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
With GigaNotoSaurus on hiatus for one last month, I’m closing out 2025 with a review of the December 2025 issue of Clarkesworld. Clarkesworld The final Clarkesworld of the year features five short stories interrupted by a pair of extended novelettes. It opens with a trim sci-fi parenting story, Tomorrow. Today. by R.T. Ester, in which… Continue reading Tar Vol Reads a Magazine: Review of Clarkesworld (December 2025)
This review is based on an ARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the editor in exchange for an honest review. Think Weirder was released on October 30, 2025. I have to admit, I was won over by the cover of Think Weirder: The Year’s Best Science Fiction Ideas, edited by Joe Stech. Not because of… Continue reading Sci-fi Anthology Review: Think Weirder by Joe Stech
This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The Village at the Edge of Noon will be released on December 2, 2025. December and January are often pretty light on new releases, and I’m always on the lookout for more stories… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: The Village at the Edge of Noon by Darya Bobyleva
Nnedi Okorafor has gained plenty of plaudits in genre fiction over the past decade, and when I saw that she was releasing a speculative literary novel about a writer of robot stories, I put Death of the Author on my list of books to watch in 2025. It took me a few months, but I… Continue reading Speculative Novel Review: Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor
Sheepfarmer’s Daughter, the first book of The Deeds of Paksenarrion series, has vaguely been on my radar for a while, particularly in the last couple years since sharing a book club with a big Paks fan. And with Knights and Paladins on this year’s Bingo board, I decided to pick up Elizabeth Moon’s debut novel… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: Sheepfarmer’s Daughter by Elizabeth Moon
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
One of my newest book club friends has been a longstanding evangelist for the self-published novella The Fire-Moon by Isabel Pelech. With a little gap in my reading schedule, I finally found the time to give it a try. The Fire-Moon is a short and easy read, coming in well under 100 pages, with a… Continue reading Fantasy Novella Review: The Fire-Moon by Isabel Pelech
