Within the genre of science fiction, readers will sometimes label stories as either “soft” or “hard” science fiction. “Soft” sci-fi are stories where the narrative […]
Cleveland Noir: Dark Fiction from Around the City
For a number of years now, book publisher Akashic Books has been publishing collections of noir fiction short stories set in cities around the world. […]
Nothing but Rocs and Sky Above
Some of the best stories we read are the ones that leave you wanting more once you’ve finished. Untethered Sky did that to me recently. […]
Cobalt Red: The Dark Side of the Electronic and Tech Revolutions
“Please tell the people of your country, a child in the Congo dies every day so that they can plug in their phones.” Have you […]
The Backstreets: A Novel from Xinjiang
In the summer of 2010, I was fortunate to have been part of a month-long study abroad program in China sponsored by my university. The […]
Why Retire When There Are Aliens to Fight?
Every genre in literature has a subgenre within it that contains books that can be considered “comfort” or “cozy” reads, stories which are simply fun […]
Neglected Books, a Talking Cat, and the Teenagers who Help Them
There is a phrase which appears over and over again in the novel The Cat who Saved Books that any book lover can instantly understand […]
Jack London’s To Build a Fire (or, why you shouldn’t go for a hike in -75 degree temperatures)
When it comes to Jack London, you will mostly hear about his most famous stories, The Call of the Wild and White Fang. I haven’t […]
Climate Fiction: A Cli-Fi Reading List
Apocalyptic fiction is not a new genre. One could argue that it is one of literature’s oldest genres. Ragnarok. The Revelations of John. The (often […]
