In this final novel of The Daevabad Trilogy, Ali, Nahri, and Dara are morally challenged beyond endurance by the rise of death magic in their beloved kingdom. How they respond changes everything.
Read moreThe Ghost Bride: The Horror of Arranged Marriages to Ghosts and Virgins
In 19th century Malaysia, a young Straits Chinese woman receives a proposal to marry the son of a wealthy family, except he says he’s been murdered.
Read more"The Gods of Jade and Shadow": A Heroine's Journey into the Mayan Underworld of Xibalba
A welcome entry into the non-Western fantasy field set in the ancient Mayan underworld, Xibalba, and the Mexican Jazz Age.
Read more"The Dragon Republic" - An Atypical Heroine's Journey in War-Torn China
The difficult details about real traumas China suffered in the early 20th century make this widely-praised trilogy uniquely interesting. The unusual fantasy elements and atypical heroine’s journey are bonuses.
Read moreDestroying Books ... Without a Grand Plan to Repress Knowledge
Rulers have been trying to repress knowledge since at least 213 BC. “Killing the Scholars and Burning the Books,” Anonymous, 18th century Chinese painted album leaf; Bibliothèque nationale Paris [Public domain]
Big corporations are destroying your books without explanation, probably because hosting the platform isn’t as profitable as expected.
Read moreNon-Western Fantasies Are Finally Getting the Attention They Deserve
Non-Western fantasies increase readers’ understanding of diverse histories and cultures in an increasingly xenophobic age.
Read moreThe Ramayana: The Epic Heroic Adventure Beloved in Southeast Asia
The Indian Hindu epic The Ramayana unifies and defines the divergent cultures of Southeast Asia.
Read moreThe Heroine’s Journey: Beyond the Bindings of the Western Tradition
S.A. Chakraborty's debut novel sweeps readers away on a flying carpet to the magical city of Daevabad, where Cairo orphan Nahri will learn the truth - both the incredible and the ugly - about her family's history.
Read moreHugo Award Winners 2017
Rounding out our coverage of the 2017 Hugo winners, with special congratulations to Lois McMaster Bujold for winning the first-ever "Best Series" Hugo Award.
Read moreThe Ghosts of Cambodia
Five apsaras, heavenly spirits of the clouds and the waters, from the walls of Angkor Wat. Photo by Lisa Mahoney. 2017
At the cultural crossroads of Cambodian folklore, belief and speculative literature, with emerging author Kay Chronister
Read more"The Expanse": Syfy's Ambitious TV Series Fulfills Devoted Readers' High Hopes
"The Expanse" frightens and thrills with a plot as old as literature: an unstoppable monster threatens to kill everyone but is resisted by imperfect heroes.
Read moreCross-Cultural Fables: A Field Report from Bhutan
Lisa Mahoney looks for common themes in Bhutanese folktales and finds... the phallus town.
Read moreThe Unbound Writers Attend LitFest 2016 in Denver
Clockwise: CS Peterson the Viking, Theodore McCombs in the black hat, Mark Springer in the cowboy hat, Christie Lips, fittingly, behind the lip-shaped glasses, Gemma Webster in the horse mask barely visible in the bottom right, and Lisa Mahoney behind rectangles. June 2016.
June is Lighthouse Writers Workshop LitFest time in Denver. The Unbound Writers went to parties, attended short courses, co-sponsored and moderated a panel called "The Resurrection of Dystopian Literature" and interviewed the fabulously talented Claire Vaye Waktins.
Much more about our thoughts on these events will follow in later blog posts, but until then, we hope you will enjoy some candids from our working vacation.
Roger Zelazny: Pioneer of Genre-Blending and Bending, and his Lord of Light
Zelazny's works are essential speculative fiction classics and represent an important step in the evolution of science fiction and fantasy. He mixed various genres to produce entertaining, trail-blazing, genre-bending fiction.
Read moreMilitary Space Opera: New Adventures in the Vast Space of a Subgenre of a Subgenre
Military space opera sends carefully-crafted heroes on bold interplanetary adventures where ethical choices are not always black and white. Complex plots explode with military action, side love interests and high consequences for war's losers, while its themes often explore the consequences of bigotry and prejudice.
Read moreThe Heart Goes Last and other Recent Releases by Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood is a prolific writer. Today she releases a new novel, earlier in the year she released a book of short stories, and she contributed another story to an anthology of "cli-fi."
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"The Year of the Flood": Hope and Forgiveness in a Ruined World
Finding hope and redemption in Margaret Atwood's The Year of the Flood.
Read more2015 Hugo Awards Voting Smashes Previous Record by 65%
The old political saw that controvery builds engagement proves true regarding this year's Hugo Awards. Voting by members for the finalists far surpassed last year's totals, and we think the high participation is a testament to the vitality and engagement of the SFF community.
Read moreRevive the Grendel’s-Mother/Female-Warrior/Mother Archetype, Please!
After reading Sarah Boxer's article "Why are all the Cartoon Mothers Dead?" in The Atlantic, Fiction Unbound urges authors of speculative fiction to break the pattern of orphans and buddy-buddy fathers. Bring on the power moms!
Read moreBBC Mini-Series Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell Premiers in America on 6/13
From the BBC's publicity pages: Carvel as Jonathan the young upstart, and Marsan as Mr. Norrell.
The BBC mini-series based on Susanna Clarke's first novel, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, premiers on 6-13 in America. The alternate history fantasy tells of two rival magicians in Napoleonic England.
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