New Book Review - The Summer War by Naomi Novic

Name - The Summer War

Written by - Naomi Novik

Narrated by - Ella Lynch 

Published by - Del Rey / Penguin

Audiobook by - Random House Audio

Telling a story in the vain of classic fairy tales is more easily said than done. And Novik did a brilliant job of pulling off a layer of mesmerizing prose; the first two thirds of the book flowed so brilliantly with its richly imagined little setting and the trio of siblings with their individual voices. But the last third and the ending were just worked out a little awkwardly, leaving me wondering if the author could have maybe taken things in a different direction for a better closure.

Naomi Novik is a well-known writer in fantasy circles, always praised for her beautiful depiction of fairytale-inspired prose and setting. And her fluency in this regard is felt from the beginning. The tale of the centuries-long Summer Wars and our heroine Celia getting caught in it with her family started very engagingly. With emphasis on style rather than substance to tell the story, the author created a fully fleshed heroine and also her two brothers, both unique in their own way.

Celia in her hormone-induced emotional angst curses her oldest brother Argent for never finding love in his life. Then after Argent left, she grew close to her middle brother Roric, who is quite an interesting character in his own right. Then she tries to break the curse, but unfortunately gets caught in the animosity of the two kingdoms herself. 

The story starts with beautiful and lyrical prose, introduces its characters and world brilliantly, but somehow loses momentum towards the end. It changes its direction quite unsuspectingly and gives a rather patched up ending not giving all the characters proper closer. Roric was the best character and surely deserved more time to shine, and Argent, on the other hand, gets a fast and all of a sudden romance shoved in his face and dealt with poorly.

A novella with so much promise that never fully delivered, this gets 3.5 out of 5 stars from me.

Weekend Shorts - In My Country by Thomas Ha

Name - In My Country

Written by - Thomas Ha

Published on - Clarkesworld Magazine April 2025 (issue 223)

A timeless allegorical story with captivating prose, this one is a story remarkably fitting for current times, having a strong political message. The style and execution reminded me a lot of Ray Bradbury with its dreamlike quality, serine storytelling which is also deeply intense despite the initial appearance.

'In My Country' relates the story of a man and his family who reside in a country so much different from the ones we live in, yet so much similar when you look at it. There is government which allows criticism and maintains good governance, but only until you peel back the shiny veneer. But once you look deeper, there is the cruel reality of strict authoritarian fascism, where they are trying to regulate your thoughts and actions, while punishing you through their deceit for you trying to think for yourself.

Thomas Ha depicts the conflict inside the narrator so skillfully, peeling back the layers of the illusion and making us feel as powerless as he does. He then introduces his grief, his coming to terms with loss, and then finding hope even in such a bleak condition.

The author plays with so many allegorical elements in such a short space. The need for a writer to convey the truth, the dichotomy and dilemma with immigration, the false sense of security encompassing us, the vigour and rebellion of youth and future generations, and the inability of those who came before us to stand for what is right, etc. He tries to convey so many messages through his mesmerising prose in a poignant display of using genre fiction as literature.

This is one of my favourite stories dealing with these concepts and surely deserves the awards and nominations it received.

A well-deserved 4.5 out of 5 stars from me. I am cutting .5 because I think the author should have elaborated this into at least a novella. 

Weekend Shorts - Missing Helen by Tia Tashiro

Name - Missing Helen

Written by - Tia Tashiro 

Published on - Clarkesworld Magazine July 2025 (issue 226)

This one had quite an interesting concept dealing with a plausible future where clones are used like sperm banks for couples wanting to have children. The premise was sound, the themes the author was trying to explore were novel, but the means used were a bit uncomfortable at times, making the reading a bit strained.

This tells the story of a woman named Helen, who sells her genome for cloning purposes for money so that she might get a better future. Then by twists of fate that clone who is 16 years younger returns in her life as her ex-husband's fiance, awkward and yucky right. Then the two versions of the same person have a brief yet meaningful meeting.

The story has interesting themes like cloning depicted in a positive light, female empowerment, how relationships seemingly perfect erode away by time, a bit of narcissism, and the weird concept of your clone might be the best family for you if it were an option. All nice things to explore, but the introduction through ex-husband plot seemed kind of unnecessary and weird for me.

