Mihir Wanchoo making a point. As always, advocating for people to read more great self-published fantasy books.
I was lucky to get an interview with the dynamic duo in charge of the Fantasy Book Critic blog! Get to know Mihir Wanchoo and Lucas (aka Łukasz Przywóski) and read about their part in the #SPFBO competition.
Mihir and Lucas, such a pleasure to have you both here!
Tell us a bit about yourself…
I was born and raised in Bombay (now Mumbai) India. From a young age, I was interested in reading and learning about history and mythology. My parents and my granduncle introduced me to books like Sherlock Holmes, Wizard of Oz, Three Detectives, and The Hardy Boys. And I was also lucky that my Grandmother read to me many stories from mythology like Ramayana, Mahabharata, and the Ganesh Puran. This sparked my intellectual curiosity.
In my teenage years, I was introduced to thrillers when I read Robin Cook’s Chromosome 6. I progressed to Michael Crichton, Thomas Harris, Stephen King, and many more. Slowly I also found my way into the fantasy genre by way of authors like J. R. R. Tolkien, David Gemmell, Terry Brooks, and Robert Jordan.
In my professional life, I studied to be a doctor. My mother was the one who inspired my sister and me to take this path in life.
Hello everyone! I'm a passionate fiction reader from Poland. My reading tastes are quite diverse - I particularly enjoy genre-bending books that combine elements of horror, fantasy, sci-fi, or magical realism. Additionally, I'm always up for a gripping techno-thriller or high-octane pulp read. But then, I’ll switch to something more literary.
Apart from my love for literature, I can't imagine a life without sports; I engage in various forms of physical activity daily.
Łukasz Przywóski under a real fantasy tree (in Antalya Region, Turkey.)
How did you guys get into reviewing books?
I fell into book reviews almost by accident. I used to exchange emails with some of the OG bloggers. And Robert Thompson, the owner & creator of Fantasy Book Critic, was kind enough to allow me to interview Sarah Ash for Fantasy Book Critic. After the interview, Robert and Liviu invited me to join FBC.
I jumped at this amazing opportunity and that’s how I became a blogger by chance and due to the kindness of my FBC colleagues.
Initially, I started reviewing books to improve my written English. It’s a great exercise to improve fluency and vocabulary! However, as time went on, I became addicted to the exploration of new subgenres. Along the way, my motivations changed. I’ve become a part of the community that I enjoy and I like sharing my reading experiences and engaging in discussions about books. I sincerely hope that some of my reviews will help potential readers to pick exciting stuff. Furthermore, reviewing books enables me to articulate my thoughts, analyze my reading experiences, and gain a deeper comprehension of storytelling. I firmly believe that book reviewing helps in developing critical thinking skills and, of course, broadening horizons.
Year blog/channel started: 2007
Number of posts: 3,859
Number of views: 15,931,597
Comments: 8,196
Website Followers: 758
Twitter Followers: 20,600
Why should I visit your website?
Well, Fantasy Book Critic is one of the oldest active blogs out there. We’ve been active for 16-plus years. Accumulating 4,000+ reviews, 300+ interviews, many guest posts, articles, and much more. We review all forms of speculative fiction (indie and traditionally published) and so you can find reviews for a ton of things on our blog.
Also, we have republished a lost story by one of my all-time favorite authors! We recovered it and got permission from the author’s wife.
Because it’s great :) Fantasy Book Critic is one of the oldest Fantasy Blogs out there and we provide new content regularly. Sure, our platform (blogger) may not be modern or flashy but I believe there’s still value to old-school book content (reviews, interviews, cover reveals, etc.)
“I’ve been lucky enough to be associated with SPFBO from the very start.”
How long have you been a judge in the SPFBO?
I’ve been lucky enough to be associated with SPFBO from the very start. Fantasy Book Critic is only one of three blogs along with Books And Traveling with Lynn and Fantasy Faction that have been present from the first iteration back in 2015. I have seen it grow from a nascent competition to the gorgeous beast that is is today. Hopefully, FBC will continue to be a part of SPFBO in the near future as well.
I’ve been judging since 2018.
How many other judges are working with you on your batch of SPFBO books?
This year we’re a group of five: Adam, Chelsea, Esmay, Łukasz, and me.
Łukasz and I have been reviewing for SPFBO since 2018 so we have gotten very comfortable with each other. Esmay and Chelsea are making their SPFBO debuts while Adam has been an amazing judge before (he’s back after a break.)
