Author Archives: Rawle Nyanzi

On Conan and Women

Posted on April 14, 2020 by Rawle Nyanzi

Before we start, I just want to update you on how I’m handling the coronavirus crisis. Simply put, this has been my most productive month for writing; I’ve drafted three 10K+ short stories and am nearly finished drafting a novella. … Continue reading →

Posted in Fantasy | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Why Battleborn Is Good

Posted on March 4, 2020 by Rawle Nyanzi

When I heard that friend of the blog Adam Lane Smith had written Battleborn, a short story about mechs, I wanted to see what he would do with the concept since I myself had published a mech story a year … Continue reading →

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Why Metal Mage Works

Posted on February 11, 2020 by Rawle Nyanzi

I shouldn’t have liked the novel Metal Mage by Eric Vall. It has so many negatives: Apparently poor pacing. A hazy and incoherent conflict (more on both of these later.) A Gary Stu protagonist. Over-description in some places. And yet, … Continue reading →

Posted in Fantasy | Tagged | 2 Comments

On Martial Maidens II

Posted on January 22, 2020 by Rawle Nyanzi

Yesterday, I put up a blog post where I showed videos discussing Andrew Klavan’s comments regarding women and swordfighting (namely, that women are utterly useless at it.) As one would expect, this has been discussed all around the internet, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Fantasy | 8 Comments

On Martial Maidens

Posted on January 21, 2020 by Rawle Nyanzi

A few days ago, published author and political commentator Andrew Klavan commented on Netflix’s recent Witcher fantasy series. Noting a scene where a queen swordfights with great skill, he says the following: “There’s a couple of scenes where women fight … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction | 12 Comments

So Long, Christopher Tolkien

Posted on January 17, 2020 by Rawle Nyanzi

As many of you already know, Christopher Tolkien, son of Lord of the Rings author J. R. R. Tolkien, has died. He was in charge of Tolkien’s estate, and the driving force behind getting The Silmarillion into publishable form. His … Continue reading →

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What’s Wrong with Franchises?

Posted on January 14, 2020 by Rawle Nyanzi

Recently, friend of the blog Alexander Hellene stated his disgust with IP franchises. Aside from personal preference, he believes that stories should have a beginning, middle, and end, without extraneous material like side stories and such. I can see why … Continue reading →

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Hypergamy Among Robots, or Why Grento Became Grenthree

Posted on January 13, 2020 by Rawle Nyanzi

A while back, I posted a little cartoon on Twitter showing the Grenzmark II from Brian Niemeier’s Combat Frame Xseed trying to get with the Grand Valkyur from my own Shining Tomorrow. I’ve decided to repost it here on the … Continue reading →

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No Iconic Xseed Characters

Posted on January 10, 2020 by Rawle Nyanzi

NOTE: There will be no spoilers for any of the Combat Frame Xseed novels. Also, I had forgotten to link to the Shining Tomorrow Historical Lore in the Robo-Inversions post; the link is now there. One thing I noticed when … Continue reading →

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The Hero’s Journey of a YELOW Girl: Crossing the Threshold in Shining Tomorrow Volume 1

Posted on January 9, 2020 by Rawle Nyanzi

Inspired by friend of the blog JD Cowan’s “Story Sheets,” I will talk about the first act of my own novel, Shining Tomorrow Volume 1: Shadow Heart in terms of the “Hero’s Journey” as commonly understood. Popularized by Joseph Campbell … Continue reading →

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