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Posts Tagged ‘fantasy’

More five star book reviews for Second Sight!

24 Aug

The new fantasy novel Second Sight seems to be making an impact on Goodreads.

Cynde Mitchell just rated it: 5 of 5 stars I really enjoyed this novel. it reminds me a lot of the novels by Katherine Kurtz-Deryni books. I’d like to read the first one too. It was a great read and easily read. The book was extremely well written and engrossing!!!

The second review comes from my good old dad. He is super-intelligent and has read most of the books in the library, so I’m chuffed as all hell that he likes the story. A big part of Twardy Zarost’s character comes from him. He kept me guessing all my childhood … was he telling the truth, or winding me up? I think he’s telling the truth here … or is he?

Mike Hamerton rated it: 5 of 5 stars It’s never too late to try something new. Forget your idea that this book is about fiery dragons, strange beasts , towering mountains or lightning strikes. When you’ve read it you will be looking for the next one! It isn’t fantasy, it’s fantastic!


 
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Posted in Reviews of my fantasy novels

 

In conversation with Fantasy Book Review

19 Aug

A few years ago, Lee at Fantasy Book Review set out on a quest to find the top 100 fantasy books of all time. In a unique approach, the books are rated between 0.0 and 10.0 which offers a much more precise appraisal than the usual 5 star scale. This allows for an interesting ranking system which is enriched as more books are added. At the moment the book count is around the 250 mark. The Riddler’s Gift was reviewed in 2008 and has held its own on the chart amongst books by David Gemmell, Stephen King and Juliet Marillier. Lee’s review of Second Sight is imminent.

The website is dedicated to reading and reviewing the very best fantasy books for children and adults (both young and old). Featuring interviews, the latest fantasy news, audio-book reviews and competitions Lee provides fantasy fans around the world with a useful, interesting and informative guide to the genre. We chatted about plotting, designing, flying … and madness.

Fantasy Book Review logo

FBR: You have an alter-ego as a paragliding instructor. Do the extreme sports influence your fantasy writing?

Well of course! Paragliding is full of maps and quests. We fly off to strange lands (sometimes that’s Essex). The perspective I get from flying helps me to view the world with some detachment, which leads to ideas of the rise and fall of civilisations, and the passage of great spans of time. The air is a beautiful realm and that stimulates a lot of creativity. There are also more obvious influences: in the Lifesong you’ll find descriptions of the wind whistling under the wings of the dragon, of riding a gyphon, of being snatched up by a winged demon, and a wizard who likes base-jumping. I also studied marshal arts for many years – I use that knowledge to understand how my characters survive in a fight. An appreciation of risk and how one can feel alive in the face of fear drive my action scenes. Years of surfing taught me to find the calm place at the centre of power; the balance point. All this goes into my writing … or at least, I understand these things and so they shape the story as it emerges.

Read the rest of this interview >

 
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Posted in Greg Hamerton, Science Fiction Fantasy News

 

Lifesong fantasy series released in the USA!

16 Aug

The Tale of the Lifesong - US paperback versionA few days ago, a box arrived containing these proofs for the shiny new version of the Tale of the Lifesong fantasy series. I’m impressed with the print quality and have approved the production, so The Riddler’s Gift and Second Sight are now available in the USA.

Although my books and specials are still available to US customers on greghamerton.com, the cost of international airmail makes some of the options expensive. So I’m delighted to announce that you can now buy the Tale of the Lifesong series from Amazon and save on the postage costs! See the bottom of the special deals page for details and links.

The Riddler’s Gift has been released in two parts, to make it more affordable for new readers who haven’t yet heard the Lifesong. Second Sight is in one volume, because if you have read The Riddler’s Gift, you’ll be wanting the whole of the sequel! It was also impossible to split Second Sight in the middle; the story is complex and spans more than 600 pages. The Riddler’s Gift was originally written in two parts, and so divides neatly in the middle of the story.

 
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Posted in Lifesong, Science Fiction Fantasy News, Second Sight, The Riddler's Gift

 

A masterpiece of fantasy

12 Aug

Memory and Dream by Charles de Lint - a masterwork of fantasy writingMemory and Dream by Charles de Lint

This story had a deep impact on me. It opens with an innocent sketch in a town square; it soon becomes a deeply engaging study of the act of creation and the mind of an artist.

If I took out my editor’s pencil, I’d only be able to mark one paragraph in the entire book, where a minor character is granted a bit too much page space to rant about his over-intellectualised opinions of art. It is in character though. And that’s it. The single tiny flaw I was aware of, if flaw it is. I mention it only to show that I attempted to be critical, but could not really find fault. The story is mostly flawless, and breathtaking.

There is a twist that throws a new light on the whole story, right at the end, which as a reader is an absolute delight. As my mind recapitulates the tale I get a new version and insight into what I’ve already learned. This is so satisfying, it’s as if I get two stories for the price of one, this deepening of the experience is something I intend to incorporate into my own writing. I shall read more of Charles de Lint’s work. He is a master of his art. He deserves study. Maybe, even, demands it.

