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On the surreal horror of The Underground Railroad
How can evil be told so beautifully? How can depravity look so mesmerizing?Viet Thanh Nguyen once said, "One of the unspoken silences of the Great American Novel is the assumption that it can only be...
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Microreview [book]: The Seaborn by Michael Livingston
A vivid audio-only fantasy world of Matriarchal sea explorers, pirates, and a mysterious looming airship-flying threatBela may not be salted, may not be a Shipmistress (Captain) herself just yet, but...
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Thursday Morning Superhero
This month's entry in Thursday Morning Superhero is going to feel a bit different and I feel obliged to cram some comic book news before I hop into this month's post. I started reading the Demon...
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Microreview [book]: Antediluvian by Wil McCarthy
A return-to-the-field novel with a big SFnal idea executed as a sausagefest.Harv Leonel does not have a problem, but he has a Big Idea. It is his contention that the y-chromosome of the human genome...
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The Novella Files: All Systems Red by Martha Wells
Subject: Wells, Martha. All Systems Red [Tor.com Publishing, 2017]Accolades: Winner - Hugo Award (2018), Nebula Award (2018), Locus Award (2018) Genre: science fictionExecutive Summary: In a...
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Interview: the Editors of Life Beyond Us
International science fiction about how life could evolve on other planets, plus short science essays? Yes please! Lucky for us, the Life Beyond Us project fully funded on Kickstarter earlier this...
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The Novella Files: Hard Reboot by Django Wexler
Subject: Wexler, Django. Hard Reboot [Tor.com Publishing, 2021]Accolades: N/AGenre: Science FictionExecutive Summary: In a science fiction landscape, Kas is on a research trip to Old Earth. She quickly...
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A fairy tale of blossoming womanhood in Sailor Moon Eternal
This new animated adaptation covers perennial themes of growth and self-discovery, and arrives at a curious moment for the superhero landscapeTo the Western viewer, Sailor Moon must feel like a very...
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Mind Meld : One Spot Holodeck
For years, the essential sci-fi blog SF Signal published Mind Meld, a regular column I and others created that featured a weekly roundtable discussion of the tropes, themes, politics, and future of...
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Interview: Kerstin Hall, author of Star Eater
When Nommo award finalist Kerstin Hall said she was writing a dark fantasy, she wasn't kidding. A short story that became a novella that became a novel, Star Eater is a harrowing story of inherited...
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Microreview [book]: Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky
An intricately layered and intriguing story about the encounter between our limited intellect and an incomprehensible otherworldly menaceImagine you're an ant, living your tiny ant life in a nameless...
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Microreview [book]: The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri
Epic fantasy! Core sapphic relationship! Giant middle finger to empire! This is the good stuff. Last time I reviewed a Tasha Suri book - the outstanding Realm of Ash, second in the Books of Ambha - I...
View ArticleShort Fiction Round Up: May 2021
May was a pivotal month for German seasons; our days stretched long, our cold spring gave way to warmer moments, the swifts returned. I don't think it's a coincedence, then, that all my favorite...
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The Novella Files: Prosper's Demon by K.J. Parker
Subject: Parker, K.J. Prosper's Demon [Tor.com Publishing, 2019]Accolades: N/AGenre: FantasyExecutive Summary: The unnamed and morally questionable narrator is an exorcist with great follow-through and...
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Microreview: The Godstone by Violette Malan
Violette Malan’s The Godstone offers a single volume epic fantasy novel that is ostensibly about the fate of a world and a particular artifact that could alter it forever, but dives deeply into...
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Microreview [Book]: The Ruby's Curse by Alex Kingston
What starts as a playful, commonplace whodunit becomes a labyrinthine exhibition of metafictional brillianceThis is more than a Doctor Who tie-in novel. This is worlds, galaxies, and entire dimensions...
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Interview: Neil Sharpson, author of When the Sparrow Falls
Photo credit: Ste MurrayIf you love cold war thrillers, if you're intrigued by AIs, if you're looking for your next favorite read, this is the interview for you! In the world of When the Sparrow...
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Nanoreviews: The Witness for the Dead, The Worst of All Possible Worlds, The...
Addison, Katherine. The Witness for the Dead [Tor Books (US)/Solaris (UK), 2021]The long awaited continuation of The Goblin Emperor takes place far away from Maia's court and almost all of the...
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The Novella Files: Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
Subject: Okorafor, Nnedi. Binti [Tor.com Publishing, 2015]Accolades: Winner - Hugo Award (2016), Nebula Award (2016); Nominee - Locus Award (2016) Genre: science fictionExecutive Summary: Her name is...
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Questing in Shorts June 2021: The Triumphant Return!
Yes that's right, Questing in Shorts is BACK, bay-bee!Put on your dancing shorts and boogie with meIt's been six months, during which time the subscription folder on my e-reader has been relentlessly...
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