August 8, 2019
Another year, another installment in J.L. Gribble’s urban fantasy/alternate history series! Speculative Chic’s resident Marvel Cinematic Universe fangirl-in-chic is taking a break from obsessing over all the new MCU Phase 4 news to share her latest book, Steel Shadows. This looks different from anything else in the series so far, but if you like a dose of weird with your fantasy,…
August 8, 2019
Midnight Blue-Light Special (2013) Written by: Seanan McGuire Genre: Urban Fantasy Length: 10 hours and 56 minutes (Audiobook) Series: InCryptid (Book #2) Publisher: Audible Studios Why I Chose It: I am staff on a new speculative media convention called MultiverseCon (shameless plug! Come visit us in Atlanta in October!). Seanan McGuire is our Author Guest of Honor, which I’m super-excited about.…
August 5, 2019
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 J.L. Gribble, whose latest book, Steel Shadows, comes out on…
July 30, 2019
Magic Rises (2013) Written by: Ilona Andrews Series: Kate Daniels #6 Genre: Urban Fantasy Pages: 327 (Paperback) Publisher: Ace Why I Chose This: My 2019 Resolution Project for Speculative Chic is to read the books in the Kate Daniels series and finish up with a first read of the final book. I first read Magic Rises in 2013. The Premise: Atlanta is…
July 16, 2019
(This is part two of three on the genesis of Urban Fantasy and the colonization of the cities by the fantastic. Part 1 covered Emma Bull and her seminal novel, The War for the Oaks.) Urban fantasy is a melting pot of myths and mythology applied in a (mostly) modern, urban setting. The first main town to erupt on the…
July 11, 2019
Discount Armageddon (2012) Written by: Seanan McGuire Series: InCryptid (Book #1) Genre: Urban Fantasy Length: 11 hours, 20 minutes (Audiobook) Publisher: Audible Studios Why I Chose It: I am staff on a new speculative media convention called MultiverseCon (shameless plug! Come visit us in Atlanta in October!). Seanan McGuire is our Author Guest of Honor, which I’m super-excited about. While…
June 25, 2019
Gunmetal Magic (2012) Written by: Ilona Andrews Series: Kate Daniels #5.5 Genre: Urban Fantasy Pages: 326 (Paperback) Publisher: Ace Why I Chose This: My 2019 Resolution Project for Speculative Chic is to read the books in the Kate Daniels series and finish up with a first read of the final book. I first read Gunmetal Magic in 2012. The Premise: Some people…
June 22, 2019
Hello, denizens of geek! How are things in your corner of the world? In a previous roundup I rambled about the rainy season in Japan, and since posting, a strange phenomenon has taken place in my area: almost no rain. As much as I dislike the rainy season, this isn’t a good thing. I live in the Kikuchi Valley region of…
June 21, 2019
Titanshade (2019) Written by: Dan Stout Genre: Urban Fantasy Pages: 407 (Hardcover) Publisher: DAW Why I Chose It: Because Carter’s a disgraced human cop; because Ajax is a new-to-town Mollenkampi rookie cop; together they fight crime! I am a total sucker for that premise, as I believe I’ve mentioned before. Less flippantly, I picked this one up because it looked…
June 18, 2019
Until the 1980’s, magic generally occurred in invented worlds, fantasy based itself on pastoral settings, or extrapolations of various time points in (generally) Western history. In the 1980’s though, with Charles de Lint’s Moonheart and Emma Bull’s War for the Oaks, fantasy moved into town, magic invaded cities and suburbs, and fairy oaks sprouted in urban sidewalk cracks. From its…