Author: tarvolon

Magazine Review

Tar Vol Reads a Magazine (or Two): Reviews of Clarkesworld and GigaNotoSaurus (March 2025)

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With Hugo nominations in the books, I’ve more or less wrapped up my 2024 reading, so it’s on to 2025 short fiction. As always, that starts with my monthly reviews of Clarkesworld and GigaNotoSaurus.  Clarkesworld The March 2025 issue of Clarkesworld features a novella-length centerpiece, with three stories under 8,000 words on either side. And—unusually—for… Continue reading Tar Vol Reads a Magazine (or Two): Reviews of Clarkesworld and GigaNotoSaurus (March 2025)

SPSFC

SPSFC Quarterfinalist Review: A Swift and Sudden Exit by Nico Vincenty

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We’ve made it to the quarterfinals of the fourth annual Self-Published Science Fiction Competition. Team Tar Vol On has sifted through 32 randomly assigned books and selected a top four. That number has since dropped to two, so we’ll be evaluating a pair of our own and a third-place book from one other team in… Continue reading SPSFC Quarterfinalist Review: A Swift and Sudden Exit by Nico Vincenty

Reviews

Fantasy Novel Review: The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan

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The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan wasn’t on my radar at all to start 2024, as I’m not particularly enthralled by Gothic stylings, but an extremely strong review from someone who loved my favorite books of the year and the intrigue of a split timeline got my attention and convinced me to… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan

Reviews

Sci-fi Novel Review: The Martian Contingency by Mary Robinette Kowal

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This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The Martian Contingency will be released on March 18, 2025. I haven’t read the entirety of Mary Robinette Kowal’s Lady Astronaut series, but I was impressed by The Calculating Stars and even more impressed… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review: The Martian Contingency by Mary Robinette Kowal

Top Lists

Tar Vol’s 2024 Recommended Reading List and Short Fiction Top Ten: Awards Season Edition

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My favorite post of the year is the one where I share all the best sci-fi and fantasy I read from 2024. For those who follow the blog, you already saw the first version of this post back in December. But a lot of other people post their favorites lists around that time, and there… Continue reading Tar Vol’s 2024 Recommended Reading List and Short Fiction Top Ten: Awards Season Edition

Monthly Round-Up

Tar Vol On’s February 2025 Round-up and Short Fiction Miscellany

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February is a short month, and I was traveling for a good chunk of it, so my blog and my reading were a bit quieter than usual. Does this mean I have nothing to recommend? Absolutely not! Let’s take a look at what I read and reviewed this month! Short Fiction February Favorites As always,… Continue reading Tar Vol On’s February 2025 Round-up and Short Fiction Miscellany

Reviews

Sci-fi Novel Review: Time of the Cat by Tansy Rayner Roberts

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My judging team in the fourth annual Self-Published Science Fiction Competition has whittled our randomly-assigned 32 entries to four quarterfinalists. And then some off-page drama shrunk that list down to two. Come March, we will evaluate the third-place book from at least one other judging team to determine whether we would like to make it… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review: Time of the Cat by Tansy Rayner Roberts

Magazine Review

Tar Vol Reads a Magazine (or Two): Reviews and Clarkesworld and GigaNotoSaurus (February 2025)

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A short month with a lot of travel means my magazine reviews are coming later than usual, but coming they are. Let’s check out the February 2025 issues of Clarkesworld and GigaNotoSaurus.  Clarkesworld As with the January 2025 issue, this month’s Clarkesworld contains fewer than the usual eight stories, but with higher than average word… Continue reading Tar Vol Reads a Magazine (or Two): Reviews and Clarkesworld and GigaNotoSaurus (February 2025)