Category Archives: Small Press Book Reviews

Sword of Shadows (Kristell Ink, Grimbold Books) by C.N. Lesley This book is all about a quest for a legendary sword, but the Excalibur of this tale is the key to an alien race. It’s not only a war of … Continue reading →

Pandora’s Gun by James Van Pelt (Faiwood Press)   If you enjoyed Paul Melko’s THE WALLS OF THE UNIVERSE, or Jay Lake’s ROCKET SCIENCE, you’ll love this! Peter is a high schooler who’s best friend is drifting away from much … Continue reading →

Back, Belly, & Side: True Lies and False Tales by Celeste Rite Baker (Aqueduct Press) Overall, I enjoyed reading this compilation of thirteen short stories by Celeste Rita Baker. As a collection, Back, Belly, & Side was thematically (mostly) consistent. … Continue reading →

Shadow Over Avalon by C. N. Lesley (Kristell Ink) Everything works in this truly different spinoff of the Arthurian legend. I’d reviewed C.N. Lesley’s riveting Darkspire Reaches so I was eager to read this, and knew it would be no … Continue reading →

The Stars Seem So Far Away by Margrét Helgadóttir (Fox Spirit Books) Margrét Helgadóttir is a Norwegian-Icelandic writer and editor who burst onto the scene in 2012. I’m very pleased she asked us to review The Stars Seem So Far … Continue reading →

Long Hidden: Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History edited by Rose Fox and Daniel José Older (Crossed Genres Publications) The editors start off in their introduction saying that before Long Hidden was a book, it was a discussion centering around … Continue reading →

Lights in the Deep by Brad R. Torgersen (Wordfire Press) My first exposure to the works of Brad R. Torgersen was the story “Ray of Light” in the November 2011 Analog. Like David Levine’s “Tk’Tk’Tk’, “ I thought it was … Continue reading →

Zeus is Dead by Michael G. Munz (Booktrope) Terry Pratchett meets Douglas Adams in this farce of Greek gods returning to modern times. The idiot ball, for those who are unaware, is the bane of good fiction. In any television … Continue reading →

THE GAIA WARS – Books One and Two by Kenneth G. Bennett Since I enjoyed EXODUS 2023 so much, I asked the author what else he had, and although these were published through Createspace, I had a go. I was … Continue reading →

Escape Plans by David Sakmyster (Wordfire Press) This short speculative fiction collection by veteran A&A author contains two stories published in this magazine: “Turning Time” and “The Wrong Basement.” The former is chilling, the latter whimsical and heartwarming. So I … Continue reading →