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Marvel’s Conan paperbacks: Conan the Barbarian: The Official Marvel Comics Adaptation of the Movie by Michael Fleisher and John Buscema (1982), and Stan Lee Presents Conan the Barbarian, Volumes 2 and 3, by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith (Ace Books, 1978). Covers by Earl Norem and Barry Windsor-Smith

I don’t systematically collect comic book materials but I pick up Edgar Rice Burroughs or Robert E. Howard related stuff when I see it. Found all three of the Marvel paperbacks above at various book sales.

Conan the Barbarian: The Official Marvel Comics Adaptation of the Movie stayed true to the movie plot. Being a Howard purist, I wasn’t a big fan of the movie when it came out, but it’s grown on me over time. I just don’t really think of it as a Howard Conan movie. Earl Norem did the cover for this one, based on movie images.

The Stan Lee Presents Conan volumes are in color. I don’t have Volume 1 and likely won’t be getting it since it lists at 250 bucks on Amazon, but here are 2 and 3, which I bought for a buck or so. Both were written by Roy Thomas (1940 – ) and drawn by Barry Windsor-Smith (1949 – ).

[Click the images for Conan-sized versions.]

Conan the Barbarian #4 & 5, by Roy Thomas and Barry Barry Windsor-Smith
(Marvel Comics, April and May 1971). Covers by Barry Windsor-Smith

Volume #2 collects issues 4-6 of Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian comic, including an adaptation of Howard’s Conan story called “The Tower of the Elephant,” a story expanded from Howard’s poem “Zukala’s Hour,” which did not feature Conan, and a final piece called “Devil Wings Over Shadizar,” which is a new story not directly connected to Howard. It was nominated in 1971 for best story by “The Academy of Comic-Book Arts,” and is interesting for its use of two characters named Fafnir and Blackrat.

Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian 6 (June 1971). Cover by Barry Windsor-Smith

Fafnir = big man, dressed as a barbarian, heavy red beard. Blackrat = little man, called rodent, more fancy in dress and in swordsmanship. Remind you of anyone? Maybe the story should have been called “Ill Met in Shadizar.”

Volume #3 reprints issues 7-9 of Conan the Barbarian, including “The Lurker Within,” which was adapted from Howard’s “God in the Bowl,” a Conan piece, “The Keepers of the Crypt,” loosely based on a Howard synopsis, and “The Garden of Fear,” which transforms Howard’s story of the same name into a Conan tale. The original featured the character of James Allison, who is remembering his past life as Hunwulf the Wanderer.

Conan the Barbarian #7-9, by Roy Thomas and Barry Barry Windsor-Smith
(Marvel Comics, July-September 1971). Covers by Barry Windsor-Smith

The stories were enjoyable. Roy Thomas, who I briefly met, seemed to have a pretty good feel for Conan, and Windswor-Smith has long been identified with his Conan art.

Charles Gramlich administers The Swords & Planet League group on Facebook, where this post first appeared. His last article for us was a review of two Sword & Sorcery anthologies, Savage Heroes and Heroic Fantasy. See all of his recent posts for Black Gate here.

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Length: 356 pages
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: February 17, 2026
ASIN: B0F92B9CCF
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: eGalley from NetGalley
Rating: 5/5 stars

“Agnes Aubert leads a meticulously organized life, and she likes it that way. As the proudly type-A manager of a cat rescue charity, she has devoted her life to finding forever homes for stray cats.

Now it’s the shelter that needs a new home. And the only landlord who will rent a space to a cat rescue is a mysterious man called Havelock—who also happens to be the world’s most infamous magician, running an illegal magic shop out of his basement. Havelock is cantankerous and eccentric, but not not handsome, and no, Agnes absolutely does not feel anything but disdain for him. After all, rumors swirl about his shadowy past—including whispers that his dark magic once almost brought about the apocalypse.

Then one day a glamorous magician comes looking for Havelock, putting the magic shop—and the cat shelter—in jeopardy. To save the shelter, Agnes will have to team up with the magician who nearly ended the world . . . and may now be trying to steal her heart.

Havelock is everything Agnes thinks she doesn’t need in her life: chaos, mischief, and a little too much adventure. But as she gets to know him, she discovers that he’s more than the dark magician of legend, and that she may be ready for a little intrigue—and romance—in her life. After all, second chances aren’t just for rescue cats. . . .”

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got this on ebook through NetGalley for review.

Thoughts: I really enjoy Fawcett’s Emily Wilde series and expected (given the subject matter) I would enjoy this as well. I really loved this book right from the start. This is set in a vague Victorian type of fantasy world (at least it felt vaguely Victorian to me) where magicians exist.

Agnes is trying to find a new place for her cat shelter after dueling magicians blew up her last cat shelter. She finally finds a place that seems too good to be true….and….it is too good to be true. The new location harbors a horrible evil magician. However, as events play out, Agnes and the magician learn that they can support each other and maybe even make this new situation work to their advantage.

This was very well done with an intriguing world, interesting characters, lots of cats (obnoxious and cute ones), and lots of magic. There are some politics here and some light romance as well.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story about a normal woman who just wants to rescue cats and ends up thrown into the middle of a magical battle of sorts instead. The writing flows well, is easy to read, and is humorous, entertaining, and heartfelt. This is a self-contained story but I would love to see more books in this world.

My Summary (5/5): Overall I really loved this story. I enjoyed the characters, the magic, the cats, and how cozy this feels. Yes, there is danger and action, but in the end this is about Agnes finding a home for herself, her cats, her employees, and maybe even an evil magician. I loved the glimpse into this world and would love to see additional stories set here. If you are a fan of cozy Victorian fantasy, magic, and cats, definitely pick this one up. I am eagerly awaiting Fawcett’s next book!

…in the brand-new Kickstarter that just launched. It features my bestselling novel, Alien Influences, which The New York Times calls “a well conceived, well executed novel,” my award-winning novella, Broken Windchimes, and a brand-new collection of my science fiction stories, called Strange People, Stranger Places.

In addition, you can get all 28 Diving books in ebook format or more than 100 short stories in large collections. If we’re lucky enough to hit some stretch goals, you’ll get even more fiction and two workshops for writers and readers on the history of science fiction.

We have some writing workshops here as well, including my favorite—”Handwavium.” “Handwavium” is the art of making the reader believe in impossible things.

So lots of fun things and lots of reading. But hurry! The Kickstarter will disappear forever on March 12. Click here to see all the offerings.

The 13th Warrior (Touchstone Pictures, August 27, 1999) The 13th Warrior (102 minutes; 1999)

Written by William Wisher and Warren Lewis. Directed by John McTiernan

Based on the novel, Eaters of the Dead, by Michael Crichton, who also served as a producer and uncredited director.

What is it?

A version of the Beowulf story, as witnessed by an aristocratic Arab who accompanies a dozen Viking warriors into battle against a mysterious army of cannibalistic cavemen.

