On reading: The Vegetarian by Han Kang

June 18, 2020June 5, 2020 Categories: Book Reviews · BooksTags: book review · Book Reviews · Deborah Smith · Han Kang · horror · on reading · South Korean literature · The VegetarianLeave a comment

Han Kang’s novel is a devastatingly quiet dive into power, abuse and a mind unravelling.

On reading: Wanderers by Chuck Wendig

June 11, 2020June 4, 2020 Categories: Book Reviews · BooksTags: book review · Book Reviews · Chuck Wendig · dystopian fiction · horror fiction · on reading · pandemic fiction · WanderersLeave a comment

Chuck Wendig brings us a scarily prescient masterpiece, that’s sure to find its place in the classic novel lists of the future.

On reading: My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

June 5, 2020June 5, 2020 Categories: Book Reviews · BooksTags: book recommendation · book review · Book Reviews · Grady Hendrix · horror · horror books · Horrorstör · on readingLeave a comment

Hendrix gives us a brilliant, smart ode to the ’80s, a tender coming-of-age story drenched in horror, with brilliant moments of comedy.

On writing reviews and on writing words

May 23, 2020 Categories: Book Reviews · Books · Thoughts · WritingTags: Afterland · Book Reviews · Chuck Wendig · Grady Hendrix · lauren beukes · negative reviews · streets · walking in tokyo · Wanderers · writing inspiration · writing reviews · writing wallpaperLeave a comment

On why I mostly talk about books I love, and on how new words are eeking out and what they’re eeking out to.

On reading: Coyote Songs by Gabino Iglesias

May 14, 2020May 14, 2020 Categories: Book Reviews · BooksTags: barrio noir · Book Reviews · books · Coyote Songs · gabino iglesias · horror · horror books · on readingLeave a comment

Iglesias’ brutal, beautiful Coyote Songs pulls no punches in a powerful look at life on the border.

On reading: The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

May 1, 2020May 1, 2020 Categories: Book Reviews · BooksTags: horror · horror books · on reading · Stephen Graham Jones · the only good indians2 Comments

A horrific, brutal, beautiful book, sure to hit the 2020 horror best-of lists.

On reading: Headcheese by Jess Hagemann

April 23, 2020April 22, 2020 Categories: Book Reviews · BooksTags: amputation · book review · Book Reviews · Chris Panatier · Headcheese · horror · Jess Hagemann · on readingLeave a comment

Hagemann’s novel is shocking, challenging and fascinating. A book that brilliantly blurs the lines between documentary and fiction.

The old bones of science fiction

April 17, 2020April 17, 2020 Categories: Book Reviews · Books · ThoughtsTags: classic science fiction · classic science fiction novels · dune · Frank Herbert · John Wyndham · Mary Doria Russell · neuromancer · Robert A Heinlein · science fiction · science fiction classics · strange in a strange land · The Chrysalids · top 5 science fiction books · top 5 science fiction classics · top 5 science fiction reads · William Gibson2 Comments

Going old skool with my top five science fiction classic novels.

On reading: Nevertheless She Persisted from Tor.com

April 16, 2020March 28, 2020 Categories: Book Reviews · BooksTags: Alyssa Wong · Amal El-Mohtar · book review · Brooke Bolander · Carrie Vaughn · Catherynne M. Valente · Charlie Jane Anders · flash fiction · Flash fiction project · Jo Walton · Kameron Hurley · Maria Dahvana Headley · Nevertheless she persisted · Nevertheless She Persisted: Flash Fiction Project · Nisi Shawl · on reading · seanan mcguire · tor.comLeave a comment

Nevertheless She Persisted: Flash Fiction Project is a brilliant collection of short doses of defiance.