authentic vibes of Greek mythology". (And of course there were writers who wanted to do right by their story and they had reached out to me. So kudos to them as well!)

Okay, but why does Cultural Sensitivity Reading make a vast difference and it's not just smoke and mirrors?

As a Greek, I am tired of well-meaning writers and authors butchering very basic elements of my culture. It's not their fault exactly, since they were raised in another culture with a different perspective. And nobody clued them in on how different Greek culture is from theirs, so writers sometimes assume that their culture is the default and they project that into ancient Greece. (Even published professionals like Madeline Miller have written "UK or US in antiquity" (with a very colonialist flavor) instead of writing "Ancient Greece". (Looking at you, Circe!)

Even writers who researched a lot before coming to me still had a lot of misinformation or wrong information in their text, easily verifiable by the average Greek. Again, not their fault. They can only access certain information, which does not include Greek scholarly work and scientific articles that DO offer valuable context.

Translation, accuracy, and meaning: If you ever wondered what a word means or how to pronounce it, here's your chance! There are Greeks like me who are knowledgeable and have a keen interest in antiquity and they will be able to read and compare ancient texts, and dive deeper into the work of Greek scholars regarding those texts.

If you want to create new words, you can do that as well! (It doesn't always work, but we can try. Greek is a really rich language and has a word about everything) If you use existing words, I can help you separate reality from fantasy in the context of your story.

(Do not assume we Greeks are ignorant of our heritage, or that we don't know how to research! Our archaeology sector is huge and archaeological museums are closer to most of us than your local Target is to you)

I guarantee there are things you never thought about Greece and the Mediterranean - from the ancient to the modern era. Sprinkling elements like phrases, types of interactions, customs, songs, instruments, dances, etc , into your text will make your text absolutely rich in culture.

Names matter!!! The genders of the names matter, diminutives matter (If I see one more "Perse" for Persephone I will claw my eyes out along with a few thousand Greeks), naming traditions matter!!! In many cases you should not even use a diminutive!!

You will be able to write about a foreign culture easily! Because of the continuity of Greek culture, you can even write a few more recent Greek elements to fill in the gaps. I can make sure they are not mismatched, and they will complement your ancient setting. I have observed a few things I didn't know we had since antiquity, but they make sense because our land has certain characteristics.

Non-Greek writers often miss the whole context of Greek culture! Do you know how Greek respect towards deities and parents looks like? What tones we use when we talk to our elders? When to use honorific plural - if your setting is more modernized?

Oh, and please let's avoid caricatures when describing Greeks?? (even fantasy Greeks) There can be heavy exotisation and odd descriptions of Greeks, as if we are another species. Even in published works. For many western writers it's difficult to catch, unfortunately.

The whole process is actually way easier than you think. You send me a text, I make notes and then we have some discussion on your vision.

It's always okay to seek guidance from the locals! You are not "guilty" when you admit you don't know! How can you know if you don't ask?? You can't imagine what relief and "πάλι καλά!!!" I read/see from other Greeks when I tell them another foreigner is using me for cultural sensitivity? Greeks want you to seek help and will NOT shame you for it!

(On the contrary, you have no idea how many eye-rolls Greeks do when they see a blatantly wrong thing in a story... Which has happened pretty often for many years now. Can we do better as an industry?? Please???)

You can send me a personal message to share your story, or ask what this whole cultural sensitivity thing is all about, or ask about what I have done so far and how I can help. But for the love of all that's good, don't let your story be another "generic greek myth retelling"! And don't let others sell you their generic greek myth retellings!!