Can't imagine a better news to come back with after my paternity break. According to The Live Feed, first season of adaptation of Game of Thrones (first book of Song of Ice and Fire saga by George R.R. Martin) has been green-lighted by the producer: HBO. It doesn't come as a big surprise, we have all been expecting it - SoIaF is a great story, excellent cast was picked for the series and George's involvement in the project pretty much adds up to success.

Now it's official though. Nine episodes plus the pilot have been ordered. Production will begin in Belfast this June, which hopefully we'll get to see later this year. Read original article here.

SoIaF fans, rejoice!

What a stubborn child. My son still refuses to part with his mom, making me jump up at work every time my wife calls me. Yes, he is still not born. In the meantime world goes on, and from lack of anything better to write about (ok, from lack of time to do proper research on anything more interesting) I give you some free reading: Kelly Meding's "Three Days to Dead".

They'll never see her coming...

When Evangeline Stone wakes up naked and bruised on a cold slab at the morgue - in a stranger's body, with no memory of who she is and how she got there - her troubles are only just beginning. Before that night she and the two other members of her Triad were the city's star bounty hunters, mercilessly cleansing the city of the murderous creatures living in the shadows, from vampires to shape-shifters to trolls. Then something terrible happened that not only cost all three of them their lives but also convinced the city's other Hunters that Evy was a traitor and she can't even remember what it was.

Now she's a fugitive, piecing together her memory, trying to deal some serious justice - and discovering that she has only three days to solve her own murder before the reincarnation spell wears off. Because in three days Evy will die again - but this time there's no second chance...

You can download Three Days to Dead from Suvudu Free Library.

The Youngest Templar: Trail of Fate - Author: Michael P. Spradlin - 230 pp. Review by Kevin Gerard.
Kevin is the author of Conor and the Crossworlds, a fantasy series for young adults.

Trail of Fate is even better than the first book - Keeper of the Grail. The writing seemed much tighter, the story moved along briskly with a great deal of action, and the main characters' personalities started to emerge as the chapters flew by.

The book opens as Tristan, the squire of Sir Thomas of the Knights Templar, finds himself aboard an ill-equipped craft in turbulent seas. The storm is so violent he is tossed overboard with the Holy Grail in tow. He comes to learn a short time later that his companions were also ditched into the sea when the boat disintegrated amidst the huge swells.

This does not come as surprise. After amazing success of James Cameron's Avatar (read Fantasy Fan review here) other big studio's are jumping in on the 3D train. The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision Blog posted information regarding upcoming Harry Potter movies. Apparently both parts of the Harry Potter saga ending will be made in 3D technology.

"Early 3D-conversion tests on Warners' remake of 'Clash of the Titans' have gone so well that -- combined with boosted enthusiasm for 3D in the wake of the 'Avatar' tsunami -- the Burbank studio has decided to release not only 'Titans' but also the two-part 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' in 3D."

The information is not confirmed yet, but I find it highly believable. It looks like 3D technology is here to stay with new movies being released and ported to 3D ("Clash of the Titans" will be a 3D production as well). On top of that, TV manufacturers already started a race towards mass producing 3D ready displays. It's only a matter of time when it's going to become a new standard.

You can read the original Heat Vision Blog here.

I bet Robert Anthony Salvatore is having a great year so far. Not only he has just celebrated birthday (January 20th, I just found out that we share a birthday!), but on top of that he already sealed a major deal with Wizards of the Coast. Robert is going to deliver six more thrilling Dungeons & Dragons stories featuring Drizzt Do'Urden. Now does that not make you happy? I bet it makes Robert happy. :-)

Read the full press release on Wizards of the Coast website: www.wizards.com .

In other news, I'm still waiting for my son to be born.

