The initial signs were good. You see, this is a game made by an Extraordinary League of Geeks. Heading up 38 Studios is Curt Schilling, a professional baseball player with an infectious passion for gaming, in particular EverQuest and World of Warcraft. Now, there’s a man after me own heart. We’ve also got R.A Salvatore on writing duties. For those who might be unfamiliar with the name, he is a multiple New York Times bestselling author, best known for his books set in the D&D Forgotten Realms universe. He gave us the cool dark elf Drizzt Do’Urdan, held by many to be the definitive pin-up-poster anti-hero. (If you’re shaking your head in bewilderment, fear not – it means you’re cooler than I am and had better things to do in the eighties.) Last, but by no means least, we have Todd McFarlane (of Spawn fame) heading up the art department.

My copy was already pre-ordered when my editor, Marcus, dropped me a line to ask me if I’d write something for the Gollancz blog. I was currently up to my proverbials in my next DestinyQuest novel, so my initial response was a rather sorrowful bleating sound – you know, the type children make when they’ve been asked to do something they don’t want to do and believe, by twisting their face and making constipated noises, it will somehow get them out of it. Like any good parent, Marcus was having none of it. ‘It can be anything, a game review, a book review…’ At this point, my bleating had turned to an excited slobbering. ‘Did you say, game review?’ (All I could really think of was the giddy prospect of being able to play Reckoning and call it ‘work’. Then the girlfriend couldn’t possibly give me those withering looks for spending too much time on the computer. Oh yes, this was suddenly looking promising…). ‘Marcus, me old china, consider it done.’

I’ll get straight to the point, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning plays like a single-player MMO. For those unfamiliar with the term, an MMO is a Massive Multiplayer Online game. You essentially run around solving quests, hitting monsters and ignoring quest text – while hundreds of other players all run around doing the same thing, occasionally hitting you too.

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’ve played a lot of online games, in particular World of Warcraft. When I die, I don’t want to go to heaven, I want to become my Night Elf avatar and run a 40-man raid in Molten Core for the rest of eternity. (Sorry, if I lost you there, that’s probably a good thing.) Reckoning takes the feel and structure of these games, then gives it to you as a single player experience, in much the same way as DestinyQuest hands it to you in print format.

Reckoning, on the surface, wears its influences proudly. The art direction and the character models all have that Warcraft feel (bright and colourful, sunglasses optional). Its actually a pleasant surprise, particularly as recent offerings, such as Dark Souls and Skyrim, have opted for more realistic, muted palettes.

While you don’t quite have the ‘free roaming’ open world experience of a game like Skyrim, Reckoning’s zones are large and expansive (particularly some of the later ones, set in sprawling savannah and wind-seared canyons). You can restrict yourself to following the main storyline or take one of the many hundreds of side-quests, which encourage you to explore and delve deeper into your surroundings. While the voice-acting invariably leaves something to be desired (the Scottish and Irish accents in particular… boy, the mystery of the missing extras from Murder, She Wrote has now been solved), every character and quest in the game is well-written and interesting, encouraging you to take notice rather than hitting the ‘skip’ button.

It’s all familiar stuff. Perhaps a little too familiar. This is all so very Warcraft, I thought, as I handed in my umpteenth ‘find and collect’ quest. I was wondering where my ‘world chat’ button was, and why I wasn’t getting ganked by twelve year olds on Ritalin. But then, Reckoning gives you something that no traditional rpg has ever done before. Combat with attitude.

When writing DestinyQuest I’ve always imagined my combats as something you’d see in a console actioner, such as Devil May Cry or Bayonetta. I see opponents being flung through the air, blasted with pyrotechnic explosions of magic, while ridiculous over-sized weapons clash and spark, cutting a bright dance across the battlefield. Yes, think Agent Smith from The Matrix, kitted out for a weekend of live role play.

Reckoning comes very close to realising that vision. Its combat is fast, brutal and has a satisfying sense of weight. When your weapons hit home (or you find yourself on the receiving end of a troll’s hammer) you will feel it in all its eye-watering glory. The moves are simple enough for even a button-mashing granny to master, but with experience comes the ability to pull off stunning combination attacks, linking moves and swapping weapons mid-string to juggle your opponent (read: smash your opponent in the air and then blast them into next week with your trusty bow. You want fries with that?). Its stunning to watch and even better to play.

