Sorry, Not the target Audience
Review: The Working by BrightFlame I’m going to be honest. Religious fiction seldom does it for me, regardless of the religion, and The Working is very...
Smashwords Sale!
The Smashwords End-of-Year Sale is on. I have all of my books set to a 50% discount if you want a DRM-free .epub that you can update if the text changes....
All Superhero Channel
Superman & Lois 4.6 “When The Lights Come On” Okay, Lex, that’s at least a three stress flashback (sorry, Blades in the Dark reference, not sorry). When did...
Queer Visions: What is a Queernorm World?
If you read my reviews you might stumble across the phrase “queernorm world.” If you aren’t caught up on queer SF/F, you might not know quite what that...
Is This MilSF or Portal Fantasy?
Just one this week. Review: The Runes of Engagement by Tobias S. Buckell and David Klecha So, this is military portal fantasy clearly written by D&D people....
Winter is Kind of Here
Well, yes and no. It’s not snowing. They did promise us snow showers, but I didn’t see so much as a flurry. On the other hand, I did have to get out my hat...
X-Men Go Dark
X-Men 5.7 “Old Soldiers” This episode punches Nazis. Actual Nazis. It’s a flashback to a mission Logan went on with Captain America during World War II, and...
A Little Bit Wicked
A “Wicked” Moment No, I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I have tickets. What I did have the privilege to watch was the stage play on the West End. Wicked has...
A Fun SF Thriller
Reviews: Absent Stars by Christopher Charlton and Disavowed by John E. Stith
Happy Thanksgiving
Thankful for life, health, and ponies. Don’t forget when Small Business Saturday shows up that most authors are small businesses! Buy a book. Ideally from...
Lifemate, Warlock, Really?
X-Men 5.1 “The Phalanx Covenant Part 1” I’d forgotten what Phalanx (and Warlock) look like. Let’s not get assimilated here. By the end of part one it’s...
Consent and Reader Buy-In
What’s your least favorite trope?Mine is “All a dream.” (And its variants “All a psychotic delusion,” “All a VR simulation”) When I was eleven years old, a...
I Want a Flying Saucer
Review: Parallax: Origin by Matt Conant and Lauren Cipollo Humanity has spread out to the stars. Finding only empty worlds with no complex life forms, they...
At Philcon
By the time you read this I’ll be at Philcon. A reminder of my schedule: Friday, 6pm - Climate Change Fiction vs Climate Change Reality Saturday, 11am -...
Don't Double Cross Magneto
X-Men 4.18 “Beyond Good And Evil Part 1” Uh oh. Pockylips has his hands on a time machine. And is lending it to Sinister. All kinds of bad things are bound...
Seeking America's Hidden Treasures
I love to travel. I’ve traveled to a number of National Parks, but here’s the thing? Everyone goes to National Parks. People have lists of them. People try...
Weird, Experimental...
Review: Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory by Yaroslav Barsukov Barsukov is an excellent writer, but I didn’t need this book. Why? His award-nominated novella...
I'm Not Here
This post is being queued because I’m attending my aunt’s wedding. In fact, this post will probably go out while we’re partying. Philcon is next week! I will...
An Old School Christmas Special...
X-Men 4.10 “One Man’s Worth” I’m still not a big fan of Great Man Theory…no matter who you apply it to. It’s not as bad in fiction. This episode is better...
Peddling Hope at the End of the World
I’ve had a few things said to me on social media that stick with me. Some of them are particularly entertaining insults. One such is the person who said...
Cute Dragons and...Conquistadors?
Review: Dragon Magic by Charles Townsend Charles Townsend is a stage magician and loves writing books in which stage magicians save the day. Dragon Magic is...
Heading Out Yet Again...
Be as resilient as these trees. I leave for the UK for my aunt’s wedding late on Tuesday. I’ll be back late the following Tuesday…then leave for Philcon on...
Time Travel is Fun
X-Men 3.15 “The Dark Phoenix, Part II: Inner Circle” The Circle Club? I get it, “Hellfire” is a more adult term. Wyngarde thinks he has Phoenix under...
The Center of America...
…a portajohn. It’s election day, and I’m going to try and post this early. I’m the tiniest fish in the pond, but everyone who knows me knows that I eschew...
Ukrainian SF and...Roma Eterna?
Two very different books this week. Don’t forget to vote! Review: The Factory by Ihor Mystak I don’t often review books by deceased authors. I prefer to...
