Questions No One Asked – What’s the deal with Valyrian steel?

26 May, 201726 May, 2017 ~ Zealot Guest Author ~ Leave a comment

by Sam Honour

Every epic fantasy worth its salt has epic weapons to match. Lord of the Rings has Narsil, Glamdring and Sting; Harry Potter has the Elder wand; The Chronicles of Narnia has those presents from Santa, I guess? And George R. R. Martin’s epic Song of Ice and Fire is no exception. The powerful and coveted Valyrian steel is renowned to lords and smallfolk alike thanks to its unrivalled strength and alleged magical properties. But what is Valyrian steel? What makes it so powerful? Would it be able to cut through those vacuum sealed plastic packets that nothing on this plane of existence has been able to get through as of yet? Well I’m going to endeavour to answer this question no one asked, whether you want me to or not. Continue reading →

Writing Prompts: Good or Bad for the Writer’s Soul?

24 May, 2017 ~ Zealot Guest Author ~ Leave a comment

by Courtney Vice

As a writer, I have noticed a trend surging online amongst the writing community: writing prompts. These prompts are generally short and—if they’re good—creative starters to writing. Essentially, they’re a cure for writer’s block. An example could be an opening line, a scenario, or even dialogue from a character. Entire subreddits are dedicated to writing prompts, both the good (“Give the hero the most villainous powers you can, and the villain the most heroic”) and the bad (“Write a story that takes place in our universe”). Nowadays, these prompts are a way to get the creative juices flowing. But the question remains: are they actually beneficial to the writer, or do they limit their creativity to ideas that others have already come up with? Continue reading →

Emerging Worlds Pre-Launch

23 May, 2017 ~ Pete Richmond ~ Leave a comment

Zealot Script is proud to announce that we will be hosting and publishing a new SFF e-magazine titled:

“Emerging Worlds”

While the fine details are still under wraps for the time being, we are pleased to announce that we are open for early submissions of short fiction.

The current details can be found here.

We’ll bring you more details as the project advances, stay tuned!

Locus Awards Announces 2017 Finalists

18 May, 201717 May, 2017 ~ Pete Richmond ~ Leave a comment

The Locus Awards, awarded by the science fiction and fantasy magazine Locus, have recognised some of the biggest names in the business.

Past winners include Le Guin, Gaiman and Asimov, among a whole of other household names. The awards cover all the major categories with the standard speculative fiction award staples of Best Science Fiction Novel and Best Fantasy Novel the most prestigious, but also cover all aspects of SFF literature. An example of this is the most decorated winner of the whole Locus award history is Gardner Dozois, with an astounding 35 Locus Award wins, all of them in editing categories. Continue reading →

Gollancz Gambles on The Girl King

17 May, 201717 May, 2017 ~ Pete Richmond ~ Leave a comment

Mimi Yu is an author in high demand, despite not yet having a book published.

Already signed up to a two book deal with Bloomsbury, which they had to bid for at an auction, the rights to the UK releases of Yu’s debut works have been snapped up by Gollancz to publish.

The first novel, The Girl King, is set in a fantasy world inspired by North and East Asian history and tells the story of a young girl who loses her claim to her throne. Continue reading →

Review – The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon

16 May, 2017 ~ Zealot Guest Author ~ Leave a comment

by Meera Nair

Thank you Bloomsbury India for sending me a copy of this book for review.

The Song Rising is the third instalment in Samantha Shannon’s dystopian fiction series, The Bone Season. True to its namesake, the novel chronicles the rising of hope, as the Mime Order attempts to evade the growing power of Scion (a corrupt governmental organization that seeks to rid the world of unnaturals). The new threat that the Mime Order faces makes it impossible for clairvoyants to roam freely in London. In addition to facing off the malicious Hildred Vance, Paige Mahoney has lured a hoard of other enemies. Nashira Sargas, the Emim, Terebell Sheratan are all waiting for her to slip up. Even some of the clairvoyants seem to think her unfit to be the Underqueen. With so many people vying for her failure, Paige is thrust into a ceaseless conundrum. Continue reading →

Award for Disability Advocacy in SFF Launched

15 May, 201715 May, 2017 ~ Pete Richmond ~ Leave a comment

I’m very excited to bring you an awards announcement of a very different kind this time around.

A new award, the D Franklin Defying Doomsday Award is being launched.

Hosted by the folks over at Twelfth Planet Press, the award celebrates something very different than the normal “excellence” in the field.

Off the back of the wonderful anthology, Defying Doomsday, which supported positive story telling around people with disabilities, the award is to be a special award for disability advocacy in Science Fiction and Fantasy literature. Continue reading →