RaveThe Washington Independent Review of Books... groundbreaking ... The raw beauty of each individual poem — and the entire book — is stunning and absolutely confident in its structural integrity.
Peng Shepherd
PositiveTor.comThe Cartographers is a strong and original addition to the dark academia sub-genre, which spans fantasy, gothic literature, horror, thrillers, and speculative fiction ... The Cartographers teems with delicious dark academia standbys ... The book’s pacing is strong, even as Shepherd deals with two different narrative timelines with an ensemble cast of characters. I genuinely did not want to put it down, even if the ending got a bit tangled up in itself, then inexplicably segues into wrapping up a little too neatly. However, the entire premise is bit of a Gordian knot and the book is so entertaining, engaging, and at times chilling, even when the plot veers toward the ridiculous, so a slightly weak ending can absolutely be forgiven ... Shepherd’s strength lives in the foundational concept of her magical world making, which is that maps, old and new, shape the landscapes in the world and also our understanding of the all realities.
Derrick Austin
RaveWashington Independent Review of BooksEach poem is exquisitely crafted, made up of delicious imagery, wry humor, and contemplative observations, but their centers hold a queer Black man’s rebellion and reclamation ... some truly stunning, sometimes shocking verse ... Austin powerfully deconstructs homophobia and gender throughout, often using his speaker’s love of finery and art to frame the oppression of patriarchal masculinity.
Joanne M Harris
PositiveTor.comHarris constructs a magical universe, called the Nine Worlds and ruled by the insect-like Fae Silken Folk, as intricate as the beehives internal lives and delicate hexagonal walls ... Honeycomb is comprised of mostly two-to-three page stories that begin as if wholly separate beings and as the book continues on, we see a cast of complicated, beautiful, and terrible recurring characters, all centering around the Lacewing King as we follow him on his adventures and his own complicated emotional maturity throughout his life of near immortality. Amplifying the book’s magic even more are the illustrations of Charles Vess, who never ceases to delight fantasy lovers with his whimsical, flowing art ... a book to savor slowly at first, as the individual story chapters may be short but they are many and contain miniature worlds within themselves ... Harris creates her own mythology with the humans, who though the Silken Folk do not interfere with their daily lives, still make impetuous and ill-thought out actions that lead to their own, or another’s, undoing. In that, they are the cautionary folk tales and stories that warn humans of the worst excesses of their own natures if left unchecked. She also often embeds the tales involving the human folk and animals with a humor that keeps some of the darker aspects of Harris’s Nine Worlds and its inhabitants’ darkest aspects, such as constant war, theft, and torture.
Brenda Peynado
MixedTor.com... a short-story collection that bounces around genres such as speculative fiction, science fiction and straight fiction, will definitely leave you deeply unsettled, though perhaps not always in a good way. Peynado’s is a gifted, imaginative writer and I admit I was prepared to be blown away after reading the book’s introductory story ... Peynado displays...brutal class disparity perfectly. Strangely, the two straight science-fiction stories in the collection, though solid, were not as compelling ... The Rock Eaters lacks a cohesiveness to help ground the reader in Peynado’s world. Whether by intention or accident, the stories’ broad sweep through different genres jostles you unnecessarily and keeps you from settling more deeply into what continually promised to be a truly stunning debut collection. Still, many of stories are engaging and original, so while not a knock-it-out-of-the-park victory, it is still a success.
Rebecca Roanhorse
RaveTor.comRebecca Roanhorse captivates once again ... Roanhorse creates a unique mythology and builds a world at once recognizable and new, a breath of fresh air for all fantasy lovers, especially those who recognize that not all fantasy worlds are rooted in European-esque landscapes and harken back to the Celts ... Black Sun thrives with magic and culture that harkens back to great empires such as the Aztec and Mayan. I can see the red rock walls of my own beloved home of New Mexico ... I welcome Black Sun with open arms, as I hope you do, as well.
Samanta Schweblin, trans. by Megan McDowell
RaveTor.comAlready a master at a creating that slow-closing-in horror with her debut novel, Fever Dream, Schweblin’s new novel, Little Eyes, turns her unnerving style a notch tighter ... Schweblin unveils the hidden horror of our own imaginations and our private spaces deftly and chillingly. I can’t help but think of all the many horrifying stories of racist hacker attacks who bomb Zoom conference calls at a time when that is how many of us can attend classes, social events, and work meetings. The technology, which seemed such a savior not two months ago, now lays splayed like an open wound on the web ... a brilliant, anxiety-provoking novel in a time where our anxiety, personally and societally, is at an all-time high. It is perhaps the novel we both need and deserve, and though it may take courage to pick it up, it is important we do so.
