Category Archives: Speculative Fiction

The Prey of Gods

Posted on March 13, 2022 by Teresa

There’s a lot going on in this futuristic novel by Nikky Drayden. There are dik-diks overrunning Port Elizabeth, South Africa, where the book is set. There are personal assistant bots gaining consciousness, a drug that allows people to access special … Continue reading →

Posted in Speculative Fiction | 3 Comments

Tyrannia: And Other Renditions

Posted on November 24, 2021 by Teresa

The short stories in this collection by Anya Johanna DeNiro are enjoyably dark and weird, sometimes a little too weird, in fact. But the stories that hit me right were so great that I don’t really mind the stories that … Continue reading →

Posted in Short Stories/Essays, Speculative Fiction | Leave a comment

Project Hail Mary

Posted on October 11, 2021 by Teresa

How to write about a book in which a great deal of the pleasure is in not knowing what is going to happen next? And where an immense amount of what I loved about the book involves what happens after … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Speculative Fiction | 4 Comments

The Space Between Worlds

Posted on September 24, 2021 by Teresa

This novel by Micaiah Johnson is set in a future version of the earth where the technology exists to visit other versions of the earth. But it’s only safe to visit other earths where you parallel counterpart does not exist, … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Speculative Fiction | 1 Comment

Cuckoo Song

Posted on September 18, 2021 by Teresa

Triss is on holiday with her family when she falls into a pond and wakes up the next morning feeling strange. Most notably, she has an insatiable appetite. Plus, her dolls seem to be moving, and her little sister, Pen, … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's / YA Lit, Speculative Fiction | 1 Comment

Fugitive Telemetry

Posted on August 30, 2021 by Teresa

I’ve abandoned three books this August, which is an unusually high number for me. But almost immediately after I decided to give up on the third book, I got an email from the library saying that my hold for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Speculative Fiction | 4 Comments

We

Posted on August 23, 2021 by Teresa

First published in Russia in 1921, We by Yevgeny Zamyatin is the literary ancestor of books like Brave New World by 1984. You have a totalitarian system, a regular dude within the system, a sexy lady, and rebellion that may or may not … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics, Fiction, Speculative Fiction | 6 Comments

Klara and the Sun

Posted on July 20, 2021 by Teresa

Klara, the narrator of Kazuo Ishiguro’s newest novel, is a solar-powered artificial robot friend who, as the novel begins, spends her days in a store for AFs, waiting for some child to come along and choose her. Each model of … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Speculative Fiction | 11 Comments

The Ministry for the Future

Posted on June 20, 2021 by Teresa

To be clear, concluding in brief: there is enough for all. So there should be no more people living in poverty. And there should be no more billionaires. Enough should be a human right, a floor below which no one … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Speculative Fiction | 4 Comments

If It Bleeds

Posted on June 13, 2021 by Teresa

Stephen King’s newest book, If It Bleeds, is a collection of three stories and one novella. Two of the stories are dark wish-fulfillment fantasies, in the vein of “The Monkey’s Paw.” The first, “Mr Harrigan’s Phone,” is set in the early … Continue reading →

Posted in Short Stories/Essays, Speculative Fiction | 7 Comments