Little Starhorodivka, a village of three streets, lies in Ukraine’s Grey Zone, the no-man’s-land between loyalist and separatist forces. Thanks to the lukewarm war of sporadic violence and constant propaganda that has been dragging on for years, only two residents remain: retired safety inspector turned beekeeper Sergey Sergeyich and Pashka, […]
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Click here to return to the series About the Book This month we head to Beijing, China, as we talk with Cynthia Zhang about her newest novel, After the Dragons (Stelliform Press, 2021). Dragons were fire and terror to the Western world, but in the East they brought life-giving rain…Now, […]
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Back to the Indie Corner series This month’s Indie Corner explores Barbara Newman’s The Dreamcatcher Codes. Barbara Newman always wanted to be a cowgirl. Growing up in New York didn’t stop her. She took that can-do spirit and became an award-winning global creative director, leaving an indelible mark on brand culture. […]
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Click here to return to the series This article contains a few spoilers. To follow along, it’s helpful for the reader to be familiar with author George RR Martin’s series and the screen adaption Game of Thrones—this article is based off the novels, particularly Book 1. Update: I first published […]
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Darcie Little Badger introduced herself to the world with Elatsoe. In A Snake Falls to Earth, she draws on traditional Lipan Apache storytelling structure to weave another unforgettable tale of monsters, magic, and family. It is not to be missed. I get how there’s a lot of uncertainty about the […]
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An environmental fairytale that speaks eloquently to the most pressing issues of our times. -Booker Prize-winning author of The Famished Road Ben Okri’s Every Leaf a Hallelujah is beautiful and wise—a true fable for our time. And Diana Ejaita’s illustrations are spectacular. -Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Sixth […]
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From Rupa, the publisher: A story of greed, love and sacrifice narrated in the backdrop of a crippling human tragedy. Acclaimed author Atulya Misra tells a gripping and powerful story that traverses numerous cultures and geographies. The story follows the life of Neha, who, at first, is driven by blind […]
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After a beloved family member is drowned in a devastating flood, Bede and Elin Sherwell want nothing more than to be left in peace to pursue their off-grid life. But when the very real prospect of fracking hits their village, they are drawn in to the front line of the […]
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O Man of Clay by Eliza Mood ISBN: 978-1939269959 Publisher: Stairwell Books Publication date: December 2, 2019 Review by Mary Woodbury Ursula K. Le Guin once said that speculative fiction was more about the real world than we usually imagine, and that’s true when it comes to authors writing about […]
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Translated by Martin Aitken in 2021 and originally published in 2020, The Morning Star has received positive reviews in the media lately. From Penguin Random House: One long night in August, Arne and Tove are staying with their children in their summer house in southern Norway. Their friend Egil has […]
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The first ever Year’s Best African speculative fiction anthology with 2020 reprinted works from some of the most exciting voices, old and new. Short stories and authors: “Where You Go” by Somto O. Ihezue, “Things Boys Do” by Pemi Aguda, “Giant Steps” by Russell Nichols, “The Future in Saltwater” by […]
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Dew in the Morning is a tender, evocative novel of growing up, but in it we see the seeds of many issues which Chinodya will dwell on in his later novels: familial tensions, the taut interplay of tradition and modernity, ancestral beliefs and Christianity…A Bildungsroman, Chinodya captures the centrality of […]
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The novel’s environmental ethos is also very much of the now, with numerous, vivid descriptions of urban decay competing with the natural world. As an example, there’s a wistful moment where the novelist sees a bird rise into the air with… “an elongated body and exquisite movements, feathers as pale […]
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In The Island of Missing Trees, prizewinning author Elif Shafak brings us a rich, magical tale of belonging and identity, love and trauma, memory and amnesia, human-induced destruction of nature, and, finally, renewal. –Penguin Elif Shafak hardly needs any introduction. Her beautifully designed books can be found everywhere, from airports […]
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Rooney is back with another bookish, epistolary novel — this time following two intelligent young adults navigating their personal lives amid the backdrop of environmental and social upheaval. –New York Times Alice, a novelist, meets Felix, who works in a warehouse, and asks him if he’d like to travel to […]
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