Dave Higgins's Blog, page 13

A Battle Between Blood by J.D.L. Rosell

Rosell blends close-focus siege warfare with moments of practical metaphysics, creating a heroic fantasy tale that centres character without having victory be solely the work of a lone hero. The events of this novella take place between the final chapter and the epilogue of Rosell’s Legends of Tal series. Garin Dunford and his companions have … Continue reading A Battle Between Blood by J.D.L. Rosell

Putting the Stars Back

Everything is the wrong length these days. Even the nostalgia isn’t as good as it used to be. But at least I’m not a failed astronaut. The below image of a social media comment came across my screen today, drawing to the front of my mind the ambivalence of endings: we want things to continue … Continue reading Putting the Stars Back

Of One Pure Will by Farah Rose Smith

Smith weaves the strangeness of cosmicism with the decadence and emotion of the gothic, creating a collection that is more about feeling than narrating the liminal horrors at the edge of the comfortably normal. The collection gathers twenty-three of Smith’s short stories, each conveying the sense of something beyond the comfort of consensual normality. ‘The … Continue reading Of One Pure Will by Farah Rose Smith

The Clock is Plasticking

A… Non-Horrific?* Earth Day to you all (*I do not wish misfortune upon you and yet a day of calling for needed improvement is not a thing of happiness either). In line with this year’s theme of Planet vs Plastic, I gift to you a brief TED talk on the issues of plastic waste: Sadly, … Continue reading The Clock is Plasticking

Of Stars & Smoke: Poems for the Dark Wane of the Year by Susan Rooke

Displaying the joyful seriousness of language and the beauty of decay, Rooke provides a series of intermeshing and conflicting images of darker months, evoking without wallowing in the gothic. This collection gathers twenty-eight of Susan Rooke’s poems, each connected to the last four months of the year. As the subtitle indicates, Rooke does not shy … Continue reading Of Stars & Smoke: Poems for the Dark Wane of the Year by Susan Rooke

All These Moments

Drifts of pastel wind Tawdry rock dressed for display Absent trees alive

The Hidden Guardian by J.D.L. Rosell

Rosell blends politics that is true of any time and place with engaging fantasy details, presenting a world where the magical and social have the same epic scale. This is the third volume in Rosell’s Rangers of the Titan Wilds series. Those wishing not to uncover the secrets of the past should turn back. Having … Continue reading The Hidden Guardian by J.D.L. Rosell

Magic Spell

Betwixt some interesting pieces on intersectional faith and society, Yvonne Aburrow has started sharing Pagan Wordles. Being slightly fond of words, I’ve found them pleasingly diverting but also thought-provoking because the focus on a single area makes them harder. I don’t play Wordle daily—or even weekly—so don’t have an optimised strategy; however, decades of other … Continue reading Magic Spell

Crimson King by Morgan Quaid

Quaid leans into both the noir tropes in urban fantasy and the terrifying otherness of ancient myths about fairies and other beings, creating a novel that is likely to please those who like their magical thrillers closer to Lovecraft than love story. Ambrose Drake was a promising sorcerer, until he was caught making a forbidden … Continue reading Crimson King by Morgan Quaid

Offencing Off Areas

There are statements we would like to hear more of, such as “You deserve a bonus”, and those we would like not to hear at all, such as “You deserve to have your legs broken”; and for each of us the line between—where mere indifference to a statement changes into a desire it not be … Continue reading Offencing Off Areas