Scan barcode
arielmarkenjack's reviews
5 reviews
Sordidez by E.G. Condé
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The #sfnovellaofthemonth for July 2023 is Sordidez by E. G. Condé, forthcoming in August 2023 from Stelliform Press.
I cannot resist a book that manages the trick of being both beautiful and daring. E. G. Condé’s Taínofuturist novella Sordidez is a splendid example of what that trick can look like, and how inspiring it can be to read. At once a devastating look at the effects of climate catastrophe, colonial and civil oppression, and other disastrous influences on exploited and underserved countries and communities and a wildly inventive narrative of the endless potential of resourceful peoples who refuse to be wiped out (for more on this refusal, check out my recent interview with Condé in Interzone Digital), Sordidez is a startlingly ambitious and deceptively small book that covers so much ground it ends up feeling like something boundless and vast.
In Sordidez, E. G. Condé pulls together multiple narrative threads and perspectives to showcase such a wealth of ideas that the novella’s streamlined coherence seems improbable. It’s a testament to the author’s skill that, overall, this novella works. And not just works, but shines. If you enjoy reading beautifully written, delightfully original, and fiercely hopeful science fiction that not only holds but resolutely creates space for peoples and ideas all too often marginalized to the point of near extinction, I highly recommend giving Sordidez a go.
In Sordidez, E. G. Condé pulls together multiple narrative threads and perspectives to showcase such a wealth of ideas that the novella’s streamlined coherence seems improbable. It’s a testament to the author’s skill that, overall, this novella works. And not just works, but shines. If you enjoy reading beautifully written, delightfully original, and fiercely hopeful science fiction that not only holds but resolutely creates space for peoples and ideas all too often marginalized to the point of near extinction, I highly recommend giving Sordidez a go.
Agony's Lodestone by Laura Keating
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The #sfnovellaofthemonth for June 2023 is Agony's Lodestone by Laura Keating, published in April 2023 by Tenebrous Press.
A lot of the most effectively terrifying horror I have read comes from a place of engagement with the devastation of losing someone important. Agony's Lodestone is a perfect example of how frightening it is to contemplate the shape of life carved out by loss. Each of its central characters has, in their own way, lived their entire adult life around the hollow space where their lost sister, Joanne, once lived. The near-tangible presence of that hollow makes it uncommonly easy to believe in each character's choices--both before and after the present-day events of this shockingly eerie novella.
Contributing to the effectiveness of Agony's Lodestone is its beautifully immersive landscape. Keating's descriptions of the coastal New Brunswick setting provide just enough information for readers to easily picture--and smell--the mysterious, gorgeous, and uncanny backdrop to the adventure Joanne's siblings find themselves on when they set out to chase down a new clue about her long-ago disappearance. Agony's Lodestone offers atmosphere in spades, perfectly calibrated to serve the story without obscuring any of the plot's emotional impact.
Agony's Lodestone is quite a stunning exploration of things remembered, forgotten, and warped by guilt and grief. I thoroughly enjoyed this novella, and I recommend it to anyone who likes reading about complex relationships and the horror that may be found just under the surface even in the midst of natural wonders.
A lot of the most effectively terrifying horror I have read comes from a place of engagement with the devastation of losing someone important. Agony's Lodestone is a perfect example of how frightening it is to contemplate the shape of life carved out by loss. Each of its central characters has, in their own way, lived their entire adult life around the hollow space where their lost sister, Joanne, once lived. The near-tangible presence of that hollow makes it uncommonly easy to believe in each character's choices--both before and after the present-day events of this shockingly eerie novella.
Contributing to the effectiveness of Agony's Lodestone is its beautifully immersive landscape. Keating's descriptions of the coastal New Brunswick setting provide just enough information for readers to easily picture--and smell--the mysterious, gorgeous, and uncanny backdrop to the adventure Joanne's siblings find themselves on when they set out to chase down a new clue about her long-ago disappearance. Agony's Lodestone offers atmosphere in spades, perfectly calibrated to serve the story without obscuring any of the plot's emotional impact.
