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Nebula Award Finalists - Last Day to Vote!

Nebula Award Finalists – Last Day to Vote!

Welcome to Short Fiction Friday! Usually, this is the part of the week where I highlight a specific short story, novelette, or flash fic. Today, however, gets a special feature. I had started a feature series of all the Nebula Award finalists, but haven’t quiiiiite had a chance to complete it. Given that, I’m taking some time to highlight all of them in a smaller way here! Learn more about the…

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#uncanny magazine

A House at the Bottom of a Lake by Josh Malerman

The House at the Bottom of a Lake excels at at developing a creepy, uncanny atmosphere. Locked doors, strange noises, and clothes floating through the water where no current should be all come together to create a read that will keep you on edge.

⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 3 out of 5. Both seventeen. Both afraid. But both saying yes.It sounded like the perfect first date: canoeing across a chain of lakes, sandwiches and beer in the cooler. But teenagers Amelia and James discover something below the water’s surface that changes their lives forever.It’s got two stories.It’s got a garden.And the front door is open.It’s a house at the bottom of a lake.For…

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Complete Book Summaries of Will Wight's Cradle Series

Been putting off reading Bloodline by @WilliamWight because you can't remember what happened in the previous books? Have no fear. I've finally completed my project to summarize all the Cradle books to date!

Just a couple weeks ago, Will Wight released the latest book in the Cradle series, Bloodline! Given that the Cradle series is growing longer and longer, I thought I might help the good folks out who don’t want to reread all the books every single time a new one drops. To that end, I’ve written summaries of each of the Cradle novels to date! You can pick your poison – do you want a lengthy,…

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Composite Creatures by Caroline Hardaker

Melancholy and compelling, Composite Creatures by Caroline Hardaker (@carolinehwrites) has captured the narrow wistfulness of isolation. A novel of loneliness, unraveling connections, and fragile safety.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 5 out of 5. What I wanted all along was to bury myself deep where it’s warm and never come out. I won, they didn’t. Melancholy and compelling, Caroline Hardaker has captured the narrow wistfulness of self-inflicted isolation. As we draw ourselves away from the world, tuck ourselves into the warmth of our four encroaching walls, it becomes harder and harder to connect with…

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Advanced Word Problems in Portal Math by Aimee Picchi

Welcome to Short Fiction Friday! Every Friday, Black Forest Basilisks will be shining a spotlight on a new short story, novelette, or flash fic in addition to our regular posts. These stories will usually be available for free online, but occasionally stories from published anthologies will also be featured. This story is available online for free at: Daily Science Fiction – Click through to…

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#uncanny magazine

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini

I know the question you're all going to be asking: is it derivative? Is it like Eragon? Will I be drowning in tropes and predictable plots? The short answer is... sometimes. The longer answer, of course, has a bit more nuance to it.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 3.5 out of 5. The path to our goal is rarely straight. It tends to turn and twist, which makes the journey far more enjoyable than it would otherwise be. I must apologize in advance, dear reader. Have you had that book that you read ages ago, only to realize that, oh no, you still need to review it? That was this book for me. Fortunately, I take notes when reading, but all the…

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Bloodline by Will Wight Releases April 6th! Summaries of Previous Books to Catch You Up.

Hello all! Today on Facebook, Will Wight announced the release date of the newest novel in the Cradle series, Bloodline. It’s coming in just two weeks on April 6th! As you may or may not know, I’ve been working on summaries for each of the Cradle novels in anticipation of Bloodline’s release. Well, Will Wight pulled a fast one on us – I thought I still had a few months left to finish up! While I…

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Open House on Haunted Hill by John Wiswell

My small quest to read all the Nebula nominated short stories continues! Open House on Haunted Hill by John @Wiswell is so delightful and charming that my heart grew at least three sizes while reading it.

Welcome to Short Fiction Friday! Every Friday, Black Forest Basilisks will be shining a spotlight on a new short story, novelette, or flash fic in addition to our regular posts. These stories will usually be available for free online, but occasionally stories from published anthologies will also be featured. This story is available online for free at: Diabolical Plots – Click through to…

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#nebula award nominee

Top Ten Tuesday: Books Written Before I Was Born

Top Ten Tuesday: Books Written Before I Was Born. Given that my reading tends to heavily skew towards the new, this prompt is especially interesting - these are books I rarely have a chance to look at or discuss!

