Lizz Donnelly's Blog, page 3

Review: The Agony House by Cherie Priest

Like most people, I follow Cherie Priest on Twitter for the adventures in pictures of Scorndog, Grayson, House Leopard and recently departed ElderCat. (Most people do follow her for that reason, right? I’m not THAT weird? Also the book news, sure, but really, pet pictures.)

Years ago, I read Boneshaker, and really enjoyed it, so when I heard people raving about The Agony House, I put it on my giant, overwhelming list of books to be read.

I finally snagged it from the library last week, and it...

REVIEW: We Set The Dark On Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

I devoured this book.

I grabbed it from the library last week, because it was on my list, but I couldn’t really remember what it was about. But it had a good title and a pretty cover.

We Set the Dark on Fire starts with a myth, of a sun god and a salt god, who each rule an island. They are brothers who become divided over, (what else?) a woman. The moon goddess, specifically. This sets off a feud and the Sun god puts up a wall around his island to keep out his brother and all the people from...

GRIMM, GRIT and GASOLINE: Table of Contents

Exciting news!

World Weaver Press has released the official Table of Contents for Grimm, Grit and Gasoline, their anthology of dieselpunk and decopunk fairy tales.

And it is with great pleasure that I can now tell you that I’m ON IT!

My story, Evening Chorus, is a retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Nightingale, and I’m thrilled to have it included in this anthology. It’s about a nightclub owner who has to have the best of everything, including a one of a kind singing automaton. But ma...

Review: Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Ghost Boys is a too-familiar story.

In alternating sections of “Alive” and “Dead” it tells the story of Jerome, a 12 year old boy from Chicago who is shot and killed by a police officer while playing with a toy gun.

Jerome is a quiet boy with no friends who gets bullied daily at his school. Still, he does his best to keep his sister safe and his grandmother happy. When a new boy, Carlos, arrives from Texas, Jerome reaches out, even though he knows he’ll be a bigger target to the bullies, and...

REVIEW: Here and Now and Then- Mike Chen

One of my favorite parts of my Patreon page (which you can subscribe to HERE) is my book blogging monthly column, Canon Blast, where I read and pick apart a work in the SFF Canon.

In the interest of book blogging more, I’m going to try to do little write ups of things as I read them, in addition to my annual year-end, massive wrap up post. I can’t count the number of times I’ve wished for a job that would allow me to read all of the things and get paid for it, and while this definitely doesn’...

Flash in the Pan: A “She” Companion Story

I’ve neglected this blog a little bit, but I think it will work out. I read H. Rider Haggard’s She for my November Canon Blast post– which you can find over on my Patreon for just $1/month– and it was a hoot. And I mean that sarcastically, because I really did not like it at all. This little ficlet is a companion story for poor abused Mahomed. Haggard was really terrible to him.

I read The Left Hand of Darkness for December, and there is no companion story because holidays. But there should b...

Goals Post (Not the Sportsball Kind)

2018 has lasted an eternity and also somehow flown by at the same time. I’m not sure how that happens. I honestly can’t remember what happened when. Rationally, and according to the google machine, I know movies like Black Panther came out this year, etc, but I’m also pretty confident that was like ten years ago? I blame the endless cycle of bleak news.

Personally, it was a pretty good year for me. Which brings us to Ye Olde End of the Year Summary Post.

If you remember from last year, I deci...

Year in Books 2018

It’s December 31, which means it’s time to take stock of what I read this year and pick some favorites.

TOP FIVE (in no particular order):

Annihilation– Jeff Vandermeer

Go ahead and watch the movie, but it’s nothing at all like the book. Annihilation is the first book in the Southern Reach Trilogy, and I think, the strongest, but I recommend reading the whole trilogy. It is a trilogy in the truest sense, where you need all three books’ worth of information in order to sort out what the hell i...

Giftmas Blog Tour 2018– Eggscellent

Happy Winter Solstice!

This holiday season I am participating, for the first time, in Rhonda Parrish’s blog tour to benefit the Edmonton Food Bank. It’s an advent calendar style tour this year, so every day for the first 24 days of December, you can follow along and read a new story donated by a writer on their blog. On day 25 a top secret surprise will be revealed!

The goal amount for the food bank donations was $750, which would provide 2,250 meals and that goal has already been surpassed!...

2018 Eligibility Post

Hello friends!

This is a different kind of wrap up post. It’s been brought to my attention that Awards Season is upon us, and I do have a couple of things that are eligible. Nebula Nominations are open–I’m not a SFWA member (yet!) so I can’t nominate, but I will put together a post closer to the end of the year with all the SFF writing that I loved this year.

On to the eligible things!

“Too Good, At Least,” published in Issue Two of Speculative City.

“Last Rites,” published in Zoetic Press’ ‘...