Category: book review

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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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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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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The Dragonfly Gambit by A.D. Sui. Neon Hemlock, 2024. 9781952086793. 134pp. Inez should have been the greatest pilot of the Rule. But she was severely injured and discharged from service; her co-pilot (and now former lover) Kaya became the empire’s […]
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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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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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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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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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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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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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