Reading catch up

I read all the time, but finding the book you can really sink into is rare, at least for me. Yoon Ha Lee is proving to be one of those authors and his recent novel Raven Stratagem was crazy wild and wonderful.  Catherynne M. Valente’s Deathless was another beautiful read. And some of the short story input I’ve ingested recently has also drawn me in. Loved nearly everything in Jonathan Strahan’s Fearsome Journeys, but One Last, Great Adventure by Ellen Kushner & Ysabeau Wilce along with The Dragonslayer of Merebarton by K J Parker both stood out. (Both feature ageing protagonists, and I fear that this may be a theme. Maybe I will snap out of it!)

Review of Australian Fiction continues to offer up some great stories. Particularly loved Jane Rawson’s Amy’s Twin. Rawson always manages to meld the spectacularly weird with the everyday. And a more realistic portrayal of a teenager I have yet to encounter. Its partner, The Magicians by Wayne Marshall, is a damning, but entertaining allegory. In other issues, Melina Marchetta’s When Rosie Met Jim was understated and beautifully crafted, and Elizabeth Tan’s Happy Smiling Underwear Girls Party was cynical, sad, and then completely unexpected. (Though I could not believe they were really 18-25, but what do I know about that distant past?)

And lastly, I have been most remiss in not mentioning Andromeda Spaceways Magazine #67. Some excellent speculative fiction and even a short story from me.