Author name: trishmatson

Educated as a physicist yet living as a journalist, Trish Matson is an award-winning writer and editor whose ever-expanding list of interests includes a lifelong love of SF/F, plus wordplay, libraries, games, music, dancing, audio drama, and podcasting. She’s listed as TrishEM on various fora, but you can find her most easily on Twitter.

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Book Review: Tales from Rugosa Coven (2026 edition), by Sarah Avery

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Like most people, I never got to read the edition of Tales from Rugosa Coven that was published in 2013, even though it won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award in 2015. When the rights reverted to author Sarah Avery, her blog said that it had only sold a few hundred copies, including print and ebooks. The book found a new home with publisher Candlemark & Gleam in 2025, and an updated and revised edition is now available for preorders, with the release set for Aug. 1. I have been privileged to read an eARC of this version, and it’s great! This is one of the most grounded-feeling urban fantasies I’ve ever read, with deeply developed characters whose real-life issues marvelously intertwine with the magic in their lives, featuring a strongly positive theme of a supportive, inclusive community.

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Book Reviews: Hugo Best Novel Finalists

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The Skiffy and Fanty Show doesn’t, as a group, rank or endorse Hugo Award finalists, although individual columnists certainly may have their favorites. However, over the course of the past year and a half, Paul Weimer and I have reviewed all six of this year’s Best Novel finalists. All but one of those reviews were posted in the first four months of 2025, long before the finalists could be nominated, let alone announced. That just goes to show that at Skiffy and Fanty, we’re doing a good job of keeping our eyes on the speculative fiction field, although of course there’s too much out there to avoid missing some of the good stuff now and then. For the convenience of anyone new to the show/blog or who wants a refresher before voting for the Hugos, we’re linking all six reviews here. They’re listed in the order that the reviews were published, not indicating any preference.

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Book Review: The Last Smile in Sunder City, by Luke Arnold

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I don’t remember where I saw a recommendation for The Last Smile in Sunder City (2020) by Luke Arnold, but it came up in my library queue after being on hold for a number of weeks. Thanks, unknown benefactor! The worldbuilding here is complex yet convincing, the protagonist has an interesting journey, and the plot kept me interested with twists, turns, and revelations. From the publisher’s summary: In a world that’s lost its magic, a former soldier turned PI solves cases for the fantasy creatures whose lives he ruined in an imaginative debut fantasy by Black Sails actor Luke Arnold.

Cover of Shroud, by Adrian Tchaikovsky, featuring a glowing escape shuttle caught in a dark tangle of metallic-looking threads.
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Book Review: Shroud, by Adrian Tchaikovsky

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Somehow, I’ve never reviewed an Adrian Tchaikovsky novel for Skiffy and Fanty, although I love most of his work, including Alien Clay, Elder Race, the Children of Time series, and reaching back to Empire in Black and Gold. I had a very busy 2025, so I missed Shroud when it was published. However, as I finally buckle down to my Hugo reading, it’s time to explore this fascinating science fiction story. Unsurprisingly, I love the worldbuilding, both the corporate dystopia of the humans and the puzzling Shrouded aliens, and I love the human narrator; moreover, this is a very interesting exploration of intelligence, communication, and society. This is a great novel of first contact.

Cover of Kill All Wizards by Jedediah Berry, featuring a man with a huge sword in one hand and a relatively tiny teacup in another, with shaggy black hair and an eyepatch, wearing a ripped three-piece suit, with several wizard hats (purple with gold stars) on the ground beside him.
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Book Review: Kill All Wizards, by Jedediah Berry

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I really enjoyed Kill All Wizards, by Jedediah Berry, even though it’s not quite the sword-and-sorcery/comedy/fantasy of manners that I was expecting. Yes, there are epic confrontations between a barbarian and several magic-users, and there are many comical moments, and occasional discussions of manners; however, Berry also plays a lot with framing, story structure, and style. His variations on some recognizable S&S tropes are very fresh and fun. I also adored Berry’s 2024 novel, The Naming Song, which I reviewed here. Kill All Wizards is very different, though, in tone, subject, and plot. For me, it worked as a great little break after some really challenging works. From the publisher’s description: The barbarian traveled far to consult the wizards of the empire. Instead of lending their aid, they ensorcelled him, exploited his strength, and stole his sword. They should not have done that.Now the barbarian plans to kill every wizard who wronged him, even if that means blending in with their vile society: dressing in finery, taking tea in exclusive clubs, and reserving the best box at the theater.

Cover of Angel Down, by Daniel Kraus, featuring clouds of smoke and red smears that could signify fire or blood.
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Book Review: Angel Down, by Daniel Kraus

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Daniel Kraus is a prominent SFFH writer whom I hadn’t heard about until I found out that Skiffy and Fanty’s Daniel Haeusser had scored an interview with him for the show, coming live on Friday, June 12, at 8 p.m. Eastern, at https://twitch.tv/alphabetstreams. Shaun Duke and I are talking with Kraus mostly about his upcoming science fiction novel, The Sixth Nik. However, at about the same time, I saw that his 2025 novel, Angel Down, had won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and that became available to me first, so here are my immediate thoughts on it.

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