Welcome back to Bite-size Reads, my 2022 challenge to read (some of) the amazing anthologies on my shelves. It’s been a long while since Sinopticon, and today I’m on the trail of African Monsters – the second volume of the globe-trotting Fox Spirit Book of Monsters.
Category Archive: Reviews
Sig is a loner even by the standards of the remote island community she lives on the margins of. Haunted by guilt, she has cut herself off from friends and family. But when an older, darker sin is uncovered by an ignorant visitor, Sig must decide whether she is truly ready to turn her back on her world.
An arrogant foreigner funds an expedition north – or perhaps south – or maybe out – to find a mysterious Edifice that appears on no charts. As questions gather about what happened to the first ship to find it, the expedition’s doctor begins to recall events his crewmates assure him haven’t happened…
I read the SF shortlist for this year’s Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards, but have been so slow off the blocks in writing about any of them that we’ve picked our finalists before I got round to sharing my thoughts on this always-intriguing category. Better late than never? I hope so.
When Sol disappears after what may be a bioterrorist attack, their spouse Lumi searches for them across Mars and beyond. As she starts to examine their past in a new light, she begins to realise how many secrets they have kept from one another over the years.
For some couples, holidays are a relaxing break by the beach with a book. For others, it’s political intrigue and murder all the way down – although Asmodeus did bring a book, just in case…
Mal dreams of living off streaming BestLife, the massive multiplayer version of reality. After snagging the first footage of an elusive SecOps NPC in weeks, a sponsor offers to pay her to do just that. The price is a quest that will put Mal face to face with real SecOps – and toe to toe with Stellaxis, the corporation that controls every aspect of her life…
Much to my own surprise, I seem to be down to between 1 and 7 books left to read for the Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards shortlists (depending on how many series I finish). I’ve now finished reading the novella nominees, so time for a quick round-up of the last two and a muse over where that leaves me…
When an ex-magician turned card sharp is pressured into ensuring a nobleman loses his stake in a high profile tournament, Valen and his crew find themselves in possession of a secret that could upset the delicate political balance that keeps the island of Valtiffe independent. And, y’know, get them all killed.
I’ve been making steady progress on my Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards shortlists, thanks in part to traveling a lot this past month. There’s nothing quite like the enforced downtime of flying to motivate me to inhale books I’ve been looking forward to or bull through ones I haven’t. Today I’m looking back at the fantasy novellas in a Wyrd and Wonder cross-over.
In a magical fortress on the edge of the world, a runaway slave mage hides from his past until the arrival of a gifted refugee threatens his close-guarded secrets. But who is this girl with the tattooed face, and what does she mean to the rebels surging across the country?
Charlie Hall never met a lock she couldn’t pick, a book she couldn’t steal, or a bad decision she wouldn’t make. She’s trying to distance herself from her past, but going straight isn’t easy. Now everyone wants to lay hands on a secret that will grant them control of the shadow world – and who better to steal it than Charlie?
I’m on three panels for this year’s Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards, which means nominees have dominated my reading this year. I’m making solid progress on Best Series, so time for a quick recap and a longer look at two of the nominees: Los Nefilim by Teresa Frohock and Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan.
Pop quiz: you are an award-winning researcher, leading the field in human cloning. Your husband has stolen your research to clone a version of you he finds easier to live with. Do you help her cover up his murder?
It is 200 years since women were stripped of their adult status and civil rights. Now men rule a repressive world, but humanity is thriving as it reaches out to the stars. One group of women plan to rebalance the status quo a word at a time…
onemore.org 