All of the edits are finally done! My debut short story “The Boy Who Became an Entire Planet: is coming out March 5, 2024 in the anthology To Root Somewhere Beautiful: An Anthology of Reclamation, edited by. Lauren T. Davila and published by Outland Entertainment. Check out the cover below!
My YA sci-fi short story takes places in the very far future, where humanity’s population has exceeded Earth and thus set out to find other worlds. Each different culture gets its own star system and within the Mundo System, explorers of Latin American heritage find their new homeworlds. However, Cubanascnan, the new planet for the Cuban explorers has a very hostile environment–the vegetation is sentient (think Jeff VanderMeer’s Annihilation)! Rafael Silva and Beatriz Villaverde, descendants of scientists who studied the environment of Cubanascnan, must find a way to subdue the sentient environment, though they may not be aware at just how “sentient” all those plants are.
To say more would be spoilers, but I am so happy that something of mind is finally getting published. I drew upon the history of Cuba, my father’s motherland, and the beauty of its nature for inspiration for this story. For all that Cuba has gone through, the island is still beautiful. This was a story I submitted to a writing competition years ago, but as far as I know only the winner was ever notified of the results. Sheila Colón-Bagley, author of La Noche Before Three Kings Day, notified me of the initial call for stories and I am ever thankful that she did. I am also thankful to the editor Lauren and Alana, the editor at Outland for helping polish this story. I think some of my newer stories are much better written, though they remain unpublished. I am joined by many other accomplished writers here; don’t know if any others are debuting too, but it’s great to see my name alongside theirs.
Please, add it to your GoodReads and pre-order or order from Amazon or Barnes & Noble. It will be available in stores as well.
So instead of writing this at the end of the year, I decided to add each read as I finished them. So, here’s everything:
Fiction
Leech by Hiron Ennes. A decent Gothic debut that had a predictable plot twist. Ennes had great prose, if not majorly chosen from a thesaurus. It’s cast of characters is memorable, but it just didn’t quite stick the landing.
The King of Elfland’s Daughter by Lord Dunsany. A beautifully written early fantasy novel that inspired J. R. R. Tolkien and so many other authors. While it took a bit to get a handle of the prose and the pacing, it’s a nice little story. My review here.
The Might of Monsters by Maria Ying. The sequel to The Grace of Sorcerers is fun, sexy, primal, and bloody. One of my favorite characters Recadat Kongmanee returns to this urban fantasy world. A lot of fun with a lot more poignancy this time.
The Demon of the House of Hua by Maria Ying. A Gothic prequel to both The Grace of Sorcerers and The Might of Monsters. It is a poignant little story about the lesbian warlocks of the Hua family. A little sadder than the main installments of the series; it could’ve been a bit more Gothic. Nonetheless, a good read.
The Word for World is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin. As anyone knows, Le Guin is a complicated author for me. I like some of her stuff, not a lot of it. Her concepts are great, her execution can leave something to be desired. You’ll be happy to know that The Word for World is Forest is one of her more favorable works for me. It isn’t perfect by any stretch of the word, but definitely more provocative and nuanced, albeit I found the main antagonist one-dimensional. She doesn’t answer every single questions in regards to the usage of violence, but nonetheless she points out the murkiness of it all. My review.
Fevered Star by Rebecca Roanhorse. The sequel to Black Sun was a conflicting read for me. Roanhorse did definitely improve upon some things and expanded on others from the first book, but other parts of it felt occasionally bloated or restrained. If anything, I am in for Serapio and Xiala.
A Children’s Bible by Lydia Millet. A surprise of a read! This little literary novel packs a powerful punch. Paralleling the experiences of the teenage main character Evie, her younger brother Jack, and their friends to stories and messages from the Bible, Millet crafts a poignant story about the environmental disaster affecting our world and how the older generation is doing nothing to remedy it. It’s not a religious book, but one can derive a theological message from it, probably. My review.
The Warlord of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Probably the best Barsoom book so far! John Carter’s passion for Dejah Thoris is so palpable in these pages and he would do anything for her. I also really liked the ending of this one.
Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter. Vassa in the Night is an example how you can do a YA fairy-tale retelling in a good, unique, and weird way. Seriously, I wish they were more like this. However, the climax was soured by a certain decision the protagonist came to that made no sense, had no development, and ultimately resulted in pointlessness. My review.
Clay’s Ark by Octavia Butler. Truly, one of the most brutal novels I’ve ever read. I was left raw and breathless afterward. Though perhaps that was Butler’s intention.
The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly. I was pleasantly surprised by this re-imagining of fairy-tales with a darker twist that follow a boy falling into another world. It is ultimately a coming-of-age story and and an overcoming of grief. I am excited that the sequel is coming out later this year!
Six-Gun Snow White by Catherynne M. Valente. Snow White, but in the Wild West. What a combination! Sadly, the story falls apart towards the ending the pacing becomes incredibly rushed. The book has no room the breath. I’ve read Valente’s other novella Silently and Very Fast and I loved it, but this one missed the mark. I do like Valente’s writing style and hope to read something better by her again someday.
The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. A re-imagining of The Island of Dr. Moreau by H. G. Wells set against late 1800s Mexico. I am convinced at this point that Moreno-Garcia cannot write a bad book. This book wasn’t perfect and it wasn’t as good as the previous books I read by her, but it was still good. Bittersweet endings are my favorite kind. The book had a lot to saw about those who’re in-between while bringing to the forefront some Mexican history that might not as well be known to those outside of Mexico. My review.
Red as Blood, or Tales from the Sisters Grimmer by Tanith Lee. This is technically a collection of short stories, not a novel. But include it here anyway. I have been wanting to read this collection for a long while and for the most part it did not disappoint. I particularly loved the titular story about a vampiric Snow White, decades before Neil Gaiman’s story showed up, the Gothic story of a Mithraic Rapunzel, and the very feminist version of Little Red Riding Hood. Most of these stories are written with gorgeous prose and ultimately tell a story (again, for most of them) of what is truly powerful and dark hidden in women. Lee is an absolute genius My review.
The Magical Imperfect by Chris Baron. The first Middle Grade novel I read in years! It was a wonderful read about a Jewish boy with select mutism and a Filipina girl with eczema. It definitely tugged at the heartstrings at times. You may wonder after reading this if there was any magic at all. Who knows? If there is any magic in it, it’s the magic of everything turning out okay for those around you.
The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean. This debut novel is filled with a unique and weird concept: a race of people who eat books and drink ink for sustenance and their mind eating fellows who prehensile tongues sucks people’s minds dry. It follows one women in the past and present as she navigates her freedom from the book eater Families. Despite this unique premise, The Book Eaters felt like it needed more to stand on its own–apparently Dean wanted to do a series, but publishing only let her do one. Shame. I think Dean can excel more with a sophomore novel.
The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells. This little classic pleasantly surprised me! I had been wanting to read it ever since I finished The Daughter of Doctor Moreau to see the original story. Some of the archaic language gets in the way sometimes, but other than that it’s a thoughtful look at humanity’s relationship with animals and the beats among themselves.
Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin. A classic of queer fiction, one that I’ve wanted to read for a long time. It is a somber, but honest look at the turmoil of being a bisexual man. It is quietly gut-wrenching at times, at others a poignant slap to the face. If Baldwin has any sort of message, it’s that without affection, queer men are nothing. My review.
Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters. Damn. Damn, what a book! Reese, a trans woman whose ex, Ames, detransitioned and now living as a man, sleeps with married men and chasers and men to feel something. But what she really wants is a child. Ames, however, has just knocked up his boss Katrina who isn’t sure she wants the baby. An honest, natural, and unflinching story about the messy wants and desires of trans women. My review.
Feed Them Silence by Lee Mandelo. I really loved Mandelo’s debut Summer Sons, and Feed Them Silence is a worthy sophomore publication. As a stoic woman buries herself in her research with a wolf she’s neurally linked to, she finds herself taking that wolf’s primality but giving nothing of herself in return, much as she does to everyone else around her. A bittersweet tale.
The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw. Absolutely one of the best horror/fairy-tale re-imaginings I’ve ever read. A flesh-eating mermaid is joined by a non-binary plague doctor as they journey through a world brought to its end by the mermaids daughters, who’re reincarnations of her sisters. Together, they fine a village of children who worship three Frankenstein-like surgeons who partake in grotesque vivisections. It’s not 100% perfection, but it’s got gorgeous prose that enlivens all of the descriptions in the story. From the wintery, post-apocalyptic-esque landscape to the gore and evisceration that occurs on page. Absolutely amazing!