Noteworthy

Touchstone Films produced The 13th Warrior as a vehicle for star Antonio Banderas, bringing in John McTiernan (Die Hard) to direct. When test audiences proved unhappy with the results, famed writer Michael Crichton, who had penned the novel on which it was based, took over production. He reshot numerous scenes and took a broadsword to what McTiernan had already filmed. He even went so far as to toss out the… let us be charitable and say “interesting” musical score by Graeme Revell and replace it with unquestionably great new compositions by Jerry Goldsmith. The result is a film that is uneven in places, as one might expect from having multiple cooks in the kitchen, but spectacular in others.

The studio shelved the finished product for roughly a year, before unceremoniously shoving it out under a different title and with little fanfare to theaters in the summer of 1999. There it was promptly given a Viking funeral at the box office by bigger fish such as The Matrix, The Phantom Menace and The Mummy, despite it being better than any of those.

Omar Sharif and Antonio Banderas in The 13th Warrior

Banderas plays the central character, Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan, known to his Viking cohorts as “the Arab” and “Ibn.” The film also stars Scandinavian actors Dennis Storhoi and Vladimir Kulich, with Diane Venora as the queen – one of the very few female characters in the movie – and Tony Curran (Gladiator; League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) as one of the Vikings. The great Omar Sharif (Lawrence of Arabia; Dr Zhivago) appears briefly in the opening scenes as an aide to Banderas’s character.

Michael Crichton wrote the novel Eaters of the Dead in 1976 as a “found manuscript” supposedly composed by Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan, a real person who actually did journey up the Volga River and encounter Vikings during Medieval times. In Crichton’s fictional telling, the king of those Vikings is called Buliwyf, better known today as Beowulf. Fahdlan travels with them and documents their adventures.

Quick and Dirty Summary

An exiled Arab diplomat (and dandy) finds himself among a group of Vikings led by King Buliwyf. He is chosen to accompany them on a journey to save a distant Viking kingdom from attack. That kingdom is menaced by a mysterious, perhaps supernatural force called “The Wendol.” (“Stop saying it,” warns one survivor of their attack, who fears even the mention of their name.)

The Wendol turn out to be a group of mysterious, cannibalistic cave-dwellers. Crichton cleverly has them stand in for the “Grendel” creature of Beowulf fame, and in his novel suggests that they are from some other branch of humanity; perhaps the last of the Neanderthals, surviving into Medieval times.

During his travels and travails with the Vikings, Fahdlan grows tremendously as a warrior and as a man. He learns the Viking language, improves his fighting skills, and impresses the rugged men around him with his growing tenacity, courage and determination.

They fight off attacks by the Wendol against the Viking village, battle them deep in their creepy underground caves, and face them one last time on the surface.

At last, Ibn Fahdlan sails away for home, probably destined to chronicle the story of Beowulf. He has earned the friendship and the respect of the Vikings and, more importantly, his own self-respect.

Fantasy/SF/Sword & Sorcery Elements

Some would argue that Fahdlan learning to speak with the Vikings so quickly, simply by listening to them during their travels together, constitutes some kind of magic. For my part, I think the movie simply doesn’t make it clear enough that an enormous amount of time passes during this journey. Time enough for the Arab to pick up the basics of their language.

There’s sorcery by the “old woman” who rolls the bones and chooses Fahdlan to accompany the Viking squad on their mission, and there’s sorcery by “the Wendol’s mother” down in her cave. But this is all fairly light stuff. What this movie really is, at its heart, is a buddy-cop team-up quest. Fahdlan, a fish out of water (or rather, out of desert), finds himself having to accept the ways of a civilization he initially looks down on, and learn fighting skills from them, in order to survive and succeed against a truly terrifying enemy.

And we do get some fantastic battles between Vikings and cannibals! I mean, it’s not Pirates vs Ninjas, but still…!

High Point

After fighting off the Wendol hordes the first time, Builwyf chooses to take the fight to them. He leads his band of warriors down into the cave network where they lurk. There we get a great set of underground battle scenes to rival those in the Mines of Moria in The Fellowship of the Ring, with climbing, running, swinging over chasms, jumping and swimming – all while being pursued by an army of cannibalistic half-men! Hell yes!

Low Point

The very beginning and the final act are both uneven, resulting from rewrites and reshoots by Crichton. It’s easy to see that a great deal of the opening, including much of Omar Sharif’s time in the film, was cut. Similarly, the final battle in the village feels tacked on in a way, as if we needed to see one more heroic stand by the team, and check off the box for one more victory by Buliwyf, to properly put a bow on things.

The original McTiernan cut of this movie might well be weaker than the version we got. But I’d still like to compare them, to find out for myself who was right – if only the McTiernan cut would ever be released. That “interesting” Revell score, however, is available for listening on YouTube.

Standout Performance

Dennis Storhoi plays the Viking translator, Herger (or “Joyous”), who befriends Banderas’s character first. His performance is indeed joyous. He brings energy, warmth and light to the film, reacting to every situation, no matter how dire, with an upbeat sense of optimistic fatalism – if that can be called a thing. In other words, his attitude from start to finish is, We’re probably all going to die on this crazy mission, but let’s have fun in the meantime!

His attitude is summed up when he admonishes a terrified Fahdlan, “Go and hide in a hole if you wish, but you won’t live one instant longer. Your fate is fixed. Fear profits a man nothing.”

Later, a Viking tosses the Arab a huge sword, and Fahdlan complains that he can’t even lift it. Herger’s response is instantaneous, his solution all too logical and delivered with a warm smile: “Grow stronger!”

Overall Evaluation as a Movie and as Fantasy/SF/Sword & Sorcery

The 13th Warrior might, in some ways, be a mess of a movie. But it is a glorious, delightful, and extremely fun mess! Let’s be honest: There are many worse ways to spend a couple of hours than watching Antonio Banderas and his merry band of Vikings fight the Wendol.

The Wendol?

Stop saying it!!

Van Allen Plexico is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), a Grand Master of Pulp Literature (2025 class) and a multiple-award-winning author of more than two dozen novels and anthologies, ranging from space opera to Kaiju to crime fiction to superheroes to military SF. Find his works on Amazon and at Plexico.net.

Thank you all for bearing with us yesterday through the technical difficulties. It was not the BDH enthusiasm (this time!) but I will let Ilona tell you more about it another day. Just happy to be back.

I come with the promissed reminder about the Imagine Books preorder for their resale edition of This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me, which is now live.

What is a resale edition?

Imagine Books are purchasing the hardcover teal-edged edition directly from the publisher, then creating a redesigned, double-sided dust jacket with foiling, page overlays and bookmarks with character art.

The book:

The extras:

• Signed bookplate sticker with House Andrews autographs
• Redesigned front dust jacket with foiling: @jescole.art
• Reverse dust jacket: @davidev.art
• Page overlays: @avoccatt_art
• Bookmark with character art

A page overlay is a semi-transparent illustrated sheet designed to be placed inside the book over a specific page — essentially a removable full-page art print tied to a scene.

This is a limited run and Imagine Books typically do not offer reprints. It is open to everyone and does not require subscription. Before you ask: yes, there are two more US special editions not yet announced officially. I cannot speak about them, do not mine me for information, I am bound by contract.

