Elisabeth Ring

‘Spear’ Hits Its Mark

If you have the least bit of interest in swords or knights or daring deeds, you can’t miss with Spear.

‘Puppets’ a Refreshingly Light Read

Part reverse-Pinocchio, part science-fiction Stardust, Puppets is another entry into the growing cozy SFF genre that is a welcome change from the usual fare.

‘Gentrifier’ Asks Tough Questions Wrapped in Cozy Experiences

Whether she is the gentrifier or isn’t, the perception stubbornly remains that the presence of “[her] whiteness” is linked to upward mobility for the neighborhood by many.

‘Wives’ a Strange Tale of Love and Sea Monsters

Our Wives Under the Sea is a fantastical, but uncomfortably grounded, metaphor of what happens when things don’t go as planned.

Banter in ‘Rivals’ Brings Sparks and Magic

The back-cover copy of a book is supposed to give a reader an idea of what’s in store. To set a few expectations early on. To whet the appetite. In the case of Rebecca Ross’s latest novel, Divine Rivals, the blurb on the cover does nothing to set expectations. If anything, it obscures just howContinue reading “Banter in ‘Rivals’ Brings Sparks and Magic”

‘Fool’ a Formulaic but Fun Mystery

Genre comes with its own expectations, including, in the case of mystery, red herrings and, often, chases or peril near the end. Chern knows the tropes, and when to follow and subvert them.

‘Bones’ a Disturbing, Enlightening Account of Violence and Injustice

Kimmerle doesn’t dwell on the violence; her focus is on telling the story without elaboration or obfuscation to best communicate her belief that every scoop of dirt contributes to long-overdue restorative justice for the dead, the broken, and their families.

‘Archive’ Alternates Between Magical and Heartbreaking

The Archive is a novel, but its parts, while interconnected, are fit together in such a way that they can be separated from each other. But all of these parts, though excellent on their own, come together to make a whole far grander than their sum.

‘Until Proven Safe’ a Timely Tour of Quarantine Past and Present

Manaugh and Twilley have not provided an exhaustive look at all types of quarantine, but it is comprehensive and cohesive enough to fascinate, or squick out, anyone at a cocktail party who makes the mistake of asking what you’re reading these days.

‘Babel’ a Fascinating Course in Linguistics and Labor

Although Babel takes place in the first half of the nineteenth century, the message about colonialism and a supposed superiority of one country or race is one for today. So is the eventual turn toward solidarity among the outcasts and the working class.