Victoria Janssen's Blog, page 8
April 19, 2023
#TBRChallenge – Unusual Historical: Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark
Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark is a novella set in 1922 Georgia, mostly in Macon with a set piece at Stone Mountain. It’s a dark fantasy that includes body horror, in which white supremacists use the initial release of “Birth of a Nation” in 1915 to enact a ritual bringing demons into the world. The human racism and racist actions of these white supremacists are subsequently exacerbated by these monstrous creatures who devour both hatred and people, including some of the supremacists. As alwa...
April 14, 2023
My March Reading Log
Fiction:
The Iron Princess by Barbara Hambly is her first fantasy novel in about a decade and a half. To me, it had elements that reminded me of both the Darwath books and the Windrose Chronicles; it’s likely meant to be a world in the same universe, where magical travel between different worlds is possible through a void, mageborn people can see in the dark, and messing with things humans don’t understand can lead to disastrous invasions from outside our ken. The world where most of the st...
March 28, 2023
A Place of Refuge omnibus!
The A Place of Refuge omnibus is available for sale.
They lost the revolution. But then, they found sanctuary—and hope.
Telepathic warrior Talia Avi, genius engineer Miki Boudreaux, and augmented soldier Faigin Balfour fought the fascist Federated Colonies for ten years, following the charismatic dissenter Jon Churchill. Then Jon disappeared, Talia was thought dead, and Miki and Faigin struggled to take Jon’s place and stay alive.
When the FC is unexpectedly upended, Talia is reunited with ...
March 15, 2023
#TBRChallenge – Baggage: My Father’s Ghost by Suzy McKee Charnas
My Father’s Ghost (2002) by Suzy McKee Charnas is a memoir by one of my favorite science fiction writers and favorite people, as well. As you can guess from the title, it’s focused on her relationship with her father, Robin McKee. She passed away earlier this year at age 83, after I’d already added this book to the list, so it was a different reading experience than I’d planned, and had different resonances. I read the entire thing in one day.
Onward. This month’s book definitely, definitel...
March 10, 2023
My February Reading Log
Fiction:
The Iron Children by Rebecca Fraimow will be out in early April; I read an ARC via Netgalley. In this novella, two countries are at war. The larger and more powerful Levastani want to take back the smaller country, which split off long ago due to their Celesti religious faith. The Celesti faith includes a strong belief in service, and in true speculative fiction fashion, some of their nuns gave up their bodies to become armored warriors who can telepathically control the bodies of ...
February 15, 2023
#TBRChallenge – Getaway: A Song for Summer by Eva Ibbotson
A Song for Summer by Eva Ibbotson is, I believe, the last of her adult novels that I had left to read. My profound thanks for this journey go to Kelly Link, who recommended the author to me roughly two decades ago.
A Song for Summer by Eva Ibbotson was a delight from end to end, even the sad parts, which given it’s set just before and during World War Two, with a glimpse afterwards, is a mighty accomplishment. It’s set primarily in England and in Austria.
The book opens this way: In a way t...
February 11, 2023
My January Reading Log
Fiction:
Aftermath: Tides Turning (Clorinda Cathcart’s Circle Book 18) by L. A. Hall started my year off right with a check-in on old friends. I loved how the younger generation was taking up the slack to subtly change things for the better.
#TBRChallenge – Starting Over: A Paradigm of Earth by Candas Jane Dorsey.
Fanfiction:
Strange-Eyed Constellations by kaydeefalls was the sort of unexpected crossover I love: The Old Guard, movie version, with Star Trek, reboot movie version. By this poi...
January 31, 2023
Welcome to Refuge!
This is the official website of writer Victoria Janssen, author of A Place of Refuge, three science fiction hopepunk novellas following three former guerillas who’ve escaped to a utopian planet after losing their fight against a fascist empire. They’re figuring out how to live a life that’s not focused on the constant fear of death, with the aid of pastries, therapy, and other people.
You can also find these novellas at Goodreads, StoryGraph, and LibraryThing.
Welcome to my website!
This is the official website of writer Victoria Janssen, author of A Place of Refuge, three science fiction hopepunk novellas following three former guerillas who’ve escaped to a utopian planet after losing their fight against a fascist empire. They’re figuring out how to live a life that’s not focused on the constant fear of death, with the aid of pastries, therapy, and other people.
You can also find these novellas at Goodreads, StoryGraph, and LibraryThing.
Social Media:
Twitter.
Romanceland...
January 30, 2023
I Heart SapphFic Reading Challenge Week 4: Spaceship / Space Station
Finding Refuge is featured this week in the I Heart SapphFic Reading Challenge Week 4: Spaceship / Space Station!
I’ll be visiting the I Heart SapphFic Reader Group on Facebook on and off all week, and will be giving away a free ebook.
Details of the Reading Challenge.
