Month: December 2020

Abe Sapien (Vol. 2): The Devil Does Not Jest and Other Stories: Abe flies solo

Abe Sapien (Vol. 2): The Devil Does Not Jest and Other Stories by Mike Mignola (writer), John Arcudi (writer), Patric Reynolds (artist), Peter Snejbjerg (artist), James Harren (artist), Dave Stewart (colors), and Clem Robins (letters)

Abe Sapien (Vol. 2): The Devil Does Not Jest and Other Stories is a collection of three stories:

In “The Haunted Boy,” Abe thinks he is going out on a simple mission, a regular, run-of-the-mill haunting: Two boys fell through the ice into a pond. One died and the other survived.

Neverwhere: A wonderfully fantastical setting

Reposting to include Maron’s new essay.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Neverwhere is a novel that improved dramatically for me on reread, which actually was a surprise to me. I originally read it about six years ago when, in an odd twist worthy of London Below, it mysteriously appeared one day on my clunky Kindle 2, without my having ordered it. About a month later it just as mysteriously disappeared again (luckily I had finished it just in time). I was fascinated by the marvelous and imaginative setting of Neverwhere and London Below,

Thoughtful Thursday: What’s the best book you read in 2020?

Hooray, 2020 is almost over! Even with all the disruptions and turmoil, we hope you’ve had a wonderful reading year and that our work here at FanLit helped you achieve that.

Now we want to know: What is the best book you read in 2020?

It doesn’t have to be a book that was published in 2020. Just read in 2020. It doesn’t even have to be speculative fiction.

Feel free to post a full review of the book here, or a link to the review on your blog,

December 17th, 2020. FanLit | Giveaway!, Thoughtful Thursday | 27 comments |

The Tower of Fools: Historical fantasy by the author of THE WITCHER

The Tower of Fools by Andrzej Sapkowski

Fans of THE WITCHER will be happy to see that another of Andrzej Sapkowski’s works has been translated into English. The Tower of Fools, the first in his HUSSITE TRILOGY, was published in Polish in 2002 (Polish title: Narrenturm), then other Eastern European languages, and has this year been translated into English by David French (translator of THE WITCHER) and published by Orbit (US) and Gollancz (UK).

WWWednesday: December 16, 2020

The story of Chanukah is that a small but dedicated group of Jewish fighters drove the Syrian Greeks from the Holy Temple, and rededicated it. They found only one small container of holy oil for the lamps that hadn’t been contaminated by the invaders, but through their faith, they made it last for eight nights. The odds may be daunting, but have faith, and don’t be afraid to shine a light in the darkness.

Books and Writing:

Youtuber Morganeua carefully, thoroughly and cleverly examines Isaac Asimov’s use of -ly adverbs.

December 16th, 2020. Marion Deeds | Giveaway!, World Wide Wednesday | 15 comments |

The Mask of Mirrors: Does just what you want a first novel in a series to do

The Mask of Mirrors by M.A. Carrick

As a reader, it’s rare for me to find a book that has nearly every trope I love. The Mask of Mirrors (2021), Book One of M.A. Carrick’s ROOK AND ROSE series, manages just that. Reading the Advance Reader Copy of this book was like nibbling my way through a box of gourmet chocolates curated just for Reader Me. A large box of gourmet chocolates.

And what are those favorite tropes? Well,

December 16th, 2020. Marion Deeds and Bill Capossere´s rating: 5 | M.A. Carrick | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

Couching at the Door: Another winner from Wordsworth Editions

Couching at the Door by D.K. Broster

Once again, I find myself thankful to the British publisher Wordsworth Editions, and in particular its Tales of Mystery & the Supernatural division, for turning me on to an author who I may not have ever discovered otherwise. In the past, I have written here of several other writers brought to my attention by this extensive and wonderful series of economically priced books: Ambrose Bierce in Terror By Night, Alice and Claude Askew in Aylmer Vance: Ghost-Seer,

Monday Starts on Saturday: Surreal and amusing Russian science fiction

Monday Starts on Saturday by Arkady & Boris Strugatsky

In the Strugatsky brothers’ Monday Starts on Saturday (1965), Sasha, a young Russian man, is about to start his vacation when he picks up a couple of hitchhikers. They are excited to discover that Sasha is a computer programmer because the organization they work for is looking for someone just like him. Curious about these likeable fellows and the work they do, Sasha accompanies them to Solovets to find out what’s happening at the National Institute for the Technology of Witchcraft and Thaumaturgy (NITWIT).

Sunday Status Update: December 13, 2020

Kat: This week was the last week of my semester and I was busy with grading and other end-of-the-semester stuff. I didn’t get anything finished, but I’m working on Bob Proehl’s The Somebody People which is the sequel to last year’s The Nobody People. I like this one better.

Bill: This was a great week, as I read four excellent works: Remote Control, a novella by Nnedi Okorafor; The Mask of Mirrors,

December 13th, 2020. Tim Scheidler | Status Update | no comments |

Wonder Women and Bad Girls: Superheroine and Supervillainess Archetypes in Popular Media

Wonder Women and Bad Girls: Superheroine and Supervillainess Archetypes in Popular Media by Valerie Estelle Frankel

Wonder Women and Bad Girls: Superheroine and Supervillainess Archetypes in Popular Media (2020), by Valerie Estelle Frankel, pretty much lays it all out in the title. Starting in the earliest days of comic books and progressing through the decades to the present, Frankel explores a boatload of characters, the famous and expected (Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Black Widow, Storm, Catwoman) and the lesser known and unexpected (Rulah Jungle Goddess, Pow-Girl, Veda the Cobra Woman). The breadth is a definite strength of the book,

December 11th, 2020. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | Comics, Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

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