Tag: 2024-release

Reviews

Speculative Novel Review: On the Calculation of Volume by Solvej Balle

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Apparently, the Danish Groundhog Day-style litfic series On the Calculation of Volume has gotten enough hype for English translations. And while I can be hit-or-miss on litfic, I enjoy weird time shenanigans and meditative stories enough to check out the fairly short first installment in the planned seven-part series, translated by Barbara J. Haveland. On… Continue reading Speculative Novel Review: On the Calculation of Volume by Solvej Balle

Reviews

Fantasy Novel Review: The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan

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The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan wasn’t on my radar at all to start 2024, as I’m not particularly enthralled by Gothic stylings, but an extremely strong review from someone who loved my favorite books of the year and the intrigue of a split timeline got my attention and convinced me to… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan

Reviews

Sci-fi Novel Review: Mechanize My Hands to War by Erin K. Wagner

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I didn’t know that Mechanize My Hands to War even existed until author Erin K. Wagner was interviewed in Clarkesworld in December 2024. But as so often happens with Clarkesworld interviews, she talked about it in a way that caught my attention and sent it flying up my TBR. And I’m glad it did.  Mechanize… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review: Mechanize My Hands to War by Erin K. Wagner

Reviews

Fantasy Novel Review: The Naming Song by Jedediah Berry

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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

Reviews

Fantasy Novella Review: The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed

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I’ve read quite a few quest novellas this year and generally haven’t fallen in love with any of them—not surprising, as I’m just not a huge fan of the quest plot structure—but after a few friends highly recommended Premee Mohamed’s novella The Butcher of the Forest, I decided to try another one, and I’m very… Continue reading Fantasy Novella Review: The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed

Reviews

Speculative Novel Review: The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard

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I don’t often dip into speculative literary fiction, and my success rate is low enough that even when I saw an intriguing review of Scott Alexander Howard’s debut novel The Other Valley—and I don’t even recall where—I approached with some trepidation. But I do like time travel stories, and my library had a copy, so… Continue reading Speculative Novel Review: The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard

Reviews

Speculative Novella Review: It Lasts Forever and Then It’s Over by Anne de Marcken

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I am not especially fond of zombies or especially deep into literary fiction, but I have been really enjoying stories about grief this year—notably “Death Benefits” and The Warm Hands of Ghosts—and so when a book club friend highly recommended Ursula K. Le Guin Prize-winning It Lasts Forever and Then It’s Over by Anne de… Continue reading Speculative Novella Review: It Lasts Forever and Then It’s Over by Anne de Marcken

Reviews

Sci-fi Novel Review: Welcome to Forever by Nathan Tavares

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I hadn’t previously read any Nathan Tavares, but I’m always curious about books that provoke especially strong reactions, and a Redditor hyping up Welcome to Forever as the book of the year nudged me to look further into it. And between a premise that included plenty of weird memory stuff and an extremely messy interpersonal… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review: Welcome to Forever by Nathan Tavares