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Blog Posts

Behind the Scenes of the Clan Chronicles Take 3: The Science by Julie Czerneda (Guest Post)

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On a previous stop on my tour, I began answering readers’ questions about the series’ content. On another, about my writerly process. Last, and far from least, comes the group about the science beneath my work. For those unfamiliar, my background and passion is biology, plus space science, occasional physics, geology, chemistry…it’s all so FUN, there isn’t time in a life. A very good thing, therefore, that I write SF. Kimm asked, “I would like to hear which earth creatures you used to create various aliens in your world.” There isn’t time in a—let’s say, there’s been a few, but I’m delighted to share a couple you may not have spotted. What do Heterocephalus glazer (Naked Mole Rats) and Railroad “Worms” (Phrixothrix beetle larvae) have in common? The Oud. Oh, and my brain.

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Book Review: The Tiger’s Daughter by K Arsenault Rivera

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The relationship, told in letters and looking backward from the present, of two extraordinary women and their evolving relationship is the heart of The Tiger’s Daughter, the debut novel by K Arsenault Rivera. Far from the Great Wall of Europe, The Tiger’s Daughter uses models of medieval China and the steppe cultures beyond it as its social model, political models, and its fantastic and mythological elements as well. Shefali is a member of the Qorin, a warrior people of the steppe who have been powerful enough at times to severely threaten the more settled Hokkarans and their Empire. Inside that Empire, Shizuka is the niece of the Emperor, and so the putative Heir to that Empire. Brought together at a young age, their fateful meeting sets them both on courses that will part, intersect, and ultimately change both the steppe and the Empire in ways neither of them can predict, or even intend.

Torture Cinema Polls

Torture Cinema Poll: October Halloween Horror!

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It’s that time of year in which we all suddenly transform into witches, vampires, and goblins! Oh, who are we kidding? Some of us are ALWAYS witches, vampires, and goblins. But since we’re not allowed to go trick-or-treating anymore, because we’re adults, we have to review awful horror movies for a special Halloween release instead! These movies are probably more horrifying than candy corn pizza. Maybe. Honestly, candy corn pizza is probably the scariest thing we’ve seen this year. Your torture selection is from our specially curated list by David Annandale, so we’re sure they’re all hauntingly good. MUAHAHAHAHA! In conclusion: What’s the best way to get rid of a demon? Exorcise a lot.  

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Around the Podosphere #15: Podcasts of Note for 9/30/17

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We’re very late in getting this out. But starting a new semester as a teacher, getting a hurricane in your backyard, and desperately trying to get caught up on everything has a tendency to put you pretty behind on everything that isn’t work-related. But we’re back. Podcasts are still happening, and we’ve got plenty to share! Here we go:

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Book Review: Horizon by Fran Wilde

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The Compton Crook award-winning, Nebula-nominated Updraft by Fran Wilde landed her acclaim, accolades and a very fine YA novel to start the novel portion of her writing career. Focusing on a New Weird world above the cloud of flyers, skymouths and towers of bone, Updraft was one of the most memorable books I read in 2015. Cloudbound, which came out in 2016, took the world of the Bone Towers and its characters in new and intriguing directions. Somewhere in there, the series got a reboot of covers, too. Now, with Horizon, Fran Wilde completes the trilogy. After the revelations of Cloudbound, and the instability that the Bone Tower society has undergone after the events of Updraft, Horizon brings us to the ground, literally and figuratively, in this concluding volume. The three novels of the Bone Towers Trilogy have all done different things, and done them well. Updraft is a classic YA coming of age story with a strong central protagonist, unfolding and unfurling the wings of the author’s worldbuilding even as we have a deep dive into the personality, hopes, fears, dreams and struggles of Kirit. It would have been the easier, safer and perhaps more expected path for the author to continue the trilogy from Kirit’s point of view and go for a grand arc of Kirit’s story at the time of great change for her community.  Surely, I think, the author must have considered and contemplated that sort of path for her subsequent novels.

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Adorable lesbian werewolves in love: Moonstruck #1 and #2

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Welcome to the latest installment of my comics review column here at Skiffy & Fanty! Every month, I use this space to shine a spotlight on SF&F comics (print comics, graphic novels, and webcomics) that I believe deserve more attention from SF&F readers. This month, I’d like to focus on the first two issues of a new ongoing comics series, Moonstruck #1 and 2. (This review contains spoilers!)

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