Jun 29 2026
accompanied in the volume I received by the short story Johnny Hollowback And The Witch, which I actually preferred. Which isn’t to say that the main novella here is at all bad! I very much preferred it to the last thing of hers I read, the wildly overrated This Is How You Lose The Time …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/06/29/the-river-has-roots-by-amal-el-mohtar/
Jun 26 2026
Okay, but what happens neeeeeext?! That is less a complaint than a plea for Kirsty Applebaum to keep writing more books about the garden at the heart of The Strange Disappearance Of Imogen Good. The book itself opens with Imogen about to sneak into a forbidden garden, in hopes of ditching her once best friend …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/06/26/the-strange-disappearance-of-imogen-good-by-kirsty-applebaum/
Jun 25 2026
I’m pretty sure that this is meant to be an illustrated poem, but that’s not the only thing that baffles me about this purported graphic novel. Leaving heartbreak behind, the protagonist pares down their physical existence and decides to go on a long hike in the woods. Things get weird very quickly, as the narrator …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/06/25/oracles-by-olivia-sullivan/
Jun 24 2026
Unlike Doug, I knew that this would be a variation on Cinderella from the very first page, steeped as I am in my love for all fairy tale and mythological retellings. But like him I was immediately hooked by the premise that Ella, our heroine, essentially shuffles off her mortal coil on that very same …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/06/24/cinder-house-by-freya-marske-2/
Jun 22 2026
Along with many others lucky enough to do so, I took Juneteenth off last week (and wound up having to accompany my best girl while she hit on men in kilts, lol, instead of having the restful day I’d otherwise anticipated.) This week’s Tantalizing Titles column is thus a double header for this week AND …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/06/22/tantalizing-tales-june-2026-part-three/
Jun 18 2026
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 …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/06/18/an-interview-with-kevin-hincker-author-of-the-story-eaters-of-yamm/
Jun 16 2026
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 …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/06/16/the-reel-life-of-zara-kregg-by-brad-barkley-excerpt/
Jun 15 2026
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 …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/06/15/gay-mormon-dad-by-chad-anderson-remy-burke/
Jun 12 2026
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 …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/06/12/tantalizing-tales-june-2026-part-two/
Jun 11 2026
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 …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/06/11/the-mystery-of-the-stolen-world-cup-trophy-by-angela-cervantes/
Al Singh
Doug Merrill
Doreen Sheridan
Emily Lauer
John Pitzel
Lars N. Goldschlager
Laura Eilers
Professor X
Robert Maedgen
Sylvere Ap Leanan
The Shire