While an enjoyable story on its own, this is probably one of the weaker nominees for Hugo this year, this gets 3.5 out of 5 stars from me.

Weekend Shorts - Six People to Revise You

Name - Six People to Revise You

Written by - J. R. Dawson

Published on - Uncanny Magazine (Issue 62)

Well, that certainly was some fine prose. The story seemed to flow so smoothly, making quite a simplistic premise shine due to sheer literary power. 

The story follows protagonist Liz, as she is thinking of going through a procedure called revision that would revise her being, cutting out the bad things, introducing new aspects, making her into a better version of herself. During the story she tries to collect input from six specific persons regarding herself, on what they would like changed about herself. 

We get to learn that Liz is queer, sensitive, and insecure; but she also has many endearing and positive qualities that she seldom recognizes herself. All the while we are discovering her, we travel towards a predictable yet emotional ending.

The story is rather simple; it has been done before, highlighting that we needn't always change to be better; instead, we should learn to embrace our true selves. Yet, the beautiful and captivating prose makes this very enjoyable and memorable.

This gets 3.5 out of 5 stars from me.

Weekend Shorts - Laser Eyes Ain't Everything by Effie Seiberg

Name - Laser Eyes Ain't Everything 

Written by - Effie Seiberg

Edited by - David Steffen

Published on - Diabolical Plots (DP fiction #123B)

Well, that was quite a lot of fun to read. In a modern writing landscape of overcomplicated stuff or stylistic approaches, a rather straightforward superpower science fiction with a quite relevant message for people all around.

Without spoiling much about this one, I'll just tell you that this one is about RazorBeam, who even after obtaining the power of having laser eyes, finds it difficult to get traffic circles built among her various struggles to get some comfortable accommodations for persons with disabilities. Then comes the supervillain Doctor Croc and things get interesting.

I was interested in this because of the title and with the knowledge decided to check out this Nebula winner and was quite delighted with the breezy prose, compassionate and interesting protagonist and a nice feel-good ending. While people are usually reluctant to read any genre fiction that tries to deliver a message, if it's done like this it certainly becomes worth checking out.

A deservedly award-worthy short story, this gets 4 out of 5 stars from me.

Weekend Shorts - 10 Visions of the Future; or, Self-Care for the End of Days by Samantha Mills

Name - 10 Visions of the Future; or, Self-Care for the End of Days

Written by - Samantha Mills

Published on - Uncanny Magazine (Issue 63)

Alternate realities are all the rage nowadays and this one is quite a fun attempt to put this genre into action, mixing it with a post-apocalyptic and cosmic twist. The prose was fun with bits of humor and an overarching theme of romance, but nothing that seemed rather new to me.

The narrator describes 10 possible futures that she experiences through visions, occurring mostly after an apocalyptic event that keeps the populace trying to survive in various disastrous situations.

This is my first reading of the works of this author, and I found her prose and character work quite enjoyable despite nothing remarkably original on offer.

3 out of 5 stars from me.

New Book Review - Feral and Hysterical by Sadie Hartmann

Name - Feral and Hysterical: Mother Horror’s Ultimate Reading Guide to Dark and Disturbing Fiction by Women

Writer - Sadie Hartmann

Published By - Page Street Publishing

This is the second book by Sadie Hartmann dedicated to creating lists of horror fiction recommendations. This time her focus is entirely on horror written by women and the book is arranged neatly into different topics listing her recommendations, each with a synopsis and her own thoughts about the books in a short review.

I really loved some of the creative list making and vibe selections and while like any normal reader wasn't much enthusiastic about a few categories. But therein lies the true depth on offer here, as the author really attempted to cater to almost every kind of taste that different readers have.

There are also five small essays by an interesting selection of authors shining even more light into female experience and expertise regarding understanding horror medium. These added a fine sense of variation among the lists and reviews.

Another great thing about the book is the great artwork on offer dispersed all throughout the book, almost perfectly conveying the mood for each list. In a reference book like this, these brilliant sketches really added an extra reason to keep coming back for more.

Hopefully she will keep writing this kind of books about books in the future, maybe about other genres, maybe about films or TV shows. I really like her prose style and her genuine sense of love for the works and her energetic approach.

