Month: January 2020

This Is How by Marie Brennan

January 31, 2020

This Is How is a contemplation on the fall from grace, the tragedies of untimely death, the horror of abuse, and the road to redemption. Valravns are created through a tragedy that is not in any way their fault. A child dies because others did not care for them. The raven does as ravens do – it feeds. Neither of these two parties are responsible for this. They are innocents. Yet, a monster is nevertheless created by the lack of care on the part of others. This mirrors the cycles of abuse that we see in families; although children aren’t at fault because their parents abused them, a new monster may well be created as the child continues the cycle of abuse once they become adults as well. The abused become abusers. Where valravns are concerned, the killed become the killers.  … More This Is How by Marie Brennan

Archivist Wasp by Nicole Kornher-Stace

January 30, 2020

Archivist Wasp is a strange blend of post-apocalyptic dystopia, ghost hunting, and metaphysical descent into the underworld. My response on completing it can be summarized as “very weird, very good.” Although intriguing, philosophical YA is nothing new, Archivist Wasp takes this to a new level. Nicole Kornher-Stace crafts a world predicated not only on life and death, but also on the interconnectedness of life and our inability to define ourselves without using others as points of reference. None of us live in a vacuum, and the only way to grow and maintain our sense of self is through those we care for. … More Archivist Wasp by Nicole Kornher-Stace

The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep by H. G. Parry

January 28, 2020

Fans of low fantasy with mundane, yet endearing, characters will find much to love in H. G. Parry’s The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep. I’ll confess, I was very slightly dubious when I encountered this book’s premise. It felt a little cheesy to me. However, when I saw the names who were endorsing it, I couldn’t resist prodding Orbit for a review copy. Alix E. Harrow loved it? So did Matthew Ward? Okay, I was in. And I didn’t regret it one little bit. This book has the one thing I love most in my books: absolutely wonderful characters. The characters took a book that would have been merely good, and made it into something loveable and joyous. I felt that same spark of joy that I encountered when I read The Ten Thousand Doors for the first time.  … More The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep by H. G. Parry

Prosper’s Demon by K. J. Parker

January 27, 2020

Prosper’s Demon is an absolutely stellar example of KJ Parker’s signature wit. As always, Parker’s protagonist is more than a bit of an asshole, but you have to love the wry, humorous prose he’s couched in. This would be a great entry point for someone new to Parker’s short fiction, given how thoroughly it epitomizes the tone and characters he’s known for. Although this novella shares a universe with My Beautiful Life, they are both stand-alone and independent of one another. … More Prosper’s Demon by K. J. Parker

Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi

January 20, 2020

My reaction on finishing Riot Baby can be summed up with two simple words: Holy shit. This is a novella that I will have to reread at some point. Riot Baby is a humbling, visceral collage of two lives and the system that exists to crush them at every turn. It is a battle cry, a scream, and a sob for the black community. When people talk about #OwnVoices, this is what they mean.  … More Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi

Black Flowers Blossom by Vina Jie-Min Prasad

January 17, 2020

If you ever wanted a love story across multiple reincarnations between an occult detective and a demon, well, here you have it folks. This is a beautifully realized, off-beat love story between two people with quite unusual tastes. As they connect and reconnect across their lives, their love grows ever deeper and ever stronger – two halves of the same rather unusual whole.  … More Black Flowers Blossom by Vina Jie-Min Prasad

The Dragon’s Banker by Scott Warren

January 14, 2020

The world presented in The Dragon’s Banker is one that fascinates, containing just enough information to set it apart, to spark curiosity, and make a reader desperate to learn more. Intricate, engaging world-building has always been a dear love of mine, and Warren more than satisfied on this front. He writes with a deft hand, with subtle mentions of wizard academies, alchemy, and dwarven vaults. However, what truly makes this book shine is the narrator and protagonist: a humble banker.  … More The Dragon’s Banker by Scott Warren

The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez

January 13, 2020

When I began reading The Vanished Birds, I was unsure what to expect. The blurb didn’t prepare me for the book’s content, and hardly brushed the primary themes. Jimenez explores not just the idea of a found family, but, more importantly, discusses the ways we can be driven to hurt those we love. He has written a severe, yet tasteful, critique of the idea that the ends can ever justify the means.  … More The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez

A Personal Exploration of Sexual Assault and Trauma through Speculative Fiction – Pt. 2

January 9, 2020

I’ve started this second post so many times. I tried to decide: should I start with the man who raped me, who placed drink after drink into my hand and grabbed my arm and pulled me back when I tried to go home to get away from him? Should I start with the one who pressured me into sex acts when I was vulnerable, my self esteem at an all-time low? How about the serial abuser who “only” touched me once, when he did so much worse to other women? Or maybe the man who began to stalk me as soon as I told him I didn’t want to see him any more, who told me how attractive he found it when I was angry at him when he wouldn’t leave me alone? How about the coworker who put his hands on me, who told me how sexy he found me, told me he wanted to know “what made me tick”?  … More A Personal Exploration of Sexual Assault and Trauma through Speculative Fiction – Pt. 2

Exploring Sexual Trauma Through Speculative Fiction

January 8, 2020

This is Part 1 of series of deeply personal reflections on my own sexual assault, rape, and how they relate to the portrayal of rape and sexual assault in speculative fiction. This particular article will discuss a prolonged instance of childhood sexual assault. Future articles in this series will cover other trauma I experienced as an adult in college and beyond.  … More Exploring Sexual Trauma Through Speculative Fiction