Clik here to view.
Thursday Morning Superhero
I will open this week on a personal note. I accepted a job with a different university and will be moving my family back to Texas this summer. The impact this will have on the blog is that I will be...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Microreview [film]: The Whisperer in Darkness
Almost (but ever so slightly not) as wonderful as its predecessorFilm adaptations of Lovecraft are almost universally terrible. Until I watched the special features on the second disc of The Whisperer...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Microreview [book]: The Inheritance Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin
True epic fantasy... spanning hundreds of years...N.K. Jemisin is a rising star and one of the brightest young voices in the fantasy genre. With evocative and engaging prose, moving character-driven...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Microreview [book]: A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
A trans-dimensional Georgian (mad king, not deep South) fantasy thrillerwhat a great coverjust sayingV.E. Schwab has written several 'young adult' SF/F novels ( a term I hate; are dull historical...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Thursday Morning Superhero
We are one month into the new year and I am pleased to say that January has been a good month for comic book fans. With 2015 off to a great start, I hope that the remainder of the year delivers the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tales From the Borderlands - Episode I: Zer0 Sum
[Tales From the Borderlands - Episode I: Zer0 Sum, Telltale Games, 2K Games, 11/2014]What-tale Games?I'll be honest, until The Walking Dead, I'd never heard of Telltale Games, yet now they seem to be...
View ArticleClik here to view.
BLOGTABLE II: "After Grimdark"
Welcome to the second episode of Blogtable! Here's how it works: a prompt is issued by a regular contributor to nerds of a feather, flock together; it is then answered by three guest bloggers in turn....
View ArticleQuick Addendum to Blogtable #2
Interesting discussions on twitter and the r/fantasy board about our "grimdark"-themed episode of Blogtable. A good proportion of that discussion has been critical, which is absolutely fine with...
View ArticleClik here to view.
THE MONTHLY ROUND - A Taster's Guide to Speculative Short Fiction, 01/15
It's a brand new year and it's off to a great start with speculative short fiction. January was packed with stories, and your faithful storytender has tried to bring together a selection that will...
View ArticleClik here to view.
To the Making of Many Books, There is no End
One of the most effective and unexpected twists, I think, in any writing out there was Ned Stark's death in Game of Thrones. The gravity of the moment, the hero trajectory he was on, and then, in the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Thursday Morning Superhero
Huge week of comics and sadly I wasn't able to read as many titles as I would have liked. I will likely check out Squirrel Girl, the return of Hawkeye and The Nameless this weekend. Despite that, I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
PERSPECTIVES II: "The Pornokitsch Theory of Grimdark"
Welcome to Perspectives II, the yin to Blogtable II’s yang! Perspectives has now adopted the Blogtable format, so here’s how it works: an editoral, opinion piece or critical essay written by an...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Introducing...CYBERPUNK REVISITED
I'm highly susceptible to nostalgia, especially if that nostalgia references the formative decade of my life--the 1980s. Sure, '80s nostalgia has been been done. And redone. And then done again. But...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sword of the Stars: The Pit vs. Dungeon of the Endless
Superior 4X Successors 4X stands for eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate. I love 4X games. Master of Orion 2? Amazing. Galactic Civilizations 2? Even better. Sins of a Solar Empire? Great game....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Microreview [film] : The Congress, dir Ari Folman (2013)
A cocktail of ideas and styles that doesn't quench your thirst Ari Folman blew many minds away with his debut, a semi-autobiographical animated documentary about the haunted dreams of a former Israeli...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Thursday Morning Superhero
The big news of the week is that Sony and Marvel came to terms in allowing Spider-man to appear in future Marvel movies. Sony will retain the rights to the web slinger, but he will be allowed to join...
View ArticleSteven Erikson Weighs In On A Certain Debate We're Having
Today on reddit's r/fantasy board, Steven Erikson eloquently problematizes the sanctity of authorial intent. At the end, however, he drops this smart bomb:If, into this invented fantasy world, certain...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Microreview [book]: The Eterna Files by Leanna Renee Hieber
Gaslamp rompThe Eterna Files is a Gaslamp Fantasy set in the late 1800’s in London and New York City. It centers on Eterna, a secret organization founded by Mary Todd Lincoln after the death of her...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Microreview [book]: Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear
All I need to say is giant squid submersible, right?The Meat:Blending a historical Western with a healthy dose of steampunk and a heaping helping of kick-ass, Karen Memory is probably the most...
View ArticleClik here to view.
AiIP: Story Time!
For those of you who have been following this space for any length of time, you probably know this Adventure has been mostly commentary on publishing in general, and something of a diary for my own...
View Article