Fantasy Books

Young Blood (Zebra Books, March 1994). Cover uncredited

Young Blood, from Zebra 1994, Edited by Mike Baker. Cover looks like a photo: Artist unknown.

Here’s another book I picked up originally because it had a Robert E. Howard story in it. This one’s different, though. It isn’t a collection of Sword & Sorcery tales, but of horror stories. The Howard story is “Pigeons From Hell,” which is somewhat universally recognized as the best of his supernatural tales. In Danse Macabre, his nonfiction book on horror, Stephen King called it “one of the finest horror stories of our century.” I agree.

[Click the images for bloody versions.]

Young Blood contents

The collection also has stories by King, Ramsey Campbell, Robert Block, Poe, Michael Scott Bricker, Clark Perry, Lawrence Schimel, Tia Travis, Wayne Edwards, Pamela Briggs, Barb Hendee, Lorelei Shannon, Todd Mecklem, Marc Paoletti, Dominick Cancilla, Sean Doolittle, Terry Campbell, H. Andrew Lynch, Brian Evenson, James C. Basett, M. Francis Hamill, Gordon Gelder, Cristopher Hall, J. F. Gonzalez, Jak Koke & Jonathan Bond, Adam Fusco, Tim Waggoner, and Poppy Z. Brite & Christa Faust.

I knew a lot of these names, though not all, and I’ve had pleasant dealings with such folks as Hendee, Mecklem, Bond and Waggoner. I also knew Poppy Brite at this time, although he is now known as William Joseph Martin (1967 -).

Young Blood introduction by Mike Baker

Brite’s collaboration, “Saved,” is by far the most graphic story in the book. I enjoyed it but was glad I hadn’t eaten recently.

My favorite story in the book, (other than Howard of course) was by Schimel. It was called “An Eye for an Eye, A Tooth for a Tooth.” It was absolutely hilarious. And one great idea.

Charles Gramlich administers The Swords & Planet League group on Facebook, where this post first appeared. His last article for us was a look at The Cornerstones of High Fantasy. See all of his recent posts for Black Gate here.

Thank you so very much to all of this year’s guests for making April 2026 another incredible Women in SF&F Month! And thank you to everyone who shared guest posts and helped spread the word about this year’s series. It is always very much appreciated! Now that all of this year’s essays are up, I wanted to make sure there was a way to find all guest posts from 2026. This was (somehow) the fifteenth annual Women in SF&F Month, which […]

The post Women in SF&F Month 2026: Thank You and Links first appeared on Fantasy Cafe.

Here are 7 Author Shoutouts for this week. Find your favorite author or discover an…

The post 7 Author Shoutouts | Authors We Love To Recommend appeared first on LitStack.

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Science Fiction
Length: 476 pages
Publisher: Entangled: Rebellion Publishing Ltd
Release Date: May 10, 2022
ASIN: B09SVVVXKR
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Borrowed ebook from library
Rating: 5/5 stars

“Fleeing the final days of the generations-long war with the alien Felen, smuggler Jereth Keeven’s freighter the Jonah breaks down in a strange rift in deep space, with little chance of rescue—until they encounter the research vessel Gallion, which claims to be from 152 years in the future.

The Gallion’s chief engineer Uma Ozakka has always been fascinated with the past, especially the tale of the Fortunate Five, who ended the war with the Felen. When the Gallion rescues a run-down junk freighter, Ozakka is shocked to recognize the Five’s legendary ship—and the Five’s famed leader, Eldric Leesongronski, among the crew.

But nothing else about Leesongronski and his crewmates seems to match up with the historical record. With their ships running out of power in the rift, more than the lives of both crews may be at stake…”

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I borrowed this on ebook through my library.

Thoughts: I ended up thoroughly enjoying this sci-fi story about time travel and its inevitability. The characters are very well done, and the story is cleverly woven together. The mystery really pulls the reader along, and there are fun twists throughout the story, even up until the very end. This is action packed and hard to put down.

Jereth Keevan’s freighter breaks down in a strange rift in deep space during the final days of a war with the Felen. The Gallion (a research ship) finds themselves trapped in the same strange rift. When the two ships discover each other in the rift, they find out that their timelines seem to be 152 years apart. Keevan’s crew should be from the past, and the Gallion crew should know that past well, however nothing is matching up. Both crews are forced to put aside this mystery to escape this rift alive.

This book jumps back and forth between current time (in the rift) and each of the characters’ pasts. This was very well done and really allows us to get to know the individual characters and the reasons behind their actions better. The jumps back in time relate to something happening in present time, so the switches in POV and time worked really well together and didn’t seem jarring or hard to follow.

I found this book incredibly engaging, fast-paced, and surprising. I enjoyed every second of reading this and looked forward to picking it up to read. Between this book, “God’s Junk Drawer”, and “Light from Uncommon Stars”, I have been on a bit of a sci-fi kick, I guess. I have read some excellent sci-fi reads this month.

My Summary (5/5): Overall I really loved this. I loved the unique way the story was put together, the characters, the fast-pace, and the constant surprises. This book kept me very engaged and was hard to put down. I loved the way everything came together in the end and enjoyed the twists and turns that were thrown at the reader. I definitely plan on checking out Hutchings’ other novels.

Good afterevenmorn, Readers!

So… I’m a nerd. I know, surprising, right? What might actually be surprising, though, is that I’ve never actually played a game of Dungeons & Dragons. I mean, I’ve had a couple of home-brewed one-shots many years ago, but I’m never actually played a proper campaign, with a regular crew. That changed this year. I started with a friend, who was part of another group, who then created a splinter group for a different game. I am part of that splinter group, starting a new campaign at ground zero.

Can I just say, I am loving it. It’s a very excellent way to explore character and motivation, as well as world-building and story-telling. If you struggle with any of these, consider starting a D&D campaign. Let’s explore what’s going on in my game, because I’m too enamoured with it currently not to share.

First, because I’m relatively new to the whole thing, I started out basic. The character I chose is closest to myself in both appearance and temperament, which is to say I am playing a human fighter. She’s wildly idealistic, believing her strength and talents should be used to protect those who cannot protect themselves. She is the embodiment of my favourite quote from The Lord of the Rings, as articulated by my favourite captain of Gondor, Faramir.

