whimsydearest

Volatile Memory  by Seth Haddon is a queer sci-fi thriller that explores transness, personhood, and our relationship to our bodies in a beautiful, thought-provoking way.Bo First off, I really loved the concept of masks in this book. The biotech masks in this world grant different abilities depending on the type of mask (kind of like in Majora's Mask—albeit with a sci-fi twist). For instance, an ox mask will grant its user extra strength and a rabbit mask heightens your awareness and alerts you to danger. I’ve also got to applaud the author for taking artistic choices that pay off. The story is actually told from the perspective of the sentient mask, and it switches from I to you to we depending on how integrated the mask is with Wylla at the time. I felt like this works cleverly on a thematic level to show the two characters' growing connection with each other. All and all, this book turned out to be one one my favorite reads of the year. It’s an inventive and boldly honest sci...

The Mystery of the Pale King  by Sam Flynn paints a dread-inducing flintlock fantasy novella. It centers around Faron, a page who recounts a mission gone awry. He was sent with a church retinue to the city of Hathur—where a heretic had been holding performances for a bizarre play. However, upon their arrival, they discovered that children were going mysteriously missing and a sinister force may be at work. The story weaves an undercurrent of faith, politics, and gothic and cosmic horror and takes place in a decaying world reminiscent of  Bloodborne  or  The Gutter Prayer . The atmosphere is fantastic and we get some lyrically lovely descriptive passages like the following: ".... I too beheld a city in the sky. Did I gaze upon heaven, I wondered? But I saw no beauty in the crumbling temples and desecrated tombs, the detritus of a thousand civilizations, devoid of life, howling and empty, save for milk-white shadows masked in cloud and fog, the residents of an ersatz r...

In modern-day Chicago, a mysterious man strikes a deal with a zmora haunted by visions: he’ll help her break her curse if she’ll help him track down the legendary Baba Jaga. When Among Crows by Veronica Roth paints a dark and shimmering urban fantasy teeming with magic and Slavic lore. I really loved how Roth draws on her own Polish heritage here. The story skillfully explores the diaspora of Polish descendants whose families were forced to flee during WWII. The sheer amount of creatures from Slavic folklore featured in this story--including a leszy, noonwraith, and stryzgon--is fantastic as well and filled my nerdy heart with joy. However, it’s strange that part of the main character’s identity is supposed to be a big, shocking reveal two-thirds through the story … when that information is spoiled in the first paragraph of the blurb. That completely undermines the emotional weight of the reveal to me. I wish either the blurb had omitted certain details so that moment could come as a ...

Veris Thorn is the only person to have returned from Elmever alive, so when the Tyrant’s children go missing, she’s tasked with entering the cursed woods once more and returning them. However, along the way, she must face the woods’ devious denizens while confronting her own traumatic past. The Butcher of the Forest  by Premee Mohamed weaves a masterfully told, twisted fairy tale. It’s a darkly whimsical read that leans into horror territory. Here the woods are sentient and its trees shift and disorient travelers. There are creepy deer (and a unicorn), and the pages ooze with body horror and uncanny dread. All in all, if you loved the mind-bending trippiness of the forest in  The Ritual  or the messed up bear from  Annihilation , you'll probably love this novella as well. Thank you you, Netgalley and Tordotcom, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Book Details: Publication Date : February 27, 2024 Publisher : Tordotcom ISBN : 1250881781 Page...

Second Spear  by Kerstin Hall returns to  The Border Keeper ’s wonderfully fantastical world where 999 different realms are governed by gods and demons who are all grappling for control. In this particular story, Tyn sets out to track down a remaining god instrument to protect Res Lfae and her realm. As much as I adore Tyn as a lead character, it’s the setting itself that is the highlight of the story for me. This is an richly imaginative world that you can truly get lost in (quite literally). There are bone flowers and a deadly forest that plays tricks on you, creating this almost darkly whimsical fairytale undercurrent that I absolutely loved. Honestly, there really are so many possibilities with where this series could go and so many different realms that I’m excited to explore more of it. Thank you, NetGalley and Tordotcom, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Book Details: Publication Date : August 16, 2022 Publisher : Tordotcom IBSN : ‎1250...

