Book Review: Don’t Sleep with the Dead, by Nghi Vo (and The Chosen and the Beautiful, and more)
Don’t Sleep with the Dead … delivers some prose that make me sigh with delight and envy, as well as some passages that are harrowing with their intensity and dread.
814. The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip (1974) — Mining the Genre Asteroid
https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/sand-f-814-forgotten-beastsof-eld/SandF_814_ForgottenBeastsofEld.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSMythical boar, pastoral vibes, and wizards, oh my! Shaun Duke, Paul Weimer, and Trish Matson join forces to discuss Patricia A. McKillip’s 1974 fantasy novel, The Forgotten Beasts of Eld! Together, they tackle the novel’s examination of fairytales, the meaning and terror of controlling someone’s mind, and the destructive power of revenge, and much more! Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy the episode!
The Incandescent by Emily Tesh
It’s not that surprising to me that this perspective has been uncommon in fantasy, because the shininess of students learning magic is just so iconic and emblematic. But Tesh shows us that the space of teachers, adults, in a “magical school”, as front and center characters, is intensely interesting.
811. Darkly Lem (a.k.a. “The Council of Multiverse Affairs”) — Transmentation – Transience
https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/sand-f-811-darkly-lem/SandF_811_DarklyLem.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSMultiversal politics, plot armored captains, and flying whales, oh my! Shaun Duke and Daniel Haeusser are joined by Cadwell Turnbull and Craig Lincoln, two members of the writing collective, Darkly Lem! And they’re here to talk about their first Darkly Lem novel, Transmentation | Transience! We tackle the ins and outs of collaborative writing, bending and blending genres, spy narratives and multiverse premises, and much more! Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy the episode!
Short Fiction Review: January/February 2025
“My favorite stories from January and February look at conformity, assimilation, diversity, and connection from various angles.”
Book Review: Point of Hearts: A Novel of Astreiant, by Melissa Scott
It was an engrossing read; the characters continue to be fully engaging and the protagonists sympathetic (even though not always in agreement with each other), and the rich worldbuilding continues with interdepartmental squabbling providing insights into the politics.
