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Review: A Gift for a Ghost by Borja Gonzalez

To say I was excited for A Gift for a Ghost would be an understatement. This graphic novel is pitched as a story with time travel, ghosts, black holes, and an all-girl punk band, and I am completely here for all those things. I was so excited to read it that it actually made my Spring 2020 top-ten TBR, and after finishing the book I can say that I was 100000% not disappointed. Not only is the artwork absolutely stunning, but A Gift for a Ghost has such a lovely story told with equal parts strength and whimsy.

Review: Double Blind by Sara Winokur

I don’t read a lot of mysteries or thrillers, but I was really excited to pick up Double Blind by Sara Winokur. Double Blind sounded like exactly the kind of mystery-thriller that I like to read, and it certainly delivered on its premise. It’s a contemporary story, but it’s filled with history and science and intrigue. A lot of the story deals with genetics and DNA research, but it explores these sciences in really approachable ways. I loved the main characters, the family dynamics, and all of the twists and turns. I also really enjoyed how much of the story focused on Iceland’s history, it’s culture, and politics. It was a really great read, and I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a scientific thriller.

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Review: The Companions by Katie M. Flynn

The Companions is a sweeping near-future dystopian that spans many years and explores the connections between many characters, creating a beautifully earnest vision of a future that feels all too real right now. This story hit me in a way that I haven’t experienced since I read Station Eleven, and I love this slow, deliberate style of story-telling. What Station Eleven did with the post-apocalyptic genre, The Companions does for science fiction, melding and mixing literary fiction with the speculative genre in a very sincere and realistic way.

TEN FREE SFF BOOKS TO GET YOU THROUGH SELF-ISOLATION

This has been a tough week for everyone. So much of the world is in quarantine, self-isolation, or participating in intense social distancing. Like a lot of people, I’m choosing to isolate myself while COVID-19 is so active. Lucky for us, there are some awesome authors in the science fiction/fantasy book community who are making some of their works free for all of us to enjoy. This list includes these free works from a lot of prolific writers, and also some other free SFF reads to enjoy right now.

The Sunday Post – March 22, 2020

I’m participating in the The Sunday Post again today, a blog meme link-up hosted by The Caffeinated Reviewer.

Well, it has certainly been a week.

I haven’t left my house in over a week (hardcore social distancing), and I’m starting to get a little stir crazy. My immune system is less than great, so I’m just not risking going out right now. I’m super thankful that Animal Crossing released on the Nintendo Switch this past week. My husband and I have been playing a LOT of it this weekend!

The Hunger Games Reread and Analysis – Intro

I had great intentions to post this when I woke up this morning. Alas, Animal Crossing: New Horizons released and took away most of my day. However, I really wanted to write this and tell you guys what I have up my sleeve for the upcoming few weeks.

The Hunger Games was a pretty foundational series for me early on in my reading journey. It was my first experience with speculative/dystopian literature, and was the first YA series that I read and enjoyed as an adult. I absolutely devoured this series, and I annotated every book. Best of all, the series still holds up so well! With the new prequel to the series, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, coming out on May 19th, I’m gearing up to dive back into the series head-first.

Review of The Walking Dead: Typhoon by Wesley Chu

Given my love for speculative fiction, it shouldn’t come at any surprise that I am a fan of zombie stories. Even though zombie stories aren’t my favorite flavor of the Post-Apocolyptic subgenre, I still usually really enjoy them. When I heard that Wesley Chu wrote a story bringing the world of The Walking Dead to China, I was absolutely interested.

And, yeah, that’s pretty much the summary for The Walking Dead: Typhoon- it’s zombies in China. And I really liked it! My favorite thing about this book is how lived in the world feels. You can feel how much grime and gunk and dirt is in this world, and it really sets the stage for a good zombie story.

Release Blitz: Bobby Robot by Michael Hilton

Y’all I am so excited for this title. It sounds so fun, and I am always on the look-out for good YA sci fi. YA romance + robots + a human having to pass robot test? MY KIND OF BOOK. I also love that this is YA and has a male protagonist; that’s not as common as it should be! I’m excited to pick this one up soon!

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Review – Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident

Do you like unsolved mysteries that aren’t of the serial killer variety? Have you ever pondered the existence of yetis or aliens? Do you love a good political conspiracy theory, particularly if it involves the Cold War USSR and/or radiation? Then, boy, do I have the book for you. I rarely read non-fiction, but I was completely captivated by Dead Mountain when I first read the blurb.

“In February 1959, a group of nine experienced hikers in the Russian Ural Mountains died mysteriously on an elevation known as Dead Mountain. Eerie aspects of the incident – unexplained violent injuries, signs that they cut open and fled the tent without proper clothing or shoes, a strange final photograph taken by one of the hikers, and elevated levels of radiation found on some of their clothes – have led to decades of speculation over what really happened.”

Review: Camp Spirit by Axelle Lenoir

Camp Spirit is a YA graphic novel set in the 1990s in Ontario, where high-schooler Elodie has been appointed as a camp counselor for the summer. Elodie is very 90s grunge, is not at all interested in camping or the outdoors, and is the opposite of excited for her summer job. What starts as a frothy, pulpy sort of story takes a sharp turn about mid-way through, and turns this summer romance into a a graphic novel full of intrigue, mystical nightmares, demonic presences, and urban legends. Even through this shift, though, the book never loses its center- the growing friendship (and maybe more) between Elodie and camp counselor extraordinaire, Catherine.