Book Review: Metal from Heaven by August Clarke
It starts off as a novel interested in worker’s rights…and changes into a novel about anarchy and communes with the equivalent of a pirate town, as we watch Marney grow into who and what she is. It’s a novel that explores Marney’s power and disability, her toxic ability to manipulate Ichorite, that both poisons her and yet is also malleable to her magical power.
Death of the Author: A Novel, by Nnedi Okorafor
I love the vivid characters in it, the way they face their challenges, the fiercely exuberant explorations of personhood and choice and negotiating relationships, and the sheer joy of life apparent in how Okorafor plays with ideas.
Book Review: HOLLOW TONGUE by Eden Royce
… Known for her Southern Gothic horror writing, Royce writes with the same genre vibes in Hollow Tongue, but approaches the field in unexpected ways that emphasize the psychological horror of trauma and symbolism…
Book Review: Defying Doomsday, Edited by Tsana Dolichva & Holly Kench
“People with disability already live in a post-apocalyptic world.” – Robert Hoge This crowd-funded anthology of post-apocalyptic fiction showcases the theme of disabled or chronically-ill protagonists. Edited by Tsana Dolichva and Holly Kench, the collection features many Aussie female writers (though not exclusively) and names likely both familiar and new to speculative fiction readers. With all of its diversity in characters, apocalyptic setting, and featured disability/illness, Defying Doomday is remarkably consistent in tone and quality. Out of fifteen stories there is only one that failed for me, and that is completely due to personal taste. (I am done with giving stories in the second person a chance beyond two pages).
