Aspects of Me

Author: RFG

  • March 2025

    Another month, another wrap-up! Still being written essentially one-handed as my left arm is still in a cast so, again, apologies for any typos you might find! In good (?) news, I had my wrist surgery and although it apparently presented the surgery team with some difficulties, everything is holding in the right position. If all goes well, I should be out of the cast by mid-April and then it’ll be time to start building up that book holding strength again.

    This month I joined in with the Keymark March Mavericks 5-book readathon and was on Andy Peloquin‘s team: Tome Slayers. This was good fun and provided a perfect distraction to my wrist situation. Everyone involved was lovely and encouraging – I probably wouldn’t have read as many books as I did without the readathon.

    Graphic showing 5 book covers over a background with a fire breathing dragon. Title at the top reads March Mavericks 5-book readathon. The five book covers are of: From Cold Ashes Risen The Ice Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon Star Forge Long Live the Emperor
    My five reads for March Mavericks 2025

    Reading

    This month’s reads were:

    As you will have seen above, all except Future’s Edge contributed to my March Mavericks reads. Technically, I started Future’s Edge in February so it couldn’t count. Here are the prompts I fulfilled with my reads (in order):

    • Maverick – an independently published book
    • Disruptor – a weapon on the cover (includes dragons & spaceships)
    • Chaos – includes magic as part of the story
    • Shadow – includes and animal companion
    • Renegades – includes a motley crew

    Writing

    As you might imagine, March hasn’t been the most productive of months for writing thought I’ve had plenty of ideas to explore once my arm heals up. In the meantime, I had one review go up on GdM in March.

    Upcoming

    While, strictly speaking, a couple of things have already gone out via GdM’s site and in issue #42 of the magazine proper, they also fall in April as they released 01/04/2025. Nevertheless, turn your eyeballs their way to find more reviews from me and an essay entitled ‘Ellen Ripley, Action Hero’, which I am super chuffed about.

    To come will be further reviews of The Bound and the Broken series by Ryan Cahill, and I’ll be diving into book four, Of Empires and Dust, shortly. I’ve got quite a few exciting books to catch up on so watch this space.

    That’s it for now! I hope you’ve found some enjoyment from my little update. I’m over on Bluesky (@magpiepages.bsky.social) and have dusted off my Ko-fi page as well.

    Take care, and see you next month!

  • February 2025

    When I decided to put out a newsletter at the end of each month, I completely forgot I was away on holiday at the end of February. What I wasn’t expecting to compound the delay was an altercation with some Belgian pavement to result in multiple fractures in my wrist and a slow wait for surgery to screw it back together again (still waiting at time of writing). So, as I’m typing one-handed, please bear with me and my apologies for any typos or mistakes!

    Besides breaking my wrist, Gent (in Belgium) was an absolutely lovely city and I would really like to go back to see more of it. We arrived just in time to see the start of the Women’s Elite for Omloop (a single-day cycling race), which was a great bonus and quite the spectacle. We spent a few hours wandering around S.M.A.K. – the city’s modern art gallery – that I thoroughly enjoyed. Food was brill, cycling infrastructure is off the charts, lots of greenery, history and culture. Thoroughly recommend it, and if you’re in the UK the Eurostar is a good option. It took us about the same time to get from Birmingham to Brussels as it takes to get from Brum to Edinburgh… and Belgium was cheaper to get to.

    On to the bookishness!

    Reading

    February’s reading was a little slower than January, but here’s what it included.

    Writing

    I had five reviews go up on GdM this month:

    I also published an article over on Medium about Dis-, Mis- and Malicious Information. 

    Upcoming

    Apologies for skipping Recommendations this month but the one-handedness isn’t leaving me a lot of headspace for it.

    Instead, I hope to still be able to write reviews and I’m currently reading Future’s Edge by Gareth L Powell. There’s a few others up my sleeve for GdM, so keep an eye out.

    I’m also happy to say an essay pitch to Speculative Insight was accepted, which will be publishing 2026, so I will be working on that too.

    That’s it for now! I hope you’ve found some enjoyment from my little update. I’m over on Bluesky (@magpiepages.bsky.social) and have dusted off my Ko-fi page as well.

    Take care, and see you next month!

  • January 2025

    Welcome to my first newsletter-style monthly wrap-up! It’s been a while since I updated this site and it’s time to try something new. Each month, I’ll be pulling together some updates on what I’ve been up to, what I’ve read and written, and bring you a recommendation (or two).

    With the new year, that brings a new reading goal. I’m starting off with a modest, calm, target of twelve (12) books for the year. 2024 was a bit of a slow one for me, most of it spent in a slump, so I’m starting low this year to avoid any pressure. I’ve come to realise, if I feel like I have to read something, my mind balks at the idea of being assigned a task in my leisure time. I also have a tendency, if I’m stuck on a book, I won’t move on because it’s not finished. So, my additional aim for the year is to be more chill. If I’m not vibing with a book, forgive myself, DNF it and move on to something I do enjoy.

    In a similar vein, I’m trying to experiment with a few different reading apps so see if there’s any significant rivals to Goodreads. Since 1st Jan, I’ve been testing out Fable, Storygraph and Hardcover. I’m running them alongside GR as it remains a staple of the bookish community (for now), which has meant four different places to update my progress. My oh-so-simple plan is to see what falls away and the last one standing should, in theory, be the least irritating to use.
    Lastly, fans of The Offline Gamer will be pleased to hear I am back for the 2024 wrap-up episode! It was great fun recording with Matt and Karen again, and talking about board games together. You may even hear my dulcet tones again in the near future, as the 100th episode approaches!

    Reading

    This month I’ve made my way through three novels, a novelette and three short stories (available online), all of which I have enjoyed – bonus! 

    Writing

    Two reviews of mine have gone live on Grimdark Magazine this month.

    Of Fire and Blood by Ryan Cahill: https://www.grimdarkmagazine.com/review-of-blood-and-fire-by-ryan-cahill/ 

    Symbiote by Michael Nayak: https://www.grimdarkmagazine.com/review-symbiote-by-michael-nayak/ 

    I’ve also started trying to build my writing habit back up by jotting down as many ideas as I can (before I forget them) and joining in with some writing sprints hosted by the British Fantasy Society. I’m working on a short story on the theme of patterns, which is a sci-fi offering, and a fantasy short that could veer into a sort of alt-history with witches. Well, at least one, verifiable, witch.

    Recommendations

    If nothing else, I hope to use this section to suggest a shorter fiction for you to read that’s available online. This month I’d like to recommend you to go and find something by R.S.A. Garcia to read, and to get you started I thoroughly enjoyed Tantie Merle and the Farmhand 4200. 

    Originally published in Uncanny Magazine #53, you can find it online here: https://www.uncannymagazine.com/article/tantie-merle-and-the-farmhand-4200/ 

    It’s written in Trinbagonian creole, which I absolutely loved, and takes a look at how AI reflects what we show it to a brilliant, hopeful, ending. Even better, if you enjoy it, R.S.A. Garcia has confirmed a sequel story has been commissioned! Plus, Garcia is a true joy to interact with so go follow her on Bluesky.

    For a bonus recommendation, Tantie Merle reminded me of Sarah Gailey’s short story Drones to Ploughshares, which turns five years old on 4th Feb.

    Originally written for Vice, it is available online here:

    https://www.vice.com/en/article/drones-to-ploughshares/ 

    (though I hope you have a robust ad-blocker)

    You can also find an audio version of the story on the podcast LeVar Burton Reads, in the December 2021 episode.

    Upcoming

    I’ll be reviewing The Sword of Kaigen for GdM, as well as working through reviews for more of The Bound and the Broken series. There are some new releases coming in February I’m quite excited for; Future’s Edge by Gareth L Powell and But Not Too Bold by Hache Pueyo to name a couple.

    Lastly, I’m finishing up an article about dis-, mis- and malicious information that I hope to publish soon (maybe over on Medium).

    That’s it for now! I hope you’ve found some enjoyment from my little update. I’m over on Bluesky (@magpiepages.bsky.social) and have dusted off my Ko-fi page as well.

    Take care, and see you next month!

  • Review: The Last Gifts of the Universe

    Review: The Last Gifts of the Universe

    A little foreword: I read this last July (2022) and only put my review up on Goodreads at the time. Now, The Last Gifts of the Universe is through to the SPSFC2 finals I thought it best to have a copy here too!

     

    It is hard to write a review that is more than just “CAT IN SPAAAAAAAAAACE” for this book. Pumpkin (the cat) is clearly MVP of the story but, as a cat-lover, I might be biased. It’s also brilliant to see a non-binary main character who isn’t an alien. So there’s two reasons to hype this book up.

    The Last Gifts of the Universe is a bit of a slice-of-life sci-fi that follows Scout, their brother Kieran and Pumpkin the space cat, as they scour the universe for caches containing information from civilisations that came before – hoping that one day there will be something on what wiped out everyone and everything else. On one seemingly average mission, they discover a cache that hints at knowing what the big-bad enemy was but they are interrupted in their recovery of it by corporate mercenaries intent on copywriting it all and shoving it behind a paywall. Not being particularly well-equipped to fight off super soldiers Scout and Kieran lose the first cache but get enough from it to pinpoint the next one in the series.

    What follows is a series of mad-dash races to see who gets to each next cache first, as Scout desperately tries to reason with the corpo-goons that this is information that needs to be free. The reason behind the end of all civilisation isn’t something to be hidden away for only the wealthy to access.

    In between these confrontations Scout, Kieran and Pumpkin get on with their jobs aboard their ship, The Waning Crescent, and spend their downtime with video games, TV serials and pizza. In their exploring of what little cache data they saved, Scout finds a recording from Blyreena, who made a last stand against the encroaching darkness hundreds of year before. Will Scout find answers in Blyreena’s last words?

    Besides the cat in adorable space-booties and the exquisite normalising of a non-binary character, The Last Gifts of the Universe presents some excellently thought-out themes that will engage you, while the characters keep you coming back for more. It’s about ends and beginnings, loss and hope, and fighting for what you believe in and those you love. Adeptly balanced with action and cosy vibes, this is a must-read for sci-fi aficionados.

  • SPSFC 2: Semi-Finalists Announcement

    SPSFC 2: Semi-Finalists Announcement

    Over the past few months, team Wayward Stars have been working our way through the books allocated to us at the start of SPSFC. Now we’re at the end of Phase Two where we can announce our Top 3 books – our semi-finalists! Below is each of the books with their blurbs to expand a little on what they’re about.

    Tropical Punch (Bubbles in Space, #1) by S.C. Jensen

    Woman with pink hair and a cybernetic arm half turned towards the viewer

    Strippers, Drugs, and Headless Corpses…

    All in a day’s work for Bubbles Marlowe, HoloCity’s only cyborg detective.

    What do an anti-tech cult, a deadly new street drug, and the corrupt Chief of Police have in common?

    It’s a question Bubbles can’t afford to ask. Last time she got curious it cost her job, a limb, and almost her life.

    She vows to stay out of police business. But with a newly minted cybernetic enhancement, a semi-legal P.I. license, and a knack for asking the wrong kind of questions… Vows are made to be broken, right?

    When a seemingly straightforward contract takes a dark turn, heads literally roll. Unless she wants to take the fall for the murders Bubbles needs to cut town on the double. Too bad she’s flat broke.

    And now, she’s being hunted.

    In a world where dreams can be made real for the right kind of dough, nothing is as it seems. One thing is clear, though. The dream is becoming a nightmare.

    As the body count stacks up, Bubbles realizes she’s made a terrible mistake.

    Can she figure out who is behind the murders before she loses her head?

     

    The Clarity of Cold Steel by Kevin Wright

    Steampunk skull with a top hat

    Mortise Locke, the Machine City, last bastion of mankind in all its fallen glory, where the sum total of life is cheaper than in part.

    A poor kid wrung from the city’s dregs has been abducted.

    His family’s lost all hope.

    Enter Detective Singh, gumshoe legend in his own mind and maybe — just maybe — a few others. He’s the bloodhound loosed on the kid’s trail, and it’s clear from the get-go that someone wants this hound put down. And they ain’t shy about it. Killers keep coming.

    And the clock keeps ticking…

    Can Detective Singh navigate the labyrinth of Mortise Locke’s criminal underworld? Can he follow the trail? Can he dodge death in its pantheon of incarnations to finally find the missing kid?

    And if he does find him, will he wish he hadn’t?

