Well, this review has been a long time coming. Very rarely do I find myself so conflicted by a book, but N. K. Jemisin’s latest, The City We Became, left my emotions mixed and two months later I finally feel I can deconstruct the reasons why. With this book, I had no idea what to expect, but I knew it wouldn’t be an easy read. Despite my suspicions being confirmed, I came out the other side both captivated and frustrated.
SFF Addicts Ep. 2: Self-Publishing & SPSFC with Hugh Howey & Duncan Swan
Join host Adrian M. Gibson and his co-host Manny Henri as they dig into self-publishing and SPSFC (the Self-Published Science Fiction Competition) with authors Hugh Howey and Duncan Swan. During the panel they discuss Hugh and Duncan’s work, their experiences in self-publishing, how it compares to traditional publishing, and explore the past and present of the self-pub market. They also chat about SPSFC, how Hugh and Duncan founded the competition and where they hope it will go in the future.
Welcome to SFF Addicts, A New Podcast from FanFiAddict
In the first ever episode of SFF Addicts, host Adrian M. Gibson lays out the goals for the podcast, what you can expect from future episodes, and what inspired him to start the show. We appreciate you listening and can’t wait for you to hear more of what we have in store!
Review: Defekt (LitenVerse #2) by Nino Cipri
Finna introduced the sardonic-yet-lighthearted world of LitenVärld, an IKEA-like corporation rife with wormholes and other multi-dimensional oddities. While Finna was a delightful adventure, rich with emotion and sarcastic, relatable characters, it felt like it was just the beginning of something, opening a wormhole to a broader literary world of potential. Now, with Defekt, the potential established in Finn takes a big step forward into the multiverse, in every possible way. And at its core is the one character from Finn that I never thought I would connect with: the hardworking and dedicated (albeit lonely and emotionally lost) Derek. Fucking Derek…
Review: These Violent Delights (These Violent Delights #1) by Chloe Gong
Nearly a decade after taking mandatory Elizabethan-era English literature classes in university, the iambic pentameter of William Shakespeare has crept back into my life. Unexpectedly though, it came in the form of Chloe Gong’s debut novel, These Violent Delights. Set in 1920s Shanghai, this tale of star-crossed (ex)lovers twists a knife into Shakespeare’s famous tragedy—it weaves familiar story beats with unexpected turns as Roma and Juliette, the two heirs to rival crime families, navigate intense hostilities, foreign colonizers, a strange and deadly contagion, as well as their past romance. As tension and chaos in Shanghai builds toward a fever pitch, the two become entangled again in ways that fuel the story (to both good and middling results). Question is, to what end? The above warning of Friar Laurence to Romeo in Romeo and Juliet rings ever true: such fiery delight—a connection consumed by fire and powder—is likely to end in disaster.
Author Chat: P. Djèlí Clark (Part Two)
Join Adrian M. Gibson and P. Djèlí Clark for Part Two of their chat, where they dive into his new novel A Master of Djinn: how he built the world, incorporating magic and history, how the novel reflects our own world and much more.
Author Chat: P. Djèlí Clark (Part One)
Join Adrian M. Gibson and P. Djèlí Clark for Part One of their chat about Clark’s childhood, his writing journey, publishing, campy ’80s nostalgia, creative inspiration and much more.
Review: A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark
There’s something truly special about finding a novel that speaks to you, the words flowing from page to mind in a symbiotic creative fusion. That feeling of connecting so deeply with a book is priceless, something to be cherished, and it’s even better when that book becomes an author. For me, that author is P. Djèlí Clark. Ever since reading his short works A Dead Djinn in Cairo and The Haunting of Tram Car 015, I was enamored with his blending of the fantastical and historical. That connection deepened when I read some of his short stories, and then even more when I tore through last year’s Ring Shout. Count me lucky when his first full-length novel comes out a mere seven months later—in A Master of Djinn, Clark’s magically-infused Cairo is back and better than ever.
Author Chat: Dan Stout
Join Adrian M. Gibson and author Dan Stout for a chat about Chris McGrath’s amazing book covers, Dan’s experiences in publishing, the craft of writing, plus deep dives into various aspects of his series The Carter Archives and much more.
Why You Should Read The Carter Archives by Dan Stout
Ever since I picked up Dan Stout’s debut novel Titanshade, the first book in The Carter Archives series, I was swept up in its gritty, ‘70s-inspired noir atmosphere, its genuine protagonist and fascinating world. Dan Stout marries the noir vibe so perfectly with an original fantastical world, that The Carter Archives quickly became one of my all-time favorite series. Read this to find out more about why I think you should read this series.
Review: Road Out of Winter by Alison Stine
Alison Stine’s Road Out of Winter is one of those rare books that hits the serendipitous sweet spot of right time, right place, right mood—right everything. Almost. It’s a fairly short read, so I fired up my Kindle and went for it, pulled the trigger, ‘cause why not? A couple of days blurred past, and Stine pulled me through a story of rural landscapes full of climate-wrought confusion and dread, human nature’s ugliest sides, heartfelt friendships, physical and mental adversity, and, to my pleasant surprise, genuine hope.
Review: Infomocracy (The Centenal Cycle #1) by Malka Older
It’s rare that I get fully engrossed in a fictional political narrative anymore. Sure, the vast number of Tom Clancy novels and movies deliver compelling, high-octane thrill rides, and The Manchurian Candidate (both the 1959 novel as well as the 1962 and 2004 films) still stands as one of the best election stories out there. But, when it comes down to it, the real world of politics (in the United States and elsewhere) is already rife with enough drama, deceit and decadence. Sometimes it’s just so damn tiring—and all of this coming from me, a genuine political junky. (On top of it all, most political stories just aren’t that good.) So, it came as a wonderful surprise when I read Malka Older’s debut novel, Infomocracy, that I found myself invested in a story so distinctly political again.