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Cover Reveal: GABRIEL’S ROAD by Laura Anne Gilman

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Today at Skiffy and Fanty, we reveal the cover of the latest Devil’s West verse novel from Laura Anne Gilman, Gabriel’s Road. The Devil’s West series is an alternate magical history series involving an early 19th century American West where a being who everyone calls the Devil holds a large chunk of what we think of as the Louisiana Purchase. Neither Spain nor the burgeoning United States particularly appreciate his presence, and there are magical dangers within the Territory itself. That’s where the Left Hand of the Devil comes in. While the Devil generally remains in the town of Flood, he sends his Left Hand out on the Road to see to problems and to justice. Isobel, new to the role, is his latest Hand. Through The Cold Eye (an Endeavour Award winner and a Washington State Book Award finalist), Silver On the Road, and Red Waters Rising, Isobel is mentored by Gabriel Kasun, a man from the East whose destiny is entwined with Isobel’s and the Territory itself.

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Short Fiction Review: March 2019

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This past month, my three favorite stories all happened to be love stories. None of these stories are exactly typical or traditional love stories, which I think is the reason I liked them so much. “Green Glass: A Love Story” by E. Lily Yu feels like a fun romcom about the super-wealthy. It’s also a sharp critique of the 1%. It appears in If This Goes On, a new anthology edited by Cat Rambo. “Every Song Must End” by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam, which appears in Uncanny Magazine, is a moving, intelligent meditation on love, which centers around two polyamorous couples. “Octonet” by Keyan Bowes appears in Escape Pod and was part of Artemis Rising 5, an annual event put on by the Escape Artists podcast network featuring authors of marginalized genders and sexes. Although “Octonet” does include a lovely romance between two women, it’s mostly a love story about octopuses. If you agree octopuses are awesome, you’ve got to read this. If you haven’t yet realized how awesome octopuses are, you should also check this out.

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Book Review: THE CURIOSITY KILLERS by K.W. Taylor

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Years have passed since the second American Civil War split the nation in two, and physicist Edward Vere now devotes his time in the New British Empire to time travel technology, all while limited to the mostly Victorian-era technology that this portion of the former United States is permitted. During an experiment, a spacetime bridge opens between Vere and historic aviator Wilbur Wright, who is working with similar experiments in his own time. Perfecting the technology, Vere enters into a business partnership with historian Benoy Johnson. Together they start a time travel service for select individuals (references required), facilitating clients to go solve mysteries of the past as observers. However, there is a catch: upon returning, a client will be debriefed and then have their memory wiped to ensure that the technology or the ‘natural’ secrets of time do not spread to the public.

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Review: Civilization 6: Gathering Storm

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The Aztecs are sorely pressing Sweden, having taken a number of their cities. Greece is exploring, sending caravels across the wide ocean and making contact with the Phoenicians at Ugarit. The Arab-Chinese war is turning hot again. And the Zulu have asked the Phoenicians to join them in a glorious war against the Dutch. The Phoenicians politely have refused. Wait! This is not the latest Alternate History novel from Harry Turtledove. This is my latest game session of Civilization 6 using the latest expansion, Gathering Storm.  Civilization 6: Gathering Storm adds new a new gameplay format, civs, and mechanics to provide a Civilization game resonant with our climate change age.

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Book Review: Descendant of the Crane by Joan He

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Descendant of the Crane is a Chinese-inspired YA fantasy novel about politics, leadership and sacrifice. When the King of Yan dies suddenly, Hesina knows her father has been poisoned. In order to launch an official investigation, Hesina must take her place as the queen—no easy task when this involves gaining the approval of her mother. Plus, any ruler of the Kingdom of Yan faces a number of troubles. Whole villages are disappearing without a trace along the border, but Yan’s philosophy prevents the country from going to war. Within the capital there’s rumours that the soothsayers, the magic users who propped up the previous regime of profligate emperors, aren’t as dead as once thought, and neighbours begin to turn on each other. Hesina must somehow balance these concerns with her quest for the truth about her father’s death and her growing awareness of treachery from within her court.

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Book Review: Edges (Inverted Frontier, Book 1) by Linda Nagata

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Edges capably starts a new sequence of Inverted Frontier novels set in the far future universe that first made the reputation of its author, Linda Nagata. Back in the 1990s, Cyberpunk and nanotech and transhumanism had a boom of novels and idea exploration. The first wave of cyberpunk led by Neuromancer and its ilk was succeeded by novels that pushed the concept further, exploring the consequences of programmable matter, multiple lives across copies, virtual existences, and fantastic landscapes and settings across the Earth and beyond. From Kathleen Ann Goonan to Walter Jon Williams, a number of authors explored this space.

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