“I would die for my country, but I’d rather kill for it.” — Field Marshal Tamas. The Powder Mage Trilogy  by Brian McClellan is an excellent work of political and epic fantasy with very rich characters, phenomenal worldbuilding, and a plotline with twists and turns of epic proportions. The trilogy—comprising Promise of Blood , The Crimson Campaign , and The Autumn Republic —rapidly evolves from a local political coup into a cosmic struggle for survival. First, a spoiler-free review. Watch out...

The Dark Lord and Politics Political power is the most misunderstood force in worldbuilding. We often treat it like a static object—something you "seize" or "hold"—but power is actually more like electricity. It is dynamic, it flows through specific channels, and it can be directed, stored, or short-circuited. My Sovereign Circuit Model treats political power as a flow of energy that can be pooled, siphoned, or even short-circuited. To see how this works, let’s look at one of history’s most...

This has been an insane year. And I mean that quite literally. I've published a non-fiction book, I've launched a Kickstarter, I've started a shop on my website, I've made the short list for a novel competition (This one: https://flash500.com/short-list-novel-opening-2025/ My entry is Blood and Bloom in Las Vegas) And it's that last event (Blood and Bloom making the short list) that inspired this blog post. Urban fantasy lives at a fascinating crossroads. It is fantasy that insists on...