Author: Daniel Haeusser

Daniel Haeusser (He/Him) is an Associate Professor of Biology who teaches microbiology and biochemistry. He researches bacterial cell shape & division, and phage (bacterial viruses) that alter either in their host during infection. His constant reading spans many genres, but SF, Fantasy, Horror, mystery, and world literature remain closest to his heart. His regular book reviews can be found at Reading 1000 Lives, and he also contributes reviews to Strange Horizons, Fantasy Book Critic, Speculative Fiction in Translation, and World Literature Today. You can connect with him on Goodreads or Bluesky.

Movie Review: CIVIL WAR (2024), directed by Alex Garland

Civil War movie poster; text on top of the torch of the Statue of Liberty, against a hazy sky.

The plot of Civil War actually doesn’t matter at all. It’s just a backdrop of events to explore the worst of human selfishness.

Into the Wardrobe: Dragons Don’t Cook Pizza (1997) by Debbie Dadey & Marcia Thornton Jones

Cover of Dragons Don't Cook Pizza, a Bailey School Kids book, by

So here then is a restart/reworking of the old Into the Wardrobe/Retro Childhood Review feature (sticking with the clever first name). If you happen to see something covered that YOU remember reading many years ago and enjoying – or despising – let us know!

Book Review: DIAVOLA by Jennifer Thorne

Cover of Diavola, by Jennifer Thorne. Features a woman with a distorted, misty face, blonde hair, and an off-the-shoulder red dress, reading a book. Tagline: "Welcome to Villa Taccola. She's been waiting for you."

Diavola is interesting as a gothic horror through the inclusion of modern-day family vacation chaos and emotion. But it also follows a unique path from the setup and haunting and predictable responses to an original take on consequences and after-effects.

Interview: Waubgeshig Rice (MOON OF THE TURNING LEAVES)

Cover of Moon of the Turning Leaves, by Waubgeshig Rice. Features a forest at sunrise or sunset.

“Putting the events of Moon of the Turning Leaves about a decade into the future beyond Moon of the Crusted Snow was an exciting prospect to be a little more speculative and move the spotlight onto the younger generation who grew up in this new era after the collapse.”

Book Review: THE HAUNTING OF VELKWOOD by Gwendolyn Kiste

Cover of The Haunting of Velkwood by Gwendolyn Kiste. Features a person standing abovfe a lake that reflects two people, at sunset or sunrise.

The Haunting of Velkwood is an interesting take on the haunted house trope, one that blurs the lines between who are the living and who are the ghosts and expands the supernatural milieu from a building or property to an entire community block.

Book Review: TWICE LIVED by Joma West

Cover of Twice Lived by Joma West, featuring half a yellow flower flecked with red, joined to half a red flower. Cover design by Fort; Photo © Getty

“… (T)he story of Twice Lived rests on readers’ empathic connection with its major characters and the bittersweet nature of life: the haphazard fortunes it throws upon us, or the random situations it thrusts us into, often without control, powerless.”