Preorder: Imagine Books Shop website

Price: $42.99 plus tax plus shipping. Add on option: additional page overlay $11.99

Shipping: International.

Shipping date: This resale edition is estimated to ship in JUNE. So later than the book release at the end of March (only 27 more days!). This is because the featured custom art must be produced and shipped to Imagine Books before they send the customized books to you.

DISCLAIMER: For all additional inquiries, please contact Imagine Book Shop.
House Andrews did not commission this edition and are not involved with order fulfillment. This was done through the main publishers, Tor.

The post This Kingdom Imagine Books Edition first appeared on ILONA ANDREWS.

 

Buy This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me
Read Mihir's Review!

FORMAT/INFO: This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me will be published by Tor Books on March 31st, 2026. It is 480 pages long and available in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats.

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: While waiting long years for the third and final book to come out in her favorite dark fantasy series, Maggie has had plenty of time to obsessively read the first two books in the trilogy. Which is why when she wakes up in an unfamiliar city, it doesn't take her long to realize she's in the world of Kair Toren - and the events of book one are just beginning to happen. With no clues as to how to return to her own world, Maggie decides she might as well try to help Kair Toren out and prevent a deadly civil war that will destroy the city and many of her favorite characters. Of course, Maggie's knowledge only helps her figure out things written in the books...and as she quickly remembers, this is a series with an unwritten ending....

This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me is a smart and engaging portal fantasy that grounds the story by taking the stakes of its fantasy world seriously. When we meet Maggie, she's been in Kair Toren for a few days, and has already come to terms with the fact that somehow, some way, she's in a fantasy setting, one that is every bit as brutal as it is portrayed in the book. Maggie doesn't try to carelessly pull shenanigans or run off to romance a tall dark handsome hero. Instead, she decides that if she accepts that this world and these people are real, then she has to do everything in her power to stop the deadly future that will destroy countless lives.

One thing I really liked about the approach to this story is that Maggie doesn't set herself up in the castle in the middle of the limelight. She decides to work from the shadows, hoping to nudge events while staying unnoticed. She rallies a crew, establishes some connections, and tries to become a credible source of information without drawing too much interest. In this game of intrigue, Maggie knows all the story threads; it's just a matter of figuring out which ones to pull.

There were a few times I felt like Maggie's "trick" of knowing things about people or events was a little overdone, occasionally making her feel like a one-trick pony as she rattles off another monologue detailing intimate knowledge of a character's backstory. But there's enough other things going on that those were minor bumps in the road. There's still so much skullduggery, blackmail, and tense negotiations that I frequently found myself forgetting that Maggie was from our world, until an occasional throwaway line would reference Netflix. It does genuinely feel like another gripping dark fantasy novel, which is key to making this story work.

The other slight hiccup was the romance subplot. While there were many parts of the romance in this book that I liked, it also started to veer into a trope that isn't my favorite. Time will tell how things play out in the long run, but I definitely preferred some sections over others.

(For those curious, this is a no spice story, and the romance subplot IS a subplot. This is not a fantasy romance.)

For a story featuring a protagonist who should know how everything is supposed to go, This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me had plenty of twists and turns. The more Maggie meddles, the more unexpected things become as events unfold differently. I have a feeling we'll be fairly off the rails when the second book comes around, and I am absolutely dying to see where things go.

 

A young couple – Mavis and Jerrod – have what seems to be a wonderful marriage despite the tension that has been simmering for years between Mavis and her parents. The novel’s action kickstarts early when Mavis gets into a very bad car accident. The first oddity she realizes is that she knew the other…

In reply to Anthony.

Yes, that’s exactly what they do.

Mickey never imagined her life would turn out this way. But she learned the hard way that life holds many surprises. Seeking solace on the skating rink, she discovers that life’s changes hold hope for new beginnings—if only she knows where to look.

“Skating in Time” is available on this site for one week only. You can get the story as a standalone ebook on all retail sites. Enjoy!

Skating in Time Kristine Kathryn Rusch

 

MICKEY STOOD and turned slowly on the thin orange carpeting. They never played Mozart at the roller rink. If they did, she’d go out there and skate with the finesse of Dorothy Hamill. She’d pretend she was on ice, wearing a small, glittery costume, performing for thousands of fans. Her movements would be as elegant as the music, with little trills and delicate pauses, light with an undertone of warmth.

If only. Her life had been full of idle daydreams. She had never gone to college, never tried the glamorous activities of her imagination. All she knew of Mozart, besides the fact that she loved his music, was that he had died young. Like Carl. Her heart tightened, and she made herself breathe. Nearly a year now. She could live without him. She had lived without him for eleven months, twelve days and ten hours.

Mickey rolled up the ramp and onto the floor as Elvis launched into “Jailhouse Rock.” For one giddy moment, her feet threatened to slide out from under her, then she got her balance and moved forward.

As she gained speed on the straightway, the years left her body. She was thirteen, when she’d skated every Friday night until closing, staring at the guys and swaying with the beat. She’d given all this up when she married Carl. They’d been oh-so-serious at eighteen, straight out of high school and determined to be adults. She’d gone to work, cooked and cleaned, and cuddled with Carl on her days off from the travel agency. He came home at night, ate her meals and watched television, never saying a word about the lumber company or his experiences in the woods. A skidder had killed him and, up until the day of his death, she hadn’t even known what a skidder was.

A man clomped by her, clearly on skates to please his date. Mickey watched him: a frown on his face, pot belly, feet sticking out at an awkward angle. A woman passed him, skating backwards, shouting instructions. He clomped harder. As the woman disappeared into the crowd, Mickey found herself beside him

“You ski?” she asked.

He looked at her and had to kick a skate forward to keep his balance. She extended her hand to catch him if he fell. “Yeah, I ski every Sunday.”

“They tell me it’s the same motion,” she said. “I don’t ski so I don’t know.”

And then she passed him, crossing into the corner to a singer whose name she could never remember, a deep-voiced man who cried about summer loves. The woman skated past again, still going backward, weaving in and out among the other skaters as if she’d been born on wheels.

Mickey skated around the rink a few more times, wondering if her desire to hear Mozart was a wish to make the sport more serious, less fun. She didn’t have to be graceful on the rink. The only graceful person here was skating with a frown on her face and her nose in the air. The other skaters flopped and flailed and laughed as they fell. Since the month after Carl’s death, Mickey had been coming here every Thursday for the sense of community. Although she rarely spoke to anyone, she just knew that if she landed on her back, someone would put a hand under her shoulder and help her up.

The smell of hot dogs and popcorn from the concession stand grew stronger with each turn, and finally she followed the aroma off the rink. She leaned against the greasy counter, bought a diet soda and a hot dog with everything, then sat at one of the picnic benches and watched the other skaters as she ate.

The man she’d helped skated off the rink. His movements had eased; his legs flowed beneath him rather than jerked along. He made his way across the floor, stopping when he reached her table.

“Hey, you know, you were right,” he said. “It is just like skiing.”

She smiled, feeling awkward with the large, messy hot dog in her hand. “You look a lot more comfortable now.”

“I am.” He had a nice face, chocolate-brown eyes and ears that stuck out a tad too far from his scalp. “You said you’d never been skiing.”

