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A Book By Its Cover: Head On by John Scalzi

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In this light and charming novel, we see a side of author John Scalzi that will surprise his readers — a sense of humor. The writer best known for works like the tragic, grimdark space opera, Old Man O’ War, about an artificially intelligent military starship confronting its own obsolescence, or the biochemistry-driven hard SF thriller Reagent to the Stars, which famously inspired Peter Watts to comment, “I couldn’t finish it. Too intense. And would it kill Scalzi to crack a joke once in a while?” isn’t a name that we usually associate with comedy. But I’m here to tell you, Scalzi can be funny. Who knew?

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Comics Review – a look at this year’s Hugo nominees

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The finalists for this year’s Hugo Awards were announced on March 31, and of course I was particularly interested in the Best Graphic Story category. While none of the works I suggested made it on to the final ballot, I’m very happy with the works that did. There’s a real breadth and diversity of both creators and subject matter that I found deeply heartening to see. So this month, I’m taking a closer look at each of the six nominees: Bitch Planet Volume 2: President Bitch; Black Bolt, Volume 1: Hard Time; Monstress, Volume 2: The Blood; My Favorite Thing is Monsters; Paper Girls, Volume 3; and Saga, Volume 7. (These reviews contain spoilers!)

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Book Review: Born to the Blade by Mike Underwood, Cassandra Khaw, Marie Brennan and Malka Older

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Imagine a place where diverse and very different polities come to meet, to trade, to conduct diplomacy, to intrigue. Amidst large and scheming powers in a world on the edge of conflict and war, this is a shining beacon, all alone in the night. Imagine a group of ambassadors who come to meet at this place. They have agendas, factions, goals, hopes, fears that they bring with them from across known space. And what they do will not only change their lives, but the destinies of worlds far beyond theirs. No, this is not Babylon 5*. For this place is a trio of islands in the sky; the diplomats and ambassadors are skilled with swords and blade-based magic. Welcome to the world of Serial Box’s latest serial, Born to the Blade.

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Book Review: Song and Key by Alix Bekins and Connie Bailey

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An adventure in the style of The Man From U.N.C.L.E, with a touch of paranormal and a healthy dose of easy sexuality, Song and Key is a fun romp through the countryside of Romania, following two secret agents on their mission to do their boss a favor. Alix Bekins and Connie Bailey partner up to write a classic secret-agents-on-a-mission book, easily read in a single afternoon.

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Book Review: The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

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In a secondary fantasy world inspired by early 20th Century China, a young woman’s determination and drive to succeed and excel at any cost runs into the horrors of war, conflict and ancient, suppressed forces in R. F. Kuang’s  excellent debut novel, The Poppy War.

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SF SF SF Review: Capricious Issue 9 – Gender Diverse Pronouns

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Capricious Issue 9 may have flown under your radar, but it shouldn’t have. Capricious is a speculative fiction magazine based out of New Zealand and edited by A.C. Buchanan, and Issue 9 is a special issue devoted to gender diverse pronouns, including singular they, common neopronouns (such as e/eir/em), and new pronoun sets created by the authors. I like that Buchanan chose the term “gender diverse” rather than “gender neutral,” since some of the stories in this issue feature more than two genders (which is awesome). The issue features a diverse array of genre tropes, and it spotlights two things I desperately want to see more of in SFF: inclusion of nonbinary gender identities, and experimentation and play with pronouns and gender systems. Here are my favorite stories:

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