September 21, 2017
The Bear and the Nightingale (2017) Written by: Katherine Arden Genre: Fiction Pages: 312 (Hardback) Series: Winternight Trilogy Book #1 Publisher: Del Rey Why I Chose It: The title and cover of The Bear and the Nightingale did not immediately grab my attention. I probably wouldn’t have picked it up if I wasn’t browsing outside my comfort zone for books…
September 8, 2017
You know that speculative fiction thing that everyone seems to love but you haven’t read/watched/played yet? No, not your blind spot. This isn’t something you’re embarrassed about, nor is it something you plan on rectifying anytime soon. In fact, when your friends or family find out you haven’t read/watched/played this thing, you’re more than happy to explain why, in gleeful…
August 31, 2017
Sleeping Giants (2016) Written by: Sylvain Neuvel Genre: Science Fiction Pages: 336 (Hardback) Series: Themis Files #1 Publisher: Del Rey Why I Chose It: When I first read the premise of this book, it sounded like something I would not like. I was halfway to “No, thank you,” when I read “giant metal hand.” Then I read several reviews from…
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 14, 2017
Last month, we talked about finding a series or a franchise and falling in love with it until one day, there’s a turning point; suddenly, we just don’t love it as much as we used to, and we jump ship. But that got us thinking… what happens when that turning point happens at the end of the series, when it’s…
July 5, 2017
This Census-Taker (2016) Written by: China Miéville Genre: Speculative Fiction Pages: 206 (Hardback) Publisher: Del Rey Why I Chose It: Although I have heard of China Miéville’s most famous work, Perdido Street Station, I have never read any of his books before. I have been trying to expand my horizons and read more novellas, so when I learned that This Census-Taker…
July 3, 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, a weekly column where we gab about the greatest in geek. This week, we’re still all about Wonder Woman, and her awesome soundtrack, and we continue to be obsessed with the Black Panther…
May 31, 2017
As you may have noticed, here at Speculative Chic, we love following the award circuit. While we don’t get to read all the things for all the awards, we do make a pretty darn good effort, if I do say so myself (and as Editor-in-Chic, I do say so!). However, there are some awards that pop up and say, “Here’s…
May 29, 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, a weekly column where we gab about the greatest in geek. This week, we bring you the second season of one of our favorite speculative shows, a trailer for a thrilling new horror…
May 18, 2017
The Ballad of Black Tom (2016) Written by: Victor LaValle Genre: Dark Fantasy/Historical Fiction Pages: 149 (Paperback) Publisher: Tor.com/Tom Doherty Associates Why I Chose It: I’m not normally a novella reader. When I find characters and a universe that I like, I prefer sweeping epics with multiple, lengthy books, like George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series…