Her heart thudded against her chest and her fingers dug into the hot dog. She tried not to expect anything but still found herself wondering what she’d do if he asked her. “No, I never have.”

He glanced at the rink, at the frowning woman circling backward. His smile, when he looked back at Mickey, appeared apologetic. “You ought to try it sometime,” he said.

“I will,” she smiled.

He skated by her to the concession stand and she took another bite of her hot dog. It tasted gritty and slightly charred—delicious. Carl said hot dogs were made of things no human should eat and so she hadn’t had one the entire time she was married. She hadn’t skated, she hadn’t skied, she hadn’t done anything because adults didn’t have fun.

She glanced at the man waiting for his food. If he did ask her out, she’d say no. Dating was too adult. She needed time to feel her heart thud like a teenager’s when she talked to a man; time to eat a decade’s worth of hot dogs; time to skate around the rink until she was exhausted. Her desire to hear Mozart had nothing to do with being an adult. It came from an urge to be different, to break rules she’d followed for too long.

She got up and skated out onto the floor, her plastic wheels rumbling beneath her. She had loved Carl, but he was gone, and she had some of herself to rebuild. She smiled and felt the breeze blow the hair off her face.

Next week, she’d bring a Mozart tape and ask them to play it—something lively and warm.

 

“Skating in Time” Copyright © by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Published by WMG Publishing
Cover and Layout copyright © by WMG Publishing
Cover art copyright © Alexander Kataytsev/Dreamstime

This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.

Any use of this publication to train generative artificial intelligence (“AI”) technologies is expressly prohibited. The author and publisher reserve all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.

 

Titles by Tana French LitStack has spotted some other books to add to your TBR…

The post Spotlight on “The Keeper” by Tana French appeared first on LitStack.

I’ve been playing a lot of Halo lately.

I don’t think that’s quite the same, my dude.

Shhh, if he figures out electronics he’ll want his own phone next.

I gets it. See dis my zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzoom meeting.

Guys, being the dimmest bulb on the tree is my gig. Lay off.

Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk have become geek icons. A Knight’s Tale, Castle, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, Resident Alien, The Rookie: they’ve built successful careers over the years. Their real-life friendship, and their nerdy idol status, tracks back to Firefly.

Some day I’ll go in depth on this ill-fated cult classic. Fox aired the episodes out of order, switched nights, then canceled it with some episodes unaired. A ‘tie up some loose ends’ movie (Serenity) followed. Firefly developed a dedicated following and Fillion and the actors became popular at fan conventions around the country. Fillion’s profile skyrocketed when Castle ran for eight hit seasons on ABC. And as his mainstream popularity soared, he became one of the most recognizable figures in the geek world.

Tudyk and Fillion had worked together several years ago on Alan’s hilarious web series, Con Man (mentioned below). Three months ago, they started a podcast together, and it’s fantastic. Episodes of Once We Were Spacemen are 45 minutes to 1 hour long, and it’s two long-time buddies hanging out. They share stories from their friendship, acting careers, and geek experiences. And they are as likable and funny as you hoped. Even more so.

There have been 16 episodes so far. It’s a two-hander about half the time, with a guest about every other show. So far, they’ve brought on Jewel Staite (FF– Kaylee), Gina Torres (FF – Zoe), Mark Addy (A Knight’s Tale), Alexi Hawley (Showrunner, The Rookie), Melissa O’Neill (Lucy, The Rookie), Seth Green (Austin Powers), Sean Maher (FF – Simon), and Summer Glau (FF – River).

There is so much laughter, so many funny stories. Their guests legit love these two guys, who seem to be genuinely awesome people. Hearing Fillion ‘make’ Tudyk get a Playstation when they became friends, so Alan could play Halo with Fillion’s buddies, on a LAN, shows these are real guys. Not Hollywood twits.

The insights into acting, and steps along their career paths, is terrific. Tudyk was an ass during one audition. And later, that very nearly kept him from getting Resident Alien. Just cool stuff.

I only discovered this show last week, and I’m ten episodes in. I’ve loved every one. Time flies. I watch The Rookie, and Fillion talking about that with his boss, and then also with a co-star, was neat. And the bonds formed during Firefly bleeds out with those guests.

If you are a fan of either actor (and you should be), and/or one of their shows or movies, you’re gonna like this. It’s all podcast; no video. I Youtube it. They add special effects, and fill in missing info in post-edit.

I hope there’s some Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog content. Maybe get Neil Patrick Harris, or Felicia Day. But I can unreservedly recommend this podcast.

UPDATE – Also, Nathan Filion is, currently, going around and visiting the actors from Firefly, in little Instagram reels. He has visited Zoe, Simon, River, and Inara. All with the message “Is it happening?” “Oh, it’s happening.”

Fillion later added it’s not a convention, podcast, or cross-over. I doubt it’s a reboot of Firefly. There are new Firefly Funkos coming out (announced last Summer). But the 2014 ones are still available. It will be disappointing if that’s all this is about. But it’s fun so far. I twas told Jewel is commenting on the reels.

CON MAN

Somewhat related, I’ll talk a little about Con Man. Tudyk talks about the making of this 2015-2017 web series, which was crowd funded and cost him his agents at the time. There are 25 episodes of about 12-15 minutes each, and it’s a pure homage to sci-fi/geek fandom. There are a TON of cameos (mostly sci-fi, but Sean Astin and Lou Ferrigno have big parts, for example). It’s very much a Firefly tribute, with Tudyk and Fillion’s characters’ having starred in a short-lived cult classic called Spectrum. Season two is about a Spectrum reunion, which every Firefly fan can relate to. There’s an amusing scene where Sean Mahan (as himself) corrects Tudyk’s character: “It’s Firefly. Serenity is the movie.” And Tudyk is like “Yeah, whatever.”

Casper Van Dien keeps popping up as the bartender (in different bars), and it’s a Who’s Who of sci-fi faces. Alan’s manager, played by Mindy Sterling, is beyond insanely funny. Amy Acker, Felicia Day, Tricia Helfer – some folks are in multiple episodes.

These are short, easy to binge episodes. Tudyk is simply fantastic (he yearns to be in a Clint Eastwood Western, not this sci-fi stuff). Tudyk had a superb one-episode guest stint on Justified (no humor at all), and he references that in his character’s woes. This is a really funny show which I appreciate on multiple levels.

I’ve watched it multiple times and am still looking for cameos. I know it streams on Prime, and the Roku Channel.

OTHER PODCASTS

I’m gonna write about two other geek podcasts (one ongoing, one dead) sometime.

The Psychologists are In is my all-time favorite podcast. It’s a dream come true. Maggie Lawson (Juliet) and Timothy Omundson (Lassiter) go through my all-time favorite show – Psych – episode by episode. Plus they do some other stuff. Partners on show, they are real life best buds, and it couldn’t come through more.

The behind-the-scenes info on Psych is priceless, and they have a slew of guests on. If a Psych fan asked for a podcast about the show, this is the best they could have hoped for. I love it.

