MARLON JAMES
SFX|March 2022
X marks the spot: how a Booker winner found his way to fantasy
Jonathan Wright
MARLON JAMES

BIODATA

From Kingston, Jamaica

Greatest Hits When James won the 2015 Booker Prize for A Brief History Of Seven Killings, he received an eight-minute ovation. “I counted… It was fantastic. It was also deeply uncomfortable.” His other novels include The Book Of Night Women (2009).

Random Fact James is working on scripts for a TV series for HBO and Channel 4, a Jamaica-set six-part crime drama entitled Get Milly Black.

WHEN MARLON JAMES CHOSE TO follow up his Booker-winning A Brief History Of Seven Killings with a fantasy trilogy, there was some surprise within parts of the literary establishment. But talk to the man himself and one of the reasons for this choice couldn’t come through more clearly.

“There are some very, very simple and basic reasons why fantasy,” he says, his accent Jamaican despite the fact he now lives in the USA. “I like magic. I like witches. I like goblins and demons, and I like fairies!”

There was another reason for choosing fantasy. “I became fascinated and consumed with African mythology, early religion and early history,” he explains. “The fantasy novels almost happened as an outgrowth of that.”

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 2022 من SFX.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 2022 من SFX.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من SFX مشاهدة الكل
Making Alien - Jaws in Space - Forty-five years on from its original release, Alien continues to terrify. We dissect what arguably remains the most chilling instalment in the saga
SFX UK

Making Alien - Jaws in Space - Forty-five years on from its original release, Alien continues to terrify. We dissect what arguably remains the most chilling instalment in the saga

The seven-strong crew of the commercial mining spacecraft the Nostromo seal their fate after reluctantly responding to a mysterious distress signal on a hostile planet. Here, a face-hugging alien from a derelict ship impregnates and later kills executive officer Kane (John Hurt) after its offspring is birthed onboard. After being unleashed, the fearsome newborn with acid for blood proceeds to dispatch the remainder of the crew.Ridley Scott's much more convoluted prequels have yet to reveal how the knowledge that led to this initial interception was acquired. However, the premise of the original Alien is perfect in its uncomplicated purity.

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2024
PURE AND SIMPLE
SFX UK

PURE AND SIMPLE

IN THE FINAL PART OF OUR EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW, SHOWRUNNER RUSSELL T DAVIES TALKS RELAUNCHING DOCTOR WHO

time-read
10 mins  |
October 2024
TO CAP IT ALL OFF
SFX UK

TO CAP IT ALL OFF

CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF THE BBC SERIES THE TRIPODS

time-read
7 mins  |
October 2024
FRENCH REVOLUTION
SFX UK

FRENCH REVOLUTION

THE WALKING DEAD SPIN-OFF SHOWRUNNER DAVID ZABEL ON BEING GIVEN THE TOUGH TASK OF REUNITING DARYL AND CAROL IN FRANCE

time-read
6 mins  |
October 2024
SILENT KILLERS
SFX UK

SILENT KILLERS

THE DIRECTOR OF HOLLYWOOD'S SPEAK NO EVIL REMAKE ON HORROR, COMEDY AND JAMES MCAVOY

time-read
6 mins  |
October 2024
BRING OUT YOUR DEAD
SFX UK

BRING OUT YOUR DEAD

THE GHOST WITH THE MOST RETURNS FINALLY - IN BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE

time-read
7 mins  |
October 2024
TEENAGE DREAM
SFX UK

TEENAGE DREAM

JOE LOCKE HITS THE ROAD RUNNING

time-read
4 mins  |
October 2024
MOB RULE THE PENGUIN
SFX UK

MOB RULE THE PENGUIN

GOTHAM'S UP FOR GRABS IN BRUISING NEW CRIME SAGA BUT WHERE IS THE BATMAN?

time-read
9 mins  |
October 2024
SEASON OF THE WITCH
SFX UK

SEASON OF THE WITCH

AS MARVEL TELEVISION CARVES OUT A NEW PATH FOR ITSELF, WE SPEAK TO CREATOR JAC SCHAEFFER, PLUS A CAST OF STARS LED BY KATHRYN HAHN AND JOE LOCKE, ABOUT THE MAGIC OF WANDAVISION'S SPIN-OFF AGATHA ALL ALONG

time-read
6 mins  |
October 2024
Ghouls Allowed
SFX UK

Ghouls Allowed

Even silence can't save you at this year's Halloween Horror Nights

time-read
3 mins  |
October 2024