After months of reading, I’m finally ready to finalize my first Hugo Awards ballot for a category that isn’t meant for reading in a single sitting. And I have to say that after really enjoying the finalists for Best Short Story and Best Novelette, I found the Best Novella finalists to be a disappointing group.… Continue reading 2021 Hugo Ballot: Best Novella
The final book in my journey through the finalists for the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult novel is Cemetery Boys, by Aiden Thomas. Like many of the finalists, I’d heard a lot of praise for this one, but it was the nomination that spurred me to finally pick it up. And, as a book… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
It’s done. Team Tar Vol On has finished our first pass through our first-round allotment of books for the Self-Published Science Fiction Competition. We’ve read 10-20% of each book and made a decision on ten quarterfinalists to read through to completion. In the first, second, third, and fourth batches of cuts and quarterfinalists, I advised… Continue reading SPSFC First-Round Cuts and Quarterfinalists, Batch Five
This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reader Copy) provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Far from the Light of Heaven will be released on October 26, 2021. Earlier this year, I read my first book from Tade Thompson, the Nommo Award-winning Rosewater (full review). While it didn’t click… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review: Far from the Light of Heaven by Tade Thompson
We’ve hit the fourth of five batches in the first phase of the first round of the Self-Published Science Fiction Competition. With one update to go, this brings Team Tar Vol On to 18 eliminations and six quarterfinalists. Check back early next week for batch five. But in the interim, check out our fourth set… Continue reading SPSFC First-Round Cuts and Quarterfinalists, Batch Four
Team Tar Vol On continues to work through our first-round batch of Self-Published Science Fiction Competition entries, and we’ve passed the halfway point. If you haven’t been following along, you can check out batch one and batch two; otherwise, read on for another set of cuts and quarterfinalists. Neworld Papers Author: K. B. Shaw. Premise:… Continue reading SPSFC First-Round Cuts and Quarterfinalists, Batch Three
Like many of my reads during this summer’s extended Hugo voting window, A.K. Larkwood’s debut epic, The Unspoken Name, is a book that I’ve seen widely praised, but not a book that moved to the top of my list until Larkwood’s nomination for Best New Author. But I do like epic fantasy, so between that… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood
On Thursday, we made the first cuts and introduced the first quarterfinalists for Team Tar Vol On’s first round entries in the Self-Published Science Fiction Competition. Today, it’s time for another batch. If you’ve been following this competition, you know the procedure by now (and if you haven’t, refer back to the linked post), so… Continue reading SPSFC First-Round Cuts and Quarterfinalists, Batch Two
At long last, I’ve made it to Seanan McGuire’s Hugo Finalist. Well, this year’s Hugo Finalist. For Best Novella. Look, McGuire gets nominated a lot. At any rate, Come Tumbling Down, the fifth installment in the Wayward Children series, garnered a Best Novella nomination, and I figured I’d try to give myself the best chance… Continue reading Fantasy Novella Review: Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire
After a month of silence and a lot of reading, Team Tar Vol On has begun to make decisions about our first-round entries in the Self-Published Science Fiction Competition. To refresh your memory, our team of six judges began with 30 self-published science fiction novels, and we’ve spent the last month reading extended previews (10-20%)… Continue reading SPSFC First-Round Cuts and Quarterfinalists, Batch One