I am gonna give this 4.5 out of 5 stars (mostly cause I liked the first one even more).

Why I Love Horror: Essays on Horror Literature, edited by Becky Spratford

Name - Why I Love Horror: Essays on Horror Literature

Editor - Becky Spratford

Writer - Various 

Introduced by - Sadie Hartmann

Published By - S&S/Saga Press

I'll start with a bit of introspection, regarding my realization of my own appreciation of horror as a genre. As a child, I used to be very afraid of anything remotely to do with horror. I remember going to sleep early to avoid watching X-files with my older siblings; as a matter of fact, even the opening score was enough to scare me.

But as I got older and slowly fell in love with fantasy and science fiction, I gradually entered the world of horror in all its forms and variations, and began to understand that it has the ability to transform into anything and can also influence almost every other genre, creating remarkable fusion and falling in love with it quite inevitably.

This collection of essays deals with very interesting and enjoyable experiences of some famous names in horror writing, and mostly tells us their tales of growing up and falling in love with the genre, as many of us did all over the world.

The writing is often uneven and varied as is the nature of such a collection, but almost all the pieces are deeply emotional and thought provoking, and will surely leave the readers also reminiscing their own stories.

The editor did a brilliant job of selecting the authors and arranging the essays, making this a perfect experience for horror fans.

This gets 5 stars out of 5 from this nostalgic horror fan.

New Book Review - King Sorrow

Name - King Sorrow

Written by - Joe Hill

Narrated by - Ari Fliakos and multiple other voice actors

Published by - William Morrow / Headline 

Audiobook by - William Morrow 

To review a book like 'King Sorrow' is quite difficult, as there is little left to be said about such a much talked about book, and it's still even more difficult comparing it with all the hype that it created as one of the best books of the year. But thankfully, it does deliver on its promises while also having a few minor issues keeping it from archiving perfection.

This is my first read of Joe Hill, and boy can he spin a great tale? Although he did remind me a bit about his father, he created his own unique sense in creating his characters and an epic take spanning a lot of time in their life. The horror elements were among the best parts of the book keeping the readers guessing if the nightmare will ever end.

The most fascinating thing about the book is the characters, who are fleshed so brilliantly, with their unique traits making them feel so relatable despite often not being lovable. Hill kept us guessing at who might or might not survive till the end and ending provided quite an emotional closure to this charismatic cast.

The novel was a hefty one, almost 900 pages in length (26+ hours for me as I listened to the audiobook), could have been easily crafted into a series with its multiple stories at different times in the life of characters doing the unintentional bidding of the King. The whole setting is not explained in detail, keeping a sense of mystery regarding the supernatural element of the book, and the bits of humor dispersed were quite charming.

I have to suggest the reader to try to listen to the audiobook, as the voice acting and sound effects made it that much more visceral, almost making me feel like the dread of facing the dragon at times and being part of the unlucky group of friends.

My little complaints are regarding the slow start and the author not bothering with trimming a bit of the fat, making the experience more streamlined and fast-paced.

In the end, I will give this 4.5 out of 5 stars.

New Metal Review - "Outward Streams of Devotional Woe" by Unsouling

Album Name - Outward Streams of Devotional Woe

Band Name - Unsouling 

Genre - Experimental Black /Death Metal

Label - I, Voidhanger Records 

Release Date - October 3, 2025

Line Up -

  A.S. - All Instruments and Vocals

I am always a bit sceptical about one man projects, because while there are quite a few brilliant genre defining stuff like Bathory, Burzum, Leviathan etc there are also countless mediocre and bland stuff. It is really hard to invigorate with real and emotional instrumentations rather than relying on programmed bits and uninspired copycat performances. But despite my reservations, I finally decided to go with it due to the short length of the album.

The album opens with 'Immaterial Entrance', a rather straight forward eerie black metal track, which gives a chilling wintry vibe immediately hitting listeners with an unhealthy dose of anguish and grief. From the get-go the album never transcends the sense of overwhelming icy hopelessness, rather embracing it and trying to mold the musical experiment with other forms of extreme metal.