But Reckoning has another trump card up its sleeve, well actually quite a few – in the shape of its destiny and fate system. It was this system that first piqued my interest when I read about Amalur, as it is very similar to DestinyQuest. In DQ you don’t start your adventure by choosing a pre-defined path, such as warrior, rogue or mage. Instead you start as a blank slate. I encourage the player to complete quests and experiment with the game mechanics, before making any crucial decisions about their chosen path.

Reckoning has taken a similar approach. You see, your hero is special in that they have ‘no fate’ and therefore, unlike the other characters in the game world, they can change their destiny. You may start as the aforementioned ‘blank slate’, but once you ‘level up’ you can start putting points in one of three masteries (might, finesse and sorcery) to gain abilities and powers applicable to that path. The beauty of the system is that you can create hybrid characters by sharing your points across the different paths (fancy a hammer-wielding warrior that can cast earth-splitting spells? You got it. A fire-flinging wizard with a fetish for daggers? You got it.) Yes, it’s the MacDonald’s of character customisation and, should you end up going down a path you don’t like, you can always visit a fateweaver and redistribute your points. Naughty, but nice.

Destiny cards add an extra layer to this, allowing you to specialise in a career (berserker, brawler, arcanist etc.) and gain further bonuses. Sadly, these choices don’t confer anything more exciting than a few tweaks to your existing skills. I sense an opportunity missed here, as I like the idea of unlocking these tarot-style destiny cards. Hopefully, more can be done with these in the inevitable sequel – or the spin-off MMO that is rumoured to be coming next year.

Rather than repeat what a multitude of other reviewers have already said, I’ll conclude by saying, Reckoning is one of those rare games that just oozes passion and dedication. The team at Big Huge Games have pulled off a stunning achievement. Not only have they created an expansive and well-realised world (I’ve clocked 42 hours of playing time, and still only half way through the available zones…), but they’ve also laid solid foundations for an exciting franchise.

However, I will say this – if you’re coming to Reckoning looking for something unique and ground-breaking, then you may be sorely disappointed. Reckoning is very much a ‘game magpie’, cherry-picking the best elements of a number of popular games and throwing them all together. On the one hand it means the game is instantly accessible, but on the downside, veteran gamers may feel they’ve seen it all before. Like one of its many destiny cards, Reckoning is very much a Jack of All Trades, but when it comes to fast and frenetic combat, there’s no denying it is the undisputed master.

If you want to find out more about Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, then visit the official site at http://reckoning.amalur.com/

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie – read by Steven Pacey (Del Tarrant from Blake’s 7!). This was the first unabridged Gollancz title we recorded, and it is still one of our best. I don’t think any other reader could balance Abercrombie’s mix of deep and delicate characterisation, elegant phrasing and anarchic violence quite as well as Steven has. All of Abercrombie’s books are available with Steven at the reins – and they’re (literally) bloody brilliant!

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch – read by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (star of Sirens and Star Stories). There’s no-one cooler than PC Peter Grant except, perhaps, the man who reads his lines. Aaronovitch’s books are great fun and very exciting, and his background in TV made them perfect for the audio world.

Kobna’s reads for Rivers of London and sequel Moon Over Soho are works of a measured, dead-pan genius, and they’re a wonderful choice for anyone who hasn’t tried an audio (or a Gollancz book) before.

Kobna has recently taken on another challenge for us: reading Alastair Reynolds’ fabulous new novel Blue Remembered Earth. This is a tough read for any actor, with the action spreading from the plains of Africa to the very edges of our solar system, but Kobna has pulled it off with remarkable aplomb.

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris – read by Johanna Parker. We can’t take all the credit for this brilliant audiobook as the recording was handled in the USA, but Johanna has the perfect Southern tones that bring Sookie and Bon Temps to life. It’s sultry, sexy and very entertaining. All of the Sookie Stackhouse novels are available for download.

The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson – read by Michael Kramer. This is another audiobook we share with the US, and another bout of action-packed fun! All of Brandon’s Mistborn books (The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension, and The Hero of Ages) are available for download, along with The Alloy of Law and The Way of Kings. If you were to listen to them all, back to back, then you’d find yourself in Brandon’s worlds for almost five and a half very enjoyable days . . . made all the better as the wonderful Michael Kramer sounds a little like the film trailer voice-over man!

The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi – read by Rupert Degas. Deep science, quantum prisons, ship to ship communications, ship to person communications and more than twenty very distinct characters, each with their own voice . . . Little wonder that our producer described The Quantum Thief as the most challenging audiobook he has ever recorded. You wouldn’t know that by listening to it, though, as audiobook legend Rupert Degas has given us a real masterpiece of a recording, and you can tell he enjoyed every minute too!

