Kat: I’m so busy at the beginning of a new academic year. I’m teaching an extra class this semester, a large freshmen-level general education course, so that’s taking a lot of my time. But since you heard from me last (it’s been a while), I’ve read Octavia Butler’s XENOGENESIS series (Dawn, Adulthood Rites, Imago), three of Terry Pratchett’s DISCWORLD novels (Wyrd Sisters, Wintersmith,
September 4th, 2022. Tim Scheidler | Status Update | 1 comment |
From two months ago, the British Fantasy Award winners (better late than never). Some of our favorites, like Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Alix E. Harrow, are on here!
How about an anthology of Christmas stories edited by SFWA Grandmaster Connie Willis?
Comeuppance Served Cold got a starred review (or, as my husband called it, “a one-star review”) from Publishers Weekly!
Giveaway: One commenter chosen at random will win a mass market paperback of Cassie Alexander’s Nightshifted.
November 17th, 2021. Marion Deeds | Giveaway!, World Wide Wednesday | 6 comments |
Jana: This week I read two upcoming novellas: Catherynne M. Valente’s Comfort Me with Apples, which is surprisingly complex despite being quite short, and Along the Saltwise Sea, the second of A. Deborah Baker’s UP-AND-UNDER series, which is full of delightful fun and clever ideas. (And now I’m really excited for Seasonal Fears, the second in Seanan McGuire’s MIDDLEGAME series, because I want to see how these two books dovetail.)
Bill: This past week was pretty much student papers,
October 3rd, 2021. Tim Scheidler | Status Update | 1 comment |
On June 26, 2021 Connie Willis will host the Virtual 2021 Locus Awards Ceremony. The Locus Award finalists, listed below, are chosen by a poll of readers using an open public ballot. The Locus Award list is always fascinating because it’s a lot different from the Nebula and Hugo lists.
Click the title links below to read our reviews and on the author links to visit our page for the author. (Sorry we didn’t manage to read all of them this year!)
We’ve included the cover art for our favorites.
Which,
June 17th, 2021. FanLit | Locus Award | Giveaway!, Thoughtful Thursday | 10 comments |
In this week’s SHORTS column we wrap up our reviews of most of the 2021 Locus and Hugo award finalists in the novelette and short story categories.
“50 Things Every AI Working with Humans Should Know” by Ken Liu (2020, free at Uncanny magazine)
One eventually gets the list the titles implies, but first the story opens with an obituary of the list’s author — “WHEEP-3 (‘Dr. Weep’), probably the most renowned AI AI-critic of the last two decades.” The obit explains how WHEEP was created/trained by Dr.
June 17th, 2021. Bill Capossere, Kat Hooper, Kelly Lasiter, Tadiana Jones and Terry Weyna | Aliette De-Bodard, Alix E. Harrow, Catherynne M. Valente, JY Yang, Ken Liu, Sofia Samatar | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
In case you haven’t heard, our own Marion Deeds‘ novel Copper Road was recently published by Falstaff Books. After reading and reviewing it, I had some questions about the story, the world Marion created, and her writing process. I’m pleased to share her answers with you. Marion will send a signed copy of Copper Road to one of our commentors with a U.S. address (if our winner is outside the U.S., we’ll send a $5 Amazon gift card).
Bill Capossere: I mentioned in my review how meticulously constructed the plot felt.
May 18th, 2021. Bill Capossere | Marion Deeds | Author Interviews, Giveaway! | 12 comments |
The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
Our Daddy never taught us shit, except what a fox teaches chickens — how to run, how to tremble, how to outlive the bastard — and our mama died before she could teach us much of anything. But we had Mama Mags, our mother’s mother, and she didn’t fool around with soup-pots and flowers.
Once upon a time there were three sisters, in a world where women’s magic was outlawed and driven underground. They had to battle an evil man and rediscover their own power,
October 30th, 2020. Marion Deeds and Jana Nyman´s rating: 4.5 | Alix E. Harrow | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Jana: This week was a fairly productive one for me, so I’m pleased. I finished V.E. Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, got a few reviews taken care of, and began reading Alix E. Harrow’s The Once and Future Witches alongside The Very Best of Caitlín R. Kiernan, a tremendously moody and dark collection of Kiernan’s short fiction. I think it’s safe to say that I’ll be recommending all three books rather enthusiastically to anyone who will listen.
October 18th, 2020. Tim Scheidler | Status Update | no comments |
Jana: This week I finished Naomi Novik’s A Deadly Education, and I’m so excited to see what happens in the next book! I’m about halfway through V.E. Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, which is a thoroughly enjoyable and engrossing story. And next up is Alix E. Harrow’s The Once and Future Witches, because it’s October, and I need to keep the spooky train chugging along!
October 11th, 2020. Tim Scheidler | Status Update | no comments |
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
Given the success of her debut, it would be impossible to write about Erin Morgenstern‘s eagerly awaited follow-up without alluding to The Night Circus (2011). The bestseller accrued a mass following of ‘Rêveurs’ – the self-styled fanbase, named after the followers of the circus in the book. It inspired a formidable amount of tattoos and artwork on Pinterest, as well as being translated into thirty-seven languages, no less. It was always going to be a hard act to follow,
September 22nd, 2020. Ray McKenzie, Marion Deeds and Jana Nyman´s rating: 3.5, 5 | Erin Morgenstern | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Childhood's End- Arthur C. Clarke
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