January 15, 2019
I admit it: I was a little braindead when the time came to think of a topic for January’s roundtable. The thing that immediately came to mind was this: it’s the first of the year. What’s the first thing that you remember that set you on the path to becoming the magnificent speculative fiction fan that you are today? What…
December 20, 2017
Every year on Christmas Eve, my friends and family perform an epic rendition of “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” People group up and choose numbers. We have a conductor. It’s loud and ridiculous, and probably the reason this idea popped into my head. So, my friends, come forth and join me in a chorus of “The Twelve Days of Spec…
November 23, 2017
Happy Thanksgiving! Here at Speculative Chic, we hope you are having a delightful day full of fun, food, and family. If none of those things sound appealing, or if you’re not in the United States, that’s okay, because we’ve got something to cheer you right up! In recent years, it’s become a thing for stores to open on Thanksgiving to…
August 30, 2017
When someone mentions fantasy book covers, inevitably a stereotypical image pops up. One of knights standing near dragons, perhaps a chain-mail bra-clad woman with him. Or at least, that’s what used to be the norm. As today’s standards of what’s “cool” and socially acceptable continue to shift, so do the covers of speculative fiction books. Fantasy, science fiction, and horror…
August 2, 2017
Clariel (2014) Written By: Garth Nix Genre: Young Adult Fantasy Pages: 419 (Trade Paperback) Series: Old Kingdom (Book 4) Publisher: HaperCollins Why I Chose It: I read Sabriel, the first in the Old Kingdom series, back when I was a teenager, and it quickly became one of my favorites, full of unique magic, truly scary bad guys, and even a…