 

The Friendship Onion was Lord of the Rings nerd heaven. Billy Boyd (Pippin) and Dominic Monaghan (Merry) are also real life friends who hang out together in LA. They did a video podcast which was nerd-filled fun. As a weekly feature, they had listeners suggest a food to try. They would picks something they’d never had, and record their reactions to it.

Behind-the-scenes money issues led to the show’s cancellation. Sounds like corporate shenanigans. They did well over a hundred episodes, and they really had fun. If you like the hobbits, or LoTR, you should go back and listen to the show. There’s a LOT to hear.

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: Mark Lawrence was born in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, to British parents but moved to the UK at the age of one. After earning a PhD in mathematics at Imperial College London, he went back to the US to work on a variety of research projects, including the “Star Wars” missile-defense program. Since returning to the UK, he has worked mainly on image processing and decision/reasoning theory. He never had any ambition to be a writer, so he was very surprised when a half-hearted attempt to find an agent turned into a global publishing deal overnight. His first trilogy, The Broken Empire, has been universally acclaimed as a groundbreaking work of fantasy, and both Emperor of Thorns and The Liar’s Key have won the David Gemmell Legend Award for best fantasy novel. Mark is married, with four children, and lives in Bristol.
Publisher:Ace (March 24, 2026) Length: 416 pages Formats: all

I’ll read anything Mark Lawrence writes. This is partly loyalty, partly curiosity, and partly trust. Mark never writes the same book twice. His series always feel different from each other. Daughter of Crows might also have his best cover yet (which is impressive, given how good the Library trilogy looked). It’s also his best novel so far.
Now. I love The Book of the Ancestor with my whole heart, but this? This is bloody brilliant.
Rue is the reason. She is sharp, furious, stubborn, and held together by scars and bad memories. Fantasy rarely gives us elderly female leads, and almost never ones this dangerous or this compelling. I loved watching her limp, calculate, remember, and kill. The other half of fun is figuring out who she used to be.
The book runs on two timelines: present-day Rue hunting the mercenaries who destroyed her quiet life, and past Rue being forged into what she became. The past sections take us through a childhood that would make a nightmare ask for a night-light, and then to the Academy of Kindness - a school whose definition of kindness involves death rates. One hundred girls enter. Three leave. The rest, well, they contribute to the curriculum.
Interestingly, the past sections add backstory but also continue to reframe everything. The twists are all strong, starting early and tightening as the timelines converge. You can play detective if you want; the clues are there, but chances are just when you think you’ve solved it, another revelation will prove you were wrong.
I loved how Lawrence played with mythology here. Daughter of Crows incorporates a fascinating take on Furies, vengeance cults, divine bargains, and afterlife journeys. A heady mix, but it’s done well. The world runs on old laws, older gods, and the idea that justice and cruelty might be the same blade held at different angles. That theme shows up everywhere, from the Academy’s philosophy to Rue’s own moral math.
Daughter of Crows is dark. Children die. Mercy is rare and some scenes edge into horror. At times, it makes other grimdark novels look like they brought a candle. And yet the book still finds space for dry, perfectly timed humor. My favorite line comes when Rue considers bringing proof of her kills:
“She had considered bringing the heads from Debban's hut and tossing them before her when challenged, but the brothers had been balding beneath their caps, and heads without hair were awkward to carry.”
That line tells you everything about Rue. Practical. Violent. Mildly inconvenienced by logistics.
The story moves when it should and slows down only when it matters. The violence hits hard but never feels there just for shock value. The prose is sharp and purposeful. Lawrence always seems to know when to let a moment breathe and when to end it.
I finished it with one clear thought: I may have just found my favorite book of 2026. It’s going to take something extraordinary to beat it.

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Magical Realism
Length: 299 pages
Publisher: Alcove Press
Release Date: November 18, 2025
ASIN: B0DMTN56GS
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: eGalley from NetGalley
Rating: 3/5 stars

“Leeann Wu’s hands have started glowing at the most inconvenient times, and the single mother and midwife doesn’t know why. Could it be perimenopause? A hallucination brought on by a lack of sleep? On top of that concerning development, her daughter is off to university in a few months, her tenuous relationship with her ob-gyn mother is in peril of cracking, and she’s attracted the attention of a younger man who sees far more than she’s comfortable with. Her hands, glowing or not, are already full.

But as widespread insomnia plagues the town and life-threatening accidents begin to pile up, Leeann discovers the glow is not an anomaly at all—rather, she’s part of a long line of women who possess a power unlike anything Leeann’s ever known. Yet, even with the cryptic clues left by her great aunt before her untimely death, Leeann has no idea how to use her new skills.

With her town in imminent danger, Leeann doesn’t have time to waste. She’ll need to make peace with her magical heritage and do whatever it takes to find out if her glow means something more—before it’s too late.”

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got this on ebook through NetGalley for review.

Thoughts: This was a strangely timely read for me, with my son having just started college and the main character working on dealing with her daughter heading off for college. I related to the issues the main character was going through and was drawn into the story. However, the writing itself felt a bit jarring, and I didn’t love the ending.

Leeann Wu is trying to deal with her daughter leaving for college, her mother’s opinion that Leeann could be more, the attractive brother of a client who she has a crush on, and…oh yeah, her hands have started glowing. As Leeann tries to deal with life, things are crashing down around her. Accidents and depression are happening more and more as people aren’t able to sleep. Leeann and her daughter and mother have to figure out what this strange power is and if it can somehow be used to solve the insomnia gripping the town.

This story has a very magical realism feel to it rather than straight contemporary fantasy. I normally really like magical realism, but oddly for this book, that was the part of the story that felt awkward to me. I could relate to Leeann’s complicated feelings about her daughter moving away for college (having just gone through that myself). I was also drawn in by Leeann’s self analysis of her life to this point. I can sympathize with her complicated relationship with her mother. I also could relate to her feeling of being at a changing point in life where she could re-invent herself or, in her case, start a new romantic relationship after not being in one for years. However, the whole glowing hands thing was odd and never well explained. The sleeping plague was also fairly vague. I felt I never had a good handle on what was causing it, and the ending of the book left me feeling even more confused and lost about what happened.

This ended up being a fairly quick read for me; the story was engaging enough and the characters felt real. However, the writing itself is a bit awkward, disconnected, and didn’t flow that well. Additionally, the dialogue was unnatural sounding. While I eventually got used to the cadence, I didn’t really enjoy it.

My Summary (3/5): Overall this was a quick read and it was engaging. I did like how it showed a family working through a challenging time and difficult family dynamics to support each other in the end. I think this book resonated with me more because I am in a similar life stage as Leeann than it might have at another time in my life. Those positives didn’t quite offset the fact that the writing felt unnatural and the dialogue did not flow well. In addition to that, the magical realism elements to this book remain vague and unexplained. The ending left me feeling lost and confused. I probably won’t seek out another book from Hung in the future, while I appreciated the subject matter the writing and magical realism elements felt unfinished.

In reply to Benedict.

Do the companies also offer a paltry discount when replacing them, if the employee turns in the worn out sigl? I imagine that the profit margin could be increased further if the company did so.