I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.

Which, incidentally, I intend to have tattooed to my person one of these days.

Unlike the devastating stories of early childhood trauma that seems to be the norm for player characters, Tabynthia’s childhood was happy. She grew up in a tiny village, who, like Sparta raises fighters. Unlike Sparta, however, this society is kind and open, and are directly responsible for instilling her belief that it is her duty in this life to defend the defenseless and protect the innocent.

Everyone, regardless of race or ability has a place in this village, provided they adhere to the tenants of life there (on of Taby’s best friends is a half-orc, whose father orcish father fell in love with one of the fighters when she was out in the world, and followed her, eventually joining the village, earning a living as a smith). Only those who are able are raised as warriors, and sent out into the world to make their mark and earn coin and when their adventuring is done, assuming they live, they return home to help raise and train the next generation of defenders.

The manner in which they make their coin matters, and upon their death, they must face the judgement of their ancestors, making a full accounting of their deeds in life. Only the worthy are permitted to join the ancestors in their eternal festivities. Everyone else is sent back to right their wrongs, or to try again and become worthy. Taby was loved by bother her parents, both of whom  are still alive. Her mother trained her in the fighting arts, and her grandmother, a great hero of her time, coached her in ethics growing up. Her father simply proudly doted. She is out in the world now as a young adult, attempting to make the world better for her being there.

That’s my character. I mean in game.

D&D, for everyone! Except the first guy. Not him.

This is a very fun dynamic in game to play. It makes for some really interesting choices for the character; a narrative choice. Does Taby permit the horrors of the world make of her a cold, hardened warrior, or does she make the very deliberate choice to lean even harder into the kindness and belief in goodness that stands at the core of her upbringing? Will she maintain the belief in herself instilled in her by a family that loved and supported her, or will she fall into the trap of having her self of self erode away, leaving her in despair regarding her own abilities? Save the fortune or misfortune of the roll of the dice, everything about a character is a deliberate choice on the part of the player.

It’s a great way to examine character choices in narrative, for those of us who are writers. It’s also an interesting way to examine our choice in the real world. I know for a fact that I’ve often turned to thoughts of my character when I’ve been personally struggling. What would Tabynthia do? She’s become a source of inspiration for me… which is weird, since I made her up. But it’s true.

This is also the first time I’ve played in a world that isn’t of my own creation. This is a very new experience for me. I have never written fan fiction, and I haven’t partnered with another author to create a story together. So this is something that I approached with considerable trepidation. It can be really tough creating in a world that has constraints you did not yourself create, and so might have trouble keeping your character or actions within the bounds of those constraints.

This is a good thing, I think; an excellent exercise for writer. I have read a few writers who break their own world rules without any valid justification (“because the narrative demands it” is not sufficient). I’ve also read a lot of characters that are able to magically do something that doesn’t make sense for their characters to be able to do. Practice not being able to do these things, as is offered by D&D, can help here I think.

Incidentally, though I’ve not dabbled in it, fan fiction can also help with this, as it is someone else’s world and, if done correctly, rules. It can also break the world, but let’s not talk about that too much.

I have to say, the DM running my particular game is quite forgiving when it comes to permitting me to create the whole damned culture which gave us Tabynthia. This small collection of villages in northern Faerûn doesn’t exist explicitly in the books I was given to help me get a handle on the game. But I was allowed to have Tabynthia come from there all the same. He’s also extremely patient in talking me through what my character can do, so I can make informed choices in any interaction. So, depending on your DM, you may have a lot more leeway to exercise your imagination while still being mostly true to the game. Though I still grimace at his evil little chuckles.

How it feels any time the dice favour me. Image by Lixxe from Pixabay

This game also helps put you right in the shoes of your protagonist (and every player is the protagonist in their version of the story), so for anyone who struggles to see an alternate perspective, or having a character act differently from themselves in their fiction, this is a great way to exercise that particular muscle.

In order to do that, though, you must be willing to emphasize the role-playing aspect of this game. I have been letting my buried once-theatre kid have a ball with this character. It might take a bit for someone not used to inhabiting a role in this way to be able to do it, and perhaps a little longer to be comfortable doing it in a group setting, but it is well worth it; not just because it’s really fun, but also because it’s really good for seeing through another’s eyes. In writing and in life, this can only be a good thing.

Dungeons & Dragons is not just a great way to gather and play, but it can be a really serious exercise in good writing, in writing practice, and, like most fiction, dissecting the real world in which we live, and the actions of those in it in a more hands-on way than reading often permits (unless you’re like me, in which case you get so into a book you’re practically living it).

If you haven’t tried your hand at it yet, this is your sign to give it a go. Finding a good crew with a good DM can often be a challenge (hoy boy, have I heard some horror stories), but it’s well worth it if they can be found.

When S.M. Carrière isn’t brutally killing your favorite characters, she spends her time teaching martial arts, live streaming video games, and sometimes painting. In other words, she spends her time teaching others to kill, streaming her digital kills, and sometimes relaxing. Her most recent titles include Daughters of Britain, Skylark and Human. The Timbercreek Incident is free to read on Wattpad.

Epic Horror is one of the most ambitious kinds of horror stories to tell. Horror is a genre that relies a great deal on tension and can often be strengthened by intimacy of character or situation. In other words, relatively small stakes. Maintaining a level of tension and mounting dread over the course of a…

Today’s Women in SF&F Month guest is Ai Jiang! Her poetry and short stories include “We Smoke Pollution,” winner of the 2023 Ignyte Award for Best in Speculative Poetry, and “Give Me English,” a Nebula and Locus Award finalist for Best Short Story. She is also the author of the Bram Stoker and Nebula Award–winning horror novella Linghun and the science fantasy novel An Empire in the Clouds (coming in September). Her next book, A River From the Sky, comes […]

The post Women in SF&F Month: Ai Jiang first appeared on Fantasy Cafe.

Other LitStack Spots We’ve also added a few other titles to our TBR stack, including…

The post Spotlight on “Pretend You’re Dead and I Carry You” by Julian Delgado Lopera appeared first on LitStack.

