The nitty-gritty: A very short but powerful story about a girl leaving home for the first time, with a strong theme of dealing with prejudice, but a little too short, in my opinion, to fully develop that theme. This is the second work of fiction that I’ve read by Nnedi Okorafor, and I have to […]
The nitty-gritty: An Alice in Wonderland re-telling that didn’t quite hit the mark, but a wonderful look at the effect of Victorian society on a handful of memorable characters. So Mama waggled her fingers in the air, Go, go, and settled her crown of hair, the color of browning roses, upon the bolster of the […]
The nitty-gritty: A great start to an exciting new venture in storytelling, all wrapped up in a compact urban fantasy package. She’d met people on this very train who told her with overwhelming conviction that they were the product of genetic experimentation by the United States government using alien DNA, and they’d built a prototype […]
The nitty-gritty: An atmospheric and stylish tale of family secrets written in blood, with elements of horror that weren’t quite scary enough for me. “Which way?” he asked as we stood in the center of the barren patch of earth. As if answering his question, the breeze whipped through the field, revealing a path and […]
The nitty-gritty: An action-packed techno-thriller—a bit of a departure for Wendig—that still manages to entertain, despite some over-the-top story elements. If there’s one thing you can count on from Chuck Wendig, it’s that he’s not afraid to try out new genres. I didn’t know much about Zer0es going into it, and I wasn’t sure what […]
The nitty-gritty: A well-written start to a new series, an intriguing take on the demons vs. angels theme, with characters that I grew to love. Mom made me say it over and over: Keep it hidden, keep it safe. If anyone truly knew everything, it would freak them out in a large way. It freaks […]
Cocoon by David Saperstein Genre: Adult science fiction Publisher: Talos Press Release date: April 2014 Source: Finished paperback from publisher Pages: 256 The nitty-gritty: Not quite like the movie, but a good read all the same, Cocoon has humor and heart to spare. When I found out that Cocoon is the book that the […]
Day Shift (Midnight, Texas #2) by Charlaine Harris Genre: Adult urban fantasy Publisher: Ace Release date: May 2015 Source: ARC from publisher Pages: 320 The nitty-gritty: Even though it’s thin on plot, Day Shift is full of heart, small town secrets, quirky townsfolk and plenty of supernatural beasts. “The boy is growing at twenty times […]
The Beauty by Aliya Whiteley Genre: Adult SF/Weird Fiction Publisher: Unsung Stories Release date: September 2014 Source: eBook from Publisher Pages: 104 The nitty-gritty: A short but powerful story that will make you think about what “gender” means, but seriously, one of the strangest things I’ve ever read. The Beauty were small at first but […]
The Mirror Empire (Worldbreaker Saga #1) by Kameron Hurley Genre: Adult Fantasy Publisher: Angry Robot Release date: August 26 2014 Source: ARC from publisher Pages: 539 The nitty-gritty: A fabulous and fantastical world, a dense and complex plot, female characters that steal the show, but ultimately a fractured story that left me dazed and confused. […]