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 30, 2019
Every year, we invite our contributors to challenge themselves with the Resolution Project — a special event where our writers sift through all things speculative and settle on something worthy of personal conquest. The sky’s the limit when it comes to choices, whether it’s knocking through a back catalog, revisiting a popular franchise, or embarking on something totally new; whether…
December 27, 2019
There are lots of exciting things slated for 2020 release: the new Wonder Woman movie; the next Ghostbusters film; the long-awaited Black Widow stand-alone; the debut of new series Locke and Key… lots of major premieres and new seasons of returning favorites. But may we also suggest for you some other goodies that might be flying under your radar? Here are…
December 26, 2019
We got pumped; we ramped up; we were ready to go, and… well… then… Stuff happened. Or did not happen. Or did not happen how we wished them to. That’s the thing about disappointment — it’s our primary emotional response to expectations unmet — and boy, does it sting. What were we looking forward to that failed to deliver on its…
December 4, 2019
Catfishing on CatNet (2019) Written by: Naomi Kritzer Genre: YA Science Fiction Pages: 294 (Hardcover) Publisher: Tor Teen Why I Chose It: I read and really enjoyed Kritzer’s award-winning short story “More Cat Pictures, Please” and heard she was expanding that world of a kind, cat-loving, self-improvement-urging AI into a novel. My first thought was, “Huh, how’s that going to…
November 1, 2019
It’s that time of year again — the annual event for writers where they attempt to complete a 50,000-word manuscript in 30 days: Nanowrimo! Nanowrimo stands for National Novel Writing Month. Created by Chris Baty, he recognized that a great number of people dream of writing a book but struggle to fulfill that goal. 200 million people want to write, but how many…
October 2, 2019
Growing Things and Other Stories (2019) Written by: Paul Tremblay Genre: Horror Pages: 352 (Hardcover) Publisher: William Morrow Why I Chose It: I really enjoyed both Disappearance at Devil’s Rock and A Head Full of Ghosts. I thought this short story collection was bound to be interesting/creepy/provocative. And my library had it. Love my public library!!! The premise: A masterful…
September 13, 2019
In honor of the long-standing tradition that is the Vogue September Issue, we’re doing our own take for this month’s Roundtable! We’re talking the memorable fashions from science fiction, fantasy, and horror that truly wowed us. The speculative genre’s key question is “what if?” and costume designers ask the same question when it comes to bringing a world or character…
August 9, 2019
Bonjour mes amies, comment allez-vous? Die Sommer geht weiter. 暑いですね。Gobeithio eich bod yn iach. Isn’t language a marvelous thing? Today we’re taking a look at works of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror from around the world that have been translated for a variety of audiences (at Speculative Chic, we’re focusing on English translations). International works are having a moment, with streaming…
August 7, 2019
The Affair of the Mysterious Letter (2019) Written by: Alexis Hall Genre: Fantasy Pages: 350 (Kindle) Publisher: Ace Why I chose it: I’m a big fan of Hall’s Prosperity series. I like the way Hall can write characters full of outlandish and oversized personalities, and create a weird world for his characters to run amok in. I’ve been waiting eagerly…