As for our fourthcoming 2012 projects . . . Well, Rupert Degas’ reward for recording The Quantum Thief is the privilege of reading all 75 hours of Patrick Rothfuss’ The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man’s Fear . He’ll follow that up for us with Dmitry Glukhovksy’s post-apocalyptic Russian novel Metro 2033 . Exciting just isn’t the word!

We’re finally bring audio editions of Kristen Cashore’s novels to the UK too – with Emma Powell recording Graceling and Fire for release in April, so you can listen to them just in time for the release of Bitterblue in May.

And finally, my personal favourite. We’ve just finished recording and released Elspeth Cooper’s remarkable debut Songs of the Earth, read by Allan Corduner. Allan is a fantastic reader (he also narrated The Book Thief), and his reading of Cooper’s novel is deep, dark and utterly compelling. We’ve been looking for an excuse to work with Allan for a long time, and we’re so pleased that we could partner him up with such an exceptional book.

Well I hope that’s given you some inspiration to listen to a few of our titles, and there are many more already up for sale. We’re looking to grow our list all the time, so if there is anything you would really like to see (or should that be hear?) recorded, leave a comment to let us know!

The first book, A Matter of Blood introduces us to a near future London. The Global recession has caused huge changes in our social structure as well as to employment – for those people lucky enough to still have jobs. In this new London policemen get bonuses for arrests which go through to convictions . . . and they also get bribes from the criminal fraternity to turn a blind eye. One such policeman is Detective Cassius ‘Cass’ Jones, who takes his bribes and seems to be as corrupt as everyone else. He’s working two cases when we meet him: the murder of two teenage boys in a gangland hit; and the pursuit of a serial killer called ‘The Man of Flies’. His calling card: leaving the message ‘Nothing is Sacred’ on his victim’s bodies. But Cass might not have a chance to investigate; his younger brother murders his family before committing suicide, and Cass finds himself implicated in the crime . . .

From this starting point Pinborough crafts a truly exceptional thriller, keeping it gruesome but never gory and leaving more – to chilling effect – to the imagination than some crime authors would do. The story slowly gathers pace and builds up the clues, never rushing things as the mystery unravels and adding in, here and there, a subtle supernatural element, which starts very much in the background but – by the climax of A Matter of Blood – it is increasingly relevant to what is happening and to past events. This gradual increase in spookiness continues in book two, The Shadow of the Soul, as the supernatural element comes to play a far greater role without ever overshadowing the gripping thriller plot, which steps up in pace and offers a fabulous, intriguing story. When we reach the third book, The Chosen Seed, the supernatural aspect is beautifully – and almost equally – balanced with a stunning thriller narrative that grabs you from the first page and blasts you through all the way to the explosive climax. Pinborough really has a perfect blend of mystery, thriller and the supernatural.

I was hooked from the very beginning of the series. A Matter of Blood intrigued me. Where was the supernatural element leading? Why was it there? What was really going on behind the scenes? If the story got its hook into me with A Matter of Blood, The Shadow of the Soul took it a step further: the mystery deepened, there were more hints, more questions . . . and some answers, but not to every question. I was completely engaged with trying to solve the mystery – could *spoilerspoilerspoiler* be the answer? I was piecing together clues, and practically tearing my hair out waiting for The Chosen Seed. And it was the perfect conclusion. Everything works, everything finally makes sense. The big reveal, when it comes, is completely convincing and satisfying – so much that closing the book was both a mixture of joy and sadness. Joy at having read not only a darn good thriller, not just a terrific supernatural tale, but simply a superb story full stop. And the sadness, well that’s because I’ve finished it.

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At the recent and wonderful SFX Weekender, a well publicised issue came to a head. It’s an annual convention which attracted around 6,000 attendees this year, who were split fairly evenly between genders (2011 saw 53% female to 47% male). During the convention, author China Miéville stepped down from a panel because there weren’t any women on it. Paul Cornell followed this by publicly announcing that he would step down from any panel if he felt there was a gender imbalance, in order to make space for a female author. ‘So,’ Cornell writes, ’this year, I’ve decided that I’m going to approach this problem via the only moral unit I’m in charge of: me. I’m going to approach this problem from the other end. And this approach is going to be very much that of a blunt instrument.’ Adam Roberts has just said he’ll join him in this.

Although the argument about gender and sexism in the science fiction and fantasy community has been ongoing for some time, the SFX Weekender had the fortune (or misfortune) to catalyze many of the issues.