The Coen Brothers are among the finest filmmakers of my lifetime. Joel and younger brother Ethan started with Blood Simple in 1984, writing, directing, and producing together for the next few decades. And they produced some of the era’s best films. Dark comedies like Raising Arizona, Barton Fink, Fargo, and Intolerable Cruelty. The Big Lebowski is a prolific meme generator. And O Brother, Where Art Thou is a masterful ‘modern’ retelling of The Odyssey.

They raised the Noir stakes from Blood Simple, making The Man Who Wasn’t There (a black-and-white film in 2001? That’s bold). And the chilling No Country for Old Men.

Miller’s Crossing – heavily influenced by Dashiell Hammett’s The Glass Key – is one of my Top Five Hardboiled films of all time,

Joel worked as an assistant film editor (back in the days when they literally cut and spliced together reels of film) for 1981’s Evil Dead. That was the first movie which Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell made (that’s a post subject some day). A friendship formed between Joel and Sam, and the ‘two camps’ would intertwine.

The Coens made a ‘fake trailer’ for Blood Simple, and Campbell – who is not in the movie – played the murder victim. The Coens’ next film was Crimewave (written with, and directed by, Raimi), and they wrote the lead for Campbell. He wasn’t remotely a star yet, and the studio wanted ‘a name’ and vetoed the choice. The brothers and Raimi created an entirely new part – Renaldo ‘The Heel’ – to get Bruce in the movie.

And to tie all this together, Bruce and Sam played parts in my vote for the most underrated Coen Brothers film, The Hudsucker Proxy. It’s simply brilliant. You could call it a screwball comedy, with satire, and oddly, some fantasy mixed in.

It BOMBED at the box office, finishing 174 (domestic) for the year. And #176 was Red Rock West, which is one of the best Noirs you’ve never seen. There’s no accounting for taste.

Beyond the story basics, this is gonna be a spoiler-free essay. You should explore the movie yourself.

Between Bull Durham, and The Hudsucker Proxy, Tim Robbins had become well-respected in 1992 for The Player (box office #67), and Bob Roberts (#129). These were insightful satires. The Player elevates by being a terrific movie in which it’s hard to find someone to root for. That is not easy to pull off. (I know, by default it’s gotta be Gretta Sacchi. But I found her tiresome).

In 1994, Robbins played bumpkin Norvell Barnes, hitting the big city in 1958, fresh out of the Muncie School of Business. He gets a job in the mail room of Hudsucker Industries, just as a change is occurring on the top floor. And at ground level as well.

Paul Newman is the crusty, cigar-smoking, sleazy, right-hand man, and he’s an absolute delight. One of my favorite performances of his. He has a scheme that involves elevating Barnes to President of the company, and he supports his bizarre product idea.

With the working name Extruded Plastic Dingus, there’s a montage of the different design, development, promotion, and production phases of this new item ‘You know, for kids.’

There’s a lot of hoopla for a simple product. The satire is highlighted by the Advertising secretary reading War & Peace, and then Anna Kerinina, while the ad men toss out slogan after slogan.

It’s all done in a visual fifties corporate style, and it’s fun to watch. The Coens were clever and intentionally thoughtful. The burst of color they use for the Dingus after these bland scenes is more evidence of their skill and ability to make enduring films.

Then, it’s THE montage, with the dingus, and the kids. Sam Raimi directed this, and he has a cameo alongside John Cameron, another of The Evil Dead crew. I think that Raimi is one of the truly excellent filmmakers of this era (like the Coens), and this is a masterful montage.

Watch the facial expressions, the way the scene moves forward visually with the music (there’s no dialogue). The plot explodes in this montage, without using any words. Don’t scroll on your phone – really watch this. Even the price stickers going back up is clever. This movie is full of ‘smart funny’ elements; you pick up on more things, the more you watch it.

Such as, keep an eye on the changes in Robbin’s character as it goes along. It’s shown visually, bit by bit. It presages one of the episodes in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. The Coen Brothers are really good at telling a story.

There’s a lot of movie left, and I’ll leave the rest of the story to your viewing. A fantastical element becomes a key part, and it’s always struck me as a bit jarring, but it sticks together.

Jennifer Jason Leigh is Amy Archer (who never fails to mention she’s won a Pulitzer Prize), a fast-talking newspaper reporter. John Mahoney (Frasier) is her editor, and Bruce Campbell is a fellow reporter. The Coens put together a terrific cast – folks even in single scenes. It’s got Charles Durning and Bill Cobbs, and look for Peter Gallagher, Steve Buscemi, Anna Nicole Smith, John Goodman (maybe listen for him), and Richard Schiff.

And if you are a fan of The Wire, you are gonna love EVERY scene Jim True-Frost is in. He’s delightful. Seriously.

While box office revenues are certainly a valid way to assess a movie’s success or failure, it’s certainly not the sole determinant of a movie’s worth. On a $25 million budget, Hudsucker only brought in $2.8 million, and it had no international release. It barely made back one-tenth of its budget.

The Coens’ next two movies would be Fargo, and The Big Lebowski. The boys continued to be popular but not commercially successful (Fargo, #75, Lebowski #98). Even O Brother, Where Art Thou, which was a financial hit, still was only the #58 movie of 2001.

But movie fans can rattle off movie after movie, when asked what they like by the Coens. The box office isn’t the measure of the Coen Brothers’ quality. They made smart, or funny, or dark, or satirical, or thoughtful – usually a mix of at least two of those qualities – movies. I have a friend who thought Intolerable Cruelty was just okay. I think it’s hilarious. And we both think the Coens remade True Grit as well as anyone could have. You just need to watch a few of their movies to appreciate them.

I drifted away from their stuff starting with Burn After Reading, and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is the last thing I saw (and Hail Caesar! fell flat for me). But a half dozen-ish of them are among the best movies I’ve seen. The Coens were THAT good. If you only saw The Hudsucker Proxy, and Miller’s Crossing, your life would have been blessed. Though O Brother, Where Art Thou is great in so many ways – especially for this Greek mythology geek.