Obviously it would take multiple busted sigls to offset the essentia cost of a new one, but if they’re all produced at the same well or wells they could probably get some amount of return. (Based on your sigl recycling articles)

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

Her Last Breath by Taylor Adams

Mogsy’s Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Genre: Thriller

Series: Stand Alone

Publisher: William Morrow (February 17, 2026)

Length: 323 pages

Author Information: Website | Twitter

I now find myself frantically looking up every single book by Taylor Adams because I genuinely can’t believe I have never read him before now. Her Last Breath was my first, but it will absolutely not be my last. It’s been a while since a thriller gripped me like this; I finished this book so exhilarated I could barely catch my breath.

The story centers on two women, Tess and Allie, whose lives have been intertwined since childhood despite very different beginnings. Tess grew up in an abusive home, and it was Allie’s family who took her in and gave her the stability she desperately needed. From there, they became lifelong friends, though as adults, their paths diverged. Allie’s bold, outgoing personality led her to a career as a successful travel influencer, while Tess, who is more cautious and anxious, stayed closer to home, helping manage Allie’s accounts as a way to pay her way through law school. But after returning from a long period of jet-setting around the globe, Allie suggests a caving trip as a chance for them to reconnect, and Tess reluctantly agrees.

Things get off to a bad start when they arrive and find a strange man lingering near the cave entrance, asking unsettling questions. Then, the encounter quickly spirals into something far more dangerous. As it turns out, the man wasn’t just there by random. He has a purpose, and he’s determined that neither women will leave the cave alive. The real question is why they were targeted in the first place.

The book opens with Tess in a hospital bed, referred to as “the survivor” by the detective interviewing her. The story next alternates between this present-day interrogation and Tess’s detailed account of the women’s harrowing ordeal that occurred underground. It’s a structure that works beautifully, with information carefully revealed and sometimes deliberately withheld. I won’t say much more than this, because Her Last Breath is one of those books that’s best experienced without knowing too much. Just trust that there are plenty of surprises waiting.

The pacing is tight, and once things start moving, they do not slow down. Even the quieter, “safer” interview scenes carry tension because you can feel that something bigger is lurking beneath the surface. There’s a mystery here that won’t be revealed until it’s good and ready, and looking back, I realized all the perspective changes were planned deliberately for maximum effect. The author knew exactly what he was doing, when to give and when to hold back, when to drop a detail that makes the reader rethink everything they just read.

The cave scenes also shredded my nerves. If you’re claustrophobic, or heck, even if you’re not, I would strongly recommend asking yourself if you really want to tackle this book. The writing was so immersive, I actually felt physically uncomfortable reading it. The descriptions of the cramped tunnels, the suffocating darkness, and the cold hard rock pressing in on you from every direction are no joke. The sense of being trapped, of not being able to stand up straight or turn around or even expand your lungs to take a full breath, is so vivid that it’s hard not to feel it yourself.

I also really appreciated the character dynamics. Tess and Allie’s friendship is layered and complex, shaped by years of history but also the differences in their personalities. When met with a challenge or danger, they have different ideas on how to confront it. These emotional currents make the experience feel more personal and lead to uncertainty when questions arise. If you read a lot of thrillers, you might spot a few of the tricks Adams has up his sleeve, but honestly, even though I did catch onto some things, it didn’t lessen the fun I had with this book at all. The suspense, the atmosphere, and the execution were solid and carried the story, not to mention there were still plenty of twists that floored me.

By the end, I was in disbelief at how brilliantly everything came together. Her Last Break is tense and claustrophobic, but also incredibly entertaining. It’s the kind of book that reminds me why I love thrillers and why I will never agree to go caving in a million years. Plus, now I have a new must-read author in Taylor Adams, and I’m very happy about that.

…and here’s the video. I just finished it. As you can tell, I had a blast doing it.

If you want to be notified at the time of launch, click here.

I’ll have more information for you on Tuesday. Stay tuned!

Alien Influences Kickstarter Low Resolution

I had a lovely February of reading. Lots more time than I expected, which is fun. As regular readers of this feature know, I don’t recommend everything nor should I, considering I’ve also been reading 300-year-old plays for my Theatre History class. But there’s lots of good here, including a nonfiction book that everyone in the U.S. should read.

You’ll note some recommended articles from On Wisconsin, the alumni magazine for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I learned something rather amazing. The University has a foundation that has existed for 100 years to manage its intellectual property. Well…hmmm…made me wonder if most universities do that. I know the bigger ones do. This one is proactive, though. I did not link to the article, but found its concept interesting.

Started a book by a well-known producer, songwriter, and DJ, the stepson of a rock star, and the child of privilege. As interested as I was in the start of his career, I couldn’t get past all the sweaty teenagers at raves in the 1990s. Clearly the book was a compilation of the stories he tells his friends. So, I donated it to the library. Maybe someone else will like to read about sweaty wealthy teenagers taking drugs and learning about music, but not me.

And then there was the science fiction novel I pulled off my TBR shelf. The novel is fifteen years old, but new to me. I like the author’s work. I’ve read some of his books before. This one started really well. It was scary and dark and intriguing…but the mystery that drew me in got resolved halfway through and suddenly we were in some kind of galactic war that wasn’t well described and read like an outline of a larger work. I actually got bored. So I won’t be recommending that, which kinda makes me sad because it started so very well.

Even though I recommended a lot of stories from the Best Mystery Stories of the Year, I’m not recommending the whole volume. I had to skip too many due to my own issues with child endangerment. Also, some of the stories I read just didn’t hold me. So, if you want to see what else I thought good in the volume, check out November’s Recommended Reading List.

I am also recommending a story from a collection that includes a story by a now-disgraced sf author. Dunno if the editor knew the accusations before buying the story; I’m guessing not. But just be cautious if you don’t want to buy anything with that man’s name on it.

Here’s what I recommend from my reading in February.

 

February, 2026

Armstrong, Kelley, This Fallen Prey, Minotaur Books, 2018. Yes, yes, I know, I came to this series late, but OMG, is it keeping me enthralled. The problem is that it is so dark I cannot read one book right after another. And, the deeper I go in, the more it violates a few of my personal reading rules, but I’m committed, which is a testament to Kelley Armstrong’s writing.

SPOILER ALERT for those of you who share my aversion to children/animals (cute ones, anyway) harmed in books:

an animal we care about gets injured…and some baby animals die.

END SPOILER ALERT

Note that I’m a hypocrite because I’m writing a story right now with a five-month old baby in mortal jeopardy. (It is a Nelscott story, which are often dark and noir, but still…)

Anyway…this book is amazing. I thought of trying to describe it to Dean, but I can’t because there’s so many areas where you must suspend your disbelief, starting with the town of Rockton itself. But within the world of Rockton, this story is a true thriller, filled with situations that would never happen anywhere else. And that’s a great thing. Kelley Armstrong has created a world so vivid and powerful that I believe every word she writes about them. (And I’m so happy I don’t live there.)

I really can’t say anything else without spoiling the story. Start with City of the Lost and read on. These books are that good.

