Jul 17 2024
translated into English by Alex Woodward. I guess I should start by attempting to summarize this story, but it’s just so weirdly — if not outright poorly — written (or perhaps translated? I’m sorry for throwing you under the bus here Mr Woodward but this story was just so bafflingly not good) that I don’t …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/07/17/life-does-not-allow-us-to-meet-by-he-xi/
Jul 15 2024
God, reading this book was such a relief. After struggling through three of the other Best Novella nominees for the Hugo Awards 2024, it was nice to finally read a book that felt like it was written by a professional who gives a shit about her audience. Now I’m a sucker for fairytale retellings, so …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/07/15/thornhedge-by-t-kingfisher/
Jul 11 2024
Once upon a time, I used to give authors 900 pages before I decided whether I was done with them, probably forever. That, ofc, was before I became a professional book critic and found myself inundated with more books than I have time for. In the before times, I might have extended that courtesy towards …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/07/11/rose-house-by-arkady-martine/
Jul 10 2024
OKAY, I am still inordinately pissed at the absurd, regressive, anti-feminist retcon that DC Comics gave Wonder Woman’s origins with the New 52. I know that people say that comic book back stories are like changeable weather: if you don’t like it, wait a short period of time and it’ll change again. But between the …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/07/10/wonder-woman-historia-the-amazons-vol-1-by-kelly-sue-deconnick-phil-jimenez-gene-ha-nicola-scott/
Jul 09 2024
For all that each novella in this series is touted as a standalone, I do very much think that readers would benefit from reading at least a few of the earlier books first. I was struck with Nghi Vo’s propensity for giving almost no backstory to readers in Book One, preferring to immerse us directly …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/07/09/mammoths-at-the-gates-by-nghi-vo/
Jul 05 2024
Quite the trip to be reading my second book in a row with a prominent character who shares my unusual name! The Doreen in question here is Doreen Valiente, who at the time of the events depicted in this graphic novel was still going by her maiden name, Doreen Dominy. Considered the Mother of Modern …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/07/05/the-witches-of-world-war-ii-by-paul-cornell-valeria-burzo-jordie-bellaire/
Jul 03 2024
translated into English by Alex Woodend. This is a weird little novella that definitely feels very old-fashioned old school, almost as if it was lifted entirely from the cutting edge of the mid-20th century. It’s also on the shorter side — never a bad thing — but it definitely felt a little more sketched in …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/07/03/seeds-of-mercury-by-wang-jinkang/
Jul 01 2024
collecting issues 61-66 of the long-running comic book series. It has been a long ass time since I read the first Saga collection, and I have apparently not read anything else of it since, despite quite liking the first book. So when I saw that Volume 11 was nominated for the Hugos, I was super …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/07/01/saga-vol-11-by-brian-k-vaughan-fiona-staples/
Jun 30 2024
The Hugo Award category that’s presently known as Best Related Work began in 1980 as Best Non-Fiction Book, and in 1999 became Best Related Book. In 2010 the name took its modern form, as fans recognized that the field of science fiction and fantasy is a diverse one, and sometimes award-worthy work comes in an …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/06/30/hugo-awards-2024-best-related-work/
Jun 24 2024
When I saw that a copy of this title hadn’t been included in the Hugo Voter’s Packet, I was ready to skip over it entirely. I’d heard good things about Bea Wolf elsewhere, and I’m always interested in what modern creators do with the classic Beowulf tale, but I wasn’t about to do anything to …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/06/24/bea-wolf-by-zach-weinersmith-boulet/
Al Singh
Doug Merrill
Doreen Sheridan
Emily Lauer
John Pitzel
Lars N. Goldschlager
Laura Eilers
Professor X
Robert Maedgen
Sylvere Ap Leanan
The Shire