With my son's imminent arrival (each day I get nervous few times during the day when my wife calls me at work) I have less time to lurk around on Fantasy Fan, however I want you to know that I'm still here! :-)

In the meantime take a look at the following fantasy iPhone wallpapers I found surfing the net. First one is made from the Eragon movie poster, second and third wallpaper is from Battle Realms and Empire Earth real time strategy games. The last wallpaper doesn't need introduction. ;-) So, if you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, take a look below, see if you like any of them!

DreamDark: Blackbringer - Laini Taylor, 2007, Firebird Fantasy Press. Review by Kevin Gerard

Laini Taylor is a genuine wordsmith. I love picking up a book and within a few pages realizing the rest of the prose will be a joy to read. Her descriptions of characters, places, and action are wonderfully constructed. I rarely had to "read" the story. The sentence structure flowed so smoothly I just sat back and let the characters dance inside my head. I could also tell that Ms. Taylor's story originated from deep within her heart, or more to the point, her infinite soul. These are the most rewarding stories I believe, for author and reader, the tales an author has waited his or her whole life to tell.

Brandon Sanderson is a name known to all Wheel of Time fans, however not all who heard about him know that continuing Robert Jordan's masterpiece was not the beginning of his career. Brandon was chosen *because* he already was a great writer and Robert trusted him enough to let him finish the work of his life.

Before getting involved with The Wheel of Time Brandon Sanderson wrote a fantasy trilogy called Mistborn (The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension, The Hero of Ages). The main character in Mistborn is Vin, a 16-year-old thief on the streets of Luthadel, the capital city of the Final Empire. The story follows her life as she comes into her own as one of the Mistborn, people who can use ingested metal particles to enhance their abilities, both mental and physical.

The books received great reviews from both readers and writers. In fact, the first book was recommended by Robin Hobb (The Farseer Trilogy). Mistborn is also recommended by Fantasy Fan readers on our Fantasy book recommendations page.

You can read more about Brandon on his website at www.brandonsanderson.com. If you're interested in Brandon's Mistborn series you can get a free taste at Amazon, where you will find the first chapter of The Final Empire, first book in the series.

There are many fantasy and sci-fi conventions across the world and then there is Dragon*Con. First launched in 1987 Dragon Con has to be the biggest SFF convention in US if not in the whole world. Each year DC attracts more and more visitors, who by now are counted in tens of thousands. Each year there are contests, shows, performances, sales and hundreds and thousands of people simply having fun. This year is no different.

Dragon*Con 2010 is still more than half a year away but it already has a number of prominent guests confirmed, including two of the StarTrek: The Next Generation stars: Jonathan Frakes (William Riker) and Marina Sirtis (Diana Troy), as well as two Twilight actors: Ashley Greene (Alice Cullen) and Kellan Lutz (Emmett Cullen). Did I not mention that a chance to meet the stars was one of the perks of visiting the convention? :-)

Dragon*Con 2010 will be held Labor Day weekend (September 3 - September 6, 2010) in Atlanta, GA. To learn more about the convention and to sign up go to Dragon*Con website.

The world is waking up from the end-of-decade party, time to start living in the new year 2010. It seems like a good time to take a look at what's hot in this new year in the fantasy books department! Take a look at Amazon's Fantasy bestseller list. The list is updated hourly, so don't worry if you're seeing different books or different order.

  1. Wit'ch Fire by James Clemens
  2. Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer
  3. Once Bitten by Kalayna Price
  4. Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer
  5. New Moon by Stephanie Meyer

Looking at that list I can't help to notice that it has been overtaken by vampires. Teenage vampires in particular. I'll leave you for now and go to ponder this fact.

I mean, where did the dragons go?

It wouldn't be a good year if we didn't have a new Shrek movie, so, not surprising, we do. Shrek 4, otherwise known as Shrek Forever After, continues the story of our favorite ogre. This time Shrek has to find a way to overcome a terrible curse that apparently changed the course of history. In this this twisted alter-universe Shrek, Fiona and Donkey never met, and the guy who brought this on them is ruling Far Far Away.

Shrek Forever After will come to a theater near you on May 21 2010. You can watch the trailer below, or find it directly on YouTube.