Boschert, Sherry, 37 Words: Title IX And Fifty Years of Fighting Sex Discrimination, The New Press, 2022. First a note on the link: I sourced the New Press’s site because I couldn’t get any of the other places that will give me links to various ebook sites like Kobo and B&N didn’t work. I’m happy to have you all order directly from the publisher, even though they slapped an awful cover on this book. I mean truly terrible. And I only found the book while I was buying books on women’s basketball, so there wasn’t much promo either. It makes me grumpy, since this is a good book and an important topic that got buried by publisher mistakes.

The book was published in 2022 and written before that. So it does not reflect the era we’re in at all. There’s a lot more hope in this book for the future, and an assumption that the rebuilding we’d have to do was rebuilding from the previous time the orange menace was in office. Sometimes that made me sad.

But Title IX was passed in my lifetime. I did not benefit from it because it took forever for schools to implement it. I watch now with joy, tears, and a little bit of envy over the girls who get to play sports I was denied. I have no idea if I would have been good, but getting the opportunity would have been nice.

The fight for Title IX impressed me. Even though it happened in my lifetime, and I really study the time period, I had no idea what these women went through to get it passed. And as I write this, the WNBA and the players are negotiating a CBA for their next contract…and can’t agree on revenue sharing which every male professional sports league  has (even the minor sports, like bowling). This, after A’ja Wilson just won Athlete of the Year. Not Female Athlete of the Year. Best athlete in general, male or female or nonbinary.

If Title IX had passed in its original, there wouldn’t be the fights over trans kids in sports. There wouldn’t be a lot of problems that we have now. But we also have the WNBA and other great professional women’s sports now because of it. The book does show the deeply embedded misogyny in U.S. culture, which partly explains the situation we’re in with our leadership right now. (Let’s vote for a white man who failed the first time over a highly decorated and extremely competent Black woman. Sigh.)

There’s a lot of hope in this book and it’s not false hope. It’s the strength of people fighting for ground, inch by important inch. Read this, even if you think you remember or know what happened with Title IX here in the States. Understanding what happened in the past is essential to our future.

Kilkenny, Katie, “Extras! Extras! Read All About Them!” The Hollywood Reporter, December 3, 2025. At the end of every issue of The Hollywood Reporter, they pull something from the history of the magazine. Usually, they’re fun things related to current events. This one was fascinating. The thug in charge uses the phrase “central casting” to describe people. The cliche has been around for 101 years, and The Hollywood Reporter explains why, and what Central Casting really was. (And, oh, yeah, it still exists.) A short, fascinating read.

Millman, Ethan, “‘I Think Everything I Write Is Going To Be A Hit,'” The Hollywood Reporter, December 3, 2025. This link is to the Songwriters Roundtable that The Hollywood Reporter runs every year. Usually, there’s a quote or two that I pull from the roundtable, but this time, most everything here was strong and good and (weirdly) not very pithy. So writers, music fans, read this one.

Schmitt, Preston, “A New Era For College Sports,” On Wisconsin, Fall 2025. Dean follows college sports more than I do. He’s been griping about some of the changes for years now, especially the transfer portal. I know he supported the changes in students being allowed to profit from their name, likeness, and image. In other words, they can earn money, which is something that he has been held against the NCAA for more than fifty years. (He was disqualified as a student athlete because he taught skiing, so he couldn’t be on his college’s ski team because he wasn’t an “amateur.”) I’ve been griping about the Big 10, calling it the Big 100—which, right now, has 18 “member institutions.” 18 is not 10, and yes, I understand why the branding hasn’t changed but…get off my lawn.

Anyway, this article explains in great and clear detail about all of the changes in college sports. From deals to laws to sports agents, it’s all here, and it finally made the era we’re in clear to me. I hope it helps out those of you who haven’t been following this as closely as Dean. And, from a contract/negotiation/intellectual property standpoint, it’s fascinating as well.

Specktor, Matthew, “After Burn,” The Hollywood Reporter, January 2, 2026. A fascinating article about Los Angeles, one year after the fires. The piece (and the sidebars) show a city divided between haves and have nots, between people who are still dealing with the fires and people who “know someone who lost their house.” Worth reading.

Stegman, Casey, “Effie’s Oasis,” Mysterious Bookshop Presents The Best Mystery Stories of The Year 2025, edited by John Grisham, Mysterious Press, 2025. As regular readers of this little blog feature know, I hate children-in-jeopardy stories. I have a system: when I hit the mention of a kid in a story/book/novel, I skip ahead to see if the kid is mentioned (and alive) at the end. If the story seems a bit too rough, I quit then and there. (I do the same with pets.) Usually, I find out that the kid’s dead or not important, and I don’t read the story.

So, when I read Stegman’s story, with its wonderful voice and great main character, I got to page four or so, when a child starts crying after being called a name, and I of course skipped to the end. Yep, the kid’s there. And the ending was so fascinating that I did something I hadn’t done outside of my editing days.

I read the story backwards. That usually means something kicked me out in the middle, but I’m intrigued enough to want to know what happened. And in this case, I had no obligation to read the story, but I did so anyway. It’s good, it’s smart, and it’s powerful. I suggest reading it forward, however.

Wenc, Christine, “Fake News!” On Wisconsin, Fall 2025. Well, I ordered a book because of the alumni magazine. I had forgotten that The Onion was founded at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and came from a particularly Madison sensibility. I had already moved away from Wisconsin when it started and hadn’t seen the early editions—which I guarantee that I would have since I never missed the free newspapers around town. I even wrote for one, Isthmus, for years before I moved.

This is a fascinating little excerpt on the actual start of The Onion. It’s worth the read to see how crazy ideas can often work, and work well.

Wignall, Kevin, “Retrospective,” Ink and Daggers, edited by Maxim Jakubowski, Titan, 2023. I have to admit some disappointment with this anthology. It’s a collection of stories chosen from the short list for the British Crime Writers Association Dagger awards. It took until I got halfway through the book before something really held me. (Except for one story that might’ve worked for the Brits of the world. I had to look up all the references, which took some of the punch out of the ending.) “Retrospective” is a story of a war photographer who has given up his work for a reason that we learn later. Very powerful, and worth reading.

The Witcher series by Andrzej Sapkowski, translated by Danusia Stok and David French (Gollancz editions)

If there is one group of people that deserve more praise in the literary community, it’s translators. Recent years have shown us just how vital they are to our bookshelves and TBR lists. Its them we have to thank for every Roadside Picnic and Eternaut that dares to tantalize English speakers the world over.

Make no mistake, theirs is a challenging, sometimes even thankless job. The difficulty of translating an entire novel into another language should not be underestimated. Finding the right expression, the correct syntax, ensuring the lyricism of a work is properly communicated are just a few of the challenges translators face. Calling it an art of its own would be no exaggeration. And as a result of that art, we as readers, have been gifted a Smaug’s hoard of titles. Think entire subgenres, fresh visions of tomorrow, and treasure troves of inspiration. Our beloved speculative genre is so much richer thanks to the riotous rogues and deadly dames translated works have introduced us to.

Here are seven translators who have had a massive impact on the SFF community over the past two decades.

