The World We Make by Matthew S. Cox

Cox fuses the frontier narratives of the Old West with technological and social fragments from the Twenty-First Century and the possible longer-term effects of nuclear war, creating a plausible portrayal of a real post-apocalyptic settlement. This novel is the sixth in the Evergreen series. Risk of spoiler contamination beyond this point. In the year since …

Squeed

On of the (few) advantages to the Covid-19 restrictions—apart from the obvious one of reducing spread—is an acceleration in various venues embracing online exhibitions and performances. Rather than being limited to seeing things that come to Bristol and a few things I made an significant effort to travel to another place to see, I can …

Lisha of Kachine by Jordan Elizabeth

Elizabeth blends the issues of uncertainty and social pressure common to most young people with broader questions of the legitimacy of regime change, creating fantasy that focuses strongly on character without losing the feeling of heroic significance that many fans crave. This is the second book in Elizabeth’s Serpent Riders series. Possible spoilers ahead. Princess …

Muffin It Up

Over the weekend I had a startling revelation about how the misperception of technology makes the ineffective seem deliberate. On Saturday, I noticed an email in my spam folder that seemed almost identical to one I'd received and deleted on Friday. Obviously, I didn't feel the need to read the same information twice but I …

Old Magic by Chris Lowry

Lowry adds a spattering of actual magic to the soft edge of civilisation that is the modern US West, creating an novel that is both police investigation and gritty fantasy. When US Government sealed the First Nations away on reservations, they sealed magic away with them, so well that most people don’t even realise it …

Reckoning by Ken Preston

Stripping any trace of glamour from the trope of a parent targeted by a brutal conspiracy, Preston asks not just how far someone might go for their family but what that might cost. After her husband and youngest son were murdered in a burglary gone wrong, Maddie moved to a small Scottish island with her …

Jumping the Stress

In the United Kingdom (and other places) Covid-19 restrictions are easing. However, we aren't in the better world yet; and even when we are, the impacts of the last many months are likely to linger. So, if you are feeling less than ideal, you are not wrong. The way to clear that cruft is potentially …

Cirsova Magazine of Thrilling Adventure and Daring Suspense, Volume 2 #6, ed. P. Alexander

Alexander draws together several modern works of science-fiction and fantasy that are likely to appeal to fans of action over contemplation. This magazine contains three complete stories, the opening parts of two ongoing works, and a section of epic poetry, each evoking the feel of classic pulp fiction. The Artomique Paradigm (Part 1 of 3) …

Touching Joy

The world is decidedly imperfect but also joyously beautiful. Like most people, I do not exist in constant conscious awareness of that beauty, but reminders surround me, reaching out—sometimes more literally than others. Severed at the wrist yet still reaching toward the audience, echoing the many Classical marble hands exhibited across Europe, this sculpture evoked …

Evil’s Whisper by Jordan Elizabeth

Elizabeth mixes enduring fantasy tropes with engaging details, creating a tale that displays the intimacy of personal struggle and the scope of an epic quest. Like all women in Juniper City, Sabiya is a second-class citizen. Hoping for a better life—or at least some excitement to balance the servitude—she slips into the wilderness, only to …