A podcast by best selling fantasy author, Andrew Shaw, using his avatar, Lord Yama. It's aimed at those who love fantasy and science fiction but have run out of things to read. A place to discover hidden gems and brilliant novels, trilogies and series that seem to have been lost in time as well as the best that is on offer from modern writers. It's not a review so much as my desire to share the books that I have enjoyed in more than half a century of reading SFF. Lord Yama is an ancient Chinese deity, the lord of hell, who judges souls and decides on their fate.
(https://www.buymeacoffee.com/andrewshaw)
I am a BLACKSTONE HEART BY MICHAEL FLETCHERI am a great fan of the work of Michael Fletcher who wrote the Obsidian Path series of books. In the first book, Blackstone Heart, we meet Khraen, who starts out as a relatively good guy, but that doesn't last long. I think Michael Fletcher is underrated as an author. While his books don't sell as well as the likes of Joe Abercrombie, his writing in on a par with him and others at the top of the genre. Great examples of Grimdark fantasy. it occurred to me while reading it that the structure of Blackstone Heart lent itself to a being turned into a video game. Pretty sure that wasn't the author's intention but it reminded me that I am coming across more and more books that ARE written with a video game in mind----more----
And as I mentioned in the podcast, Renn, the first in my fantasy trilogy based on ancient Chinese history and mythology is now available to order It is a story told against the backdrop of the rise and fall of the first Chinese empire, through the eyes of the two lovers at its centre. One is a princess kidnapped and sold to a brothel, who must seduce a foreign king to gain her freedom. The other is her warrior husband who becomes willing to tear apart an empire to rescue her. Published by Earnshaw Books all you need to do is click on the link provided or the cover illustration to order your copy.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0HN7PN7C9
17 Oct 2026
THE POET EMPRESS BY SHEN TAO
One of the best fantasy novels of the year so far has to be The Poet Empress by Shen Tao. It is already being hyped as a favourite for next year's Hugo Award, And quite rightly so.----more----
And as I mentioned in the podcast, Renn, the first in a fantasy trilogy based on ancient Chinese history and mythology is now available to order It is a story told against the backdrop of the rise and fall of the first Chinese empire, through the eyes of the two lovers at its centre. One is a princess kidnapped and sold to a brothel, who must seduce a foreign king to gain her freedom. The other is her warrior husband who becomes willing to tear apart an empire to rescue her. Discussions are already underway to adapt it for the screen and turn it into a video game. Published by Earnshaw Books all you need to do is click on the link provided or the cover illustration to order your copy.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0HN7PN7C9
11 Oct 2026
CIRCE BY MADELEINE MILLER
Fantasy is almost as old as humankind's ability to speak. The books we read today come long after the first tales about gods, demons, heroes and mythical beats told by primitive man around the fires they lit at night to ward against the cold and dark, and to keep the wild beasts at bay. Some of the first to be written down come from ancient Greece. Tales of Zeus and Olympus are still told today. And of course we were all reminded of those stories by the recent excellent film Odysseus by Christopher Nolan. One of the deities in that epic was the witch, Circe. And no one in recent times has told her story better than Madeleine Miller. Her book by that name brings the whole pantheon of Greek gods to life. And none more so than the witch herself.----more----
And I am excited to announce that the first in my own dark fantasy trilogy, Renn, will be published by Earnshaw Books next month, on November 17th. It iis a grimdark fantasy based on ancient Chinese history and mythology. On one level, Renn can be seen as a Grimdark Romantasy (A princess abandoned by her lover and sold to a brothel who must seduce a foreign king to gain her freedom and wreak vengeance on those who wronged her) On another level it can be read as an epic fantasy. (The story of a warrior who helps his king build an empire and then becomes willing to tear it apart to rescue the woman he loves.) Next week I will give details of how to pre order a copy. In the meantime I include a picture of the cover
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