The Fall of Koli by M. R. Carey. Whew! The last book in the Rampart trilogy. This trilogy has been difficult to read, mostly because of pacing issues and some concerns with character development. Still! M. R. Carey succeeded in making me care about this world and characters. Out of all the books here, this is one where I want something similar. If you know of any piece of media–books, TV, movies, anime, whatever–that has characters like Koli, Monono, and Cup, let me know!
Drinking Sapphire Wine by Tanith Lee. The sequel to Don’t Bite the Sun gives a firm conclusion to our nameless, genderfluid main character’s journey. While not as in-depth as its predecessor, It’s still a fun novella. If anything, Lee shows us the mirage that is utopia.
Night Shine by Tessa Gratton. Hands down, one of the best YA fantasies I’ve read in a long time. Beautifully written and queer, it is a story reminiscent of the world and themes of the Earthsea Cycle, but imagine if that series was written by Tanith Lee instead of Ursula K. Le Guin. I have never seen such prose and nuanced themes before. My review.
The Worm and His Kings by Hailey Piper. An enjoyable cosmic horror novella from one of the rising stars of modern horror. While a bit slow in the beginning, Piper manages to nail the Lovecraftian atmosphere and description in her own way while keeping the sense of dread constant.
Mordew by Alex Pheby. Mordew was a strange book to read taking place in a weird world and difficult to rate. Overall, it was a fascinating world held back by a lack of interiority from the main character.
Thuvia, Maid of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. A fun little addition to the Barsoom series. Repetitive of John and Dejah’s journey, but it was nice to see Thuvia have a little more gusto than Dejah.
The Sun and the Void by Gabriela Romero-Lacruz. This is by no means a perfect novel. It’s a debut with some pacing issues and a few world-building ones too. However, I was drawn to this book after accusations were made against it by the Book Community accusing it of promoting certain things. Upon reading it, I discovered these to be lies. My review.
The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown. A perfect start to Halloween 2023! Sort, sweet (well, bloody), and to the point, it is a great sci-fi horror short experience. If you really like the Alien franchise, then you’ll get a kick out of this one!
Maeve Fly by C. J. Leede. Leede’s debut is one of the most promising I’ve ever read. It presents us with a brutal women with no trauma or abuse in her back story and shows us the haunted corridors of her mind and desires. I just wish it had lived up to the blurbs on its back and been more gorier.
Goddess of Filth by V. Castro. Unfortunately, this was my weakest read of Halloween 2023 so far. I hate that my first book by Castro was this disappointing. The book is too short and needs some breathing room to develop its characters and themes fully. Also, there was zero sense of dread going on. I hope my next Castro read is better.
Boys in the Valley by Philip Fracassi. Hands down, one of the best horror novels I’ve ever read and the best novel I read in October. My first Fracassi read is a great one! Demonic possession, brutally violent, and nuance discussions of faith makes this a refreshing read. And that ending…my God! That ending! I was in tears! My review.
Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko. I was once again blessed with another good YA fantasy. Raybearer was a book I heard much praise about, and it’s deserved! This whole book had a sense of wonder running throughout it, even during the darker moments of the book. The sense of “joy” that J. R. R. Tolkien talked about in his essay “On Fairy-Stories” runs throughout this book. My review.
Volkhavaar by Tanith Lee. When you start reading this book, it feels like you’re in a for a typical 1970s fantasy novel with romantic elements, until it’s not. This lesser known Lee work has some nice subversions of the genre at the time. As per usual, Lee’s commentary is never ham-fisted, but it something that picks your brain and makes it gradually rise out of you as you think and read on. Unfortunately, there were some things in this book that will be discomforting to some readers. My review.
The Do More Club by Dana Kramaroff. Second Middle Grade read under my belt. Josh is a Jewish oy who moves to a new school synagogue after an anti-Semitic defacement at his old school. Josh wants all of this to stop, but he may just realize he may have to do something himself. This book focuses on a grim but necessary subject matter and the skepticism towards things getting better. A lot happens to poor Josh, but the book does end on a hopeful note.
Saint Elspeth by Wick Welker. Welker is a wonderful indie writer of hard science fiction, and this book doesn’t falter in that stride. Through a jaded woman’s eyes we try to understand the presence of a mysterious alien race and what their goals are, amidst a background of post-apocalyptical political upheaval. I really enjoyed the character work in this book, it’s rare we get an older female protagonist in hard sci-fi and one who’s so fleshed out.
The Last Dragoners of Bowbazar by Indra Das. Hands down, one of my favorite books of all time, not just 2023. I loved Das’ The Devourers, even with all its rawness and flaws, and I hated that I had to wait so long to read another one of their books. But it was worth the wait. A cross between Tanith Lee, Gene Wolfe, Ursula K. Le Guin, and J. R. R. Tolkien, it’s a beautifully-written story about being stuck between two worlds and wondering how you can get to the dragons. For nearly a decade, I had become board with dragons, but Das managed to make me love them, and this story, all over again. My review.
Moon Dark Smile by Tessa Gratton. My final read of 2023 is the sequel to Night Shine. Taking place a generation later, it follows Princess Raliel Dark Smile as she travels the empire with the great demon of the palace to seek its freedom–and her own. While a little bit more flawed than its predecessor in some areas, this was a great closing out of this duology. I hope in my heart and soul that there will be more books someday, because as I said before, this could be the new Earthsea. The prose is gorgeous and the discussion of being in-between was so thoughtful and prudent. I really will miss these characters and series. My review.
Comics
Lovesick by Luana Vecchio. Whew! This mini-series. Lovesick was a depraved, concept-driven story about a dominatrix who livestreamed killing her clients online. As the story progressed over the issues, we see that the titular dominatrix, Domino, harbors even more depraved desires, and those with just as depraved or even more depraved–wow, I’m saying depraved a lot–are after her. The later issues are more graphic than the firsts. There’s a weird, Sadean philosophy going on within the story. I can’t promise that this series is for everyone, though it is one of those series for all its flaws and plusses, you just cannot look away.
(I think this is a different file image than to one for the feature image, but anyway, it’s an image of Lisa Simpson looking down at an empty plate from The Simpsons.)
Wow! It’s been a while! Said I would use WordPress more regularly after my short story got accepted. Speaking of which, “The Boy who Became an Entire Planet” with be out February 6, 2024 in the anthology To Root Somewhere Beautiful: An Anthology of Reclamation. Add it to your GoodReads!
Anyway, so…I’m querying again. A book that I’ve been writing and rewriting since 2017 is back in the querying world. I’ve been calling this book my “Lovecraftian witch book” and it’s been a long process of writing, trying to figure out plot points, rewriting, finding the correct tone, rewriting, using the right writing style, rewriting, editing, beta reader feedback, revising again, and then WAMO! Finally, a completed draft of appropriate word count. The query letter was not too difficult to write this time, as I used a format from editor Jeni Chappelle. I had initially subbed to her during a past RevPit, and while she passed, she sent me the query letter formatting tips; I don’t know if it’s obtainable from any of her sites, but I still keep it on me.
As for the dreaded synopsis…God have mercy. I had to get a friend to look at it for me. E. M. Anderson, the author of The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher, gave me some feedback that helped me get it to a tighter two page synopsis. I also took a glimpse at Terry J. Benton-Walker’s post about conquering the synopsis at The BIPOC Bookshelf. Terry is author of both Blood Debts and Alex Wise vs. the End of the World. With E. M.’s eyes and Terry’s post, I feel more confident with my synopsis, though I still hate writing synopses.
So, what do I, a writer who has queried so many times–probably when he wasn’t quite read yet–have to say now other than I feel what I’ve got is stronger? Basically this: I’m being more patient this time.
My previous abandoned Necromancy book was queried over a 100 times and never got a bite. One of the previous drafts of the Lovecraftian witch book got two partial requests, but both were eventually rejected. I was crushed. However, I’m taking things slowly this time. As I write this, it is December 2023. Agents and other publishing workers slow down during this time year, so if you’re experience silence on your querying end, that’s mostly why. Mostly. I am still querying almost every day, especially when I get rejections, but I’m not expecting anything to happen immediately. The entire querying process and the journey of writing the book and rewriting and editing it to the proper place is humbling. We love all the stories we write–and we should! However, publishing is, to quote Bart Simpson, “a hideous bitch goddess.” Everyone’s querying journey is different and I cannot speak to the hardships and hurdles that other authors have to face, but my journey this far has made me learn some things:
Sometimes it may just not be the right time for your book, even if it’s a good book. Whether because what you wrote is not the current thing of interest or not trending on the abyssal, hellish vortex known as BookTok or because the right agent and editor are not accepting submissions, sometimes it’s not the time. This doesn’t mean the story has to be forever benched or forgotten, many authors say a story they wrote years before eventually got published, but often times the stars just aren’t aligned right.
Really, really think about the book you wrote. I thought I was hot shit when the first mess of a draft of the Lovecraftian witch book first came out. Yes, someone who knew absolutely nothing about the querying journey and publishing thought he knew everything when he finished his first draft. Thankfully talks and advice, mostly through general tweeting, from Claribel Ortega and Zoraida Córdova steered me right. Genuinely, I am thankful to every writer I befriended and became mutuals with over the years who helped me. Basically, look at that book and try to find what’s working and what’s not. My biggest problem was word count. Dear God, I can run my mouth. My hands? Find the coal of what’s not working and make it into diamonds.
This is a process and industry that takes time. Yes, keep on querying, but don’t let that be your sole focus. Write other things! Work on those other book ideas! Submit short stories! Heck, even focus on other life stuff if you can. I know there’s a lot posts out there from other authors saying how they got requests within the first week or month of querying because what they did, and while I am glad those authors got their success early, that’s just simply something that doesn’t happen to the rest of us. Don’t expect something overnight to happen and don’t worry in your sleep about it.
So, this is what I am going to do with the querying for this Lovecraftian witch book. I’m gonna keep querying, but not stress over it. When a rejection comes I’ll cross it off in my journal, query a couple more in it’s place, and then move on. I really don’t expect anything to happen this last in the year or even earlier next year. I’m going to query this project for a while, can’t say for how long, but definitely longer than when I queried its previous drafts and the Necromancy book; so two years, at the minimum. And if after X amount of time, still nothing biting, I will consider self-publishing finally. I’ve taken years to perfect my writing and this story, I’m not giving up on it just because I can’t get an agent. And who knows? Maybe one of the other stories I’m writing will be the one.
Take it slow. Publishing isn’t going anywhere, it can and will wait for you. Don’t worry yourself to death over this. Because you can’t exhaust yourself. Take your time.
I’m currently writing a YA fantasy with a witch (brujo) boy and a nun girl inspired partially by Fear and Hunger, a secret YA WIP inspired by a well-known mythological cycle, a strange Adult WIP fantasy that involves a lot of philosophy and myth around the Greek word “logos,” a queer short story for another anthology, an Adult romance sword and sorcery fantasy, an almost entirely women-led Adult fantasy (think Priory of the Orange Tree meets The Traitor Baru Cormorant), and a strange alternative, unclassifiable contemporary fantasy with horror elements.
Apologies for the clickbait title. So, there’s been a recent buzz going around–or rather, I should say, a buzz that comes up every now and again–about some parents being concerned that their kids are no longer interested young adult (YA) books anymore and instead want to read Adult instead. This invites numerous responses ranging from concerned understanding, to cordial persuasion, and to even derision or mocking of said parents. I’m not a parent, just an uncle at the moment, but I do understand these parents’ concern, but I also understand the criticism towards their concern–but let’s not be harsh with those criticism, now. YA is predominately targeted at pre-teen and teen children ages 12 to 18. That’s a big age range; although recent criticisms from parents and authors have, rightly, stated that older teens are predominately represented or that YA books are being written for their predominate adult audience in minf.
Anyway, YA is basically seen as the go-to for teen books, and in recent years, especially as it’s gotten more diverse, many parents and authors defend YA as being *the* required age category of books their teens should read. There’s some good books in YA, such as (in my opinion) The Edge of Being by James Brandon, The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, A Very Large Expanse of the Sea by Tahereh Mafi, A Peculiar Peril by Jeff VanderMeer (I’m an odd one out for this one), Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson, The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco, and A Star Named Vega by Benjamin J. Roberts just to name a few.
However, recently some teens have been showing less interest in YA and have decided they want to read Adult. Interesting fact: most teenage boys often skip over the YA age range jump straight into Adult because not much in YA interests them, but that’s a conversation for another time. Sometimes the teen’s desire to go into Adult isn’t because of a lack interest in YA, it’s just because that they feel they’ve read enough YA and what to get something else. As I stated, the reactions to this from parents are mixed. Some are concerned and want their teens to read YA for a little longer and others are willing to make the transition but are not sure how. In my opinion, if you could not already guess by the title, is that it’s great that a kid wants to start reading Adult books. But we also need to address these parents’ concerns.
There is a misconception that all Adult books must be inaccessible to teens–whether because of the writing style or because of themes and philosophy explored–or might have content that parents wouldn’t want their teen reading–sex and violence, well, mostly sex. This is the first cause of concern. Not all Adult books have graphic violence and sex, and to clarify, I am more of an expert in Adult sci-fi, fantasy, and horror books so I am mostly familiar with the varying degrees of content in those genres. In fact, and this will shock some readers here, some YA books have graphic content such as Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White, known for its intense body horror, violence, and a trans boy’s body morphing into a monstrous flesh angel; or Susann Cokal’s The Kingdom of Little Wounds which features graphic rape of teenage girls to point where some of them bleed and how the penis of one of the rapists is studded with jewels. Yes, you read that right.
The point is, your teen should still be allowed to read Adult if they want to. Adult books, whether they be contemporary, litfic, sci-fi, horror, or fantasy, can broaden your teen’s perspective and help them contemplate various issues more deeply. When it comes to objectionable content, I can understand the concern there. I don’t think a twelve-year-old should be reading any of the A Song of Ice and Fire books just yet. My advice to parents on this is to read up on the Adult books your teen wants to read and be aware of what kind of content they contain. However, something else to factor in is maturity level, which is different for every teen. Some teens can handle that kind of content and others can’t. So, a seventeen-year-old or eighteen-year-old might be better suited to read A Song of Ice and Fire if they know what’s what.
When it comes to accessibility, that is another whole ordeal. Not every Adult book reads with the purple prose of Angela Carter (that’s not a dig at Carter and she was very self-aware) or the overly experimental and head-scratching (to put it nicely) prose of the first pages of James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake. Some books have very accessible prose, even for fantasy and sci-fi, that a teen could read without issue, barring learning some of the in-world terminology. Growing up, my brother pretty much read most of the books of the The Legend of Drizzt series by R. A. Salvatore without issue or stumbling and, to my knowledge, that series doesn’t have anything too overly objectionable in terms of content other than violence. I have no idea how Salvatore’s writing or that series of books fares among critics in the fantasy world today, but that’s a personal example of a pre-teen/teen reading an Adult work.
First, Inosh is aware that this might get them some backlash, and I’m not offering backlash here. Second, it should be noted that Inosh’s list is for YA readers who want accessible Adult SFF books, they aren’t necessarily centering teens for the thread, but still teens can enjoy some of they’ve listed. The Poppy War is very much an Adult book, it is a fantasy series–a toss up whether it is categorized as simply a dark wuxia fantasy or a grimdark fantasy–inspired by the Second Sino-Japanese War that occurred during the Second World War, but also elements of the Opium War are interworked in as well. The many atrocities committed by the Japanese Empire on China, particularly the Nanjing Massacre, are translated into the more graphic parts of the story. Inosh is correct in saying that Kuang’s prose is very accessible, however, this is a very grim book that could be considered on par with A Song of Ice and Fire. Again, the maturity level to consider with this one. I would recommend it to older teens who’re interested in seeing just how brutal colonialism and imperialism can be.
Here are my personal suggestions. This only a sample of what I’d recommend:
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Yes, I’m being series with this one. Read this in high school and found it entertaining. The prose is pretty accessible in this book, but I will say that Adams, being British, has humor that’s very, well, British. Some parts of this might go over teens’ heads, but the delivery and tone on some the dialogue and narration will get a chuckle out of them.
The Anchoress by Robyn Cadwallader. A historical fiction book about a young woman who vows to shut herself out from the rest of the world by living in a small room adjoining her local church. That’s a more simplified explanation. The Anchoress is perfect for teens who are interested in women’s stories and experiences, especially from a bygone era. It focuses on a young woman, Sarah, who has legitimate reasons for wanting to remove herself from the world around her, but who decisions might start a teen’s brain about thinking about certain things. This book does make mention of rape/sexual assault, but nothing too graphic and how women were viewed in a medieval religious context. The prose is beautiful, but still accessible.
