Tag Archives : lane robins

So Many Secrets: A Review of Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo


Ninth House (2019) Written by: Leigh Bardugo Genre: Urban Fantasy/Horror Pages: 480 (Hardcover) Publisher: Flatiron Books Why I Chose It: Because it’s been on my radar for some months now, after reading a sample somewhere on the web. Because I love secret magical societies in university settings. Because the premise was compelling. Because the cover was slinky and pretty. The…

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Resolution Wrap-Up 2019: How’d We Do?


Every year, we invite our contributors to challenge themselves with the Resolution Project — a special event where our writers sift through all things speculative and settle on something worthy of personal conquest. The sky’s the limit when it comes to choices, whether it’s knocking through a back catalog, revisiting a popular franchise, or embarking on something totally new; whether…

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Biggest Disappointments of 2019


We got pumped; we ramped up; we were ready to go, and… well… then… Stuff happened. Or did not happen. Or did not happen how we wished them to. That’s the thing about disappointment — it’s our primary emotional response to expectations unmet — and boy, does it sting. What were we looking forward to that failed to deliver on its…

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Clowders and Charm: A Review of Catfishing on CatNet


Catfishing on CatNet (2019) Written by: Naomi Kritzer Genre: YA Science Fiction Pages: 294 (Hardcover) Publisher: Tor Teen Why I Chose It: I read and really enjoyed Kritzer’s award-winning short story “More Cat Pictures, Please” and heard she was expanding that world of a kind, cat-loving, self-improvement-urging AI into a novel. My first thought was, “Huh, how’s that going to…

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Roundtable: To Nano, or Not to Nano


It’s that time of year again — the annual event for writers where they attempt to complete a 50,000-word manuscript in 30 days: Nanowrimo! Nanowrimo stands for National Novel Writing Month. Created by Chris Baty, he recognized that a great number of people dream of writing a book but struggle to fulfill that goal. 200 million people want to write, but how many…

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Growing Uncertainty: A Review of Growing Things by Paul Tremblay


Growing Things and Other Stories (2019) Written by: Paul Tremblay Genre: Horror Pages: 352 (Hardcover) Publisher: William Morrow Why I Chose It: I really enjoyed both Disappearance at Devil’s Rock and A Head Full of Ghosts.  I thought this short story collection was bound to be interesting/creepy/provocative.  And my library had it. Love my public library!!! The premise: A masterful…

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Roundtable: Speculative Chic


In honor of the long-standing tradition that is the Vogue September Issue, we’re doing our own take for this month’s Roundtable! We’re talking the memorable fashions from science fiction, fantasy, and horror that truly wowed us. The speculative genre’s key question is “what if?” and costume designers ask the same question when it comes to bringing a world or character…

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Roundtable: Spec in Translation


Bonjour mes amies, comment allez-vous? Die Sommer geht weiter. 暑いですね。Gobeithio eich bod yn iach. Isn’t language a marvelous thing? Today we’re taking a look at works of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror from around the world that have been translated for a variety of audiences (at Speculative Chic, we’re focusing on English translations). International works are having a moment, with streaming…

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