Speculative Fiction – Page 129

The Organ Trail

The Hunger by Alma Katsu

February 7, 2020 by Caesar's Wife 3 Comments

I got sucked into buying this book by the pull quote from Stephen King, but it did not even slightly live up to the hype. The Hunger is a ‘historical fiction’ retelling of the doomed journey of The Donner Party across wild unsettled America which, as is widely known, ended in survival cannibalism. There is so much to tell in that story alone. Who were these people? Who crumbled first and why? How were those who were sacrificed to feed the others chosen? What happened […]

Took me a bit to settle into but then I was entertained by this sequel

Vengeful by V.E. Schwab

February 7, 2020 by Dome'Loki Leave a Comment

V.E. (Victoria) Schwab has become one of my favorite authors since I found her with the 2015 release of A Darker Shade of Magic. When the sequel came out, I expressed my love for the first book to the bookseller ringing me up, they asked if I had read Vicious yet, I had not. Vicious was my introduction to Schwab outside of the DSoM series. Shortly thereafter I devoured her YA “Monsters of Verity” duology, and in the past year read the first in her middle […]

“One of them says, ‘Why did they do it?’ And the other answers, ‘Because they could.’ That is the only answer there ever is.”

The Power by Naomi Alderman

February 3, 2020 by narfna 3 Comments

I will not let this book ruin my review streak. I finished it last week and have just been sitting on a final rating and review because I wasn’t sure what I thought of it when I finished it, and I’m still not really sure now, but I don’t think waiting any more will help. Maybe typing up my thoughts will help solidify some things. I’m a little behind the times with this one. It was a big deal a couple of years ago, but […]

The fridged women speak.

The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente

January 29, 2020 by narfna Leave a Comment

The Refrigerator Monologues is a feminist response to the way women are treated in superhero comics. It’s a short read, a novella really, at only 147 pages, but it packs a punch. Riffing on both the stage play The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler, and Gail Simone’s website Women in Refrigerators (which coined the term “fridging” for any female character who dies in order to further the plotline or character arc of a man), Valente’s book features six women whose lives were reduced to subplots […]

The incredible ending to one of the greatest modern speculative fiction stories

Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons

January 25, 2020 by MarkAbaddon Leave a Comment

Sticking the landing is difficult in stories. Hyperion built up so many mysteries and threw so much at the reader, it would take a monumental achievement to have a satisfying conclusion. Dan Simmons accomplished that ending so beautifully that even an East German judge would score it a 10 (kids, ask your parents to explain that, if necessary). There are so many disparate stories in this book that are woven together: the pilgrims on their way to the Shrike to either have their one wish […]

A whole lot of Christie short stories

The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories by Agatha Christie

Three Blind Mice and Other Stories by Agatha Christie

Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories by Agatha Christie

January 20, 2020 by Aquillia 3 Comments

Recently, my husband went away for work for a few days, and I treated myself to a puzzle and took full advantage of my Scribd subscription. After a while, I wanted a break from fantasy and also wanted something that didn’t involve too much thinking, so I returned to one of my old comfort reads: Agatha Christie. I’ve read and re-read most of the novels, so now I turned to her short stories collections. Some of them I had read before, some I recognized from […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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