Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Month: April 2022

Sentient: How Animals Illuminate the Wonder of Our Human Senses

Sentient: How Animals Illuminate the Wonder of Our Human Senses by Jackie Higgins

In Sentient: How Animals Illuminate the Wonder of Our Human Senses, Jackie Higgins smoothly and successfully merges what could have been two popular science books — one on animal senses and one on human perception. Instead of separating the two subjects, here Higgins uses one as a vehicle for exploring the other.

More precisely, by examining a dozen animal species and focusing on a single sensory trait they possess, Higgins casts a clarifying light on our own sensory abilities,

April 29th, 2022. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Thoughtful Thursday: Free Comic Book Day 2022 (Giveaway!)

Free Comic Book Day — FCBD — is always the first Saturday of May. To get your free comics on May 7, you’ll need to locate a local comic bookstore and, if in doubt, give them a call to see if they are participating. Chances are, if it’s an independent comic book store, they are offering free comics, because FCBD is designed to celebrate comics, to introduce comic books to new readers, to celebrate the unique independent comic book stores that sell them, and to support comic book stores by bringing in new customers in addition to the regular patrons.

April 28th, 2022. Brad Hawley | Giveaway!, Thoughtful Thursday | 10 comments |

WWWednesday: April 27, 2022

Don’t forget about FOGCon’s reading April 30, 2022, with Nisi Shawl and Karen Joy Fowler. The signup for the link is in the article.

File770 shares news about Martha Jones and the Tenth Doctor in comics.

Uncanny Magazine will open submissions for novellas from May 1 thru May 15, and short fiction from May 16 through May 30. Haven’t they won a Hugo? Maybe your story will be the next winner.

The Frankfurt Book Fair raises money for Ukraine. In a similarly-themed article,

April 27th, 2022. Marion Deeds | World Wide Wednesday | no comments |

The Dark Archive: One for the fans

The Dark Archive by Genevieve Cogman

Fans of THE INVISIBLE LIBRARY series will enjoy 2020’s The Dark Archive. Cogman’s intrepid librarian Irene bounds from one adventure to another, armed with her wits, magical knowledge and the power of the Library’s Language. This story adds important information to the conspiracy that is bubbling in the background, while serving up a comfortable, familiar set of adventures for Irene and her team. Along the way, we get to know some secondary characters a bit better.

When Irene’s detective friend Peregrine Vale takes Irene through a suboceanic tunnel to retrieve a vitally important letter,

April 27th, 2022. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3.5 | Genevieve Cogman | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Stars Above: Backstories and an epilogue for the LUNAR CHRONICLES

Stars Above by Marissa Meyer

Readers who didn’t get enough of Marissa Meyer’s LUNAR CHRONICLES will be pleased to find Stars Above (2016), a collection of nine stories that give fans more backstory on their favorite characters as well as a romantic epilogue.

Some of these stories can stand alone, giving you a taste of what to expect in the LUNAR CHRONICLES series, but it’d be most meaningful and enjoyable to read Cinder,

How to Build a Human: In Seven Evolutionary Steps

How to Build a Human: In Seven Evolutionary Steps by Pamela S. Turner and illustrated by John Gurche

I often tell my first-year college students that when they start out doing research, they should begin not with the academic journals, which so many of them do, and not with the newspaper or magazine articles, but with books written for young readers. Because what they want is something that is brief, broad, shallow but informative, easy to understand. Something that strips out the overwhelming details and provides them a strong foundational understanding of the major points so that when they do eventually research more deeply,

April 22nd, 2022. Bill Capossere´s rating: 5 | Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |

Thoughtful Thursday: Identify last month’s covers

Today’s covers all come from books, comics, or films we reviewed in March 2022. Once you identify a cover, in the comment section list:

1. The number of the cover (1-12)
2. The author/director
3. The book/film title

Please identify just one cover that has not yet been identified correctly so that others will have a chance to play. If they’re not all identified by next Thursday at noon EST, you can come back and identify more.

Each of your correct entries enters you into a drawing to win a book of your choice from our stacks (if you’re in the U.S.A.),

April 21st, 2022. FanLit | Giveaway!, Thoughtful Thursday | 13 comments |

Noor: Okorafor weaves another stunning imaginary world

Noor by Nnedi Okorafor

Nnedi Okorafor’s 2021 Noor is a short, fast-paced science fiction novel. The futuristic energy delivery system called Noor, and the “Red Spot” dust storm are innovative, made plausible by Okorafor’s grounded writing and her fine eye for detail.

Anwuli calls herself AO for Artificial Organism. Considered “wrong” even before birth, AO was seriously injured in a car accident when she was a young adult. An experimental process gave her prosthetic limbs and cerebral implants. She is an outsider, tolerated,

WWWednesday: April 20, 2022

The British Science Fiction Association (BSFA) awards were announced last weekend. Best YA novel went to The Iron Widow, by Xiran Jay Zhou; Best novel, Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky, best shorter fiction Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard. Congratulations to all the winners.

File 770 has an article about Ukrainian art of resistance. (This column will have a couple of Ukrainian topics included.)

File 770 gave us a link to the most recent WisCon update.

April 20th, 2022. Marion Deeds | World Wide Wednesday | 2 comments |

The Sea Girl: The original water-gate break-in

The Sea Girl by Ray Cummings

A little while back, I had some words to say concerning Garrett P. Serviss’ truly excellent apocalyptic novel The Second Deluge, which was originally released in 1911. In that book, the Earth passes through a so-called “watery nebula,” and the resultant downpours cause the world’s oceans to rise over 30,000 feet, effectively inundating the entire planet! Well, now I am here to tell you about another Radium Age wonder, with precisely the opposite scenario.

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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