YA Fantasy Fiction Move Over: What’s Old Is New Again

(Newswire.net — May 8, 2017) Monrovia, CA — YA fiction has never been more prevalent than in recent months, but there is one author that writes to the beat of a different pen. YA fiction, especially fantasy titles, have been in such dominance that it seems as classic epic fantasy has gone the way of the dinosaur. What does this mean for lovers of such fantasy classics? Will everyone have to suck it up and read what’s in vogue for the 16 year old crowd, or is there something else out there that can still appeal to all ages? Something like the next Lord of the Rings.

You can’t find any book blog not talking about YA books, and according to the likes of Publisher’s Weekly (March 17, 2017) and Huffington Post (Oct 20, 2016), this trend will only continue. But what about other types of fantasy? Nothing against something in a story to appeal to the young, but some people want to also see the rest of the broad range of fantasy tropes out there. From Dwarves and Elves, to dragons and old wizards, all going at it in some mysterious far-flung world that has nothing to do with Earth, modern age or otherwise. Will we ever again see a story that brings magic and epic plot arcs onto a global scale without having it rest solely on the young shoulders of preteen characters? Is there an answer to such a need, or even a market for it?

There is one author out there that seems to think there is.

Mark Anthony Tierno has crafted his fantasy world of “Maldene” in a way that picks up where others have left off. A world as rich and detailed as the one we all live in, populated with all the usual mythic creatures and more, with characters in abundance and the most fearsome of villains. A world with history and secrets, magic and science, and all of it written in a way that will make you feel the cold wafting off the glacier, or the pains and joys of each of the characters.

Here’s a few of the reader reviews we grabbed off of Amazon:

Can’t put this book down once I started on a few pages! I have always love sci-fi and fantasy books, but this one is just exceptionally captivating.  – review by Cadence

I chose this book because I liked the name of the title and decided to give a new author a chance to tell me his story. The scope of what I read tells of a story that can be taken a long ways and not fail to keep my interest. The antagonist having been manipulating the events around him over many millenia sets the stage for level of intrigue that has me waiting in anticipation for Volume 2 to arrive sooner.  – review by Sean Page

I am surprised this writer is not more well known. This is an excellent read. I am not one to leave many book reviews, but I had to for this one. There is a reason he has so many good reviews. – review by J. R. Austin

Mark has a way of telling a story that takes you to another world. I’m a huge sci-fi/fantasy fan and this book is really interesting. The characters are very well developed and the story is very unique. I look forward to reading more from this author. – review by cm1088

There are more, of course, but you get the idea. But what makes his book so engaging? What is that special IT factor? It seems not even the author himself can give a clear answer to that one.

“I write my world to be complete in every detail. Accomplish that, make the world feel as real as our own, the characters as believable as actual people, and the rest just… happens. Add to that a really great villain, and there’s no stopping it.”

So, is Maldene the answer to the glut of YA out there? Is this the epic fix some of us have been needing? Too early to tell but we can say this. The first novel is currently being released in two volumes, apparently because there is just that much story in it.  But what comes after that? We tried asking the author about that and got this:

“Do you know what a triskadekology is?  I’ve probably written the very first one.”

We looked it up; that would be a series of thirteen books. It looks like this author has come out swinging, now it remains to see if he can dethrone the YA formula fantasy from its perch.

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Maldene Volume One and Maldene Volume Two are both now available through the author’s web site or directly from Amazon (kindle editions).

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