I went into this book not knowing what to expect. Set in a fantasy world known as the Wanderlands, this story has the grand overtones of a legendary epic, the thrills and pacing of a jaunty adventure, and the riddles and curiosity of a complex puzzle. We follow various groups of characters: immortals planning to…
Tag: fiction
The Practice, The Horizon, and the Chain by Sofia Samatar – Book Review
Not quite sure what to say about this novella. It’s definitely not the kind of story I typically enjoy. The story of an unnamed boy from an underclass, the Chained, who toil in the belly of a gargantuan mining ship in space is given the opportunity to be brought up out of The Hold, and…
Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu – Book review
Did you know that there was a short novel featuring a female vampire written before Dracula? Carmilla is the story of a young Victorian woman named Laura who lives with her father in the remote Austrian countryside. When one day they happen upon a mother and her daughter in distress while travelling, they offer to…
Things from the Flood by Simon Stålenhag – Book Review
I recently read The Electric State by Simon Stålenhag and was very interested in more of his work, so when I found out about Things From the Flood, I was very excited to read it. I first discovered Stålenhag as the author of the book that was the basis for the Prime Video TV series…
Six Fantasy Novellas
I love fantasy fiction. As a genre, it brings the reader to so many wonderful, scary, imaginative, and vivid worlds and realities. Having magic in a story really opens up the possibilities for fun exploration and creativity. Over the last few months, I’ve read six novellas (i.e. short novels) that represent a pretty good variety…
The Malevolent Seven by Sebastien de Castell – Book Review
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this book, but with a title like “The Malevolent Seven”, I knew it was going to be fun. Though it’s got mages and spells and a quest to stop evil other-dimensional beings from taking over the world, it’s not your typical epic fantasy nor is it a…
Empire of Silence (The Sun Eater, Book 1) by Christopher Ruocchio – Book Review
We start with a story that the main character (and sole point of view), Hadrian Marlowe, is recounting: his life story after he has achieved the notoriety of being named “Sun Eater”, due to his having destroyed a sun, killing millions of enemy aliens. But that story is not part of this book (presumably we…
Alvin's Adventures in Pop Culture 