This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The Last Dragoners of Bowbazar will be released on June 1, 2023. I’ve been hearing about Indra Das for a while, but not enough to push him to the top of a crowded TBR.… Continue reading Fantasy Novella Review: The Last Dragoners of Bowbazar by Indra Das
In January, I started a new series, which I hope to continue all year, in which I read and review sci-fi/fantasy magazines. I’ve settled on three publications to follow this year: my two favorites from 2022 and a third that has been a titan of the genre for decades. And after a solid-but-unexceptional April, May… Continue reading Tar Vol Reads a Magazine (or Three): Reviews of Clarkesworld, GigaNotoSaurus, and F&SF (May 2023)
The marketing of C.S.E. Cooney’s Saint Death’s Daughter did absolutely nothing to appeal to me. Queer coming-of-age? Could be good, but not a selling point in itself. Features necromancers? That’s probably a negative, to be honest. Comparisons to Gideon the Ninth? Absolutely a negative. But enough bookish friends liked it that I decided to give… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: Saint Death’s Daughter by C.S.E. Cooney
This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Witch King will be released on May 30, 2023. Between The Books of the Raksura and The Murderbot Diaries, Martha Wells has become one of my favorite character writers in the contemporary sci-fi/fantasy genre—especially… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: Witch King by Martha Wells
As a long-time lover of portals and multiverses, the description of Aimee Pokwatka’s debut novel Self-Portrait With Nothing immediately caught my eye. And when it was singled out for praise in Amal El-Mohtar’s Best of 2022 list, I determined to seek it out as soon as I could. Self-Portrait with Nothing follows Pepper, a forensic… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: Self-Portrait with Nothing by Aimee Pokwatka
Between Easter travel and the scramble to April 30th deadlines for both Hugo nominations and the end of the SPSFC2 semifinals, April was a bit of a chaotic reading month, and I ended up reading less short fiction than usual. But as always, I still have something to recommend. So let’s get to it. Short… Continue reading April 2023 Round-up and Short Fiction Miscellany
After whittling our initial 28-book allotment down to three, my SPSFC2 team has received six more semifinalists from other judging teams. Our scores of these six new books, along with our original three semifinalists, have combined with with 81 other scores (nine each from nine teams) to determine the SPSFC2 finalists, and three of our… Continue reading SPSFC Finalist Review: The Last Gifts of the Universe by Rory August
After whittling our initial 28-book allotment down to three, my SPSFC2 team has received six more semifinalists from other judging teams. Our scores of these six new books, along with our original three semifinalists, have combined with with 81 other scores (nine each from nine teams) to determine the SPSFC2 finalists, and three of our… Continue reading SPSFC Finalist Review: Those Left Behind by N.C. Scrimgeour
After whittling our initial 28-book allotment down to three, my SPSFC2 team has received six more semifinalists from other judging teams. Our scores of these six new books, along with our original three semifinalists, will combine with with 81 other scores (nine each from nine teams) to determine the SPSFC2 finalists. Each of the six… Continue reading SPSFC Semifinalist Review: The Peacemaker’s Code by Deepak Malhotra
In January, I started a new series, which I hope to continue all year, in which I read and review sci-fi/fantasy magazines. I’ve settled on three publications to follow this year: my two favorites from 2022 and a third that has been a titan of the genre for decades. One of those is a bimonthly… Continue reading Tar Vol Reads a Magazine (or Two): Reviews of Clarkesworld and GigaNotoSaurus (April 2023)
