We’ve introduced the second Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC2) and the judging team I’ll be leading this year. Now it’s time to turn to round one. We’ve been given 28 books, and we have 5.5 months to evaluate them and choose three semifinalists to pass to other teams. Many teams will be using the same… Continue reading Team Tar Vol On’s First-Round Entries for SPSFC2
Team Tar Vol On is back for the second annual Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC2). The competition takes up to 300 self-published science fiction novels and whittles them down to one ultimate winner. We’ll start with all 300 books being split between ten different judging teams, who will select their top three to be semifinalists.… Continue reading Team Tar Vol On and SPSFC2
This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The Spear Cuts Through Water will be released on August 30, 2022. I read Simon Jimenez’s debut novel, The Vanished Birds, last year, and while I didn’t necessarily think it all came together,… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez
I read a ton of short fiction this month, with a mix of 2022 publications, 2021 pieces from Hugo-shortlisted magazines or editors, and even one backlist award winner. As for the longer works, all but one of my reviews posted in July was either an SPSFC or Hugo finalist, so the majority of the links… Continue reading July 2022 Round-up and Short Fiction Focus
The voting deadline is almost here for the 2022 Hugo Awards for the best of last year’s science fiction and fantasy–by the time this post goes live, it will be tonight: 11:59 PDT on August 11th. This year, I made an effort to read everything in what I consider to be the four main fiction… Continue reading 2022 Hugo Awards Full Ballot
2022 marks my second year voting in the Hugo Awards for the best science fiction and fantasy published in the previous year. Today I will be looking at Best Novel, for works greater than 40000 words. Last year’s Best Novel shortlist was my favorite of any category, with three different novels that I absolutely adored.… Continue reading 2022 Hugo Awards Ballot: Best Novel
This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Babel will be released on August 23, 2022. I’m not sure there’s a more anticipated release in my corners of sci-fi/fantasy spaces than R. F. Kuang’s Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: Babel by R.F. Kuang
2022 marks my second year voting in the Hugo Awards for the best science fiction and fantasy published in the previous year. Today I will be looking at Best Novella, for works between 17500 and 40000 words. Last year’s Best Novella shortlist was my least favorite of the categories I read, with one outstanding entry… Continue reading 2022 Hugo Awards Ballot: Best Novella
Arkady Martine won the Hugo Award for Best Novel with her debut A Memory Called Empire—a book with some fascinating cultural work to go with a solid-but-unexceptional thriller plot—and has returned to the Best Novel ballot with the second half of the duology: A Desolation Called Peace. [Note: while I always try to stay away… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review: A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine
Alix E. Harrow has become one of the more notable names in fantasy over the last several years, riding a tendency to tug at heartstrings and a prose style that’s simultaneously beautiful and easy-to-read to five Hugo nominations (one win) across three separate categories since 2019. Best Novella finalist A Spindle Splintered was my second… Continue reading Fantasy Novella Review: A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow
