books – High Urban Fantasy Jazz

The Minor Annoyances of Reading

Quibbles, really, but haven’t we all been launched into the stratosphere over a quibble or two? Or ten?

You Should Reread That Book You Hated in School

Can you imagine getting to read some Bradbury or Steinbeck and not having to write a five page double-spaced essay on it?

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes: Turn and Face the Wheel

Guys, I lived through the 2000s, which meant I already lived through Peak THEY CHANGED THAT FROM THE BOOK. I don’t have the energy for that anymore.

Subtle Pressure to Get You to Read Short Stories

I’m always consistently shocked when someone tells me they don’t like short stories. I know that doesn’t sound like a conversation that can come up a lot. I sound like some NASA douche at a party half-drunk on wine coolers and slurring at a friend of a friend’s neighbor I’ve managed to pin to theContinue reading “Subtle Pressure to Get You to Read Short Stories”

Live from Wheel of Time: Sexism? In My High Fantasy?

Spoilers for the series ahead. Let’s start this off with a simple message: I Am Not Saying Robert Jordan Was Sexist In fact, as I pointed out in another article, there are a lot of feminist aspects about the book that I really enjoyed. Hell, here’s one I missed: an Aes Sedai named Leane SharifContinue reading “Live from Wheel of Time: Sexism? In My High Fantasy?”

Live from Wheel of Time: The Seanchan Are the Absolute Worst

Spoilers throughout for the entire series, including the ending. As I discussed in a previous article, Robert Jordan’s worldbuilding in The Wheel of Time series is a masterclass on creating an entire continent filled with different, cohesive peoples and having them interact. The number one reason anyone who wants to write fantasy, especially a sprawlingContinue reading “Live from Wheel of Time: The Seanchan Are the Absolute Worst”

Live from Wheel of Time: Things I Didn’t Like

I already wrote about some of the things I liked about Wheel of Time. Definitely not all the things I like about the series, but I was bumping up to two thousand words and not everyone gets ten thousand words to make a point. Now that I’ve mentioned it… Today I Was Wearing a BlackContinue reading “Live from Wheel of Time: Things I Didn’t Like”

Lessons from Wheel of Time: Things I Liked

I don’t remember precisely when I started reading these books, but it’s been, like, five years. I wanted a super-long, super-involved fantasy series, and I was initially hesitant to read them for absolutely no good reason. None. I can’t be the only one who just hears about something and immediately shuts down, right? Like, I’mContinue reading “Lessons from Wheel of Time: Things I Liked”

The Dark Tower of Ass

Spoilers, hey. Okay, so, this isn’t so much a review of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series, but a brief look at why I hate every single word in all seven books. Hate. Hate. I hate these books like I hate the Nazis. I hate these books so much Emperor Palpatine is somewhere in spaceContinue reading “The Dark Tower of Ass”