Blog Posts

Book Review: In the Vanishers’ Palace by Aliette de Bodard

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I’ve been a fan of Aliette de Bodard since 2012, when I read her award-winning short story “Immersion” and the much-nominated novella “On a Red Station, Drifting,” Since those fascinating science fiction stories, she’s gone on to write books and stories ranging from what’s been called Aztec noir to the Dominion of the Fallen series, plus more science fiction/space opera. Her new novella, “In the Vanishers’ Palace,” is officially released today. At first glance it seems a less complex story than many of her other works, with fewer characters and far less intrigue, but it’s very much worth reading and offers a lot to think about, and I love it.

Blog Posts

Short Fiction Review: Black Speculative Fiction Month!

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Since it’s Black Speculative Fiction Month, it seems only appropriate that this month I spotlight some awesome new work by Black writers. First up, we have “Every Good-Bye Ain’t Gone” by Eden Royce, which appears in Strange Horizons‘ recent Southeastern USA special issue. It’s a séance story about family and food with a couple delightful twists. I also enjoyed “The Unusual Customer” by Innocent Chizaram Ilo, which appears in Fireside Magazine Issue 58 (August). It’s another story about family and food, except this one has more to do with women fighting off magical bad guys rather than summoning spirits. For a powerful, genuinely disturbing story about toxic masculinity informing a patriarchy, check out “Maria’s Children” by Tobi Ogundiran, which appears in The Dark Issue 40 (September). Lastly, I recommend “Running” by Itoro Udofia, which came out in August from The Book Smugglers. It’s an insightful, immersive meditation on the experience of being first-generation Nigerian-American.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

Signal Boost #44: C.L. Polk (Witchmark) and Tonia Thompson (Nightlight Podcast)

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https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFSignalBoost44PolkThompson/Sandf–SignalBoost44–PolkThompson.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSS In today’s episode of Signal Boost, Jen talks to C.L. Polk, author of the debut novel Witchmark from Tor.Com Publishing. We learn what inspired C.L. to set the novel in an allegorical post-WWI England, how she developed a complex governmental and class system around a simple magic system, what compels the m/m romance that is central to the plot, what we can look forward to in book two of the series, and more! Then Jen sits down with her boss over at Nightlight Podcast, Tonia Thompson. They discuss how Tonia’s work in horror has taken on a multi-media life, what makes the form of Twitter horror so compelling, why she started Nightlight Pod, what you can expect to find over there during the month of October and all year long, and much more! Plus, Tonia shares her favorite form of torture. We hope you enjoy the episode!

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

Reading Rangers: Shorts #2 – The 2018 Nommo Award Finalist Short Stories

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https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/ReadingRangersShorts22018NommoAwardFinalistShortStories/ReadingRangersShorts2–2018NommoAwardFinalistShortStories.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSHello, Rangers! Time to get back into the saddle after too long a wait to highlight the wonderful short story finalists from the 2018 Nommo Awards! The Nommo Awards are hosted by the African Speculative Fiction Society and “recognise works of speculative fiction by Africans.” They mean “mean science fiction, fantasy, stories of magic and traditional belief, alternative histories, horror and strange stuff that might not fit in anywhere else.” Trish, Brandon, and Elizabeth sit down to discuss each of the short story finalists. Be sure to go read the stories, and then check out this discussion to get the interesting perspectives of our international team of short story fans! (We also highly encourage you to check out the long list of short story nominees for The Nommos). We hope you enjoy the episode!

Blog Posts

Bedtime Stories: Sing to the Moon

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Bedtime Stories highlights Children’s Books with a diverse, global perspective. For one little Ugandan boy, no wish is too big. First he dreams of reaching the stars and then of riding a supernova straight to Mars! But on a rain day at his grandfather’s house, he is brought down to earth with a bump. Do adventures only happen in galaxies far away or can he find magic a little closer to home? Sing to the Moon is the second book written by Nansubuga Nagadya Isdahl and illustrated by Sandra van Doorn that I have reviewed for this column and I instantly fell in love again with the sublime partnership between Isdahl’s gentle rhymes and van Doorn’s dreamlike illustrations.

SF in Translation, The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

Speculative Fiction in Translation #9: Co-Hosts and Anthologies

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https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SFiTEpisode9CoHostsAndAnthologies/Sfit-Episode9-Co-hostsAndAnthologies.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSThis month’s episode is especially exciting because Rachel has a co-host now! Daniel Haeusser is a professor of biology and regular Skiffy and Fanty contributor. You’ll also know him from the monthly short SFT reviews that he writes for the SFT website. This episode is much longer than usual, but also more interesting, and Rachel and Daniel talk about everything you need to know in the world of SFT, including the unusually-high number of anthologies out in September, the great variety of short fiction, and books/collections that they’re looking forward to. With new stories and books coming to our attention each week, make sure to check the SFT website for updates. Enjoy, and keep reading! A bientôt!

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