This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. The Mountain Crown will be released on October 8, 2024. Karin Lowachee had been hanging around the middle of the TBR for what seemed like forever before I finally pulled Warchild off the stack this… Continue reading Fantasy Novella Review: The Mountain Crown by Karin Lowachee
I’ve been trying to organize my short fiction a little bit better this month, so I have two magazine review posts and a little bit less for the miscellany. And yet, I still have some favorites to share, both in short-form and long. Let’s take a look! Short Fiction September Favorites I’ve already reviewed the September issue… Continue reading September 2024 Round-up and Short Fiction Miscellany
My short fiction reviews over the last couple years have been almost entirely limited to two monthly posts: a review of the magazines I read cover-to-cover and a catch-all roundup with an assortment of everything else. But in 2024, I’ve been trying to be a little more consistent in my reading of magazines that aren’t… Continue reading Tar Vol’s Magazine Minis: Asimov’s (September/October 2024) and Lightspeed (August and September 2024)
This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The City in Glass will be released on October 1, 2024. I first read Nghi Vo back in 2021 when The Empress of Salt and Fortune took home a well-deserved Hugo Award for Best… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: The City in Glass by Nghi Vo
I’d heard a decent amount of praise for Katherine Arden’s Winternight Trilogy, but the TBR is too long to read everything that’s praised, and she dropped far enough off my radar that I barely noticed when The Warm Hands of Ghosts released earlier this year. But I’d seen people calling it their favorite book of… Continue reading Historical Fantasy Novel Review: The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden
I’m still chugging along reading my two regular magazines, and there was plenty of short fiction that I’m really excited to talk about this month. Let’s dive in! Clarkesworld I usually discuss each issue of Clarkesworld in the order that the stories are listed in the table of contents, but this issue has me mentally… Continue reading Tar Vol Reads a Magazine: Reviews of Clarkesworld and GigaNotoSaurus (September 2024)
I did not grow up reading comic books, so perhaps it’s no surprise that as an adult, I haven’t gotten into graphic novels. I read Watchmen in college and that might be it…ever. But the English translation of Shubeik Lubeik by Deena Mohamed came with enough hype from people that don’t normally read graphic novels… Continue reading Fantasy Graphic Novel Review: Shubeik Lubeik by Deena Mohamed
The Two Doctors Górski by Isaac Fellman had a few strong reviews when it came out in 2022, but the overall mixed bag from reviewers and my spotty history when it comes to theme-heavy, plot-light stories saw me passing it up at the time. However, my themed Bingo card for this year requires a Dark… Continue reading Fantasy Novella Review: The Two Doctors Górski by Isaac Fellman
This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Haunt Sweet Home will be released on September 3, 2024. For my money, Sarah Pinsker may be the best out there right now writing short-but-not-that-short sci-fi and dark fantasy. So when I saw she… Continue reading Fantasy Novella Review: Haunt Sweet Home by Sarah Pinsker
This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Alien Clay will be released on September 17, 2024. As far as I can tell, Adrian Tchaikovsky has been a wildly prolific sci-fi/fantasy author for a solid decade by now, but after getting popular… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review: Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky
