Book Review: A Quill Ladder by Jennifer Ellis (with an Interview)
For my May contribution to this year’s focus on female writers, I wanted to feature two young adult SciFi/Fantasy titles written by women authors whose work I enjoy and initially discovered by happenstance: Jennifer Ellis and Frances Hardinge. Even if you don’t typically read YA, you certainly know some children or young adults who are looking for good reads in the genre, and both of these writers deserve plenty of appreciation. First up for this post is Jennifer Ellis. Ellis is an indie author from Canada who writes both middle-grade science fiction/fantasy novels and adult dystopic novels featuring elements of adventure, romance, and environmental themes. I discovered her work through a Goodreads giveaway listing for her adult novel In the Shadows of the Mosquito Constellation. It looked potentially interesting to me, but looking at her website and blog really sold me on taking the time to check out the novel. Though I didn’t win the giveaway, I was able to get an electronic version directly from her; immediately upon starting it, I was drawn in and impressed through the end.
The April 2015 Read List: What You Read and Loved
Last week, I asked for listeners/readers to share their favorite reads from April 2015. The following is a reading list comprised of those favorite reads. Do with this mystical knowledge what you will! Novels: Fool’s Assassin by Robin Hobb Edge of Dark by Brenda Cooper The Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin The Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler A Companion to Wolves by Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear The Boy Who Lost Fairyland by Catherynne M. Valente I, Robot by Isaac Asimov The Stars Seem So Far Away by Margrét Helgadottir Beasts of Tabat by Cat Rambo Last First Snow by Max Gladstone Short Stories: “The Shape of My Name” by Nino Cipri There you have it. It’s a small list, but we just started this fancy feature. I’ll put up a call for your favorite reads from May later this month! Now get reading!
269. Eric Choi (a.k.a. The Space Dragon) — An Interview at LonCon3
http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode269EricChoiAtLonCon3/SandF%20–%20Episode%20269%20–%20Eric%20Choi%20at%20LonCon3.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSHard SF, airplanes, and anthology masters, oh my! Eric Choi joined us at LonCon3 last year to discuss writing, his editing work (with Ben Bova, of all people), and much more! Plus, we learned a little bit about airplanes as they flew over us. We hope you enjoy the episode! Note: If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Here’s the episode (show notes are below): Episode 269 — Download (MP3) Show Notes:
The April 2015 Reading List: What were your favorite reads for April?
It’s time to create some reading lists! Once a month, we will post something just like this: a post asking about your favorite reads during a given month. At the end of the month, we’ll put together a reading list containing all of your selections. You can name any kind of book or short story you like, even if it’s not science fiction or fantasy. So with that in mind, here we go: What were your favorite reads for April 2015? Leave a comment 🙂
268. Eastern European and Baltic SF/F at LonCon3 w/ Michael Burianyk, Stanislaw Krawczyk, Irena Raseta, Ivaylo Shmilev, and Imants Belogrîvs
http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode268EasternEuropeanAndBalticSFFAtLonCon3/SandF%20–%20Episode%20268%20–%20Eastern%20European%20and%20Baltic%20SFF%20at%20LonCon3.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSLive from LonCon3 (and very late on our podcast feed): a panel on Eastern European and Baltic sf/f featuring the lovely voices of Michael Burianyk, Stanislaw Krawczyk, Irena Raseta, Ivaylo Shmilev, and Imants Belogrîvs! The panel description was as follows: In the Anglophone World, probably the best-known Eastern European science fiction and fantasy writers are Stanislas Lem and Karel Capek, and in recent years Zoran Zivkovic and Andrzej Sapkowski. But this region has produced many fine writers of fantastika. Which other writers should Anglophone readers be aware of? Our panel of writers and readers from Croatia, Poland, Bulgaria and Latvia will discuss current trends, perennial themes, and future hopes.
Book Review: Wildalone by Krassi Zourkova
Talented pianist and bright student Thea Slavin leaves the familiar confines of family and her Bulgarian homeland for the opportunity of study at prestigious Princeton University in the United States. Compounding the normal cultural shocks of studying abroad in an unfamiliar land, Thea discovers that she has chosen to accept an opportunity from the same school her older sister attended years past, an era mired in family secrets. Thea learns that this sister mysteriously died while at Princeton, leaving a hole in her parent’s lives about which they refuse to speak. Braving the discomfort that the unfamiliarity of the Princeton campus brings with its upper class American culture and distant memories of the embarrassing unsolved crime involving the elder Slavin daughter, Thea turns full focus to her piano/music studies and the strange draw a course in Greek mythology and its professor holds for her. As she tries to settle into her new life and avoid associations with the past history of her sister with the campus, Thea is pushed rapidly into preparing for major recitals and the prospects of college romances.
