It was a short month, but a busy one, and according to my spreadsheet, it was my favorite month of sci-fi/fantasy short fiction since August. I suppose that’s what mining “Best of the Year” lists will get you. Let’s jump in! Short Fiction As I mentioned in my magazine review post, I liked pretty much… Continue reading February 2023 Round-up and Short Fiction Miscellany
They Made Us Blood and Fury is a self-published fantasy novel that—despite my involvement with SPSFC and general awareness of SPFBO—wasn’t really on my radar before I saw it pop up as a Nommo Award finalist. Not sure whether I just missed it, or whether there’s a disconnect between the US/UK self-publishing scene and the… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: They Made Us Blood and Fury by Cheryl S. Ntumy
I posted the first edition of my 2022 Recommended Reading List back in early December. But then everyone else posted their own lists, and there’s no better way to blow up a favorites list than spending a couple months reading everyone else’s favorites. There was a lot of amazing sci-fi and fantasy published in 2022,… Continue reading Tarvolon’s 2022 Recommended Reading List: Award Season Edition
Last month, I started a new series, which I hope to continue all year, in which I read and review sci-fi/fantasy magazines. I’ve settled on three publications to follow this year: my two favorites from 2022 and a third that has been a titan of the genre for decades. But The Magazine of Fantasy &… Continue reading Tar Vol Reads a Magazine (or Two): Reviews of Clarkesworld and GigaNotoSaurus (February 2023)
Tracy Deonn’s Legendborn was one of my biggest positive surprises of 2021. It was my vote for the Lodestar that year (though it’s hard to complain too much about a loss to the also-excellent A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking), and it saw Deonn in my top two for the 2022 Astounding Award. Point is,… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn
I may not have been quite as wowed as the general public by the first two books of Naomi Novik’s award-winning Scholomance series, but I had a whole lot of fun with both A Deadly Education and The Last Graduate and was excited to return to the world for the trilogy closer, The Golden Enclaves. … Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik
This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The Ten Percent Thief will be released on March 28, 2023. I’ve had Lavanya Lakshminarayan’s Analog/Virtual on my TBR for a couple years, after seeing it recommended on a list of underrated speculative fiction… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review: The Ten Percent Thief by Lavanya Lakshminarayan
This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Lone Women will be released on March 28, 2023. Though he’s primarily a horror writer and I’m not primarily a horror reader, I was really impressed with the first two books I read by… Continue reading Historical Fantasy/Horror Review: Lone Women by Victor LaValle
After reading the entire Vorkosigan Saga and the three novels in the World of the Five Gods, I thought I may be turning into a Lois McMaster Bujold completionist. A few years later, I haven’t quite made it to her entire catalog, but she remains one of the most reliable hits on the shelf. And… Continue reading Fantasy Series Review: The Sharing Knife by Lois McMaster Bujold
As part of my “read more magazines cover-to-cover” goal for 2023, I have started what will be a monthly magazine review post, which means I don’t have 40 short stories to recap in the monthly roundup. But I’ve done a lot of short fiction reading outside of staying current with my three chosen publications, so… Continue reading January 2023 Round-up and Short Fiction Miscellany
