This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The Republic of Memory was released on May 5, 2026. Short Fiction Book Club picked up “Memories of Memories Lost” by Mahmud El Sayed a couple years back, and it remains my favorite of… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review: The Republic of Memory by Mahmud El Sayed
Do I even read anymore? It feels like I never have any time. consults spreadsheet Ah, well then, it seems that I do still read. Maybe only about 70% of normal, but I read. And I post. And I have sci-fi and fantasy recommendations. Let’s take a look: Short Fiction May Favorites As usual, I… Continue reading May 2026 Round-up and Short Fiction Miscellany
The last two months of Magazine Minis were enormous, but as the TBR churns along, the May entry will be much shorter, dipping into just a pair of magazines: Adventitious and Lightspeed. Adventitious I received an Advance Review Copy of Issue Three of Adventitious, and as usual, I scanned through to see which stories immediately… Continue reading Tar Vol’s Magazine Minis: Adventitious and Lightspeed
This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Radiant Star was released on May 12, 2026. I missed the boat on the Imperial Radch series when it first came out, but after enjoying a standalone within the Radch universe (Translation State) and… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review: Radiant Star by Ann Leckie
This review is based on a ebook provided by the author for the purpose of an honest review. Sometimes a new release checks so many boxes that there’s no real question about whether I’ll pick it up, only about how long it will take me to get my hands on it. With an author I’d… Continue reading Sci-fi Novella Review: The Language of Liars by S.L. Huang
After a heavy month of short fiction reviews, I anticipate May being a bit lighter. But as always, it starts with dives into this month’s issues of Clarkesworld and GigaNotoSaurus. Clarkesworld The table of contents had me more excited for the May 2026 issue than for any Clarkesworld release this year. Two short stories by… Continue reading Tar Vol Reads a Magazine (or Two): Reviews of Clarkesworld and GigaNotoSaurus (May 2026)
Courtney Schafer’s Underread Treasures review series has been as advertised, and it’s given me plenty of excellent TBR fodder. That includes Lorna Freeman’s Covenants, which I bought a couple years back and had spent that time languishing in the corner of my bookshelf. But the week before the new Bingo year (yes, this review is… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: Covenants by Lorna Freeman
I do love weird memory stories, so the title of Olivia Waite’s sci-fi debut caught my eye. But a glance at the blurb and some reviews suggested it might not be my style, so I decided to pass until its Hugo nomination sent it back up my list. After reading Murder by Memory, it’s pretty… Continue reading Sci-fi Novella Review: Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite
A lot happened in April! I had a lot of chunky posts, so we will be short on the short fiction miscellany this month. But there’s still some. And it’s disproportionately good. So let’s get to some sci-fi fantasy: Short Fiction I posted my usual magazine review, a five-zine mini, and a review of If We Cannot Go… Continue reading April 2026 Round-up and Short Fiction Miscellany
For the second month in a row, my Magazine Minis post will be a five-zine blitz. Well, I suppose not technically the second month in a row, since I didn’t get this one up before the calendar flipped to May, but they were read two months in a row. Point is, I found five magazines… Continue reading Tar Vol’s Magazine Minis: Five-Zine Blitz, Again (April 2026)