  Martyr Black is a serial killer and writer who mysteriously disappeared with his partner Ambrose.  Years later, a former acquaintance of the two decides to compile a collection of Martyr’s journal entries, audio transcripts, and previously published works in the hopes that it would provide insight into the killer’s mind.  You've Lost a Lot of Blood by Eric LaRocca is a raw and unflinching descent into darkness. This is a multilayered story, a novella within a novella, whose pieces gradually come together by the end.   However, one aspect of the story didn’t quite mesh with the others for me, and that is Martyr’s novella—a techno horror about a video game that may be killing people. I found this storyline less intimate and engrossing perhaps in part because they are in the third-person.  Really, it's the journal entries and the conversations between Martyr and Ambrose that gripped me the most, so I would have personally loved to have seen their messe...

Angela is stuck in an unhappy marriage with a wealthy husband, so she finds herself fantasizing about an attractive man she ran into at the grocery store. She confesses this to her husband, and to her surprise, he asks her to describe her dream man so that he can get plastic surgery to look like him. However, no trustworthy doctor wants to undertake the extent of procedures he’s requesting, so they resort to a back alley doctor and find themselves caught up in the underbelly world of underground adult films. Waif by Samantha Kolesnik presents an intimate and unflinching portrait of a dysfunctional marriage. The writing is beautifully poetic and introspective and does an excellent job at placing us inside Angela’s head. However, some interesting parts of the story feel like they were cut too short perhaps due it its length as a novella. For instance, I wish both the aspects of extreme plastic surgery and Angela joining a gang of queer adult film actors could have been explored further. ...

In a flooded world, Iraxi is ostracized and pregnant aboard a ship, but the baby she is carrying may not be human and once it’s unleashed onto the world, there’s no telling what will happen. Flowers for the Sea by Zin E. Rocklyn is an engrossing and unsettling Lovecraftian pregnancy horror novella. First off, I really loved how visceral the writing in this novella was. The author managed to create a fantastic sense of atmosphere and claustrophobia, and their vivid descriptions of body horror left me squirming in my seat. Lastly, I do want to point out that this story is weird—wonderfully weird, so if you’re looking for a story about an eldritch baby like in Bloodborne , this one’s for you. Thank you, NetGalley and Tordotcom, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review . Book Details: Publication Date : October 19, 2021 Publisher : Tordotcom IBSN : 1250804035 Pages : 108

Centuries have passed since robots collectively left humanity and ventured into the wild—never to be seen again. However, when Sibling Dex, a tea monk, begins a pilgrimage to a hermitage, they stumble across a robot named Mosscap. Mosscap offers to act as a guide for the monk in exchange for teaching it about humanity, so together they venture through the wilderness, learning about each other and finding the meaning of life along the way. A Psalm for the Wild-Built  by Becky Chambers is a charming little novella that paints a more optimistic outlook of the future amongst a sea of eco nihilism, and I find that to be beautiful and a breath of fresh air. I think it’s also important to note that this book is essentially a fable. It’s a philosophical exchange between the two main characters. The monk grapples with finding meaning to their life now that humanity has achieved a sort of utopia while the robot finds wonder in watching the natural decay of life, and I found it enjoyable to w...

In the exiled city-state of Ora, Anima’s duty is to jump into different animal’s bodies in order to monitor the city for crime and keep its civilians safe. However, when an enigmatic figure named Vessel shows up with a cabinet full of curiosities—each with its own story—, Anima’s world begins to expand and æ begin to question ær purpose in life.  <i>In the Watchful City</i> by S. Qiouyi Lu is a mind-bending, genre-bending work of fiction. The blurb describes it as a “mosaic novella,” and it really is just that. Using a frame narrative, this book contains stories within a story as Vessel acts as a narrator in parts, explaining the history and meaning behind various objects in his collection.  Throughout the novella, the story interweaves sci-fi and fantasy, implementing some really cool biocyberpunk ideas. For instance, there is a substance called the Gleaming, which interconnects the consciousness of all life in the city in a sort of almost fungal-like network. Any...