Woman in White Kristin Dearborn DarkFuse February 2016 I read an interview with Kristin Dearborn in which she mentions The Shining and The Thing as two of her inspirations, as well as talking about toxic relationships and domestic violence. Yep, hooked, there right now. Woman in White lived up to the expectations that name-dropping some…
Presence, Power, and Patriarchy: A Review of The Geek Feminist Revolution by Kameron Hurley
The Geek Feminist Revolution Kameron Hurley Tor Paperback May 31, 2016 There’s a seductive quality to belonging to a group, identifying as a member of a particular set of people, calling them home. We see it in how quickly people identify as a geek or a nerd, a gamer or bookworm, and how intensely we…
Four Reasons You Should Read American Housewife by Helen Ellis
American Housewife Helen Ellis Doubleday January 12 2016 In case you haven’t heard yet, May is International Short Story month and if you’re still looking for a way to celebrate let me help you out by recommending my favourite short story collection of the year (so far) – American Housewife by Helen Ellis. Whether you‘re…
2014 Hugos Versus 2015 Sad Puppies: What Could Have Been, Part 2
In the previous post in this series, I looked at the short stories and novelettes that were in the running for the 2015 Hugo Awards and may have reached the final ballot had the Sad Puppies and Rabid Puppies campaigns not taken place. Now, for the final post, I shall look at the candidates for…
Dogears: An Unscripted History of Dragons
My Unscripted Life Lauren Morrill Delacorte (Random House) October 11, 2016 Lauren Morrill is a comforting voice in YA fiction, with contemporary romances that aren’t surprising but still engaging. But My Unscripted Life is the least captivating of her books thus far—it’s a novel that elevates romance at the expense of character development and story growth….
2014 Hugos Versus 2015 Sad Puppies: What Could Have Been, Part 1
The finalists for the 2016 Hugo Awards were announced on 26 April, and what a sight they are. The ballot is dominated almost entirely by Vox Day’s picks for his Rabid Puppies slate, and so honours the likes of “If You Were an Award, My Love,” Space Raptor Butt Invasion and the (NSFW) art of Kukuruyo….
Review: Mama Tried: Italian Cooking for the Screwed, Crude, Vegan & Tattooed
Mama Tried: Italian Cooking for the Screwed, Crude, Vegan & Tattooed Cecilia Granata (writer and illustrator) Microcosm Publishing April 12, 2016 Mama Tried: Italian Cooking for the Screwed, Crude, Vegan & Tattooed is an Italian cookbook with two twists: it’s for vegans and tattoo lovers. Filled with vegan transformations of many classic Italian dishes and…
2014 Hugos Versus 2015 Sad Puppies: Novels
Throughout this series I have been comparing the 2014 Hugo nominees with the 2015 Sad Puppies slate that was, in part, drawn up in response. Out of the five categories that I decided to cover, I have so far looked at Short Story, Novelette, Novella and Related Work. Now it is time for the last of…
Residential Schools & Fiction: Black Apple Review
Black Apple Joan Crate Simon & Schuster Canada March 1st, 2016 A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Torn from her home and delivered to St. Mark’s Residential School for Girls by government decree, young Rose Marie finds herself in an alien universe where nothing of her previous…
Commercialised Suffering Is Easy: Lemaitre’s Irene
Irène is crass, coarse, and shallow. Pierre Lemaitre’s novel is like the work of Jo Nesbø, in this way. Preoccupied with torture and awfulness, reluctant to engage with humanity or emotion beyond the ways that happiness can be revoked or twisted; used to make a person miserable; and underbaked as progressing narratives, these author, in…
Dogears: Strangled by Scarves
Exit, Pursued By A Bear E.K. Johnston Dutton Books for Young Readers/Penguin Random House Canada March 15, 2016 Disclaimer: A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Full disclosure: I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and talking to E.K. Johnston many times on Twitter and at events….
Searching for Their Bones: The Little Red Chairs Reviewed
I first encountered Edna O’Brien in an Irish Literature class in college, through her novel The House of Splendid Isolation. Out of all the wonderful works I read in class, that book stayed with me the longest. While making the reader uncomfortable by putting a human face on a character who has committed atrocities is nothing new,…
