Recent content by Sam James

I am a big fan of Martin too and agree the magic is subtle in the books, however: A Game of Thrones opens with an undead warrior killing 2 of the Night's Watch. Afterwards the magic takes a backseat, but it is foreshadowed right from the beginning, making it all the more exciting when the...

Only if you're planning to get published in China :p I say you are worrying over nothing, just get the book written, see if an agent or publisher is willing to take it on, and then in the final editing process worry if things need to be taken out. :)

Ah yes, I forgot about the Trell, so thanks for correcting me. The main point I want to make is although Erikson's races share physical similarities to some stock fantasy races, is there anything beyond that? I am not sure. Through-out the thread people have spoken on the Elf archetype. Do...

Well, that's a much more controversial incident, although occurring before WWII, that still divides China-Japan relations.

I think some of the links are very tenuous. Giants? Toblakai? Perhaps, they are only about 10 feet tall right? Karsa Orlong is more a play on the Conan/barbarian archetype and Erikson has already spoken on such. Ogres? Jaghut? Apart from green skin and tusks, I see no other similarities. The...

I think you need to expand your horizons a little with reading a bigger variety of books. There are tons of books without orcs and elves in them. The problem of using stock fantasy races is more apparent in video games than books. Read some Martin, Abercombie, Erikson, 3 of the biggest names in...

When I read the first page I thought you were going to do the Raping of Nanking. So I was relieved to see otherwise. I'm not sure who would be offended by the re-telling of the atomic bomb drops. The Japanese have already played off the events in a speculative setting. For example the...

In your world is there another mythical creature either despised or ridiculed often? For example if everyone hates/pokes fun at gnomes you could have: Where on a gnome's backside have you been?

One problem that might have readers cringing and stop reading is a lot of racial slurs (especially about black people) are often based on western ideals of beauty, which differ greatly from traditional African ideals. (For example you mention a large backside.) Even though it is your...

For me, anything I enjoy I have a burning desire to craft it too. In my house I have masses of DJ equipment and production software on my computer because I like electronic music. I listen to the music and think 'I want to make stuff like this,' and so I learnt to. I like photography too, and so...

It only takes a couple of years to learn a language fluently, if you live in the area it is spoken. (I can speak Korean close to fluently and it took me 3 years.) If your Elves and Dwarves have the traditional longevity prescribed to them, then I am sure they could have learnt the language...