Feb 12 2023
The Red Scholar’s Wake is, by turns, a romance, a meditation on loss, a political intrigue, a story of starfaring pirates, an examination of parenthood, and a tale of interplanetary adventure. That sounds like a lot, maybe too much for fewer than 300 pages, so let me look at it from a slightly different angle. …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/02/12/the-red-scholars-wake-by-aliette-de-bodard/
Feb 04 2023
Just write the fun parts. Take a science fiction premise — that evolution ran differently on an alternate earth giving rise to kaiju (Godzilla and company, I didn’t know the term before I had heard of this book) — and just write the fun parts. That’s The Kaiju Preservation Society. The parallel earths, two among presumably …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/02/04/the-kaiju-preservation-society-by-john-scalzi/
Jan 28 2023
Dave Hutchinson, like William Gibson, is an artiste of the slightly funny deal. They run all through Cold Water, and trying to figure out just who is running a caper on whom is one of the pleasures of the novel. Carey Tews, the novel’s main protagonist, is a Texan who’s been in Europe for decades …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/01/28/cold-water-by-dave-hutchinson/
Jan 20 2023
I’m so glad I finally found the time to get to this oldest book on my TBR-pile! I’ve had it there since it was nominated for a Hugo two years ago, but other deadlines pushed it aside till I finally had a moment this January to dive in. And oh, what a smart, elegant, emotional …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/01/20/the-space-between-worlds-by-micaiah-johnson/
Jan 04 2023
I literally have no idea who “Murr” is but apparently he’s super famous on the Internet, and I got to read this cool book by him and Carsen Smith! This middle grade novel features Viv Harlow, who’s about to graduate middle school and is super anxious about having one last perfect summer with her best …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/01/04/area-51-interns-1-alien-summer-by-james-s-murray-carsen-smith/
Jan 02 2023
Every Christmas, while the kids are exclaiming over toys and playing in relative harmony, I adopt benevolent mama pose and sit and read a Bad Machinery book while they giggle and coo (clearly romanticized, but if not now, when.) This year, I was so discombobulated by the book series’ change of format that I accidentally …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/01/02/the-case-of-the-forked-road-bad-machinery-7-by-john-allison/
Dec 30 2022
Time for some short takes to clear the desk for the coming year. Primeval and Other Times by Olga Tokarczuk. Nobel winner Tokarczuk uses very short chapters, each titled “The Time of …”, to depict life in an archetpyal Polish village from just before the outbreak of the First World War through the last years …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/12/30/wrapping-up-3/
Dec 12 2022
Minor disclaimer: Jadzia and I are friends via the Space Gnome Discord server. I was actually a little hesitant to read and review this because of our connection (which is dumb of me: I should always try to boost my friends!) but I’m super glad I finally found the time to. To all appearances, Taylor …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/12/12/galaxy-the-prettiest-star-by-jadzia-axelrod-jess-taylor/
Dec 10 2022
The Best of Connie Willis brings together her shorter works of fiction — short story, novelette and novella — that have won either the Hugo or Nebula award. That she could fill a full-sized collection exclusively with award-winners is a testament to her skill as a storyteller and to the regard science fiction fans and writers …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/12/10/the-best-of-connie-willis-by-connie-willis/
Nov 22 2022
Oh gosh, what an affecting middle grade graphic novel! Honestly, some of the most entertaining and moving writing out there today is in middle grade literature, and this title is absolutely part of those ranks. Everyday Hero Machine Boy starts out with an older couple, Mei and Goh, who are mostly in retirement from running …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/11/22/everyday-hero-machine-boy-by-irma-kniivila-tri-vuong/
Al Singh
Doug Merrill
Doreen Sheridan
Emily Lauer
John Pitzel
Lars N. Goldschlager
Laura Eilers
Professor X
Robert Maedgen
Sylvere Ap Leanan
The Shire