January 16, 2020
Like a lot of us here at Speculative Chic, I went to Seton Hill University for their Creative Writing program, as did Rhonda Mason. When I heard she’d gotten one of her books published, I picked it up since I like to support my fellow graduates — plus it sounded pretty awesome. And let me tell you, Ms. Mason does…
January 15, 2020
Happy New Year, dear Chicers! I hope your 2020 is off to a good (or at least okay) start. As promised in my resolution post, I plan to reread and discuss the whole of The Expanse series by James S. A. Corey (aka Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck) in the next twelve months. I’m also planning to write a book…
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 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 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…
December 27, 2019
Editor’s Note: content warning for violence, abuse, and potentially triggering subject matter. What is seduction? Most people would define it as something pleasant. A series of actions and behaviors performed by someone they find attractive to make them even more alluring. However, if we examine the actual definition of seduction, it’s a bit more sinister than that. Merriam-Webster defines seduction…
December 19, 2019
Monster of the Week (2019) Written By: F.T. Lukens Genre: Young Adult Urban Fantasy Pages: 316 pages (Kindle) Series: Book 2 of The Rules Publisher: Duet Books Why I Chose It: The first one was a fast, fun read that left the characters in an interesting spot, and I really wanted to see where the story went from there. The…