Readers of my reviews and blog know I love Lumsden’s noir modern alt-history fantasy world. What to Expect A new adventure for Shade the Collector and his buddy Dwayne. This time a river spirit entrusts him with a coprolite (petrified excrement) to hide and guard. Naturally, the shadowy intelligence agency that employs him on occasion […]
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Book Review: Mole Creek, by James Dunbar
Mole Creek is not far from where I live, and as I enjoy Tasmanian crime fiction I thought I’d give this a try. What to Expect Expect a fast-paced thriller, taking place in modern day Australia and during the Vietnam War. Most of the novel is from the point of view of the protagonist, Xander […]
Book Review: An Instance of the Fingerpost, by Iain Pears
I’ve had this on my TBR for a while, and when it was recommended by The Rest Is History podcast I decided it was time. What to Expect A Rashomon-style story in 17th century England. A Venetian dilettante physician arrives in England nominally to address his father’s collapsing business concerns, but spends very little time […]
Blurbing Books 🤪
I see variations of this floating around the net: Funnsies aside, here’s an explanation of why authors find it hard to write blurbs for their own books (so you feel smarter) and what to do about it (so you can act smarter). Why do we find it hard to blurb our books? This comes down […]
SeriesReview: The Dungeoneers, by Jeffery Russell
Because who doesn’t need a bit of escapist fun on occasion? What to Expect Expect a light-hearted comedy, a satire about Dungeons & Dragons and similar fantasy role-playing games. A city guard finds himself accompanying a team of professional dungeon-clearing dwarves due to mistaken identity, and everyone gets a bit stressed when they find his […]
Book Review: Coffee Cakes & Dragon Aches, by Cherie Baker
This came up as a random recommendation, and looked cute enough to try. What to Expect A modern day, hard-to-classify, fantasy tale about an apprentice magician and unusual circumstances. AS Raj is following various assignments towards graduation as a ‘mathemagician’, he runs further into all sorts of situations. At the same time, Eliza, a baby […]
What’s alternate about history?
This post originally appeared on Simon Williams newsletter. He writes dark fantasy, and we’ve hosted his characters on The Protagonist Speaks. Go check his work out! Readers are often surprised that straight-up historical fiction requires “world-building,” a term most often associated with fantasy and science fiction. I mean, it’s just history, right? Don’t we know […]
Book Review: Vanishing Falls, by Poppy Gee
Continuing my quest of reading Tasmanian crime fiction and mysteries. What to Expect Expect a psychological thriller set rural Tasmania, in a fictional village that feels true to real life. A husband comes home late at night to find the front door open and everything in place except his wife which seems to have gone […]
Researching Historical Architecture (and its Embedded Ghosts)
In writing the Sydney Sandstone novella, the very first DI Jack Finkel case, I ended up doing a lot of procrastination research into the early history of the City of Sydney. In the process, I uncovered some amazing material, which I thought I’d share with you here. This is both about the beautiful historical nuggets […]
TWO new DI Jack Finkel stories!
For those who missed them, you can now enjoy two new Detective Inspector Jack Finkel mysteries! Pixie Dust & Fireworks Sydney is famous for its New Year’s Eve’s fireworks show. Every year tens of thousands flock around the famous harbour to view them in person, and millions more around the world watch the spectacular welcoming […]
FELIX THE FOX MYSTERIES 