Kat: Four books this week, all newly released audiobooks. Two were by D.J. Butler: In the Palace of Shadow and Joy and The Cunning Man. Gordon R. Dickson’s Hoka! Hoka! Hoka! has been on my TBR list for years. Lastly (and not least, but also not best) was E.J. Beaton’s debut, The Councillor. With all the hype, The Councillor was a little disappointing. The best book this week: The Cunning Man.
March 7th, 2021. Tim Scheidler | Status Update | no comments |
B.P.R.D. (Vol. 12): War on Frogs by Mike Mignola (writer), John Arcudi (writer), Herb Trimpe (artist), Guy Davis (artist), John Severin (artist), Peter Snejbjerg (artist), Karl Moline (artist), Dave Stewart (colorist), Bjarne Hansen (colorist), and Clem Robins (letterer).
The events in B.P.R.D. (Vol. 12): War on Frogs do not take place between volumes 11 and 13; instead, volume 12 is a flashback of sorts and should probably be read after B.P.R.D. (Vol. 5): The Black Flame.
In the first story,
March 6th, 2021. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4.5 | Mike Mignola | Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Burning Girls and Other Stories by Veronica Schanoes
Veronica Schanoes’ collection Burning Girls and Other Stories (2021) started strong, hit a rough patch for a lengthy time, then ended strong. It is, therefore, the epitome of the mixed bag. Of the thirteen tales, I found one to be a standout, two others good, a few solid ones and a number that didn’t do anything for me. I won’t go through each one, but here are my responses to several of the stories.
“Among the Thorns”: This is the opening piece and is also the one I thought stood out amongst the collection.
March 5th, 2021. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | Veronica Schanoes | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
It’s the first Thursday of the month. Time to report!
What is the best book you read in February 2021 and why did you love it? It doesn’t have to be a newly published book, or even SFF, or even fiction. We just want to share some great reading material.
Feel free to post a full review of the book here, or a link to the review on your blog, or just write a few sentences about why you thought it was awesome.
And don’t forget that we always have plenty more reading recommendations on our Fanlit Faves page and our 5-Star SFF page.
March 4th, 2021. FanLit | Giveaway!, Thoughtful Thursday | 15 comments |
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Who hasn’t fantasised what a different version of their life might look like? What if you’d become famous? Or an Olympic athlete? What if you’d become an arctic researcher? A musician? That’s exactly what Matt Haig explores in his latest offering, The Midnight Library (2020).
Nora Seed (and note the pointed symbolism of her surname) is not having a great day. Her cat just died. She’s been fired. Her brother is ignoring her and her neighbour,
March 4th, 2021. Ray McKenzie´s rating: 4 | Matt Haig | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Call of the Bone Ships by R.J. Barker
Call of the Bone Ships (2020) is the second book in R.J. Barker’s TIDE CHILD trilogy. The first book, The Bone Ships, introduced Joron Twiner, first mate to a tough and effective sea captain named Lucky Meas. Sailing and politics collide when their disreputable ship Tide Child was assigned to find and protect the last of a valuable but possibly extinct sea dragon species.
March 3rd, 2021. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | R.J. Barker | Audio | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Trouble the Saints by Alaya Dawn Johnson
Trouble the Saints (2020), by Alaya Dawn Johnson, follows three people of color — Phyllis (whose friends call her Pea), Tamara and Dev — from the late 1930s into the American involvement in World War II. Not one of them is “ordinary”; Pea and Dev have “saint’s hands” that bestow a gift … or a curse. Tamara has inherited a deck of playing cards, and she’s an oracle. When the story opens, all three are trying to make a living working for the white gangster Victor in New York City.
March 2nd, 2021. Marion Deeds´s rating: 4.5 | Alaya Dawn Johnson | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
The People’s Republic of Everything by Nick Mamatas
I don’t know if I simply wasn’t in the right mood for Nick Mamatas’ short-story collection The People’s Republic of Everything (2018), or if I’m not the right audience for his preferred themes and overall style, but this book and I just could not mesh.
There was one story, “Tom Silex, Spirit-Smasher,” which gripped my attention and had everything I look for in short fiction. The story focuses on Rosa Martinez, whose elderly grandmother might — through quirks of legality regarding her first marriage and the question of ownership of her first husband’s pulp publications — own the rights to a series of stories revolving around psychopomp Tom Silex.
March 2nd, 2021. Jana Nyman, Marion Deeds and Skye Walker´s rating: 3 | Nick Mamatas | Short Fiction, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
The Conductors by Nicole Glover
The Conductors (2021), by Nicole Glover, has lots of elements I’d normally eat up like a buffet: a historical setting (late 1800s Philadelphia), a focus on social injustice, a murder mystery, magic systems. Unfortunately, the elements never cohered into a story that held my attention, making the novel a real struggle. I thought about giving up on it relatively early, but kept pushing through despite my instincts, probably helped by the fact that my Kindle wasn’t showing my progress despite my repeated attempts to force it to do so.
March 1st, 2021. Bill Capossere´s rating: 2 | Nicole Glover | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
COMMENT Was I hinting that? I wasn't aware of it. But now that you mention it.... 🤔
So it sounds like you're hinting Fox may have had three or so different incomplete stories that he stitched together,…
It's hardly a private conversation, Becky. You're welcome to add your 2 cents anytime!
If the state of the arts puzzles you, and you wonder why so many novels are "retellings" and formulaic rework,…
I picked my copy up last week and I can't wait to finish my current book and get started! I…