SPFBO is time-consuming and understandably, some judges need a break after a year or two. Our judging team changes every year because of this. And because some are stolen from us (an insight joke, sorry…but Timy will understand :P )
Mihir was involved in SPFBO since the beginning. I joined him in 2018 and I’m not going anywhere. We remain open to expanding our team and keeping the number of judges between 4-5.
Do you have any tips for those that would like to publish their reviews and/or become an SPFBO judge?
Well, the simplest way to be involved is to start sharing SPFBO stuff on places like Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram. The indie authors always love more eyes on their titles so review a few books. You should share them using the #SPFBO tag like on the SPFBO Facebook page. Every little review/spotlight/shoutout helps.
Do reach out to the blogs to see if they are taking on new judges. Feel free to ask us!
Mihir “recruited” me based on my Goodreads reviews and our shared love for Craig Schaefer’s books. I would say the best way to become an SPFBO reviewer is to write thoughtful reviews of self-published books and post them where they can be found and checked (Goodreads). You can also approach blogs and discuss if they have an open place.
Why did you choose to review fantasy?
This is kinda hard. I mean how does one truly explain one’s love for fantasy? I can only say that I love discovering new worlds and characters. And in the genre of fantasy, authors truly get to explore a myriad amount of things. A simple reason could be that I never grew out of my childhood fascination with magic and gods. However, I like to think that it is about exploring the human condition in absolutely unreal worlds that continue to fascinate.
I read broadly, and I make an effort to review everything I read, even if some of my reviews are just one-liners. While I enjoy reading various genres, I find myself gravitating toward fantasy most of the time. However, I must admit that I'm in the minority because I generally dislike Epic Fantasy or Sword & Sorcery. Whenever someone recommends sprawling epics filled with six hundred (or more) pages of roaring fun, I instinctively turn and run in the opposite direction.
I love novellas and books that prioritize concise storytelling over excessive world-building or complex magic systems. I prefer stories with personal stakes rather than ones that focus on grandiose, epic conflicts. I vibe with genre-bending books that blend elements of various subgenres. I read both pulp fiction and literary fiction. When it comes to subgenres, Urban Fantasy holds a special place in my heart – it doesn’t require extensive world-building to captivate a reader. Additionally, I love horror, sci-fi, and dark fantasy. In general, my tastes lean toward bleaker stuff, but not hopeless or nihilistic.
What challenges did you face during the creation of your blog, and how did you overcome them?
This would be a great question for the owner of FBC Robert Thompson but he’s retired for quite a while. We always were lucky to have different folks heading the blog. After Robert, Liviu, and Cindy took the onus of the blog. Since they both stepped down, I was able to keep the blog afloat and since 2018 Łukasz has joined FBC. We now have a full team consisting of Caitlin, Shazzie, Matthew, Lena, Daniel, Łukasz, and me. So right now, we have a fantastic team.
The biggest adversity we have ever faced was last year when we were shut down by Google over Fake DMCA violations (thinking we were book pirates). It was a horrid ordeal. I worried that we were going to lose the blog as there was nobody who was answering our lamentations. But then the book community (authors, general readers & some very big folks) really boosted our plea for help. Our website was restored, and I could breathe again.
That was all really scary. But also, we were just thrilled by the love and concern shown by everyone! So, there was a happy ending to it :-)
Such a scary thing. Thank you to everybody who helped!
Back to the questions…
Which author is your all-time absolute favorite when we talk indie publishing?
Oh, this is such a tricky question!
As in one?
That would be the gist of the question…yes.
You’re quite a comedian, aren’t you :)
Me? Why do you say that…MuHaHaHa (Rune does his best sinister villain laugh.)
OK, I’ll bite. I do have quite a few favorite authors.
But for brevity’s sake, I’ll list just five amazing ones:
Rob J. Hayes
Rachel Aaron
Dyrk Ashton
Craig Schaefer
Richard Nell
I have a few authors on my Read As Soon As They Publish Anything list.
Here they are (but limiting myself to just five names is brutal):
Michael R. Fletcher – Fletch is a brilliant author. His books aren’t for the squeamish but I loved them all (even Millenial Manifesto!)
Raymond St. Elmo – I absolutely adore his imaginative, low-stakes books. They’re imaginative, witty, written in excellent prose, and toe the line between many subgenres (mainly fantasy and magical realism).
Richard Nell – Richard wrote Ash & Sand series and created Ruka, one of the best characters ever.
