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Pre-order Breach of Peace HERE(USA) or HERE(UK) or listen to it right now HERE.
T. A. BRUNO grew up in Chicago and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the film industry. Since then, he has brought stories to life for over a decade as a previsualization artist. At home, he is a proud father of two boys and a husband to a wonderful wife. IN THE ORBIT OF SIRENS is his debut science fiction novel.
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Black Stone Heart
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Smoke and Stone
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Ash and Bones
Raed our interview with Michael R. Fletcher
Raed our interview with Michael R. Fletcher
Monday, March 15, 2021
Exclusive Cover Reveal: Rainbringer: Zora Neale Hurston Against The Lovecraftian Mythos by Edward M. Erdelac
Today we are enormously excited to reveal the cover for Edward Erdelac's upcoming self-published collection focusing on real-life American legend Zora Neale Hurston. Featuring the amazing skills of Jabari Weathers & Shawn T. King. Checkout the amazing cover below and the official blurb.
The book is releasing on the 4th of May 2021 and you can checkout Ed's account of what inspired him to imagine one of his alltime favourite writers as a force of good against Cosmic forces. He talks vividly about her career as a queen of the Harlem Renaissance, a groundbreaking ethnologist, folklorist, and Hoodoo initiate in these eight tales which are spread out over her lifetime.
Official Book Blurb: ZORA!
“The oaths of secrecy she [Zora Neale Hurston] swore, and the terrifying physical and emotional ordeals she endured…left their mark on her, and there were certain parts of her material which she never dared to reveal, even in scientific publications.” – Alan Lomax
ZORA! She traveled the 1930’s south alone with a loaded forty four and an unmatched desire to see and to know. She was at home in the supper clubs of New York City, back road juke joints, under ropes of Spanish moss, and dancing around the Vodoun peristyle. Her experiences brought us Their Eyes Were Watching God, Mules And Men, Tell My Horse, and Jonah’s Gourd Vine. But between the lines she wrote lie the words unwritten, truths too fantastic to divulge….until now.
LEAVES FLOATING IN A DREAM’S WAKE, BEYOND THE BLACK ARCADE. EKWENSU’S LULLABY. KING YELLER. GODS OF THE GRIM NATION. THE SHADOW IN THE CHAPEL OF EASE. BLACK WOMAN, WHITE CITY. THE DEATHLESS SNAKE. Eight weird and fantastic stories spanning the breadth of her amazing life. Eight times when she faced the nameless alien denizens of the outer darkness and didn’t blink.
ZORA! Celebrated writer, groundbreaking anthropologist, Hoodoo initiate, footloose queen of the Harlem Renaissance, and Mythos detective.
Friday, March 12, 2021
SPFBO Finalist: The Fall of Erlon by Robert H. Fleming (reviewed by Adam, Lukasz & Mihir)
Wednesday, March 10, 2021
We Lie With Death by Devin Madson (reviewed by Lukasz Przywoski & Caitlin Grieve)
Official Author Website
Order the book HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s review of We Ride The Storm
OFFICIAL AUTHOR WEBSITE: Devin Madson
Order the book HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s review of We Ride The Storm
OFFICIAL AUTHOR WEBSITE: Devin Madson
Order The Second Bell over HERE
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Gabriela was born and raised in Poland, brought up on a diet of mythologies and fairy tales. She spent her summers exploring the woods, foraging and animal tracking with her family. At 19, Gabriela moved to London to study English Literature and obtained a Masters's degree in Literatures of Modernity. She has worked as an assistant editor and as a freelance writer. Gabriela’s short stories have been selected for the Editor’s Choice Review by Bewildering Stories and have been featured on the Ladies of Horror Fiction podcast. She lives in London with her husband and two children.
GENRE: Fairy Tale,
FORMAT/INFO: The Second Bell publishes March 9th 2021 with Angry Robot. Length - 304 p. Cover design by Glen Wilkins.