The Hudsucker Proxy isn’t the same kind of cult classic which Firefly, or even The Big Lebowski, is. But people who know, love this one. And many of us rank it higher than the better-known Coens movies. Regardless, this is a treat to watch, and it doesn’t grow stale with additional viewings.

You can watch The Hudsucker Proxy for free, on Tubi. This world is a dumpster fire. We all have things we watch, or listen to, to help us deal with it. To step away from all the crap. If you wanna sit down and watch something funny and thoughtful, this is the movie for you.

Some previous entries on things to watch:

Let’s Go to the Movies: 1996
Firefly – The Animated Reboot
What I’ve Been Watching – February 2026 (The Night Manager, SS-GB, Best Medicine)
What I’ve Been Watching – October 2026 (Return to Paradise, Lynley, Expend4bles, and more)
What I’ve Been Watching – August 2025 (Ballard, Resident Alien, Twisted Metal, and more)
What I’ve Been Watching – May 2025 (County Line, The Bondsman, Bosch: Legacy)
What I’ve Been Watching – October 2024 (What We Do in the Shadows, The Bay, Murder in a Small Town)
What I’m Watching – November 2023 (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Caine Mutiny Court Martial, A Haunting in Venice)
What I’m Watching – April 2023 (Florida Man, Picard – season three, The Mandalorian)
The Pale Blue Eye, and The Glass Onion: Knives Out
Tony Hillerman’s Dark Winds
The Rings of Power (Series I wrote on this show – all links at this one post)
What I’m Watching – December 2022 (Frontier, Leverage: Redemption)
What I’m Watching – November 2022 (Tulsa King, Andor, Fire Country, and more)
What I’m Watching – September 2022 (Galavant, Firefly, She-Hulk, and more)
What I’m Watching- April 2022 (Outer Range, Halo, Why Didn’t They Ask Evans, and more)
When USA Network was Kicking Major Butt (Monk, Psych, Burn Notice)
You Should be Streaming These Shows (Corba Kai, The Expanse, Bosch, and more)
What I’m BritBoxing – December 2021 (Death in Paradise, Shakespeare & Hathaway, The Blake Mysteries, and more)
To Boldly Go – Star Treking – (Various Star Trek incarnations)
What I’ve Been Watching – August 2021 (Monk, The Tomorrow War, In Plain Sight, and more)
What I’m Watching – June 2021 (Get Shorty, Con Man, Thunder in Paradise, and more)
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil
What I’ve Been Watching – June 2021 (Relic Hunter, Burn Notice, Space Force, and more)
Appaloosa
Psych of the Dead
The Mandalorian
What I’m Watching: 2020 – Part Two (My Name is Bruce, Sword of Sherwood Forest, Isle of Fury, and more)
What I’m Watching 2020: Part One (The Adventures of Brisco County Jr, Poirot, Burn Notice, and more)
Philip Marlowe: Private Eye
Leverage
Nero Wolfe – The Lost Pilot
David Suchet’s ‘Poirot’
Sherlock Holmes (over two dozen TV shows and movies)

Bob Byrne’s ‘A (Black) Gat in the Hand’ made its Black Gate debut in 2018 and has returned every summer since.

His ‘The Public Life of Sherlock Holmes’ column ran every Monday morning at Black Gate from March, 2014 through March, 2017. And he irregularly posts on Rex Stout’s gargantuan detective in ‘Nero Wolfe’s Brownstone.’ He is a member of the Praed Street Irregulars, and founded www.SolarPons.com (the only website dedicated to the ‘Sherlock Holmes of Praed Street’).

He organized Black Gate’s award-nominated ‘Discovering Robert E. Howard’ series, as well as the award-winning ‘Hither Came Conan’ series. Which is now part of THE Definitive guide to Conan. He also organized 2023’s ‘Talking Tolkien.’

He has contributed stories to The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories — Parts III, IV, V, VI, XXI, and XXXIII.

He has written introductions for Steeger Books, and appeared in several magazines, including Black Mask, Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, The Strand Magazine, and Sherlock Magazine.

You can definitely ‘experience the Bobness’ at Jason Waltz’s ’24? in 42′ podcast.

Book links: Amazon, Goodreads
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Michael R. Fletcher lives in the endless suburban sprawl north of Toronto. He dreams of trees and seeing the stars at night and being a ninja. He is an unrepentant whiskey-swilling reprobate of the tallest order and thinks grilled cheese sandwiches are a food group.
Publisher: Michael R. Fletcher (April 13, 2026) Page count: 353 pages Formats: ebook, paperback

“Once we were the Death of Suns, the dark before the dawn. Now, we are a mirror smashed, the sharp slivers put back together wrong, the reflection splintered and distorted. We stare at ourselves, recognizing the face and yet knowing something is missing.”

That line pretty much sums up what The Lord of the Empty Mirror is doing, and what Khraen is at this point. Not a man so much as a collection of pieces arguing with each other.

I loved the original Obsidian Path trilogy, so I went in with high expectations and this didn’t disappoint. Khraen is hunting the shards of his heart but also he's against one that represents the worst (or maybe most honest) version of himself. The part that understands power, control, conquest. Which means you get two Khraens. Sort of.

One is trying to fix things and unite the world, stop a god, and maybe do a bit less mass murder along the way. The other version is much more focused on conquering everything, trusts no one, and absolutely don’t let feelings get in the way. 

Bringing in another POV, especially one tied so closely to Khraen himself, works surprisingly well. It allows to dive into one of the series’ core ideas of how memory shapes identity. Who you are, what you remember, and what you choose to become aren’t cleanly separated here. Fletcher really digs into that, and it pays off.  If you take a man, break him into pieces, and then put him back together… which version is real? The one trying to be better, or the one who remembers how effective being worse used to be?

Plot-wise, there’s always something happening and it never drags. I liked the twists, but I won't spoil them for you. 

Also, it’s properly grim. Every solution costs something awful. There’s a moment where Khraen casually weighs how many souls something is worth, and it doesn’t feel out of place. That’s the level we’re operating on.

