Book Review: It Will Only Hurt for a Moment (gothic horror thriller)

It Will Only Hurt for a Moment

By Delilah S. Dawson

Published by Del Rey on October 22, 2024

Adult. Content notes: abuse of all kinds, sexual assault, violence and death to animals and humans; personally, I appreciate authors who deal directly with such subject matter, and Dawson does it pretty well, but fair warning.

As usual, a spoiler-free review.

I enjoyed the Delilah S. Dawson Star Wars books I read a while back, and I especially loved her short story in Uncanny and the perfect novels she wrote as Lila Bowen, so I was excited to dive into another. This didn’t disappoint. Grab a copy for a quick gothic horror thriller: a solid read for the Halloween season. I loved this for the immersion in a haunting setting with fleshed-out traumatic reasons for the haunting, and the gradual path toward unhinged is fun. Teases us with the supernatural and the history of the place until everything comes together and brings the protagonist to the brink of disaster and death.

Interactions between goth photographer and main character are amusing and charming and engaged me. Some excellent tension between characters. as well. The way violence and death and abuse pops in like a brutal slap felt real to me. Those scenes from the second POV are great. I often get a kick out of stories with these locations characters know they shouldn’t explore, but explore anyway, then keep coming back even when it’s going to bring heaps of trouble (sure, it’s trope-ridden but feels authentic to me when that is pretty much what I’d do).

It’s not a perfect book, though. The hook with family tension is strong, though perhaps needed more to stand out as unique in today’s deluge of literature. I wasn’t immediately swept in until we started exploring the primary setting, the artist retreat and its shadows. The characters are all frustrating for their treatment of others (you different, you bad, no talk, everything trauma), but that is pretty common in gothic style works, and it does thread well with the setting. One or two of the developments were a stretch that I wish had more chapters devoted to them.

But all that said, I couldn’t put this down. It held my attention so much that I wanted more more more. The elements are balanced out enough to keep tugging. If you’re like me and always enjoy a gothic romp, worth the read. Also worth mentioning the cover art; though I received an advance reader's copy in ebook form, I am tempted to order myself a hardcover to re-read and admire the cover. I look forward the next Dawson book I dive into.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me a copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

Related Links

Author Website: https://www.whimsydark.com/
Author Linktree: https://linktr.ee/delilahsdawson

Author-curated playlist for the book (Spotify): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3jWJ8zfdJ6PBoFfdPO6lm6

Author talks cover reveal: https://terribleminds.com/ramble/2024/04/05/delilah-s-dawson-it-will-only-hurt-for-a-moment-cover-reveal/

Cover Artist Website: https://www.reginaflath.com/

Book on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/207460605-it-will-only-hurt-for-a-moment

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Will-Only-Hurt-Moment-Novel-ebook/dp/B0CTJMSJ7C

Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/It-Will-Only-Hurt-for-a-Moment-Audiobook/B0CTMXKDVB

Book Review: The Jaguar Mask (shapechanging, visions and protest in Gautemala City)

The Jaguar Mask by Michael J. DeLuca

Published by Stelliform Press on August 1st, 2024

DeLuca's debut novel, 348-page paperback

Adult (violence, death)

Read on without fear of spoilers! Also note that I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I thank the author, publisher, and BookSirens for the opportunity.

My second experience with a book published at Stelliform and my mind is blown again.

Knowing that Michael J. DeLuca is the publisher of the magazine, Reckoning, I had high expectations for this debut novel and was happy to discover a story even better than expected. I am definitely going to read it a second time. Rich, immersive writing is rich, full of detailed, meaningful descriptions, and yet it doesn’t get bogged down. The flow of the story pulled me along nonstop. I had to force myself to slow down to try to check more details about the story vocabulary and location, as I have not traveled to Guatemala City or Central America and know extraordinarily little about it, but I ended up saving further research for a second read. There are so many details about tradition, culture, religion, politics, wildlife, the land; it would’ve been overwhelming if the characters and story itself didn’t have such a deep hold on me while reading.

I highly recommend everyone to experience The Jaguar Mask, especially anyone interested in animals, artists, shapechangers, crime, politics, protest, mythology and religion, Central America. The story is wrapped around a number of elements that pull it forward to its intense ending. Two protagonists lead the story: Cristina, a local painter with visions and a busy family life, plus Felipe, an unlicensed taxi driver who is also a jaguar shapechanger grappling with his identity. Other elements include life with the taxi driver’s roommates (Luz and her trans girlfriend Anibal), the political movement they’re involved in, a morally questionable detective’s investigation into murder and corruption, the death of Cristina’s mother, plus plenty more about hope, despair, survival, and various considerations of the specific struggles and history of Central America.

The treatment of the trans character felt authentic, though that is in no way the focus of this book. Regardless, I loved Anibal and Luz so much. Such positive forces. In fact, the treatment of relationships felt really authentic throughout. In a similar vein, the treatment of the political movement felt authentic as well. It was shown to be a positive force overall, but the author wasn’t afraid to portray some less positive elements to it, such as moments of doubt and feelings of futility.

The use of masks was brilliant. Felipe reveals a large number of masks, and each one had a very particular personality and background attached, as well as shifting Felipe’s perspective on the world. How they connect to Felipe is explored more and more as the story progresses. The idea of masks, of how we present ourselves, is also explored among other people and groups, not just for this character’s supernatural or magical realist engagement with them. For example, how masks are used by local gangs and police officers to take control. Or how masks are used by citizens for survival.

I was highlighting passages constantly as I read. I've included a selection of quotes that illustrate what I loved about the language without any spoilers.

Regarding Felipe’s struggle with identity and masks:

[…] which gave his reflection coily hair, a complexion a different shade of Brown, and a clear hint of Garífuna ancestry in the high brow and narrow jaw. As with the conquistador, but in inverse, the caiman mask seemed to cause people either to afford him a little more respect or to let their eyes slide right past him as if he wasn’t there — unsettled by otherness? He had a skull mask, but he never wore it; death had meant something different to his ancestors. El Bufo was used to the conquistador mask; today, the conquistador it would be. The rest went in their shoebox into the hollow place under his seat.

Felipe reflecting on the masks of other people:

The woman walking in the lead looked like she’d lived through the civil war and the revolution. A few steps behind her, a man with a crutch wore the right leg of his pants pinned shut above the knee. His cragged face expressed such eloquent sorrow it could only mean he used it to earn his living. Felipe knew that mask: his father wore it every day.

Cristina grapples with facets of her work as a painter:

For the first months the rush of freedom was overwhelming; for awhile it was enough. She’d indulge a whim, get off the bus at the crossroads above the lake and get on a different bus just to see where it went. She drank pineapple and banana smoothies and ate pupusas in central parks in twenty different highland towns before they began to run together like diluted paint. In every one, she painted an oversaturated landscape tastefully unpopulated with flowering vines and faceless women. Once in awhile she made something of her own just to know she could still do it. Three months after Miguel Ángel was born, when Teresa left for good, Cristina dug out the five or six finished paintings that were hers. She lined them up on her rack at the artisans’ market on a Sunday after church let out, then sat with Diego watching people pass, betting in whispers on who was only cutting through to the food stalls seeking Mama’s chicken, who was rushing to beat the rest of the post-church traffic to the Ninth Ave valet lots, who were foreigners lost and terrified. Her art made people stop; that much could be said for it. It scared them, she thought. Even some who weren’t already scared. They tried to understand what they were seeing. Then, coming to no immediate conclusion, they shook themselves like dogs coming out of the rain and went on.

Brief example of the city description as described by Felipe:

[…] jagged archway cut into a chain-link fence feathered in windblown plastic, a dust path beaten harder than concrete zigzagged a drunken seam down into a shanty city that seemed more the work of ants than people. Music thundered distant here as everywhere — heavy bass of the kind his hips were incapable of resisting even now. And the river thundered, gorged with toxic trash but hungry, arms of mist reaching into hollows as if seeking the tenacious root that, dislodged, would bring the whole precarious thing collapsing down. The wind smelled of chiltepes and fermented urine.

With that, I’ll wrap up by saying the ways in which the characters struggle and stumble towards the powerful ending of this novel is very compelling. Left me gaping and sitting in that moment filled with energy and hope and joy that such transformation could be possible for these characters I fell in love with. And hope that somehow a people could overcome the corruption and sickness that drags their communities into darkness.

Now I need to do research into everything I was just exposed to. Enjoy the read!

Links

Michael J. DeLuca's website: https://mossyskull.com/

Buy the book: https://www.stelliform.press/index.php/product/the-jaguar-mask-by-michael-j-deluca/

Goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6721767031

Book Review: "Dark Spaces: Wildfire"

Dark Spaces: Wildfire

Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Hayden Sherman
Publication: IDW Publishing - May 9, 2023

Recommended for readers of crime thrillers and horror.
Warnings: language, violence

The combination of Scott Snyder and Hayden Sherman in this first entry in the Dark Spaces crime/horror series is fantastic, perhaps better than the Dungeon follow-up. Female inmates working as firefighters with a variety of trauma pushed together to survive. Amazing coloring and design from the artist that takes us on a deeper dive into splinters of backstory mashed with present-day struggles. A must-read for fans of graphic novels that grapple with trauma, crime, and horror. Especially recommended for how the writer and artist work together to present complicated characters.

Scott Snyder on Substack: https://bestjackettpress.substack.com/

Hayden Sherman's website: https://www.haydenshermanart.com/

Book listing on Penguin Random House: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/719617/dark-spaces-wildfire-by-scott-snyder-hayden-sherman/

My review on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6690866806

My review of Dark Spaces: Dungeons: https://www.rjklee.com/2024/07/book-review-dark-spaces-dungeons.html

Book Review: "Dark Spaces: Dungeons"

Dark Spaces: Dungeons
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Hayden Sherman
Publication: IDW Publishing - August 27, 2024

Recommended for readers of crime thrillers and horror.

Warnings: kidnapping, torture, violence

I loved the previous Dark Spaces series about inmate firefighters, Dark Spaces: Wildfire, so I had high expectations for this one, as I often do for Scott Snyder works.

Thankfully, I was not disappointed. While it is a much different crime focus than Wildfire, Dungeons hooks on every page. Terrifying in so many ways but serves that horror carefully and with impressive focus on character. The use of a sidekick is excellent. Transitions between scenes are impressive (use of narrative connections, design of presentation, the coloring). Little pieces of dialogue are cut off and picked up again in a natural, immersive manner. I count this among my favorite crime horror stories, alongside the movie, Seven.

The artist, Hayden Sherman, does an amazing job on presenting nature as a force of weight that threads in with the desperate emotions of the story, such as when the two main characters meet a dead-end and the entire cafe is bearing down on them, and the characters hands are scrunching up his forehead, and the narrative boxes break up the next page into the photos from the villain pressing on the reader and character then snap, breakthrough, and the next page serves a freeing moment of epiphany. Then the boxes are broken up into slivers for hyper focus when they’re investigating the new lead. Every page adds such immense energy that you’ll be hard pressed to step away from this read.

There’s a scene near the climax with the characters surrounded by nature with stark shadows and lighting that had me cheering at the presentation of the raw tension. Avoiding spoilers but that had me pumped with so much terror and hope, when it hit the end, I found it hard to breathe. That lighting on the woods and the house was a godsend moment of relaxation and brief joy, and the shadow on the house as they chat hint at the haunting left behind by the story.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thanks to NetGalley and Scott Snyder for allowing me the opportunity to be horrified by Dark Spaces again.

Scott Snyder on Substack: https://bestjackettpress.substack.com/

Hayden Sherman's website: https://www.haydenshermanart.com/

Interview with Scott Snyder on horror in comics and Dark Spaces: Dungeon, March 2024 (before Issue 4 was released so possible spoilers): https://aiptcomics.com/2024/03/05/scott-snyder-dungeon-qa-2/

Listing on Penguin Random House: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/746770/dark-spaces-dungeon-by-scott-snyder-hayden-sherman/

Listing at Forbidden Planet: https://forbiddenplanet.com/426037-dark-spaces-dungeon/

My review on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6690842379

My review of Dark Spaces: Wildfire: https://www.rjklee.com/2024/07/book-review-dark-spaces-wildfire.html

Book Review: Queen Hazel and Beloved Beverly

Queen Hazel and Beloved Beverly by Mary E Lowd

Published by Deep Sky Anchor Press on December 8th, 2023.

A cozy portal fantasy with special attention to family bonds and childhood memories and letting go. I could see this being okay for any age group but feels directed at an adult who misses reading piles of middle grade portal fantasy books, who grew up expecting to be transported into some other world but never had that quite happen yet...

Recommended. Easy read with a good pace. The metaphors are excellent, especially the extended one about threads and memories. The story hooks surprisingly well, perhaps due to careful balance between emotion and more grounding emotion. A bunch of nostalgic tie-ins to the 80s-90s.

The opening was pretty bland for me, but the story quickly moved past that into the story itself. After that, the story dropped us into the fantastical without letting up, which was great. The raccoon and her wolf companion were awesome, and I wanted more of them. I would love to read more in that realm, or wherever those two go, whether Beverly joins them or not...

Once we got into the fantasy, I wanted the author to slow down more and give us more description of these fantastical characters and locations that we rush through. It's fitting due to the protagonist's distrust of their reality, but still, it was often frustrating at how quickly I was pulled through the reading experience. I'm one of those readers that always complain about a lack of deeper language and description, so this is an inevitable comment I'd make on many stories out there. But essential moments, like meeting the queen and saying farewell, and other such, rush by so fast, that I can't help but feel there was more depth and story I needed there to be fully satisfied.

That criticism aside, I was curled up on my couch, glued to this read, and pumped up on nostalgia for 80s-90s life and longing for fantasies come real. Such a primary mesh of emotions driving the story that I loved it by the end. This was such a light read but had me begging for more.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thanks to Book Sirens and Mary E. Lowd for allowing me the opportunity to get drawn into this novella's portal.

Author's website: https://marylowd.com/books/

Buy the book from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Queen-Hazel-Beloved-Beverly-Mary-ebook/dp/B0CKV2X8PB/

My review on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6278327681

Book Review: Idolatry

Idolatry by Aditya Sudarshan
Published by Flame Tree Press on January 9th, 2024 

Idolatry is an SF social commentary novel set in India and following how Shrine Tech influences society to gradually increasing levels of domination. As with my previous review, I'll give the good, neutral, and bad. I did have pretty mixed reactions to the novel, even though it was a good read and recommended.

There are a ton of observations about job loss, awful economies, poverty, etc. -- very welcome in our current era, and the protagonist's service of the central product of Shrine Tech takes us readers through all that to greater or lesser success. A quote without spoilers from early in the book that expresses how this pressure of money affects the protagonist:  "Suddenly, an immense weariness came upon Saionton, like rocks being rolled over him. Money, you need the money. The thought pressed home, implacably, along with the tremor of the contrast between his impoverishment (and that of so many others, not that he had time to care for any others), and the fantastic, soaring riches of the Company and its bosses. He forced a smile and opened his eyes wider."

Good:
-Fascinating look at how the shrine tech brings self-love and religious love and love of money together in mostly horrifying ways. Serves as a dark mirror of the various idols that entangle in people's lives and lead them about for better or worse.
-The commentary on advertising is spot on.
- Drops us into some beautiful observations and ugly commentary and unsettling moments of horror.
-Some lovely comparisons, metaphors, observations made by the central characters that make it worth reading. Like the kitten one at the end

Neutral:
-3rd person omniscient with limited jumping around. Basically, uses that POV to serve the first character, Saionton, and his job's encounter with various people, which for the purposes of the story each are introduced from their own viewpoints then jumped into at later random points of the story to overall success, though sometimes to eyerolls from this reader.

Bad:
-The ending just didn't work for me; sometimes felt like the story leaned too much on plot to get through certain spots…
-Frustrating central character, partially because of his inability to make his own decisions, but also just his ugliness in how he views others, though of course that fits the context. He does grow toward the end, but still, ugh, that guy.
-Overall, I wanted the story to move past tropes and social commentary more. I felt like I was trying to reach for more as a reader here…because my favorite parts were where the characters really settle into these moments connecting to the world, where the story releases control briefly…but those moments didn't keep going enough to be mind-blowing.

Again, I do recommend giving it a read. It's a pretty fast one with an interesting central social SF object in question, Shrine Tech. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thanks to Book Sirens and the author for giving me the opportunity to dip into Shrine Tech.

Buy the book from the publisher's website: https://www.flametreepublishing.com/idolatry-isbn-9781787588516.html

My review on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6246269597

Book review: a quick, fun fantasy with dragons and queer relationships

The Chase Begins: Catastrophe Incoming Volume 1

by Aimee Donnellan

Published by Aimee Donnellan on June 24, 2023

The good:

-Character tensions.

-Grounding of the city the whole story is set in.

-The select details for major characters that help them stand out.

-The protagonist's identity and complicated relationship was greatly appreciated

-Fun, fast read; easy to read along with weightier tomes.


The not so good:

-Description and language too sparse for my taste (that may just be me though; I've found most writing that the fiction market wants is too sparse for my taste).

-Book one is short and limited to one place, which was just too simple overall. There seemed so much more there to explore. Still, a chase through the one city provided just enough complications to work, if not enough to send us into deeper exploration.


The promising:

-The teaser for Book Two was great and makes me excited to read it. Hoping the chaos promised within brings deeper explorations than Book One. The range of characters introduced was exciting to see, especially getting the two main characters from another angle.

I'll definitely be checking out Book Two. The book was a fun read, and number two looks to be even more fun.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you to Aimee Donnellan and Book Sirens for the opportunity.


Aimee Donnellan's website: https://www.aimeedonnellan.com/

Buy the book: https://books2read.com/u/mdX2ME

My review on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6012280256

My Stories Published in 2023

Happy New Year!

It's been a very slow start for me. I certainly enjoyed the brief break. Could use more...hah. Regardless, I'm trying to play catch-up now and pick up the pace for whatever awaits me this year.

First off, my stories published in 2023. Go give them a read, if you haven't yet, and let me know what you think. Would love any feedback. Really enjoyed what I heard from some readers so far. And if you want anything signed or whatnot, just ask.

If anyone is reading for any awards out there, stories 1 and 2 below are free to read online, and for stories 3 and 4, I can send you a review copy if requested.

1) The Healing Moment Assigned by HR Central Stacks, universe-traveling librarian just wants a long vacay with her wife but first must handle baggage from the past and tentacular patrons. SF, aliens, queer-positive, fantasy adventurers. DreamForge Anvil Issue 14, December 2023, read the story here, the entire issue here, buy in paperback, too.

2) Choose a Star to Mend the Heart, space narwhal and friendship, SF, Tales and Feathers Magazine, November 2023, read the story here.

3) Memo from the Jolly Overlords, reprint (first time in physical print), a dark fantasy horror flash fiction about how brutal work is for the holiday elves, Cursed & Creepy (The Horror Lite Anthologies) by Angelique Fawns, November 2023, purchase a copy from Amazon

4) Puff a Golem Up for Drudgery, a fantasy short story about the application of golems among royalty and their overworked lasses and lads available in the anthology Triangulation: Seven-Day Weekend, July 2023 (order from Amazon)

Final Statistics Report on Submissions during 2023

Hi there. I'd like to share my final statistics for work submitted in 2023. For comparison's sake, the total submissions for 2022 came to 129. This year was a bit more...

Total times work was submitted in 2023: 477 (108 flash/drabble, 248 short/novelettes, 3 novella, 102 poem, 10 reprint, 2 pitch, 4 acceptance)

Accepted pieces: 4 (2 short stories, 1 poem, 1 reprint)

Writers of the Future results: Q1 R, Q2 R, Q3 HM, Q4 SHM 

Pending submissions at end of 2023: 100 (23 drabble/flash, 57 short story/novelette, 0 novella, 20 poem, 0 reprint, 0 pitch)

Rejections (total received in 2023): 392 (85 drabbles or flash, 204 short stories or novelettes, 3 novella, 87 poems, 10 reprints, 2 pitches)

Rejections (for subs made in 2023): 374 (85 drabbles or flash, 191 short stories or novelettes, 3 novella, 82 poems, 10 reprints, 2 pitches)

Rejected (for subs made in 2022): 18 (13 short stories or novelettes, 5 poems)

I don't track new stories and poems written each year, nor the time spent brainstorming, researching, reading, writing fragments, revising or expanding stories started in previous years. But I took a glance at my folders to check and the stats for new work written and finished (as much as a piece is ever finished) appears to be about as follows:

New work (written and finished in 2023): 22 (11 drabble/flash, 9 short stories/novelettes, 2 poems)

As you can see, submissions have become an addiction, a habit I hope to continue while getting more work done. Here's to more publications forthcoming.

R.J.K. Lee

Two great horror books I reviewed in October 2023

The Only Safe Place Left is the Dark

by Warren Wagner

Published by Ghoulish Books on August 29, 2023

Cover Art by Aidan Mayner

Adult, gay, intense, zombie apocalypse, gore, 5/5.

A fairly short, emotional rollercoaster. The story at novella-length made me crave longer exploration of the content, but it is a solid and complete read that doesn’t leave you hanging, though it might leave you in shreds. It tears the protagonist down, frustratingly so considering the journey they just went through, but in the end there's a solid push at hope that worked to bring the story full circle. Another glimmer somewhere in the middle when lovers get together was especially touching, too, and a necessary breather between wading neck-deep through death. Plays on the zombie trope with zombies that are more vocal about wanting to die, and an interesting mirror to the protagonist longing for what he lost and his inability to really engage with life as is beyond mere survival and hiding, not thriving.

Bloody and grotesque, heart-wrenching and hard, this is a must-read novella I highly recommend.

I thank the author, publisher, and BookSirens for the advance review copy I received for free, and I am voluntarily providing this review.

Links

Warren Wagner's website: https://linktr.ee/warrenwagner

Purchase at the Ghoulish website: https://ghoulish.rip/product/the-only-safe-place-left-is-the-dark/

My review on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5876615840

~AND~

Frost Bite

by Angela Sylvaine

Published by Dark Matter INK on October 10, 2023
Cover Art by Eric Hibbeler

Comic b-grade horror, gore, prairie dogs, fast fun read, 3/5.

Fast-paced comedy horror chock-full of references to 80s-90s movies, music and culture. The nostalgia lover in me was fully appeased. This even had a solid freaking radio playlist at the end: We're All Gonna Die HOT-25.

I did love the friendship of the main characters, as well as the quick flow of the story. Easy popcorn read. Highly recommend it for that.

On the other hand, while the pace is great, this is really straightforward prose, which I personally found wanting. I am generally a lover of prose that goes deeper, so this sometimes felt too generic for me overall. Many readers will likely love it though, and certainly serves the forward momentum.

And for one more bit of criticism, I will say that sometimes the humor fell flat for me, and I went c'mon, really, ugh… but then, I mean that was part of the B-movie cheese that this glorifies so you kind of have to just roll with that.

Still, a good deal of the over-the top horror and silliness did grab me and kept me loving the ride, so I am totally on board for the next installment.

Oh, and isn't that cover art just awesome!

My thanks to the author, publisher, and Book Sirens, for the advance review copy I received for free, and I am voluntarily providing this review.

Links

Angela Sylvaine's website: https://angelasylvaine.com/

Purchase at the Dark Matter INK website: https://darkmattermagazine.shop/products/frost-bite

My review on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5876615403

Eric Hibbeler's website: https://erichibbeler.com/

Intense collection of eco-fiction both terrifying and wonderfully inspiring

I just read an intense collection of eco-fiction stories and wrote up a review. I gave a 5 out of 5 because it was freaking brilliant.

You Are My Sunshine and Other Stories

by Octavia Cade

Published by Stelliform Press on September 21, 2023

Short story collection, Eco-fiction (both really dark and really positive)

Adult (contains lots of death and graphic depictions of violence, including loss of limbs)

* Highly recommended for the range of stories dealing with our environment and how we can better adapt to and connect with the world we live in. *

18 stories by Octavia Cade collected in here. According to the story credits in the back of the book, at least 15 of them were previously published in various magazines and anthologies between 2013 to 2022. I'd experienced a few before, so I knew I was in for a real treat reading this one through.

I really enjoyed how the stories were organized. The themes and interests of the stories flowed beautifully together. Some of the stories spoke to each other well, dancing along the ideas of sunshine, environment having its revenge, and adapting to the world to create something deeply beautiful and sustainable.

Everything within is climate fiction of some sort, though it certainly shows Cade's range in considering the topic. Readers are presented an interesting mash-up of dark and frightening with hopeful and wonderfully alive. Do be warned, a few of the opening stories are not afraid to dip into horror, while others, especially towards the second half of the book are overjoyed to be more well-adjusted solarpunk, hopepunk, and/or completely joyous. You have stories with a constant barrage of death and sadness, limbs being cut off, bears devouring us, lots of death. The title story of course, which matches well with this book's excellent cover, opens with a severed arm in a mailbox with a brief apology note. Among the most intense of stories presented herein. And the first story is all about the bears and fears in an apocalyptic future: "We feed them pieces of ourselves. Sacrificial offerings, to make them go away. Sometimes it even works."

But then you have these stories full of so much love and brilliant adaptation to a world that's been broken, Gregor Samsa's sister making up for her disgust by helping children prepare to not be disgusted by all the insects we need to live closely with; a relationship breaking finds rejuvenation through the restoration of underwater passages and fish and eels; the unreal and fantastic treatment of making rivers people, after we have giving corporations recognition as a person, and considering what that leads to; the wonderful search for a species the protagonist adores.

