Drained is another entry in the first annual Self-Published Science Fiction Competition. It produced some division in the extended preview that we used as a first cut, but I found the writing to be smooth and the early tension to be well-built, and I was intrigued to see whether Marc Daniel Acriche’s debut would build… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review: Drained by Marc Daniel Acriche
After my SPSFC judging team made our first pass through the 30 books in our first-round allotment, there were a few books that hadn’t really grabbed me but that I was willing to read further to give them more opportunity. And there were a few books that I was excited to get back to. Deston… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review: Dusk Mountain Blues by Deston J. Munden
I was blown away early in 2021 when I read Sarah Gailey’s short story “STET,” and while I didn’t love the ending of Upright Women Wanted, the quality of the prose, coupled with my feelings about their short fiction, was enough to convince me to read more of Gailey’s extended work. And when The Echo… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review: The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey
My reading was seasonal, but because I have a review backlog and have been focused on SPSFC and Hugos, my review is not seasonal. And so it goes. Roger Zelazny is a name I know mostly because he blurbed my absolute favorite of all the books on my shelf (R.A. Lafferty’s short story collection, Nine… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: A Night in Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny
The Seventh Perfection is a novella that I didn’t hear much about when it came out last year, but over the past few months, I started seeing reviews trickling in. Some of them were glowing. Some of them were mixed. But they were all intriguing. I wasn’t sure whether I’d love the book, but it… Continue reading Fantasy Novella Review: The Seventh Perfection by Daniel Polansky
Andy Weir is one of those authors that seems to have burst onto the scene and become a big name in sci-fi spaces but somehow rarely gets mentioned in my corners of the SFF Internet. Maybe that’s because I’ve been primarily a fantasy reader, or maybe that’s because I prefer slower and more character-driven books… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reader Copy) provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Elder Race will be released on November 16, 2021. I knew absolutely nothing about Elder Race when I saw it come available on NetGalley, but I liked Children of Time enough to give… Continue reading Sci-fi/Fantasy Novella Review: Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky
The final book in my journey through the finalists for the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult novel is Cemetery Boys, by Aiden Thomas. Like many of the finalists, I’d heard a lot of praise for this one, but it was the nomination that spurred me to finally pick it up. And, as a book… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reader Copy) provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Far from the Light of Heaven will be released on October 26, 2021. Earlier this year, I read my first book from Tade Thompson, the Nommo Award-winning Rosewater (full review). While it didn’t click… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review: Far from the Light of Heaven by Tade Thompson
Tochi Onyebuchi’s Riot Baby drew almost unanimous praise last year in my corners of the sci-fi/fantasy internet, being hailed as a powerful and timely exploration of race in America. Unsurprisingly, it garnered plenty of award consideration, and my journey through the Hugo Award Finalists for Best Novella proved a convenient time to pull it off… Continue reading Fantasy Novella Review: Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi
