Reviews and Other Cool Things

The Big Idea, on John Scalzi’s blog Whatever, about the publication of The Empress and The Moon. Thanks John!

Jak Koke recommends Our Lady of the Islands on Shepherd. Thanks Jak!

My favorite fantasy and sci fi books from authors who clearly care passionately about food and drink, on Shepherd.

Lengthy review of The Mammoth Book of Dieselpunk, which includes “Rolling Steel” (with Jay Lake), in Strange Horizons. “…a chaotic tale depicting the romance between a shotgun-toting dame and the patchwork freebooter pilot of a hyperpowered battle tank in a shattered 1930s America…”

Lovely review of “Rolling Steel” (co-authored with Jay Lake) in The Mammoth Book of Dieselpunk, from Fantasy Literature. “They were excellent collaborators and in this story, while the point of view shifts between two characters, there are no seams or moments of dislocation.”

Starred review from Library Journal for Our Lady of the Islands:
★ 12/01/2014 “…A picturesque tropical setting, a mature, intelligent heroine, and a whole lot of action help make this collaboration between Page and the late Lake a great success.”

i09 on Our Lady of the Islands, “All the Science Fiction and Fantasy Books You Can’t Miss in December.”

Our Lady of the Islands declared one of the Best Books of 2014 by Publishers Weekly. From their starred review: “This satisfying feminist tale…Page has done a phenomenal job of completing Lake’s work after his death, honoring his contributions and vision while giving the novel an emotionally authentic, coherent voice.”

Amazon reviews of Eel River, making an author’s heart happy.

SciFi Monkeys on Witches, Stitches & Bitches–I think they liked it!

Very strongly positive (and detailed) review of Witches, Stitches & Bitches from Vagabond Saint. Pull quote on whether you should buy this book: “…a heartfelt, enthusiastic OH HELL YES WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR.”

Eva Langston at Burlesque Press on Witches, Stitches & Bitches: “…a lot of fun.”

WatchPlayRead on Witches, Stitches & Bitches: “I started to read the first story Blood Magic and instantly became hooked. It was clear from the beginning that this book wasn’t going to pull any punches. It was dark, gritty, and beautiful in so many ways. I continued on to the second story, and before I knew it I was hooked!”

Great review of Witches, Stitches & Bitches by Stephanie Rose on Goodreads. “I found myself unable to put it down…The unconventional stories in “Witches, Stitches and Bitches” are soundly written, compelling and often chilling.”

From “I Smell Sheep,” on The Modern Fae’s Guide to Surviving Humanity: “These are top quality stories, each one having its own unique style ranging from humorous to dark and melancholy while sticking to the general theme of how the Fae might be coexisting with humans.”

From janicu’s book blog, about “A People Who Always Know,” (collaborative story with Jay Lake) in The Modern Fae’s Guide to Surviving Humanity: “A sort of cloak and dagger story that reveals political fighting between older traditionalists and younger upstarts among the fae. I always like stories that have something of a battle of wits in them so I liked where this went, but I wish there was more to this.”

Locus Magazine (May 2011) on “The Passion of Mother Vajpai” (collaborative story with Jay Lake), in Subterranean’s Tales of Dark Fantasy 2: “…a romantic tale whose darkness comes mostly from the protagonist’s profession–assassin. … Enjoyable work.”

Fantasy Book Critic on “The Passion of Mother Vajpai” (collaborative story with Jay Lake), in Subterranean’s Tales of Dark Fantasy 2. From the review: …a passionate and poignant tale of seduction, love and regret.

Review of “Rolling Steel,” by Angel McCoy. From the review: The sassy and salty personalities of the two main characters come to life through the voices. (she especially notes the audio version of the story.)

From Joshua Palmatier, about “If This Were A Romance…” (collaborative story with Jay Lake), in DAW’s Love & Rockets: A good story with a nice twist at the end. The story plays on our reader expectations for the types of stories we assume are in this anthology.

From The Portal, about “From the Countries of Her Dreams,” collaborative story with Jay Lake.

Nice review of Grants Pass from Brainy Cat.

From Joshua Palmatier’s review of “The Hippie Monster of Eel River,” in Close Encounters of the Urban Kind: “Some good characterization here, the main character coming across strong and believable.”

From the judge’s report of the Australian Horror Writers Association Shadows Award, naming Grants Pass as Best Edited Publication: …stand out stories for me were “Animal Husbandry” by Seanan McGuire, “Men of Faith” by Ivan Ewart, and “By the Sea” by Shannon Page.

“Bone Island” (with Jay Lake) in Interzone 225 (November-December 2009), at Best SF. From the review: The quality of writing is high, and subtly poetic, creating a believable community and a believable setting, both of who are solidly set against a long, substantial history, that gives the impression that you’re watching one part of a long, long story – rather than reading about a few characters thrown together to create a story.

Also of “Bone Island,” at Garbled Signals. From the review: …the story is enjoyable and satisfying; fun to read.

Excellent review of the short story “Hot Seat” by Mari Kurisato
(available here in its entirety). From the review: And the best for last… Seriously, I could just pump that kind of writing right into my veins like black tar literary crack. That’s good fiction, mang, It’s tight, yanno? I fully expect a pushcart prize or something from this woman before long.

“Eastlick,” in Black Static. From the review: Page beautifully evokes the awkwardness of adolescence and from the moment the guy invites Laura to a party the reader has the requisite foreboding. Recommended.

Also of “Eastlick.” From the review: Last of all, “Eastlick” by Shannon Page is the story of a young girl, named Laura, who is becoming a woman. She’s very interested in Dana, the boy next door. She tells him her name is Lara and that she is turning 14 on Halloween, even though she is actually turning 12. But her puberty is unleashing more than what is usual and this scares her.. and scares us as well! Page has contributed a very good coda for this issue.

“Rolling Steel” (with Jay Lake) in Clarkesworld 31. From the review: There’s a couple of witty lines here and there, especially from that of the heroine… It clearly has that dystopian war atmosphere, a lone tank against the world, and the authors admittedly create two compelling characters, the mad Topper and the slightly-less unhinged Grace.

Another of “Rolling Steel.” From the review: The story is tonally strong; the voices of the characters emerge clearly and distinctly, and their turns of phrase are fun and surprising, way beyond sarcasm.

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