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. I must confess that the cover I have posted her–art by Bo Feng Lin–is only the Subterranean Press edition, not the one you’ll typically find on shelves, but I just had to post it. Here’s the regular cover:
Gods of Jade and Shadow is set in Mexico in the 1920s and follows 19-year-old Casiopea Tun after she accidentally awakens an ancient Mayan death god and sets off with him across Mexico to retrieve his body parts. Now, I’ve seen some reviewers classify this as YA because of Casiopea’s age and because the story feels very coming-of-age. Coming-of-age stories don’t mean that the book is YA and there are Adult books out there with YA-aged protagonist. Also, Moreno-Garcia has stated that she doesn’t write YA and that goes for this book as well. This book did not feel YA to me, it just felt like a classic adventure story, but just from the perspective of a Mexican woman. Moreno-Garcia’s prose is very accessible and there really isn’t any “objectionable” content beyond some little violence and blood. In fact, I’d suggest any Moreno-Garcia book to read for teens.
The Book of Lost Saints by Daniel José Older. One of my favorite books! Now, this is were we start getting in a bit more graphic content. A bit. The Book of Lost Saints is the story of the ghost or spirit of a Cuban woman named Marisol who finds her nephew, who has never met her, in 2001 (9/11 happened recently). Switching between the present search for what happened to Marisol and the past during which Marisol and her family live through the Cuban Revolution, the book is ultimate about the secrets, love, and hardships the Cuban people have experienced and how their American-born children and grandchildren might not know everything. I’ll be upfront and say that The Book of Lost Saints has some somewhat explicit sex scenes/sexual moments, though most of them are presented as “dirty.” There’s also some graphic violence. Older, while also criticizing right-wing politicians, doe snot shy away from what Castro’s people did to dissenters in Cuba. This is one of those books that I would recommend to high schoolers, particularly older ones. It’s one of those books that opens your eyes to a certain culture’s struggle and history. Older’s prose here is much more refined and eloquent that his YA titles, but I don’t think it’s pretentious or too obfuscating.
Lent by Jo Walton. One of my favorite reads. Lent is a historical fiction novel with a fantasy bent. That fantasy bent is very much a Groundhog Day situation. It follows to real life historical figure of Girolamo Savonarola, a Dominican (as in the religious order, not the Caribbean island) friar who lived in Renaissance era Florence, Italy who called for both social and religious reform. Savonarola remained a controversial figure throughout both religious and secular historical records; Walton’s book, however, humanizes him, painting the portrait of a man who saw the corruption of the world around and fought against it, though not without his vices. Basically, Savonarola keeps reliving his life up until his execution, returning back at the start after he is sent to Hell. The book covers the years of 1492 to 1498, and focuses on the different lives Savonarola lives in his attempts to avoid damnation, conflict, but also wrestling with his mission of trying to keep literal demons from corrupting Florence. Now, this book isn’t like the show Supernatural, there is demon hunting and exorcising of sorts, but not that kind. It is overall the struggle of one man, trying to either do God’s will or avoid it. It is not classified by Walton or the publisher as Christian fiction and neither do I consider it that, though Walton has actually done her research on Catholic Renaissance era theology and treats it seriously. She also portrays closely who Savonarola was.
Anyway, Walton’s prose is very accessible and she constructs the world of late 15th century Italy well without overloading the reader with information. That being said, I would push this to older teens, not because of any objectionable content (there is some, but not much), but just because of the themes discussed. Destiny, friendship, and religious devotion are discussed. I don’t see those themes too often discussed about in books for teen, so this Adult novel should prick their minds at least.
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. Probably my personal favorite suggestion. It’s about a necromancer sin space who’re summoned to a Gothic palace (the book doesn’t use that work, I’m just blanking on what word it actually uses) to perform a test with their cavaliers to become one of the Undying Emperor’s lyctors. It follows Gideon Nav, an indentured servant of the Ninth House, who poses as the cavalier to house’s necromantic heir Harrowhark “Harrow” Nonagesimus who become tangled up in a murder mystery of eldritch proportions. I more so recommend this for older teens simply because of the strong language and the occasional gore. Muir’s prose is noted for switching from an elegant, Gothic type to a snarky, meme-using one. I think teens would really enjoy Gideon’s perspective because she’s one of the most fun, freshest ones out there; albeit the discussions of the magic system can get a little confusing at times. It’s fun and sometimes frightening mystery filled with great action sequences and queerness.
Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler. Truthfully, I think any Butler novel can read by teens–thought I am hesitant about suggesting Fledgling. Anyway, Wild Seed is the one of the books of Butler’s debut series Patternist. Chronologically speaking, it’s the earliest book in the series taking place the 16th and 17th centuries, bit wasn’t the first published. The books of this series can read in any order. It follows an immortal, shapeshifting African woman named Anyanwu whose life cannot stop crossing over with Doro, a psychic man who was lived forever by switching bodies with people. Doro attempts to make his descendants a super-powered race and desires Anyanwu’s genes for this goal. Butler’s prose is fairly accessible, albeit a bit dry in some places. Wild Seed can expose teens to the earliest examples of Afrofuturism and one of the works of the first Black woman to publish a science fiction novel. It can also show them how race and gender can be weaponized by the most cruelest of individuals and what an obsession with eugenics can do.
Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark. This was one of my best reads of 2022. It’s about a young Black woman named Maryse in 1922 fighting against the Ku Klux Klan. Except, the Ku Klux Klan are actually eldritch monsters in human disguise. Clark’s prose manages to capture the colloquialisms of the time period while still being accessible and a quick little read. Its actions scenes are really well-down and amazing. There is a sex scene in the book, but it isn’t explicit to my memory. Ring Shout also mentions certain historical events that aren’t ever, or rarely if ever, mentioned in their history books and how much anti-Black racism fueled those events. While the Ku Klux Klan being eldritch abominations is not reality, the actual Klan exists and still promotes racist ideology. Maryse may not have been a real person (I think Clark might have based her on a historical figure though, can’t confirm that), but she should instill the spirit in teens to fight against real horrors.
So there you have it, parents and teachers! Adult books that teens can read and enjoy that will expand their horizons, to use the common phrase. Don’t be afraid that your teen wants to go up to Adult. Obviously you should familiarize yourself with the Adult books they want to read and maybe even, you know, read them yourself so you and your teen can have a discussion. I didn’t read too many Adult novels as a teen–admittedly, I didn’t read much as I was one of those kids whose desire to read was killed by the American education system. However, the few that I read and enjoyed like The Great Gatsby and Fahrenheit 451 were really eye-opening.
Let’s not write YA off as not being able to teach teens anything new, but let’s also embrace teens reading above their age level to learn knew things.
I decided to start doing this at the end of every year. Here is a list of everything I read in 2022, and that is recorded on my GoodReads account. From fiction novels, to comics, and to even some (or at least one) non-fiction essay. I give brief blurbs for them for the most part, but go more in-depth for certain books that made an impression on me, for better or worse. I will also link to my GoodReads reviews if people want further context. Now, with that all said and done, let’s get this show on the road!
Novels
Iron Cage by Andre Norton. My first read ever by the dame of children’s sci-fi and fantasy fiction. The books occupies a strange place in Norton’s bibliography as when it was published in 1974, Norton was predominately writing solely girl protagonists, and the main character of this book is a book named Jony. It’s a somewhat dark book in which the main character and his now deceased mother were enslaved and experimented on by aliens to be given psychic powers. Years later, with his younger twin brother and sister, Jony lives among the People who raise and teach him and his siblings their ways of life. Ultimately, it’s a somewhat didactic book about how we live with and treat animals, something Norton was passionate about. It’s a bit heavy-handed at times, but it does it job successfully. Still, quite a sad and dark book when you think about it.
Dark Theory by Wick Welker. The longest book I have ever read–800 pages! I technically read an ARC, gifted to me by Welker himself. Despite its girth, Dark Theory is generally fast-paced. It’s about a robot and an woman desperate for vengeance traveling to the edge of their world to stop a cataclysmic event from happening, with some physics and astronomy shenanigans along the way. I’ve read another of Welker’s books before, Refraction, and in both that book and this one, Welker’s gift for incorporating science into the narrative and world-building excels. The incorporation of physics and astronomy into the book is done seamlessly, and Welker knows his shit. And it never feels like he’s talking down to you with the subject matter. Where the book was weak though, was with certain decisions and writing around the character Miree who was…a lot. Nonetheless, a damn good book. Read my full review here.
Shall Machines Divide the Earth by Benjanun Sriduangkaew. Another installment of the lesbian cyberpunk, space opera series known as Machine Mandate, Shall Machines Divide the Earth is one of the best installments in this series of novellas. Divorced former cop turned bounty hunter (at least I think she was a bounty hunter) Thannarat Vutirangsee is thrown into a war game, similar to the Fate Japanese franchise, where she must partner with an AI and fight all the remaining contestants to the death and receive her wish. Filled with stone cold butches who show no remorse and devious femmes, this book had a focus on the blessings and trappings of relationships. Of what you would do for someone you loved or hated. What I love about the later Machine Mandate books is that Sriduangkaew allows even the most brutal of her butches to show some emotional vulnerability, even if it is brief. Delightful prose with a subtext smoldering with repressed emotions and themes.
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James. One of the most challenging reads for me this year. It follows a nameless tracker from boyhood to manhood who is eventually tasked with finding a boy who may be the true heir to a throne in this African-inspired world. The best things about this book was its world-building, how it is seamlessly woven into the first person narrative and without info dumping, and the prose. James’ prose is so unique, haunting, psychological, and refreshing; something I wish I could see more of these days in fantasy. However, some of its graphic content got to be a bit much for me. The fates of most of the women in the book left me disappointed. There is a point to it all. There actually is, despite what some other reviewers would say. Black Leopard, Red Wolf is a very patriarchal world, and we see it primarily through a nameless man who is gay and trying to navigate his own desires and troubles. James’ point is that women suffer directly and indirectly at the hands of the brutal men who run such a world; even our protagonist doesn’t treat some of the women right. Like I said, a challenging read–I encourage others to read it too–and I feel a bit dissatisfied with some things, but the prose is remarkable.
Mind of My Mind by Octavia E. Butler. One of the best sci-fi sequels I have ever read (depend on which order you read the Patternist series)! Take place nearly a century after Wild Seed, Doro and Anyanwu, the latter now going by Emma, are back and Doro’s plans for his super-powered planned breeding program are about to reach their zenith. This time, it follows Mary, Doro’s biracial daughter who may be the strongest thus far of his descendants. Mind of My Mind is very fast pace and shows just how far Doro is willing to go to complete his plans. Doro is such a devious bastard, but so well-written. Mary’s growth is amazing, though I wish her fellow Patternists could’ve been a bit more fleshed out. This book really shows a turning point in the chronology of this series.
Neuromancer by William Gibson. A cyberpunk classic. I don’t have much to say about this one. It’s not a bad book, but I was disappointed by it in some parts. I liked how the technology was shown and the different philosophies that Gibson’s characters brought up, but other times I was confused. Not like a Gene Wolfe confused (more on that later), just some of the transitional scenes–a.k.a the characters moving from one place to another–were very odd and some character and relationship developments felt rushed. It felt like some thigs were left out. I would like to read more Gibson, but I don’t know if I will continue the Sprawl trilogy.
Princess Floralinda and the Forth-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir. I am proud to announce that I have signed copy of this! This novella was a treasure. Muir’s snarky, sarcastic prose is back in a cheeky and playfully-done inversion of fairy-tale tropes. I loved Floralinda and was so happy for where her journey ended. According to the publisher’s website, a sequel is coming. I hope so!
The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe. Apart of the Shadow & Claw omnibus. Hands down, the most difficult read of 2022. I liked Wolfe’s prose and the post-apocalyptic world he showed us, but adjusting to his unreliable narrator prose–if I even got adjusted–was a Sisyphean task. I was originally going to no longer read the rest of The Book of the New Sun, but after some encouragement–and some bullying by less savory persons–of the fandom I decided I will return to it at a later date. Especially since I was recently gifted Sword & Citadel.
The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. I’ve read Moreno-Garcia’s other novels Gods of Jade and Shadow and Mexican Gothic. While not quite as strong as her later works, The Beautiful Ones is still a wonderful historical fantasy romance. Moreno-Garcia is one of those authors who can just do a romance right; I say that as someone who rarely consumes romance. Her characters are always so complex no matter their situations or page times.
Mazes of Power by Juliette Wade. The most disappointing read of 2022. Promising to be a sociological read, it takes place in an underground city dominated by a caste system. Sadly, Wade failed to deliver on various points and it trips over in many places. It’s a book that takes recognition of various people of various identities, but it often doesn’t show the much needed perspectives of some of those people. For example, the society is shown to be patriarchal and even though there is one woman in the book who trying to get women into politics, her nor any of the other women’s perspectives are shown. There was also some world-building details that I wasn’t satisfied with. My book is still on my shelf because I’m not certain if I want to continue it or not. Till then, my review is here.
Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams. I haven’t read an Adams book since I was in high school, The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I loved that book and loved this one too. I love Adams’ humor and how well-paced this novel was. I never knew what to expect next and it always kept me on my toes. There were a few things I was confused about though. Apologies to the co-worker who lent me this many months before reading.
Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson. One of the better YA fantasies out there. I had been wanting to read a Rogerson novel for a while now and this is a great start. A correct way to writer a snarky and loner main character, some nuance discussion about faith, and some intriguing character relations and interactions. I crave more stories with nuns like this.
Where Machines Redeem the Lost by Benjanun Sriduangkaew. A direct-ish sequel to Shall Machines Divide the Earth, Where Machines Redeem the Lost follows the now broken Recadat Kongmanee who is now confided to an AI garden where healing can begin. It’s a much more psychological take in the Machine Mandate universe. To me, it is my personal favorite of the series. Recadat is such a relatable character and her story is a sad but uplifting one.
The Birthgrave by Tanith Lee. Lee’s debut novel from back in the 70s. Lee is my favorite author, and although this wasn’t perfect, it definitely is a good debut and both a weird and bawdy one to enter the world of SFF with. It is ultimately a deconstruction of certain sword and sorcery fantasy tropes, particularly in regards to women. The whole trilogy covers gender in unique ways without being didactic. It really is a shame that no much analysis of Lee’s work exists or is current being discussed. My review.
The Grace of Sorcerers by Maria Ying. A great start to a lesbian urban fantasy series based in Hong Kong. Written by two authors under one name, it promises love, eldritch horrors, lesbians and trans women who are great and powerful, and some fun! There is a dark edge to this story, but not so dark that it overwhelms the book into a depressing tale. Great fun!
The Block by Ben Oliver. The sequel to The Loop, one of the best YA dystopia sci-fis in a LONG time, continues Luka’s journey. It’s a rather grim book, but not without unexpected twists and turns. I really am enjoying this trilogy and should read the final book The Arc. The pacing and tension are great and keep everything together.
Bindle Punk Bruja by Desideria Mesa. Not perfect, but a decent debut from a promising author. Bindle Punk Bruja manages to capture its historical setting of the 1920s well and takes care to focus on its multiple issues: sexism, racism, passing for White, family inheritance, homophobia, etc. It falters in that it takes on A LOT of issues and plot devices and that the book can get very depressing at time. Still, I think Mesa can improve on later novels.
Shadowfire (originally titled Vazkor, Son of Vazkor) by Tanith Lee. The sequel to The Birthgrave follows Tuvek, the son of the previous book’s protagonist. A lot of other readers did not like the sequels are much as The Birthgrave, so I may be an odd one out here, but I really liked Shadowfire. It continues Lee’s deconstruction of sword and sorcery gender stereotypes, this time will the macho, all-conquering warrior who finds himself occasionally depowered. It is a gender-swapped lost princess story. Tuvek might be a more difficult character to follow for some because of the terrible things he does in the beginning, although not all of them are detailed. Still, his progression is interesting. My review.
Jawbone by Mónica Ojeda, translated by Sarah Booker. One of my unexpected best reads of the year and one of the most unsettling novels I’ve ever read. Two girls in a Catholic school in Ecuador start their own cult based on a creepypasta; we also follow their slowly spiraling teacher. The book is Lovecraftian, but in the traditional way you think, and Gothic and crawls under your skin and stays there. Ojeda uses cosmic horror, again in a nontraditional way, to discuss the darkness and unsavory desires that many girls hide and repress. She also invents the concept of white horror, something I could write a whole post on. An experience one must rea don their own, but here’s my review.
A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. One of the classic planetary romances from the pulp days of sci-fi. Who doesn’t know John Cater? Sure, there story’s macho and Dejah Thoris is a damsel in distress, but it’s still a fun story. I think the thing that impressed me the most was what an utter gentleman John was. A far cry from some of the cynical and piggish men from other well-known sci-fi series, both during Burroughs’ time and after. What fun!
No Gods for Drowning by Hailey Piper. My first read from Piper. Part urban fantasy, part historical fiction, part detective story, and part cosmic horror–it all comes together nicely. I love how various in appearance and personality the gods were. The cast is predominately queer and they’re all wonderful characters. My only complaint is that, from what I often read about Piper and heard about her work, I wish the story would’ve gone a bit more gruesome.
Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. The much anticipated sequel to Harrow the Ninth, it was another one of my favorite reads of 2022. Nona the Ninth brought revelations but also more questions engendered by Muir’s cryptic and intentionally beguiling writing. Each book has a unique writing style and this was the most unique. I thought I understood everything, but apparent I didn’t. My review.
The Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The sequel to A Princess of Mars. Burroughs builds upon the world of Barsoom, showing us more of the different Martian races and new characters and belief systems. John is still ever the gentleman he ever was. and manages to gain both allies and enemies among the different Martians. There is a plot twist regarding the character Carthoris that is fairly easy to see coming. Still fun.
Hunting the White Witch (originally Quest for the White Witch) by Tanith Lee. The final installment of Tuvek and his mother’s story. Once again, Lee’s subtle look at gender in sword and sorcery continues, and it’s the most queerest part of the trilogy. Tuvek faces the ultimate challenges and a near undoing of both himself and his masculinity, but what arises from the ashes is something weird, regretful, foreboding, and disturbing. Lee also introduces a character named Lellih who I wish would’ve stuck around longer or had her own book. Such a disturbing but great end to this trilogy. My review.
Greywaren by Maggie Stiefvater. The final installment of Ronan Lynch’s story, The Dreamer trilogy, and the overall Raven Cycle universe. I am mostly satisfied; still confused about some things and some things wrap up a little too neatly, but the ending is everything I wanted and more. What do I do now?
The Edge of Being by James Brandon. A queer coming-of-age story, but not a coming out story. It follows pansexual teen Isaac as he tries to search for his long lost father while navigating the queer history of San Francisco. It’s a lovely little story about discovering who you are, connecting with others in your community, and feeling whole and loved. It’s also a tribute to the trans women and gender nonconforming individuals who pioneered American LGBTQ+ history.
Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark. Another one of my favorite reads! In this novella, Ku Kluxes are eldritch monsters summoned by the Klan in order to bring for their eldritch goddess (if you can call her that). Maryse must use a sword made of African kings and chiefs who sold their own people into slavery to fight back against the horrors. The action and humor are great. Clark manages to capture the setting and speech of the era. You really feel like you’re there! My review.
No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai, translated by Donald Keene. The last completed read of 2022 and a classic of Japanese literature. It’s a very sad story, and often infuriating. The story of man who was harmed as a child and afraid of the falseness that people project, something that disqualifies him from being human. We watch him love, lose, fear, and destroy himself over the course of a few decades. The story is perhaps a reminder to the “real humans” that those who fell were once angels. My review.
Short Stories
“Vaster than Empires and More Slow” by Ursula K. Le Guin. The second short story I ever read by Le Guin; I read “Omelas” years ago in high school. “Vaster than Empires and More Slow” is set in her Hainish Cycle of books and stories, and I would’ve called it one of her best works had she not do something at the very end of the story. Throughout the whole story, Le Guin is showing us her themes and what everything represents, but then she just tells us at the end and she didn’t need to. Additionally, there is a character whose autism is cured which might be seen as ableist. There’s also a Japanese character whose cultural is described as “puritanical” which feels a bit Orientalist to me.
Comics/Graphic Novels
Lady Mechanika: The Monster of the Ministry of Hell by Joe Benitez. I have heard of the character of Lady Mechanika for some time now, but have never read any of the comics featuring her. The Monster of the Ministry of Hell was a four issue mini-series that came out starting in December 2021 and completed in May (I believe) 2022. This story arc is sort of a prequal; Lady Mechanika detailing her buried past to a friend, set in a steampunk Victorian-era England where many unnatural human beings, like Mechanika herself, live alongside regular humans.. I have to say, as my first taste of this character and Benitez’s writing, I’m quite impressed. It was fun, but also sad and dark. Even though I never even touched another Lady Mechanika comic before, I was still invested and never got lost or confused. That’s good writing to me! I will at some point start this serious from the beginning.
Bolero by Wyatt Kennedy and Luana Vecchio. A queer comic that took me by surprise this year! I’ll be upfront, it’s not for everyone. It’s about bisexual tattoo artist Devyn who is not over the break-up with her trans girlfriend (also bi) Natasha. Devyn is introduced to a cat-like creature who gives her a skeleton key to other universes–yes, it’s a multiverse comic. These other universes are her other lives that she can live in for however long she wants, but she only has so many hops. Devyn is a messy character. The messiest of characters. Not everyone will love her and her decisions. The story is ultimately about facing the pain and hurt that you’re dancing around when in a terrible situation. You have to face it; there’s no other way around it. Things mya not be better, but you’ll be okay.
Monkey Prince by Gene Luen Yang and Bernard Chang. (I don’t know why it says limited series on the cover, as far as I know it’s still ongoing) I am very selective about the DC and Marvel comics I read. I can’t really connect much with them anymore and much of the writing is a very “meh” quality these days. Yang’s writing for Monkey Price is the exception to the rule. This ongoing series has a good balance of character growth, action, and pacing. Marcus is a great character, one both funny and endearing.
Magic 7 by Kid Toussaint, Rosa La Barbera, and Giuseppe Quattrochi. A decent kid’s comic about a boy who can see ghosts and befriends two other, supernaturally-gifted kids. I remember liking the artwork, reminded me a little of W.I.T.C.H., but nothing stuck with me much with this comic. Truthfully, I only read the first issue. Maybe a revisit is in order.
Little Monsters by Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen. I am cautious about vampire media these days, just because I’m mostly board with it despite the fascinating cultural and literary origins of the creatures of the night. Little Monsters is still ongoing, and for the most part I’ve enjoyed it. However, I’ve come to notice that after reading nine issues that the series is slow paced; only so much is happening with each issue. I liked this post-apocalyptic story and world generally, but I need Lemire to pick it up.
Step by Bloody Step by Simon Spurrier, Matias Bergara, and Matheus Lopez. I’ve read a couple of Spurrier’s comics before. Way of X was intriguing. Alienated was rather “meh.” Step by Bloody Step was the best I’ve read so far. There virtually no dialogue. Everything is expressed through the characters’ facial expressions and the action going on around them. It’s a heartfelt story with an ultimately cyclical theme at the center.
Puta Madre by Run. A prequel to the Mutafukaz comic. I’ve never read Mutafukaz before, but I did see the animated movie on Netflix. I thought it was alright for the most part, but I think I was missing something. Puta Madre was actually an enjoyable read, however I will admit I only read the first issue. I should probably return to it.
Sins of the Black Flamingo by Andrew Wheeler. This comic was an up and down experience for me. It’s unashamedly queer with some great, sexy art and magic. However, its main character grated on me. His dialogue is sometimes annoying and pretentious, as is he, though he does mature some towards the end. One major side character is side-lined and never given proper development beyond being his teammate. Still, the story wraps up evenly.
There’s Something Wrong with Patrick Todd by Ed Brisson and Gavin Guidry. A (I believe, at least) still ongoing comic about a teenage boy with a strange psychic power to make people do things for him while being hunted by a strange mange called Zeus. Definitely a neat little mystery involved. I can’t wait to read more.
Chivalry by Neil Gaiman and Colleen Doran. I have not read the original short story from Smoke and Mirrors so I am not certain how close this adaptation is to the original text. That being said, this was a wonderful little graphic novel. It’s such a cute and funny story, filled with so much joy and beauty. I really loved Mrs. Whitaker’;s character, a sweet woman who still longs for her dearly departed husband.
The Ocean Will Take Us by Rich Douek and Carlos Olivares. I’ve not yet finished this series, but it’s a fairly good teen horror story revolving around the ocean, a mysterious, tentacled substance, and an even mysterious corporation. My one contention is that sometimes the art is a bit off or characters aren’t portraying the correct emotions in certain panels.
Zatana: The Jewel of Gravesend by Alys Arden and Jacquelin de Leon. DC has been recently publishing YA takes on their heroes and villains, and most of them have been very “meh.” This one is a stronger one. It isn’t perfect; the art is off sometimes looks flat in some places and there are some plot and creation decisions that I don’t think quite fit. Still, it’s a sweet, simple story with a cute take on Zatana’s magic.
Fraternity by Jon Ellis and Hugo Petrus. Reminiscent of buddy horror movies from the 80s, Fraternity is about two childhood friends attending college together and one of them ends up entering an occult fraternity. It isn’t perfect, sometimes the pacing feels rushed, but it is overall a nice and poignant stand alone story that has much to show about the dangers of fraternities.
Marvel’s Voices: Community. Marvel has been releasing a series of comics called Voices, focusing on heroes from various marginalized identities. This is not their first time with the Latine characters; the previous issue featuring them left me disappointed because of how ham-fisted some of the writing was. Also, it had Sam Alexander a.k.a Nova on the cover and never featured him. Well, in this issue Marvel has righted its wrongs. Sam actually appears here! And all the stories are fun and tackles what issues they do subtly and with care. I will say that America Chavez’s storyline felt repetitive for her.
Hitomi by H.S. Tak and Isabella Mazzanti. A new comic followed a Matagi girl and the African samurai Yasuke who killed her parents but left her alive. The comic is still ongoing and has gorgeous art, however the first two issues feel like set-up. It seems to be headed in an interesting direction.
Lovesick by Luana Vecchio. Written and drawn by the artist of the aforementioned Bolero, Lovesick is twisted, sick, filthy, sexy for all the wrong reasons, and dark as hell. Inspired by the twisted stuff found on the dark web, Vecchio inks a tale of a dominatrix who kills men on livestream for her deprave audience who’re also men. I will say that this series is more concept-driven than anything and the first two issues, like Hitomi, a very much set up. It’s something that you feel like you shouldn’t read, though I would say that there are more disturbing things out there, and that’s not a criticism against the comic. Men are pigs, indeed!
Constantine: Distorted Illusions by Kami Garcia and Isaac Goodhart. Not much to say bout this one. Another DC YA take on one of their characters. For some reason, perhaps just to fulfill the YA feeling, Garcia decided incorporate music and being in a band for Constantine’s arc, which made no sense. The art was good though. Generic overall.
Manga
Takopi’s Original Sin by Taizan 5. A short manga series that managed to make me express so many emotions. It’s about a cute octopus alien trying to make a poor girl smiled. She’s been bullied horrifically at her school and wants her father back. It can be edgy at times, and Takopi learns lessons the hard way. But it’s ending is so endearing.
Gokurakugai Sanbandori no Ken by Yuuto Sano. For clarification, this is the original one-shot manga and not the current ongoing one which I’m also reading. A neat, little story about rescuing mermaid girls in a world where beastmen and human relations are forbidden. We follow the cold but awesome Sister Tao and the adorable, but hungry Alma. A nice introduction to these characters, who are virtually the same in the ongoing series minus the change in their designs, and Sano’s work. My only gripe is that I wish that Sano used these character designs for the ongoing series and not the one-shot.
Lawless Kid by Yuuto Sano. A one-shot manga from Sano again. Takes place in a dystopian society where you need to rife through the garbage to earn your pay, unless you want to sell others. Action-packed, full of heart and heartache and anger, and to the point. Sano’s art is still great!
Poetry
Where Decay Sleeps by Anna Cheung. A collection of horror poems, some Gothic in tone and influenced by Chinese culture. Most of the poems were great, Cheung choses the right words and builds the sense of dread, disgust, and (obviously) decay. Some didn’t work, like the COVID one.
Non-fiction
“From Elfland to Poughkeepsie” by Ursula K. Le Guin. Le Guin’s fiction has been hit and miss for me. Many of her ideas and themes are fantastic, but the execution has often left me wanting. I stumbled upon “From Elfland to Poughkeepsie” after a certain fantasy book was published this year that was beyond terrible. A reviewer of the book referenced this essay. As an aspiring fantasy author I was curious. Le Guin’s essay is very helpful for any struggling fantasy author who is trying to perfect their prose, though it isn’t a how to guide. So while her fiction is still mixed with me, Le Guin’s non-fiction is proving to be resourceful.
Do you overwrite or underwrite? An absolutely terrible question for any writer, but especially for those not yet published and trying to get an literary agent. In this industry, depending on your genre and the age group you’re writing for, you need to have a specific word count in order to get through those hurdles of getting an agent. Sunyi Dean, author of The Book Eaters, mentioned on twitter at one point that even when you do get an agent that agent may want you to add some words or take out some. But still, you have to be within a certain range first. And thus, overwriters and underwriters are caught within a deadly game of more editing to a story that they’ve already edited so much and may have rewriten so much already. What to do?
The above popular image is from this Writer’s Digest article. Apologies if the quality is not great. I could not save the image to my computer from the article and had to screenshow.
Anyway, first and foremost I am an overwriter, so let’s talk about that first.
Overwriting
Overwriting is simply when you have written too much. Too much description, too much going on at once, and way too many words. I suffer from this extremely and am currently dealing with in a recently finished draft–though some of the excess is just quotes and chapter and part titles, which I was informed those don’t count. Nonetheless, my story has way too many words. I do have a lot going on in this recent draft, but I also suffer from excessive descriptions and writing that could be considered flowery or experimental. My main problem with this extends for my love of said flowery and experimental writing. I don’t think such prose is bad writing. Yes, sometimes it can slow the reading progress down and make people confused, but that all depends on the author’s execution. I absolutely love the prose of Tamsyn Muir, Angela Carter, Tanith Lee, Benjanun Sriduangkaew, and Gene Wolfe. My first experience with Wolfe, The Shadow of the Torturer in the Shadow and Claw omnibus wasn’t necessarily a good one in terms of the story progression, but I did enjoy his prose. I was convinced (and bullied) to revisit The Book of the New Sun, which I will at a later date. Sriduangkaew is an author who has refined her prose as the years have gone on. It’s still very beautiful no matter what genre she writes in (currently urban fantasy and sci-fi at this time) and she always prioritizes it along with her need and desire to portray a multitude of powerful and morally grey lesbian characters. Lee has slowly become my favorite author of all time. She wrote a variety of weird stories in fantasy, sci-fi, and author and her prose was always beautiful yet readable. Like Sriduangkaew, Lee’s prose refined over the years, albeit she did utilize it differently depending on the genre and what the story required. Carter was the queen of purple prose–something she knew and didn’t care if someone didn’t like it. Out of all the authors here she is probably the most experimental and flowery. All of her weird, macabre, dark, hopeful, and very feminist stories are breathtakingly written and they still can pack a punch. Finally, Muir is nearing the completion of one of my favorite science fantasy series The Locked Tomb. Known for her snarky yet Gothic tone for the series, Muir can construct experimental syntax that leaves you confused, but also saying “Wow! That’s a damn good sentence!”
So, what I’m trying to get at is that I’m probably failing at what Ursula K. Le Guin was talking about in her essay “From Elfland to Poughkeepsie.” Subconsciously, or perhaps even consciously, I am trying to imitate those writers that I love and trying too hard to sound smart and pretty. This a cause of overwriting, and as a result the story suffers from it.
How do you fix overwriting? Well, you edit some things out, make descriptions more succinct, and if and when you send your story off to beta readers you can request of them to point out what seems unnecessary so you can cut it. This is sometimes more than simply deleting a sentence or two or even a paragraph. Depending on what you need to discard, you have to look at the structure of your story overall. What will be affected by the plot and its climax(es) if you delete that part or another? Ultimately, this may lead to some rewrites within your current draft, or, more extensively, starting another draft altogether. Sometimes simpler prose is better, it gets to the point quicker and moves things along at a reasonable pace.
As I said, I deal with overwriting more extensively than underwriting, and from my perspective it seems to be trickier than underwriting. Again, from my perspective, not a collective community’s. “What do I take out?” seems like a question with a harder answer than “What do I add?” though the later is still difficult. Which brings us too…
Underwriting
So, you’ve got your story ready and completed and you got on your querying journey. After months or maybe even years (querying is still difficult no mater if you’re an overwriter or underwriter because publishing sucks) you get that agent. However, the agent isn’t quite ready to send your story off. “Add (insert number here)K words.” You sit there, staring blankly at the email requesting you to do this. You’re at a lost. Your word count is within acceptable range. And surely less words means less pages to print so it won’t cost the publisher that much, right? (Disclaimer: I have no idea if this is an actual thing, I am just spitballing and making up scenarios.)
Now what? What could you possibly add to this succinct and completed story? On second thought, maybe underwriting is just as difficult as overwriting.
