Fantasy for the Ages

James Islington has been on my fantasy TBR for YEARS. I've heard the praise, seen the glowing reviews, and watched his popularity soar. But somehow, I just kept putting him off. Well, NO MORE! I've finally taken the plunge, starting with his debut novel, THE SHADOW OF WHAT WAS LOST, Book 1 of The Licanius Trilogy. And now I'm wondering... WHAT TOOK ME SO LONG?! In this spoiler-lite rev...

"I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubble gum!" That legendary line might be the most famous thing about John Carpenter's 1988 science fiction cult classic THEY LIVE, starring professional wrestling legend "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. But beneath the cheesy dialogue, outrageous fight scenes, and low-budget alien effects lies a surprisingly t...

THIS IS MIDDLE GRADE?! Eric Haan's Drakenaarde Chronicles Just Got DARK! Dragons! Mysterious Sea People! Dangerous wizards! Shocking revelations! And... DEATH?! Wait a minute, isn't this supposed to be middle-grade fantasy?! In this spoiler-lite review, Jim dives into Giffy and the Sea People, the fourth installment in Eric Haan's The Drakenaarde Chronicles. And things are getting SERI...

Cave diving is terrifying enough. Now add something hungry to the water. In this spoiler-lite review, Jim dives into the 2026 survival-horror thriller The Devil’s Mouth, a movie that combines flooded caves, claustrophobia, questionable decision-making, and a very unwelcome underwater predator. The critics weren’t particularly kind to this one—but Jim had a surprisingly good time with it! We’ll loo...

Six books into the Bobiverse, has Dennis E. Taylor still got it—or is the formula starting to feel stale? In this spoiler-lite review of The Infinite Extent, Jim explores whether Bobiverse book 6 delivers the creativity, humor, mysteries, and cosmic stakes that keep readers coming back. From the Bobs’ impressive—but limited—abilities to humanity’s reliably questionable decision-making, there’s ple...

A tropical island. A terrible boss. And absolutely no HR department. 🏝️🥥 In this spoiler-lite review, Jim takes a look at Send Help (2026), Sam Raimi’s darkly comedic survival thriller starring Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien. What starts as a workplace nightmare becomes something far more dangerous—and considerably more entertaining—when an overlooked employee and her arrogant boss survive a pl...

You kept telling me to read Empire of Silence. I finally listened. Were you right—or has the entire reading community developed a collective case of recency bias? In this spoiler-lite review, Jim dives into Christopher Ruocchio’s Empire of Silence, the opening novel of The Sun Eater, to explore its sprawling worldbuilding, fascinating characters, beautiful prose, and reflective storytelling. So ma...

What happens when wanting something—or someone—stops being desire and becomes something much darker? In this episode of Fantasy for the Ages, Jim dives into Obsession (2026), a twisted genre film that takes a familiar idea and pushes it into increasingly disturbing territory. What starts out strange gets stranger, as obsession, desperation, and some seriously questionable choices collide in a stor...

Pilgrim’s Storm Brooding by Damien Black is the third book in The Broken Stone Chronicle—and three books in, I’m still asking the same question: Why is nobody talking about this series?! The first book was really good. The second was a huge step forward. So could Damien Black possibly keep that momentum going with a massive third installment, or was this where the series would finally plateau—or w...

Zach has finally read Stephen King’s THE STAND—and now we have some things to talk about. Jim and Zach are joined by Eric Haan for a full-spoiler conversation about one of King’s biggest, most ambitious, and most beloved novels. This isn’t a traditional review. Instead, we’re digging into the questions, characters, bizarre moments, and huge ideas that make THE STAND so much fun to discuss after yo...

What happens when your home becomes an inescapable prison—and the thing trapping you appears to be solid water? In this spoiler-lite review, Jim dives into Netflix’s 2026 sci-fi horror thriller The Last House, starring Greta Lee and Wagner Moura. The movie offers an intriguing survival premise, tense family dynamics, mysterious creatures, strong performances, and some impressive effects. It also f...

You think you know zombie apocalypse stories? The Rising by Brian Keene might have a few surprises waiting for you. In this spoiler-lite review, Jim dives into the 2003 Bram Stoker Award-winning novel that helped kick off the modern zombie-fiction resurgence—and somehow escaped his attention for more than two decades. These aren’t your typical shambling, mindless undead. Keene’s zombies can think,...

John Scalzi has become one of those authors I can count on to deliver a great time—but what happens when you go all the way back to the very beginning? Today on Fantasy for the Ages, Jim dives into Agent to the Stars, the first novel Scalzi ever wrote—years before Old Man’s War launched his publishing career. Originally released online as a free “shareware novel,” this bizarre first-contact comedy...

