July 2022 archive

Asterix Omnibus #7 by Rene Goscinny & Albert Uderzo

ably translated from the French by Joe Johnson. This omnnibus collects brand new translations of three full Asterix tales, originally written in the 1970s: Asterix And The Soothsayer, Asterix In Corsica, and Asterix And Caesar’s Gifts. Perhaps most interestingly, it also includes an afterword by Alexander Simmons, writer and founder of Kids’ ComicCon, who addresses …

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Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky

I think Doug liked this one a lot more than I did. Lynesse Fourth Daughter is a princess who still believes in the old chivalric tales of courage and oaths. When the lands adjoining her mother’s Lanessite Empire are overrun by what the refugees refer to as demons, she chafes at the prevailing wisdom that …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/07/06/elder-race-by-adrian-tchaikovsky-2/

The Nightmare Brigade #2: Into the Woods by Franck Thilliez, Yomgui Dumont & Drac

ably translated from the original French by Joe Johnson. Now that the clunky but necessary exposition has been established in Volume 1, the creative team behind this series can more fully and poignantly explore the world they’ve built here in the follow-up volume. Esteban has discovered that he’s more than just an orphan discovered wandering …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/07/05/the-nightmare-brigade-2-into-the-woods-by-franck-thilliez-yomgui-dumont-drac/

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

Becky Chambers dedicates A Psalm for the Wild-Built to “anybody who could use a break,” and the novella is, on the whole, very restful. It’s not without conflict, but it is a break from the grim, from the horrible, and it shows people trying to be their best selves. That’s not easy, and one person’s …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/07/03/a-psalm-for-the-wild-built-by-becky-chambers/

Swords Against Wizardry by Fritz Leiber

Swords Against Wizardry by Fritz Leiber

Further into the adventures of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, Fritz Leiber tends toward longer stories. Swords Against Wizardry is mainly two tales, “Stardock” and “The Lords of Quarmall.” The other two in the volume, “In the Witch’s Tent” and “The Two Best Thieves in Lankhmar” are little more than stage directions setting up the …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/07/02/swords-against-wizardry-by-fritz-leiber/

Garden Of Earthly Bodies by Sally Oliver

I must say, the American title is much better than the painfully generic The Weight Of Loss this novel was saddled with across the pond. Garden Of Earthly Bodies at least hints at the speculative fiction plot contained within these pages. That plot is the story of Marianne, who is grieving the death of her …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/07/01/garden-of-earthly-bodies-by-sally-oliver/