Lois McMaster Bujold was one of the first authors I read when I got back in genre fiction as a grad student, and I’ve liked her work enough that I’ve come pretty close to reading all of it. But one gap on my list has been her Penric and Desdemona novella series within the World… Continue reading Fantasy Novella Review: Penric’s Demon by Lois McMaster Bujold
This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Blade of Dream will be released July 18, 2023. After The Long Price Quartet soared up my all-time favorites list, Daniel Abraham became a must-read author. And I sure wasn’t disappointed with Age… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: Blade of Dream by Daniel Abraham
We’ve reached the finals of the second annual Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC2), and my team will be reading all four of the seven finalists that we had not previously reviewed in the semifinals. And last on my list was an entry in one of my favorite subgenres: first contact. With my enjoyment of the… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review: Melody by David Hoffer
We’ve reached the finals of the second annual Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC2), and my team will be reading all four of the seven finalists that we had not previously reviewed in the semifinals. And in an ironic twist, given the typical polarizing reactions to the subgenre, one of the few books that all three… Continue reading Sci-fi/Fantasy Novel Review: Percival Gynt and the Conspiracy of Days by Drew Melbourne
If you’re reading a speculative fiction blog, there’s a very good chance you’ve read more Discworld than I have. I keep meaning to circle back around, and then I get distracted by a new release and put them off a little longer. But Mort by Terry Pratchett happened to be one of the few books… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: Mort by Terry Pratchett
We’ve reached the finals of the second annual Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC2), and my team will be reading all four of the seven finalists that we had not previously reviewed in the semifinals. After opening with a true epic, I shifted gears to the fast-paced sci-fi thriller Hammer and Crucible by Cameron Cooper. Hammer… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review: Hammer and Crucible by Cameron Cooper
I’m halfway through my year of being a regular with three sci-fi/fantasy magazines, and I have to say, I’ve been having a good time. As an even month, there was no new issue of F&SF in June, and this review is slightly shorter as a consequence, but I had no shortage of things to talk… Continue reading Tar Vol Reads a Magazine (or Two): Reviews of Clarkesworld and GigaNotoSaurus (June 2023)
We’ve reached the finals of the second annual Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC2), and my team will be reading all four of the seven finalists that we had not previously reviewed in the semifinals. And what better place for me to start with a book that is simultaneously (1) the longest finalist, and (2) the… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review–Aestus: The City by S.Z. Attwell
This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The Deep Sky will be released on July 18, 2023. We’ve reached the end of Sky Week, which closes with the second consecutive space thriller review. Now I’m not usually one for space thrillers,… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review: The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei
This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The Splinter in the Sky will be released on July 11, 2023. Sky Week at Tar Vol On marches on with The Splinter in the Sky by Kemi Ashing-Giwa. Ashing-Giwa came onto my radar… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review: The Splinter in the Sky by Kemi Ashing-Giwa
