Review: This is How You Lose the Time War – This is How You Write a Time Travel Story

Title: This is How You Lose the Time War Author: Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone Publisher: Saga Press Release Date: July 16th, 2019 Genre(s): Sci-Fi, Romance, Epistolary Subjects and Themes: War, LGBTQIAP+ (f/f) Page Count: 208 (hardback) Rating: 9.5/10       Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a …

Broken, Awkward, Incompetent, Mismatched Heroes: Why We Need Them in Stories

I'm not sure what the umbrella term for these types of characters should be. Atypical heroes? Messy heroes? Well, whatever the term, I adore them. And my love grows stronger every time I come across a protagonist who's graduated from the academy of perfect heroes. You know--the shiny put-together ones. The ones whose mistakes are …

Reviews: Contagion & Immunity by Erin Bowman – Biological Space Horror and Maple Walnut Ice Cream

Title: Contagion (Contagion 1) Author: Erin Bowman Publisher: HarperTeen Release Date: July 24th, 2018 Genre(s): YA Sci-Fi, Thriller, Horror Subjects and Themes: Microbiology, LGBTQIAP+ Page Count: 432 (hardback) Rating: 7.5/10       After receiving a distress call from a drill team on a distant planet, a skeleton crew is sent into deep space to …

Monday Chatter: Urban Gods and the Hard (and Creepy) Life of an A.I.

Happy Monday, all! We're back to summer weather here, which has been great for hiking and kayaking but doesn't bode well for the actual summer months. And to the joy of all you tennis enthusiasts (*crickets chirping*), Roland Garros has started! Now, half the fun of watching grand slams is making fun of the outfits …

Review: A Memory Called Empire – A Brilliantly Ambitious Space Opera

Title: A Memory Called Empire (Texicalaan 1) Author: Arkady Martine Publisher: Tor Books Release Date: March 26th, 2019 Genre(s): Science Fiction Space Opera Subjects and Themes: Political Intrigue, Culture, LGBTQIAP+ Page Count: 464 (hardback) Rating: 8.0/10 Ambassador Mahit Dzmare arrives in the center of the multi-system Teixcalaanli Empire only to discover that her predecessor, the …

Monday Chatter (Books, Games & Life) – Rain! Glorious Rain! | Viva la Revolución

Hey guys! I'm a tad late on this one so it's gonna be a bit short. The weather's gone from "I'm sorry, WHY is it 23 degrees in the middle of March???" to a nice, comfortable, predictable "10-15 and raining" which I'm pretty happy about because that makes it the perfect weather for rainy-pier watching. …

Monday Books & Games – Broken Hearts and a Romp Through Sengoku Japan

I've seen Sionna (Books in Her Eyes) and Lisa (Way Too Fantasy) doing Monday updates forever now, talking the books they have lined up for the current week, and I was always on the sidelines going, "Huh, I should join them someday." Well, someday is now, apparently, and as my creatively-lacking title suggests, I'm expanding …

Review: Do You Dream of Terra-Two? – In Space, Everyone Can Hear You Dream

Title: Do You Dream of Terra-Two? Author: Temi Oh Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd Release Date: March 7th, 2019 Genre(s): Literature, Sci-Fi Subjects and Themes: Space expedition Page Count: 528 (hardback) Rating: 8.5/10     A century ago, scientists theorised that a habitable planet existed in a nearby solar system. Today, ten astronauts will leave …

Top 5 Wednesday – Favourite Hopepunk Books of 2018

“Top 5 Wednesday” is a weekly meme currently hosted on Goodreads by Sam of Thoughts on Tomes in which you list your top 5 for the week’s chosen topic. This week's a freebie so I made up my own prompt: Favourite hopepunk books of 2018. And I kind of chose it to showcase books that I …

DNF Review: Here and Now and Then – Your Name Is What Now?

Title: Here and Now and Then Author: Mike Chen Publisher: MIRA Release Date: January 29th, 2019 Genre(s): Sci-Fi Subjects and Themes: Time Travel, Families Page Count: 336 (hardback) Rating: DNF @ 37%     Kin Stewart is an everyday family man: working in IT, trying to keep the spark in his marriage, struggling to connect …