There is a bit of doom metal depth, some crushing OSDM styled riffs, and even a dose of post metal shenanigans. The feeling often gets angrier with some growls and heavy drumming, but eventually always returns with a sense of foreboding and dreadfully nuanced emotionally charged blackened depth. The melodic bits interspersed between tracks and two minutes long instrumental song do provide a welcome distraction and create a distinguished sense of impending disaster.

The vocals are mostly harsh and often buried beyond the music, but overall create a sense of being part of the background. I rather liked the cleaner bits on offer on 'Your Momentary Passing' and 'To Come Unbound', and would have liked if there were more of such pieces throughout. The drumming seems to be live rather than programmed which is always a bonus point in my book.

My main problem with the album is that it never really delivers on the promise it often eludes. There is not enough experimentation; despite the genre blending, it never reaches the stage of something never done before. The vocals are not distinguished enough, and the overall experience seems too short. Hopefully, the next outing of this project will address these shortcomings.

Overall Score -

                         7.5 out of 10.

For more info check out the bands official Bandcamp page and their metal-archives page -

https://unsouling.bandcamp.com/

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Unsouling/3540538398   

New Book Review - Extremity by Nicholas Binge

Name - Extremity 

Written by - Nicholas Binge

Published by - Tor Publishing Group

Oftentimes, there are some reads which seem quite fun as you read it, but start to lose some of its fun and coherence when you examine it closely, more so with the perspective of hindsight. 'Extremity' is such a book. A fast-paced mystery and sci-fi hybrid that is a thrilling enough ride while it lasts, but quite forgettable once you are done.

This book is told through the first-person viewpoints of three characters: one veteran, one rookie, and one former police detective. The narrative style seemed a bit odd initially, but soon became comfortable enough and I as a reader was swept away by the blistering pace of plot progression. 

Some plot holes or rather unexplained plot points did make the enjoyment a bit hampered, but the interesting characters and the unexpected directions of the conflict kept me entertained up to the mini cliffhanger ending.

The main problem is that the author hammered through the science fiction bit of the story in his attempt to focus on the thriller aspect. Maybe he did this to keep stuff rolling for future sequels, but the story suffers from keeping the reader a bit unsatisfied when thinking back after finishing the book.

I will probably check out future books if any sequel does come out to see how the author explains the setting further. Meanwhile, this gets 3 out of 5 stars from me.

Graphic Novel Review - Bowling with Corpses & Other Strange Tales from Lands Unknown

Name: Bowling with Corpses & Other Strange Tales from Lands Unknown

Published by: Dark Horse Book

Writer & Artist: Mike Mignola

Colorist: Dave Stewart 

Letterer: Clem Robins

My experience with Mike Mignola is quite limited, as I have only read the first volume of Hellboy and a few other works from him here and there. So, it was quite a lot of fun to be acquainted with his unique style of storytelling and unorthodox art. And the concept of building a new world also resonated with me, satisfying an older craving.

Bowling with Corpses features the titular story along with a bunch of short stories telling some simplistic yet brilliantly depicted tales while introducing the boundaries of the setting. The storytelling technique is quite engrossing; often using the art and the overall setting reminded me of 'The Gods of Pegana', which is a book I still remember quite fondly.

What more can I say about Mignola's art that hasn't always been said. It creates a vivid sense of otherworldly sensation and dark brooding atmosphere that acts as the main force driving the story. My only gripe is that somehow I feel the art would have worked even better in black and white.

Hoping to see more from this world and quite eager to find out what happens to these characters in the future. I will give this 4 out of 5 stars.

Weekend Shorts - Wire Mother by Isabel J. Kim

Name - Wire Mother 

Written by - Isabel J. Kim 

Published on - Clarkesworld Magazine October 2025 (issue 229)

This one was a blast to read, with a fun concept, engaging prose and interesting characters. When lots of stuff is being written about artificial intelligence and digital people it is really hard to sound original in this regard but Isabel shines through with making her story feel like natural and quite plausible compared to many.

This story is about Cassie, is set in far future and deals with her imaginary neuro divergent disorder making her incapable of accepting digital people as real. The story is told through her point of view and established the world around her slowly through her eyes while progressing to her inevitable rebellion against the norms of her society.

This was my first read from Isabel and this just clicked. The short yet poignant story left a sense of unease and desire to return to the setting. Maybe there are more stories to tell regarding Cassie or her world; only the author knows surely.

