Author Archives : Keyes

Eridani’s Crown Lies In Ashes


Eridani’s Crown (2019) Written by: Alex Shvartsman Genre: Epic Fantasy Length: 265 pages Publisher: UFO Publishing Disclaimer: I received an Advanced Reader’s Copy for free in exchange for an honest review. Why I Chose It:  Politically intricate epic fantasy is one of my favorite speculative fiction sub-genres. True story: for our first holiday season together, I bought my now-husband the first three…

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We Don’t Need Another Hero. No Sir, We Do Not.


So I had a weird Tina Turner fixation as a child, and it’s all George Miller’s fault. Thirty years before his magnum opus of post-apocalyptic tribalism, feminism and practical effects, 2015’s Mad Mad: Fury Road, George Miller directed and co-wrote  another transformative work of cinematic genius featuring post-apocalyptic tribalism, feminism and practical effects. I am speaking, of course, of 1985’s cinematic…

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Locked In A Place Deeper than Memory: A Review of Anna Smaill’s The Chimes


The Chimes (2016) Written by: Anna Smaill Genre: Fantasy/Literary Fantasy Pages: 304 (hardcover) 265 (epub) Publisher: Quercus Why I Chose It: When the call went out to read the World Fantasy Award nominees, I selected The Chimes based on its premise: an entire society full people with a severe memory disorder. For reasons which I will get into in the discussion,…

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Speed Readers Anonymous


Hello, my name is Keyes, and I read fast. And by fast, I mean absurdly fast. Ridiculously fast. How fast do I mean? I recently decided to re-read the Chronicles of Narnia, which I accomplished in less than a week. Ah, you may be thinking. A shallow boast, that — those are not very long books and aimed at middle…

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Seven (or Maybe Eight?) Eves: A Review of Neal Stephenson’s Seveneves


Seveneves (2015) Written by: Neal Stephenson Genre: Science Fiction Pages: 744 (Nook) Series: Stand Alone Publisher: William Morrow Why I Chose It: Title was selected as a part of the Speculative Chic retrospective on the titles nominated for a Hugo. I’m quite possibly the only person on earth who actively liked the Librarian info-dumps Snow Crash, which still counts as my…

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