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Posted in Fantasy Book Reviews

 

Come to the book launch party for Second Sight!

30 Jul

The Tale of the LIFESONG groupCome and join me for a bit of release day fun. At 5pm (GMT) on 1 August 2010 there’s a launch party for Second Sight on Facebook and you’re welcome. This is a virtual party … just wander over to the Tale of the Lifesong group page then post whatever you like on the wall.

Bring an image from Eyri … a sprite, a mote, the last photo your friend took on his phone when he tried to raise a morgloth. Come surprise us with the image post, scratch a secret you stole from the Shadowcasters on the wall or simply hang out and enjoy the essence.

Dress code: Oldenworld style … so dress up your avatar (that’s your profile photo, dummy) Come fan the flames or just cause some Chaos.

You’ll be instantly famous! Your name will be sung in worship songs for years to come. You may even end up written into the future books as something memorable, like a mote … there’s three of ‘em, all huddled together.

Welcome to The CrowbarThen the afterparty starts at 6pm over at The Crowbar (it will appear, as if by magic, on the homepage of greghamerton.com) I’ll be having a live chat there for as long as the party goes on for! Come terrify the guests.

 
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Posted in Lifesong, Second Sight

 

Wicked fantasy author interview

25 Jul

This interview was conducted in June 2007 by Something Wicked Magazine, when Viane Venter talked to Greg Hamerton about The Riddler’s Gift.

The average South African ‘best-seller’ comes in at just 4000 copies, and with writers typically seeing less than 10% of the returns, it’s anything but a get-rich-quick profession. In a market of ‘serious’ and ‘worthy’  novels, fantasy fiction is an even tougher nut to crack, but there are some hungry young newcomers who plan to do just that.

Greg Hamerton is the author of Beyond The Invisible and a guidebook for Paragliding South Africa. This year sees Greg’s fantasy debut with the release of the first tale in the Lifesong series, The Riddler’s Gift.

How did you become a writer?

Writing didn’t even feature on the radar when I was at school. It was never presented as a possible occupation. I did a B.Com to do the whole ‘go out and get a sensible job’ thing, which helped quite a lot in fact. It hadn’t entered my consciousness to become a novelist. I eased into writing with magazine articles on extreme sports and once published, I started enjoying seeing my own words in print. I progressed to Beyond The Invisible, which is half autobiography and half fiction. It was a natural first step to draw on my own experience. Writing is a merciless profession to go into though – that’s probably why they didn’t tell me about it at school, and writing non-fiction now seems like a school project by comparison to a novel. It’s also a lot easier to sell, because it’s specialist information that people attach a value to. Fiction is a really tough market to crack until you move into the tens of thousands.

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Posted in Greg Hamerton, The Riddler's Gift, Writing Fantasy

 

Why is it so hard to get a fantasy novel published?

10 Jul

Most books within the fantasy genre are produced by a very few (big) publishing houses in the UK and USA. These are the houses that can afford to take the risk on large print runs because they have many other titles too. They also have significant advantages in economies of scale (cheap distribution, discounted printing, efficient representation to the stores). They produce a few fantasy titles (bad luck, authors) in big volume. Big volume is necessary for most kinds of book printing, but fantasy is the most critical, certainly within fiction.

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Posted in Writing Fantasy

 

Who writes the best fantasy?

02 Jul

I’ve wandered through a hundred books, searching for a good tale. What is it I am looking for in a story? More than entertainment (or I’d just switch on the TV). I want to have my reality replaced, redrawn. Reinvented. I want that sense of discovery. I want to become someone new. And so I search, for a touch of mystery, an edge of danger, a spark of intrigue and that doorway into the world beyond this world. I have yet to find all the elements I love in one book … which is probably why I’m a fantasy author myself. I write, to answer the need — to find the perfect fantasy story.

Along the way, I’ve come across some shining examples of fantasy. Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Posted in Fantasy Book Reviews, Lifesong, Writing Fantasy

 

How to make magic happen

25 Jun

The hunger for magic is universal, most people have it in some way or another. People pray, hoping their thoughts will influence reality (or hoping that God will intervene on their behalf, which is kind of the same thing, except that someone else performs the magic). The Secret (by Rhonda Byrne) was enormously successful, which mostly proves that people wanted to hear its message. It made over 1 million sales soon after the DVD was released, and its primary message is ‘what you think creates the world you live in’, in other words: your success is dependant on your visualisation of that success.

This is magic. There isn’t much science to back these assertions up. Yet people believe. Why is there such a hunger and need to believe? Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Posted in Writing Fantasy

 

The new hardcover books leave India!

02 Jun

Two pallets of books departed from India today, bound for South Africa and the UK. Thomson Press did the printing again, and I’m expecting the same excellent quality that they delivered with The Riddler’s Gift. I’ve seen the advance copies and they look amazing! I’m so glad I chose to go with hardcover for this limited first edition. It’s light and feels solid. Shiny!

Here’s a sneak preview of what’s coming on August 1.




 
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Posted in Lifesong, Second Sight

 
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