Back in 2019, after discovering the stunning works of Carol Berg, I began to hunt for female-authored epic fantasy that had flown under the radar in the 90s and 00s. And despite it being overshadowed by other popular mid-2000s fantasy [grumbles at marketing dollars thrown at The Name of the Wind instead], one series I… Continue reading Fantasy Series Review: The Inda Quartet by Sherwood Smith
My judging team in the second annual Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC2) has released our list of eight quarterfinalists, which we will be reading and reviewing over the next two months. Two of that quarterfinals group were the top two books that I selected out of my slush allocation. But two more–Fear by James McLellan… Continue reading An SPSFC2 Review Two-Pack: Fear and The Sphere
This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. City of Last Chances will be released on December 8, 2022. Since getting back into sci-fi and fantasy a few years ago, Adrian Tchaikovsky has been one of my favorite discoveries. I’ve loved nearly… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky
It’s easy to get stuck in a cycle of just reading the buzziest of the new releases, but I like to make sure I’m also reading work that’s more off the beaten path—after all, my favorites list is littered with books that never got the hype they deserve. So when a friend raved about Maurice… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review: Sweep of Stars by Maurice Broaddus
This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Africa Risen will be released on November 15, 2022. I’ve been really enjoying African short fiction lately, with four African-authored stories on my favorites of 2021 list and two on my Hugo nominating ballot.… Continue reading Sci-fi/Fantasy Anthology Review: Africa Risen
This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Neom will be released on November 9, 2022. Lavie Tidhar is a name that has popped up several times in my short fiction reading—I’ve read a few of his stories, and I have a… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review: Neom by Lavie Tidhar
For the first round of this year’s Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC2), my team has been assigned 28 books to ultimately whittle down to three semifinalists. To that end, we have further divided our batch so that each judge will be assigned 11 or 12 books to scout for the rest of the team. And… Continue reading Sci-fi/Fantasy Novel Review: Things They Buried by Amanda K. King and Michael R. Swanson
For the first round of this year’s Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC2), my team has been assigned 28 books to ultimately whittle down to three semifinalists. To that end, we have further divided our batch so that each judge will be assigned 11 or 12 books to scout for the rest of the team. And… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review: Scribes’ Descent by Dylan West
This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Into the Riverlands will be released on October 25, 2022. Despite a decent amount of hype, I only read Nghi Vo’s The Empress of Salt and Fortune when it showed up on the Hugo ballot… Continue reading Fantasy Novella Review: Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo
This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Strike the Zither will be released on October 25, 2022. I’ve heard a lot of great things about Joan He, so when I saw that her newest book was a YA fantasy centering a… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: Strike the Zither by Joan He
