Apex Magazine Issue 105, February 2018 by Jason Sizemore

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

FICTION
A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies (Alix Harrow) - The whole reason I got this issue was because of this story, which won some awards. Andrea Johnson writes, in the introduction to an interview with the author, that the story brought her to tears. I didn’t get that far, but it did indeed tug at my heartstrings. It’s not at all what I was expected, but it was still a wonderful story.

Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Without giving away the plot or meta-spoilers, I can say that Seanan McGuire has continued to find a way to keep these novellas fresh. All these books have been deconstructions/reconstructions of the Portal Fantasy trope, but I feel this one is the closest to being a commentary on Narnia (without being as direct as The Magicians and Fillory). I’m less familiar with the mythical creatures found here although I at least knew what Kelpies were because of the PBS YouTube show Monstrum.

Lightspeed Magazine, Issue 109, June 2019 by John Joseph Adams

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

SCIENCE FICTION
Between the Dark and the Dark (Deji Bryce Olukotun) - the story starts off with the common trope of generation ships and leaving a ruined Earth. I’ve even come across it a bunch of times during my current SFF magazine binge. But the author introduces some cool new ideas, like the council. The story, therefore, goes in some interesting directions.

Blood Rites by Jim Butcher

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Butcher brings together all the storylines from the previous five books in this larger mystery. It’s a much bigger story than the previous books, but it works very well. I’m glad that Murph and Harry are continuing to develop their relationship. The opening caper is a lot of fun although I’m left wondering if it’s going to lead to any bad consequences for Harry.

Peter Reinhart’s Artisan Breads Every Day by Peter Reinhart

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In a short time I’ve read 2 Reinhart bread books (and am working on another). It’s interesting to see his bread techniques evolve. Although, he’s careful to say that the techniques in this book aren’t necessarily better than what he developed in the previous books, this one does potentially allow the home baker to do some prep work throughout the week and bake bread on a reasonable schedule. In essence, these are all recipes where you mix the bread and then put it in the fridge for 1-4 days and shape/bake it when you take it out. This means that on baking day you can potentially have your bread cooling after just 2.5ish hours - making it possible to bake and still have a job.

The Frame-Up by Meghan Scott Molin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I got this book free as a Kindle First Read - or whatever they’re calling it nowadays

This book sits at the intersection of a lot of genres and sub-genres. It’s a mystery, but it’s not told from the point of view of the detective. This causes it to share a bit of DNA with the thriller genre as there are a few times our protagonist finds herself in the middle of something big. It’s also got a giant dose of geek/nerd culture with lots of references. Some will be rather easy for most people to get now that geek/nerd culture is a bit more mainstream. Others are pretty deep cuts. There’s also a bit of a romance novel hidden in here. And a dip into LGBT culture as well. So, it’s a book with a little of something for everyone.

The Everyday Athlete Cookbook: 165 Recipes to Boost Energy, Performance, and Recovery by America’s Test Kitchen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

ATK teams up with a dietitian and nutritionist to create a series of recipes for “athletes”, defined in the book as people who do vigorous exercise at least 3 times a week. So far I’ve made the rice crispy protein bars and I love the taste. I usually have one before heading to the gym/pool.

The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is my second time reading this book. Keeping the score of 3/5 stars

Another mystery staring Samuel Vimes. This time he’s been sent by Vetinari to Uberwald as Ambassador. Vetinari purposely chose him because he thinks like a cop and isn’t the usual royalty that gets sent to these things. This turns out to be a good thing because the Dwarves, Vampires, and Wolves are each trying to gain advantage over the other.

Lightspeed Magazine, Issue 108, May 2019 by John Joseph Adams

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

SCIENCE FICTION
Cocoons (Nancy Kress) - This story could very easily have gone to a horror place. But instead it ends up being about the complexity of humanity, the perils of colonizing a new world, and hope.

This Way to Paradise (Rati Mehrotra) - After a rapture-style event, things go nuts in India. We follow a family in the aftermath. A couple great twists to the story.

I’ll be getting caught up on book reviews, so through the end of the year you’ll see at least one book review per day. I’ll still be occasionally writing my usual blog posts, but the most consistent content will be book reviews.