The nitty-gritty: A unique combination of sci-fi, folklore and coming-of-age, Remote Control is another atmospheric and thoughtful book by Nnedi Okorafor. This is a strange little Africanfuturism story that I enjoyed a lot, and if you’re a fan of Nnedi Okorafor you will enjoy it too. Remote Control has science fiction elements, but as other […]
The nitty-gritty: A thought-provoking tale of survival, The Effort raises interesting questions about life in the face of impending disaster. The Effort is an ambitious debut about a comet that is hurtling towards Earth and the team of scientists who are tasked with stopping it. There are all sorts of directions you can take with […]
The nitty-gritty: An ambitious genre mash-up that tackles such diverse topics as poverty, imaginary friends, space exploration and family bonds. We Hear Voices caught me off guard, but in a good way. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I didn’t realize this was science fiction/dystopian when I started reading it. It looks like […]
The nitty-gritty: Andrew Shaffer skewers publishing and 80s horror in this homage to the genre, complete with a Christmas setting. Lussi parked Agnes’s Yugo around the corner from the Blackwood Building underneath a burned-out streetlight. It was nearly three in the morning. She had never stolen a car before and never planned to again. Tonight […]
The nitty-gritty: Full of fun 90s nostalgia, This is Not the Jess Show has twists and surprises, plenty of action, and even some sweet emotional moments. This is a hard book to talk about without spoiling some major plot points, but I’m going to do my best. I’m taking a cue from the blurb on […]
The nitty-gritty: Lovecraft meets The Twilight Zone in this fast-paced, monster-filled horror story. This was a lot of fun! I wasn’t sure what to expect from Eight Cylinders, and I definitely got something a little different, but I ended up really enjoying this book. As you might have guessed from the cover, there’s a Lovecraft […]
The nitty-gritty: An enjoyable but slightly uneven sequel in K. Eason’s imaginative Star Wars inspired space opera series. Last year I was surprised by how much I loved How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse, so I was very excited to read the sequel. And for the most part, I enjoyed it. Rory Thorne was more […]
The nitty-gritty: Weird, unsettling and laugh-out-loud funny. How can you resist that combination? My breath came in great choking sobs while I tried to beat the dead thing to death a second time. It really was a joy to read a new T. Kingfisher (aka Ursula Vernon) novel, which turned out to be much in […]
The nitty-gritty: Two children enter a magical land and learn some hard lessons in this tale-within-a-tale by Seanan McGuire. “People say I look like a girl, but that won’t ever make me one.” Zib blinked. “You’re not? But I thought–” “Oh, I’m a crow girl, but I’m not a girl girl.” The crow girl’s smile […]
The nitty-gritty: A weird, wild ride of a story about five sentient teddy bears who must work together in order to survive in the wide, wide world. Did Buddy have two sides? Did every teddy? He was both magical and ordinary—Made in America but Surface Washable. He had both a Real Silk Heart and Polyester […]