Khraen himself is, well, still Khraen. Powerful, determined, and capable of making deeply questionable decisions with full confidence. There were a few “why would you do that” moments, but they always track. He’s not stupid, he’s just very committed to his own logic, which is sometimes worse.

The ending is going to split people. If you didn’t like how the original trilogy wrapped up, this won’t fix that. It follows the same idea and you get no neat closure or the sense that everything is finally “done.”

For me, it was perfect since it fits the series. But if you’re looking for clear answers and everything tied up nicely, you won’t get that here.

TL;DR: I loved it.

Cast in Blood Published by Harlequin on April 28, 2026

DO NOT MEDDLE IN THE AFFAIRS OF BARRANI

Kaylin has been warned to steer clear of the lords of the Barrani High Court. She’d be more than happy to oblige, but it’s a bit difficult considering she lives with ten of them, all sent to the green to gain power or die. With Kaylin’s help, they finally escaped their imprisonment. But their attempts at freedom had devastating consequences—and a price that has yet to be paid.

The first warning sign is the Consort’s invitation to visit the High Halls—a Barrani invitation, which means an immediate visit.

The second sign is less subtle: Kaylin finds Nightshade’s unresponsive body. He hovers on the edge of death, beyond saving through Kaylin’s healing power. No one can explain his state, nor why she’s powerless to save him. And if she and her Barrani friends can’t figure out a way to bring him back, he’ll be lost forever.

Yet even as Kaylin struggles to keep Nightshade from death, there is deeper magic at play, a growing threat with the potential to affect the entire Barrani race. Factions are shifting, new lines are being drawn—and Nightshade’s near assassination is only the beginning. Can Kaylin uncover the nebulous forces that threaten the balance of Barrani—and their entire world—before it’s too late?

Pages: 512 GoodreadsGenres: Fiction / Action & Adventure, Fiction / Fantasy / Action & Adventure, Fiction / Fantasy / Dragons & Mythical Creatures, Fiction / Fantasy / Epic, Fiction / Fantasy / General, Fiction / Fantasy / Paranormal, Fiction / Fantasy / Urban, Fiction / Magical Realism, Fiction / Thrillers / Supernatural, Fiction / Women
Format: eARC ISBN: 9780369774880
By: Michelle Sagara
Source: NetGalleyAlso by this author: Cast in Silence, Cast in Chaos, Cast in Flame, Cast in Honor, Cast in Flight (Chronicles of Elantra #12), Grave, Cast in Deception

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The latest installment in the Chronicles of Elantra series is a must-read for fantasy fans. With its richly layered world-building and complex character development, this series continues to stand out as one of the most compelling in the genre. While romance takes a back seat, the story is filled with deep emotional connections that give the characters real weight and depth.

Blending fantasy with elements of police procedural, deadly magic, and five distinct races, the series offers a unique and immersive reading experience. The world is intricate, the stakes are high, and each book builds meaningfully on the last. This is absolutely a series that should be read in order, as jumping in later will leave you lost in both the plot and the character dynamics.

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Science Fiction
Length: 628 pages
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Release Date: November 11, 2025
ASIN: B0DVJNMD3C
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Bought on ebook
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

“Forty years ago, the Gather family—James, his daughter Beau, and his son Billy—vanished during a whitewater rafting trip and were presumed dead.

Five years later, Billy reappeared on the far side of the world, telling an impossible tale of a primordial valley populated by dinosaurs, aliens, Neanderthals, and androids. Little Billy became the punchline of so very many jokes, until he finally faded from the public eye.

Now, a group of graduate astronomy students follow their professor, Noah Barnes, up a mountain for what they believe is a simple stargazing trip. But they’re about to travel a lot farther than they planned …

Noah—the now grown Billy Gather—has finally figured out how to get back to the valley. Accidentally bringing his students along with him, he’s confident he can get everyone back home, safe and sound.

But the valley is a puzzle—one it turns out Noah hasn’t figured out—and they’ll need to solve it together if there’s any chance of making it out alive.”

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I bought this for ebook.

Thoughts: I enjoyed the puzzle behind this strange story. It has elements of time travel, dinosaurs, aliens, and general strangeness. It moved along at a decent pace and kept me guessing as to where the story was going.

The Gather family disappeared on a whitewater rafting trip and, five years one of the Gather family members (Billy) returned on the other side of the world. Billy had stories about a valley of dinosaurs and Neaderthals, but of course everyone assumed he was a traumatized kid. Billy changed his name to Noah, became a professor, and spent his career learning quantum physics. Now it’s time to for Noah to go back to the mysterious valley of his childhood. Unfortunately, he accidentally drags some grad students along with him. Noah was confident he could get them all home, but things have changed in the valley and now he is not so sure.

There were a few things about this story that really grabbed me and kept me turning pages. The first was the mystery of the valley and how (and why) it had changed over time. The second was the pure wonder of strange things that were found within the valley; you never really knew what you were going to find when you turned the next page.

I enjoyed the characters here. They don’t have a ton of depth to them, but they are entertaining. There is a pretty high (and swift) body count in this book, so it’s best not to get too attached to anyone. Noah/Billy is a bit of a puzzle and I found his stubbornness in admitting things had changed a bit frustrating. Although to be fair, he had been planning this return to the valley his whole life, and to have it all go so amiss had to be mind boggling.

I ended up liking how the story wrapped up. At first I wasn’t sure how aliens, dinosaurs, Neaderthals and robots were going to come together in a cohesive story but Clines made it work. He made it work in a way that was cohesive, easy to follow, and entertaining. Whenever I want something a bit weird and quirky, I pick up a Clines book and am never disappointed.

My Summary (4.5/5): Overall I really enjoyed this. This story is a bit weird and different, but I liked that it kept me guessing and really enjoyed the wonder of all the weird surprises throughout. If you are looking for an odd mystery adventure story that involves dinosaurs, Neaderthals, aliens, and robots, I would recommend. Trust me, it all works together great and will keep you on your toes. Can’t wait to see what Clines comes up with next!

