So, with a plethora of fantasy and SF titles out there, what makes Maldene so unique? That would be the question that I love to answer.

To put it simply, Maldene is a complete world, and so will feel as real to the reader as if Earth itself. Start with the basics. The map is of the entire world, not just a segment of it. There is an alphabet (you can download the font file for it), and of course a dictionary of local words. Yes, you can cuss in Maldenese and have a very limited conversation (there’s about 100-150 words in it currently). Then there are all the other small details, details that in themselves are very minor but add up to something whole. I have a notebook full of notes on everything from languages to weather patterns.

But all these are just the minor details. Important though they are for imparting the feeling of a complete world, they are not the major difference between Maldene and everything else. The characters talk and interact like normal people would, and though it be a world of magic there are consequences for victories and losses. People feel, people get hurt, people mourn and jump for joy. Cause and Effect play important roles, and even magic has its own logic, its own internal consistency.

All of this adds up to something very good, but there is more. Yes, Maldene is a world of Magic, but it is also a world of Science. The first book of Maldene may be that of a world of pure Magic and Fantasy, but behind it all are secrets that mesh Magic with Science, Fantasy with Science Fiction. Secrets that are only hinted at in the first book (and then only if you know where to look) but come more into the light with each book. In the end it will be hard to tell where Magic ends and Science begins.

But that’s getting ahead of ourselves. For now, Maldene is Magic, Maldene is Soap Opera, Maldene is friends joking around and wise cracking in the midst of battle, Maldene is creativity. There is no such thing, here, as a “standard” battle tactic, of the same old methods used for defeating an enemy. Our heros are both a team and friends, unafraid even of the destiny that awaits them in the coming confrontation against the most villainous being ever known…

Miro.