Aug 18 2025
Hemlock and Silver by T. Kingfisher comes out this week, August 19th! As always with T. Kingfisher’s prolific work, Hemlock and Silver is both creepy and kind, thought-provoking and comforting. It’s a must-read for any of T. Kingfisher’s existing fans and a fabulous first T. Kingfisher book for those who have not yet read her. …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/08/18/t-kingfisher-bingo-and-hemlock-and-silver-review/
Aug 16 2025
The battle lines of the Italian campaign in World War II have moved northward from the outskirts of Florence. In a villa once owned by the Medici and then the Jesuits, lately used as a hospital by the Allies, two people remain. One is a nurse, a young Canadian woman who has been tending soldiers …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/08/16/the-english-patient-by-michael-ondaatje/
Aug 15 2025
Hello, dear readers! It is midway through August and publishers are already pivoting hard to horror, as is tradition. Tho I gotta tell you, the pivot does feel a little more comforting than usual this year, given the state of the world and the ways in which horror stories are oftentimes just how the mind …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/08/15/tantalizing-tales-august-2025-part-three/
Aug 14 2025
This coming weekend, August 16 and 17th will be Flame Con in midtown Manhattan! I like my conventions small and progressive, and Flame Con is therefore generally one of my favorites each year. Created by the organization Geeks OUT, Flame Con is a celebration of queer aspects of various fandoms including books, comics, tv, film, …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/08/14/flame-con-anticipation/
Aug 13 2025
Wahey, I’m back to my regularly scheduled review programming! And what lovelier way to return than with a gorgeously illustrated children’s book that artfully blends science with fantasy, for a delightfully whimsical read. This field guide to enchanted creatures starts with several very important caveats to young readers, in a way that absolutely aligns with …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/08/13/how-to-spot-a-magical-woodland-creature-by-sarah-glenn-marsh-lilla-bolecz/
Aug 12 2025
Hello, readers! Today we have an excerpt from a thrilling work of speculative fiction that falls under the cli(mate change)-fi heading, as a near-future scavenger finds herself embroiled in the murder of a powerful corporate figure. Triss Mackey is flying just under the radar, exploiting a government loophole that lets her live quietly aboard her …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/08/12/salvagia-by-tim-chawaga-excerpt/
Aug 11 2025
This post concludes my year of reading all of Diana Wynne Jones’s books! After her death in 2011, Earwig and the Witch was published the same year, and a collection of her nonfiction writing was published in 2012. Much more recently, Moondust Books has published collections of her plays and poems! In this post I’ll …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/08/11/a-year-of-diana-wynne-jones-wrap-up/
Aug 10 2025
I’ve read that The Innkeeper’s Song is Peter S. Beagle’s favorite among his novels, and I think I can understand why. He writes the novel from no less than ten points of view — including a shapeshifting fox — allowing him to show events from numerous different perspectives, to show how the same actions have …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/08/10/two-short-takes/
Aug 08 2025
Hello, readers! I am having a bit of a ghastly day health-wise but am super looking forward to climbing back into bed soon, preferably with a good book! Top of my list is Elaine U Cho’s Teo’s Durumi, the heart-pounding conclusion to the exciting Korean space opera duology she began with her debut novel Ocean’s …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/08/08/tantalizing-tales-august-2025-part-two/
Aug 07 2025
This graphic novel took Emil Ferris something like seven years to write and draw, and it was honestly worth every minute. My only quibble with it is the idea that it somehow serves as a conclusion. Sure, it solves the murder, presented in the first volume, of who killed Anka. But the emotions are still …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/08/07/my-favorite-thing-is-monsters-vol-2-by-emil-ferris/
Al Singh
Doug Merrill
Doreen Sheridan
Emily Lauer
John Pitzel
Lars N. Goldschlager
Laura Eilers
Professor X
Robert Maedgen
Sylvere Ap Leanan
The Shire