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Babel: An Arcane History by R. F. Kuang

By John Folk-Williams

Babel An Arcane History

Babel, the new standalone novel by R.F. Kuang (author of the Poppy War trilogy), has the lengthy subtitle: or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution. It may seem strange to talk about violence, revolution and academic translators in one breath, but make no mistake, this is a compelling story […]

Filed Under: Fantasy Fiction Tagged With: alternate history, colonialism, empire, friendship, identity, language, power, R.F. Kuang, racism, revolution

The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope

By John Folk-Williams

The Monsters We Defy

Leslye Penelope takes us in the masterful The Monsters We Defy to 1925 Washington DC and its thriving but caste-bound African American elite community where spirits battle for souls. Though I could use the marketing labels (historical fantasy, romance, etc) to describe the story, The Monsters We Defy is so insightful and brilliant that conventional […]

Filed Under: Fantasy Fiction Tagged With: city, identity, Leslye Penelope, memory, souls, spirits, urban fantasy

Bliss Montage by Ling Ma

By John Folk-Williams

Bliss Montage

One of the things that makes Ling Ma’s stories in Bliss Montage so extraordinary is her ability to blend keen perceptions of human relationships with fantasy elements that somehow make the fantastic an intimate part of ordinary life. There is the house in “LA” the narrator shares with a hundred ex-boyfriends, the pickup date in […]

Filed Under: Fantasy Fiction, Short Fiction Tagged With: fantasy, identity, Ling Ma, love, memory, rebirth, relationships, self-worth

The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri

By John Folk-Williams

The Oleander Sword

In The Oleander Sword, the second novel of The Burning Kingdoms trilogy, Tasha Suri has produced an even more intensely involving and brilliant book than she did in The Jasmine Throne. That first novel richly explored the many selves and identities its characters had to adopt to survive as they strove to increase their power, […]

Filed Under: Fantasy Fiction, Great Series Read Project Tagged With: gods, identity, power, religion, sacrifice, sapphic love, South Asian fiction, Tasha Suri

Norstrilia by Cordwainer Smith

By John Folk-Williams

Norstrilia by Cordwainer Smith

Norstrilia (written as two short novels in the 1960s but not published as one until 1975 after the author’s death), is a unique masterpiece by Paul Linebarger who wrote under the name Cordwainer Smith. The story begins with an odd preface that throws the key elements of the book at you in the manner of […]

Filed Under: Vintage Science Fiction Tagged With: Cordwainer Smith, fable, identity, immortality, patriarchy, religion, slavery, social classes, telepathy, transhuman

Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse

By John Folk-Williams

Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse

Rebecca Roanhorse has created a stark fantasy world in the weird west of her powerful novella, Tread of Angels. From its brilliant opening, as a dark and violent wind blowing off a mountain called Abaddon storms into the grim town of Goetia and slams down Perdition Street into the Eden, its main den of gambling […]

Filed Under: Fantasy Fiction Tagged With: demons, fallen world, identity, inequality, memory, murder mystery, racism, Rebecca Roanhorse

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Something is struggling to be born in this damaged and inspiring world, and I believe science fiction and its speculative cousins are helping us figure out what it is. It’s pushing the imaginations of fiction writers to bend and twist familiar forms to try to capture the forces that are hurling us into a barely conceivable future. This blog is my small way of exploring the half-perceived … Read More about About

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A fine review - this book is next on my list: nerds of a feather, flock together: Review: Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh http://www.nerds-feather.com/2023/03/review-some-desperate-glory-by-emily.html?spref=tw

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Thanks for introducing me to another fine author: INFINITY GATE by M.R. Carey - Review https://booksbonesbuffy.com/2023/03/20/infinity-gate-by-m-r-carey-review/ via @tammy_sparks

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Sounds like an incredible book: Why You Need to Read: "Assassin of Reality" https://mistyaquavenatus.com/2023/03/18/why-you-need-to-read-assassin-of-reality/ via @AquaVenatus #scifi #sff

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