I will give this 4 out of 5 stars.

New Book Review - Godzilla Minus One by Takashi Yamazaki

Name - Godzilla Minus One (novelization)

Written by - Takashi Yamazaki

Translated by - Evan Ward

Published by - Seven Seas Entertainment 

Godzilla Minus One is a masterwork of how to tell a simplistic yet impactful story in a profound way. It follows quite a predictable formula but due to the strength of the inherent message and brilliant execution, it turns into something to rejoice for ages to come.

I had an interest in revisiting the experience, so I immediately picked up the novelization of the film as soon as I found out about it. And thankfully the book does deliver with some delightful new scenes and a glimpse into the psyche of some of the characters.

Uniquely, Godzilla Minus One is not just a monster movie, but features the struggles of a post-war country who are on the losing side facing yet another disaster and trying to overcome it this time on their own terms. The characters are quite vividly imagined, making the readers sympathetic to them and feeling anguish or joy alongside them in this all too human tale.

Almost everyone who is a genre fan has surely seen the movie or heard about it. This novelization just gives them another chance to re-enter this world.

4 out of 5 stars from me.

New Book Review - Exiles by Mason Coile

Name - Exiles

Written by - Mason Coile (Andrew Pyper)

Narrated by - Ashley Morton 

Published by - G.P. Putnam's Sons / Baskerville 

Audiobook by - Penguin Audio

'Exiles' is a conglomeration of genres mixing a backdrop of sci-fi with bleak and uncompromising horror with a sense of pervading mystery packed in a tight package of fast moving thriller. While this combination seems like a hard thing to do masterfully the audiobook version with its emotionally packed narration does quite a wonderful job of delivering a memorable performance.

The plot follows three humans (one female and two males) going on a mission to Mars where they would live out the rest of their lives and prepare the way for other explorers following their footsteps. Awaiting them are three robots who built and now maintain their habitat. 

The story from the beginning is quite unpredictable, never really informing the reader much about the direction or about the main characters, creating a sense of mystery. The thrill slowly builds and the focus shifts from an exploration story to turn into horror focusing on alien environment and personal struggles.

The thing I liked about the story is the slow reveal for the reader of the fact that despite otherworldly setting, robots and possible alien menace, the horror actually is much more personal relying on the history of personal trauma and psychological instability. 

None of the characters are lovable, but it is quite understandable why they are motivated in acting in specific ways. The cunning and manipulation by the apparent antagonist while his/her identity is revealed give the emotional impact yet another jolt.

Maybe this story was custom built in such ways but the performance by Ashley Morton was simply outstanding, delivering such emotional narration, especially in the final third of the book, is remarkably memorable. The ending hit like a gut punch, which is both an accomplishment by the author and the narrator.

Sometimes after starting the book I came to know that the author is with us no more, which is such a shame, as it seems he was currently at the pique of his craft. At least, he lives us with a backlog of past works to explore in the future.

This gets 4 out of 5 stars from me.

Weekend Shorts - When there are two of you: A documentary by Zun Yu Tan

Name - When there are two of you: A documentary 

Written by - Zun Yu Tan

Published on - Clarkesworld Magazine January 2025 (issue 220)

This one had an interesting premise of a future where people use their digital clones or sentience to assist them in their daily lives. The story deals with the various scenarios that might occur as a result. 

The story is told as two interviews taken from two individuals who are dealing with this phenomenon quite differently. The story could have been developed a bit more, adding a bit more background or conflict rather than going the psychological way to describe the effect.

The bit with a conversation from an online forum was interesting and could have been used more to add more flavor.

I will give this 3 out of 5 stars.

New Book Review - The Hungry Gods by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Name - The Hungry Gods 

Written by - Adrian Tchaikovsky

Narrated by - Emma Newman

Series - Terrible Worlds: Innovations 

Published by - Rebellion Publishing Ltd. / Solaris Books

Audiobook by - Tantor Media 

Another Adrian Tchaikovsky novella, another innovative and interesting work involving a richly imagined world incorporating relatable and charismatically depicted characters. Nowadays, his work means contender for best of the year list.

This time the setting is a post-apocalyptic resource-depleted world, with animal-inspired factions embroiled in struggle for survival suddenly turned upside down by the arrival of four technologically advanced beings claiming to be gods.

