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What Helldivers 2 Tell us About Men and Reading
I’m a fantasy writer who often prefers exploring a character’s inner conflicts over rushing into another dragon-slaying battle. Recently, though, I’ve found myself captivated by Helldivers 2, a game that is a man’s call to arms. The premise is simple, yet awesome. It's space marines dropping from orbit into waves of monstrous enemies, fighting shoulder to shoulder with a squad, and rallying around the satirical cries of “managed democracy.” Beneath the alien killing chaos lie
iyrunner9
Aug 203 min read


How Lord Of the Rings is Christian
By: Izaic Yorks This also how I look when raiding the kitchen for midnight chocolate... The Sacred Fire of Middle-earth: How Tolkien Wove...
iyrunner9
Jul 194 min read


The Best Fantasy Books For Beginners and Veterans
Explore the best fantasy books and what makes them epic. Whether you're new or a fan, discover stories that will keep you hooked.
iyrunner9
Jul 99 min read


What Do We Mean by Diversity in Fantasy?
Read why diversity of thought is key to fresh, exciting fantasy stories that challenge readers and reflect the real world more fully.
iyrunner9
Jun 251 min read


Why Do We Forget That Orcs Have Families Too?
In the age of subversion for subversion’s sake, the extraordinary has become painfully ordinary.
And that's why we forget orcs have families too.
Because subversion is everywhere. But disruption without direction is just gobbledygook. It’s like flooding a neighborhood with yellow cars. What once stood out is plain, old background.
Fantasy literature has increasingly leaned into this trend.
iyrunner9
Jun 183 min read


10 Epic Fantasy Books to Read If You Love Brandon Sanderson
In this “10 Epic Fantasy Books to Read If You Love Brandon Sanderson” guide, you’ll find blockbuster hits and indie treasures brimming with fierce female leads, inventive worldbuilding, and heart-pounding stakes! These epic fantasy novels are perfect for both Sanderson fans and newcomers alike.
iyrunner9
May 252 min read


Heavenbreaker Book Review (2025): Giant Mechs, Space Jousting, and Unchecked Rage
I really did enjoy this book. In the same way you can love an over-the-top action movie that skips past logic for the sake of spectacle, Heavenbreaker delivers raw, fast-paced fun.
It’s like Gundam meets high fantasy with a splash of Evangelion—where space knights duel in giant mech suits powered by a strange, possibly alien, intelligence. The story follows Synali Hauteclare, a bastard noble with a score to settle. And she’s settling it one brutal space joust at a time.
iyrunner9
May 163 min read


The Ultimate Guide to an Awesome Fantasy Book Club
A book club is one of the best ways to share that. To gather people around a single story and find the unseen angles through the eyes of each other. Not every club does this. But the best ones do.
They don’t just read the book.
They step into it.
"The Ultimate Guide to an Awesome Fantasy Book Club" is here to help you build that kind of club—not perfect, but personal. Wonderful adventures, together.
iyrunner9
Apr 235 min read


The Enchanted Forest: A Fantasy Folk Tale
Not so far away, within a forest awaits an enchanted place. It is a place only wanderers, fortune-seekers, and foolish children seek to go. It is now a cursed place and full of wonders. Of those, whose lives the forest has claimed, their treasure and tales lie — waiting to be discovered.
Eighty-six years ago when I was but a wee lass, I left my mother's gardens, hopped my father's walls, and disappeared into my great-great-grandparents' forest. Unlike any other time, I del
iyrunner9
Apr 1918 min read


The Hollow That Hungers: 5e TTRPG Encounter
The Anchor shard has been recovered, and the Dragonbone relic beneath Las Coronas has been disturbed. Upon returning to the surface, the adventurers find the village silent. No birds sing. Villagers whisper of strange dreams, lights in the fog—and a second child has now gone missing.
iyrunner9
Apr 1310 min read


The Eternal Struggle of Light and Darkness: A Journey Through Epic Fantasy and Christian Allegory
In the realms of epic fantasy literature, the themes of light and darkness have long been utilized as powerful symbols of the eternal battle
iyrunner9
Nov 4, 20245 min read


Aithos - A Fantasy Kickstarter is Live
Launch day has arrived! Outside of book release day of Aithos, this epic fantasy Kickstarter is the most anticipated part of the process....
iyrunner9
Mar 6, 20242 min read


Justice: Origins of a Story
Behind Walktall Part 3 - Letting Justice Lead Walktall is out and after a brief snafu in which I gave a rough draft to reviewers, I...
iyrunner9
Nov 14, 20232 min read


Ascendant: Saga of Valor
The Audio Book Production For Ascendant is Done! Kotuk, once the Lord Ascendant, forever the Ghost Who Walks Not much to write today,...
iyrunner9
Oct 19, 20232 min read


The Abyss: Origins of a story
Behind Walktall Part 1 - Re-education Camps All story stands on the shoulders of reality. Inspired, incited from pen to paper by the...
iyrunner9
Sep 7, 20233 min read


A Photo Journey: Inspiring Places Ascendant: Saga of Valor
"Take only memories, leave only footprints" - Chief Seattle Nothing is created in a vacuum for us humans. Everything rides on the...
iyrunner9
Aug 23, 20232 min read


It Takes a Village To Raise A Child & A Necromancer To Raise A Village - (a rules-lite ttrpg below)
A new tabletop RPG in the spirit of virtue
iyrunner9
Jul 19, 20231 min read


SCIENCE FICTION & EPIC FANTASY WITH A FOCUS ON VIRTUE
This is a quick explanation of why I focus my writing on Virtue
iyrunner9
Jun 6, 20231 min read
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