Like the layers of muscle shielding the abdominal cavity, your emotions will be steadily peeled away by this beautifully visceral ballad of love and loyalty. Paul Tremblay’s Survivor Song is an utterly believable imagining of what could and probably would happen with a pandemic of a more virulent and accelerated version of the rabies virus. … Continue reading Survivor Song: Never leave me. And I will never leave you.
Hungry? Try a lime and basil bonbon from the House of Finch. Nobody can eat just one, as they say. This is true of every story in Em Dehaney’s slim but satisfying volume, Food of the Gods. In the title track, a down-and-out chocolatier inadvertently discovers how to inject new life into his dark, sweet … Continue reading “Food of the Gods” — Short stories to drive you mad for more
A mindless horror awakens after 150 years of slumber, intent on completing its bloody mission. Its target? A garden-variety IT guy in Omaha named Ben Middleton. I got a solid kick out of this fast-moving horror thriller. Doolittle manages to humorously introduce you to each character in the ensemble cast while propelling you through the … Continue reading In Kill Monster, Sean Doolittle takes us on a nightmare ride (with a few laughs thrown in)
Although Octavia Butler's classic novel Kindred does involve time travel, the story is, in the words of the author, a grim fantasy, rather than science fiction. First published in 1979, it is as relevant today as it was then, if not more so. To say this story is “grim” would be akin to saying Rammstein … Continue reading Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
Time Was by Ian McDonald is the most exquisitely tender war/ time travel story I’ve ever encountered. If time travel has never been your thing, this is your gateway drug. [Edit] Okay, I just have to say more about this book because I can’t stop thinking about it! In fact, it’s one of the very … Continue reading Time Was by Ian McDonald
Shoshana Sumrall 