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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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Anime Review: Darling in the Franxx

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Set in a post-apocalyptic future where humanity is driven to near extinction by war against giant beasts for the right to live on Earth, the anime Darling in the Franxx is a 2018 action-mecha-packed anime with serious messages about humanity. Adapted from the original Japanese manga with the same title, Darling in the Franxx not only has eye-catching artwork and animation style but a great story that makes you rethink humanity’s existence on Earth – deep, I know, and it sure opened my eyes. (Caution: Spoilers Ahead! Read at your own discretion)

A Wrinkle in Time Cover
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Retro Childhood Review: A Wrinkle in Time

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Life, with its rules, its obligations, and its freedoms, is like a sonnet: You’re given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself. I have a tendency to be somewhat contrary about my reading choices. If it seems that EVERYONE in the entire world really loves a thing, I take that as a sign that I shouldn’t bother reading it. It’s one of very few rebellions that I engage in and there’s so much in the world to read that I’ve never actively pushed back against this completely misguided tendency. However, it was this spark of defiance that resulted in me never picking up A Wrinkle in Time when I was precisely the age and the type of child that would have really loved and connected with it. But, you see, EVERYONE loved A Wrinkle in Time, even the popular girls who (in my mind) probably never ever read anything else because they were too busy doing their hair. And I was a NERD. I read comic books, played D&D, loved video games, had read the Hobbit when I was 8 and Lord of the Rings when I was 12, so if the popular girls liked the book then there was NO WAY that I would ever demean myself by picking it up. Look, I had issues, OK? However, that means that I am now reading A Wrinkle in Time for the first time and I’m really angry at myself for having stuck my nose up at it when I needed it.

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Guest Post: Tremontaine: Ending the Story By Racheline Maltese

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 Tremontaine, a serial fiction project set in the world of Ellen Kushner’s Swordspoint, is coming to the end. Racheline Maltese of the Tremontaine Creative Team gives her thoughts and reflections. After four seasons, Tremontaine, a serial fiction project set in the world of Ellen Kushner’s Swordspoint, is coming to the end. As someone who has worked on it since the beginning, since before it was even definitely a real thing, this is filled with feelings both of sadness and success.

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