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (Ballantine paperback editions, October & November 1965). Covers by Barbara Remington

I’ve defined Heroic Fantasy (HF) as a type of fiction in which a heroic (bigger than life) figures use a combination of physical strength and edged weapons (Swords, Axes, Spears) to face bigger than life foes. The hero may be either male or female, but the focus is primarily on personal conflict between the hero and various villains.

I divide Heroic Fantasy into four categories: Sword and Sorcery, Sword and Planet, High Fantasy, and Heroic Historical. I’ve previously discussed S&S, S&P, and Heroic Historical (HH). Today let’s check out High Fantasy.

[Click the images for heroic versions.]

The Wood Beyond the World by William Morris (Ballantine Adult Fantasy #3, July 1969) Cover by Gervasio Gallardo

The emphasis in High Fantasy is on a Mythic adventure, either a quest or a large scale (often world spanning) conflict between the powers of Light and Dark. The hero is usually not bigger than life. In fact, he, or she, is often rather small and weak physically, though there is usually a tight knit band of followers or friends who help them.

The heroes are generally chosen for their role by some greater power and usually do not know how strong they really are at the beginning of the story. They grow into the role as the work progresses.

The Worm Ouroboros by E.R. Eddison (Ballantine Books, April 1967). Cover by Barbara Remington

Supernatural forces are integral to High Fantasy, and there are almost always magical items such as rings, or swords, or enchanted armor that can help or hinder the heroes in their quests. There is much less emphasis on individual physical combat than in S&S, S&P, or HH. The High Fantasy setting is a mythic world, usually an ancient Earth that is populated by elves, dwarves, dragons, goblins, or recognizable variants of these. Dragons seem particularly indispensable.

J. R. R. Tolkien (1892 – 1973) established the primary tropes of High Fantasy and his Lord of the Rings trilogy is still the best example, although William Morris’s (1834 – 1896) The Wood Beyond the World (1894), E. R. Eddison’s (1882 – 1945) The Worm Ouroboros (1922) and Lord Dunsany’s (1878 – 1957) The King of Elfland’s Daughter (1924) preceded Tolkien’s The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings trilogy (1954-1955).

The fantasies of J.R.R. Tolkien: The Annotated Hobbit (Houghton Mifflin, October 1988), The Silmarillion (Houghton Mifflin, September 1977), Smith of Wootton Major and Farmer Giles of Ham (Science Fiction Book Club, May 1984), and The Lord of the Rings revised editions (Houghton Mifflin). Covers, top row: J. R. R. Tolkien, J. R. R. Tolkien, Daniel Horne)

The sheer scale and detail of Tolkien’s Middle Earth has established him as the grandfather of the High Fantasy genre, and pretty much everything that came after owes him a debt. I don’t personally read a lot of High Fantasy and seldom write anything linked to the genre, but I have read some very good stuff in the field, including most of Tolkien’s work.

One difference between High Fantasy and the other three HF genres is the level of good versus evil that exists in them. In High Fantasy, we generally need to speak of EVIL in all caps because it is often a soul-destroying force that wants to bring darkness to the whole world. In S&S and S&P, the evil is not so all powerful, although it may be very nasty. In HH, the evil is human, as is the case in the real world.

The King of Elfland’s Daughter by Lord Dunsany (Ballantine Adult Fantasy #2, June 1969). Cover by Robert Pepper

There are two more differences between the subgenres I’ll mention. First, S&S works best in short stories, S&P and HH in novellas or short novels, but High Fantasy needs a grand scope and lends itself to large novels and multi-book series.

Second, High Fantasy lends itself to humor better than the other types. Perhaps because of its length and its ensemble cast of characters, it provides a setting where more humor naturally occurs.

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin, filmed as the HBO series Game of Thrones

So, who writes High Fantasy since Tolkien?

There’s been a bunch of it. It currently seems the most popular form of Heroic Fantasy published today and has been for a long time. George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones is a prominent example, as is Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time.

The first four novels of The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen R. Donaldson: Lord Foul’s Bane, The Illearth War, The Power That Preserves, and The Wounded Land (Del Rey paperback editions, August and September 1978, March 1979, and May 1981). Covers by Darrell K. Sweet

I haven’t read either of those but I saw the TV series based on them and enjoyed them. I haven’t read them because both are multi-volume works with each volume making a good doorstopper. I’m 65 and there’s a lot of books I want to read before I go; I don’t plan to spend a year or two of precious reading time on these kinds of series.

What have I read in the genre? I read Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy in my teens and early twenties, and greatly enjoyed them, although I didn’t have any urge to write such a series. A little later, I read Stephen R. Donaldson’s Chronicles of Thomas Covenant series of six books, and I read Dennis L. McKiernan “retelling” of Tolkien’s trilogy in his own trilogy, The Iron Tower.

The final volumes in The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant: The One Tree and White Gold Wielder (Del Rey, April 1982 and April 1983), and the novella Gilden-Fire (Underwood-Miller, November 1981). Covers by Darrell K. Sweet and Stephen E. Fabian

McKiernan’s work was a little too close for my tastes, and I hated the protagonist in Donaldson’s series. Thomas Covenant was a complete asshole, though I loved the world and many of the supporting characters. I read a couple in Bret Funk’s Path of Glory series. In my fifties I read the entire Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, which I would categorize as High Fantasy, although it pushes the boundaries with few edged weapons and a lot more modern setting.

Why has High Fantasy been so popular? I think there are various reasons.

The first four novels in the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Scholastic paperback reprints, November 2011, 2000, September 2001, September 2002). Covers: Mary GrandPré

First, the “growth” of the hero across the books is an attractive quality to many readers, who like to see a character gain strength and competence, perhaps because it offers hope that they, too, can grow. This is the classic “Hero’s Journey,” which can happen in the other genres of HF but often doesn’t, or at least not to the same extent.

Second, although there are plenty of exceptions, High Fantasy also seems to appeal more to the average woman reader than the other types and — quite simply — women buy more books than men, a big plus for publishers. This is illustrated, in part, by the number of women writers in the genre. Patricia McKillip, Anne McCaffrey, Mercedes Lackey, Joy Chant, Margaret Weis, and J. K. Rowling are just some of the many women writers who have enriched the genre.

