Automatic Noodle was one of those books that was impossible to avoid in certain spaces last year. I haven’t been particularly wowed by the cozy trend in SFF, so I let it pass upon release, figuring I’d circle back after the inevitable Hugo nomination. Fast-forward a year and it’s been shortlisted for Best Novella, so… Continue reading Sci-fi Novella Review: Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz
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
2025 was a bit of a light novella year for me, so I’ve kept on the lookout for intriguing options to try. A couple compelling reviews for Eden Royce’s adult debut Psychopomp and Circumstance were all the push I needed to scour my library system for a copy. Psychopomp and Circumstance is a Reconstruction Era… Continue reading Fantasy Novella Review: Psychopomp and Circumstance by Eden Royce
A few years ago, when I started publishing annual sci-fi/fantasy recommended reading lists, the proliferation of favorites lists dropping each winter would kick off a genuine reading flurry that made my late-February list substantially larger than my mid-December one. That’s the reason I started posting two versions of the list each year. But as I… Continue reading Tar Vol’s Top Ten 2025 Short Fiction and Updated Recommended Reading List
I’d only read two previous novels by Alix E. Harrow, but her prose consistently pulls me in the story, so when I started hearing hype for The Everlasting, I decided to give it a shot. The Everlasting is a time-loop story about a legendary knight and the scholar studying her, featuring lots of digging into… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow
I’ve been hearing Daryl Gregory recommended for a while now, but I hadn’t really given him a try until reading the novelette “Second Person, Present Tense” a few months ago. That was good enough to convince me I should read more, and so I decided to jump into his most recent novel, When We Were… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review: When We Were Real by Daryl Gregory
I only occasionally dip into speculative litfic, largely with mixed results, so despite her fame, Laila Lalami’s The Dream Hotel wasn’t really on my radar until a Redditor recommended it for fans of Octavia E. Butler and Emily St. John Mandel. Seeing as how Clay’s Ark and Station Eleven were two of the best things… Continue reading Sci-fi Novel Review: The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami
Antonia Hodgson was not at all on my radar going into 2025, but The Raven Scholar quickly became one of those books that is lauded seemingly wherever fantasy is discussed. I don’t always read the year’s big trend books, but I had the opportunity to give it a try in December to see for myself… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson
We’re nearing the end of December, so it’s once again time for my favorite annual post: my annual favorites post! This is where I share the best sci-fi and fantasy I read from this year. I write two versions of my Recommended Reading List each year, one in December when reviewers start dropping their favorites,… Continue reading Tar Vol’s 2025 Recommended Reading List (Holiday Edition)
This review is based on an ARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the editor in exchange for an honest review. Think Weirder was released on October 30, 2025. I have to admit, I was won over by the cover of Think Weirder: The Year’s Best Science Fiction Ideas, edited by Joe Stech. Not because of… Continue reading Sci-fi Anthology Review: Think Weirder by Joe Stech
