July 2024 archive

A Job For Penelope by Melanie Mikecz

I read a fantastic tweet recently which essentially said that getting a job you love does not mean, as the old saw says, never having to work a day in your life, but that you will in fact do far too much work, which is genuinely my plight right now. So when I picked up …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/07/31/a-job-for-penelope-by-melanie-mikecz/

Daughters Of Chaos by Jen Fawkes

Oh dear. This book starts out so promisingly, as a woman on her deathbed makes her lover swear to speak with the daughters the latter gave up for adoption. A grief-stricken Sylvie Swift has no idea how to approach the two girls she gave up as babies, so decides to write them a series of …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/07/30/daughters-of-chaos-by-jen-fawkes/

Jackson’s Wilder Adventures, Vol. 1: Habits & Habitats by Sarah Davidson

Jackson Wilder is an adorable little boy who lives with his dad and his beloved stuffed thylacine doll, Irwin. In the manner of all imaginative kids with a constant stuffie companion, Irwin often takes on a life of his own in Jackson’s imagination, as Sarah Davidson depicts in a way that will definitely bring up …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/07/29/jacksons-wilder-adventures-vol-1-habits-habitats-by-sarah-davidson/

Mammoths at the Gates by Nghi Vo

In the first two novellas of Nghi Vo’s Singing Hills series — The Empress of Salt and Fortune, and When the Tiger Came Down from the Mountain — violent conflict is kept at a distance, and much of the tension in the stories arises from the question of whether it can continue to be kept from …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/07/28/mammoths-at-the-gates-by-nghi-vo-2/

Hugo Awards 2024: General and Some Novellas

The logo of the Glasgow 2024 Worldcon

This is the fifth year that I have been a reader and a voter for the Hugo Award, a practice I began when I fulfilled a long-time dream and attended a World Science Fiction Convention. Finances and geography, among other things, have conspired to keep me away in the years since, but maybe I will …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/07/27/hugo-awards-2024-general-and-some-novellas/

Tantalizing Tales — July 2024 — Part Two

Hello, readers! It’s the last Friday of July (howwwwwwww?!) so here’s my roundup of amazing books that just published these last two weeks that I haven’t had the time to read yet but really really want to! First up, we have a literary mystery debut from a librarian with a PhD in funeral studies. Ruby …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/07/26/tantalizing-tales-july-2024-part-two/

The Düngeonmeister Random Monster Generator: A Mix-and-Match RPG Flipbook by Jef Aldrich & Jon Taylor

I love getting all the Dungeonmeister game aids: they’re always a super fun and creative way to throw my Dungeons & Dragons players a curveball to help keep things fresh! This random monster generator was no different. It’s based on a very cool flipbook concept, where the bulk of the book after the first 25 …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/07/25/the-dungeonmeister-random-monster-generator-a-mix-and-match-rpg-flipbook-by-jef-aldrich-jon-taylor/

Afro Unicorn: The Land of Afronia, Vol. 1 by April Showers & Ronaldo Barata

Interestingly, it says “text by Terrance Crawford” in the credits as well, and I’m not sure exactly what that means. Credit where it’s due, tho? So this is a cute story that champions black representation in children’s fantasy, particularly of the cute anthropomorphic fantastic beast variety. Afronia is a magical land in the stars populated …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/07/24/afro-unicorn-the-land-of-afronia-vol-1-by-april-showers-ronaldo-barata/

Echoes Of Memory by Sara Driscoll (EXCERPT)

Hi, readers! This week, we have a terrific excerpt from a new standalone thriller, Echoes Of Memory by Sara Driscoll. After surviving a terrible attack, Quinn Fleming has recovered in every way but one—her ability to retain new memories. Now, months later, it appears to the outside world as if the San Diego florist’s life …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/07/23/echoes-of-memory-by-sara-driscoll-excerpt/

Witch’s Business by Diana Wynne Jones

Also known in some markets as Wilkins’ Tooth. I’m joining my pal Emily for A Year Of Diana Wynne Jones, a project she recently started where she and other interested readers go through the entire DWJ oeuvre over the course of a year. I decided to dip in and out as books were available to …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/07/22/witchs-business-by-diana-wynne-jones/