The concluding volumes of the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Scholastic paperback reprint, August 2004), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Arthur A. Levine Books, July 16, 2005 and July 21, 2007), and The Tales of Beedle the Bard (Paw Prints, April 9, 2009). Covers by Mary GrandPré

Because of the ensemble cast of characters in high fantasy, the lesser focus on hack and slay, and the setting details, there would also seem to be more potential good roles for women in these books.

Charles Gramlich administers The Swords & Planet League group on Facebook, where this post first appeared. His last article for us was a look at the Sword & Sorcery of S. E. Lindberg. See all of his recent posts for Black Gate here.

The fifteenth annual Women in SF&F Month closes this week with one final guest post on Monday, which will be followed by a link list containing all this month’s articles on Wednesday. Thank you so much to last week’s guests for another excellent week of essays! Before announcing the upcoming schedule, here are last week’s essays in case you missed any of them. All guest posts from April 2026 can be found here, and last week’s guest posts were: “Writing […]

The post Women in SF&F Month: Final Week Schedule & Week in Review first appeared on Fantasy Cafe.

I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.

 The Geomagician by Jennifer Mandula

Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Genre: Fantasy

Series: Book 1 of The Geomagician

Publisher: Del Rey (March 31, 2026)

Length: 464 pages

Author Information: Website

I confess, I went into The Geomagician expecting something lighter and fluffier with a heavier romance angle, but this is one of those rare cases where I’m glad to be wrong. Instead, the novel delivers a story with far more substance than I anticipated, blending historical inspiration with magical charm and bigger, thoughtful thematic ideas embedded in a strong narrative that kept me hooked.

The book follows Mary Anning, an aspiring geomagician who grew up fossil hunting along the English coast in the small, humble village she calls home. All her life, she’s dreamed of joining the elite Geomagical Society in London, a group of scholars who can harness magic from fossils. But as a woman, that path is firmly closed to her. For now, she has to settle for building a reputation through her remarkable finds, selling fossils to tourists and the very geomagicians who benefit from work she’ll never be credited for.

But everything changes when Mary stumbles upon a fossil bed containing an intact egg which, against all odds, hatches into a living baby pterodactyl after she channels her magic into it. All of a sudden, she has something the Geomagical Society would be desperate to have. Maybe even enough to finally offer her a place among them? She quickly reaches out to her mentor, hoping to turn the discovery into an opportunity, but when he arrives, he brings along his colleague Henry Stanton, the man who was once her first love before breaking her heart. Though Henry’s presence complicates things, Mary is determined not to let it derail her plans. And yet, as she pushes ahead to London, she finds herself caught in a tangled web of politics, rivalries, and conflicting beliefs about magic, forcing her to confront just how far she’s willing to go to claim her place.

To start, I loved the world-building, which is easily one of the book’s biggest highlights. The idea that fossils can store and channel magical energy to accomplish incredible things is such a cool concept, and the story really digs into it from multiple perspectives, featuring strong tensions between science and the book’s fictional church, with different factions holding opposing beliefs about where magic comes from. Without spoiling anything, I’ll just say that this conflict ends up shaping a lot of what happens, and on top of that, you’ve got layers of social hierarchy, gender barriers, and shifting political viewpoints, all tied to bigger questions about power. Who gets to have it? Who controls it? Should magic belong to an elite few or be accessible to everyone? All these questions and more are woven into the plot naturally, giving the world a depth that feels lived in.

And then, of course, there’s Ajax, who completely stole the show. Honestly, I wish we’d gotten more of that little pterodactyl, along with more of the prehistoric elements in general. For a book so rooted in fossils and ancient creatures, it feels like this should have been featured more prominently, especially since the whole science and scholarship angle in addition to a woman fighting for her place in that world are one of its biggest draws. That said, this book still taps into the same appeal as series like Emily Wilde by Heather Fawcett or The Memoirs of Lady Trent by Marie Brennan, both of which feature ambitious female protagonists driven by their pursuit of knowledge and academic curiosity. I think if you are a fan of those types of stories, this one will be quite the treat.

In the end, The Geomagician ended up being a really entertaining novel and meatier than I expected, all in the best ways. It’s got a unique premise, a richly developed world, and just enough emotional weight to balance out its airier moments. If you’re in the mood for historical fantasy with a strong sense of place and an emphasis on ideas as much as plot, this one is definitely worth the read.

Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth by Jack Kirby (DC Comics,
October 1972 and February 1973). Covers by Jack Kirby

Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth, written and illustrated by Jack “King” Kirby (1917-1994), has long been an inspiration to my creative works. The tone, the setting, the characters and creatures — pure brilliance. Highly recommended.

Kamandi #16 is a fascinating issue. An ape doctor who encounters Kamandi knows of Cortexin, the chemical which stimulated evolution and intelligence in animals and turned them into parahumans. The Last Boy on Earth discovers more about the post-cataclysmic Earth, in which men have devolved to beasts, and beasts have evolved to higher intelligence.

[Click the images for Kirby-sized versions.]

Interior art from Kamandi The Last Boy on Earth #3, by Jack Kirby (DC Comics, February 1973)

Jack Kirby was such a visionary and innovator, and Kamandi is such a treasure. Every time I flip through a random issue, I’m filled with joy.

Kamandi art by Jack Kirby. Left: a look at Kamandi’s world. Right: splash page for issue #3, February 1973

Below is a panel from Fantastic Four #34, from 1965, written by Stan Lee and illustrated by Kirby. Kirby as usual peered into his crystal ball and came up with a billionaire just as evil and corrupt as any Marvel costume baddie, smacking of today’s headlines.

Gregory Gideon tried to use his money to destroy the FF, but his son got in the middle and almost died, Daddy repented and the story had a happy ending. The lust for money at any cost is the Root of all Evil.

Art from Fantastic Four #34 by Jack Kirby (Marvel Comics,  cover date January 1965)

There is an incredible array of fascinating characters created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, not the least of which is Medusa, a member of the Inhumans. Pictured below is a rendition of Medusa by Jack for Marvel’s line of black light posters.