Supergirl (2026) has officially landed—and after all the controversy, online backlash, and disappointing box office, I finally sat down to see what went wrong. Was Milly Alcock REALLY the problem? Or did Supergirl have much bigger issues? In this spoiler-lite review, I break down James Gunn’s latest DC Universe adventure, starring Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El. And here’s the thing: this movie wasn’...

Coyote vs. ACME had NO RIGHT to be this good. Taking Wile E. Coyote—the perpetually unsuccessful predator who has spent decades ordering catastrophically unreliable products from ACME—and building an entire feature-length movie around him sounds like a recipe for disaster. Instead, Coyote vs. ACME somehow delivers a genuinely clever story, terrific performances, fantastic live-action/animation int...

Hollywood has once again reached into the toy box, grabbed a beloved childhood franchise, and thrown a massive budget at it. But was Masters of the Universe actually worth the power? In this spoiler-lite review, Jim heads back to Eternia to discuss the 2026 Masters of the Universe movie starring Nicholas Galitzine as He-Man, Jared Leto as Skeletor, Camila Mendes as Teela, Idris Elba as Man-At-Arms...

Is Gardens of the Moon REALLY the hardest start to a fantasy series? Steven Erikson’s opening novel in Malazan Book of the Fallen has developed an almost legendary reputation. Huge cast. Minimal exposition. Warrens. Ascendants. Gods. Empires. Ancient races. Political conflicts already underway. Characters talking about people, places, and events as though YOU should already know what they mean. Fo...

Deadhouse Landing feels like the best fan fiction ever written… except the fan writing it is actually one of the creators! In this spoiler-lite review, Jim dives into Ian C. Esslemont’s Deadhouse Landing, Book 2 of the Path to Ascendancy series, and explores how it brings the origins of the Malazan Empire to life. For longtime Malazan fans, this book is an absolute TREASURE TROVE. We finally get t...

Brian Lumley’s original Necroscope saga has reached its grand finale! After five books filled with vampires, psychic espionage, horrifying body transformations, alternate dimensions, and the increasingly complicated life of Harry Keogh, does Deadspawn actually manage to LAND THE PLANE? In this spoiler-lite review, Jim takes a look at Deadspawn, Book 5 of Brian Lumley’s Necroscope series and the co...

What epic high fantasy series should EVERY fantasy fan experience at least once? In this episode of Fantasy for the Ages, Jim and Zach each bring five completed epic high fantasy series to the table—creating a combined list of 10 series we believe deserve to be part of every serious fantasy reader's journey. But this isn't simply a list of our 10 favorite series. We're looking at signi...

Can you really take a cyberpunk novel seriously when it has a cover like THAT? 😆 As it turns out...YES. You absolutely can. In this spoiler-lite Fantasy for the Ages review, Jim dives into L3X1 by R.C. Grabowski, an independently published cyberpunk science-fiction adventure that surprised him with fantastic worldbuilding, intense action, an intriguing mystery, and a cast of characters he genuine...

Four books into Brian Lumley’s *Necroscope* series, you might think we’d have a pretty good handle on psychic espionage, conversations with the dead, and some of the nastiest vampires in horror. Apparently Brian Lumley disagrees. 😳 In this spoiler-lite review, Jim dives into *Deadspeak*, Book 4 of the original five-book *Necroscope* arc—and the larger story is becoming clearer, stranger, and cons...

Can a fantasy hero be genuinely good—humble, selfless, faithful, and committed to doing what’s right—and still be fascinating? Elizabeth Moon’s Oath of Gold answers that question with a resounding YES. In this spoiler-lite review, I’m wrapping up The Deed of Paksenarrion trilogy, a classic fantasy series that has thoroughly won me over. After everything Paks endured in Divided Allegiance, Oath of...

“The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.” With one of the most iconic opening lines in modern fantasy, Stephen King launched readers into The Dark Tower, a sprawling, strange, genre-defying epic unlike almost anything else he has ever written. In this episode of Fantasy for the Ages, Zach and Jim take a spoiler-lite look at The Gunslinger, the first book in King’s leg...

Divided Allegiance takes everything Elizabeth Moon established in Sheepfarmer’s Daughter and asks a much harder question: What happens when Paksenarrion leaves behind the life that made her a warrior and begins searching for what she’s truly meant to become? In this spoiler-lite review, Jim continues his journey through Elizabeth Moon’s classic The Deed of Paksenarrion trilogy with Book 2, Divided...