After over two months without a five-star rating for a novel or novella, July was a return to excellent reading, with two novellas and two novels that I have rated at 17/20 or higher. I haven’t gotten any of the reviews posted, but there are some glowing reviews coming for August, with sneak previews here… Continue reading July 2021 Round-up and Short Fiction Focus
My long fiction slump continues, with no five-star reviews for a second consecutive month. But I’ve read some absolutely tremendous short stories this year, so let’s take a look at them. Short Stories June Favorites “Mono no aware” (2012) by Ken Liu. Ken Liu writes the most touching stories, and this one, about an attempt… Continue reading June 2021 Round-up and Short Fiction Focus
One of my reading goals this year was to read more short fiction. Way back in January, I set myself a goal of 75 short stories or novelettes in a year, with a stretch goal of 150. In mid-June, I’m at 88, well on my way to exceeding even my stretch goal. And I’ve found… Continue reading Mid-Year Check-in: Best SFF Short Fiction
A new baby this month meant that reading was a bit on the sporadic side (and I think the new baby fatigue may be partially responsible for the dearth of five-star ratings, with apologies to the stories that were on the borderline), but there was still a lot of good in May’s reading, including the… Continue reading May 2021 Round-up and Short Fiction Focus
With a COVID-induced delay in Worldcon, Hugo Award voting won’t happen until November this year, but it’s not too early to start sorting through the finalists. Over the next six months, I’ll be posting a series of 2021 Hugo analyses. The extra reading time means that I should be able to cast informed votes in… Continue reading 2021 Hugo Ballot: Best Short Story
Got back on track with the novels this month, although picking up sequels to books I’d loved is definitely playing things on easy mode. But the trend of finding stellar short fiction continued. I think experimental stories by folks named Sarah are my new favorite thing. Short Stories April Favorites “Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather”… Continue reading April 2021 Round-up and Short Fiction Focus
No five-star novels this month, but an absolutely incredible month of short fiction. Last month I had one story on my favorites list. This month I have five, including one all-timer. I highly recommend taking a long look at a few of these. Short Stories March Favorites “STET” (2018) by Sarah Gailey. A fascinating experimental… Continue reading March 2021 Round-up and Short Fiction Focus
A short month, but no lack of quality. Rounding-up my February reads and posts. Short Stories February Favorite “The ThoughtBox” (2020) by Tlotlo Tsamaase. An emotionally abusive boyfriend brings home a device that allows the couple to hear each other’s thoughts. It doesn’t go well. Really gripping story that always has another layer. Strong Contenders… Continue reading February 2021 Round-up and Short Fiction Focus
R.A. Lafferty, who died at 87 on March 18 [2002], was undoubtedly the finest writer of whatever it was that he did that ever there was. He was a genius, an oddball, a madman. His stories. . . are without precedent. -Neil Gaiman Remember those old books for science fiction beginners, the ones that said… Continue reading Science Fiction/Fantasy Author Spotlight: R.A. Lafferty
I’m reading a lot more short fiction as the new year begins, and since they don’t get their own reviews, I thought they warranted a monthly round-up post. I’ll also include some notes at the end about the longer works I’ve been reading this month, but this is mostly a chance for short stories to… Continue reading January 2021 Round-up and Short Fiction Focus
