I only occasionally dip into speculative litfic, largely with mixed results, so despite her fame, Laila Lalami’s The Dream Hotel wasn’t really on my radar until a Redditor recommended it for fans of Octavia E. Butler and Emily St. John Mandel. Seeing as how Clay’s Ark and Station Eleven were two of the best things… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review: The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami
This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Sublimation will be released on June 2, 2026. Isabel J. Kim burst onto the scene with the tremendous debut short story “Homecoming Is Just Another Word for the Sublimation of the Self.” Over the… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: Sublimation by Isabel J. Kim
While I still read a whole lot of new release sci-fi and fantasy in 2025, even a moderate scaling back enabled me to drastically increase my backlist reading compared to last year. And stories that are still getting recommended years after their publication date are disproportionately great. So I’d like to share some of my… Continue reading Tar Vol’s 20 from the Backlist
It’s the words. Well, perhaps the unplowed depths. But to start, it’s the words. Fourth Mansions is my favorite novel by my favorite author, and yet it’s been over ten years since my last reread. I finally pulled it off the shelf, and if I recall correctly, it will make my second reread review (of… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: Fourth Mansions by R.A. Lafferty
I’d already been hearing about Emily St. John Mandel for years when Sea of Tranquility came out to much acclaim. I gave it a try and found that it was well-written and entertaining but never really more than the sum of its parts. I was ready to chalk her up as too litficky for me,… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
I’ve never been a big poetry reader, and I know almost nothing about speculative poetry. So I was initially a little skeptical about Mary Soon Lee’s epic The Sign of the Dragon. But with a handful of friends providing plenty of peer pressure, an intriguing opening poem, and an online book club to read with,… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: The Sign of the Dragon by Mary Soon Lee
We’re nearing the end of December, so it’s once again time for my favorite annual post: my annual favorites post! This is where I share the best sci-fi and fantasy I read from this year. I write two versions of my Recommended Reading List each year, one in December when reviewers start dropping their favorites,… Continue reading Tar Vol’s 2025 Recommended Reading List (Holiday Edition)
After absolutely adoring Kindred, I decided to read Octavia E. Butler’s Patternist series. I read in publication order, starting with Patternmaster and Mind of My Mind, both of which were good reads, if not mind-blowing ones. But when I moved on to the consensus best book of the series (Wild Seed), it was depressing enough… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review: Clay’s Ark by Octavia E. Butler
This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. There Is No Antimemetics Division will be released on November 11, 2025. For the last few years, I’ve been seeing glowing commentary about There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm, particularly on the… Continue reading Sci-fi/Horror Novel Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm
This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The Merge will be released on November 11, 2025. Over the last couple years of reading, it’s become very clear to me that I enjoy stories that play with memory in unusual ways.… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review: The Merge by Grace Walker
