In honor of City of Blades coming out, I re-read American Elsewhere, which–fun story–I hate-bought because the cover (and title) looked so much like American Gods. “Well this is going to be bullshit” I said, probably out loud, probably to myself in a crowded bookstore, probably earning myself nervous glances. And then, readers, it wasn’t. …
As we all recover from our multiple viewings of The Force Awakens this holiday season, let me take an entirely uncontroversial position and say that popcorn is delicious. Well, it is. Don’t lie, you all had at least a handful or two, and probably more like a bucket or two. This was probably before or after …
The Library at Mount Char – for your friend who loves Tarantino and David Fincher, anyone who prefers White Wolf to D&D, fans of Lovecraft, librarians, anyone whose favorite Christmas movie is The Nightmare Before Christmas. City of Stairs – for the person in your gaming group who always figures out the optimal moves (and …
Thank the YA gods for terrible parents. Terrible fictional parents, that is. Because much as I wish there was not a single terrible real-life parent, there are far too many. But there haven’t been many in fiction until more recently, and not only is that unrealistic, it’s a damn shame. There is so much depth …
All right, I’ve just decided this is going to be Old West season for me. Between Girl and Wake and Snow White, and now Silver on the Road by Laura Anne Gilman, I’m just going to become a temporary expert on Old West Fantasy, or Weird West fiction, or whatever you want to call it. (Next …
On tumbles our ever-growing tangle of Weird Old Westerns, because what do you want more than shoot-outs and cattle raids at the holidays? Right, nothing. This time it’s Six-Gun Snow White, a not-really-fairy-tale taken loosely from Grimms and applied firmly to the mining towns and new money of Montana and beyond. There aren’t any cowpokes, …
As I previously noted, the Old West is being retrodden by not a few new authors looking for the stories not previously found. Another of those is Lila Bowen, with her stellar debut Wake of Vultures. Her Old West is not quite the one we know in terms of geography, and it’s certainly not the …
The American West is coming into vogue in a big way. Brandon Sanderson’s getting into it, Rae Carson has a new trilogy set there, and there’s also Vengeance Road, Under a Painted Sky, and Wake of Vultures. It’s an exciting time to be reading all these books, because they’re all so different from each other and so …
We now have several reports of Lionsgate developing The Rook, a book about a British supernatural agency in crisis, into a Hulu series. Helmed by Stephanie Meyer of Twilight fame. Cue the screams. Look, I’m thrilled to bits that The Rook is getting an adaptation. Daniel O’Malley deserves all the money that can possibly be thrown at him, …
I was never much afraid of the Corinthian. Oh, don’t get me wrong, he’s a good character. A great one. But mouths for eyes and a taste for eyeballs? It doesn’t really do it for me. Still, I have to admit to getting the delighted shivers–the kind you get sitting around a campfire telling ghost stories–when …