Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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Cormac McCarthy’s The Road: A graphic novel adaptation by Manu Larcenet (An Oxford College Student Review!)

Cormac McCarthy’s The Road: A graphic novel adaptation by Manu Larcenet

In this column, I feature comic book reviews written by my students at Oxford College of Emory University. Oxford College is a small liberal arts school just outside of Atlanta, Georgia. I challenge students to read and interpret comics because I believe sequential art and visual literacy are essential parts of education at any level (see my Manifesto!). I post the best of my students’ reviews in this column. Today,

The River Has Roots: Lush, beautiful fairy tale retelling

The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar

I use up all my superlatives whenever I review anything by Amal El-Mohtar, whose prose is always exquisite and imaginative, flowing like syrup. In the case of 2025’s The River Has Roots, the hardcopy version of El-Mohtar’s lovely, original fairy tale is enhanced by woodcut-style illustrations. The story is short, novella-length, and draws on familiar elements, but the themes of the river and music form the story’s main currents, which drew me in immediately.

Esther and Ysabel Hawthorn are sisters,

Notes from a Regicide: A hell of a book about art and love

Notes From a Regicide by Isaac Fellman

If Notes from a Regicide were just a book about two artists who become involved in a revolution, it would be one hell of a book. If it were just a story about a man who learns to see his parents as people, it would be one hell of a book. If it were just a love story between two artists, dealing with addiction and mental illness, it would be one hell of a book, too. If it were just about a trans gay man navigating his life,

Written on the Dark: Feels like Kay’s most elegiac work

Written on the Dark by Guy Gavriel Kay

In Written on the Dark (2025), Guy Gavriel Kay returns to his “quarter-turn from our own” world, here shifting time and place to a late-medieval “France” (Ferrieres in Kay’s universe) ruled by a “mad king.” When the king’s brother is killed by the powerful Duke of Barratin and left on the streets of Orane (think Paris), tavern poet Thierry Villar finds himself embroiled in the politics and intrigue of a world he’d never imagined himself part of, as Ferrieres tries to avoid civil war while also attempting to fend off an exterior invasion by the king of the island nation across the channel [some spoilers to follow in this review;

Talk To My Back by Muraski Yamada (An Oxford College Student Review!)

Talk To My Back by Muraski Yamada

Ritisha Lingampally is a first-year student at Oxford College and is considering majoring in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology.

May 17th, 2025. Brad Hawley´s rating: 5 | Comics | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service: Look, it’s Ursula!

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service by Ian Fleming

Ian Fleming‘s 11th James Bond book, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, was written, as was the author’s wont, while on vacation at his Goldeneye retreat on the north shore of Jamaica, at Oracabessa, in the winter of 1962 … coincidentally, not far from where filming for the original 007 movie, Dr. No, was taking place at that same time. OHMSS, which was initially released in April 1963,

May 15th, 2025. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 5 | Edge, Film / TV | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

One Message Remains: Four innovative, deeply psychological stories

One Message Remains by Premee Mohamed

Yes, we are cruel. Yes, the world does not use that word as a compliment as we do.

Premee Mohamed is one of my favorite writers in the field. With 2025’s themed story collection One Message Remains she reminds me once again of why I like her work so much.

These four stories all take place either within the decadent, aggressive nation of Treotan, or in one of the nations it has invaded. Treotan, dying from within, still relies on its military and continues its invasions.

Savage Epics: The Seminal Works of Edgar Rice Burroughs

Savage Epics: The Seminal Works of Edgar Rice Burroughs by Edgar Rice Burroughs

I haven’t had this much pure fun reading a book since I was thirteen, which was the same age that I started reading Edgar Rice Burroughs’ TARZAN series.

Those TARZAN books that were a turning point for me. I collected, read, and still have the Ballantine series with the Neal Adams and Boris covers. TARZAN led me to the Ace CONAN series that was edited by DeCamp and Carter.

April 16th, 2025. Greg Hersom´s rating: 5 | Edgar Rice Burroughs | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Birthgrave: Tanith Lee’s first novel

Reposting to include Sandy’s new review.

The Birthgrave by Tanith Lee

Let me be clear: The Birthgrave has kind of a dumb plot. It’s repetitive, it’s all predicated on a prosaic twist that’s kept overly mysterious, and when the big reveal finally does come, it’s via one of the most blatant examples of deus ex machina I’ve ever seen. All the same, I’d still call this a good book. Maybe even a great one. That’s the magic of Tanith Lee: even her first novel,

April 4th, 2025. Tim Scheidler and Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4, 5 | Tanith Lee | SFF Reviews | 7 comments |

Life Drawing: Expanding the Love and Rockets cast of characters

Life Drawing by Jaime Hernandez

“I guess that’s what spending summer with a crazy aunt is like,” Tonta reports after hanging out with Maggie, the long-time star of Jaime Hernandez’s Love and Rockets which has now been running for over forty years. And while Maggie, and Hopey, too, appear in Life Drawing, the focus is on this newer character in the series — Tonta. Tonta is a wonderful character who seems to be the center of attention of a dynamic cast of characters,

March 29th, 2025. Brad Hawley´s rating: 5 | Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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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.