Aug 28 2025

By Invitation Only by Alexandra Brown Chang

God, given the week I’ve been having, it’s so nice to be able to slip into a book about young people whose deeply felt and very real problems are solved by the end of its 300+ highly readable pages.

So look, when I compare Alexandra Brown Chang’s debut novel By Invitation Only to Cecily Von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl novels, I need you to understand that that is very high praise. The characters are lived in and kind and flawed and mostly just doing the best they can with the hands they’ve been dealt. Sure, some of them are born rich and feel no guilt about spending their money but my God, wouldn’t it be nice if everyone had the money they needed for food and rent and education, with extras for the frivolity that at the very least maintains the labor that fuels our capitalist hellscape?

One of the main characters in this book sure doesn’t have that kind of money. Despite winning the International Science Fair, Piper Woo Collins won’t be able to afford her first year at Columbia, after her scholarship was suspended due to a dispute between the school and the benefactor who was supposed to endow her funding. She’s understandably distraught, and frantically trying to figure out what to do instead. Her dad’s a hardworking EMT while she herself works at the local Claire’s, but higher education in this country is absurdly expensive even before taking into account the attendant costs of living.

Meanwhile in Paris, the exclusive organization known as Le Danse des Debutantes is trying to rehabilitate its image after one scandal too many. In an effort to show that they do care about the common person, they extend an invitation to Piper to attend the most exclusive debutante ball in the world. Piper thinks it’s a joke, until they offer to pay for her first year at Columbia. That, however, is entirely contingent on her making a good impression on their behalf.

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Aug 27 2025

Lovers Of Franz K by Burhan Sonmez

translated from the original Kurdish by Sami Hezil.

It feels a little strange to be talking about a(nother) book on the subject of the legacies of the departed, especially since this definitely takes the opposite tack of yesterday’s What Happens After? That book talked about grief and acceptance, whereas this speaks of guilt and vengeance. Weirdly, those have also been preoccupations of mine, which might go some way to explaining the reading hangover I’ve been feeling recently.

Lovers Of Franz K goes a step further from my personal dilemmas to speak of the impact of writers on their audiences. The Franz of the title is the celebrated author Franz Kafka, ofc, whose will requested that his unpublished works be destroyed after his death. His best friend and heir Max Brod went ahead and had them published anyway. The literary world was torn: should Brod have honored Kafka’s wishes, or had he been right to share these last glimmers of genius with the world?

The book itself opens with the arrest of a young man named Ferdy Kaplan, after the fatal shooting of a student in 1960s West Berlin. Ferdy is Turkish and assumed to be an anti-Semitic radical hiding others of his cell. He mocks the interrogating Police Commissioner Muller’s lines of inquiry, even as he expresses regret for what he’s done.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/08/27/lovers-of-franz-k-by-burhan-sonmez/

Aug 26 2025

What Happens After? by Diane Namm & Laura Jager

I really needed to read this terrific book, on the heels of Lauren Munoz’ absolutely devastating (to me) YA mystery Very Dangerous Things, which triggered yet another round of grief over a long-ago loss that I’m still trying to grapple with.

The nice thing about What Happens After? is that it doesn’t try to dive into rhetoricals of what happens to the person who leaves us. Everyone’s got their own ideas of the afterlife, and this book is not at all interested in litigating any of that. Instead, this thoughtful, tender children’s picture book discusses what happens to us survivors in the wake of loss, and how we can keep going while still honoring and loving the ones who’ve passed away.

(I may or may not be tearing up while writing this. It has been a weird and hard few weeks of it, y’all.)

The prose is simple and matter-of-fact. Diane Namm confronts loss head-on, never shying away from the inevitability of death and its attendant grief. She acknowledges how hard it can be for those left behind, and that it sometimes takes a really, really long time for things to stop feeling so hard. But then she does something beautiful by talking about how we can remember our gone-away loved ones still, and how we can continue living with the joy of their memories in our hearts.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/08/26/what-happens-after-by-diane-namm-laura-jager/

Aug 25 2025

Recommended New and Upcoming Graphic Novels for every life stage

It is tempting to begin this roundup with the timeworn lede, “Comics! They’re not just for kids any more!” I’ve been rolling my eyes at that one for decades at this point, as mainstream reviewers seemingly “discover” that sophisticated graphic novels exist, over and over again.

a pink cartoon axolotl waves on the cover of Max, A Little AxolotlIn fact, the graphic novel is a form that can reach readers in many, many eras of their lives, and I want to highlight here some of the excellent ones to keep on your radar this Fall and beyond: For the youth, Max, A Little Axolotl is coming out next week on September 2 for the early readers in your life and Trung Le Nguyen’s next YA graphic novel, Angelica and the Bear Prince is coming out October 7. For new adults, The Corus Wave is coming out later that month on October 21, and grown ups can also look forward to reading Martyr Loser King by multitalented musicians Saul Williams and Morgan Sorne, coming out next Spring on April 28.

Axolotls seems to be having a cultural moment the same way llamas were a few years ago. I’m into it, as axolotls are inherently adorable, and appreciating them implies supporting sustainability measures that will protect their habitat. In Max, A Little Axolotl, Max is rescued from his habitat being destroyed and introduced into a school of diverse sea creatures. He’s shy and feels like an outlier because he’s the only axolotl, and doesn’t know much about his own species. It takes making friends to help him adjust. Published by Scholastic, Max, A Little Axolotl has a straightforward story with cute illustrations that will appeal widely to early readers.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/08/25/18443/

Aug 22 2025

Tantalizing Tales — August 2025 — Part Four

Hello, dear readers! We’re well on our way to a five-parter of Tantalizing Titles this August (with a bonus reissue recap earlier this week!) but let’s not get too, too far ahead of ourselves. Today we’re featuring seven brilliant books that have either just published or will be coming to bookshelves this coming Tuesday!

We start off with the newest historical novel from the author of the phenomenal The Torqued Man. Peter Mann’s World Pacific is set in San Francisco and the Asian Pacific during the lead up to the Second World War, and is told from the points of view of three indelible and very different characters.

Richard “Dicky” Halifax is attempting to sail a Chinese junk from Hong Kong to San Francisco, as part of the World’s Fair festivities on Treasure Island, when he vanishes in the Pacific. This writer of boys’ adventures is a man of bravado and breezy prose styles. Both his machinations and his letters to his young readers keep his voice alive, even as his disappearance upends the lives of those left behind in his wake.

Hildegard Rauch is an émigré painter and the daughter of Germany’s greatest living writer in exile. After she finds her twin brother in a coma after an attempted suicide — and the mysterious note he left behind — she embarks on a search for the truth about his relationship with Richard Halifax and the dangerous secret her twin entrusted to the writer before his voyage.

British Intelligence officer Simon Faulk has been assigned to ferret out Nazi spies in California. He learns of the arrival of a mysterious American agent from across the Pacific, part of a joint German- Japanese operation. As all three paths converge, the novel explores the many forms in which shipwreck, exile and betrayal beset us, and the stories that we tell ourselves in order to stay afloat.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/08/22/tantalizing-tales-august-2025-part-four/

Aug 21 2025

Flame Con 2025!

I had a great time at Flame Con this past weekend! As planned, I went both days, Saturday solo and Sunday with my kid. On Saturday my good time started even before I entered the Con, chatting in the press pass line with Erica Friedman (LGBTQ Comics Tastemaker) of okazu.yuricon.com.

When I got in, I oriented myself with the map, looking at how FlameCon was spread out through three floors of the Sheraton New York Times Square this year. The entry level floor was mostly for gaming rooms, one floor up was the exhibitor space, and above that, the third floor was mostly programming, with rooms for panels and workshops.

this photo of the flamecon panel described in the article shows a row of five people and a banner with a RESIST sign behindI went first to a session called “Vampires, Werewolves and Frank N Furters—Oh, My!” moderated by Josh Trujillo (with microphone) and featuring from left to right, Brent Lambert, Mags Visaggio, Bradley Clayton and Sina Grace. They chatted about horror generally and its appeal to queer readings. I was excited to learn that Mags Visaggio is working on two exciting projects right now, one a graphic novel sequel to Rocky Horror, and the other a gigantic horror novel called Long Island Baby. I look forward to reading both!

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/08/21/flame-con-2025/

Aug 20 2025

Creepshow Vol 3 edited by Ben Abernathy

Given my literary consumption of recent years, I’m genuinely wondering whether I ought to pivot away from my usual mental palate cleansers of classic/cozy crime in favor of horror anthologies like this one! This volume certainly acted like a much needed reset on my brain, serving up short, sharp and entirely self-sufficient diversions to give my weary mind the low commitment but high reward reading it desperately needed.

As overseen by Ben Abernathy, the ten comics collected here fulfil the Creepshow remit with aplomb. For those unfamiliar with the concept, Creepshow first debuted as a Stephen King-written and George A Romero-directed anthology movie in the early 1980s. It was conceptualized as an homage to the EC horror comics of the 1950s, and was successful enough to spawn several sequels and, in a nice full-circle moment, a comic of its own.

