Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Author: Marion Deeds

WWWednesday: April 24, 2024

Primary endosymbiosis is rare, but it’s happening right now with an algae and a cyanobacterium, which are merging to form an organelle that can fix nitrogen directly from the air.

Among other events, BaltiCon will feature an SFF-themed short film festival. (Thanks to File 770.)

Fallout has been renewed for another season on Amazon.

Nerds of a Feather interview Cheryl Ntumy about Mothersound, a science-fantasy anthology based on African folklore, and the Sauutiverse collective.

Reactor offers an excerpt of James Logan’s new epic fantasy novel The Silverblood Promise.

April 24th, 2024. Marion Deeds | Giveaway!, World Wide Wednesday | 6 comments |

Someone You Can Build a Nest In: Can a monster and a monster hunter find love?

Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell

Relationships are hard. They may be even harder when one person’s definition of love is implanting their eggs in the beloved, so that the hatchlings eat their way out of their parent. For Shesheshen, the protagonist of John Wiswell’s Someone You Can Build a Nest In (2024), this is how her species defines it. Now that she’s fallen in love with Homily, a human woman, the egg-implantation issue isn’t the only obstacle on their road to happiness.

Shesheshen is a protoplasmic creature,

WWWednesday: April 17, 2024

The Tolkien Awards were announced on Saturday, April 13.

The Writers Guild announced their awards as well, and there are some genre-related winners here.

Here’s a fun article on an amateur, non-profit Doctor Who film being filmed in Wales (because where else?) (Thanks to File770.)

Molly Templeton asks the question; “Can a Book Really Be for Everyone?” and proceeds to answer it. I’m not sure I completely agree, but it’s a great essay.

I’m not disappointed in this article,

April 17th, 2024. Marion Deeds | World Wide Wednesday | no comments |

City of Bones: A revised edition of Wells’s first novel

City of Bones by Martha Wells

Tordotcom Books has reissued Martha Wells’s 1995 fantasy novel City of Bones, updated and expanded. In an interview, Wells explained that she took a few opportunities to make the writing better but didn’t change the book substantially for this edition.

I knew who Martha Wells was, but until the MURDERBOT series I hadn’t read anything by her. This is the second fantasy novel of hers I have read. City of Bones is a pleasing read,

WWWednesday: April 10, 2024

Oliver K. Langmead shares six books with Nerds of a Feather, including a collaboration between China Mieville and… Keanu Reeves, an adaptation of Reeves’s comic. Interesting.

Haruki Murakami has a new book coming out in November, The City and its Uncertain Walls.

Angry Robot has opened its submission window and is utilizing an AI sorting program. They have providing an FAQ page and are trying to get ahead of any concerns writers might have. (Thanks to File770.)

Reactor announced that Tor will be publishing a new “Gatsby” themed novella from Nghi Vo.

April 10th, 2024. Marion Deeds | World Wide Wednesday | 2 comments |

WWWednesday: April 3, 2024

The Hugo finalist list is out. Any surprises? I’m pleased to see that fans of Chinese SFF didn’t let last year’s mess discourage them.

Not too surprisingly, several people declined nominations and a few of them gave statements. Here’s Camestos Felapton’s. Natasha Bardon, nominated for Best Editor, Long Form, declined. Bardon edited Babel, an award-winning book that was deemed ineligible for the Hugos last year for no discernible reason. Martha Wells declined a nomination for Best Novella for System Collapse.

April 3rd, 2024. Marion Deeds | World Wide Wednesday | no comments |

WWWednesday: March 27, 2024

A single-topic column today.

Fifteen years after Johannes Cabal the Necromancer came out, to acclaim, I finally read it, along with Johannes Cabal the Detective, the second book in Jonathan L. Howard’s series. While I’m not quite sure how I missed them the first time around, I thoroughly enjoyed these first two and the astringent wit with which they are written. I was completely entertained by Johannes Cabal, scientist, necromancer, intelligent and cold-blooded anti-hero who is just human enough to make really big,

March 27th, 2024. Marion Deeds | Jonathan L. Howard | SFF Reviews, World Wide Wednesday | no comments |

System Collapse: Just as entertaining as all the rest of the series

Reposting to include Marion’s new review.

System Collapse by Martha Wells

The first thing to know about Martha Wells’ System Collapse is that if you can’t dredge up memories of its (chronological) predecessor, Network Effect, you’re going to want to refresh yourself either by a reread (fun enough) or skimming a few reviews, as System Collapse picks up directly afterward and really feels like it could have just been part of Network Effect (you know,

March 26th, 2024. Bill Capossere and Marion Deeds´s rating: 5 | Martha Wells | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |

WWWednesday: March 20, 2024

March 17 is best known in the modern USA as St. Patrick’s Day. It is also the feast day of St. Getrude of Nivelles, an aristocratic woman who became a nun and an abbess, and might be the patron saint of cats. This older article is interesting, even though there is no formal documentation of a Patron Saint of Cats.

Short story writer and award winner John Wiswell shares six books with Nerds of a Feather.

Best five? Best six? Stubby the Robot says, “Hah!” to such paltry lists and gives us 13 selkie stories on Reactor.

March 20th, 2024. Marion Deeds | Giveaway!, World Wide Wednesday | 7 comments |

The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles: Come for the mystery, stay for the great characters

The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles by Malka Older

On Jupiter, known as Giant, Mossa, an Investigator, and Pleiti, scholar and instructor, are on a new case, involving the disappearance of a student. As Mossa explores, she finds not one, but seventeen university students, faculty and staff have gone missing. What the two sleuths will uncover in 2024’s The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles, by Malka Older, will destabilize Pleiti’s already-shaky faith in the university system, and her life’s work, even further.

These novellas are a pure pleasure to read.

March 14th, 2024. Marion Deeds and Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5, 5 | Malka Older | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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Recent Discussion:

David C Walton on Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil: Ambitious, atmospheric, and ultimately unevenJuly 5, 2025
Do it! One of the best things I've read in recent years.
Marion Deeds on Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil: Ambitious, atmospheric, and ultimately unevenJuly 5, 2025
This reminds me. I want to read Addie LaRue.
Bill Capossere on Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil: Ambitious, atmospheric, and ultimately unevenJuly 3, 2025
We’re in total agreement David!
David C Walton on Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil: Ambitious, atmospheric, and ultimately unevenJuly 3, 2025
I felt just the same. The prose and character work was excellent. The larger story was unsatisfying, especially compared to…
Marion Deeds on Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil: Ambitious, atmospheric, and ultimately unevenJuly 3, 2025
Hmmm. I think I'll pass.