Impressions: Skyfall

Slick, sexy and stunning. All three words describe the most recent installment in the James Bond franchise. Daniel Craig reprises his role as Agent 007 in “Skyfall,” facing down death, destruction and the newest (and arguably best) villain since Goldfinger in Javier Bardem’s cyber-savvy terrorist, Silva.

Sigils of the Royal Houses of the Northern Realms

As a fantasy writer, I have that unique problem of getting a bit lost in my own worlds. Sometimes I forget that I'm supposed to be writing a narrative and get lost in the colorful histories that happen in the background. This post is a perfect example. The Maric di Ascalon stories take place in a medieval world, one ruled by kings and other high lords. The sigils of these powerful families have always been a subject that interested me.

A few hours ago, I found a program that let me fiddle with and create my own coats-of-arms for these dynasties. Below, for the curious, are the emblems of the royal houses of the Northern Realms, as well as brief explanations as to their symbolism.

Notebook: The Enchantress

I present yet another part of the Maric di Ascalon cycle. Chronologically, this takes place a few years after "The Swordmaster" and in collection will probably sit afterwards too. I'd also like to take a moment to point out that these are in no way final versions and a lot is subject to change. I'm just of the school of thought that perfection isn't everything; I want you, my dear reader, to enjoy the journey of writing these stories as much as I am.

Morgan Le Fay and the Lady of the Lake were both inspirations for this character.

The Enchantress

By Blake Tan

Cold winds encircled the restless band waiting by the edge of the vast lake, shivering despite the layers of wool and fur they wore. They were a ragged bunch, some still bearing the tattered badges of lords they had served or free companies they had fought for, but their eagerness was palpable, despite the supernatural chill that saturated the night air.

“Better be worth it, Quenton,” grumbled one of the mercenaries, shoving their prisoner onto his knees by the banks of the lake. “The bastard killed seven of ours before we could take him alive. Might’ve got more of us too, if not for Elgearne’s shot.”

The band’s leader, Quenton vyr Theiss, a broad-shouldered bear of an Ostian, gave the captive a solid smack on the back of the head. “He’ll be worth it; the king wants this whoreson alive. I reckon he’s in for a worse fate than a hanging or a beheading.”

Notebook: The Swordmaster

Behold: the first glimmerings of my fantasy magnum opus! I've been working on my own heroic cycle for a long time now -- a lot of that time was spent developing a world that both echoed the familiar themes of the genre while pushing for its own unique identity -- and the culmination of that work is what I am tentatively calling the Maric di Ascalon short stories, set in the universe of Sphaeren.

I'm drawing from many, many sources of inspiration: George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher, the Warhammer Fantasy universe, Robert E. Howard's Conan, and various historical and mythical pieces. Hopefully, by combining elements from these great exemplars of fantasy, and both treading familiar ground and cutting new paths, I can tell a story that is both enjoyable and provoking. Tell me what you think!

Also, here's a link to the audio file, with me reading!

In Tolkien's The Children of Hurin, Turin wields the black sword, Gurthang. (Picture by Ted Nasmith)

The Swordmaster

By Blake Tan

The songs of the old oracles name the easterly wind Aes, the eldest daughter of Wodan Sky-Father. They say she flies upon a raven-winged horse, cursed to ride against the fury of the sun god, Aurahel Aelar, whom the elves call Ancestor, for her part in the treachery of Malaketh, who sought to usurp Wodan’s throne. When Aes must ride, the bright fire of Aurahel’s undimmed glory scorches her silver hair and gray ashes rain down upon the world. The oracles tell that it is these ashes that bring ruin and misery to mortal men. 

Notebook: Revolutionary Day

Revolutionary Day

By Blake Tan

Carlos Villabuena was born on the west end of Pasaquinas, near the municipal center of Pasaquinas City, in 1952. His mother was the fourth child of a family of seventeen, the oldest daughter, and had met his father, Luis Sanchez Villabuena, when she attended the Santa Clara College for Women in 1946. He was the dashing son of an aristocratic family from the east end of the island, who, along with his like-minded, youthful compatriots with money to spend, liked to roam Metro Pasaquinas for university girls. Rita Corón had seen him, the handsome principalia lieutenant, smiling at her from across the bar. She smiled back, and the rest, as the Pasaquinos say, is la cuenta que todos saben.

Notebook: Confessional Booth

Confessional Booth

By Blake Tan

“Speak, mi hijo, confess your sins
so the Savior can forgive you,”
says the padre behind the screen.
Amado squirms in the rickety room,
the confessional booth creaking.
His mama had yanked him off the fence
where he liked to sit and admire the schoolgirls
as they marched to the Santa Maria preparatoria atop the hill,
their blue plaid skirts hiked up to their knees,
where the dirt road muddied their brown-flecked black socks.

Why I Preordered XCOM: Enemy Unknown

Strategy games have always held my rather short attention spans longer than most other games. There's a draw that strategy games, whether it's grand strategy (Crusader Kings II), RTS (Starcraft, Company of Heroes), or turn-based (Civilization), that keeps me around longer than a hectic, story-lite FPS or even RPGs nowadays. When I first saw a preview of XCOM: Enemy Unknown in a GameInformer issue many months ago, my interest was already piqued. Now that I've read previews from IGN, Rock, Paper, Shotgun, and PC Gamer, watched the trailers about a hundred times, I thought: "To hell with it! I'll drop the fifty bucks and preorder the damn game already!"

The free copy of Civilization V that went along with the preorder on Steam definitely helped that decision.