Speculative Fiction
Speculative fiction is a supergenre that encompasses a number of different types of fiction, from science fiction to fantasy to dystopian. The stories take place in a world different from our own. Speculative fiction knows no boundaries; there are no limits to what exists beyond the real world.
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Book Review: Flawless
Another reviewer called this short story "The Expanse meets Drag Race", and they aren't wrong. I'm just mad I didn't think of that first. :)
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Book Review: Midnight Blue-Light Special
What a ride! (Or should I say, what a run across the rooftops?) I loved InCryptid #1, Discount Armageddon, so I cracked into Midnight Blue-Light Special with high hopes.
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Book Review: The Games We’ve Played
Having moved around a lot in my life, I’m familiar with the wistful feeling that can hit as one carries their last box out of a familiar home.
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Book Review: Ship of Theseus
The author has not just written a book, he's crafted a transmedia storytelling experience. "Transmedia storytelling" can be defined as 'a technique of telling a story across multiple platforms and formats using current…
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Book Review: Travel by Bullet (The Dispatcher #3)
While Scalzi always does a great job of coming up with something really unusual for his characters to grapple with, he really outdid himself this time.
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Book Review: Playing With a Full Deck
Playing With a Full Deck: Stories of Hope in Hard Times: An Aces High, Jokers Wild Collection by O. E. Tearmann My rating: 5 of 5 stars Now and then, loyal readers of…
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Book Review: Lost Kingdom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars Laurel Black has created a fantasy tale with a nail-bitingly difficult and twisty quest, multi-faceted dual protagonists, and an impressive array of secondary characters. And, she believes…
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Book Review: Divinity 36
Divinity 36 by Gail Carriger My rating: 5 of 5 stars Is there anything more frustrating than enjoying the first book of a series, only to then find out that the rest of…
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Book Review: Ansible 15715
A story so powerful and horror-filled that I'm grateful it was only 21 pages. But it served its purpose by showing us the extreme downside of a technology that allows travel to other…
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Book Review: Discount Armageddon
The first book in the InCryptid series is also my first introduction to Seanan McGuire, and it's certainly not going to be the last book of hers I read. In fact, I can…
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Book Review: The Far Reaches Collection
The “Amazon Original Stories” series presents groups of short stories by a variety of authors that are, according to Amazon, “made to be binged, just like your favorite podcast or television show”.
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Book Review: Odds Against (Aces High, Jokers Wild Book 7)
I wouldn’t be conforming to acceptable standards if I wrote a review that recommended a different book. But in the spirit of the Wildcards, I am going to risk insubordination and do what…
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Book Review: On Earth as It Is on Television
If you set up two television screens side-by-side, then simultaneously watch National Lampoon's Vacation on one and Close Encounters of the Third Kind on the other, while snacking on a pound of crispy…
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Book Review: The Lathe of Heaven
My introduction to The Lathe of Heaven was through the 1980 WNET (public television) film starring Bruce Davison, Kevin Conway, and Margaret Avery. I was blown away by the concepts presented and immediately…
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Book Review: Tempus Fugit – The Engagement Ring
Bravely written in second person, past tense, Jules Pelarski’s The Engagement Ring addresses you, the reader, as the protagonist. You’ll be told what’s happening to you and what’s going on all around you…
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Book Review: Frontier
Told in a series of vignettes and interludes, the story begins in the future on a ruined, mostly-abandoned Earth. The sparse population that remains struggles to survive in spite of a corrupt justice…
- Anthology, Book Reviews, Dystopian, Fantasy, Poetry, Science Fiction, Short Stories, Speculative Fiction
Book Review: Bioluminescent: A Lunarpunk Anthology
I've highlighted my own standout tales. Your favorites will be your own to choose. Each story or poem has its own personality - the theme is often interpreted very loosely, which I like.
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Book Review: Follow The Lady
Future shades of Nine to Five! I think Dolly Parton would approve. This short revenge story packs a lot of punch and payback.
- Anthology, Book Reviews, Fantasy, Horror, LGBTQ+, Magical Realm, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction
Book Review: Clarity
Clarity by J. Scott Coatsworth My rating: 5 of 5 stars How much story can possibly be told in only 300 words? Quite a lot, actually. It’s no small feat to take a…
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Book Review: Callahan and Company: The Compleat Chronicles of the Crosstime Saloon
Many years ago I read all of the Callahan's stories, and enjoyed the witty wordplay and deadly puns. Recently I purchased this collection, thinking a re-read might be fun. And it was.
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Book Review: Fix the World
There's lots of ways to break the world, and plenty of diverse, interesting ways to fix it. There's twelve good examples in this engaging, enjoyable, extremely inclusive, joyously LBGTQ+ anthology
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Book Review: It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over
It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over My review title might sound flippant, but honestly? I was still deep in that blissful bookworm state of 'what happens next?' right up to the last pages…
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Book Review: Ready Player Two
Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline My rating: 3 of 5 stars I loved Ready Player One. It hit all the marks for me, so of course—like most fans—I had high expectations for…