James Nicoll Reviews

How is it fall term already? Ah, the sunny optimism of incoming students, before embittered malaise sets in. That usually takes at least two weeks.

I only just now realize I forgot to mention something important in my August In Review: on August 11 I lost both the Hugo and the Aurora awards back to back. In both cases, the process was painless, even enjoyable.

James Nicoll Reviews is supported in part by Patreon subscribers, to whom I am very grateful. You can join my Patreon here. You too can have ongoing say in which books I review! 

For more immediate gratification, consider commissioning a review. Please see my guidelines here. Note that The Number of the Beast (under both titles) is a special case. 

Spontaneous donations can be done via my Paypal.

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[Added at 10 PM]

I only just now realize I forgot to mention something important in my August In Review: on August 11 I lost both the Hugo and the Aurora awards back to back. In both cases, the process was painless, even enjoyable. 

August 2024

22 works reviewed. 12 by women (55%), 10 by men (45%), 0 by non-binary authors (0%), 0 by authors whose gender is unknown (0%), and 9.5 by POC (43%).

2024 to Date

175 works reviewed. 98 by women (56%), 74 by men (42%), 2 by non-binary authors (1%), 1 by authors whose gender is unknown (1%), and 70.5 by POC (40%).

Grand Total to Date

2704 works reviewed. 1510 by women (56%), 1129 by men (42%), 42 by non-binary authors (2%), 23 by authors whose gender is unknown (1%), and 842.25 by POC (31%).

Government Types August 2024

Total 22, Not Applicable 1 (5%), Unclear 3 (14%), Anarchy 0 (0%), Pure democracy 0 (%), Representative democracy 7 (32%), Oligarchy 10 (45%), Autocracy 1 (5%).

Government Type 2024 TD

Total 175, Not Applicable 20 (11%), Unclear 12 (7%), Anarchy 6 (3%), Pure democracy 1 (0.6%), Representative democracy 56 (32%), Oligarchy 74 (42%), Autocracy 6 (3%).

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Proceedings of the Institute for Twenty-First Century Studies edited by Theodore R. Cogswell (December 1992)

In 1959 the late Ted Cogswell started a ​”fanzine for pros” with the mock-pompous title [i]Publications of the Institute of Twenty-First Century Studies,[/i] soon to be known as PITFCS. Its circulation was limited to science fiction writers and editors, and its contents were mostly their letters discussing their own and each other’s work. PITFCS quickly became [i]the[/i] place where s‑f professionals talked to each other about the problems of the field, both literary and economic.

The discussions were frank, discerning, insightful, humorous, occasionally a little insulting, and even a bit bawdy. PITFCS was where the pros could let their hair down. It lasted only a few years — Cogswell had to give it up in order to write his doctoral dissertation. Then the Science Fiction Writers of America was organized, and SFWA’s publications began filling the niche that PITFCS had occupied. PITFCS was short-lived, but has been remembered with joy all these years, and Advent is proud to reprint it now.

(How is the acronym PITFCS pronounced? Don’t ask. But if you insist, Tony Boucher tells you in a limerick.)

This volume reprints PITFCS from first issue to last, and adds an index which is perhaps more comprehensive than it needs to be. However, we have omitted most of the typos for which Ted Cogswell was famous. (His motto was ​”PITFCS are [i]never[/i] proofread.”)

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The Year’s Best African Speculative Fiction (2023) edited by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki & Chinaza Eziaghighala (November 2024)

This is the third volume in this highly praised series (the first won the World Fantasy Award). Previous works been praised for their eclectic mix of stories, offering a panorama of themes and styles. For instance, the 2021 edition included a story about a woman struggling with her identity and relationship in the face of a thought-recording device, a tale of a man fostering a rapidly evolving robot, and an adventurous narrative about a sentient robot dog engaging in space piracy. These stories not only explored advanced technologies and speculative scenarios but also delved deep into human emotions, relationships, and societal issues.

Themes of personal struggles, such as dealing with depression, anxiety, and feelings of alienation, were also prominent. These were manifested through unique and powerful metaphors, like a woman whose detachable body parts symbolized her sense of disintegration and invisibility, or a story that portrayed the torment of self-contempt through the constant barrage of negative thoughts from imaginary entities.

The anthology also ventured into mythic dimensions, echoing the voices and histories of entire cultures through concise yet profound storytelling. For example, flash fiction pieces in the collection reached the heights of epic poetry, encapsulating the journey of human life and cultural evolution.

With such a backdrop, the 2023 volume can be expected to continue this tradition of blending speculative elements with deep human experiences and cultural narratives. It’s likely to feature stories that push the boundaries of imagination while staying grounded in the complexities of the human condition. Readers can anticipate a collection that not only entertains but also provokes thought and offers new perspectives on both the future and the present. The anthology is not just a showcase of speculative fiction; it’s a celebration of African storytelling, creativity, and the endless possibilities within the realm of speculative fiction. 

