There was a wealth of authors I very much enjoy reading in this slate, and new-to-me authors I was pleased to make acquaintance of! On reflection, I don’t feel that this year’s list was as good as last year’s, tho was still solidly entertaining. As with last year, I’ll go over each (mostly) alphabetically. A …
Category: Fantasy
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/10/21/hugo-awards-2021-best-short-story-nominees/
Oct 20 2021
Salt Magic by Hope Larson & Rebecca Mock
This stunningly original graphic novel tells a tale of life in Oklahoma after the Great War, when a young soldier returning from Europe triggers a curse, leaving his younger sister to find a way to save their family farm. Vonceil Taggart is the youngest of five children growing up on a farming homestead ten miles …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/10/20/salt-magic-by-hope-larson-rebecca-mock/
Oct 09 2021
Piranesi Redux
On April 21, 1990, the second through sixth places on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart of pop music were occupied by “Don’t Wanna Fall in Love” by Jane Child, “All Around the World” by Lisa Stansfield, “I Wanna be Rich” by Calloway, “I’ll be Your Everything” by Tommy Page, and “Here and Now” by Luther Vandross. …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/10/09/piranesi-redux/
Oct 08 2021
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
I nearly noped out of Black Sun about a quarter of the way through, thinking that if I wanted to read about teachers abusing a child in supposed service to a greater cause then I would go back and read The Fifth Season and its sequels, but I don’t. I had given Black Sun a …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/10/08/black-sun-by-rebecca-roanhorse/
Oct 01 2021
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Piranesi is a scientist, working to understand the world around him. That world may seem odd, or circumscribed, to readers, but Piranesi does not question it. It is the world, after all; the House. He does not inquire into its origins, nor try to understand its supports. Instead, he maps it. The House has Halls …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/10/01/piranesi-by-susanna-clarke/
Sep 29 2021
Pahua And The Soul Stealer by Lori M. Lee
Ever since her father left and her mom moved her and her younger brother Matt away from the larger Hmong American community to live in small town Wisconsin, Pahua Moua has felt like the weirdo outsider. It isn’t just that she’s the only Asian person in her class. Her single mom has to work long …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/09/29/pahua-and-the-soul-stealer-by-lori-m-lee/
Sep 23 2021
Gutter Mage by J.S. Kelley
I want to sit J S Kelley down, look into their eyes and assure them that the world desperately needs a Gutter Mage series. Okay, so maybe by “the world” I mean “I” but this book was just so much fantastic fun! Crossing an original fantasy concept with a hardboiled mystery with distinct Western elements, …
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Sep 21 2021
Iyanu: Child Of Wonder Volume 1 by Roye Okupe & Godwin Akpan
The second title in the YouNeek YouNiverse is just as gorgeous as its predecessor, the first volume of Malika: Warrior Queen, if not more so. The digital art is rendered with a colorful airiness reminiscent of manga but with decidedly African influences. And the use of color throughout is simply mind-blowing: Godwin Akpan is so …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/09/21/iyanu-child-of-wonder-volume-1-by-roye-okupe-godwin-akpan/
Sep 13 2021
Among Thieves by M.J. Kuhn
This debut fantasy novel has all the things that pique my interest, starting with a motley team of rogues coming together for a daunting heist, each with their own ulterior motives and back stories that unfold as the novel progresses. There’s adventure, romance, multiracial representation and plot twists galore! So I should totally love this …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/09/13/among-thieves-by-m-j-kuhn/
Sep 09 2021
Malika: Warrior Queen Volume 1 by Roye Okupe, Chima Kalu & Raphael Kazeem
What a fantastic way to kick off the YouNeek YouNiverse, an interrelated set of fantasy, sci-fi and superhero comics and properties from an African perspective! The first volume of Malika: Warrior Queen tells the story of a 15th century ruler, who she was and how she was shaped by the battles that rent and threatened …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/09/09/malika-warrior-queen-volume-1-by-roye-okupe-chima-kalu-raphael-kazeem/
Al Singh
Doug Merrill
Doreen Sheridan
John Pitzel
Lars N. Goldschlager
Laura Eilers
Professor X
Robert Maedgen
Sylvere Ap Leanan
The Shire