Agony's Lodestone is quite a stunning exploration of things remembered, forgotten, and warped by guilt and grief. I thoroughly enjoyed this novella, and I recommend it to anyone who likes reading about complex relationships and the horror that may be found just under the surface even in the midst of natural wonders.
Hungers as Old as This Land by Zachary Rosenberg
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The #sfnovellaofthemonth for April 2023 is Hungers as Old as This Land by Zachary Rosenberg, forthcoming in May 2023 from Brigid's Gate Press.
I can never resist dipping into anything that seems like it might offer the Weird Western experience I'm always looking for and haven't quite found. I still have yet to find precisely the Weird Western of my dreams (perhaps this means I will have to write it), but I nonetheless thoroughly enjoyed Hungers As Old As This Land.
Rosenberg's fast-paced plot whips through the craggy landscape at breakneck pace, with fists and hooves flying and blood watering the dusty soil. His central characters--Esther and Siobhan--are an endearingly fierce young couple, made more real by their frequent spats and more sympathetic by the way they both work very hard to improve themselves and their relationship. I was rooting for them from the very start, and touched by the support they received from family and community despite their differences from those around them.
I would have loved to see more exploration of this novella's thematic elements on bigotry and antisemitism. It can be challenging to dig very deep in a novella-length work, and I expect Rosenberg's future work will continue to examine these issues, but in my experience the one flaw of Hungers as Old as This Land was the way it held up important and interesting topics and then did not mine them as deeply as I wanted it to. That's a minor quibble, though, because--despite not going as deep as I hoped--it remained crystal clear that this book's heart was in the right place.
Overall, Hungers as Old as This Land is a rip-roaring good read I'd recommend to any fan of horror westerns, queer adventure stories, and shadowy creatures sated only by blood.
I can never resist dipping into anything that seems like it might offer the Weird Western experience I'm always looking for and haven't quite found. I still have yet to find precisely the Weird Western of my dreams (perhaps this means I will have to write it), but I nonetheless thoroughly enjoyed Hungers As Old As This Land.
Rosenberg's fast-paced plot whips through the craggy landscape at breakneck pace, with fists and hooves flying and blood watering the dusty soil. His central characters--Esther and Siobhan--are an endearingly fierce young couple, made more real by their frequent spats and more sympathetic by the way they both work very hard to improve themselves and their relationship. I was rooting for them from the very start, and touched by the support they received from family and community despite their differences from those around them.
I would have loved to see more exploration of this novella's thematic elements on bigotry and antisemitism. It can be challenging to dig very deep in a novella-length work, and I expect Rosenberg's future work will continue to examine these issues, but in my experience the one flaw of Hungers as Old as This Land was the way it held up important and interesting topics and then did not mine them as deeply as I wanted it to. That's a minor quibble, though, because--despite not going as deep as I hoped--it remained crystal clear that this book's heart was in the right place.
Overall, Hungers as Old as This Land is a rip-roaring good read I'd recommend to any fan of horror westerns, queer adventure stories, and shadowy creatures sated only by blood.
Whisperwood by Alex Woodroe
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I cannot resist a novel that fully transports me to another world. Alex Woodroe's WHISPERWOOD won my heart very quickly with its immersive descriptions of setting and atmosphere. For the day I spent reading--or, really, devouring--this book, I was able to forget all about being sick in bed at home and simply experience the unnerving wonders of Woodroe's folkloric woods.
I don't want to give anything away, but one thing I particularly appreciated about WHISPERWOOD was that, unlike most of the dark fantasy novels I've read in recent years, it did not ultimately turn out to be primarily romantic in nature. I don't have anything against romance, but I love a book that has other types of stories to tell--and other types of relationships to explore. The complexity of this novel's character relationships is truly a pleasing thing, and I loved how well Woodroe seems to understand what her characters want and what their stories need in order to be interesting.
I also loved, of course, the new-to-me monsters and other horrors lurking in this novel's woods. I have not read much about Romanian folklore and so I cannot speak to the precise ways in which Woodroe engaged with it, but the strange things her characters encounter *feel* real and true in the way of things drawn from myth, as do the customs of the people whose daily lives are impacted by the creatures that live nearby. It's a neat trick to write a fantasy novel that feels like something true, and I think Woodroe hit that mark with WHISPERWOOD.
