Jul 25 2025
This is the first time I’ve had to write a Tantalizing Tales Part Four, dear readers! I did confirm with a publicist friend that it has been an unusually busy summer this year, though neither we nor the BlueSky brain trust could figure out why. Very happy to hear your theories, if you have them! …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/07/25/tantalizing-tales-july-2025-part-four/
Jul 24 2025
Ooh, look, a standalone graphic novel from one of my favorite creative teams! And, interestingly, an object lesson in how to write a book that doesn’t explain everything yet still manages to feel both satisfying and complete, which I’ll delve into more later on in this review. This is also my first review of the …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/07/24/we-called-them-giants-by-kieron-gillen-stephanie-hans-clayton-cowles/
Jul 23 2025
Managed another reading category for the Hugos this year! Will review the other categories I’ve read through after tonight’s voting deadline, but figured I’d start with the next fastest to read: the nominees for Best Novelette. As is my wont (but not Doug’s!) we’ll go from my favorite on down. Tho I must say that …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/07/23/hugo-awards-2025-best-novelette/
Jul 22 2025
We have another terrific excerpt for you today, dear readers, with an absorbing, dual viewpoint look at one of the most traumatic experiences of a person’s life, and the mysterious circumstances that precipitated it. Leslie Rasmussen’s When People Leave is subtitled A Story Of Love, Lies And Finding The Truth. It follows the three Weiss …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/07/22/when-people-leave-by-leslie-rasmussen-excerpt/
Jul 21 2025
My kingdom for pdfs properly formatted for Kindle! That gripe aside, wow, was I finally glad to be able to read Oliver K Langmead’s novel in verse. And I get it, the pdf was meant to preserve the gorgeous art and design of the book, which it definitely does. It just took way longer to …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/07/21/calypso-by-oliver-k-langmead/
Jul 18 2025
Was July this huge a month for books in previous years, dear reader, or is this another case of my time blindness? Regardless, we have some delicious reads that have either just or are freshly coming out, beginning with Tess Sharpe’s No Body No Crime, a twisty and gripping romantic thriller about enduring love, true …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/07/18/tantalizing-tales-july-2025-part-three/
Jul 17 2025
I was digging myself out from the bottom of the 270 or so emails in my inbox when I came across this press release announcing the recent death of acclaimed and accomplished author Martin Cruz Smith: ~~~~~~~ We at Simon & Schuster are saddened by the death of Martin Cruz Smith, who passed away peacefully …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/07/17/martin-cruz-smith-1942-2025/
Jul 16 2025
I have become even more time blind than usual lately, and am woefully behind on any emails that may be reminding me of voting deadlines. Nevertheless, I’m glad that I’m finally getting a chance to look at this year’s Hugo nominees, beginning, as is tradition, with Best Short Story! And, as is tradition, let’s start …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/07/16/hugo-awards-2025-best-short-story-nominees/
Jul 15 2025
So it’s weird sometimes, when I’m trying to review the first book in a series where a large part of the plot revolves around a mystery. There’s a very delicate balance that authors have to hit in order to make the book feel both satisfying for the reader and like we really need to read …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/07/15/hourglass-by-barbara-mazzi/
Jul 14 2025
Aside: this is the second zombie-related book I’ve read in a row, how odd for the middle of July! It’s Halloween and the normally quiet graveyard by Honey Hills is abuzz. Literally, as strange creatures begin to rise from the tombs and wend their winding way through town. Could these flying apparitions be… bees? But …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/07/14/the-zombees-by-justin-colon-kaly-quarles/
Al Singh
Doug Merrill
Doreen Sheridan
Emily Lauer
John Pitzel
Lars N. Goldschlager
Laura Eilers
Professor X
Robert Maedgen
Sylvere Ap Leanan
The Shire