June 2024 archive

Hugo Awards 2024: Best Related Work

City on Mars by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith

The Hugo Award category that’s presently known as Best Related Work began in 1980 as Best Non-Fiction Book, and in 1999 became Best Related Book. In 2010 the name took its modern form, as fans recognized that the field of science fiction and fantasy is a diverse one, and sometimes award-worthy work comes in an …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/06/30/hugo-awards-2024-best-related-work/

Tantalizing Tales — June 2024 — Part Two

Idk what it is about this summer, but my kids are driving me nuts while they’re home on vacation this year. Maybe it’s the heat, maybe it’s the fact that their father decided that he didn’t like my summer camp idea and decided to not actually make alternate plans for them. But they’ve 100% been …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/06/28/tantalizing-tales-june-2024-part-two/

Total Suplex Of The Heart by Joanne Starer & Ornella Greco

About halfway through this slice-of-life graphic novel, I realized that what I was reading felt too deeply personal to be anything less than semi-autobiographical. So when I got to Joanne Starer’s afterword, discussing how this story was based on her own life, I was both unsurprised and deeply moved by the grace and honesty she …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/06/27/total-suplex-of-the-heart-by-joanne-starer-ornella-greco/

Let’s Hang Out by Chris Duffy

subtitled Making (and Keeping) Friends, Acquaintances, and Other Nonromantic Relationships. Jeez, who couldn’t use a guide like this? Alright, if I’m being perfectly honest: me, as I’ve never really had trouble making and keeping friends. Sure, I’ve had spectacular blow ups with best friends, but that was usually their faults, and I’m pretty good at …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/06/26/lets-hang-out-by-chris-duffy/

Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game: X-Men Expansion Preview by Elisa Teague, Matt Forbeck & Marty Forbeck

I had the opportunity to stop by my friendly local-ish game store (shoutout to the wonderful folk at Game Kastle College Park) for the first time this past Saturday because it was Free RPG Day! I’ve missed every single iteration of the day since it’s inception, so was super ready to take part this year, …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/06/25/marvel-multiverse-role-playing-game-x-men-expansion-preview-by-elisa-teague-matt-forbeck-marty-forbeck/

Bea Wolf by Zach Weinersmith & Boulet

When I saw that a copy of this title hadn’t been included in the Hugo Voter’s Packet, I was ready to skip over it entirely. I’d heard good things about Bea Wolf elsewhere, and I’m always interested in what modern creators do with the classic Beowulf tale, but I wasn’t about to do anything to …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/06/24/bea-wolf-by-zach-weinersmith-boulet/

Menschen im Hotel by Vicki Baum

Menschen im Hotel by Vicki Baum

A hotel, especially a grand one in the center of a major metropolis, can be its own world. Vicki Baum opens up one such world in Menschen im Hotel (lit. “People in a Hotel” but published under the better title of Grand Hotel), telling interlocking stories of people in Berlin’s finest hotel over the course …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/06/23/menschen-im-hotel-by-vicki-baum/

Ava’s Demon, Book Two: Aftermath by Michelle Fus

I adored the first volume of the Ava’s Demon series, and am even more impressed by this follow-up effort! My biggest complaint about the first volume is slightly alleviated here, too, as this cover is definitely less awkward than Volume One’s. After the catastrophic events that capped Book One: Reborn, Ava finds herself battling Wrathia …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/06/21/avas-demon-book-two-aftermath-by-michelle-fus/

Hugo Awards 2024: Best Novelette Nominees

Ivy, Angelica, Bay by C. L. Polk

Hunh, I didn’t realize that almost all of the novelette nominees in this year’s Hugo Awards category have their own entries on Goodreads. I’ll have to populate my shelves there accordingly. Anyway, my favorite novelette this year by a country mile was C. L. Polk’s Ivy, Angelica, Bay. She’s long been one of the authors …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/06/20/hugo-awards-2024-best-novelette-nominees/

Camp Prodigy by Caroline Palmer

A graphic novel about viola players, whaaaaaaat! Haha, sorry, as an orchestra cellist, it’s always fun for me to read about underrepresented instruments and their players. Perhaps more importantly, this Middle Grade comic is about two nonbinary teenagers who meet at the title summer camp, which has the no-pressure name of Camp Prodigy, lol. There …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/06/18/camp-prodigy-by-caroline-palmer/