Snap! Criticism: An Introduction

Dan Hartland In his recent—and excellent—short book on Robert Holdstock’s Mythago Wood, Paul Kincaid writes of that novel’s worldbuilding that “we do not pass into the world of story, but rather story already occupies the real world.” In the Mythago Wood cycle, the fantastic is immanent in a world otherwise recognisably our own, rather than … Continue reading Snap! Criticism: An Introduction

Mistborn Era 2 in Retrospect

Alex Kingsley If you’re at all connected to the SFF world, you’ve probably heard that Brandon Sanderson just released The Lost Metal, which concludes the Mistborn Era 2 series, part of his fictional universe called the Cosmere. So what is the Cosmere, why does it have so many die-hard fans, and why is The Lost … Continue reading Mistborn Era 2 in Retrospect

Heaven Can Wait: A Review of Even Though I Knew the End

Heaven Can Wait: A Review of Even Though I Knew the End Jeremy Brett Under Review:Even Though I Knew the End. C.L. Polk. Tordotcom, November 2022. C.L. Polk’s fiction is deeply concerned with the societal, psychological, and personal costs of magic, and the ways in which magic and social inequalities interact. In her 3-novel Kingston … Continue reading Heaven Can Wait: A Review of Even Though I Knew the End

An Introduction to the Speculative Fiction of Percival Everett

Bren Ram In 2018, a French academic pulled me aside at a conference and asked if I thought Percival Everett was the most important novelist in America. I was surprised—I had only just heard of Everett that year, and while I was ravenously making my way through his prolific catalog of novels and short stories, … Continue reading An Introduction to the Speculative Fiction of Percival Everett

Fantastic Manners: A Guide to Mannerpunk

Misha Grifka Wander Urban fantasy, epic fantasy, sword and sorcery: there are plenty of well-known fantasy subgenres. But my favorite one seldom graces a bookstore sign. Mannerpunk is sometimes described as “Jane Austen with magic,” fantasy zoomed in to focus on conversation, status, etiquette, and intrigue. It’s interpersonal fantasy, the snide insult at court that … Continue reading Fantastic Manners: A Guide to Mannerpunk

I’ll Love You in This Space and Time: Review of The Memory Librarian and Other Stories of Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe

I’ll Love You in This Space and Time: Review of The Memory Librarian and Other Stories of Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe (with Alaya Dawn Johnson, Danny Lore, Eve L. Ewing, Yohanca Delgado, and Sheree Renée Thomas) Jeremy Brett Under Review: The Memory Librarian and Other Stories of Dirty Computer. Janelle Monáe. Harper Voyager, April … Continue reading I’ll Love You in This Space and Time: Review of The Memory Librarian and Other Stories of Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe

The SFF Librarian Reviews: Flowers for the Sea

SFF Librarian Reviews Jeremy Brett As a voracious reader, and as someone for whom science fiction and fantasy are part of my daily job as a science fiction librarian, I come across a lot of wonderful work in these genres. I love bringing to the attention of interested readers books and authors that bring me … Continue reading The SFF Librarian Reviews: Flowers for the Sea

The SFF Librarian Reviews: Light Chaser

The SFF Librarian Reviews: Dark Breakers by C.S.E. Cooney

ARB Guide to the ’21 Hugos: Results & Diagrams

As a conclusion to ARB’s series on the 2021 Hugos, I wanted to share a quick analysis on the results. That “quick analysis” turned into an extensive infographic-making project. My hope is that there are others who share my Venn diagram of “election/statistics/SF nerdery”. If you do, please enjoy the infographics below. First, a thumbnail … Continue reading ARB Guide to the ’21 Hugos: Results & Diagrams