Speculative Fiction – Page 81 – Cannonball Read 17

Another short story to fill the void between the super long ones!!

2BR02B by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

March 29, 2022 by kfishgirl Leave a Comment

I think I saw Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. and remembered back to high school where I read Fahrenheit 451 (not KVJr), Catcher in the Rye (not KVJr), and some other book that wasn’t written by him. I guess I just got them all mixed up in my head, so don’t yell at me. I’m not sure I’ve ever read a Kurt Vonnegut Jr. book now that I’m looking back? Anybody have any recommendations? Obviously I read this book, but it’s a short story, so a bit […]

The End Justifies the Means

Radicalized by Cory Doctorow

March 29, 2022 by Debcapsfan Leave a Comment

Radicalized by Cory Doctorow is four short stories turned into a novel. I checked this out from the library. The cover grabbed me, it is black and white with four red and black images, a piece of toast with a no sign marked through it, a person in a heroic pose with a cape trailing behind them, a pill with a hand reaching up through it, and a red skull on a black background. I enjoyed “Unauthorized Bread” about digital rights management. The heroine is […]

“We’re all just trying to be comfortable, and well fed, and unafraid.”

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

March 12, 2022 by faintingviolet 3 Comments

I cried far more often during this 147-page read than I’m strictly comfortable with, but the wise characters in this book would reassure me that my being comfortable with something isn’t a pre-requisite for it having worth. For the first third of this novella, we are with Sibling Dex getting a feel for them and the world they live in. Dex lives on the moon Panga where centuries before the robots of Panga gained self-awareness, laid down their tools, and recoiled from Factory life. They […]

Short story that needs a novel

Hush by Mary Anne Mohanraj

March 10, 2022 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Dear Mary Anne Mohanraj, your story Hush just blew me away! I have probably never read anything so short that threw me for such a loop. This story about a middle-aged mom coming home from a long trip as a flight attendant. She is “human” but not of a new world, not like her ancestors of Old Earth. But is she humane? This is tested the day she comes home to find her (alien) neighbors’ daughter (approximately 14-years-old) being harassed by the local authorities. Of course, you […]

If you ever wanted to hear LeVar Burton say the phrase “sweet and salty love”, then this is the collection for YOU!

The Visit by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

The Black Pages by Nnedi Okorafor

2043...A Merman I Should Turn to Be by Nisi Shawl

These Alien Skies by C.T. Rwizi

Clap Back by Nalo Hopkinson

We Travel the Spaceways by Victor LaValle

March 2, 2022 by andtheIToldYouSos Leave a Comment

You can hear LeVar say lots of other things, if you like! You can also hear Nyambi Nyambi, Naomi Ackie, Indya Moore, Adenrele Ojo, and Brian Tyree Henry! The six-entry Black Stars collection is another new(ish) group of short stories available from Amazon Originals. They are available on both kindle and through audible, and if you are interested in diving into this collection then I highly recommend taking the audio route! Every story is enhanced by the audio performances, and I am sure that I rated […]

What Happens After We Win?

The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson

February 28, 2022 by Ale Leave a Comment

I’ve come to love reading the author’s pages in books. If ever a new writer felt that they were the only one struggling with their manuscript, all they have to do is read the author’s note of their current favorite book to find out everyone struggles from the same issues. Sanderson, for all his prolific publishing, is not immune from writing troubles, as he plainly says in his author’s note from The Well of Ascension. The Mistborn books were his first series, and the issues […]

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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