Book Review: Just One Damned Thing After Another (Chronicles of St. Mary’s Book 1) by Jodi Taylor

Just One Damned Thing After Another (Chronicles of St. Mary’s Book 1) by Jodi Taylor. Night Shade, 2016. 9781597808682. 348pp. My friend Karen sent me this time-travel novel, and it was delightful! It’s a quick, non-technical sort of science fiction […]
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Book Review: Radiant Star by Ann Leckie

Radiant Star by Ann Leckie. Orbit, 2026. 978-0316290357. 336pp. I love Leckie’s books set in the Imperial Radch universe. They scratch the itch in my brain for Le Guin’s worldbuilding and, in some ways, the everyday weirdness of Philip K. […]
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Comic Collection Review: Forces of Nature: A Book Of Drawings by Edward Steed

Forces of Nature: A Book Of Drawings by Edward Steed. Drawn and Quarterly, 2024. 9781770466982. 184pp. I’m not sure I’ve ever done this, but I take issue with the subtitle. This is a book of single-panel comics! They’re drawings, sure, […]
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Book Review: The Tainted Cup (Shadow of the Leviathan Book 1) by Robert Jackson Bennett

The Tainted Cup (Shadow of the Leviathan Book 1) by Robert Jackson Bennett. Del Rey, 2024. 978-1984820716. 432pp. The book opens with a gruesome death. It turns out to be a murder, which leads to the discovery of what is […]
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Novella Review: Outside The Gates by Molly Gloss

Outside The Gates by Molly Gloss. Saga Press, 2019. 9781534414976. 128pp. “The best first novel I’ve seen in years.” — Ursula K. Le Guin I came across a copy of this novella in a bookstore and had to it when […]
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Graphic Novel Review: Smoking Kills by Thijis Desmet

Smoking Kills by Thijis Desmet. Translated by Trace Demon and Gryla Skullking. F.U. Press / Fantagraphics, 2023. 9781683969150. 166pp. Two dead dudes hang out. The ghost smokes. The skeleton guy can’t quite face the fact that he’s dead. They wander […]
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Graphic Novel Review: Endsickness by Sofia Alarcon

Endsickness by Sofia Alarcon. Conundrum, 2025. 9781772621075. 148pp. This book features eight short comics by Alarcon about “climate change and eco-anxiety” (says the back cover). “Positive Thinking” opens with just that, but then becomes a fantasy about leaving everything behind. […]
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Graphic Novel Review: Family Force V Book One by Matt Braly and Ainsworth Lin

Family Force V Book One by Matt Braly and Ainsworth Lin. Skybound / Image, 2025. 9781534340336. 232pp. Publisher’s Rating: Ages 12+ This is a cross between Power Rangers and the Fantastic Four. A family of superheroes in colorful costumes — […]
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Graphic Novel Review: Simplicity: A Novel by Matty Lubchansky

Simplicity: A Novel by Matty Lubchansky. Pantheon, 2025. 9780593701126. 272pp. Here’s the book’s full title on the title page: In the Land of…Simplicity: A Novel. An Account Of The Unusual Peoples Of The Former United States & A Sojourn Through […]
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Graphic Novel Review: Lucas Wars by Laurent Hopman and Renaud Roche

Lucas Wars by Laurent Hopman and Renaud Roche. Translated by Jeremy Melloul. 23rd St., 2025. 9781250367402. 186pp. Includes a detailed bibliography plus a portfolio, commentary, and a few pages of notes on Roche’s creative process from roughs to finished pages. […]
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