‘Diavola’ Family drama with all of its undercurrents and toxicity is not a new concept for a book, but mixing that particular brand of unsettling anxiety with the slow dread of a deliciously gothic haunted house story is so much fun. Jennifer Thorne is at the top of her game
Read More →‘An Education in Malice’ Is it weird that I wish I had been sent away to boarding school? I’ve read so many books about people having strange and fantastic adventures when sent to some gothic revival mansion in the deep woods, I feel like I missed something important at my
Read More →‘The Parliament’ I’m a huge fan of parallel stories — books that flutter back and forth between two worlds, two people’s lives, or the past and the future. Here, in this gorgeous, deliciously dark modern fairy tale, the author gives us two stories in one in the best way —
Read More →‘Martyr!’ There’s something special about reading a debut novel. When that author is a beloved poet, however, I get a little worried. Poetry in long form doesn’t always translate well, and sometimes substance gets lost in a whirl of words. I shouldn’t have worried. Akbar has a true gift in
Read More →‘The Iliad’ If you are shuddering from echoes of long, boring classes back in school, stick with me for a few minutes. I promise, there is more to the classics than difficult-to-pronounce names and indecipherable writing. In fact, this is a deeply complex, layered tale with themes as fresh today
Read More →‘A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through?’ One of the many common rebuttals to the idea of humanity expanding beyond our ailing, brink-of-climate-disaster of a planet is that there are other problems, right here, that need fixing before
Read More →‘Ink Blood Sister Scribe’ What do you like with your fall leaves and pumpkin spice? How about some dark family secrets, a couple of mysterious libraries, and a heavy dose of whimsical literary magic? I couldn’t ask for a better autumn, myself. Joanna and Esther are sisters estranged by a
Read More →‘The Mimicking of Known Successes’ I make an effort each month to review books with wide appeal, stories most people could read and enjoy. That said, this one is a little niche, but I can’t help myself. I loved it! I’ve read it twice and feel compelled to share. It
Read More →‘Medusa’s Sisters’ There are a lot of successful books out there that take classic stories and spin them around, showing the villain’s side of a fairy tale, for example, or reframing the hero into something completely different. The recent wave of mythological fiction has drudged up a twist on this
Read More →‘Camp Damascus’ Dr. Chuck Tingle is beloved for many reasons, not the least of which is his unapologetic, boundless support for all types of people — especially those who go against the grain. While his self-published stories have become viral memes dozens of times over the years, now Dr. Tingle
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