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)
This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. If We Cannot Go at the Speed of Light will be released on April 28, 2026. For all that I adore sci-fi short fiction, I don’t read many collections cover-to-cover unless they’re coming from… Continue reading Sci-fi Short Fiction Review: If We Cannot Go at the Speed of Light by Kim Choyeop
There’s always a bit of lag in genre discussion—at least on the short fiction side—such that it feels like people don’t really start digging into the current year’s offerings until summer. But it’s spring, and new things are being released. As always, I’ve taken a look at this month’s Clarkesworld and GigaNotoSaurus. Clarkesworld Clarkesworld typically… Continue reading Tar Vol Reads a Magazine (or Two): Reviews of Clarkesworld and GigaNotoSaurus (April 2026)
Surreal, and yet true: I am a Hugo-nominated book blogger. I’m deeply honored to accept the nomination for the 2026 Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer, and I’m incredibly grateful to those who nominated me, as well as anyone who has read and shared my work over the years. The introduction back in the depths… Continue reading Some Exciting News and a Reintroduction
