Dave Higgins's Blog, page 41

Disappearing Women

Henny Beaumont’s “Disappearing Women” project is inspired by the list of women murdered by men in the previous year that Jess Phillips MP reads out each International Women’s Day. Beaumont records herself painting a portrait of the murdered woman, then edits that footage to play backward, creating an image that disappears. I find them starkly … Continue reading Disappearing Women

Ask the Authors, ed. Kaye Lynne Booth

Booth and the contributors blend personal details with more general advice, creating a book that is halfway between biography and craft guide. The book is compiled from a series of communal interviews that the editor carried out with a pool of eighteen authors on writing- and publishing-related topics. Booth has gathered the questions into ten … Continue reading Ask the Authors, ed. Kaye Lynne Booth

Bonus Friday*

Today is apparently Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day. In the spirit of small joys, have a haiku: Sun on scorched fields Two children sitting in dust Watch a lizard dance *A US Grilled Cheese Sandwich is traditionally fried rather than grilled so today is a fry day.

Hunting Vampires for Fun and Profit by Matthew S. Cox

Cox continues his blending of vampire tropes and the concerns of modern US youth to create an engaging tale that has much to appeal both to classic vampire fans and new adult fans. This novel is the thirteenth volume of Cox’s Vampire Innocent series. Spoilers for previous volumes might cross your path ahead. The sort … Continue reading Hunting Vampires for Fun and Profit by Matthew S. Cox

Release the Dollar Monkeys!

Today marks the first easing of lockdown in the United Kingdom (since the last one). While it might feel like an age since we were sealed away, it is nothing compared to that of Ogg, the inventor of the rock for doing something that was previously done in a less efficient way. To both provide … Continue reading Release the Dollar Monkeys!

The Wind Mage and the Wolf by Stephanie Flint

Flint blends aspects of spy thriller with an interesting fantasy society to create a novella that asks questions about what freedom actually is without ceasing to be an engaging tale of magical action. Livena, an illegal mage suffering a truth curse, fled her homeland for the city of Ashan in the company of an ex-mage … Continue reading The Wind Mage and the Wolf by Stephanie Flint

Peacock Gramophone

And lo did the Prophet Irving say that forsoever there be the light of the moon and melodious sounds and the communion of souls and the seeking thereto, the righteous shall move their limbs in defiance of looming imperfections. Nina Paley’s Sita Sings the Blues evoked that spirit in me; maybe it will you. The … Continue reading Peacock Gramophone

Godsquatter by Gerard Heidgerken

Mashing a bit of Robert Rankin, a chunk of Kevin Smith, and a lot of potato jokes together, Heidgerken produces satire for the generation that can’t even. Gordon MacNamara works in a fast-food franchise, dreaming not of a better future but of those shifts when he gets to work the fry station rather than something … Continue reading Godsquatter by Gerard Heidgerken

Happy Deathday to HP Lovecraft

What better soundtrack for the day the misanthrope died than a playlist of all the songs featured in Harlem Smoke, a novel that blends Lovecraft and music? The answer is potentially a great many things: however James Champagne’s choices for songs to feature do provide a pleasing change from the three threads of dark ambient, … Continue reading Happy Deathday to HP Lovecraft

The Burning Alchemist by Matthew S. Cox

Cox continues his blending of fast-paced thrills, an engaging urban fantasy world, and strong characters, creating another tale of magical firefighting and not destroying the universe. This is the fifth volume of Cox’s Temporal Armistice series. Ignore the muffled giggling. There definitely aren’t spoilers just waiting to leap out beyond this point. When Brooklyn Amari … Continue reading The Burning Alchemist by Matthew S. Cox