In July last year we wrote about new Discworld movie made by Sky1 network: Going Postal. The production is well under way as the movie is scheduled to air during the Easter 2010, in the meantime though Sky1 posted few of the stills from the movie set. You can take a look at them below, or on Sky1 website.

Sky has posted this short synopsis of the movie:
Going Postal is a story of sweet romance and dark revenge set against an ongoing dispute between a traditional postal system and Discworld's equivalent of the internet. Richard Coyle (Coupling) and David Suchet (Agatha Christie's Poirot) headline an all-star cast.

In June last year I noticed a marvelous cover for a book not released yet. I liked it so much, that I posted this article: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms cover. Today, during my usual blog crawl I stumbled upon this post by Aidan.

After following Aidan's link to Jemisin's website I've found not only two sample chapters, but also first ratings (Top Pick!) for the book. Looks like one of the candidates for best books of 2010! :-)

Take a look at the synopsis below and if you want to find the sample chapters, they're here: Chapter 1, Chapter 2.

Yeine Darr is an outcast from the barbarian north. But when her mother dies under mysterious circumstances, she is summoned to the majestic city of Sky. There, to her shock, Yeine is named an heiress to the king. But the throne of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is not easily won, and Yeine is thrust into a vicious power struggle with cousins she never knew she had. As she fights for her life, she draws ever closer to the secrets of her mother's death and her family's bloody history.

With the fate of the world hanging in the balance, Yeine will learn how perilous it can be when love and hate - and gods and mortals - are bound inseparably together.

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is going to be released on February 25, 2010 . You can pre-order it today, on Amazon.

After receiving a very strong feedback on the Best Fantasy Books of the Decade list I decided to clearly specify the criteria for Best Fantasy Books of 2009. This time the choice is not based on anyone's Top/Popular/Bestseller List. Following list was compiled based on the reviews and general community reception of the books.

First two positions are books long awaited and not disappointing (the two are equally important, there were many awaited fantasy books, that turned out to be less appealing than expected). Number three is the best fantasy debut and warmest welcome for a new writer I have ever seen. That says a lot about a book. Both number four and five constantly show up on my fantasy radar when new blogger discovers them and gives his own shining review. Here it is, Fantasy Fan's top 5:

  1. The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
  2. Dust of Dreams by Steven Erikson
  3. The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett
  4. Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie
  5. The Other Lands by David Anthony Durham

You can certainly argue the order, everyone has their own taste in reading, but each of the listed books was received very well by wide fantasy community along with becoming a bestseller (although that was not the part of the criteria). In short, you can't go wrong with those five if you're looking for quality fantasy reading. :-)

Following my review of Avatar movie I decided to put something in that theme on my desktop and went for a hunt for some good hi-res widescreen Avatar wallpapers. Here is the result of my search, seven images from the movie. Enjoy beautiful Pandora, Jake's Avatar and Na'vi princess Neytiri.

And I have to decide if it's worth going to see the movie in the cinema again or not. :-)

Ever since I heard that creator of Aliens (my all time favorite sci-fi movie) was working on another production I was excited like a kid on Christmas. Today I finally had the opportunity to see the movie and although it's by no means related to fantasy genre I had to share my thoughts on it. Here's my review of James Cameron's Avatar!

In a star system far away from Earth there is a planet more beautiful than you may dare to imagine: Pandora. It's special not only because of the breathtaking sights (and atmosphere). Pandora holds two wonders: some kind of rock, which is incredibly valuable for Earthlings and more importantly, a race of intelligent species: the Na'vi. Those blue-skinned giants are living not much unlike the native Americans, when European colonists first arrived. They live in harmony with nature and have no interest in anything civilization has to offer.

First day of the 2010 year seems like a good moment to look back at the greatest fantasy books of the past decade. As I mentioned many times before, Fantasy genre is blooming recently, conquering hearts of more and more readers. Among many series that rose and continued in the "00" decade two stand out as unquestionable leaders.

