This article is by Anne Marie Gazzolo. In the essay, “On Fairy-Stories,” J.R.R. Tolkien speaks of a subject close to his heart. He had a life-long interest in and love for the genre, and approaches the topic as an author. According to Tolkien, fairy-stories allow us as readers and authors to experience what he calls … Read more
“When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge.” -Albert Einstein When Albert Einstein imagined himself chasing a beam of light, he was able to conclude that the speed of time is relative … Read more
Is black and white dead? No, I’m not talking about film. With the recent surge in popularity of George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series (a.k.a. Game of Thrones), fantasy as a genre has gained a new audience. Even those who have not ventured into fantasy before can easily find themselves … Read more
In fantasy, weaponry is something we’ve come to expect to see. There are wars, battles, even personal fights against a single rival, and that means the combatants need something to fight with. Sometimes fists are enough; sometimes magic is used. But the rest of the time, there are weapons. One thing fantasy weapons sometimes come … Read more
This article is by Joseph Zieja. I’m an officer in the United States Air Force, and I’ve been wearing the uniform for ten years. I also write. I’ve had pieces appear in Daily Science Fiction and some other anthologies across the web and in print. So I have a tiny bit of writing clout to … Read more
This article is by Henry L. Herz. When my sons were five and seven years old, I wanted to share my love of fantasy with them. Struck by inspiration one day, I came up with a way to share the joy of entering the magical realms of fantasy. I would write a fantasy book for … Read more
A new graduate from the Mechanical Engineering department at Miskatonic University wants to get his career going. So he has to decide what he’s going to design first. He decides to build an aircraft carrier. Never mind that this is one of the most elaborate, complex pieces of machinery conceivable—the graduate has decided that he’s … Read more
In our distant past, archery nearly became a lost art, a useless tool once weapons technology had moved on. If not for the resurgence of popularity in the early to mid-nineteenth century, it might have vanished in Europe and America entirely, being relegated to the more primitive cultures which rely on it as a means … Read more
This article is by Marc Davies. If you have watched television, read a newspaper, seen a play or been to a movie in the last couple of years, there’s no doubt that you would have been exposed to lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people and their issues. The only way you could avoid it is … Read more
Is it wrong for Christians to write about magic, wizards and otherworldly beings? Surprisingly, some people believe so. Over a decade ago a fundamentalist church not far from my home made headlines by having a Harry Potter bonfire. Christians from the surrounding area were invited to bring their Harry Potter books to a public burning. … Read more