January 10, 2020
After reading the first of John Scalzi’s Interdependency series, how could I not press on with the second book? I mean, literally everything connecting numerous human words is collapsing, which will leave them all stranded billions of light years from each other (aka just about everyone is going to die). So I kind of want to know what happens. Even…
January 9, 2020
This month, I decided to have a look at His Dark Materials, which is currently on HBO. It is an eight-episode series based on Philip Pullman’s book series of the same name. Dafne Keen plays Lyra Belacqua, our main character. As a note, though I’d heard of the book series (and adored the name), I’ve never read any of the…
January 8, 2020
Happy New Year! If you’re anything like me then the start of 2020 has you filled with ideas and excitement. I’m working on putting together a new campaign for my Dungeons & Dragons group. Now, what is a campaign? A campaign is a longer-form game that lasts many sessions (sometimes going on for years!) and follows a core group of…
January 7, 2020
I have a long and storied history with reading Star Wars novels. For the longest time, the Expanded Universe was the only place to get new stories featuring Han, Luke, and Leia, because we knew there were no new movies on the horizon. All of that changed with Disney buying the franchise. They promised a new film trilogy; they promised…
January 6, 2020
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 Gemma Files, whose Spectral Evidence and Drawn Up from Deep…
January 4, 2020
It’s officially 2020, and at Speculative Chic, we’ve spent the entire week celebrating! Since our usual Round-Up editor is still on vacation, I thought I’d tackle all the fun we’ve been having this week to share the love with all of you! So take a breather, sit back, and start reading: I don’t want you to have missed any of…
January 3, 2020
One of the great things about Science Fiction and Fantasy is that they are entertaining while offering a new social or political perspective or commentary. We love these books, movies, and TV shows because they get so much right, they tell a great story, they make us think, and of course they entertain us. But sometimes, there’s a character or…
January 2, 2020
The Collapsing Empire (2017) Written by: John Scalzi Genre: Science Fiction Pages: 336 (Kindle) Series: The Interdependency Publisher: Tor Books Why I Chose It: I received this book for free through Tor.com’s eBook of the Month Club and it’s been sitting in my digital library ever since. But I finally got to it, and I enjoy John Scalzi’s work, so I…
January 1, 2020
This is How You Lose the Time War (2019) Written by: Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone Genre: Science Fiction/Time Travel Host: Shara White Discussion Date: 01/31/2020 The Premise: Two time-traveling agents from warring futures, working their way through the past, begin to exchange letters — and fall in love in this thrilling and romantic book from award-winning authors Amal El-Mohtar…
January 1, 2020
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…