Craig Schaefer – when it comes to pulpy fun that combines horror, occult, fantasy and noir, no one comes close to Schaefer.
Angela Boord – Now, I must admit, I'm usually daunted by lengthy books, but there's something captivating about Angela Boord's writing style and her ability to craft compelling characters. Her books resonate with me.
Who’s your favorite author when we talk traditional publishing?
Impossible question.
Definitely tricky, but I think…
(Mihir begins to scribble on a piece of paper.)
“...by naming just five, I feel I’m committing a heinous crime against other favorites whose books brought me joy at various stages of my life.”
…I’ll cheat a bit. Here’s my list with 5 popular and 5 underrated series (the authors are my favorites):
Alright, I’ll give you my five favorite authors then:
Mark Lawrence, Brian Evenson, Robert McCammon, Joe Abercrombie, Brian Staveley.
And by naming just five, I feel I’m committing a heinous crime against other favorites whose books brought me joy at various stages of my life.
Name three things that annoy you constantly in books.
Unnecessary wordiness – if you can say something simply, say it simply. Please.
Excessive world-building – I’m not interested in your world if you won’t make me care for the characters, first. Sorry.
Romance tropes – enemies to lovers, triangles, love at first sight. I prefer my books light on romance or with no romance. There are exceptions but I rarely read romance for fun.
Anti-heroes not killing and slowly turning into good guys (that’s not why I like them in the first place), just let them be anti-heroes and kill people with impunity.
Characters having broken ribs and still doing impossible things like fighting on as if it was just a scratch (as a doctor, this just cuts into my reading enjoyment).
Impossibly good-looking characters as protagonists (I do not mind if the character is a looker but if all your protagonists are Greek god-esque then that bores me).
And three things that you really appreciate when authors get right.
Worldbuilding showcasing an eclectic world (like Alec Hutson – Raveling, Sharded Few, Elizabeth Bear – Lotus Kingdoms, Gourav Mohanty – Raag Of Rta, R.R Virdi – Tales Of Tremaine, Liz Williams – Singapore Three, Michael R. Fletcher – Noryslka Groans, Obsidian Path.)
Character arcs done right (Jaime Lannister, Brienne, Davos - ASOIAF, Glotka, Logen, Caul Shivers – First Law, Basso – Folding Knife, Devi Morris – Paradox)
Great action sequences and one-on-one battles – David Gemmell, David Dalglish, and Anthony Ryan are some of my favorites.
Found Family – I found the trope irresistible when done right.
Hunter becomes Prey – again, I do enjoy scenes in which hunter suddenly realizes they’ve just become the prey
Genre-bending and genre mash-ups: I love books that skillfully combine multiple genres and aren’t easily categorized.
Do you have a tip, or an app, tool, or resource, that you’d recommend to other judges?
This is SPFBO-specific. For the love of everything nerdy, please DON’T be scared to utilize the Senlin Safety Net option (SSN) if you think none of your books are worthy of being finalists. Yes, that’s harsh but ideally, you want to put the BEST book forward and if none of your lot seems to be a 4/5 book then you need to be brave and explore the Senlin option. I have spoken about it in the past as well and I will continue to be a broken record about this :-)
Excel is your friend. So is Goodreads (even though many people love to hate it.) Now, I know many people praise Storygraph and Goodreads alternatives but IMO if you want to support indie authors and make their books visible, you should do it where there’s a lot of people. And it’s Goodreads. And Zon.
What new projects or changes to your blog are you working on?
We have a very fledgling YT channel and I’m hoping that we can get it to be a regular source of news, reviews, and other content.
Do you have any dreams you’d like to share?
Never too bad to win the lottery and then sponsor free maps, cover art, and cover design for indie authors :-)
One of my fervent hope is to be able to commission Marco Simonetti and Raymond Swanland to provide new cover art for a few fantasy titles of my liking.
I hope I’ll eventually manage to meet some of the people from the community in real life, maybe this year during Bristolcon? We’ll see.
Other than that, though, my goals are mostly travel-focused. I love sports and hiking - every year I’m doing at least three long-distance hiking trails. In August, I’ll have a chance to make one of my dreams come true and hike in Kirgizstan.
Anything else you would like to say before we close?
Thank you for allowing me to participate in this interview Rune and for allowing me to blabber on. This was a lot of fun :-)
It was my pleasure!
Sure. I really appreciate how nice this community is and I hope recent AI dramas won’t fracture it :)
I hope so, too!!!
Thank you both, for giving us a glimpse into the judging world and for doing the interview!
