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.

Author Interview: Francesco Dimitri (THE DARK SIDE OF THE SKY)

Cover of The Dark Side of the Sky, featuring purple-green bubbles against a swirly sky, with a green tree with purple fruit or berries and a white trunk, with a pig at the base.

“All good literature is fantasy. The word ‘realism’ – I don’t buy it. Every writer sees reality from their own point of view, and they bend what they see to make it fit into a story.” — Francesco Dmitri

A Book by its Cover: THE FAMILIAR by Leigh Bardugo

Cover of The Familiar, by Leigh Bardugo, features a pale hand holding a chain (maybe a rosary?), wearing a ring with a red stone, and a scorpion crawling out of the lacy cuff of a gold-embroidered red sleeve.

Joke review: “… the more highbrow reader will surely appreciate how Bardugo plays with a lighthearted Hegelian concept and complicates it within an esoteric historical fantasy plot…”

Book Review: GHOST STATION by S.A. Barnes

Cover of Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes, featuring someone in a spacesuit in a dark corridor with blood on the floor.

The novel is a good split between the two genres, though with a more overt presence and vibe of science fiction. I would predict it would be more readily enjoyed by general fans of science fiction that aren’t too into horror compared to the converse.

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.