For the past few years, I’ve been doing two r/Fantasy Bingo cards each year: one themed card, and one regular card. I finished my 2023 themed card back in 2023, but with my regular card coming so close to the deadline, I decided to hold my full review so that I could highlight which squares… Continue reading 2023 Fantasy Bingo, 2024 Bingo Squares
It’s my favorite part of the reading year: r/Fantasy Bingo is back! For those who aren’t familiar, Bingo is an annual challenge that runs from April 1 until March 31 of the following year. Five in a row (or column, or diagonal) is the traditional bingo, but the most popular way to play r/Fantasy Bingo… Continue reading Planning 2024 Fantasy Bingo
Hi, I am still here reading short fiction. I read two magazines each month, along with dips here and there into others. This is a review of the first two, for April 2024 Clarkesworld Clarkesworld rarely disappoints, and I’ve yet to see it ever disappoint two months in a row. So after my least favorite… Continue reading Tar Vol Reads a Magazine (or Two): Reviews of Clarkesworld and GigaNotoSaurus (April 2024)
This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Small Gods of Calamity was released on March 4, 2024. I read my first Sam Kyung Yoo story this winter, and it was good enough to immediately find and read a second, which was… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: Small Gods of Calamity by Sam Kyung Yoo
What a whirlwind of a month! The old Bingo year wrapped up, a new Bingo started, the Hugo finalists were released, and the SPSFC semifinals wrapped up. My miscellaneous reading wasn’t as extensive as in some other months, but there were a couple I really liked, and there’s plenty of other bookish things to recap.… Continue reading March 2024 Round-up and Short Fiction Miscellany
Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC) Team Tar Vol On has sent our two semifinalists to a pair of other teams, and in return, we’ve gotten four new semifinalists to review and rate. Our scores will combine with those of these two other teams in order to select two books to advance to the finals, starting… Continue reading SPSFC Finalist Review: Kenai by Dave Dobson
Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC) Team Tar Vol On has sent our two semifinalists to a pair of other teams, and in return, we’ve gotten four new semifinalists to review and rate. Our scores will combine with those of these two other teams in order to select two books to advance to the finals, starting… Continue reading SPSFC Semifinalist Review: Replacement by Jordan Rivet
Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC) Team Tar Vol On has sent our two semifinalists to a pair of other teams, and in return, we’ve gotten four new semifinalists to review and rate. Our scores will combine with those of these two other teams in order to select two books to advance to the finals, starting… Continue reading SPSFC Semifinalist Review: Any Minor World by Craig Schaefer
Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC) Team Tar Vol On has sent our two semifinalists to a pair of other teams, and in return, we’ve gotten four new semifinalists to review and rate. Our scores will combine with those of these two other teams in order to select two books to advance to the finals, starting… Continue reading SPSFC Semifinalist Review: Sunset by Arshad Ahsanuddin