Creepshow was revived as a television show in 2019, which is where this latest comics iteration comes in. Greg Nicotero and Brian Witten, the producers of that show, have also cleverly solicited for writers and artists to contribute to accompanying print anthologies, of which this is the third. Each volume so far has showcased some of the best talent in comics today. This one is no different, with a stacked line-up that includes Chip Zdarsky, Mike Carey and Kami Garcia, among others. Shout-out as well to Pat Brousseau who lettered every story but one here, keeping an excellent sense of continuity going almost entirely throughout.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/08/20/creepshow-vol-3-edited-by-ben-abernathy/

Aug 19 2025

Reissue Recap!

I received four books recently that are all coming out in a new format today, with a fifth publishing next week. What better way to celebrate all five than with an exclusive round-up column!

The first is the sequel to a crime debut I super loved for its investigator protagonist. Charlotte Vassell’s The In Crowd is now out in paperback, and continues the story of DI Caius Beauchamp as he solves crime while navigating the race and class politics of modern England. Here in the series’ sophomore novel, DI Beauchamp must investigate two cold cases which couldn’t possibly be related… or could they?

Early one morning, a men’s rowing team discovers a body floating face down in the Thames. Many years before, the chief executive of a clothing manufacturer walked off with a multi-million dollar corporate retirement fund and disappeared without a trace. Now, the discovery of this body forces that cold case to be reopened.

Meanwhile, DI Beauchamp has his own evening at the theater upended by the discovery of a corpse just a few seats away. Two decades ago, Eliza Chapel, a fourteen-year-old student at a girls’ boarding school in Cornwall, disappeared in the middle of the night under dubious circumstances. A second body means a second cold case reopened.

As DI Beauchamp — along with his associates Matt Chung and Amy Noakes — investigates these parallel missing persons cases, he finds himself ensnared in the unexpected political machinations of a duke-in-waiting. The deeply irritating Rupert Beauchamp (no relation, probably) returns in these pages, but I’m rather glad Nell doesn’t play a prominent role here, as I thought she was kind of a drip in the first book. Regardless, I’m looking forward to finding time to dive in and enjoy Caius, Matt and Amy’s company once more!

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/08/19/reissue-recap/

Aug 18 2025

T. Kingfisher BINGO and Hemlock and Silver Review!

the cover of Hemlock and SIlver by T. Kingfisher has a red apple surrounded by snaking vegetation against a black backgroundHemlock 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.

To celebrate this book and the ways that it engages many beloved tropes also explored in her other books, my well-read friend Larisa and I have made you a present! Expanding on our previous T. Kingfisher celebrations, we have made you THREE BINGO CARDS (downloadable after the cut) to play whenever you read any book by T. Kingfisher, and to try to win with Hemlock and Silver!

In Hemlock and Silver, we meet Anja, a scientist who studies poison and its antidotes in her desert kingdom. She spends most of her time experimenting in her laboratory, but also heals kids who lick fly paper and addicts who overdose. A steady, useful life that nothing is likely to interrupt, right?
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/08/18/t-kingfisher-bingo-and-hemlock-and-silver-review/

Aug 16 2025

The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje

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 as the armies worked their way up the Italian peninsula. Bucking order, she has stayed in the villa to tend the English patient, a man who has been burned nearly beyond recognition, and who she says is too fragile to be moved any further.

The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje

At the beginning of the book, Ondaatje establishes how she cares for her patient, washing him every four days, bringing him food and water, injecting him with morphine, reading to him at night in the empty villa. “She reads to him from whatever book she is able to find in the library downstairs. The candle flickers over the page and over the young nurse’s talking face, barely revealing at this hour the trees and vista that decorate the walls. He listens to her, swallowing her words like water.” (p. 5) She also tends a garden, and ventures occasionally to other nearby settlements to barter for necessities, but otherwise there is only the English patient and the nurse, whose name is Hana. She is tending her own, inner, wounds as she keeps her last patient alive.

Though Ondaatje writes that Hana has tended the Englishman for months, it is apparently only when they are alone in the villa that he begins to recount his story, telling how he came to be so badly burned, how he came to be among the British army moving through Italy. The novel is divided into ten chapters, and it moves back and forth through time roving from the present when the war has left the characters behind back to the 1930s, as the nurse, the patient, and eventually two other men reveal varying amounts about their pasts.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/08/16/the-english-patient-by-michael-ondaatje/