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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.

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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.

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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.

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Book review: The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf by Ambelin Kwaymullina

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As I mentioned back in June, whenever I attend a convention I always like to review something by one of the Guests of Honour. Last week my home con, Conflux, played host to Ambelin Kwaymullina, author of The Tribe series. The Tribe begins with The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf. An environmental catastrophe called The Reckoning has visited our world. 300 years on, society has reconfigured itself, striving to preserve the Balance with the natural world. However, some people argue the Balance is upset by the presence of individuals possessing special powers—those with the ability to heal, control the elements or see potential futures. These individuals are assessed and either granted an Exemption or deemed an Illegal and kept in Detention Camps.

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Guest Post: Stay With Your Story by Betsy Dornbusch

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Today on Skiffy and Fanty, Betsy Dornbusch, author of  the Books of the Seven Eyes trilogy and the soon-to-be-released The Silver Scar, talks to us about the books that influence us and how writers have to find their own stories. “Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold.” Most American readers will recognize that as a climactic line from The Outsiders by SE Hinton, which happens to be my favorite book. I met SE Hinton when she came to Oak Park Elementary in fourth grade. My recollection was that we talked about that book a lot and that she was nice enough, but also that her books were about teenagers, so they had nothing to do with me. My brothers were teenagers, and they were WAY older. Never mind that Nancy Drew was a teenager, and the Hardy Boys, and the older Pevensies, and really, when you get down to it, Frodo in his way. But as life goes, I didn’t actually read The Outsiders until 7th grade. Reading it changed me into a writer.

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COMICS REVIEW: Everything gets worse and it’s beautiful – Monstress Volume 3

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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 time out, I’m taking a look at a work that certainly isn’t exactly under everyone’s radar, but that most definitely deserves more attention, if only because of the eldritch abominations that’ll eat you alive if you don’t stay sharp — Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda’s Monstress Volume Three. (This review contains spoilers!)

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