Pick Your Poison – A Short Story Anthology edited by Emma Nelson and Hannah Smith (2017) – Just in time for Halloween comes a short story collection with a clever theme: toxins. Whether venomous snakes, raw almonds, quiet magic, or death by any of the other twenty-five poisonous tales in this collection, there’s a fitting demise for everyone. As with most anthologies I review, I’ll pick out several of the sterling tales that caught my squeamish attention. But all the stories are clever, well-written, and […]
Just Made That Way
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie (2013) – Well, I see what all the fuss is about now. I read a lot of space opera. It’s my favorite genre. But, I have to admit that sometimes it gets a little formulaic. There’s a hero, some political situation, big space ships, possibly aliens, and blasters. Ancillary Justice is anything but predictable. In fact, when it started out, I wasn’t sure who the narrator was. Is he or she the ship? The servants assisting the people in power? […]
Too Dangerous For Adults
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart (2007) – I never really understood the YA (Young Adult) and MG (Middle Grade) labels on books until I read this. With Harry Potter and the young heroes in Andre Norton’s books, the protagonist is a kid (and kids love to read them); however, they are not strictly YA or MG. The reason is the writing style. Trenton Lee Stewart shares an exciting adventure of four unique heroes, but the writing is simple and straightforward. No complex […]
Winter’s Champion and the Outcast Outcast
The Beasts of Tabat by Cat Rambo (2017) – This fantasy tale is a nice, comfortable story with some great world-building and a shared billing with two heroes. The world, northerly and cold, consists of Humans, Beasts, and Shifters. Humans rule the land and Beasts, mythical creatures such as minotaurs, griffins, and mermaids, are slaves to the humans. Shifters are shape-shifters and hunted by Humans and Beasts. Teo, our first hero, is a Shifter in a small village to the far north where his people […]