I reviewed Kelly Link’s new, long-awaited debut novel The Book of Love over at Ancillary Review of Books. I enjoyed it, but ultimately it felt long, like overstaying your vacation down the shore. But if you’ve enjoyed Link’s short stories, I suspect that you’ll also like this book.
I reviewed both these recent books from Frances Hardinge, one of my absolute favorite authors, for Strange Horizons in December. Short version: I think Unraveller is her best book yet, but it’s not for arachnophobes.
The Strange Horizons editors put Martin Petto and I together to talk about Prophet by Sin Blaché and Helen Macdonald, and I think we both had a lot of fun with a really fascinating and fun book.
I and other contributors talked about our notable books of 2023 for the Ancillary Review of Books. My entry was S.A. Chakraborty’s The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, and there are several other books I’ve already added to my TBR on the list. Happy 2024!
Happy Halloween! I’m thrilled to be making my debut in the Ancillary Review of Books with a review of Lina Rather’s new novella, A Season of Monstrous Conceptions. It’s a historical fantasy, and very different from her previous nuns-in-space series in some ways, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and it’s certainly a seasonally appropriate read.
My review of Translation State (2023) by Ann Leckie went up at Strange Horizons last month. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, and I’m eagerly awaiting Leckie’s next book as usual, particularly if it’s another tale from the world of the Imperial Radch.
My review of Veronica Roth’s Arch-Conspirator went live at Strange Horizons in May. This slim novella, a more faithful retelling of Antigone than I was expecting, packs a real punch. Definitely recommended.
My review of the graphic novel Where Black Stars Rise, with words by Nadia Shammas and art by Marie Enger, was published at Strange Horizons in March. You don’t have to be a huge fan of The King in Yellow to get a lot out of this slim graphic novel, and I definitely recommend it to those who are fans of all things Lovecraftian. I’ve been a fan of Marie Enger’s art for years, and it perfectly matches the narrative. Definitely recommended.
I and some of the other Strange Horizons wrote up our recollections and gratitudes about working with the late Maureen Kincaid Speller, who passed away last year. (Fuck cancer, anyway.) You can also read the tribute that Dan and Aisha wrote not long after the news broke. I’ll miss Maureen’s sharp eye and deeply intelligent edits and interesting commentary on Twitter. Vale.
2022 is well and truly in the rearview mirror, to which I say, good riddance. But if you’re interested in some of what was good about last year, my tranche of the annual year in review is up at Strange Horizons as of…two months ago.
Electra Pritchett 