I’ve been listening to audiobooks quite regularly for at least two years now, but the other day I encountered something new in my listening experience. I bought an audiobook in the usual fashion with my Audible subscription, downloaded it, hit play… then did a double take. Continue reading
Australia
A Workshop with Garth Nix
The Old Kingdom Series by Garth Nix
This weekend I got a rare opportunity to attend an ASA workshop run by one of my favourite fantasy authors – Garth Nix. For anyone who doesn’t know, Garth is the author of the world famous Old Kingdom fantasy series (consisting of Sabriel, Lireal, Abhorsen and most recently, Clariel) and many other books (A Confusion of Princes is another favourite of mine). He has also worked as a literary agent, editor, publicist and bookseller and is just generally a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the book industry, and particularly the fantasy and science fiction genres. Needless to say, I was a little star struck! Continue reading
The Special Effects You Don’t See
Image from the short film The Landing
A fleet of space ships swoops into battle, a dragon flexes its wings, a superhero uses their incredible powers… in films and TV shows, these are the kind of scenes where you’re likely to comment on the amazing (or not so amazing) special effects. Their very nature, as things that don’t exist, will make you more inclined to scrutinise them, and decide whether you are impressed or unimpressed by how they have been brought to life on screen.
What we rarely notice are the copious special effects that re-create real things. Continue reading
Thoughts on Fantasy 