A Book by its Cover: THE ADVENTURES OF TOM BOMBADIL by J.R.R. Tolkien
Joke column: “In recent years, several critics have argued that there would surely have been no Princess Bride or Secrets (Trials) of Mana if it weren’t for the pioneering neo-realist folk fantasy of Cather and Cummings combining as Tolkien.”
A Book by its Cover: SHARED by Sara Fields & Korey Mae Johnson
A Book by its Cover is a monthly joke column featuring a review based on the cover of a book and nothing else. Any similarities in our review to the actual book are purely coincidental and proof that we are awesome. You can find a true informational blurb about the novel and find a link for its purchase at Stormy Night Publications. Aiden Drake and Ignaz Lindwurm are the reigning tag-team champions of the Magical Wrestling Association holding the prestigious Xcaliber Belt and the Castlereagh Cumberbund. But their success has put a target on their shredded, oil-rubbed back with all the other magician/wrestler teams of the realm looking to topple them. The Abattoir quickly becomes the top contender as challengers. Consisting of Roderic Boucher and Theo “Meathook” McGuire, the Abattoir first annoy Aiden and Ignaz by raiding their lockers and stealing all their shirts, preventing them from being able to enter any of the pubs of the realm that post signs of “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service.” A confrontation between the two teams in the courtyard quickly leads to hurled vulgarities and spells. The Abattoir manage to hit Aiden and Ignaz with a curse that removes all their tattoos, severely weakening their ability to harness the Dragon fire they are known for. Unable to back away from this affront and challenge, Aiden and Ignaz agree to meet Roderic and Theo in the ring during the upcoming MWA Plunder in the Palace. But can they successfully defend their title without their full connection to the Dragons? Complicating matters even more, as their animosity escalates with the Abattoir leading up to the fight. Soon, the strong emotions and physicality fuel a raw, unbridled sexual energy that unites these enemies in an unexpected way. How will what these two pairs share together in the bed end up affecting the battle they must face in the ring? In this novel Fields and Johnson masterfully explore the ins and outs of sharing, mental and physical, with erotically charged prose sure to thrill the reader. The pair of authors share their strengths here as a literary tag team, with Fields’ sure-footed plotting and genre expertise balancing the lyricism and artistic depth of Nobel-winning poet Johnson. Human sharing (even with magic) involves the good and the bad, for better or for worse, and Shared covers that idea throughout. At the start the focus is mainly on the separate partnerships of Aiden and Ignaz, contrasting with the more S&M styles of Roderic and Theo. Gradually, the sharing begins to cross between these pairs, even in ways where their magical skills show signs of blending and going awry (one bout of sex literally lights a bed on fire and cuts sheets into strips, and one match in the ring has flaming butcher knives cutting into opponents. Through the sharing, however, each team becomes something more. Aiden & Ignaz discover passion and drives they never dared dream, while Roderic and Theo begin to learn some compassion and forgiveness. Even though the final match during the Plunder in the Palace demands a clear winner and a loser, Shared finds a way to give a happy ending to all its characters and for the fans of this series. A Book by its Cover is a monthly joke column featuring a review based on the cover of a book and nothing else. Any similarities in our review to the actual book are purely coincidental and proof that we are awesome. You can find a true informational blurb about the novel and find a link for its purchase at Stormy Night Publications.
A Book by its Cover: THE FAMILIAR by Leigh Bardugo
Joke review: “… the more highbrow reader will surely appreciate how Bardugo plays with a lighthearted Hegelian concept and complicates it within an esoteric historical fantasy plot…”
A Book by its Cover: DASHING THROUGH THE SNOWBIRDS by Donna Andrews
A Book by its Cover is a (renewed) quasi-monthly joke column featuring a review based on the cover and nothing else.
373. Voyage of the Rock Aliens (1984) — Torture Cinema #99
https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/sandf373voyageoftherockaliens/SandF_373_VoyageoftheRockAliens.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSUbiquitous tentacles, wholesome content, and riding his rainbow in the sky! Shaun Duke and Jen Zink break all the rules we arbitrarily set for Torture Cinema to discuss a film so beautiful and so bonkers bananapants that it might have fixed the 80s all on its own if it had only been popular enough! Together, they dig into the wild world of 1984’s Voyage of the Rock Aliens, from its wild musicality to its send off of 80s culture to its utterly wonky narrative and character decisions. This is one for the ages, folks. And it is pure. We hope you enjoy the episode!
Book Review: Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente
Catherynne Valente’s Space Opera combines a love of popular music, Eurovision and a space science fiction sensibility in the grand tradition set by novels like The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Decibel Jones and the Absolute Zeroes were once THE punk band in music. But a death, a breakup, a failed career as a soloist, and Decibel Jones’ post Absolute Zero career is in the toilet. Pity that now that the aliens have arrived, Decibel Jones is the last hope for humanity. The aliens have a test, you see, to determine if a species is worthy of joining the galactic family, or should be blasted into oblivion—whether they can perform decently at the Metagalactic Grand Prix, a song and performance contest that the galactic civilizations put on every year as a way to channel energies that once caused the galaxy to erupt in interstellar war.