I don't want to give anything away, but one thing I particularly appreciated about WHISPERWOOD was that, unlike most of the dark fantasy novels I've read in recent years, it did not ultimately turn out to be primarily romantic in nature. I don't have anything against romance, but I love a book that has other types of stories to tell--and other types of relationships to explore. The complexity of this novel's character relationships is truly a pleasing thing, and I loved how well Woodroe seems to understand what her characters want and what their stories need in order to be interesting.
I also loved, of course, the new-to-me monsters and other horrors lurking in this novel's woods. I have not read much about Romanian folklore and so I cannot speak to the precise ways in which Woodroe engaged with it, but the strange things her characters encounter *feel* real and true in the way of things drawn from myth, as do the customs of the people whose daily lives are impacted by the creatures that live nearby. It's a neat trick to write a fantasy novel that feels like something true, and I think Woodroe hit that mark with WHISPERWOOD.
Curse Corvus by Alex Ebenstein
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
The #sfnovellaofthemonth for March 2023 is Curse Corvus by Alex Ebenstein, forthcoming in April 2023 from Ebenstein’s own Dread Stone Press.
I like a good story that uses horror tropes to examine the discomfort of a disintegrating relationship. Horror may not be the only lens through which such a story may be seen, but--for me, at least--it is often the lens which provides the most compelling view.
Curse Corvus handily delivers the horror of a once-close friendship that has turned into something unsettled and upsetting. The deliciously atmospheric narrative details--dead birds, ritualized tattooing, an eerily staged abandoned wedding dress--that fuel the plot do an excellent job of setting up the impression that what is truly horrific is losing a friend. None of what happens leading up to the book's inevitably awful conclusion would be so bad if its central characters could stick together--but then, central characters sticking together is so often antithetical to a really good horror tale.
Unlike his subject matter, Ebenstein's prose is really very nice. Its timbre and tone are well suited to the voice of his somewhat sympathetic, somewhat abrasive narrator. This is such a readable little book that it may well compell you to eat it up in a single sitting.
This is also really very nice as an aesthetic object. The cover art is vividly interesting, and the interior illustrations (something of a rarity in a novella) are quite well done and excellently suited to the book's general atmosphere. I'll admit I asked Alex for an advance reader copy based largely on the cover art, but I promise that the contents live up to the expectation set up by their presentation.
If you like books that unflinchingly tackle difficult themes--such as envy, jealousy, toxic work culture, and toxic personal relationships--while offering up a genuinely entertaining reading experience, I would recommend that you give Curse Corvus a go.
I like a good story that uses horror tropes to examine the discomfort of a disintegrating relationship. Horror may not be the only lens through which such a story may be seen, but--for me, at least--it is often the lens which provides the most compelling view.
Curse Corvus handily delivers the horror of a once-close friendship that has turned into something unsettled and upsetting. The deliciously atmospheric narrative details--dead birds, ritualized tattooing, an eerily staged abandoned wedding dress--that fuel the plot do an excellent job of setting up the impression that what is truly horrific is losing a friend. None of what happens leading up to the book's inevitably awful conclusion would be so bad if its central characters could stick together--but then, central characters sticking together is so often antithetical to a really good horror tale.
Unlike his subject matter, Ebenstein's prose is really very nice. Its timbre and tone are well suited to the voice of his somewhat sympathetic, somewhat abrasive narrator. This is such a readable little book that it may well compell you to eat it up in a single sitting.
This is also really very nice as an aesthetic object. The cover art is vividly interesting, and the interior illustrations (something of a rarity in a novella) are quite well done and excellently suited to the book's general atmosphere. I'll admit I asked Alex for an advance reader copy based largely on the cover art, but I promise that the contents live up to the expectation set up by their presentation.
If you like books that unflinchingly tackle difficult themes--such as envy, jealousy, toxic work culture, and toxic personal relationships--while offering up a genuinely entertaining reading experience, I would recommend that you give Curse Corvus a go.