James Nicoll Reviews

Have a shot of concentrated joy, with fourteen stories of women in love… and their adorable magical pets! 

All proceeds from the collection will be donated to OutRight Action International, which fights for the rights of LGBTQIA people worldwide. 

In this enchanting collection, a flying cat transports love letters, a fox-dog and a pair of watercats help two lonely women launch a post-apocalyptic cat cafe, a baby griffin brings unexpected love to a runaway troll woman, and much, much more!

Includes all-new stories from Yoon Ha Lee, Pamela Dean, Zoe Chant, and more of your favorite authors.

“Deep Spring Farm,” by Romana Clifton. Can Melanie and a friendly ghost dog help a beautiful farmer protect her lettuce from spirits that stomp in the night?

“Lucky Day,” by Yoon Ha Lee. Which is harder, hiding a crush on the gorgeous woman in your role-playing game group, or hiding the unicorn figurine that just came to life?

“Beach Dirt on Bare Feet,” by Louise Long. It’s hard to trust humans when you’re a selkie, especially when a beachside ice cream date could lead to so much more.

“Cute as Hell,” by Caia Winter. You’d think two vampires would be a match for an adorable hellhound puppy, and yet…

“Watercat Cafe,” by Rachel Manija Brown. Ruthie intends to open the first cat cafe in her post-apocalyptic world, but the mysterious, wounded stranger she rescues could doom her dream – or save it.

“How to Get a Girlfriend (When You’re a Terrifying Monster),” by Marie Cardno. Trillin has no corporeal form, no mortal cultists ready to tear reality asunder in her name, and no girlfriend. It’s tough being an eldritch entity.

“Pawprints in the Snow,” by Zoe Chant. A lost cat leaves a path to love for a lonely snow leopard shifter.

“As if the Sun Came to Shine,” by Damkianna. An injured baby griffin catalyzes the relationship between a lovely changeling and a troll woman in hiding.

“Uncontrolled Variable,” by Sara Joiner. It’s hard to investigate magical seagrass when your mischievous teleporting cat keeps becoming part of the data.

“That Magic Touch,” by Hailey Thorne. Vanessa’s ex-BFF wants to tear a hole in reality, and it’s going to take all of Vanessa’s magic – and the help of a gorgeous Demi-Fae with a sword, not to mention a telepathic dog – to stop her.

“Memories of Magic,” by Elva Birch. An emergency vet gets an unexpected visit from a Christmas elf (not really) with a living plastic toy pegasus (really!)

“A Dog’s Chance,” by Celia Lake. Magician Anna keeps crossing paths with the mysterious dog-walking Una while investigating a case of magical hedgehogs on Hampstead Heath.

“Five Quests and the Oracle,” by Pamela Dean. A new Liavek novelette. Dri’s first acting role in a children’s play is complicated by her obstreperous cat, a pair of menacing wizards, and another first-time actress who wants to do more together than just practice their lines.

“The Mating Call of the Teleporting Warbler,” by Aster Glenn Gray. A winged cat flies love letters back and forth between a professor and a naturalist studying teleporting warblers. 

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‘Swashbuckling awesomeness … a definite winner’ John Gwynne, author of MaliceA brilliantly imagined saga of honour, glory and warfare, Call of the Bone Ships is the captivating epic fantasy sequel to RJ Barker’s The Bone Ships.Dragons have returned to the Hundred Isles. But their return heralds only war and destruction. When a horde of dying slaves are discovered in the bowels of a ship, Shipwife Meas and the crew of the Tide Child find themselves drawn into a vicious plot that will leave them questioning their loyalties and fighting for their lives. 

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The Mask of Mirrors is the unmissable start to the Rook & Rose trilogy, a darkly magical fantasy adventure in which a con artist returns to the city that betrayed her, determined to have her revenge – only to find that her fate might be to save it.

This is your past, the good and the ill of it, and that which is neither… Arenza Lenskaya is a liar and a thief, a pattern-reader and a daughter of no clan. Raised in the slums of Nadezra, she fled that world to save her sister.

This is your present, the good and the ill of it, and that which is neither… Renata Viraudax is a con artist recently arrived in Nadezra. She has one goal: to trick her way into a noble house and secure her fortune.

This is your future, the good and the ill of it, and that which is neither… As corrupt nightmare magic begins to weave its way through the city of dreams, the poisonous feuds of its aristocrats and the shadowy dangers of its impoverished underbelly become tangled — with Ren at their heart. And if she cannot sort the truth from the lies, it will mean the destruction of all her worlds.