First one is Rowling's Harry Potter series, seven books about a young student wizard. The final installment of Harry Potter series (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) sold 8.3 million copies in the USA in its first 24 hours of release, making it the fastest-selling book of all time.

Second series undeniably ruling the fantasy market was Stephanie Mayer's Twilight, a vampire-romance novel aimed not unlike Harry Potter, at Young Adults. First book in the series became an instant bestseller, debuting at #5 on the New York Times Best Seller list within a month of its release and later peaking at #1.

Those two series combined have entirely taken over the "USA TODAY TOP 10 BOOKS OF THE 2000S" list. The only book outside of the genre to make it to the list is The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. Take a look at the list below, or if you don't believe me (I couldn't believe it myself!), take a look at the source.

1. Twilight, Stephenie Meyer
2. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown
3. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling
4. New Moon, Stephenie Meyer
5. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, J.K. Rowling
6. Harry Potter and the Half- Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling
7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling
8. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling
9. Eclipse, Stephenie Meyer
10. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J.K. Rowling

The world doesn't revolve around Harry Potter and Twilight alone though, so stay tuned for the best fantasy books of 2009! Coming soon on Fantasy Fan. :-)

It feels like not that long ago we were all in fear of the Y2K (which turned out to be way overrated) and now it's time to say goodbye to the "00" decade. Time flies, doesn't it? 2009 was a very good year for both Fantasy and Fantasy Fan. We posted well over 300 articles, among them close to 60 reviews of various fantasy books, movies and games. This was only possible thanks to our dedicated members, so I'd like to use this opportunity to say: Thanks guys! :-)

The end of year 2009 signifies one more thing, a change in hosting for Fantasy Fan! As I mentioned before the site moved from the old hosting to a brand new, super-fast host, which should make visiting Fantasy Fan a more enjoyable experience. The move has been almost completed and went through almost without issues. If you notice any issues though, make sure to let me know!

It's time to get read for the New Year celebration, so I hope this passing year was a good one for you and the next one will be even better! I'll see you in 2010!

I don't know about you, but last few days were a little bit more crazy than I would like. It's the traditional ordeal before Christmas, the chase to get everything ready, buy the presents, prepare food, clean the house, you name it. The crazyness is almost over, Soon we'll all have the time to relax and do something we really like, read the Christmas present book or play the Christmas present game. Or something entirely different. :-)

I'll be enjoying this time of the year making plans for the next year, trying to foresee the joys and troubles my soon-to-be-born son is going to bring my wife and me. I wish you have as happy and safe Chrismas we intend to have!

Merry Christmas everyone! :-)

For the past decade, games have been sold as being open-ended. The game worlds are huge, you can explore for hours, and the graphics are always cutting-edge. In this market, full of games claiming to be bigger and better and pushing their systems to the brink, it's unusual to see successful games that go in the other direction. Trine (PC, PS3, soon XBox360) , however, breaks out of this mold. Trine is almost a throwback to the old Commodore and Atari games and it provides far more fun than one would expect with a side-scroller fantasy adventure game.

Here's something for those of you who are looking for a *real* Role Playing experience, a Live Action Role Playing convention: Wyrd Con. Having seen how many people come in their own costumes to Comic Con I'm sure that this one (where costumes and roleplaying is openly encouraged) will be a blast as well!

The event will take place in Costa Mesa, California, on June 11-13, 2010. If you want to find out more or volunteer as a Minion or a Game Designer, visit convention's website at WyrdCon.com

Wyrd Con is a Live Action Role Playing (L.A.R.P. or L.R.P.) convention focused on bringing Role Players from different backgrounds, standards, rule sets, and game settings to one place to experience one another's diversity. We'll discuss Live Action Role Playing and hold many events that will allow people of all ages and familiarity levels to participate in the diversity of this rapidly growing international hobby. Wyrd Con stands for raising awareness and offering unforgettable experiences for those who wish to learn about the infinite varieties of the art form known as Live Action Role Playing.

