Categorized | Flames Rising

FlamesRising.com 2009 Year in Review

Posted on January 5, 2010 by Monica Valentinelli

2009 In ReviewDear FlamesRising.com Readers,

Phew! It is really hard to believe that another year has gone by so quickly. First and foremost, thank you for your comments and your continued support. Your feedback has helped us tremendously, because that was the driving force behind launching a more reader-friendly design in February of 2009.

This year we also focused on ensuring that we had more features for you to interact with and read as well. The horror plot generator was a big hit, and even though we launched it late this year, it continues to be very popular among many of you. Right in time for GenCon 2009, we provided you with a contest, courtesy of the friendly folks at GenCon: Indy. One of the other popular features we added was our Previews category, where we supply game, fiction and comic previews of published (or soon-to-be published) works. The Previews feature is something that we can’t do alone because each and every preview on the site is supplied, with permission, from the publisher and/or the author.

Let’s take a look at some of the most popular topics and a few of my fiction review picks from this past year:

Fiction reviews always do well here on FlamesRising.com, and I got the chance to review several books. I’d like to share with you some of the reviews that I had written, as well as my commentary on them.

  • THE MAGICIANS review – Written by Lev Grossman, this book is one of my top picks for 2009.
  • DEATH’S DAUGHTER review – Written by Amber Benson (GHOSTS OF ALBION), this review highlighted a urban fantasy “comedy.”
  • DRACULA: the UNDEAD review – Billed as a sequel to Bram Stoker’s DRACULA, this review was one of the hardest I’ve ever had to write.
  • FIRST LORD’S FURY review – My review of the conclusion to Jim Butcher’s fantasy novels brings a close to this militaristic tale against a terrible foe called the “Vord.”
  • FINCH review – FINCH, a story set in the Ambergris Cycle by Jeff VanderMeer, competes with THE MAGICIANS for my best book of 2009.
  • HIS FATHER’S SON review – In the world of modern horror, I not only reviewed, but recommended this book by Bentley Little to several people.

For 2009, we also highlighted a number of dark fantasy and horror games, and even offered you with a free Storytelling Adventure System One Scene for Halloween. Dubbed THE DEVIL’S NIGHT, this free one-scene was offered to you in conjunction with our friends over at White Wolf Publishing.

Another game-related topic in particular that stands out is LITTLE FEARS: NIGHTMARE EDITION. Game designer Jason Blair offered us an exclusive preview to the game through his LITTLE FEARS: 13 Doors Preview series.

In addition, we reviewed several board games, RPGs, movies, comics and more! We had a lot of fun talking about horror, so here are some of your favorite posts about other games, movies and comics we wrote about.

We are very excited about this year, because we have a lot more in store for you. We hope that you continue to enjoy FlamesRising.com. Cheers to a a terrifying 2010! (In a good way, of course.)

To learn how you can feed the Flames, feel free to Contact Us. We’re also @flamesrising on Twitter, too.

From all of us here at FlamesRising.com, thank you for reading!

– M

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11 Tales of Ghostly Horror

    Reviews Wanted!

    The new Review Guidelines have been posted on the Flames Rising website. We are currently seeking a few good reviewers to help us expand our collection of horror and dark fantasy reviews. RPGs, fiction, movies, video games and more are all welcome on the site...

    What do you get out of it?

    Beyond helping out fellow Flames Rising readers by letting them know what you think of these products, we're giving away some pretty cool stuff. Regular Reviewers can earn free products to review, which is their to keep after the review is submitted to the site.

    Note: We are especially looking for folks interested in reviewing eBooks (both Fiction & Comics). We have lots of great titles in digital format and even get advance copies sometimes.

    Use the Contact Page to submit reviews or let us know if you have any questions.

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