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Cate Glass’s A Summoning of Demons marks the thrilling conclusion for the Chimera team, a ragtag crew who use their forbidden magic for the good of the kingdom.Catagna has been shaken to its core. The philosophists insist that a disastrous earthquake has been caused by an ancient monster imprisoned below the earth, who can only be freed with magic. In every street and market, the people of Catagna are railing against magic-users with a greater ferocity than ever before, and magic hunters are everywhere. Meanwhile, Romy has been dreaming. Every night, her dreams are increasingly vivid and disturbing. Every day, she struggles to understand the purpose of the Chimera’s most recent assignment from the Shadow Lord. As Romy and the others attempt to carry out their mission, they find themselves plunged into a mystery of corruption and murder, myth and magic, and a terrifying truth: the philosophists may have been right all along

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September 2020

20 books read. 9.5 by women (48%), 9.5 by men (48%), 1 by a non-binary author (5%), and 9 works by POC (45%)

Year to Date

189 books read. 101 by women (53%), 77.5 by men (41%), 7 by non-binary authors (4%), 3.5 by unknown (2%), and 75.5 by POC (40%)

Charts below cut

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A rare, searing portrayal of the future of climate change in South Asia. A streetrat turned revolutionary and the disillusioned hacker son of a politician try to take down a ruthlessly technocratic government that sacrifices its poorest citizens to build its utopia. The South Asian Province is split in two. Uplanders lead luxurious lives inside a climate-controlled biodome, dependent on technology and gene therapy to keep them healthy and youthful forever. Outside, the poor and forgotten scrape by with discarded black-market robotics, a society of poverty-stricken cyborgs struggling to survive in slums threatened by rising sea levels, unbreathable air, and deadly superbugs. Ashiva works for the Red Hand, an underground network of revolutionaries fighting the government, which is run by a merciless computer algorithm that dictates every citizen’s fate. She’s a smuggler with the best robotic arm and cybernetic enhancements the slums can offer, and her cargo includes the most vulnerable of the city’s abandoned children. When Ashiva crosses paths with the brilliant hacker Riz-Ali, a privileged Uplander who finds himself embroiled in the Red Hand’s dangerous activities, they uncover a horrifying conspiracy that the government will do anything to bury. From armed guardians kidnapping children to massive robots flattening the slums, to a pandemic that threatens to sweep through the city like wildfire, Ashiva and Riz-Ali will have to put aside their differences in order to fight the system and save the communities they love from destruction. 

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This is what Hugo pins look like. Mine (2020’s and a replacement for the 2019 pin that never got to me) arrived last week.

And here they are with my previous pair from 2010, 2011, along with my Tiptree (now Otherwise) jury pin, and a SPF pin, in my John Singer bowl.

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Although things have changed in the other world of Tredana during Sybil’s six year absence, she is still willing to fight for her friends.

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Six years ago yesterday, James Nicoll Reviews went live. With the assistance of webperson Adrienne L. Travis, editor Karen Lofstrom, and my patrons at Patreon, I’ve been privileged enough to read and review just under 1650 books to date. Thank you all. 

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The Bookweaver’s Daughter is an #OwnVoices YA fantasy — a tale of magic, Indian lore, and radical female friendship, written by debut author, Malavika Kannan, when she was 17 year old. Malavika is an Indian-American novelist, feminist writer, and political activist raised in the suburbs of Central Florida and currently a freshman at Stanford University.In the ancient Indian kingdom of Kasmira, stories don’t begin with ​“once upon a time.” Instead, Kasmiris start a woman’s story with those who came before her: her parents, grandparents, ancestors. For fourteen-year-old Reya Kandhari, her story always starts the same: with the fabled line of Bookweavers, tracing centuries back to the lost Yogis — the mythical guardians of Kasmiri culture who created the world itself. As a result, Reya’s entire life has been shaped by words. Words of mystique and mythology. Words of magic that allow her father, the Bookweaver, to bring his stories to life. Words of power that make him the target of tyrants who will stop at nothing to destroy magic in Kasmira. Living in disguise as a peasant in the fields, Reya’s sole focus is protecting the Bookweaver’s secret. But when her father is taken, Reya must flee deep into the jungle, alone with her best friend Nina and one ancient book. Grappling with Reya’s newfound magic, the two girls find themselves in the center of a war of liberation where magic reigns unchecked, and destiny takes a dark turn. As the stakes get higher, Reya realizes that her father’s legacy contains more power than she ever imagined. For Reya Kandhari is more than just a fugitive — she is a symbol of revolution. And that makes her a threat. In a tale of magic, Indian lore, and radical female friendship, Reya must pass the final test: the Bookweaver’s daughter must weave her own destiny. The fate of Kasmira depends on it. 

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