Page One Extra - RJ Barker On Subverting Epic Fantasy Tropes

Watch as a full video episode on YouTubeRJ Barker is an award-winning fantasy author from Leeds, West Yorkshire. He is best known for his critically acclaimed trilogies, The Wounded Kingdom and The Tide Child, the latter of which won the British Fantasy Award for Best Novel. His work often subverts traditional fantasy tropes by blending elements of epic world-building, ecological science fiction, and gritty noir elements. His latest release, Mortedant's Peril, is out now.We had a great time chatting with RJ, hearing about the massive twist wrapping up his Wounded Kingdom (Major spoilers discussed!) and his subversion of the conventional lone-hero trope. We also talk about writing his brand-new novel, Mortedant's Peril, in just seven weeks while battling chronic illness, and we get some interesting anecdotes about the socio-economics of a tiered fantasy city and a very peculiar magical power involving corpse memories!Plus, as with all returning guests, RJ tells us about 5 books that influenced him as an author!Links:Buy Mortedant's Peril now!Visit RJ's websiteFollow RJ on BlueskyCome see us at Cymera Festival!Support us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageonePage One Extra and Page One - The Writer's Podcast are brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on ThreadsPage One Extra is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.