Category: Science Fiction

Orchard Of The Tame by Marlo Meekins & Nick Cross

I go into lots of books blind nowadays, so I definitely wasn’t prepared for how powerful this book about surviving trauma and abuse would be. I was definitely lulled into a false sense of security by Nick Cross’ art, which deliberately hearkens back to animations of the early to mid 20th century, but that — …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/12/05/orchard-of-the-tame-by-marlo-meekins-nick-cross/

Gastronogeek Cult TV Cookbook by Thibaud Villanova & Mathilde Bourge

containing recipes inspired by 37 cult TV series. If you’ve ever wanted to try out the recipes featured in your favorite TV shows but are a little leery of unnecessarily complicated instructions, then this is definitely the cookbook for you! Taking cues from over thirty different fantasy/sci-fi/horror/nerdy series (and Breaking Bad, which I guess fulfils …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/12/04/gastronogeek-cult-tv-cookbook-by-thibaud-villanova-mathilde-bourge/

Brothers in Arms by Lois McMaster Bujold

Brothers in Arms by Lois McMaster Bujold

After two Vorkosigan books that are outliers in the larger series — Shards of Honor because it was the first; Ethan of Athos because it’s about an unusual planet — Brothers in Arms returns to what I think of as the main sequence of the saga: books about the life of Miles Vorkosigan. Brothers in …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/10/14/brothers-in-arms-by-lois-mcmaster-bujold/

The Helmet of Horror by Victor Pelevin

The Helmet of Horror by Victor Pelevin

What’s the difference between a very long online discussion and a labyrinth? What if the thread is started by someone called Ariadne? “I shall construct a labyrinth in which I can lose myself, together with anyone who tries to find me — who said this and about what?” (p. 1) What if the participants all say …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/10/13/the-helmet-of-horror-by-victor-pelevin/

And Go Like This by John Crowley

And Go Like This by John Crowley

And Go Like This collects nine works of Crowley’s shorter fiction that were originally published between 2002 and 2018, plus the final story “Anosognosia” — when a person cannot recognize that they have a disability because of an underlying condition — which was published for the first time in this volume. They range in length from …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/10/06/and-go-like-this-by-john-crowley/

UFO Mushroom Invasion by Shirakawa Marina

translated and edited by historian Ryan Holmberg as part of Smudge, “a line of vintage horror, occult, and dark fantasy manga”. Honestly, this was rad and creepy all at once. The original manga was published in 1976, and has been translated and repackaged here for English-speaking audiences, with illuminating essays and notes to boot. Shirakawa …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/09/30/ufo-mushroom-invasion-by-shirakawa-marina/

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

One of the things that science fiction writers have learned how to do in the 206 years since Frankenstein was first published is how to bring their readers along with the new elements of the world that they put into their stories. Most of the time, they take care to make the fantastic elements plausible …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/09/28/frankenstein-by-mary-shelley-2/

Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold

Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold

As the fortieth anniversary of its publication approaches, I suppose it’s fair to call Shards of Honor an old-fashioned space opera, although the series it kicked off is open-ended and its most recent work appeared just six years ago. Somehow I missed the Vorkosigan saga when it was becoming a big thing in science fiction …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/09/14/shards-of-honor-by-lois-mcmaster-bujold/

Out Of The Drowning Deep by A.C. Wise

“Ooh, more please!” were my exact thoughts on finishing this remarkably dense and deliciously chewy novella. Many years into the future, the gods will reveal themselves on a planet called Bastion, upending faith and religion as humanity knows it forever. Gods are real and angels are real and demons are real, just perhaps not in …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/09/13/out-of-the-drowning-deep-by-a-c-wise/

Crypt Of The Moon Spider by Nathan Ballingrud

This novella is the first of a trilogy and I have Thoughts about that. As a reader, I love that there’s more of this story to be had, even as it’s satisfyingly complete as is. As a reviewer, I love that we’re bringing the novella back: I’m tired of slogging through 300+ page books that …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/09/03/crypt-of-the-moon-spider-by-nathan-ballingrud/