June 2026 archive

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

Since time immemorial, at the eastern edge of the continent the Leviathans have risen from the sea to make their way along the Titan’s Path to the Lake of Khanum. For centuries, though, the Empire has blocked their progress, erecting successive walls across the continent to first contain the Leviathans’ journeys and then prevent them …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/06/20/the-tainted-cup-by-robert-jackson-bennett/

Hugo Awards 2026: Best Poem

I am glad that successive Worldcons have decided to make Best Poem a permanent category. Poetry is probably the oldest literary genre, and limiting the Hugo award to prose meant missing out. Speculative or fantastic poetry is difficult, because a work has to be both: good poetry and something beyond the mundane, whether science fiction, …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/06/19/hugo-awards-2026-best-poem-2/

An Interview with Kevin Hincker, author of The Story Eaters Of Yamm

Hello, readers! We have a treat for you today with an interview from acclaimed sci-fi author Kevin Hincker. His latest novel riffs off of the Wag The Dog scenario familiar to consumers of both sci-fi classics (that we won’t name here because of potential spoilers) and political thrillers of page and screen. The Story Eaters …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/06/18/an-interview-with-kevin-hincker-author-of-the-story-eaters-of-yamm/

Recent Researched Comics for Grown-ups

silhouettes of two women look at eachother in an ornate border on the cover of charity and sylvia by tillie walden

Some lovely graphic works for adult readership have come out this Spring, each based on fact to various degrees. Tillie Walden’s Charity and Sylvia came out this week from Drawn & Quarterly; last month gave us Opioids and Organs by Arizona O’Neill; and in March, the collected volume of Death to Pachuco by Henry Barajas …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/06/17/recent-researched-comics-for-grown-ups/

The Reel Life Of Zara Kregg by Brad Barkley (EXCERPT)

Hello, readers! We have a treat for you today with an excerpt from a sensitive coming-of-age tale, as a young girl must come out of the shadows in order to embrace a whole life. The closest that 16 year-old Zara Kegg has to friendships in her coastal North Carolina town is with the regulars she …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/06/16/the-reel-life-of-zara-kregg-by-brad-barkley-excerpt/

Gay Mormon Dad by Chad Anderson & Remy Burke

I have been super bad at properly commemorating celebration months this year so far, but better late than never I suppose, so Happy Pride! I tend to read a lot of books with queer characters and themes yet, oddly, feel like Chad Anderson and Remy Burke’s Gay Mormon Dad is the only one I’ve read …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/06/15/gay-mormon-dad-by-chad-anderson-remy-burke/

Hugo Awards 2026: Best Short Story

Missing Helen - Clarkesworld

True to form, two of this year’s finalists in the category of Best Short Story are listicle stories. I guess by now they’re just another variation in the form, rather than an innovation. The strength in the variation is that it allows an author to show numerous different perspectives or aspects of a situation within …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/06/14/hugo-awards-2026-best-short-story/

Hugo Awards 2026: Best Graphic Story or Comic

A Wizard of Earthsea — Graphic Novel

This year’s list of Hugo Award finalists in the category of Best Graphic Story of Comic is unusual in that for the first time since 2016 neither Saga nor Monstress is among them. The balance between one-offs and continuing characters/series is a little more usual, with three volumes from each. The ongoing series are a …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/06/13/hugo-awards-2026-best-graphic-story-or-comic/

Tantalizing Tales — June 2026 — Part Two

Happy Men’s World Cup season, dear readers! I do not, alas, have any books related to the beautiful game in this week’s tantalizing pile but I do have several that could tempt me to look away from my TV screen for a second… or more likely fill the empty time between these already wonderful and …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/06/12/tantalizing-tales-june-2026-part-two/

The Mystery Of The Stolen World Cup Trophy by Angela Cervantes

Men’s World Cup season has officially begun! Ever since 1998, this has been THE most exciting global sporting event for me, and even tho this year’s promises to be the worst run and most corrupt tournament of all time, not even that can dampen my love of the sport and the community who actually care …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/06/11/the-mystery-of-the-stolen-world-cup-trophy-by-angela-cervantes/