L.S. Popovich's Blog, page 21

Review of Life Ceremony: Stories by Sayaka Murata

Murata portrays a skewed world, often in the form of a soft, mild-mannered dystopia, where one key component of life is unquestionably different from our own.  This creates a massive paradigm shift, accompanied by harrowing cognitive dissonance. This brand of edgy speculative fiction is simply another form of wry satire, or even humorless, clinical examination […]

Review of The Past Is Red by Catherynne M. Valente

A shortish novel from one of the top three most bleeding edge writers of fantasy in this day and age.  I lump this author above most modern fantasy authors because of the range of her ideas and her psychological distaste for clichés. With a vast body of work already beneath her belt, her latest novelistic […]

Review of Small Town Problems by Chris Ritchey

Small Town Problems, from the title, might elicit expectations of a sitcom drama. In a sense, you would not be entirely wrong. But at its heart, it is a fun, popcorn novel about people running into and responding to trouble, where their innate curiosity plays as big a part as their ingenuity. The characters strike […]

Review of Something New Under the Sun by Alexandra Kleeman

Wow. A stunning book. An immaculately, intricately, eccentrically written, idiosyncratic soft-s-f, near-future, light-dystopian, quirky pseudo-mystery novel describing the ennui, outrage, absurdity, and maturity of an old-before-her-time child star, with all the camp of kid detective sitcoms and an oceanic undercurrent of eco-unrest. Elegant simplicity. Word-by-word delight. Sentence-by-sentence wonder, awe, and ecstatic enjoyment. A continually beguiling […]

Review of Hettie and the Ghost by Becca De La Rosa

In this richly descriptive and atmospheric novel, I was pleased to find intricate sentence structure and mature characters.  Many of its descriptions have an old-fashioned elegance. It is a nuanced ghost story with an intriguing premise, tackling central concepts of spiritualism, the afterlife, and growth. The language is always surprising and contributes to the cinematic […]

Review of Michaelmas – Alex (Oxford girls, #1) by P.D. Kuch

Oxford Girls is so far: a strange blend of genres and tones, and quick-paced action-packed plot-boiler with a quirky protagonist and an unusual premise. With its unpredictable chapter-by-chapter revelations, it straddles B-movie and sophisticated stylization, king of like Kill Bill.The author utilizes a close first person perspective with a distinctive voice to imbue it with […]

Review of Shadebringer by Grayson W. Hooper

Shadebringer begins with an inscrutable world map and intriguing chapter quotes. The title led me to believe it would be a traditional fantasy work in the vein of Brandon Sanderson. That is not the case. Brent Weeks and other authors have a tendency to use titles like this to ease the reader into another world. […]

Review of Intimations: Stories by Alexandra Kleeman

In this modest first collection, the author is often incredibly specific in her descriptions, stretching them to absurd lengths, and melding the boundaries of literary and speculative fiction. Not all of the stories are brilliant in my opinion, but they are all different and eerie. 1. Fairy Tale 2/52. Lobster Dinner 5/53. The Dancing-Master 3/54 […]

Review of The Nomad: Book One by Debra J. Tillar

I am a fan of space-journey science fiction. Also a fan of strong female protagonists and wry humor. This novel checks all the boxes. 1 time-travel narratives explore the mystery surrounding a large event, while fewer of them explore the mystery of characters’ pasts. In this novel, the hardships of slavery and an off-world setting provide […]

Review of The Necrophiliac by Gabrielle Wittkop

An enchanting and disturbing novella. Not as haunting as Story of the Eye but nearly as daring. The title says it all. We are afforded the detailed and poetic perspective of a dastardly protagonist with a taboo kink. What elevates this unique premise are the rich and profound meditations on death, mingling grotesque descriptions with sensual linguistic […]