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday! This is a collaborative series started by That Artsy Reader Girl, which has a new prompt for discussion and review each week. Today, we’re chatting about books written before I was born. These can be books I’ve read, books I mean to read, or just some books that I think are interesting. Given that my reading tends to heavily skew towards the new, this prompt is…

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#Book Review #c j cherryh #classic fantasy #mercedes lackey #samuel r delany #top ten tuesday #vintage fantasy

The Apothecary & The Carpenter’s Son by Johannes T. Evans

https://twitter.com/JohannesEvans/status/1349149408764506112 Short Fiction Friday Welcome to Short Fiction Friday! Most Fridays, Black Forest Basilisks will be shining a spotlight on a new short story, novelette, or flash fic in addition to our regular posts. These stories will usually be available for free online, but occasionally stories from published anthologies will also be…

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On Fragile Waves by E. Lily Yu, Drowned Country by Emily Tesh, and The Seventh Perfection by Daniel Polanksy

Welcome to Book Bites! This is a series focused on highlighting multiple titles in a more concise format. Rather than looking at a book in depth, I’ll be focusing on the most important thing: why you should read it! Thank you to the publishers for providing these ARCs in exchange for honest reviews! On Fragile Waves by E Lily Yu Goodreads | Bookshop.org I initially picked up On Fragile Waves…

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Finding What Was Meaningful - a 2020 Retrospective

I started a "Best of 2020" list. Then, I started over. I scrapped it. Started again. I looked through my books, ran my fingers down their spines, and tried once more. I couldn't do it. Instead, here are the books that held meaning to me.

I started a “Best of 2020” list. Then, I started over. I scrapped it. Started again. I looked through my books, ran my fingers down their spines, and tried once more. I threw together a spreadsheet from Goodreads, sorted it by date, then by rating, then by author. Deleted it in frustration when the books didn’t feel the way I needed them to. I couldn’t do it. For far too much of 2020, I existed…

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Dragon Tamer by Ophelia Silk

Dragon Tamer by @opheliasilk is irreverent, light-hearted, and a joy to read. The main pairing is a bookish dragon prince devoted to pacifism and an extremely fighty Viking-esque himbo lady who's got some really impressive muscles.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4 out of 5. IN TWO WEEKS, my fainthearted, peace-greedy village will send a sacrifice to the false god, to placate him for another year. To keep the dragons away. To maintain our cowardly existence in this frozen portside town of weaklings. With each passing sacrifice, I want all the more to swing my axe straight through the false god’s heartless chest. If that bastard is so…

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#Book Review #fantasy romance #self published

Does The Player of Games by Ian M. Banks Hold Up to a Modern Reading?

⭐⭐ Rating: 2 out of 5. Within the context of its time, The Player of Games is a shockingly progressive novel. Given that it was written at the height of the AIDS epidemic, I’m impressed that Ian M. Banks chose to deliberately and consciously include queer themes and explicitly endorse homosexuality as something that is not just okay, but also a perfectly normal part of a healthy utopian…

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My Country Is a Ghost by Eugenia Triantafyllou

Short Fiction Friday Welcome to Short Fiction Friday! Every Friday, Black Forest Basilisks will be shining a spotlight on a new short story, novelette, or flash fic in addition to our regular posts. These stories will usually be available for free online, but occasionally stories from published anthologies will also be featured. This story is available online for free at: Uncanny Magazine –…

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Chaos Vector by Megan O'Keefe - Punchy & Character-Driven in the Best Ways

Chaos Vector by Megan O’Keefe – Punchy & Character-Driven in the Best Ways

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4 out of 5. “You get taught a different kind of war in the Grotta,” he said eventually. “You’re so far down on the ladder all you can see is your own nose, the only thing worth fighting for is your own life. Or maybe those you love, if you’re lucky enough. I think maybe Jules learned that kind of fight, too. It’s not… It’s not a safe mindset, when there’s more than yourself and…

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The Salt Witch by Martha Wells

Welcome to Short Fiction Friday! Every Friday, Black Forest Basilisks will be shining a spotlight on a new short story, novelette, or flash fic in addition to our regular posts. These stories will usually be available for free online, but occasionally stories from published anthologies will also be featured.

This story is available online for free at: U…

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