Slotherhouse has no business being as fun as it is. I would never have dreamed that I’d so very much enjoy watching a puppet murder a bunch of people. With a ton of endearing characters played by actors who fully commit to seeming terrified by a stuffed animal, and a focus on sisterhood in all its possibilities and limitations as well as responsible animal ownership, the messages were heartwarming which, again, I did not expect, … Continue reading Movie Review: Slotherhouse →
My Goodness, what have I become? There was a time when I was positively oozing the milk of human kindness. I was so full of empathy that I couldn’t bear to read about a character losing so much as a drop of blood. And yet, somehow, I’ve turned into a person who reacts to a scene of a character’s face being scoured off by tentacles with teeth by chirping, “Oooh! Carnage!” If this is relatable … Continue reading The Dead Take the A Train by Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey →
Sparrow Hill Road was a 4 1/2 star Top Pick in the May 2014 RT Book Reviews magazine that Amanda and I recapped, and I was curious, in part because I didn’t recognize it. I know McGuire’s other series (Adam really likes the October Daye books) but this one had escaped my knowledge. I found the audiobook, narrated by Amy Landon, at my library, and I inhaled it. I got so much done because I … Continue reading Sparrow Hill Road by Seanan McGuire →
It Came from the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror is a collection of essays by horror fans who reflect on their experiences with the cinematic horror genre through a queer lens. I enjoyed every essay in this book and gained a new understanding of the complexities of meaning that each viewer can find within a film. As the LGBTQIA+ viewers in this volume strive to see themselves reflected in a media that erases them, they … Continue reading It Came From the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror ed. by Joe Vallese →
I’ve written, taught classes, and led panels about Mary Shelley and Frankenstein so often that, at a recent science fiction convention, one of my fellow panelists pointed out, “No matter what the topic is, Carrie, you always end up mentioning how much you hate Lord Byron” and I SO VERY MUCH DO! ASK ME WHY! The point is, I seized upon Our Hideous Progeny with gimmie-gimmie hands and although I will not tell you what … Continue reading Our Hideous Progeny by C. E. McGill →
This book messed me up. Yes, I read it while I was going through a rough time, but the point stands: this is an emotionally intense book. The problem is that it is so well-written that it’s also un-put-downable so the emotional intensity is unrelenting. Carla is filled with wanderlust. She works in a bar to save up money and then travels the world in the Jeep her father gave her when he was diagnosed … Continue reading Off the Map by Trish Doller →
Come As You Are: The New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life is interesting and informative. It’s a solid Sex 101 book. I learned some new things from reading it and I got a better understanding of some things that I kinda sorta knew but didn’t fully understand. I also found it entertaining and accessible, and very body and sex positive. The book consists of the main text, which explains different concepts and elements … Continue reading Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski →
All of us here at the Pink Palace adore the Murderbot series by Martha Wells, so I was very excited about her new fantasy standalone, Witch King. The biggest thing you need to know about Witch King is that it is very different from Murderbot. If you are hoping for a fantasy version of Murderbot you will be disappointed. The tone is different, the humor, when it exists, is dryer, the scope is different, and … Continue reading Witch King by Martha Wells →
Content warning: Violence including gun stuff This is not an objective review because the Sookie Stackhouse novels are a foundational element of my psyche. I am positioned to love anything and everything that Charlaine Harris writes. That being said, I think I can make a pretty good case for why reading this book may be a good idea for the right reader – with a definite caveat in #4. I. A completely fresh book-world. This … Continue reading An Easy Death by Charlaine Harris →
We have a word among the bitchery: catnip. Catnip in this context is not the plant, it is the trope, or group of tropes that is our personal drug of choice. The Mimicking of Known Successes is a queer science fiction romance/mystery featuring a woman who is of the Sherlock Holmes mode of detective and another woman as the Watson type, although unlike some versions of Watson, this one is intelligent and useful. I understand … Continue reading The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older →
At Midnight, edited by Dahlia Adler, is a creative, inclusive mix of fairy tale reimaginings from a diverse YA perspective. Some of the stories are funny, some horrifying, but all are inventive and subversive. Different people will of course have different favorites, but my favorite story was “In the Forests of the Night.” In this retelling of “Fitcher’s Bird,” author Gita Trelease creates a bloody, vengeful, feminist and anti-colonialist version of the fairytale set in … Continue reading At Midnight edited by Dahlia Adler →
