Dave Higgins's Blog, page 25

What Strange Creature Bimbles…?

I often find rewards in computer games slightly puzzling, not merely in what they are but when they are received. For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been playing Sable, a game about a young woman undertaking her coming-of-age quest on a world that is a blend of many things from hunter-gatherer to high-tech. The … Continue reading What Strange Creature Bimbles…?

Rayna the Dragonslayer by Cynthia Vespia

Vespia balances adherence to fantasy tropes with fresh details, creating an engaging tale of warriors and dragons that is neither slavish homage nor exercise in moral relativism. Cursed before she was even born and orphaned by dragonfire, Rayna devoted her life to slaying dragons until it seemed there were none left. However, when an elite … Continue reading Rayna the Dragonslayer by Cynthia Vespia

I Speak to Serve

Earlier today I learnt that Betty Boothroyd, Baroness Boothroyd, died yesterday. While I didn’t always agree with every nuance of her politics, neither did I despise them; and I share her belief that politics is about public service and is something that everyone should involve themselves in. Today’s other political news reminds me of a … Continue reading I Speak to Serve

His Black Tongue by Mitchell Lüthi

Lüthi tells four tales of very different people facing threats in very different worlds that are united by a sense of how fragile humanity’s control is in the face of a vast universe. This collection contains two novellas and two short stories, spread across genres but united by a sense of dread. His Black Tongue: … Continue reading His Black Tongue by Mitchell Lüthi

Three “Love Your Pet Day” Tips

To mark Love Your Pet Day 2023, here are my three top tips to show your pets you love them. As many of you will know, I have two thumb-bearers (called Friend Human and Other Friend Human) so my tips are focused on thumb-bearers; however, they can easily be adapted to other pets. (1) Temporal … Continue reading Three “Love Your Pet Day” Tips

Savage Headhunters by J. Manfred Weichsel

Recreating both the format and the blatantly racist stereotypes of 1940’s horror-adventure comics, Weichsel satirises conservative and liberal US extremes alike, offering a world where holding the US to be morally superior and becoming offended on behalf of minorities are equally ridiculous. This is the third volume in Weichsel’s Tales to Make You Vomit series. … Continue reading Savage Headhunters by J. Manfred Weichsel

Shattered Perception

Through the random electrical waves of the internet, a picture of a broken mug turned into a garden entered my stream today. The image had an aspirational text on it of perfect pleasantness; however, I was more interested in the image than that message so I tracked down the original. Freed of the need to … Continue reading Shattered Perception

The Thing From HR by Roy M. Griffis

Griffis inverts the classic Lovecraftian trope of humans amid an incomprehensible universe, portraying human society as a thing incomprehensible to an eldritch monstrosity. The hierarchies of the Elder Gods and the Great Old Ones exist within gulfs and spans incomprehensible to the human mind but they exist; and when humans interact they must be put … Continue reading The Thing From HR by Roy M. Griffis

Grimly Perky

A faceful of virus has left me slightly tripping the light fantastic; so have a little art fantastic.

The Hunter by Nicole C.W.

Showing that friendship is as powerful a bond as attraction, this novel offers the intensity of a paranormal romance without the consuming focus of a single destined lover. When a young Raven fought off a vampire attack by turning her blood into a weapon, she was recruited by the Blood Hunters, an organisation dedicated to … Continue reading The Hunter by Nicole C.W.