Nothing But The Rain – Buckets of Misery

Since we’re fast approaching summer in the northern hemisphere, we should take some time to appreciate some of the things we associate with spring: the turn towards warmer weather, the blooming of flowers, and of course, the life-giving rains. However, Naomi Salman has chosen violence and made the rain something to fear in her debut…

The Keeper’s Six – A Real Treasure Trove

A few years ago, I read Kate Elliott's Unconquerable Sun. After enjoying the delight that was that novel, I promised I would read more of Elliott's work, and well, I have fallen short. At least until a couple weeks ago, when I read her latest novella. The Keeper's Six is a fun and exciting multi-dimensional…

Into The Riverlands – Gold Standard Novellas

Into The Riverlands, a novella by Nghi Vo, impressed me a lot. This isn’t particularly surprising, given that Vo is one of the best new voices in fantasy and Riverlands is the third in a novella anthology that all have been fabulous. But the thing that really resonated with me about Riverlands, and The Singing…

High Times in the Low Parliament – It’s Raining Women

High Times in the Low Parliament, by Kelly Robson, is a strange and horny novella with a memorable title and an even more memorable cover. Unfortunately, the interior of this story is less memorable than the exterior, unless you are really craving a lukewarm erotica about a scribe who can’t keep it in her pants…

The Bruising of Qilwa – More Than Meets The Eye

The Bruising of Qilwa, a novella by Naseem Jamnia, is a short story about being trans, immigration, belonging, and how plague/tragedy can change reality for many people. The story is entertaining, heartfelt, and it brings some nice representation to a genre that could always use more. However, while it is both cute and fun it…

What Moves The Dead – But Apparently Not The Living

The Fall of the House of Usher has occupied some space in my brain since the halcyon days of high school English class. Not only did I read it several times, but I never wrote the assigned paper, a fact that literally haunts my dreams. There is just something unnerving about Poe’s story that I’m…

These Prisoning Hills – Break Free

It’s not often that Appalachia becomes the focus of a science fiction story, despite the unending talk of turning coal miners into coders. So when I first noticed the ominous cover of These Prisoning Hills and learned that it takes place within that fabled range, I had to get my hands on the novella. Christopher…