Articles by: Mary Woodbury

The Devil’s Highway, Gregory Norminton

An ancient route links Britain’s deep past and far future in an ecologically aware tale spanning thousands of years –The Guardian Spanning centuries, and combining elements of historical and speculative fiction with the narrative drive of pure thriller, this is a breathtakingly original novel that challenges our dearly held assumptions […]

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Interview with Marissa Slaven, Code Blue

I am so fortunate to talk in-depth with Marissa Slaven about her background and her debut novel Code Blue, which comes out on Earth Day this year and will be available for pre-order near the end of January. Marissa is a mother, daughter, sister, palliative care doctor, blogger, podcaster, and […]

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Swansong, Kerry Andrew

Swansong, her [Kerry’s] debut novel, is set in the Scottish Highlands, where a London student flees after a disastrous night out…I had to spook myself out sometimes – I would sit in the dark and try to put myself into Polly’s position. And then I read things like Evie Wyld’s […]

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Hummingbird Salamander, Jeff VanderMeer

From the author of Annihilation, a brilliant speculative thriller of dark conspiracy, endangered species, and the possible end of all things. Security consultant “Jane Smith” receives an envelope with a key to a storage unit that holds a taxidermied hummingbird and clues leading her to a taxidermied salamander. Silvina, the […]

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The Overstory, Richard Powers

A hearing-and speech-impaired scientist discovers that trees are communicating with one another. These and five other strangers, each summoned in different ways by trees, are brought together in a last and violent stand to save the continent’s few remaining acres of virgin forest. There is a world alongside ours—vast, slow, […]

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The Great Alone, Kristin Hannah

Like a curved, upturned palm, Alaska beckons with her beauty, her majesty, and her prolific grandeur…The awe-inspiring allure gestures first until the ruggedness of her backbone sets in. -Goodreads Goodreads Review Back to GoodReads

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Circe, Madeline Miller

Threatened, Zeus banishes her [Circe] to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus. Goodreads […]

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The Merry Spinster, Mallory Ortberg

Unfalteringly faithful to its beloved source material, The Merry Spinster also illuminates the unsuspected, and frequently, alarming emotional complexities at play in the stories we tell ourselves, and each other, as we tuck ourselves in for the night. Goodreads Review Back to GoodReads

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Happiness, Aminatta Forna

In this delicate yet powerful novel of loves lost and new, of past griefs and of the hidden side of a multicultural metropolis, Aminatta Forna asks us to consider the values of the society we live in, our co-existence with one another and all living creatures – and the true […]

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The Tiger and the Acrobat, Susanna Tamaro

This captivating story of a brave young tiger who refuses to give up on her dreams is a celebration of the power of nature and the beauty of innocence, and is a testament to the courage it takes to be true to ourselves. –Amazon.ca Goodreads Review Back to GoodReads

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Tarry this Night, Kristyn Dunnion

This vividly imagined dystopian novel, set in the near future, unfolds over the course of a few days. –The Star In this unsettling modern Lilith tale, spirited women resist their violent, racist culture and, in so doing, become outlaws. Goodreads Review Back to GoodReads

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Muir Woods or Bust, Ian Woollen

Muir Woods deftly threads modern environmental anxieties and gaming sensibilities into a story inspired by nature advocate John Muir, and binds them together with humor, playfulness, and a great, great deal of heart. –BooksPersonally.com As the 21st century lurches forward, weather weirdness abounds, begetting the rise of a new psychiatric […]

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Life Plus 2 Meters, Volume 2

Author of Anthology: David Zetland, et al.; © John Sayer, Emma J. Myatt Publication Date: January 4, 2018 Type: Fiction Ordering: Click here for ordering via Amazon or a free PDF Social Media: Twitter Data Recovery Unit, John Sayer I have no tattoos. Life does not resemble a post-apocalypse, Hollywood […]

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Heart Spring Mountain, Robin MacArthur

This week the author is reaping praise upon the release of “Heart Spring Mountain,” which tackles global warming — as well as heroin addiction and women’s struggles — at the most local level. “The resulting narrative is nuanced, poetic, and evocative,” Publishers Weekly said in a starred review. “MacArthur empathetically […]

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The Genius Plague, David Walton

Sure, some say fungi will save the world, but how about a story where they hijack our brains instead? In this highly original eco-thriller, an escaped Amazonian fungus starts doing exactly that. –Earther.com What if the pandemic you thought would kill you made you more intelligent instead? In the Amazon […]

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