Day two of Pride Nights at Queen’s is proud (ba dum tss) to present our first interview. Author of intriguing historical fiction, Karen Heenan visits the Asylum to talk about her Tudor Court series, law and sexuality in the 16th century and related research, and, of course, the mischievous but utterly adorable companions/spawns of hell we humans like to call cats.
Today we welcome our first guest authors in the Asylum for PRIDE NIGHTS AT QUEEN’S, Marian L Thorpe and Bjørn Larssen, to talk about writing queer people, courage, but most importantly, the multitude represented by this one word.
Arina reviews Marina Lostetter’s dark fantasy debut that commingles humanity, gods, and monsters. The Helm of Midnight is a thrilling grimdark mystery ripe with questions of morality.
Arina reviews Kali Wallace’s laters Sci-Fi Noir novel, Dead Space.
“The power of Dead Space’s narrative is the inescapable analogy it draws with our current society and how greed, inequality, and bondage may be carried with us when we breach the boundaries of space. But it’s also allowed to dream with the way it imagines technology.”
Today, we welcome Yaroslav Barsukov to the Asylum to discuss his latest novella, Tower of Mud and Straw, a story that blends science-fiction, fantasy, and even the atmosphere of the gothic genre.
Arina reviews The Moonsteel Crown, the first book in Stephen Deas’ new series, Dominion. Out now by Angry Robot!
“A fun as hell adventure of betrayal filled with murdering bastards, unpredictability, dead men, and lots of chaotic stabbing, shrewdly disguised as a royal corruption story.”
Arina reviews Yaroslav Barsukov’s Tower of Mud and Straw, a Gaslamp Science Fantasy novella.
“Tower of Mud and Straw makes perfect use of the novella format, an awesome gaslamp science fantasy with a mystery punch. I can see myself coming back to this world again and again.”
After some debate, we decided that instead of doing one short (top 3 reads each which would have been downright cruelty to ourselves), or one very long (top 10 reads each, squeezed together) post on our favorite reads in 2020, we’ll do three separate ones. Mainly because we’d like to highlight as many books as we can, regardless of when they were released, if they are indie, self-published, or traditionally published. The only criteria were that we had to read it in 2020. And maybe like it too. A tiny bit. Maybe. First up is Arina’s Top 10 Reads of 2020.
Craig Hallam’s Oshibana Complex is everything I love about cyberpunk: a sharp dissection of the present by peeking into the future. This curious novella puts a captivating story into just a few pages.
A plangent and dismal story that resonates in the now, Erin K. Wagner’s latest novella, An Unnatural Life, takes us to the coming probabilities of robot civil rights through an exploration of sentience, free will, and humanity. But more importantly, science fiction novella extrapolates on how we humans react and shun new forms of identity.