It is common, at Conventions, to see four times as many men on panels as women, often despite the fact that there are many more female authors, editors, and publishers at the Convention … in the audience. Given that a gender split of 60% women to 40% men is about average at genre Conventions, this ratio is rarely reflected in the panels and guests of honour. It should be the responsibility of a Con organiser to notice the gender imbalance and address it – before the Convention.

There’s an argument made that attempting to balance gender on panels would amount to positive discrimination. Which is strange as there are just as many, if not in fact, more female authors than male ones in the genre. How can you positively discriminate against the majority? Surely this is just correcting a visible gender imbalance. I am certain you could find as many women as men to talk about any topic in the genre.

Or perhaps the issue isn’t gender disparity, it’s simply quality disparity. That the reason there are fewer women on panels is because the quality of their writing isn’t as good as that of their male counterparts. Therefore, those (female) authors have less of a right to have their voices heard than male authors on panels.

I would like to think this claim is so absurd it wouldn’t be uttered and no one would stoop to defend it. But it has been uttered, and it does need to be fought. I do not believe that it just so happens that all the weak and/or mediocre authors in the genre are also women. It would be a remarkable coincidence to so neatly divide into good and bad, male and female.

It’s unlikely that Con organisers actively discriminate against women. But ‘we don’t discriminate; there just aren’t as many female authors’ gets bandied about a lot (or ‘there just aren’t as many good/popular/audience-favourite female authors‘) – and these blatantly aren’t true. There are just as many female authors in the SFF community as male, if not more. So why does the SFF convention-running world that was built decades ago still assume that most SFF is being written by men, for men?

This is not about creating all-female panels because, again, that’s not gender equality. This is not about the SFX Weekender. Other conventions cannot be so complacent as to lay this at SFX’s door. Refreshingly, SFX have listened to their audience and responded quickly by stating that they are going to do more to rectify the situation next year.

Convention organisers today must make peace with the fact that women are highly involved in the genre and they must take women into account, both as contributors and consumers. Ensuring that Con panels contain a variety of voices, from a variety of genres as well as both genders, is the first step in that direction.

Disclaimer: this is Lizzie Barrett’s personal opinion and not the opinion of the BFS, FCon or Gollancz.

Congratulations on being long-listed for the David Gemmell Awards! Can you tell us, in a few words, why any readers who are new to your work should rush out and read it?
Anyone at all interested in standing stones, Green Man mythology and ancient festivals would like Stonewylde, and anyone who just enjoys a good story that’s not necessarily classic fantasy. Shadows at Stonewylde is the fourth title in the series but you could start with this one and treat the first three as prequels. Or rush out and buy them all. Please note, though, that there are no swords!

Who was your first favourite author?
Enid Blyton and/or Beatrix Potter. I’m being honest here.

Who would you cite as your influences?
In that vein, The Magic Faraway Tree and scary Mr McGregor from Peter Rabbit. And the terrifying owl in Squirrel Nutkin. Seriously, I love the concept of natural magic and a feeling of menace. As a youngster, Dennis Wheatley was my forbidden under the bed-clothes read, and I loved the Brontes and Stephen King. Then I did an English degree and didn’t read anything for a long time.

Do you think authors have a responsibility to do more than tell an entertaining story?
Not really, but it’s great when people say your books have changed their lives (for the better, one hopes).

Is there a storytelling tradition you see your work as part of?
I know several Druid bards and I’ve been told that I’m considered an honorary bard. That makes me very proud.

And finally:
If your novel were to be arrested for a crime of passion, what crime would it be and why (society may not be to blame!)?
Unjust and violent punishment – I’ve no idea why. Maybe my parents were too strict and I’m still feeling hard done by.

Kit Berry is on her second marriage and by default has eight children and two cats. Fortunately only her husband and cats still live at home. She was a school teacher and has also sold insurance, cleaned people’s houses and worked at a beach bar in Ibiza. She’s recently bought a house in Reading and plans to build a wood henge in her back garden and keep chickens, bees and rescue crows. Kit celebrates the pagan festivals and full moon, and members of her social network organise a Stonewylde rally at Avebury every year. She enjoys reading books and growing things. You can learn more about her and her books at www.stonewylde.com, join the conversation at www.stonewylde.net, and find Stonewylde on facebook or by following @Kit­_Berry.

You can vote for Shadows at Stonewylde, or any of the novels long-listed for the Legend Award for Best Novel, here. You can also vote for Larry Rostant’s stunning, spooky artwork, as the Best Art of the year, here.