The nitty-gritty: A slowly drawn-out mystery, beautifully written with subtle tension, that unfortunately didn’t live up to my expectations. Having read lots of enthusiastic reviews for Tremblay’s A Head Full of Ghosts, I was eager to try his latest. Tremblay has a talent for establishing a creepy atmosphere with very little information to go on. […]
The nitty-gritty: A stellar science fiction mystery with awesome characters and some unexpected romance. “I’ll call you before you go to sleep,” he said. “I can see it, when your heart slows down. That’s how I know when to call. I keep your heart—the icon of your heart—in one corner of my vision. All the […]
The nitty-gritty: Mix the dark absurdity of Pulp Fiction with fast cars, set the story in the late 60s, add in a handful of bloodthirsty vampires and a young woman who is set on vengeance, and you have a stellar novel that is a MUST READ for horror fans. “I don’t believe in vampires,” Sam […]
The nitty-gritty: Another clever, uproariously funny entry into the Sin du Jour series, with even more non-stop action and supernatural craziness. “Tag, you know ‘half-and-half’ is a pejorative use of an ableist term,” Jett chastises. “Both the minotaur contingent and the centaur contingent find it highly offensive—” “Oh-my-god-Jett-whatever,” Dorsky groans. “They’re a bunch of dudes […]
The nitty-gritty: A dreamy and magical story about fairy tales, real and imagined. Happily ever after is the dropping of a curtain, a signal for applause. It is not a guarantee, and it always has a price. From the moment I saw this darkly atmospheric cover, I knew I had to read Roses and Rot. […]
The nitty-gritty: A wonderful mixed bag of 80s nostalgia, creepy horror and a friendship that weathers all sorts of obstacles. “Promise me you’ll always be my friend,” she said. “DBNQ,” Abby replied. It was their shorthand for “I love you.” Dearly But Not Queerly. And they lay there on the freezing sand and felt the […]
The nitty-gritty: An original world-building idea that just didn’t get off the ground for me. Perhaps a novel might work better? I was excited to check out a shorter piece of fiction by Fran Wilde, whose Updraft I really enjoyed, and so when Tor.com announced The Jewel and her Lapidary, I jumped at the chance […]
The nitty-gritty: Potential not quite realized, but a fantastic premise full of hilarious dialogue and some hard-hitting emotional moments near the end. And once again a cool cover and a really good idea grab my attention and I immediately hit that “request” button! Down with the Shine does have a great concept: a girl is […]
The nitty-gritty: A bunch of stories that will make you very uncomfortable. And that’s a good thing! God watches as you bring another into the room. He does not take his eyes off you. Sits in his LifeChair exactly where you parked him two days before. White beard and tubes. His cartridge core throbs, like […]
The nitty-gritty: A short tale that’s packed with action, humor, and some old favorite characters. I fell in love with Wesley Chu’s Tao series, which ended last year with The Deaths of Tao, and so I was thrilled to discover he was writing a novella set in the same universe. The Days of Tao is […]