Magnificent Medusa by Jack Kirby

Medusa, inspired in part by the creature of same name from Greek Mythology, has prehensile hair that can lift thousands of pounds, can extend to great lengths, and strangle an enemy with ease. The wife of Black Bolt, she is a stunning beauty whom Jack illustrated magnificently. Her first appearance was in Fantastic Four #36, but I best remember her from the Kree-Skrull War, which took place in the pages of The Avengers.

Anyone else a fan of this lesser known character, or any of the other Inhumans for that matter?

Warlock by Jim Starlin

Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe would do well to look into the character Adam Warlock, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. His original name was “Him,” a being created by a group called Enclave to be the next step in human evolution (Fantastic Four #66-67). It was an interesting storyline, but not very significant as compared to other characters and stories being developed at that time.

It was years later, when Roy Thomas and Jim Starlin really brought the character to life as Warlock, renamed and rebirthed by the High Evolutionary. The Marvel Comics Database explains it well.

The High Evolutionary gave Warlock purpose, direction, and the vampiric Soul Gem. Soon afterward, Warlock journeyed to the planet called Counter-Earth, one of the High Evolutionary’s experiments, that had recently been contaminated. Counter-Earth had been an attempt to create a Utopian society, and it had been so till the evil Man-Beast, a renegade creation of the High Evolutionary, had corrupted it; the Man-Beast was to become Warlock’s greatest enemy.

Warlock’s later involvement versus Thanos — and that one’s obsession with the accumulation of power — gave rise to the original mini-series, The Infinity Gauntlet. While it was nice that the MCU afforded Warlock a bit role in the films, satisfying (to some degree) fans like me, it is still worth pointing out that major aspects of that spectacular MCU run were derived from content that Adam Warlock was the star of in the comic books.

Any other Adam Warlock fans in the house?

Conan the Barbarian by Jack Kirby

I’ll close with a few sketches of other Marvel characters, starting with Conan the Barbarian, by Jack Kirby. Jack was not known for many Conan illustrations, but by Crom, this one is incredible.

Thor by Jack Kirby

Although Walt Simonson wrote my favorite Thor story arc, no one, IMO, drew the thunder god better than Kirby. If you have a favorite Thor picture, feel free to mention it in the comments! Make sure to cite the artist.

The Silver Surfer by Jack Kirby

Finally, here’s a rendering of the Silver Surfer by Jack.

Jeffrey P. Talanian’s last article for Black Gate was a look at the Fifty Years of Gary Gygax’s Greyhawk. Jeffrey is the creator and publisher of the Hyperborea sword-and-sorcery and weird science-fantasy RPG from North Wind Adventures. He was the co-author, with E. Gary Gygax, of the Castle Zagyg releases, including several Yggsburgh city supplements, Castle Zagyg: The East Mark Gazetteer, and Castle Zagyg: The Upper Works. Read Gabe Gybing’s interview with Jeffrey here, and follow his latest projects on Facebook and at www.hyperborea.tv.

TODAY IS THE DAY!

We have chosen our champion, and we’re excited to announce the winner and runners-up.

First, we want to thank all SPFBO participants. We sincerely appreciate your involvement in the process. 

After getting through the batch of thirty books, we’ve picked five semi-finalists. Here they are in alphabetical order:

CARRION SAINTS by Hiyodori - In its authors words "Carrion Saints is a sapphic enemies-to-lovers romance between an immortal saint and a severed head." And that's it, in a nutshell. We highly appreciated Hiyodori's unique take on the trope, bitter-sweet ending and excellent writing. If you like character-driven conflict, this one sticks.

PILGRIM by Mitchell Lüthi - Dust, faith, politics, and people making difficult choices for reasons that make sense to them. It’s immersive without feeling like a lecture, and the amount of research into various cultures, religions and traditions must've been insane. Not fast, but worth checking out.

THE INHERITED BLADE by Jye Sorensen - it connects two storylines: one with lots of running for survival, one about inheriting unwanted responsibilities. It takes a bit to balance, but when it does, it clicks nicely. Good if you like character contrast and gradual build.

THE SINS OF STEEL AND SHADOW by Steve Pannett - Fast, scrappy, and very aware that most problems can (unfortunately) escalate into violence. Bail is a great guide through a cruel city, and the book rarely slows down long enough for you to get bored. Not deep, but reliably entertaining. Most of us will read the sequel as soon as it hits the shelves.

THE UNNAMED by M.S. Masood - It has a rich world, and skillfully pictures a slow unraveling of belief. The tension comes from watching someone realize their entire worldview might be wrong and not liking that realization one bit. Heavy at times, but well-written and engaging.

CHOICES CHOICES

At this stage, we had to decide how to evaluate one good book against another and whether it was at all possible to come to some sort of fair and objective decision. We tried to base our choice on the following criteria (listed in alphabetical order):

• Characterization
• Editing
• Personal Enjoyment
• Plotting
• World-building
• Writing Style

You can almost hear the drumroll, can't you? Or is that just the sound of SPFBO followers holding their breath?

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Without further ado (because we know you're just dying to know), the story that has danced its way into the finals is 

 

Congratulations to Hiyodori , and good luck in the finals! 

We're sending Carrion Saints to the finals with a rating of 8.0/10.

Hamlet – a celebrated Shakespeare classic, filled with treachery, vengeance, and moral dilemmas.  Politics and…

The post “Hamlet” by Shakespeare | Words Become The World appeared first on LitStack.

One of the recent discussions about Science Fiction I’ve had with non-genre readers has been about what readers want from Science Fiction. “Why do sci-fi writers explain things SO much?” was the question. This made me think. Personally, I think that it is part of the SF heritage. Modern SF came from a group of…

Today’s Women in SF&F Month guest is Sonia Tagliareni! Her novel Deathbringer, which is described as “a dark academia romantasy steeped in necromancy, forbidden love and a twisty murder mystery set within the perilous halls of a magical institute,” will be published on April 28 in the UK and May 19 in the US. I’m delighted she’s here today to discuss her main character—a death mage who despises her ability—in “Does a Soft Female Lead Belong in SFF?” About Deathbringer: […]

The post Women in SF&F Month: Sonia Tagliareni first appeared on Fantasy Cafe.