     

    Titan Hoppers by Rob J. Hayes

    Long haired person with two swords and armour poses atop a rock

    Courage Iro will shatter the Gates of Power to protect his fleet.

    Born talentless, Iro has all but resigned himself to a life of drudgery, watching his sister hop across to the massive space titan for supplies. But when the titan explodes and his sister is killed, Iro finds a new determination to take her place. He’s not about to let weakness prevent him.

    When the fleet encounters a new titan, filled with powerful monsters, deadly traps, and mysterious cloaked figures, Iro is the first to spontaneously manifest a new talent. Now sent to a different ship, to train with others far beyond his strength, Iro will have to train twice as hard just to catch up.

    To protect his fleet, and to uncover the mysteries of the titans, Iro won’t just open the Gates of Power. He’ll break them.

    Check out our Team Leader, The Shaggy Shepherd’s, announcement post to see a break down of the scores. To keep up to date with the rest of the competition and see more Semi-Finalist announcements, keep an eye on the SPSFC website!

  • New Year’s Book Tag

    New Year’s Book Tag

    I have tagged myself after reading The Shaggy Shepherd’s answers. It’s only a quick little tag of 6 questions/prompts but it will be interesting to revisit come the end of the year to see how things panned out!

    How many books are you planning on reading in 2023?

    40. This is slightly out of sequence for me as I’ve been adding 6 each year since 2017 and last year’s aim was 36 so I’ve only added 4 this time. I think I’m getting close to a reasonable and repeatable number that I can stick with year-on-year. If I surpass 40, I may bump it to 52 but we’ll see what the year brings.

    Name 5 books you didn’t get to read in 2021 but want to make a priority in 2023.

    Name a genre you want to read more of in 2023

    Sci-fi. I already read some but not as much as Fantasy at the moment. Then again, I do just want to read MORE FANTASY.

    Three non-book related goals in 2023.

    1. Lose weight
    2. Build confidence
    3. Have fun

    What’s a book you’ve had forever that you still need to read?

    This was a gift a long time ago that I really need to get around to. It’s been on my Goodreads since 2014 but I believe I’ve had it longer than that.

    One word that you hope 2023 will be?

    Better.

  • 2022 Top Reads & Book Awards

    2022 Top Reads & Book Awards

    In 2022, I read (and finished) a total of 37 books, which was one more than my GR Challenge target. These totalled 10,257 pages, with an average page count of 277, which felt a bit low to me but I did blast through a few novellas and novelettes towards the start of the year that has clearly brought that average down.

    This was less than in 2021 and 2020, but I’m not too concerned about that because both of those years were anomalies considering world events and all the extra free time that created as well as a generally hatred of computer screens. As a gamer, that meant my gaming time decreased but I ended up reading way more than I was aiming to. So, 2022 was a return to my +6 rule – where I had 6 to the total challenge number each year in an effort to slowing increase my reading capacity. As such, I’m very pleased with hitting 37/36. It was touch and go as I had a few months were I read or finished absolutely nothing, for one reason or another. All that being said, let’s take a look at some of my favourites and my newly coined, slightly off-piste, awards.

    Top Reads of 2022

    In no particular order because I honestly can’t choose between some of these amazing books.

    2022 Year-in-Review Awards

    Admittedly, there is some heavy crossover between the two lists nevertheless it has been a successful reading year and I am looking forward to 2023. If you want to see my most anticipated releases of the new year, check out my earlier post.

  • Top Anticipated Releases 2023

    As we’re reaching the end of 2022, many of us are looking forward into 2023 to see what goodies and delights await us. In this case: new books. I made myself a shelf on GoodReads specifically for books releasing in 2023 that I’m interested in and it’s already over 30-strong(!) so I have attempted to condense that list into my most, or top, anticipated titles here. These aren’t in a strict preference order so instead of numbering them, I’ve ranked them in groups as to how excited the prospect of each book makes me.

     

    Intrigued

    To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose

    This sounds interesting to me and I think it certainly deserves highlighting. I’m undecided whether it’s one I will prioritise just yet because I’m always a little wary when it comes to things tagged as YA. I don’t always get along with YA so I tend to wait until a few reviews from people I know start appearing before I jump in. That being said it’s a story about a teenage girl who finds a dragon egg and bonds with the hatchling; she is forced to go to a dragon school run by her people’s colonisers where she faces challenges that she must deal with, lest her dragon be killed. Coming-of-age, magic school, dragons? What’s not to be intrigued about!

