I don’t know if this will resonate with anyone else, but I am kinda tired of science fiction books that look at the myriad looming global crises and simply wave them away with “everything is going to be fine; it will all work out.” I have recently started seeking out depictions of our future that…
Continue reading ➞ Ode To The Half-Broken – Redefining Success
We’re back at it, folks! Nothing like a casual review of a 1,000+ pager from Stephen King. Today’s special? The Stand, complete and uncut, described by the author himself as “the American Lord of the Rings” (a designation I find to be a massive stretch). The Stand is long, packed with characters, and prescient in…
Nghi Vo stories always find a way to sink their teeth into me and never let go. The Scarlet Ball is my favorite story yet. Vo’s mesmerizing prose and dark, magical world lured me right in and enticed me even further with demon lords who can make your every wish come true. The storm rolls…
Continue reading ➞ The Scarlet Ball – Put Nghi Vo On My Dance Card
Bodies of Magic, by Freya Marske, is a fun, clever book that’s a little rough around the edges but will be a new all-time favorite for a specific kind of reader. The book is an explosively successful mix of popular subgenres (medical drama, dark academia, and murder mystery) that feels different from many of the…
Continue reading ➞ Bodies Of Magic – Magical Medical Murder Mystery
When tickets become available to the outlandish Sanderson worlds I've come to love, I'm often the first to get my ticket punched. I'm a known worldhopper, partial to his Cosmere work, but I'll pick up pretty much anything Sanderson writes. He's among the best in the business today, so his works are typically an easy…
Oh yeah folks, it’s time for some more politically tinged science fiction. Wait, what am I saying, the genre is inherently political. I had yet to purchase a ticket to the Richard Swan show, but when I heard his latest, The Infinite State, is about trying to jumpstart a democracy while living in an authoritarian…
As the king’s niece, Elise Lysander is a powerful political piece that can be married off to secure wealth, alliances, or power. To arrange the best possible match, a well-known merchant is tasked with being Elise’s dowry negotiator. Legion Grey dutifully steps into the role, but Elise discovers that the wealthy man is much more…
Continue reading ➞ Curse Of Shadows And Thorns – A Rose Dethorned
Well, folks, I did it! I read my first George R.R. Martin book. The book in question? His definitive work, his magnum opus: an illustrated novella called The Ice Dragon. This pint-sized fable comes and goes like a winter’s first flurry, dissipating in a flash after leaving its translucent mark upon the ground where it…
Engines of Reason, by Adrian Tchaikovsky, is an eagerly anticipated sequel to Elder Race, my absolute favorite novella. In some ways, I was a little sad that Tchaikovsky decided to write Engines of Reason. I fundamentally believe that Elder Race is so perfect that it can’t be improved on, but Tchaikovsky has proven me wrong…
Continue reading ➞ Engines Of Reason – Iterating On Perfection
Reading and then reviewing older science fiction always feels a bit weird. Rarely am I picking up something that is a hidden gem, a thing that someone has never read before. Often it feels like I am just adding to the choir of voices that already assures you “yes, this is good.” I know I…
