The glorious hellhole that was September is behind us. It wasn’t all bad, of course. We released some podcasts and some blog posts, and we’re pretty sure you liked at least some of them (:P). Here are the most popular posts and episodes from September 2017:
Eric Scott Fischl grabbed my attention in a big way recently with his harrowing debut novel Doctor Potter’s Medicine Show, and only tightened his grip on it with this follow-up. But once again, caveat lector. Just as its predecessor held considerable peril for sympathetic vomiters and those triggered by sexual violence, The Trials of Solomon Parker starts off with scenes of underground mine disaster so well-researched and vividly described that the claustrophobic or those living with PTSD might find it rough going. And then there’s that litany of other horrors, including domestic violence, that follows. Eek. Those who tough it out, though, have a reward in store for them that might even seem to carry a whiff of Kurt Vonnegut, or perhaps even Gene Wolfe, to it. For, like its predecessor, this is not merely a quality work of historical fiction. There’s Time Travel as well as copper in them thar hills!
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.
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.
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.
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:
