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Book Review: Jade City by Fonda Lee

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In an alternate world where a small island carries both a magical material and the scions who can wield it, the aftermath of a world war that consumed and wrapped up even the island is a tricky and dangerous time.  The city of Janloon on the island of Kekon is a fraught place, with the clans that helped liberate the island kingdom from foreign occupation now the temporal behind-the-scenes powers that rule Janloon and the island of Kekon itself. After years of quiet small scale conflict, however, a change in leadership of the No Peak clan provides their stronger rival, the Mountain Clan, with a chance to push and push their advantage, to do to the No Peak what they have done to several of their smaller rivals already—to conquer it.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

At the Movies #67: Black Panther (2018) w/ Faridah Gbadamosi, Justina Ireland, and Brandon O’Brien

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https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/AtTheMovies67BlackPanther/AtTheMovies67–BlackPanther.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSWe know Black Panther has been out for a month, but we wanted to make sure you had a chance to see it at least two or three times before you listened to our amazing line-up of guests discuss the film. In this episode, Jen and Trish are joined by Faridah Gbadamosi, Justina Ireland, and Brandon O’Brien to discuss everything from how Black Panther deals with the African Diaspora, how Nakia and the rest of the women are always right, what kind of villain Killmonger is, how the film fits within the MCU, and as much other stuff as we could fit in (given how many important conversations that Ryan Coogler and his team managed to infuse Black Panther with). (Wakanda Forever!) We hope you enjoy the episode!

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Horror Review: Penny Reeve on Victor LaValle’s The Changeling

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“When you believe in things you don’t understand you suffer” Stevie Wonder’s words serve as the epitaph to Victor LaValle’s The Changeling; accurately summing up the ensuing 431 pages wherein we’re introduced to a genre-defying novel that mixes horror with the fantastic and monsters both real and imagined come a-knocking.

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Skiffy & Fanty Speculative Fiction Short Fiction Review, or SF SF SF Review: January/February

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Welcome to our newest review column! Skiffy & Fanty Speculative Fiction Short Fiction Review by our newest team member, Cameron Coulter!   It makes me really happy to write this: my favorite recent short stories are all either written by nonbinary authors and/or featuring nonbinary characters. I’m someone who has never been comfortable with masculinity, and I often wish we were more creative with gender in SF/F than we are. SF/F is a genre in which we literally make up new worlds, so there is plenty of opportunity to imagine people with alternate and/or no genders. Sure, there’s a few SF/F novels that are well known for the way they experiment with gender and pronouns, but I want more. Fortunately, I find that short fiction is somewhat ahead of the curve when it comes to diversity and inclusion. By my count, in the last two months, there have been at least six original short stories published in professional genre magazines that are either written by trans or nonbinary authors and/or featuring trans or nonbinary characters. Now, let the nonbinary party commence!

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Book Review: The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander

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Brooke Bolander jumps from stories to novellas with The Only Harmless Great Thing, her #Tordotcompublishing novella. The novella is a strongly affecting and moving story that proves that her emotional strengths in reaching an audience do translate from her short stories to novella length. Brooke Bolander first came to my literary attention with “Our Talons can crush Galaxies”, her Nebula and Hugo nominated story in Uncanny magazine that mixed Gods, revenge and a very sharp, short  package. When I heard that Bolander was writing a novella that was an alternate history that involved the radium girls, a part of history I only had the vaguest notions about, I was thus intrigued. What could and would the author do at novella length in an alternate history? I was not sure, but I wanted to find out.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

348. Rachel Hartman (a.k.a. The Ingenious Noblewoman): Tess of the Road

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https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode348RachelHartmanTessOfTheRoad/Sandf–Episode348–RachelHartmanTessOfTheRoad.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSBoots, La Mancha, and family dynamics, oh my! Rachel Hartman, author of the Seraphina Duology, joins Jen and Elizabeth to tell us all about the newest book in the world of Seraphina, Tess of the Road! They discuss everything from how stories define us, portrayals of consent (or lack thereof) in YA, how to balance trauma with hope, the invented language of the Quigutl, and so much more. This interview does contain some spoilers, but none which would ruin your enjoyment of either the Seraphina Duology or Tess of the Road. Bonus:  Jen gets her mind blown. We hope you enjoy the episode!

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