All the News I Need by Joan Frank UMass Press, 2017 $19.95 The fear of aging is a common concern; our society stresses over it and the media highlights it as a negative process. Finding wrinkles and gray hair is a disastrous discovery, and there is always the worry of becoming too static. This cycle of …
A Moral Tale, and Other Moral Tales by Josh Emmons Dzanc Books, 2017 $16.95 Josh Emmons’s first collection of short stories follows a man, a woman, an artist, a tiger, an egg, and more through a menagerie of tales consisting of both brand new concepts and classic fables rethought with refreshing imagination. A Moral Tale, and …
The Dog Looks Happy Upside Down by Meg Pokrass Etruscan Press, 2017 $15.00 One can only hope that their book review could be as concise and affecting as one of Meg Pokrass’s stories in her collection, The Dog Looks Happy Upside Down. Sporting fifty raw and honest vignettes, this text beckons the reader into explicit …
The Bowl with Gold Seams by Ellen Prentiss Campbell Apprentice House Press, 2016 $16.99 Ellen Prentiss Campbell’s debut novel, The Bowl with Gold Seams, is a touching work of historical fiction which focuses on themes of acceptance, love, and overcoming tragedy. Campbell tells the story of the Bedford Springs Hotel in Pennsylvania that served as a …
Kubrick Red by Simon Roy trns. Jacob Homel Anvil Press $18.00 In his memoir Kubrick Red, Simon Roy presents readers with a beautifully honest account of his family history, revealing the past in tandem with facts about Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. As Roy’s debut memoir, Kubrick Red was translated from French to English by Jacob Homel …
Contents Under Pressure by Ellen Prentiss Campbell Broadkill River Press, 2016 $16.99 Ellen Prentiss Campbell gives us a taste of several coming-of-age conflicts in her short story collection, Contents Under Pressure. From the metamorphosis of college student to real-world-dweller in “Sea Change,” to the challenges of midlife crises and divorce in “Peripheral Vision” and “Entangled Objects,” …
Heading Home: Field Notes by Peter Anderson Conundrum Press, 2017 $14.99 In Heading Home, field notes are more akin to poignant vignettes, setting Anderson apart as a master of poetic fiction. What is truly remarkable about Peter Anderson’s writing is his ability pull the reader into the experience with him and then leave them deep in …
An Accident of Stars by Foz Meadows Angry Robot Books, 2016 $7.99 An Accident of Stars is the kind of fantasy novel that’s been a long time coming. As more and more articles pour out about bias in science fiction and fantasy, citing lack of diversity—both in the gender and race of the author and …