The prose by Tchaikovsky is as enjoyable as ever, seeming to glide through the world building and introducing the main players. The obvious ecological rhetoric is done quite artfully making us ponder if this might occur in our future if we keep on polluting our surroundings. 

The characters are quite skillfully fleshed, having their own purposes and motivations to guide them through to the ending which is quite satisfying as is often the case with the author. I liked Beaker and Iffy the most and would have liked to read more about them.

Hoping to get more releases for this series in future as I will remain trying to finish reading all of available Tchaikovsky stuff (a daunting task indeed). This gets 4 out of 5 stars from me.

Animated Tv Show Review - Devil May Cry (2025)

Animated Show Name - Devil May Cry (2025)

Season - 1

Aired - April 3, 2025

Episodes - 8

Network - Netflix 

Based on - 'Devil May Cry' by Capcom

Developed By - Adi Shankar, Alex Larsen

Animated by - Studio Mir, Adi Shankar Animation 

Although I haven't played much of Devil May Cry, I have a basic understanding regarding the story of DmC. And this somewhat modernization of the adaptation of the popular video game series does hit all the correct spots to score high marks especially regarding the entertainment value, also keeping interest piqued for future seasons.

The story is breakneck fast-paced, filled with witty dialogues and has some interesting twists and turns to keep the viewer guessing. The plot does not adhere to the video game strictly, which seems like an improvement in my book despite many fans feeling otherwise based on the internet. Any adaptation should have some room for creativity and alteration so as to give the developers their own chance to share their vision in my opinion (people can play the games any time if they want the original storyline, so what's the bother?).

Interestingly, the side characters were much more well-fleshed and had developed background compared to Dante, I really loved the White Rabbit. I would give the lesser development and focus upon the main characters benefit of doubt, presuming that the creators kept their cards in hand for future seasons. The creators playing with concepts of real world politics, racism, and religious zealotry added further relevance to some of the story and characters.

The art and animation are a clear strong point with fluid and high-profiled animated action sequences accentuating the overall urgency and breathtaking visuals. The battles are brilliantly choreographed, often making me come back for a second view of the spectacle.

The use of both old school and modern rock pieces enhances the bombastic nature of the actions as well as the emotional episodes like the 6th one. The music is universally loved for this series even by its haters and that is definitely for good reasons.

My score - 9 out of 10.

Weekend Shorts - Model Collapse by Matthew Kressel review

Name - Model Collapse 

Written by - Matthew Kressel 

Ilustrated by - Keith Negley

Edited by - Ellen Datlow

Published by - Tor.com 

My first read from this author was quite an interesting one. In such a small space the author has created a unique story that is part science fiction and part horror, and the story flowed like a breeze keeping focused and ended with a neat twist.

Much cannot be expressed about the story without spoiling it, so I will just say that it keeps mysterious all throughout, keeping the reader guessing what is really happening and where the story is actually going.

I would have liked a bit more explanation regarding the setting as many things are left unclear and the potential for further expansion of the premise is rather minimal due to the ending.

Overall score - 3.5 out of 5 stars.

 

Weekend Shorts - Human Resources by Adrian Tchaikovsky review

Name - Human Resources

Written by - Adrian Tchaikovsky 

Ilustrated by - George Wylesol

Edited by - Lee Harris

Published by - Tor.com 

[ Back with this special feature after quite a long time, as I have quite a lot of free time now, compared to what I used to have the last 3-4 years. Hopefully I can continue for a bit this time around. ]

Anyone who reads Tchaikovsky is bound to get attached to his unique prose style and sense of humor while telling a thoughtful or serious story. It seems he can pull this off quite remarkably in the short form as well.

This short is placed in the world of his full-length novel 'Service Model', although featuring different characters and sometimes before that story as well. This one features a human employee in an office where slowly they are becoming unnecessary due to them being replaced by artificial intelligence.

The prose is as enjoyable and smoothly flowing as always by the author. But the  main problem with the setup is that the ending twist could be guessed even from the beginning. The execution was brilliantly done, but the story does seem to be desiring a bit more meat to make it as memorable as other works by Tchaikovsky.

In the end, I'll give this 3.5 out of 5 stars.