     

    Paradise-1 by David Wellington

    Deep space, sci-fi horror? Yes, please! I’ve not come across Wellington before so I’m tempering my expectations (just in case, you understand) but from the blurb of Paradise-1, it certainly sounds right up my street. This year I have felt the need for a bit more sci-horror set in space so here’s hoping this turns out to be as cool as it sounds!

     

    I am excite

    Of War & Ruin by Ryan Cahill

    The only reason this isn’t in a higher level of excitement is because I’m still a bit behind on the series and need to get through Of Darkness & Light first. I suspect if I was fully up to date I’d be bumping this up the ranks considerably. Of War & Ruin will be the third instalment in Cahill’s hugely popular indie debut series The Bound and the Broken, which will eventually have five primary works in addition to novellas (there are two of these already). If you’ve not come across the series yet, do consider taking a look at Of Blood & Fire (book #1) or The Fall (first novella, #0.5 in the series.)

     

    The Keeper’s Six by Kate Elliott

    The cover draws me in on this one; there’s a gigantic skull with a portal through it into a lush green world and some teeny-tiny people trekking towards it. It captures my imagination and the description doesn’t fail to back it up. At only 208 pages, it sounds like it’s going to be action packed. A female protagonist (who isn’t a teenager) only adds to the stack of elements pulling me towards The Keeper’s Six.

     

    Godkiller by Hannah Kaner

    It’s called Godkiller. Anything that plays with the concept of killing gods and I am there. Add to that a gorgeous cover with some heavy nature vibes and the first line of the blurb: “Kissen kills gods for a living, and she enjoys it.”  I had been umm-ing and ahh-ing over this one but what tipped me over the edge into excitement has been seeing book community folks whose tastes I trust recommending it. 

     

    I’m Giddy

    Eleventh Cycle by Kian N. Ardalan

    It’s a big chonky grimdark, need I say more? OK, it also got 5 stars from John Mauro over at Grimdark Magazine – more? A foreboding figure adorning the cover; a tantalising blurb, and; the author is a lovely person active on the Keymark discord (formerly the SFF Oasis). If you’re still not convinced, I have heard nothing but amazing things about this upcoming book and I can’t wait to dig into it myself.

     

    The Sword Defiant by Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan

    Besides a totally amazing title and great cover, the blurb mentioning living weapons has pulled me in. “The sword cares not who it cuts…” – how delightfully sinister sounding! Given the success of The Black Iron Legacy I am keen to explore a new, dark world from this author and the information so far for The Sword Defiant sounds oppressively gloomy. Perfect!

     

    Play of Shadows / Malevolent Seven by Sebastien de Castell

    I’m putting these as an either/or situation because I just want another de Castell book to release already, regardless of whether it’s in The Greatcoats world or not. Both of these pique my interests and, given Play of Shadows repeated delays, I would be happy to get my hands on either next year!

     

    SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY

    Fractal Noise by Christopher Paolini

    Yes, Tor done f*cked up with the artwork for this by using some AI-generated elements (and continuing to use them after they discovered this fact). I am still super excited to read *the book itself*. I don’t agree with everyone who has been trying to bomb the rating by posting 1-star reviews to a book that hasn’t even released because they are upset by Tor’s failures regarding the cover. I really enjoyed the first Fractalverse novel and it is in no way the author’s fault that his publisher made such a grave error. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars was an excellent sci-fi epic that I was both excited to read and enjoyed greatly once I did. Here’s hoping book two will blow me away as well.

     

    The Judas Blossom by Steven Aryan

    A Persian-set fantasy interpretation of the Mongols invasion in the 13th Century by the author of the Quest for Heroes duology that I greatly enjoyed in 2022. I am keen to try more of Steven’s work and while I am eyeing up some of his back catalogue, this brand new beauty will be coming out in July 2023. The cover is enchanting and I can’t wait to get my hands on it!