OVERVIEW: The Second Bell follows Salka, a young woman born with two hearts. That makes her a striga, a monster her townsfolk fear and try to kill in the cradle. Except, her mother, Miriat, won’t let it happen. They flee the town and find shelter in a community of outcasts high in the mountains. Nineteen years later, Salka finds herself in a life-threatening situation. Accused of endangering others, she’s banished to a remote place. To survive the harsh winter, she must embrace her second heart’s power. And this can turn her into a monstrous stigoi.
I loved the story’s setting! Houston has a knack for creating vivid images of desolate landscapes, dangerous forests, and showing the raw beauty of nature. I could breathe the cool mountain air and feel the icy wind sting my cheeks. I found the descriptions excellent, and the imagery evocative. Houston reveals the world as the characters interact with it, and presents it through the lens of their mood and current situation. Plus, you can’t get enough of fantasy inspired by pre-Christian Slavic folklore.
The story goes small in scale; it revolves around a group of characters, their relationships, beliefs, and moments of truth. Petty behavior and small people acting small out of jealousy, greed, or fear move the plot forward. I found it frustrating. I understand the author wanted to show how much we can sacrifice for blood ties and that passionate (be it romantic or maternal) love blinds, but I found story drivers unconvincing and cliché.
Salka and Miriat’s story is nuanced and satisfying. Miriat stood up to her community (more than once) for her child, despite her society’s conviction all two-hearted children carry evil inside. She sacrificed her life for her daughter. Salka, while independent and headstrong, loves her mother and listens to her in crucial moments. Their relationship felt true, mainly because we follow the story mostly through their point-of-view. Unfortunately, other parents/child duos fall flat. We don’t get to know them, but their petty and egoistical behavior serves as a device to move the story forward.
And this leads to my biggest gripe about the story, namely inconsistent narration. The point of view switches between omniscient, and third-person limited deep POV, frequently in a single chapter. Sometimes, more than once in a single chapter. To make matters worse, the POV slips from one person to another in the space of a few paragraphs. I assume it’s a deliberate choice - the book is traditionally published and, as such, underwent at least a few editorial passes. I found it jarring. Sure, it gave us glimpses of the train of thought of secondary characters (Dran, Kalina, Emila, villagers) but such glimpses showed them as individuals lacking complexity and with shallow motivations. For me, it weakened the narrative instead of making it more nuanced.
Listen, I know that rules are for fools, but I can’t help it. I crave a consistent point of view. I dislike when writers drift from one point of view to another. I dunno, maybe the intention was to create an omniscient perspective through an assemblage of third-person limited perspectives? If you, as a reader, have no issue with it, disregard the paragraph above. I won’t judge you.
Despite everything, I enjoyed the story. It takes shortcuts, but remains intriguing and heartfelt. With its immersive setting and relatable protagonists, The Second Bell offers enough to maintain readers’ immersion.
Official Author Website
Order One Day All This Will Be Yours over HERE
Read FBC's review of Firewalkers
Read FBC's review of The Doors of Eden
ON THE SUBJECT OF DRAGONS
I promised Mihir I would be on my best behaviour if he let me talk about the cover for Heavy Lies The Crown. In writing and everything. Specifically, I swore I wouldn’t push any propaganda. Well, I’m sorry, Mihir. But that’s not just who I am.
*surreptitiously puts on elaborate dragon hat*
I’m a man obsessed with dragons. I’d wager I’ve watched Dragonheart more times than most. I have dragon tattoos. I once kept a rock for three years because I thought it was a dragon egg. (I was also six), and I’ll die on a hill for the theory that dragons actually existed. And yet, peculiarly, it’s taken me 14 books to put a damn dragon on one of my book covers.
*surreptitiously puts on elaborate dragon hat*
I’m a man obsessed with dragons. I’d wager I’ve watched Dragonheart more times than most. I have dragon tattoos. I once kept a rock for three years because I thought it was a dragon egg. (I was also six), and I’ll die on a hill for the theory that dragons actually existed. And yet, peculiarly, it’s taken me 14 books to put a damn dragon on one of my book covers.
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