Megan McDowell

Mariana Enriquez’s work translated by Megan McDowell: the novel Our Share of Night (Hogarth,
February 7, 2023), and collection A Sunny Place for Shady People (Hogarth, September 17, 2024)

Richmond, Kentucky might seem impossibly far from the summit of Latin America’s literary world. But that’s exactly where one of the past decades most prolific translators of South American literature hails from.

Megan McDowell’s translations include long-standing collaborations with writers like Mariana Enriquez and Samanta Schweblin. It’s her work with the former where she has translated some truly remarkable speculative pieces of fiction including Our Share of Night and A Sunny Place for Shady People, which won a World Fantasy Award in 2025.

David French The Witcher series by Andrzej Sapkowski, translated by Danusia Stok and David French (Gollancz editions)

Few franchises of the modern era have had the staying power of The Witcher. Andrzej Sapkowski’s magnum opus has captured the imagination of millions through his much-loved books and the many games based on them. If you have read Sapkowski in English chances are you’ve seen some of David French’s work.

What has turned into a massive translation effort originally began with a young Englishman that made the fateful choice to venture beyond the Iron Curtain. That man was none other than David French. His motivation? As explained in multiple interviews, he began teaching in Poland in 1988 to learn Polish so that he could speak to his paternal aunt Marline in her native tongue.

Years of mastering the Polish language led to opportunities to work as a translator. When Witcher author Sapkowski began looking for a new translator in 2011, French leaped at the chance. He hasn’t looked back since.

To date, French has translated all but two of Sapkowski’s Witcher novels (The Last Wish and Blood of Elves being translated by the wonderful Danusia Stok) as well as the highly underrated Hussite trilogy. It is no exaggeration to say that millions of readers would not know Geralt, Sapkowski’s black humor, or the grim worlds his characters inhabit without the hard work of one man that just wanted to get closer to a loved one.

Lucia Graves The Cemetery of Forgotten Books by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, all translated by Lucia Graves: The Shadow of the Wind, The Angel’s Game, Labyrinth of Spirits, and The Prisoner of Heaven, plus the short story “Rose of Fire.”

To understand just what makes Lucia Graves such an important translator, you first have to appreciate just how influential the late Carlos Ruiz Zafon was. Despite dying in 2020 at the age of 55, every one of the four books published during his lifetime were celebrated like special events. And every single one was translated into English by Graves.

Graves grew up in Mallorca, Spain, the daughter of legendary British author Robert Graves. According to a 1999 interview with The Independent, the younger Graves was brought up speaking English, Spanish, and Catalan. She would initially make a name for herself translating her father’s books into Spanish. While she has written many books herself, including A Woman Unknown, it is as a translator for Zafon that she is most principally known.

In 2012 she was nominated for a Science Fiction and Fantasy Translation award for her work on Midnight Palace. Since then, she also translated most of the stories in Zafon’s posthumously published book The City of Mist.

Elisabeth Jaquette

Works by Basma Abdel Aziz translated by Elisabeth Jaquette: The Queue
(Melville House, May 24, 2016, cover by Archie Ferguson), and 8 Minutes

The diversity of Elisabeth Jaquette’s oeuvre is impressive. Her Arabic to English translations span multiple genres from sci-fi to nonfiction to political thrillers. Many of her translations offer a window into the post-Arab Spring Middle East. Geographically, they have helped expose readers to authors from North Africa to Yemen.

In 2016, her translation of Basma Abdel Aziz’s dystopian novel The Queue received the English PEN Translates award. Another translation of an Abdel Aziz story was featured in The Apex Book of World Sci-Fi Vol.5. Other speculative works Jaquette has translated include the graphic comic 8 Minutes by Mohamed Salah.

Giuseppe di Martino

Japanese-English translations by Giuseppe di Martino: Hiroyuki Morioka’s
Crest of the Stars Volumes 1-3 Collector’s Edition (JNC, March 3, 2020), and
Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki’s Billy Bat, Volume 2 (Kana, September 1, 2026)

The number of great Japanese-English translators of fiction is so vast, we could spend hours talking about the individuals feeding the world’s hunger for light-novels, short stories, and manga. You have folks like Yuki Tejima (translator of Mizuki Tsujimura’s Lost Souls series), Ajani Oloye (The Deer King by Nahoko Uehashi), Alexander O. Smith (All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka) and so many others.

But in terms of speculative novels, Giuseppe di Martino is definitely among the best. He’s translated several of Hiroyuki Morioka’s space operas, such as Crest of the Stars, as well as numerous light-novels. For the more manga-inclined, di Martino is the translator of one of the year’s most hotly anticipated titles, namely volumes two and three of Naoki Urasawa’s Billy Bat.

Anton Hur

Translations by Anton Hur: Park Seolyeon’s A Magical Girl Retires (HarperVia, April 30,
2024), and Sang Young Park’s Love in the Big City (Grove Press, November 16, 2021)

South Korea has long been a heavyweight in the world of literature and when it comes to the speculative genre, Anton Hur has had a hand in translating some of the nation’s best into English. The Stockholm-born author’s CV reads almost like a ‘Who’s Who’ of South Korea’s most acclaimed works including major prize darlings like Bora Chung’s Cursed Bunny, Park Seolyeon’s A Magical Girl Retires, and Sang Young Park’s Love in the Big City.

This year we’ll have a chance to read perhaps his most ambitious translation yet when The Bird That Drinks Tears is released on June 2. As the first of four books in one of Korea’s wildly popular The Heart of the Nhaga series, don’t be surprised if the novel and Hur enjoy Witcher-levels of success.

Ken Liu Cixin Liu’s The Three-Body Problem, translated by Ken Liu and Joel Martinsen: The Three-Body Problem, The Dark Forest, Death’s End, and The Redemption of Time (Head of Zeus Press UK editions, 2015-2017)

The author of The Grace of Kings wears many hats. His work to bring greater attention to contemporary Chinese sci-fi has been tremendous, include editing the massive anthologies Broken Stars and Invisible Planets. But most importantly for this list are the large number of translations he has done.

Fiction translated by Liu has appeared in Clarkesworld, The Best Science Fiction of the Year series, SQ Mag, Lightspeed, and Galaxy’s Edge. Some of the finest science fiction authors in China have trusted them with their work, a longlist that includes Chen Qiufan, Xia Jia, and Bao Shu.

It is as the translator of Cixin Liu’s work, however, that Ken Liu is best known. He translated the first, third, and fourth books in the best-selling Three-Body Problem series. Other efforts to bring Cixin Liu’s work to English-speaking audiences include translations of short stories such as The Weight of Memories.

What’s your favorite translated sci-fi work? Let us know in the comments below!

Ismail D. Soldan’s last article for Black Gate was Sci-Fi Dystopias We Should Learn From. He is an author, journalist, and poet. His work has previously appeared in Illustrated Worlds, LatineLit, and The Acentos Review among other publications. A proud explorer of both real and imagined worlds, some of his latest published work include The Right Kind of Royalty (on swordsandsorcerymagazine.com) and Heavenfall (in JR Handley Presents: Contested Landing Volume 2).