July 31, 2017
They might not be raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but that doesn’t mean that we love them any less. Welcome back to My Favorite Things, the weekly column where we grab someone in speculative circles to gab about the greatest in geek. This week, we sit down with author and military historian Jason Ridler, who’s having quite the…
July 28, 2017
Three episodes left. I know last week I complained that we didn’t have enough time left in the series. After “Gag or Throttle,” I can’t believe there’s still three episodes left, because now I don’t feel like there’s enough material to carry us through. I got my Rachel-centric episode, and what a damn fine episode it was. But rather than…
July 28, 2017
I like reading books. I also like talking about books. I also like talking with people about books, not just at people. And because sometimes when you say you like things you get asked to implement them, I’m here to introduce the new Speculative Chic Book Club! Here’s how it’s going to work: On the fourth Friday of every month,…
July 27, 2017
The Boy on the Bridge (2017) Written by: M.R. Carey Genre: Post Apocalyptic Fiction Pages: 390 (Hardback) Publisher: Orbit Why I Chose It: Although M.R. Carey’s best-selling book The Girl With All the Gifts came out in 2014, I didn’t read it until this year. I thought it was a brilliant novel that combined genre and literary fiction into a…
July 27, 2017
Since my love for comics and graphic novels shines almost as brightly as my affection for fiction, I’m always excited to see what’s been nominated in the Best Graphic Story category for the Hugo Awards each year. And I’m happy to report that when it comes to the 2016 Hugos, this category is worth getting excited over. The nominees really…
July 26, 2017
A Closed & Common Orbit (2016) Written by: Becky Chambers Pages: 342 (Trade Paperback) Series: Wayfarers (Book 2) Published by: Harper Voyager Why I Chose It: As part of this year’s Hugo read, and because I had heard a lot about this series, generally all positive, and wanted to read it. Spoilers for both A Long Way to a Small,…
July 26, 2017
The cover art for A Natural History of Dragons was what first attracted me to The Memoirs of Lady Trent series by Marie Brennan. That and its title. I have a degree in biology and a passion for dragons so this seemed like the perfect juxtaposition of those two interests. And it was. It so was. Brennan also managed to…
July 25, 2017
Welcome back to Sound Off!, a semi-regular column where members of Speculative Chic gather together to chat about the latest BIG THING in entertainment. This time, don your 1960s-inspired military uniform and discuss Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, which premiered in the United States on Friday, July 21, 2017. Sound Off! is meant to be a reaction, but not necessarily…
July 25, 2017
Death’s End (2016) Written by: Cixin Liu Translated by: Ken Liu Genre: Science Fiction Pages: 608 (Hardcover) Series: Remembrance of Earth’s Past Book 3 Publisher: Tor Why I Picked It: I had already read The Three-Body Problem (#1) and was halfway through The Dark Forest (#2) when I was given the opportunity to review Death’s End. I am notorious for…
July 24, 2017
They might not be raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but that doesn’t mean that we love them any less. Welcome to the new and improved version of My Favorite Things, the weekly column where we grab someone in speculative circles to gab about the greatest in geek. This week, we sit down with comic author and podcaster Michael…