reviewsA collection of 13 posts

History murmurs beneath waves, slow waters shaping silently, a quiet riot of ambition, rhythms rewriting stone and soil, kingdoms softly spun, undone in echoes louder than their rise, cycles swift as shifting tides. Characters tread shadowed roads, footsteps fading, heavy with desire, edges sharp yet known, familiar, mirrors revealing clearer truths— fragments reflecting regret, shadows stretching, breaking, guiding gently by the hand toward understanding. Parker-Chan’s prose flows softly, sli…

Question: What happens when someone studies history and says, "this is cool, but what if it were infinitely queerer, significantly more ruthless, and with about 300% more emotional devastation? Answer: She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan And truly? It really works. Parker-Chan imbues historical fantasy with sufficient ambition, gender chaos, and existential turmoil to power a medium-sized dynasty. Let's face it, "destined to achieve greatness" sounds far nicer than "destined to... w…

Marisa Crane's speculative fiction book I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself is exactly as fascinating—and rather delightfully odd—as its title. Crane creates a story that creeps carefully beneath your skin and puts down roots by fusing speculative components with profoundly human vulnerability. Crane invites us to a universe where criminal punishment is demonstrated physically as extra shadows—visible reminders of guilt and shame—and she does so with language that moves between poetic tenderness a…

C. L. Clark's Faithless gathers the fragments of romance and revolution, building a story that cuts deep and clings on. Set once more in Clark's intricately spun North-African-inspired world, this sequel explores more complex loyalties, precarious alliances, and indeed—more heart-aching Sapphic yearning. Like an well-honed sword, Clark's prose is still sharp-edged and slick, driven in fast, clean and deadly effective. Characters Touraine and Luca return; their responsibilities are greater, thei…

Book Review: A Half-Built Garden Ruthanna Emrys's delicately strong near-future book A Half-Built Garden explores first contact via the prism of hope, sustainability, and thoughtfully rendered human (and extraterrestrial!) interactions. Emrys deftly combines ecological themes, subtle family drama, science fiction, and an underlying compassion grounded even in the most expansive ideas. Starlit Conversations and Familiar Rituals: Emrys writes with compassion, catching a personal warmth even in…

C. L. Clark's Unbroken is what happens when colonial revolt, powerful women with muscular arms, and Sapphic yearning crash together in a fiery fantasy epic.…