Court of Shadows is a brand new setting for Shadowrun 5th Edition that takes place on a metaplace filled with faeries, the Seelie Court, and rich details and characters. I co-designed the setting with Jason Hardy for this supplement, and contributed a huge chunk of the writing, too. I’m so excited to present this alternate setting, and hope fans’ll dig how I blended inspiration from previous sourcebooks into this unique metaplane.

2012 marks the 200th anniversary of Grimm’s Tales. For two centuries, the brothers’ collection of fairy tales provided us with a sense of wonder while remarking on our humanity. You may have already seen the celebratory uptick in fairy tale-themed movies, television shows, and stories — but what’s being published next is even better.

Acclaimed author Philip Pullman (His Dark Materials trilogy) has re-written fifty of these fairy tales for the modern age. His new book, titled Fairy Tales From The Brothers Grimm will debut on November 12, 2012. The British author has scheduled some appearances and readings related to the new tome; just check out the official website of Philip Pullman for details.

How do I start a review of the final book in a series that I love, which had me sobbing for about three chapters of the conclusion? As it turns out, by avoiding the issue:

I feel sorry for Prince Armand.

There, I said it. Three kick-butt heroines of the whole series and this review starts off with some compassion for the guy who is always first in line to get cursed, kidnapped, and just generally gets the short end of the deal. In a series about princesses who don’t need to be rescued, someone else has to be — and once again, nice-guy prince Armand (who seems reasonably capable) suffers some of the very first consequences to evil becoming a threat in the kingdom of Lorindar.

This time, the threat starts close to home, with Snow White, who has been set up for this kind of fall from the beginning of the series, overstretches her magical abilities and ends up releasing a demon from her mother’s magic mirror. Worse, the demon corrupts Snow herself, meaning that our three heroines are no longer on the same team.

The fairy tale lives again in these forty new stories by some of the biggest names in contemporary fiction.

Spinning houses and talking birds. Whispered secrets and borrowed hope. Here are new stories sewn from old skins, gathered from around the world by visionary editor Kate Bernheimer and inspired by everything from Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen” and “The Little Match Girl” to Charles Perrault’s “Bluebeard” and “Cinderella” to the Brothers Grimm’s “Hansel and Gretel” and “Rumpelstiltskin” to fairy tales by Goethe and Calvino. Fairy tales are our oldest literary tradition, and yet they chart the imaginative frontiers of the twenty-first century as powerfully as they evoke our earliest encounters with literature. This exhilarating collection restores their place in the literary canon.

Flames Rising is pleased to present the introduction to this new collection by Kate Bernheimer.

Jim Hines has a way of twisting fairy tales to let him get at bigger issues that lurk behind those stories. One of the biggest ideas he decided to take on is the traditional tale of Sleeping Beauty. One of the early versions of the tale says the the princess was not woken with a kiss, but either with intercourse or the pain of childbirth. If you follow Jim’s online writing at all, you know he’s worked very closely with rape survivors, and that talking about rape is important to him. It’s no surprise that he handles the issue with sophistication and a delicacy, which becomes even more relevant in Red Hood’s Revenge , a story that takes Talia back to her homeland to face her demons. The Lady of the Red Hood, also known as Roudette, is the most deadly assassin in the world, and she’s come after Talia. Her motives are unclear, especially when circumstances lead her to team up with the princess trio, but her hatred for fairies is obvious. When Talia wants to take out Zestan, a fairy the heroes suspect of being a deev — a very powerful evil fairy — Roudette gives every appearance of going along willingly, and only a shift in narrative technique allows readers to see that she’s up to something. (In the previous books, Jim stuck to a more limited third-person narrator; in Red Hood’s Revenge, the narration is broader, allowing peeks into several of the character’s perspectives.)

The way that publishers and authors present a fairy tale has always been somewhat interesting to me, because the tales I’ve read are often a mixture of advice, local customs and fantasy. Characters either live happily ever after or they wind up in the midst of a tragic situation they cannot find their way out of. GRIMM FAIRY TALES, published by Zenescope Entertainment, takes a much more traditional view of the fairy tale. (You may recall that Zenescope Entertainment is the same comic publisher that will be producing the CHARMED comic based on the television series.) Zenescope encourage their readers to “enter a world where morality is constantly tested and the shocking repercussions of one’s choices must always be faced.” In this first collection of full color comics, there are six fairy tales to explore: Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Hansel & Gretel, Rumpelstiltskin, Sleeping Beauty and Robber Bridegroom.

On the front cover of my copy of THE STEPSISTER’S SCHEME, there’s a quote. The quote reads:

“These princesses will give Charlie’s Angels’ a serious run for their money, and leave ’em in the dust.” — Esther Fresner, author of Nobody’s Princess.

Immediately, that quote set my expectations that THE STEPSISTER’S SCHEME was going to be a so-called fantasy “popcorn read.” That I was just going to sit back and watch Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty kick a whole lot of troll butt while they flirt their proverbial tiaras off. You know that part where you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover? Yeah, guilty as charged.

FlamesRising.com is pleased to present you with the first chapter of a book entitled THE MERMAID’S MADNESS, which was written by acclaimed author Jim C. Hines.

THE MERMAID’S MADNESS is the second in the series, and features a trip to the land of the mermen and mermaids.

The Mermaid’s Madness is available now at Amazon.com and DriveThruFantasy.com.

We’ve brought you previews of Hunters, we’ve shown you teasers of the Mages.

Now its time to take a look at what the Changelings are up too.

Equinox Road is a new book for the ENnie Nominated Changeling: the Lost.

The road is dangerous, and you may be torn apart by the Thorns. The destination is a risk of death, or the return to slavery. But there’s much to be gained for those brave and clever enough to dare the return — the return to Faerie.

Here is an exclusive preview of this upcoming book…