Poetry Book Review: The Thorn Key, by Jeana Jorgensen

It’s not a long collection, containing about 40 poems (some just a few lines, many several e-pages long), a foreword, a list of content warnings/triggers, a fascinating multi-page afterword, and an appendix that lists which fairy tales inspired which poems. I don’t necessarily recommend trying to read all the poems in one go, since that may blunt their edges and impacts, but rather reading a few per day, taking time to savor them.
806. R.S.A. Garcia (a.k.a. The Battle Cat) — The Nightward

https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/sand-f-806-rsagarcia/SandF_806_RSAGarcia.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSCoups, subtle language cues, and kitty killing machines, oh my! Shaun Duke and Daniel Haeusser are joined by R.S.A. Garcia to discuss her latest novel, The Nightward. Together, they explore the complicated politics of matriarchal societies, writing with subtlety, what makes giant cats so fascinating, and much more! Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy the episode!
804. Looking Back, Moving Forward (2024; 2025)

https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/sand-f-804-looking-back-moving-forward/SandF_804_LookingBackMovingForward.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSJoyful pasts, hopeful futures, and Dr. Doom, oh my! Shaun Duke, Trish Matson, Paul Weimer, and David Annandale join forces to share the things they loved in 2024 and the things they’re looking forward to in 2025! We discuss books, movies, geeky things, experiences, and much more! Plus, we share some announcements about the show! Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy the episode!
Review: Necrobane by Daniel M Ford

Some of the less than smart choices Aelis made in the first book, and in this book, really do come back on her. This is a book that is all about the consequences of personal actions, on scales ranging from Aelis’ health, to the fate of a friend, to the main plot, the wave of undead threatening the borderlands that she set in motion.
Book review: Motheater, by Linda H. Codega

This book did not go where I was expecting with the main plot, but I loved the twists and turns that it took. People with the best of intentions can be blind to the harm they’re storing up for the future, and anyone can make promises that end up being derailed by events beyond their control…
Comics Review: DIE Volume 1 – 4

Although graphic novels and books sold well overall during the pandemic, with comic shops and book stores closed, discoverability and conversations around new books took a hit. Some amazing work was released without the fanfare it deserved. One of those was a remarkable 20-issue dark portal fantasy, since collected in four volumes. It asked what would happen if a group of teenagers was transported to the world of their table-top roleplaying game – and what would happened if, twenty-five years later, as traumatized, broken adults, they had to go back.
Let’s take a look at DIE.