My judging team in the fourth annual Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC4) has sifted through our 32-book allocation and chosen four quarterfinalists for further evaluation as we seek to identify just two semifinalists to advance to the next stage. For my second quarterfinalist read, I picked up the time travel romance A Swift and Sudden… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review: A Swift and Sudden Exit by Nico Vincenty
There are plenty of different pockets of fantasy fandom these days, and while I’m not sure I fit neatly into any one in particular—in part by design—I tend to spend more time reading the trimmer books popular among the Hugo-voting crowd than I do on contemporary epic fantasy. And so despite all the hype for… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan
Late in 2024, I started supplementing my regular magazine reviews with Magazine Minis, where I dip into a magazine issue for two or three stories instead of reading it in full. I’ve found some real gems that way, and I’m back at it in 2025. This month, I’ll be looking at four magazines that are… Continue reading Tar Vol’s Magazine Minis: Mysterion, Metaphorosis, FIYAH, and Kaleidotrope
I was previously unfamiliar with Jedediah Berry, and despite a striking cover, I would have let The Naming Song pass me by without a strong recommendation from a book club friend who loved the language element. So I decided to give it a try after all. The Naming Song takes place after an underdescribed apocalypse—when… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: The Naming Song by Jedediah Berry
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez is an undisputed classic of magical realism, with a Nobel Prize under its belt and plenty of staying power. And so it’s been on my TBR for a long time. But at the same time, I don’t have a ton of experience with magical realism, so… Continue reading Magical Realism Review: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
Am I still catching up on 2024 fiction? Yes. Is it 2025? Also yes. So in between catching up, I’m also reading and reviewing my usual new releases. And let me tell you, there are some good stories out this month. Clarkesworld The January 2025 issue of Clarkesworld has fewer stories than usual, mostly because… Continue reading Tar Vol Reads a Magazine (or Two): Reviews of Clarkesworld and GigaNotoSaurus (January 2025)
Grievers by adrienne maree brown wasn’t much on my radar at all going into this year, but a couple Redditors were consistently singing the praises of both it and its sequel, and I needed a pandemic novel for my Bingo board, so with apologies to TBR items like Doomsday Book, Station Eleven, and How High… Continue reading Sci-fi Book Review: Grievers by adrienne maree brown
My judging team in the fourth annual Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC4) has been given 32 books to whittle down to just two semifinalists. Over the past three months, each of these 32 books have been evaluated by a minimum of two of our judges, and we have narrowed the field down to four books… Continue reading Introducing Team Tar Vol On’s SPSFC4 Quarterfinalists
If you read any of the first three batches, the preamble is the same, so feel free to skip three paragraphs. My judging team for the fourth annual Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC4) has been hard at work reading the 32 books initially assigned to us. By the end of March, we need to pick just two… Continue reading Tar Vol On’s SPSFC4 First-Round Eliminations, Batch Four
For the fourth consecutive year, I am leading a judging team in the Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC4), and my team has been given 32 books to whittle down to two semifinalists. To start, we’ve split them up so that each team member has nine or ten books to evaluate, and together we’ll pick the top 15-25% to pass… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: Norylska Groans by Michael R. Fletcher and Clayton W. Snyder
