I usually don’t get around to reading the Hugo finalists for Best Series—I read a lot, but not that much—but having previously read all the Best Novel finalists left me with a little extra time, so I decided to do a little sampling (yes, this review has been in drafts for a minute, don’t judge).… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review: Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear
After a bit of a slow reading month, I’ve ramped back up in October, with a lot of sci-if/fantasy short fiction reviews and a couple seasonally-appropriate novels. Let’s take a look! Short Fiction I’ve posted four short fiction reviews this month, and I won’t repeat them here. But check out my review of Year’s Best Canadian… Continue reading October 2026 Round-up and Short Fiction Miscellany
Despite leaving my magazine reviews until late this month, I still dipped into multiple sci-fi/fantasy stories from four different magazines, so I have a pretty substantial Magazine Minis. Let’s take a look at tales from Apex, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Kaleidotrope, and Uncanny. Apex Despite not having much of a taste for the shockingly grotesque or… Continue reading Tar Vol’s Magazine Minis: Apex, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Kaleidotrope, and Uncanny
A pair of anthology reviews means I left the magazines until late this month, but I still read through Clarkesworld and GigaNotoSaurus. What sci-fi/fantasy short fiction do I have to recommend? Let’s take a look! Clarkesworld Clarkesworld celebrated its twentieth anniversary this month, and if you think that means a star-studded issue full of big-name… Continue reading Tar Vol Reads a Magazine (or Two): Reviews of Clarkesworld and GigaNotoSaurus (October 2026)
I heard plenty of good things about Sunyi Dean’s fantasy debut a couple years back, but I never got around to trying it for myself. With even more positive reviews coming out about her newest novel, The Girl with a Thousand Faces, I made sure to quickly move it up the list. The Girl with… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: The Girl with a Thousand Faces by Sunyi Dean
This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Revolution in the Heart was released on September 22, 2026. I’ve read less of Ursula K. Le Guin than many of my bookish friends, but it’s hard not to appreciate her towering influence over… Continue reading Sci-fi/Fantasy Anthology Review: Revolution in the Heart, edited by Jonathan Strahan
This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the editor in exchange for an honest review. Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy & Science Fiction was released on October 22, 2024. I made a comment on social media about how intrigued I was by the table of contents of the Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy &… Continue reading Sci-fi/Fantasy Anthology Review: Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy & Science Fiction, Volume Two
Homebound is one of those books that means to be marketed more heavily outside genre spaces than inside them, but after a couple of friends read and enjoyed it, I decided to grab a copy and give Portia Elan’s debut a try. Homebound takes place along several different timelines, with connections that become more clear… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review: Homebound by Portia Elan
I spent two weekends traveling in September, and I spent two weeks sick. I did a lot of reading by the standards of a normal person, but it might’ve been my lightest reading month of the decade. So this will be a bit more link-heavy and less review-heavy than usual. Let’s take a look: Short… Continue reading September 2026 Round-up and (Minimal) Short Fiction Miscellany
I’m leaving this month’s Magazine Minis until late on, mostly because the degree to which blogging is a reasonable activity while sick in bed depends very much on the sickness in question (get your flu shots, kids). But I dipped into several intriguing magazine issues this month, and I’ve got some sci-fi/fantasy short fiction to… Continue reading Tar Vol’s Magazine Minis: Adventitious, Lightspeed, Otherside, and Strange Horizons
