Letting the cat right out of the bag, I think Platform Decay is pretty bad. Martha Wells’ Murderbot series has been one of my favorite stories in recent years, even though it feels like a book that was split up to make more money at this point. The last two entries (Fugitive Telemetry and System…
On some level, I think art is the singular most important element of the human condition. So let's talk about it. And Side by Side They Wander, by Molly Tanzer, is a short novella about an intergalactic art heist. Unfortunately, I think this powerful short was done dirty by the marketing tactics. Looking at the…
Continue reading ➞ And Side by Side They Wander – Galactic Art 101
I read The Language of Liars by S. L. Huang in one sitting, fearing I would miss a word if I set it down. And words are what’s important in this story because language is a portal to the stars, quite literally in Ro’s case. Star Eaters are the only alien species that can locate…
Adam Roberts is quickly becoming one of my favorite science fiction writers working today. I know I’ve only reviewed one of his novels, Purgatory Mount, but I’ve read two others, and as your about to find out, three of his novellas. I’m trying something a little different as I try to talk about three thematically…
Continue reading ➞ Adam Roberts – Stealing My Heart, One Novella at a Time
I suffered an intense movie hangover after watching Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights,” so I needed to read something on the lighter side. Luckily for me, T. Kingfisher’s latest novella, Nine Goblins, has been waiting patiently on my TBR. So I decided to see what shenanigans a group of goblins got up to while I mended…
Thrum by Meg Smitherman was an interesting reading experience for me because I loved the big reveal at the end of the story, but I don’t like how we got there. I was very intrigued by a horror romance set in space, and despite Smitherman delivering one hell of an ending, the novella was a…
Lend an ear to listen to Amal El-Mohtar’s bittersweet tale of two sisters whose love can transcend all. The River Has Roots is a short, sweet lullaby that will pluck at your heartstrings and give you a love to believe in. As is tradition among the Hawthorn family, Esther and Ysabel sing to honor the…
Let’s close the spooky season with an out-of-this-world but extremely relatable horror novella, Walking Practice, by author Dolki Min. It’s funny, it’s gory, and it’s going to stir up your emotions and encourage examination of love, identity, and how we connect as humans. After crash-landing on Earth, a solitary alien has spent years perfecting its…
Continue reading ➞ Walking Practice – Survival Of The Fittest
On September 1st of 2025, the conclusion to one of my favorite recent fantasy series is releasing. With seven installments, this novella saga is criminally underread, and the final entry sticks a ten-point landing. I am talking about The Infernus Gate, novella seven of The Seven Swords by Anthony Ryan. I don’t know what I…
I am trying to get to a lot more novellas this year, which means the lot of you will have to put up with some quickfire reviews about some quickfire books. Automatic Noodle, by Annalee Newitz, is a short 200-page novella about a near-future American dystopia where a collection of abandoned service robots open a…
