March 2021 archive

Skyward Inn by Aliya Whiteley

The most rational part of my brain understands exactly what I’ve just experienced with this book, but every other part of me, the emotional, the lizard brain, the higher consciousness etc. is absolutely 100% going, “What the fuck did I just read?!” and not in a bad way either. Inspired by Daphne du Maurier’s Jamaica …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/03/19/skyward-inn-by-aliya-whiteley/

The Empress Of Salt And Fortune (The Singing Hills Cycle #1) by Nghi Vo

I’m so glad I managed to sneak in this novella between work assignments! It’s a swift read, tho the first few pages require the reader to make several quick adjustments as Nghi Vo drops us directly into her Asian-inspired milieu. It’s well worth it tho, as Ms Vo packs a whole lot more into this …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/03/17/the-empress-of-salt-and-fortune-the-singing-hills-cycle-1-by-nghi-vo/

Black Panther: Tales Of Wakanda edited by Jesse J. Holland

Being a comic book fan from way back, it’s often difficult for me to find prose-form entertainment featuring my beloved comic book characters that is as compelling as the comic book versions themselves. But I love what Titan Books does with its short story anthologies and, like much of America, I’ve been made a Black …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/03/16/black-panther-tales-of-wakanda-edited-by-jesse-j-holland/

All The Murmuring Bones by A.G. Slatter

So many times have I picked up a fantasy novel promising to be a modern fairy tale, only to be disappointed almost an equal amount of times by what I’ve just read. Nevertheless the allure persists. I’m fascinated by all myths and fairy tales, all these delightful archetypes and variations, but so few modern authors …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/03/15/all-the-murmuring-bones-by-a-g-slatter/

Der ewige Spießer by Ödön von Horváth

Ödön von Horváth was born in 1901 in what was then the Austro-Hungarian port city of Fiume and is now known as Rijeka, Croatia. His name and his family background reflect a Mitteleuropa that was thriving (at least for some people) when he was born, was damaged by the First World War, and practically destroyed …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/03/14/der-ewige-spieser-by-odon-von-horvath/

The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

I would like to think that Tolkien, if questioned about how he handles race in his tales, would say what Éomer says when confronted over his harsh words about Galadriel: “I spoke only as do all men in my land, and I would gladly learn better.” (The Two Towers, p. 37) For Éomer does learn, …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/03/13/the-return-of-the-king-by-j-r-r-tolkien/

The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey Into Dark Matter, Spacetime, And Dreams Deferred by Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

I want to like popular science, and am always pleasantly surprised on the rare occasions I do. I think that, to a large extent, my reading habits in this have been shaped by being a good textbook student. When I’m presented with nonfiction, I like to have things laid out to me systematically (as good …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/03/12/the-disordered-cosmos-a-journey-into-dark-matter-spacetime-and-dreams-deferred-by-chanda-prescod-weinstein/

Kickstarter Alert! Out Of The Darkness edited by Dan Coxon

We here at The Frumious Consortium are huge fans of Unsung Stories, one of the UK’s finest independent purveyors of speculative fiction, so we were super excited to find out about their upcoming project, Out Of The Darkness! OotD, edited by Dan Coxon, is an anthology of dark fantasy and horror fiction, raising awareness of …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/03/11/out-of-the-darkness-edited-by-dan-coxon-kickstarter/

Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales

This might be one of my favorite romance novels ever, never mind a YA romance. And that’s even with hating the guy around the beginning: he gets (a lot) better, and I’m really hoping the devil’s advocate nonsense is something he grows out of because, you know, he’s a teenager and it’s understandable, if certainly …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/03/09/perfect-on-paper-by-sophie-gonzales/

Wintering Out by Seamus Heaney

Wintering Out by Seamus Heaney

Wintering Out struck me as even more oblique than Door into the Dark, and I often struggled to see and hear what Heaney was connecting with. Not that they have to be something that I can find on first reading, or even second or third. Wintering Out has the first appearance of Tollund Man, a …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/03/07/wintering-out-by-seamus-heaney/