Why You Need to Read Sam Sykes

This review at Pornokitsch of Black Halobrilliantly articulates why you need to read Sam Sykes:

"Mr. Sykes' deconstruction of high fantasy is rooted in the character focus. He can afford to keep the plot mysterious and the world vague because, to some degree, we've all read it before. What he brings to the table is those aforementioned beliefs that adventurers aren't heroes, the 'greater good' is subjective and the battle between predestination and free will has civilian casualties. If traditional (Eddings or Sanderson) high fantasy is the thesis and gritty, dirty realism (Martin or Abercrombie) is the antithesis, Mr. Sykes might be the first synthesis. This is a shamelessly high-magic, cinematic adventure with a huge special effects budget. But, the players are imbued with moral uncertainty and all the familiar tropes are investigated in the harsh light of distrusting logic. Mr. Sykes series isn't Watchmen - seeing how comic book superheroes behave in the real world. It is The Ultimates - layering real world logic over the comic book.  As a result, Black Halo represents a raw new maturity in epic fantasy, something that has me bouncing around like a kitten."

Podcast: Sam Sykes on The Dragon Page

Sam Sykes, author of Tome of the Undergates and the forthcoming Black Halo, is the guest on episode 433a of The Dragon Page Cover to Cover. Somehow, a question about the writing process leads to a discussion of kangaroo meat, cannibalism, hotel management's fear of big words, and the choice of whether or not to wear pants. Not your usual author interview, but very funny, and well worth checking out.