Author: tarvolon

Reviews

Sci-fi Novel Review: Accidental Intelligence by Bryan Chaffin

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The fourth annual Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC4) has advanced to the semifinals, where my team’s two semifinalists will join four others in one of the competition’s two semifinal groups, each of which will be read by multiple judging teams in order to select a top three to advance to the finals. My third read of the round was Accidental… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review: Accidental Intelligence by Bryan Chaffin

Magazine Review

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

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I am running out of ways to say that I read Clarkesworld and GigaNotoSaurus every month. There’s always some good stuff to recommend, so let’s take a look.  Clarkesworld The May 2025 issue of Clarkesworld has a little bit different story mix than usual, with one full novella as a centerpiece, balanced by a pair… Continue reading Tar Vol Reads a Magazine (or Two): Reviews of Clarkesworld and GigaNotoSaurus (May 2025)

Reviews

Sci-fi/Fantasy Novella Review: The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain by Sofia Samatar

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I’ve read a handful of Sofia Samatar’s short fictions, and while they seem to be highly praised in the genre community, none to this point had really stuck with me. So it was with some apprehension that I approached my first of her novellas, the Hugo finalist The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain. But… Continue reading Sci-fi/Fantasy Novella Review: The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain by Sofia Samatar

Reviews

Sci-fi Novella Review: The Annual Migration of Clouds and We Speak Through the Mountain by Premee Mohamed

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I’d missed The Annual Migration of Clouds when it came out, but after really enjoying Premee Mohamed’s The Butcher of the Forest and seeing the 2024 release of Clouds sequel We Speak Through the Mountain, I thought it was worth circling back and reading the pair together.  We Speak Through the Mountain is a direct… Continue reading Sci-fi Novella Review: The Annual Migration of Clouds and We Speak Through the Mountain by Premee Mohamed

Monthly Round-Up

April 2025 Round-up and Short Fiction Miscellany

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This month I’ve started reading up on Hugo Award finalists, Asimov’s Readers’ Award finalists, and SPSFC semifinalists, all in between chipping away at my backlog of new releases. Have I found things to recommend? Of course I have! Let’s dive in! Short Fiction I have separate posts reviewing Clarkesworld and GigaNotoSaurus and evaluating the Asimov’s Readers’ Award shortlist. Both are full… Continue reading April 2025 Round-up and Short Fiction Miscellany

Reviews

Sci-fi Book Review: Proliferation by Erik A. Otto

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The fourth annual Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC4) has advanced to the semifinals, where my team’s two semifinalists will join four others in one of the competition’s two semifinal groups, each of which will be read by multiple judging teams in order to select a top three to advance to the finals. For my second read of the stage, I… Continue reading Sci-fi Book Review: Proliferation by Erik A. Otto

Magazine Review

Tar Vol Reads the 39th Asimov’s Readers’ Award Finalists

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For my second short fiction review of the month, I usually take some time to dig into a couple of magazines outside the two that I read every month. But with the announcement of an Asimov’s Readers’ Award shortlist that included half stories I’d read last year, I decided to take that time and read… Continue reading Tar Vol Reads the 39th Asimov’s Readers’ Award Finalists