Author Archives : Carey Ballard

Chain Reaction: Standing Stone Stories That Shouldn’t Be Taken For Granite


Yes, absolutely that is a terrible pun. But I didn’t want this post to get off to a rocky start. I’ll stop now. Promise. But seriously, readers.  From the dawn of time people have been manipulating stone for lots of different reasons. We make weapons, houses, places of worship, watchtowers, memorials, or trailmarkers (see: cairns). Standing stones are probably the…

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Chain Reaction: Let’s Talk about ConLangs (Constructed Languages)


What are conlangs? I’ll be honest, I’d answer that in Klingon, Irathian, Quenya or Sindarin, but I don’t know how to speak any of them. I do know I enjoy marveling at listening to constructed languages, and science fiction and fantasy are full of them—everything from Tolkien’s fantasies to The Expanse (more about that below). I am no language expert.…

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Chain Reaction: Stories with (A)Gender(ish) Appeal


Earlier this year, Chic-mate Ronya F. McCool reviewed JY Yang’s The Black Tides of Heaven, and I was intrigued. I finished that series recently and decided to round up a few more titles whose characters are nonbinary or trans*.  Representation matters–and I was rewarded with several works that were thoughtful, humorous, and all-around great examples for a range of ages, interests,…

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All That and a Bag of Chips: A Review of Subterranean


Subterranean (2018) Written by: Sarah Colombo Genre: Science Fiction Pages: 259 (ebook) Publisher: Spaceboy Books Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for a fair review. Why I chose it: I volunteered to review it because I’m a fan of satire as well as stories about technology’s impact on society, and this promised…

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Chain Reaction: Stories About State-Sanctioned Internment


August has many meaningful historical anniversaries: Martin Luther King, Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech at the Freedom March President Nixon’s resignation the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki union strikes result in adoption of workday limits the Watts riots in L.A. the Social Security Act signed into effect Hurricane Katrina devastates the Gulf Coast the Salem “witch” trials the ratification…

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Chain Reaction: Under Construction–Infrastructure, Monuments, and Death Stars


It’s the middle of summer, or, as we call it in the U.S., construction season. From houses and roofs to bridges and roads, people are busy building things or improving them. So, naturally, why not highlight stories about construction? Building is hard work; it must be even more difficult in space or fantasy (barring tech or magic that makes the…

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