Dave Higgins's Blog, page 15

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

Into the Bush by J. Manfred Weichsel

Weichsel blends pulp action with gross humour and harsh satire, creating a tale that is both an embodiment of classic adventure tales and a subversion of everything they are held up as representing. This is the second book of “The Action Girls in…” series. Possible spoilers ahead. With Jungle Jitters, the Action Girls’ first film, … Continue reading Into the Bush by J. Manfred Weichsel

Believing Is Not Seeing

Unless more notes are discovered (or someone mounts an expedition that discovers the ruins of the Elder One’s city), we might never know what Danforth saw as the plane departed the ruins toward the end of Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness. However, I am uncertain that the obvious answer of it being the amorphous … Continue reading Believing Is Not Seeing

Primordial World: Book 5 by Baileigh Higgins

Higgins combines the natural dangers of the prehistoric world with the selfishness and cruelty that can taint human interaction, creating a book that blends fast-paced action with depth of character. Note: while the author is blessed with a spiffing surname we are unrelated. This novel is the fifth in Higgins’ Primordial World series. Possible spoilers … Continue reading Primordial World: Book 5 by Baileigh Higgins