This is a hard review to write (but that is probably expected for a notoriously challenging read like this one). I have mixed feelings about this bizarre story that is ostensibly about an acclaimed photographer and his family, who discover a room in their home that is mysteriously larger on the inside. There is a…
Tag: fiction
The Imago Sequence and Other Stories by Laird Barron — Book Review
I don’t know if this is going to count as a review once I reveal how little I retained from reading this collection of stories. For spooky season, I have read a couple of story collections from horror writers who fall into the eldritch/Lovecraftian area of the spectrum. These are stories that convince us there…
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…
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 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…
Those Across the River by Christopher Buehlman – Book Review
I have had a really good time with Christopher Buehlman’s The Blacktongue Thief and The Daughters’ War, so I was excited to dip my toes into his horror writing with Those Across the River. Instead of being set in a medieval-style fantasy world full of thieves, soldiers, wizards, corvids and goblins, this story is set…
The Empress of Salt and Fortune (Singing Hills Cycle, Book 1) by Nghi Vo — Book Review
I was very surprised by how much I liked this novella, because I had a challenging time and didn’t understand it. This is a layered tale of a royal consort (named In-Yo) exiled from the imperial court. The story is being told by an old, former servant, named Rabbit, to a wandering cleric, named Chih,…
