Magazine Review

Tar Vol Reads a Magazine (or Three): Reviews of Clarkesworld, GigaNotoSaurus, and F&SF (September 2023)

The second whirlwind month in a row has seen me settling into a new house, finishing up a year of Hugo reading, and opening my third year of SPSFC. So it’s been a bit of a quiet month for short fiction, but it was also a three-magazine month with the release of the bimonthly Magazine… Continue reading Tar Vol Reads a Magazine (or Three): Reviews of Clarkesworld, GigaNotoSaurus, and F&SF (September 2023)

Reviews

Fantasy Novel Review: The Hexologists by Josiah Bancroft

This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The Hexologists will be released on September 26, 2023. Josiah Bancroft was perhaps the first breakout star of the Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off (SPFBO, elder sister to SPSFC), parlaying Senlin Ascends into a four-book deal… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: The Hexologists by Josiah Bancroft

Reviews

Sci-fi Novel Review: The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

After merely enjoying Mexican Gothic while so many of my bookish friends were totally enamored, I figured it’d take a bigger push for me to pick up Silvia Moreno-Garcia again. That push came in the form of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau appearing on the shortlist for the Hugo Award for Best Novel, and I’m… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review: The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Reviews

Fantasy Novella Review: Mammoths at the Gates 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. Mammoths at the Gates will be released on September 12, 2023. Nghi Vo hooked me on The Singing Hills Cycle with the the wonderful, Hugo-winning, found object epic The Empress of Salt and Fortune.… Continue reading Fantasy Novella Review: Mammoths at the Gates by Nghi Vo

SPSFC

Meet the Slush: Team Tar Vol On’s SPSFC3 Allocation

Team Tar Vol On is back for the third annual Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC3), and over the next 4-5 months, we’ll be narrowing our selection of 24 books down to two semifinalists, which we will then pass to other SPSFC judging teams. There are many ways to do this, starting with the most obvious:… Continue reading Meet the Slush: Team Tar Vol On’s SPSFC3 Allocation