Last weekend was busy enough, with my daughter’s belated birthday party (I still can’t believe she’s fourteen) and then a family get-together for the holiday, that I ended up just skipping this post. The truth is, it was also just an altogether dull week (for me, not in general–this country is an absolute shitshow), without even any especially interesting links to share.
This week hasn’t been great, overall, but there have been some bright spots. The most recent episode of iZombie was a new high point for one of my favorite shows. Lucifer ended its second season with a strong finale. Still Star-Crossed premiered and seemed promising. There was a new Marie Brennan novella, Lightning in the Blood, and it’s fantastic. I read Catherynne M. Valente’s The Refrigerator Monologues and Seanan McGuire’s Down Among the Sticks and Bones, which were both superb. I pre-ordered my copy of The Refrigerator Monologues along with Raven Stratagem by Yoon Ha Lee and The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden, so I’ve got something to look forward to in a couple weeks when those show up.
I didn’t write much–being slightly depressed and home with a bored teenager on summer break isn’t exactly awesome for one’s productivity–but I did introduce my big Let’s Read! Gormenghast project. It’ll start properly tomorrow with Titus Groan Chapters 1-3, with chapters 4-9 and 10-13 later in the week.
It’s the start of a new month, June, which means we’re getting into the end of my Spring Reading List. However, if you’re looking for a full(-ish) list of June releases, Tor.com is the place to go, as always:
Meanwhile, the B&N Sci-fi and Fantasy Blog has a great list of 6 Standout Short Story Collections to start your summer with.
B&N is now publishing fiction, and they started strong last week with Sarah Gailey’s “A Lady’s Maid.”
Mari Ness wrote about Jane Yolen’s Briar Rose.
The Wertzone’s Cities of Fantasy series continues with New Crobuzon.
There’s a new Malka Older story at Fireside: “Narrative Disorder.”
It sounds like the final season of Game of Thrones might not air until 2019, which is a bummer. I’m ready to be done with it, to be honest. I guess, on the bright side, it will give my liver time to recover after all the alcohol I plan on drinking when I watch the upcoming season.
SF Bluestocking 