"And if I spend most of my time underground, now, with the eels and with the fish… it's because things seem more hopeful here. Witnessing the restoration of a species in real time rejuvenates my faith in the restoration of other things." This story surprised me by how touched I felt by the end.

"A river was never just water; a mountain never just rocks and snow. They were systems as much as we were. So we made our landmarks people, and then we made ourselves--all of ourselves--believe it." This kind of idea is returned to in several stories, and done so well. An idea that needs to be applied by our governments and communities more.

Even the treatment of death can be rather refreshing, sometimes with the most simple of lines that punch you in the gut after what you've read:

"The kids asked if the grief was worth it.

I told them that it was."

I honestly could not pick out a favorite story. By the end, I adored every single one. But I am the kind of reader that dives in for both the darkness and the light. Perfect for me.

I'll be reading these again. And I hope you do, too. There's so much substance. There's so much to think about. There's so much our communities need to consider in adapting to the world around us.

Thank you Stelliform Press and BookSirens for providing me an advance review copy for free. I am happy to provide this honest review voluntarily. I’ll keep my eyes open for more from this publisher.

Final rating: 5/5 stars. So much depth. So much beautiful writing. So intense.

*The cover art for this is absolutely gorgeous. It's by Rachel Yu Lobbenberg who also won the Best Cover Art from the Aurora Awards for her work on Arboreality (also published by Stelliform Press). 


Links

Octavia Cade's website: https://ojcade.com/

Purchase at the Stelliform Press website: https://www.stelliform.press/index.php/product/you-are-my-sunshine-and-other-stories-by-octavia-cade/

Purchase at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/You-Are-Sunshine-Other-Stories/dp/1778092640/

Purchase at Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/you-are-my-sunshine-and-other-stories-octavia-cade/1143428706

My review on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5858671076

Book Review: Nocean by Efa

Nocean
Vol. 1. Atari and Tika
by Efa

Hello! I just read a fun eco-friendly positive dystopian graphic novel that I wrote up a review on. I gave a 3 out of 5, not a bad read, though not super deep. I'd give it a try if you like the sound of it from my review below:

Nocean by Efa
Published by Europe Books on February 22, 2023 by Europe Books

Graphic Novel, Eco-fiction, Dystopia
Young Adult (probably suits 10-15 year old best)
* Recommend for the positive friendship between the two young female main characters, and the grandmother's restaurant. *

Loved the colors used for the artwork. The details of her home interior and Iaia’s restaurant were especially nice. The positive friendship and motivation to make change engaged me, though overall left me wanting more. I would’ve liked more time spent on character development than with the plot, though I understand the need to keep a forward momentum for pacing purposes. Even so, Atari and Tika are great characters.

For those who enjoy dystopian stories, this was a decent read. Nothing that new in terms of plot and worldbuilding: dystopian city/government, oceans destroyed, and terrorists groups fighting the evil government while some common kids who have lost parents are stuck in the middle. That’s all pretty cliche and doesn’t move much past it. That said, the main character has some tech skills and the friend she makes is pretty awesome, nice design there, so that pulled me along.

I’ll likely purchase a copy for my daughters (around late elementary school to junior high school age), and would recommend it for around that age on into high school. Fun Robin Hood sister duo. The story overall lands with a pretty decent messaging in terms of doing the right thing and being wary of negative influences. While, thankfully, this volume was satisfying on its own, I am interested to see what the author does with volume 2.

Thank you Europe Comics and NetGalley for providing me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review. I’ll keep my eyes open for more.

Final rating: 3/5 stars. Loved the Atari and Tika friendship and the colors; wanted more character depth and less of the basic plot.

Links

Purchase on Amazon: https://amzn.to/41M5faI

Efa (Author/Illustrator) on Europe Comics Website: https://www.europecomics.com/author/efa/

My review on Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3IRkkPt

My review on NetGalley: https://www.netgalley.com/book/281740/review/390962

Revisiting my NaNoWriMo Approaches from 2015

Hello my fellow creatives!

I'll aim to update the list of deadlines further this weekend. For now, a NaNoWriMo focus. Plus, some related images I've put together with the likes of midjourney, canva, gimp, krita, etc. Enjoy.