Tres Dean is a writer whose words can be found at GQ, Paste, Syfy, Geek.com, IGN, and more. He writes about shoes, geeky things, pop culture, and now he’s writing about The Rock in his very first book. For Your Consideration: The Rock from Quirk Books is a collection of essays exploring Dwayne “The Rock”…
Orphan Black: The Next Chapter Brings Back Our Clone Club Faves
A thrilling, if not entirely fulfilling, addition to the canon of the show, Orphan Black: The Next Chapter succeeds on an emotional level while adding a lot of — perhaps too many? — layers to the scientific conspiracies that led us here.
A Book Fair for Grownups from Penguin Random House
In Midtown Manhattan last month, the publisher Penguin Random House hosted a Book Fair for Grownups. Themed loosely on the elementary school book fairs many of us may remember from our childhood, the event was a little bit like returning to childhood, but also had a club atmosphere with a line of people outside waiting…
Discovering We Ride Upon Sticks at the NYCC Book Club
New York Comic Con boasts several events every year, ranging from panels of superstars to custom sketches by beloved artists, to themed “experiences.” This year, it also included a series of NYCC book club meetings featuring a range of different upcoming books to be published by Penguin Random House. For each one, interested con attendees…
The Vampyre’s Legacy, Part 11: Urban Fantasies
The period following the publication of Anne Rice’s Interview with a Vampire saw vampire fiction entrench itself not as a subgenre of horror, but as a substantial body of fiction in its own right. Author David J. Schow would look back on this state of affairs in his 2018 collection DJStories: You know how zombie-flavoured…
Changeling Times: Melanie Golding’s Little Darlings
Little Darlings Melanie Golding Crooked Lane Books April 30, 2019 Having given birth to a pair of twins, Lauren Tranter is filled with the mixture of delight and anxiety that is to be expected from a new mother. But then, something strange happens in the maternity ward. Lauren becomes convinced that there is a woman…
Prep Baby for Their First Con With “Baby Geek”
Baby Geek Korwin Briggs (artist), Mark Mazzenga (writer) Simon & Schuster September 24, 2019 An important part of a child’s development, after the usual things, is knowing your X-Men from your Justice League. Baby Geek is here to help with that.
The Excellence of Malka Older’s …and Other Disasters
…and Other Disasters Malka Older Mason Jar Press November 21, 2019 Malka Older’s newest book, …and Other Disasters, is excellent. Maxwell Neely-Cohen describes it as “a book of beautiful fragments,” and while that feels pretty accurate, I read the whole thing in one sitting and felt very satisfied by it. It was like eating an…
Previously on Comics: White Feminist Tears on a Bookshelf Near You
Though our book news column isn’t running anymore, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the book industry mess that occurred last week when YA author Sarah Dessen had her feelings hurt by Brooke Nelson, a graduate student who felt, as quoted in the Aberdeen News, that Dessen’s books were “fine for teen girls” but did not…
I Went to Narnia and All I Got was this Lousy Complex: Lewis, Gaiman, Grossman, Fearscape
In October 1950, C.S. Lewis’s novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was published, and this was the birth of Susan. In this novel four kids are evacuated to the large country house of an old professor, because the war—World War II—is on. In this house they find a gateway to another, more magical…
Friending as an Adult is Hard, So Read This Manual
Friending: Creating Meaningful, Lasting Adult Friendships Gina Handley Schmitt Microcosm Publishing November 12, 2019 1 in 4 people have no intimate friendships in their lives, even if they do have hundreds of Facebook friends. This consistent loneliness can be deadly—leading to a 26% increase in early death, more than deaths caused by smoking or air…
LibraryCon Summons “All Book Nerds, Librarians, and Fans of Graphic Novels, SF, and Fantasy”
Returning for its third year, LibraryCon opened its virtual doors for one day on November 6, welcoming book nerds, librarians, educators, and fans of comics and speculative fiction. Offering live webcast talks and ample networking opportunities, LibraryCon is a “celebration of fandom-beloved stories and characters, featuring the creators behind mind-bending speculative fiction, innovative comics, and…