Alvin's Adventures in Pop Culture

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland In A Ship Of Her Own Making (Fairyland, Book 1) by Catherynne M. Valente — Book Review

If you got winded just from reading that very long, wordy title, you may be surprised to learn that it’s this quirky, Victorian chapter-summary style of title, that first drew me to this book. I liked the pretentious phrasing and long word (mainly “circumnavigated”) for a middle-grade book. It gives it that “I want to…

Lost in the Dark and Other Excursions by John Langan — Book Review

Last year I read and loved John Langan’s second novel (he only wrote two), the modern Lovecraftian horror called The Fisherman. So for spooky season this year, I decided to expand my experience of Langan’s writing with one of his short story collections. I don’t think there was any particular theme to the collection, but…

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland In A Ship Of Her Own Making (Fairyland, Book 1) by Catherynne M. Valente — Book Review

Batman: Dark Patterns by Dan Watters (Art by Hayden Sherman, Colour by Triona Farrell) — Graphic Novel Review

I don’t read very many graphic novels, and I definitely don’t read many Batman stories, but I think I’d like to try a little more of both. Dark Patterns caught my attention when it was described as Batman in his earlier days, in more of his detective mode. I had mostly gotten to know Batman…

Silver in the Wood & Drowned Country (The Greenhollow Duology) by Emily Tesh — Book Duology Review

This is probably the first time I’ve reviewed a duology, but having read both books back-to-back, I mostly think of them as a single story with a shift in point-of-view midway through. One thing about this duology is that my experience swung widely between elements I loved and things I didn’t like. The story ranged…

Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark — Book Review

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Ring Shout, but I didn’t expect a part Buffy, part Sinners, part Lovecraftian story about a group of young Black women in 1920s Georgia facing off against the racist oppression of the KKK — and by the way, the Ku Klux are actual demons! And though that quick…

The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay — Book Review

I wanted to love The Lions of Al-Rassan. I have always wanted to learn more about medieval cultures, especially Islamic and Jewish cultures of those periods. I was fascinated by how those cultures were the most learned and intellectual of the day, and yet we have been taught so much more about the mainstream —…

The Wall of Storms (Dandelion Dynasty, Book 2) by Ken Liu — Book Review

I started Wall of Storms right after the first book, Grace of Kings, since I didn’t want to lose momentum on this Dandelion Dynasty series. Grace of Kings introduced us to Dara, an empire of island nations, through a story of rebellion leading to civil war, culminating in a new empire under protagonist Kuni Garu….

Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz — Book Review

I don’t read much cozy sci-fi (though this is my second one this year), but there’s something about Automatic Noodle that grabbed me. I want to say that it wasn’t just marketing, but it kind of was. From the colourful cover art, to the cute title, to the low-stakes story premise of a ragtag group…

The Last Wish (The Witcher, Book 1) by Andrzej Sapkowski

My journey with The Witcher, Andrzej Sapkowski’s super-popular fantasy series, got off to a bumpy start when I read The Blood of Elves. I understood it to be the first book of the series and assumed that the short story collections (including The Last Wish) were extra, optional prequel stories. Boy, was I wrong! Without…