Mexico, 1950. A young woman named Noemí Taboada receives word that her cousin Catalina Doyle has been acting strangely. Amongst other things, Catalina has been experiencing visions and is convinced that her husband Virgil is plotting to murder her. Noemí’s father suspects that this is merely a ploy for attention, but he is sufficiently concerned…
Nosferatu’s Kindred, Part 3: Goethe and The Bride of Corinth
Continuing a series that celebrates the centenary of Nosferatu with an overview of German vampire literature.
“Will This Be the Year the Earth Refuses to Forgive Us?” A Review of Notes from the Burning Age
This is the humanity that is on display throughout Claire North’s Notes from the Burning Age. One side of that feature of human nature that is a desire to leave some kind of mark on the world, even if it is just something small token for someone to stumble upon in the future. Here’s the…
Nosferatu’s Kindred, Part 2: Gottfried August Bürger and Lenore
Continuing the series that celebrates the centenary of Nosferatu with an overview of German vampire literature.
Nosferatu’s Kindred, Part 1: Heinrich August Ossenfelder and Der Vampir
A century ago, in March 1922, the silent German film Nosferatu was released, and audiences were given an unforgettable display of the vampire legend’s continued endurance. A full-blooded adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the film showed the advantages that German horror cinema had over its American counterpart: the closest thing to Nosferatu to come out…
The Princess in Black and the Mermaid Princess dives deep into my heart
Our favorite hero for young readers meets new friends and new foes in The Princess in Black and the Mermaid Princess, a delightful addition to the Princess in Black series.
REVIEW: Beyond Forgetting Is an Imperfect Memoir
Beyond Forgetting is a short memoir by Frank A. De La Rosa. The memoir combines short historical summaries with personal stories to illustrate the experience of growing up in the Philippines under Japanese occupation and just after World War II. Beyond Forgetting captures an imperfect human voice that informs and colors one boy’s understanding of…
REVIEW: Rulebreakers and a Restless Spirit: The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
Four young Blackfeet friends — Lewis, Gabe, Cass and Ricky — decide to go elk-hunting in an area of their reservation set aside for elders. The hunting trip is bountiful, and they succeed in bagging nine elk. When the time comes to cut up the bodies for easier transport, however, it turns out that one…
2021 Hugo Awards Celebrate Imagination, Wonder, and an Arms Manufacturer
On Saturday the Hugo Awards were presented at DisCon III, the 2021 iteration of the international science fiction and fantasy convention Worldcon. A new set of winners were selected for genre immortality by a voting base of Worldcon members — and another round of debate raged on social media. Martha Wells’ much-loved Murderbot Diaries series,…
2021 Hugo Award Review: Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Young necromancer Harrowhark, the secondary lead in Tamsyn Muir’s earlier novel Gideon the Ninth, now has the rank of Lyctor. This role involves travelling with an interplanetary God-Emperor between worlds and using her abilities as a necromancer to navigate the various hazards thrown in her way. After all, this is a universe where vast monsters…
2021 Hugo Award Review: Network Effect by Martha Wells
Martha Wells’ Murderbot series must surely be counted among the biggest hits of contemporary science fiction. The story of an artificial being – half-machine and half-clone – who became a freelance bodyguard was originally told over the course of four novellas: All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, and Exit Strategy; with Network Effect, it…
Queering Cozy Classics for the Winter!
The weather is getting chillier where I live, and I’m starting to yearn for afternoons curled up with a hot drink, rereading something cozily canonical like Austen or Shakespeare. Part of what’s cozy about that scene, for me, is the interpretations of characters I developed on first reading, and still stand by. In fandom, “headcanons”…