Okay, so Lavinia is retelling of the Aeneid, Virgil’s epic poem describing Aeneas’ arrival and conquest of what’s now known as Italy.  Le Guin’s counter-read ends up revamping Lavinia, Aeneas’ BRIDE OF DESTINY, making her a real, vital character. While she’s still swept by the winds of fate, she emerges as a deeply religious girl aware of the prophecies surrounding her marriage. She chooses to follow these prophecies, in part because her other options involve bloody political turmoil. She learns, ...Read More

Folks, this is AWESOME.

Okay, basically Walton’s set this alternative history in a world where Britain and Germany work things out, and WWII never happens. Germany’s building concentration camps ALL over the continent, and things suck for Eastern European Jews. Britain’s got its own issues with rising fascism, but, interestingly, Walton examines this rise in the upper classes. So, what we’re looking at are the political machinations leading up to such a consolidation of racial antipathy and political power. We’re also looking at how women’s ...Read More

Barnes’ alternate history explores the evolution of slavery and racial formations in a world where the West never rose to prominence. The New World is in the process of being conquered by various African empires, and both women and enslaved whites are starting to buck up for independence. This is a very cool context — there’re women scientists hiding the extent of their work, a rising anti-slavery movement, and the equivalent of an Underground Railroad managed by Jews in an ...Read More

Barnes’ promising first effort introduces the reader to a wild reimagining of turn of the century London. It’s very “The world has moved on” a la Stephen King — technology is on the rise, magic/mystery in the form of our main guy Edward Moon, and the disappearance of the titular character, who exits stage left at the end of the story. What really solidified King connection for me were the constant, intriguing references to prior adventures and internal myths. I ...Read More

Wowzers. Slammerkin is an amazingly well told tale based on the court case of Mary Saunders, an 18th century Londoner hung and burned for the murder of her mistress. Donoghue takes as her starting point an excerpt from Saunders’ so-called confession, where Mary claims she committed her crime because of her love for fine cloth. The author takes this idea and runs with it… what does it mean to die for “fine” clothing when clothing is a status of social ...Read More

Hmm. It’s a toss-up. On the one hand, Roberson’s writing at full force here. All the delightful sensory details that made the dry deserty world of Tiger and Del a reality are present. You can feel the dust coating your face in Roberson’s lushly realized world. And she neatly establishes that it’s a world in flux — the Hecari invaders are an ever-present threat, without overwhelming the story. Bethid, one of the secondary characters, is the first female courier… and ...Read More