James Nicoll Reviews

1980’s The Silver Sun is the second volume in Nancy Springer’s The Book of the Isle series. The Silver Sun is a heavily revised edition of 1977’s The Book of Suns.

The Isle was home to human folly but not willful malevolence. That changed when the Easterners attacked. Divided amongst themselves, the kingdoms of the Isle failed to unify against the existential threat posed by the invaders. Consequently, most of the Isle fell to the Easterners, whose rule is as deliberately cruel as it is unjust.

Seven generations after the invasion, hope appears in the form of a naked man running through a forest.

Read more ➤

Holy crap, it has been over a year since I wrote my last Tiptree Award review.

Nancy Springer’s standalone contemporary fantasy Larque on the Wing shared the 1994 Tiptree Award with Le Guin’s ​“The Matter of Segri.”

An outsider might say that artist Larque Harootunian is by many measures a success. She runs a thriving craft business; she’s married with children. Her marriage is somewhat unconventional, but it’s still within her comfort (or at least toleration) zone. The only notable off-notes in her outwardly successful life are the memories that haunt her. 

Granted, almost everyone is haunted by the ghosts of their past …but what would be metaphor for anyone else is literal truth for Larque. 

Read more ➤