Ever wanted to ride a hurricane without leaving your home? That’s kind of the experience of reading The Sky on Fire, both figuratively and, in a couple of instances, also literally. This is a pulse-pounding novel that never stops chasing bigger and bigger storms, beginning with a fugitive hunt but somehow escalating from there to …
Mammoths at the Gates by Nghi Vo is, as is usual for any entry in the Singing Hills Cycle, a lot of stories in one story. Usually the interwoven tales are the result of Cleric Chih’s journeys as they collect tales for their abbey, but for this fourth installment, Chih has finally returned home to …
It’s no secret that I love Sailor Moon; it’s pretty much become my personal brand around here. So when I see a book pitched as Sailor Moon meets Cinder(ella) you KNOW I’m going to be onboard. I was incredibly delighted to find that while S. Jae-Jones’ Guardians of Dawn: Zhara is a little bit of …
Can the deliberate, repeated, and visceral slaughter of intimate partners be charming? I don’t think I’m allowed to say that, but after reading Walking Practice, I can’t help it. Perhaps better to say I’m charmed, safely in the past tense, by the wacky, brutal, and ultimately highly relatable tale of an alien trying to survive …
Martha Wells has been a lowkey legend for more than a decade now, and she just keeps pumping out the hits. Witch King is another solid entry to her canon, a standalone with sequel potential that quietly incorporates current discourse into her classic high fantasy style. This book reminded me of reading 90’s fantasy in …
If you’re a horror fan who also wants to cozy up with a book and a bite to eat, I have the perfect pairing for you. Cake Craft by Hannah-Freya Blake will satisfy any craving for haunted houses and dark comeuppance, but also balance it out with some light, sweet romance. There are notes of …
Whether you’re a longtime devoted fan of JPop, curious about Japanese or pop music culture, or just looking for a good short read, we’ve got you. Hybrid Heart and Idol, Burning are both compelling, nuanced takes on the promises and perils of fame via the idol system, one from the perspective of an idol herself, …
Ever since conspiracies exploded into the mainstream in America and started ruining lives and families, I have been leery of them in fiction. As with our collective disinterest in dystopia, it’s hard to escape to a world that isn’t, well, much of an escape. And that’s a shame, because high-stakes espionage and the thrill of …
In the world of Rebecca Schaeffer’s new City of Nightmares, a hundred years ago, people started having Nightmares. Unlike dreams that came before, and for reasons no one has yet been able to figure out, people who dreamed about their worst fears would become that which terrified them. A century of monstrousness followed, and the …
Good horror is scary, but great horror is tender. It does not always speak at a scream, but tells you, very softly but very firmly, what is about to happen. It does not gloat, but likewise does not flinch. It is—inevitable. I wish that all novellas were as inevitable as Helpmeet, the exquisite new offering …