Right off the bat, I would love to take a moment to recognize how good Alex White is at naming things. Everything in their books has such fantastic and memorable names; whether that's the long evocative titles, the cool nomenclature of the magic system, character names/nicknames, or the locations/settings. Everything White touches comes away with…
Continue reading ➞ August Kitko And The Mechas From Space – Punching, Feelings, And Robots
Light from Uncommon Stars, by Ryka Aoki, is a very strange book in the best way possible. It’s a story about music, trans individuals, aliens, loneliness, video games, Faustian bargains, San Gabriel Valley, donut shops, and more. It is wholly its own thing, despite the blurb on the back saying it’s Good Omens meets The…
Continue reading ➞ Light From Uncommon Stars – Rare Brilliance
Memoirs don’t typically fall within The Quill To Live’s purview. But Ben Folds, in a move reflective of his genre-bending career as a musician, has broken the mold and crafted a decidedly whimsical and punk autobiography that hooked me, a near-exclusive SFF reader, from start to finish. Ben Folds fans will likely flock to the…
If Noumenon felt like the detached and cool but ultimately understanding older cousin, Noumenon: Infinity is your loving aunt who also happens to be a trained therapist. The first book took a more removed and neutral approach to its narrative style as well as the questions it posed about the nature of purpose and drive,…
Continue reading ➞ Noumenon Infinity – If Only There Was A Beyond
When an established creator receives a veritable onslaught of support and encouragement to pursue a completely new project in a foreign medium, things like Skin&Earth gloriously explode into the fandom at hand. Skin&Earth Volume One, collecting the first six issues of Lights’ concept-album-turned-comic-book, competes with and pays homage to the best graphic novels of our…
Last year Nicholas Eames had a breakout success with his book Kings of the Wyld. The story of an older fantasy party getting back together for one last tour, the book told a touching story of five characters finding the strength to set aside their differences and save the world. It was one of our…
This year has been absolutely packed with fantastic sequels, and new series from authors I love. However, in the midst of all the literary titans releasing their work it is important to not overlook the new players entering the game. Every year I have a couple of dark horses on my release tracker that are…
Continue reading ➞ Kings Of The Wyld – You Get What You Need