Happy Halloween
A day late, I know. How about “Happy Discount Candy Day?” For once, the supermarket here didn’t actually dumpster all of the candy on November 1, although...
The Phoenix is Here
X-Men 3.3 “The Phoenix Saga Part 1 – Sacrifice” Honestly, there’s a part of me that’s done with the Phoenix Saga, but I’ve never watched this version, so I’m...
America's Misunderstood Serpents
Content warning: This post contains discussion of, and images, of snakes. If you are phobic, you might want to skip this one. (If you love snakes, let me...
Jim Crow Horror, Social Space Opera, and What Genre is That Anyway?
Review: The Reformatory by Tananarive Due CW: Child abuse, child death First warning: This book is a tome. It weighs in at 570 pages. Second warning: This is...
Snakes?
I don’t have my pictures from southern Illinois (with a side trip into Missouri) sorted yet, but I’m going to say this. People are sleeping on southern...
Surprise, You're Renewed
X-Men 2.10 “Beauty and the Beast” If there’s one romance trope in fiction I hate the most it’s the hero who breaks up with their partner because “it’s not...
18 Storey Indigenous High Rises – the Myth of the Noble Savage
Land back? It’s the latest controversy…restoring indigenous sovereignty over parts of this country. It’s also happening in Canada, and what inspired this...
Can You Have A Planetary Romance Set on Earth?
Assuming no icky flight issues, I’ll be back late tomorrow. Review: Loka by S.B. Divya I envy this book…I almost did something similar then changed...
Okay, So...
Okay, so I wrote this on the 11th. Any news I have will come out when I get back, so have a gate to…somewhere. I actually really like this gate. Our trip...
Time Travel...and Abuse
Another short one. I’m somewhere in Illinois and not watching TV, sorry ;). X-Men 2.8 “Time Fugitives” This episode is weird because it’s 2.7 repeated....
Did Ya Fall Down th’Hole? Musings on the Miners’ Strike and the End of the Coal Era
Earlier this week the last coal-fired power plant in the U.K. shuttered for good. Coal is no longer used as a significant source of fuel in a country that...
Schoolgirl Outfits?
This is a queued post and it’s just one review because I had to split the two I have between this Monday and next Monday. Review: Locust Magic by Laurence...
Fredericksburg Tomorrow!
The Fredericksburg Independent Book Festival is tomorrow in Riverfront Park, Fredericksburg, VA. I’m at table D37 and will be there most of the time from...
Terrible Arthuriana
Still working on the X-Men watch through, but this week’s reviews also include an utterly terrible Arthuriana movie that made me cringe at all kinds of...
How To Interfere With a Horse - Without Actually Hurting It
“Don’t hurt animals” is a mainstay. Harming an animal may well cost you readers, even if you’re using it to show how awful somebody is (I’m not above doing...
Time Machines, Shadow Fae, and...
…a book I almost didn’t review because I almost couldn’t review it. Three reviews for this week, two YA books, one adult. Review: Tiny Time Machine: The...
Philcon News!
So, I have my schedule for Philcon 2024. Friday 6pm - Climate Change Fiction vs. Climate Change Reality Saturday 11am - Signing Saturday noon - Scrabbling...
Time for a Franchise Shift
Star Wars: The Bad Batch 3.14 Flash Strike Almost at the end. Will they get Omega out? It could go either way given the circumstances. As Omega looks for a...
Half-Elves and Queerness in D&D
Okay, so first confession: I love half-elves. And a lot of other gamers will think I love half elves because, done right, you can min max the heck out of...
Let's Take A Dark Trip
I had a conversation at Capclave about how kids are remarkably tolerant of dark fiction. This week’s batch of reviews includes the darkest YA novel I have...
WSFA Small Press Award
So, the award is announced on Saturday…and I’m a finalist! If anyone is coming to Capclave, here are the logistics (bear in mind, I’m not assuming you’re a...
One of Those Days...
Had one of those days. Mostly I plain forgot how long it takes to remove all the pins from the Jacket, run the base denim (in remarkable condition for its...
What's With the Cheese Curds?
Yes, I know the roof maintenance crew there aren’t cows ;). What’s With the Cheese Curds? Different states are known for different things. Wisconsin is known...
Don't Worry, the Panther Lives
So, I’m currently reading a “novel” that turned out not to be a novel. It’s being marketed correctly, I just got the wrong information with the review copy....
Capclave!
A reminder that I’m going to be at Capclave, September 27 through 29. The easiest way to find me is at the Rantings of a Wandering Mind table in the dealer...