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MONSTRESS 4: The Chosen: More evocative storytelling from two masters

MONSTRESS 4: The Chosen by Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda

The saga continues with the fourth volume of Marjorie Liu and Sana Takenda‘s epic fantasy MONSTRESS, which at this point is so complex and intricate that it’s difficult to properly summarize it.

Set in an alternate matriarchal 19th century Asia, with a steampunk/art deco/Egyptian aesthetic, this is the story of Maika Halfwolf and the terrible demonic presence that resides within her, one that sporadically bursts forth to cause destruction and mayhem, but occasionally offering her advice and companionship as well.

Before the Dawn: An entertaining if lesser Taine novel

Before the Dawn by John Taine

Following the release of John Taine’s four-part, serialized novel The Time Stream, which wrapped up in the March 1932 issue of Wonder Stories, fans of the Scottish-born author would have to wait a good 27 months for any more sci-fi product from him. But this is not to say that Taine was idle during that time, his “day job” as a mathematician and professor — under his given name Eric Temple Bell — keeping him more than busy,

The Zoologist’s Guide to the Galaxy: What Animals on Earth Reveal About Aliens — and Ourselves

The Zoologist’s Guide to the Galaxy: What Animals on Earth Reveal About Aliens — and Ourselves by Arik Kershenbaum

Usually, when one thinks about “universal laws,” the first disciplines that come to mind are mathematics and physics. Pi, or the law of gravity, for instance. But in The Zoologist’s Guide to the Galaxy: What Animals on Earth Reveal About Aliens — and Ourselves, Arik Kershenbaum makes the case for “universal laws of biology.” And then further argues that said laws, which we can formulate based on our experiences and observations here on Earth,

March 22nd, 2021. Bill Capossere´s rating: 5 | Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Fairhaven Rising: Boring

Fairhaven Rising by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.

I’ve read every book that L.E. Modesitt, Jr. has written in the SAGA OF RECLUCE. I have thrilled to watch different characters go through the refiner’s fire of youth and grow into interesting adults. There have been sorrows and joys along the way, and I often felt like I was reading the same book over and over with different character names, different trades they were pursuing, but mostly the same pattern and the same themes. Men are naturally power-hungry and bad.

March 22nd, 2021. John Hulet´s rating: 2 | L.E. Modesitt_Jr | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |

Sunday Status Update: March 21, 2021

Marion: Very little reading this week because it’s another week of revisions, but I hope to send one manuscript back to my editor in a day or two. I am reading Nick Martell’s The Kingdom of Liars, which Bill reviewed. I agree with Bill’s review. I am going to finish it though.

Bill: This week I read the quite fun Fiends of Nightmaria, the newest Malazan novella by Steven Erikson; the excellent and utterly fascinating The Zoologist’s Guide to the Galaxy: What Animals on Earth Reveal About Aliens — and Ourselves by Arik Kershenbaum;

March 21st, 2021. Tim Scheidler | Status Update | no comments |

B.P.R.D. (Vol. 13): 1947: Vampires in the early B.P.R.D. days

B.P.R.D. (Vol. 13): 1947 by Mike Mignola (writer), Joshua Dysart (writer), Gabriel Ba (artist), Fabio Moon (artist), Dave Stewart (colorist), and Clem Robins (letterer)

In B.P.R.D. (Vol. 13): 1947, at an air force base in New Mexico, the Russian Varvara, a little girl, is able to mysteriously appear to the professor late at night in his study. She questions why he has not revealed to Hellboy the larger mysteries surrounding him, but the professor says it is too early. And at that moment, Hellboy comes in, Varvara disappears,

Wild Sign: The call of the Wild Singer

Wild Sign by Patricia Briggs

A woman goes hiking with her dog in the northern California mountains, searching for the hidden settlement her father calls home. After a long search she finds the encampment — really a small town — but her father is gone, along with every other person who lived in Wild Sign. Some time later, two FBI agents pay a surprise visit to Anna and Charles Cornick in Aspen Creek, Montana. The agents lay their cards on the table: The FBI is looking for an alliance with the werewolves,

March 19th, 2021. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 4.5 | Patricia Briggs | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Weaver’s Folly: Great secondary characters enrich a great spring-break read

Weaver’s Folly by Sarah Madsen

Warm weather’s coming, and pandemic restrictions are easing as vaccines become readily available, at least in the USA. It’s almost the time of year for a beach book, a park book, a camping book or even just a sitting-on-the-front-porch-sipping-iced-tea book, and Sarah Madsen’s Weaver’s Folly (2021) is an excellent candidate.

Madsen and I share a publisher, Falstaff Books. I bought my copy of Weaver’s Folly on Amazon and I’m getting no special consideration for this review.

March 18th, 2021. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3.5 | Sarah Madsen | SFF Reviews | no comments |

WWWednesday: March 17, 2021

Saturday, March 13, Writer’s Almanac provided a link to the Arizona Lights page on Wikipedia, in honor of the anniversary of the strange lights in the sky in 1997. I thought I’d share.

Writers, Writing, Reading, Books:

The Odyssey Writers Workshop is open for applications, although they haven’t decided how it will be held yet.

In June Marvel Comics will unveil Pride covers. These look great.

Writer Beware uncovers an old scammer with a new scam,

March 17th, 2021. Marion Deeds | Giveaway!, World Wide Wednesday | 15 comments |

Forty Thousand in Gehenna: A new human society evolves

Forty Thousand in Gehenna by C.J. Cherryh

Tantor Audio recently released two of C.J. Cherryh’s stand-alone ALLIANCE-UNION novels, Merchanter’s Luck and Forty Thousand in Gehenna (1983), together under the title Alliance Space. I’m reviewing the novels separately since that’s the way they were originally published and can still be purchased. However, I love that you can get them both in one Kindle edition or one 22-hour long audiobook!

Month: March 2021

MONSTRESS 4: The Chosen: More evocative storytelling from two masters

Before the Dawn: An entertaining if lesser Taine novel

The Zoologist’s Guide to the Galaxy: What Animals on Earth Reveal About Aliens — and Ourselves

Fairhaven Rising: Boring

Sunday Status Update: March 21, 2021

B.P.R.D. (Vol. 13): 1947: Vampires in the early B.P.R.D. days

Wild Sign: The call of the Wild Singer

Weaver’s Folly: Great secondary characters enrich a great spring-break read

WWWednesday: March 17, 2021

Forty Thousand in Gehenna: A new human society evolves

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