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How to Summon a Fairy Godmother by Laura J. Mayo (October 2024)

If a fairy godmother can get one sister into a marriage, getting another out of one should be easy… 

Lady Theodosia Balfour has certainly gotten the short end of the stick — her stepsister, the newly crowned Princess Beatrice, is telling everyone in polite society that Theo, her sister, and their mother are evil, wicked, and horrid people who treated her like a slave. Though Theo knows this isn’t exactly true, it seems her life is thoroughly ruined by the rumor. With the Balfour family estate on the verge of bankruptcy, Theo’s only path forward is a forced betrothal to the Duke of Snowbell, a foul-tempered geezer who wishes only to use her as a brood mare for spare heirs. 

Desperate for help, Theo clings to the only thing that might save her: the rumor of a fairy godmother, one that supposedly helped her stepsister secure a prince. After discovering a way to summon a fairy in Beatrice’s old room, Theo thinks her prayers have been answered. But the fairy she meets isn’t at all what she imagined. Drop-dead gorgeous, incredibly cunning, and slightly devious, Cecily of the Ash Fairies is much more interested in gathering powerful favors and smoking her pipe than providing charitable magic for humans in a bind.

Before she receives magical assistance, Cecily sets Theo to three tasks, seemingly to prove that Theo is a selfless and kind person. Helping her along the way are Cecily’s familiars, the flirty human-turned-mockingbird Phineas and the aloof Kasra, a fox shapeshifter who should not be as handsome as he is for someone with such cutting remarks. As Theo works on her tasks, she shockingly finds kinship with the magical creatures she’s helping, and starts to wonder if a continued life among her human peers is what she really wants after all.

From debut author Laura J. Mayo comes a hilarious new spin on the Cinderella tale!

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When the Earth Was Green by Riley Black (February 2025)

Winner, A Friend of Darwin Award, 2024

A gorgeously composed look at the longstanding relationship between prehistoric plants and life on Earth

Fossils plants allow us to touch the lost worlds from billions of years of evolutionary backstory. Each petrified leaf and root show us that dinosaurs, saber-toothed cats, and even humans would not exist without the evolutionary efforts of their leafy counterparts. It has been the constant growth of plants that have allowed so many of our favorite, fascinating prehistoric creatures to evolve, oxygenating the atmosphere, coaxing animals onto land, and forming the forests that shaped our ancestors’ anatomy. It is impossible to understand our history without them. Or, our future.

Using the same scientifically-informed narrative technique that readers loved in the award-winning The Last Days of the Dinosaurs, in When the Earth Was Green, Riley Black brings readers back in time to prehistoric seas, swamps, forests, and savannas where critical moments in plant evolution unfolded. Each chapter stars plants and animals alike, underscoring how the interactions between species have helped shape the world we call home. As the chapters move upwards in time, Black guides readers along the burgeoning trunk of the Tree of Life, stopping to appreciate branches of an evolutionary story that links the world we know with one we can only just perceive now through the silent stone, from ancient roots to the present. 

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The Dark Issue 111 published by The Dark Magazine (August 2024)

The Magazine of Dark Fantasy.

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James Nicoll Reviews is supported in part by Patreon subscribers, to whom I am very grateful. You can join my Patreon here. You too can have ongoing say in which books I review! 

For more immediate gratification, consider commissioning a review. Please see my guidelines here. Note that The Number of the Beast (under both titles) is a special case. 

Spontaneous donations can be done via my Paypal.

Read more ➤

July 2024

23 works reviewed. 13 by women (57%), 10 by men (43%), 0 by non-binary authors (0%), 0 by authors whose gender is unknown (0%), and 8 by POC (35%).

2024 to Date

153 works reviewed. 86 by women (56%), 64 by men (42%), 2 by non-binary authors (1%), 1 by authors whose gender is unknown (1%), and 61 by POC (40%).

Grand Total to Date

2682 works reviewed. 1498 by women (56%), 1119 by men (42%), 42 by non-binary authors (2%), 23 by authors whose gender is unknown (1%), and 832.75 by POC (31%).

Government Types July 2024

Total 23, Not Applicable 4 (17%), Unclear 2 (9%), Anarchy 0 (0%), Pure democracy 0 (%), Representative democracy 6 (26%), Oligarchy 11 (48%), Autocracy 0 (0%).

Government Type 2024 TD

Total 153, Not Applicable 18 (12%), Unclear 10 (6%), Anarchy 6 (4%), Pure democracy 1 (1%), Representative democracy 49 (32%), Oligarchy 64 (42%), Autocracy 5 (3%).

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Negative Girl by Libby Cudmore (September 2024)

For fans of Cottonmouths by Kelly J. Ford comes Negative Girl: an evocative, moody, neo-noir thriller that explores obsession and people dying across America’s forgotten spaces.

Martin Wade lived hard in his youth, but unlike many of his former bandmates and roadie friends, he didn’t die young. Instead he hit the recovery path, cleaned up his life, and became a private investigator in a dying city in upstate New York.

When his heavily tattooed and scarred assistant Valerie sets up an appointment with a young woman who needs help keeping her biological father away from her, none of the three realize that the father is Martin’s old bandmate, still using, and on a destructive path that will soon be headed straight for Martin’s clean life. As Martin struggles, Valerie becomes increasingly obsessed with their new client’s life.

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