Say whatever you want about him but one thing you can't aruge, Steven Erikson is not wasting time! While working on the ending to his epic saga (Malazan Book of the Fallen) Steven is publishing another book, a Bauchelain and Korbal Broach Novella: Crack'd Pot Trail. The book is scheduled for publishing on December 31th 2009 and you can preorder it here.

And while we wait for the release date, take a look at the cover art and the blurb:
It is an undeniable truth: give evil a name and everyone's happy. Give it two names and... why, they're even happier.

The intrepid necromancers Bauchelain and Korbal Broach, scourges of civilization, raisers of the dead, reapers of the souls of the living, devourers of hope, betrayers of faith, slayers of the innocent and modest personifications of evil, have a lot to answer for and answer they will. Known as the Nehemoth, they are pursued by countless self-professed defenders of decency, sanity and civilization. After all, since when does evil thrive unchallenged? Well, often: but not this time.

Hot on their heels are the Nehemothanai, avowed hunters of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach. In the company of a gaggle of artists and pilgrims, stalwart Mortal Sword Tulgord Vise, pious Well Knight Arpo Relent, stern Huntsman Steck Marynd, and three of the redoubtable Chanter brothers (and their lone sister) find themselves faced with the cruelest of choices. The legendary Cracked Pot Trail, a stretch of harsh wasteland between the Gates of Nowhere and the Shrine of the Indifferent God, has become a tortured path of deprivation.

Will honour, moral probity and virtue prove champions in the face of brutal necessity? No, of course not. Don't be silly.

There is a place, like no place on Earth, some say to survive in, you have to be as mad as a Hatter. Alice in Wonderland (also known as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland) by Lewis Caroll is coming to the big screen, which you probably already know as we wrote about it before: Alice in Wonderland movie. What you don't know, is that there already is a trailer for it!

Disney is going all out with fantasy movies next year. We already told you about The Sorcerer's Apprentice and Prince of Persia, two big budget productions. Alice is the third project, where big names (Depp, Burton) are almost a guarantee of success.

And the trailer (see below or on YouTube) is absolutely fantastic!

A long, long time ago, when SPAM was just a weird four letter word Fantasy Fan allowed people to post comments for the articles. It was a great thing to have, but as times changed day after day I had to contribute more and more time to weed out the porn, viagra, cialis and other very productive posts. It reached the point where I just couldn't keep up and decided to remove the comment module, leaving the discussion to our forum.

Today though, it seems that the times finally caught up with the problem and I may have a solution that will stop the wave of automated spam. Cross your fingers. :-) I have enabled commenting again, but I want you to know that this is still early stage of testing, meaning that I know it's working, but am not sure if there side effects I haven't noticed.

In order to comment, you have to register: it's a first hurdle for any robot trying to share the best online pharmacy with us. Also, if you post a comment and it doesn't show up under the article, it most likely means that it was held for moderation. You can check what is happening with it on Your account page. If you're experiencing any other issues, please let me know on Portal Administration forum. For now though, enjoy! :-)

Seventeen-year-old actress Kelley Winslow always thought faeries were just something from childhood stories. Then she meets Sonny Flannery. He's a changeling - a mortal taken as an infant and raised among Faerie - and within short order he's turned Kelley's heart inside out and her life upside down.

Lesley Livingston's "Wondrous Strange" is another book reviewed by our member, Mel McKenzie. Enjoy!

Wondrous Strange

Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston is a book about Faeries and their world, which is new for me. Of all the mythical creatures, vampires have always been high on my list of favorites, because the vampire?s mystery appeals to me. On the opposite end of my fascination are zombies. But, somewhere above zombies, in the center, are the apathetic creatures, and this is where you?ll likely find the faerie. Unlike the zombies that irritated me, the faeries simply didn't register on my radar, not until I decided to give Wondrous Strange a chance.