The Observologist: A Handbook for Mounting Very Small Scientific Expeditions by Giselle Clarkson. Gecko Press, 2023. 978177657190. 120pp. Includes an index, a final exam, and a certificate of completion in the back, plus a Where Is Waldo? element that you […]
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Author: Gene Ambaum
Fiction Review: Scion by James Islington
Scion by James Islington. S&S / Saga Press, 2026. 9781668239247. 240pp. Azure is a gene-boosted agent of the Keres. Mostly he’s contracted to assassinate lifers — those who can afford the drugs needed to keep them young forever. (Those on […]
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Graphic Novel Review: Murder School by Paul B. Rainey
Murder School by Paul B. Rainey. Drawn & Quarterly, 2026. 9781770468603. 216pp. Yesterday was a perfect day. I was looking for a reason to avoid work on a project, and I arrived home to find a review copy of […]
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Graphic Novel Review: Fire Power Book One by Robert Kirkman and Chris Samnee
Fire Power Book One by Robert Kirkman and Chris Samnee. Image, 2022. 9781534322073. 448pp. Includes Fire Power Prelude and issues #1-12. The book opens with Owen Johnson climbing through the snow to find the lost Temple of the Flaming Fist […]
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Graphic Nonfiction Review: Poking the Squid: What We Can Learn From Animal Sex by Perrin Roosevelt Ireland
Poking the Squid: What We Can Learn From Animal Sex by Perrin Roosevelt Ireland. W.W. Norton, 2026. 978132408904. 272pp. Ireland, along with cats Pudge and Ursala, takes readers on a graphic tour of the amazing sex lives of animals. She […]
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Novel Review: Backwater by James Sallis
Backwater by James Sallis. Soho, 2026. 9781641298599. 208pp. I love short crime novels, and I love those written by James Sallis. He was a poet who created characters by sharing moments from their lives, whose books often move suddenly and […]
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Picture Books!
Monkeypig by Huw Aaron. Viking, 2026. 9798217039159. Molly (a pig) lives in the jungle with a bunch of monkeys. No one notices she’s different. But then the head monkey calls a meeting, announces there’s an imposter among them, and sets […]
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Picture Books!
Unicorns in Uniforms by Beth Ferry & A.N. Kang. Simon & Schuster Book for Young Readers, 2026. 9781665975421. Unicorns run the village square at a magical place in the forest. They seem to do all the jobs, and they even […]
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Guest Picture Book Review: Fly, Mama, Fly! by Anna McGregor
Fly, Mama, Fly! by Anna McGregor. Scribble US, 2025. 9781964992143. Guest review by Julie Strange This absolutely gorgeous board book will make snuggling up with your toddler or preschooler all the more dreamy and wonderful. Printed with special neon ink, you’re […]
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Graphic Novel Review: The Girl Who Raised The Dead by Kawashima Norikazu
The Girl Who Raised The Dead by Kawashima Norikazu. English Translation by Ryan Holmberg. Smudge / Living the Line, 2028. (Original © 1987). 9781961581134. 204pp. Contains an essay titled “Magical Girls and the Occult in Postwar Japan” by Tanaka Hirokazu, […]
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