     

    A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon

    I adored The Priory of the Orange Tree and the stunning artwork by Ivan Belijov is back again for this standalone prequel. Honestly, this went on my TBR before I’d even read a blurb for it; it’s an insta-buy for me and I have already pre-ordered special edition copies of both books via The Broken Binding (sorry, folks, it’s already sold out). It’s not all about the art though; the storytelling of Shannon in the first book was captivating and made me feel so much for the world and its characters. I genuinely can’t wait to get back into this world.

     

    A Shade of Madness by Thiago Abdalla

    The first book in this debut series, A Touch of Light, was one of my favourites of 2022 that left me dying to continue. Thankfully, A Shade of Madness is releasing early in 2023 to satiate that urge. The first book (and accompanying novella) were both excellent, riveting and wonderfully engrossing fantasy offerings. Thiago, as an added bonus, is also a very engaged and very friendly, kind author, which only adds to the experience. Bring me those gryffons! 

     

    How about you?

    Are any of these on your list of anticipated releases for 2023? If not, what is on your list? 

  • Review: A Cup of Tea at the Mouth of Hell – Luke Tarzian

    Review: A Cup of Tea at the Mouth of Hell – Luke Tarzian

    A Cup of Tea at the Mouth of Hell: (Or, an Account of Catastrophe by Stoudemire McCloud, Demon)A Cup of Tea at the Mouth of Hell: by Luke Tarzian
    My rating: 4 of 5 stars

    ‘A Cup of Tea…’ is a clever, at times surreal, hard-hitting exploration of grief. If you have ever experienced loss, you may see yourself reflected in Lucifer as he deteriorates over a missing kettle. A kettle given to him by his mother. It is often small, surprising things, that drag us back into our grief: a Christmas card, a certain drink, the passing thought “I bet they’d love this” that jars us into remembering that person is gone. Tarzian has expressed this perfectly within A Cup of Tea at the Mouth of Hell.

    It feels almost odd to offer praise for such a raw and vulnerable piece of work. It becomes very personal as Tarzian explores specifically his own grief and mental state following the sudden loss of his mother. It feels perhaps crass to say “well done!” when reading through such intimate thoughts and experiences. I can only hope a review goes some way to counteracting the heavy imposter syndrome Tarzian speaks of that is so synonymous with creative pursuits.

    There is no real resolution because grief doesn’t have a real resolution. Tarzian talks about his ongoing recovery from loss and the use of Lucifer and his kettle shows that loss can surprise us and take back over. It is inspiring to see the truth laid out bare in this novella both as an exercise in recovery and as a confirmation that we are not alone in how grief can derail us. As someone who lost a grandparent this year, I found ‘A Cup of Tea…’ to resonate strongly with my experiences and I found this somewhat of a comfort to see some reflection of my losses in Tarzian’s words.

    Whether it’s through the dreamlike, chaotic sequences in Hell or the raw, unbridled, journal-like entries from the author that follow; A Cup of Tea at the Mouth of Hell will take you on a journey through grief. At 90 pages, it is a short and impactful story that I certainly recommend as a window into grief and the toll it can take on us mentally, physically & spiritually.

  • The Mountain Moved: A Short Story

    The Mountain Moved: A Short Story

    This was written as part of a weekly writing challenge on The Midnight Faith discord, which focusses on dark, spooky, creepy fiction. The prompt was: mountains. {274 words}

     

    I sleep in the lap of the mountain. Turned on her side, she protects me. She provides food, shelter and affection. She loves me. No one can walk over the mountain except me; she won’t allow it. Before I came to the mountain, I was abandoned. I ate scraps and survived on the sparse charity of cruel men. I was scared, at first, when I arrived but she drew me close and kept me warm. 

    The village on the other side of the mountain is afraid of me. They think I bewitch their men and lead them to their deaths but it’s her. One attacked me when I was out in her forest. She tore his skin from his flesh and his head from his body. I ran. I know she will never hurt me. I ran home. To the place where I am safe because of her and I always will be. 

    They sent more men, to avenge their brother, to extract justice from me. She killed them all. She killed them because she loves me. Now they send everyone; all their women and their men. To kill the witch. To kill me. I can’t explain it wasn’t me; they will never listen, never believe. As long as the village sits in her shadow, I will never be safe. 

    The mountain moved. She rolled over onto her other side and buried them all. The village is gone; destroyed. The people are all dead; crushed. She was careful of me; she rolled back and settled down around me once more. I know she will do anything for me and I will never leave her.