What do you do to add to that word count? Everything seems perfect! Perhaps you took the Brandon Sanderson approach when you initially wrote and every scene and chapter moves HAD to the plot forward. Nothing wrong with that, but depending on your prose and writing, you might have gotten to the climax and conclusion a little too quickly. Maybe add some fluff? Add some characters doing some things that build their character and relationships to show how they act outside of pushing the story forward. Have you read through again and found things that aren’t well-explained? Detail them a bit. Do some worldbuilding. Perhaps you’ve found out that the plot progression was rushed. Space it out a bit. Add some scenes and dialogue with substance but still makes the pacing moderate. Develop that romance a bit more. Show a bit more heart-to-heart between the main character and their love interest, and with the rest of the cast! Maybe you’re looking at your story’s beginning and realizing that that way it starts is too quick, too rushed. Not enough of the plot or characters’ motivation is being established. Flesh that out a bit more.
Again, this is all just suggestions on my part. I’m not an expert nor I am not an editor. I can’t tell you what to do with your story.
All in all, what I’m trying to get at is that reaching that perfect word count is any always easily attained. And in genres like fantasy and sci-fi it can be even more difficult. How much have been the details overexplained or not explained enough? Are the character arcs at the right places. or have the reached somewhere too early (if you’re writing a series).
It’s a pain in ass, all of if. Just when you’ve completed that book and gotten that agent, or close to getting that agent, another curveball is thrown your way. Count on your beta readers and friends who can point out stuff that you can’t. If you got the finances for it, invest in an editor. I haven’t used her myself yet, but I’ve heard that Jeni Chappelle is great. She’s very active in the writing community.
This isn’t writing advice. I wouldn’t know what professional advice to get in this situation. More of a venting.
Today, I’m talking about shelving a book, a WIP, you’ve written, and why it is absolutely one of the worst feelings to ever be encountered. For those of you who aren’t writers, here’s how it goes: You’ve got a book idea and you take awhile to think it through, sort it out, figure out your first scene and words. Then, you finally write it. You take months, a year, or hell, even years to write, because writing, no matter the genre, the plot, the number of characters, takes so long. After that entire struggle of writing, you finally finish that book. You finally did it! It’s not perfect, you know that, but some editing will help.
You edit the book yourself. Catch what mistakes you find (you will also miss some, don’t worry about it), reconsider some scenes and character choices, rethink the plot progression, and then you’re finished with those edits.
Now, it’s time to get some beta readers or critique partners! One or two–or three even–people (I’m not an expert on this part) read through your book. They catch all the errors you made and are the first minds, outside of your own, to react to your story. They tell you what worked and didn’t work and what can be improved upon. Sometimes their thoughts will clash with each other and you will have to figure out which one might help your story more. After you take consideration of their thoughts, you make more changes to your book. And then it’s finally TIME TO QUERY!
Yes, it’s time to find that literary agent who will get you connected to an editor at a publisher and get your book deal straightened out. You write up your query letter; somewhat difficult, but you look at other writers’ letters and templates on editors’ websites to get it better formatted. You look at the current market and what’s been released within five years for comps. You write your synopsis, which is even worse. Every major thing in the book summed up in one or two pages. Ugh! Now, you query! You make note of every agent you’ve queried and keep track to figure out when to send a follow-up or not. The rejections come in fairly soon, they always do unless you’ve written that book, which sometimes you do and sometimes you don’t. And you query…for a year or more.
You might get requests for more of your book from an agent, might not. Some agents reject after reading more. Some ghost you. But then, you make it past the partial request and get a full one! And then more rejection and ghosting; but some do get past this part!
But then sometimes, after a hundred queries or more, you’re still in the basic querying stage. No one is requesting. Everyone is rejecting or not responding. You keep going because everyone says to, but still nothing happens. No responses.
You have taken years to write that book, but no one wants it. You took years to create those characters, animate them, progress the story, build that world, and give it a conclusion–and no one is taking it.
You now decide to shelve that book.
All that work and imagination seems fruitless now. What sucks about this even more is that this is not the only point when you can shelve a book. Sometimes you shelve the book while writing it, because you just can’t make it work or commit to it. A couple years back I had to shelf my Latine cyberpunk WIP because, even after starting another draft with a different plot, I just felt listless writing it. Right now, I have a Necromancy story that may be getting shelved soon. I have queried it over a hundred times and haven’t gotten one bite. For reference, the previous draft of another story (yes, I write a lot) got two partial requests that both ended in rejection; I decided to rewrite that one after some helpful feedback from one of the agents. However, this Necromancy book has gotten no biters. Upfront, I will say it’s pretty long–not 120K words long, but still pretty long–so perhaps that’s why. Nonetheless, I hate that I might have to say goodbye to this book, to all the work I put in for the magic system, the Gothic themes, and the unraveling mystery.
Books can also be shelved after you get an agent too, when you’re on submission. You and your agent work so hard to find an editor at a publishing, but no one wants it. Both of you did so much work and searching for the right home and then no one wants to give a home.
Basically, it’s just such a freaking sucky feeling that I hate having. That any writer hates having. It makes some want to quit writing altogether. All of that work is just lost because no one has any interest in it. Who knows? Somewhere down the line another agent might actually take the bite, just maybe they aren’t open to queries yet or, heck, haven’t officially been made an agent yet. Sometimes a writer can blow the dust off that shelved book when their agent and/or editor expresses interest in it. This is why it’s called shelved, it’s not completely gone or disregarded, but it can be left up there a long time.
When you shelve a book, you start to doubt yourself. You look at the books that did make, but aren’t very good, and you wonder, “How the fuck did they get published?” Your writing suffers and your mental health can suffer. “Why? Didn’t anyone like that book? Is it my writing? Is the story just dumb? Should I just stop? Will I forever be stuck working at my job and never tell my stories?” Grim thoughts, all of them, ones we don’t want to have. Given the way publishing is acting today, we sometimes wonder if our stories will be forever shelved. Authors from diverse backgrounds already face multiple walls and preventions in the publishing world and shelving their unpublished books may come with some extra sense of defeat. “Why? Why is it so hard to get an agent (this is all rhetorical, don’t provide me answers that I already know)? What am I doing wrong with my story? Why do all my beta readers and critique partners like my story, but no industry professional picks it up? What is publishing doing? Is it their fault? Is it my fault?” We read all the plethora of How-Tos and guides on writing, plotting, character developing, take all the online classes and courses offered by published authors and agents, but still nothing comes to fruition.
So what do we do? Like I said, this isn’t any writing advice; I have none to give. We can take a break from writing. We can start something else. We can quit writing altogether. We can just read those authors we love who are getting through and writing the stories we like and promote them. We can write fan fiction. We can just publish our wonderful, different, and weird stories on one of those free websites like Wattpad. So, that’s what we can do.
Our imaginations are endless, even if our desire to write and to try and get published aren’t. We will always have our stories, even if the industry doesn’t. And even if we write those stories for the intention of release, but not for the intention of being published, they are always our stories. And ours alone.
Fun fact! I started this wordpress site years ago back in college to share my musings on the world. Now I’m overhauling it!
I am trying to become a writer, and my first short story–and my first publication ever!–is due out next year! My short story “The Boy Who Became an Entire Planet” is a YA sci-fi first contact story that will appear in Reclamation: An Anthology of Climate Horror, edited by Lauren T. Davila. I actually wrote the story for a contest years, but apparently only the winner of that contest ever heard back. My friend and fellow author Sheila Colón-Bagley, whose picture book La Noche Before Three Kings Daycomes out next fall, alerted to me to Lauren’s call for stories for authors of different marginalized backgrounds. For those who don’t know, I am Cuban through my father. “The Boy Who Became and Entire Planet” is, as I pitch it, the video game Mass Effect meets Jeff VanderMeer’s Annihilation. It is set in the very far future where overpopulation has led the people of Earth to travel out to the stars and colonize different planets. Latine people get their own section of space: the Mundo System (if you know Spanish, you’ll understand the meaning of the system’s name). All the Latine cultures get their own planets without trouble from their planets’ natural environments, except for the Cubans. Havana, the new planet the Cuban settlers original founded, is populated by deadly, sentient plant life. Rafael Silva and his friend Beatriz Villaverde (again, if you know Spanish then those surnames will stick out to you) are tasked with quelling the hostile plant life.
That’s all I can say for now. What makes me excited about this is that I’m finally getting something published! I haven been writing and re-writing some full-length books for a while, and while a previous draft of one did get two partial requests from literary agents, I haven’t had much success in the querying trenches. Things got really difficult for everyone after the COVID-19 pandemic started. Also, I am still very unlearned about the publishing world and querying tips, so despite my two previous partial requests, I am probably doing something very wrong on that front. Short stories are usually how most authors writing speculative fiction get their foot in the door. If all goes well, my words will finally be out in the world. I am thankful for Sheila first alerting me to the call for stories and I’m excited to work with Lauren. She’s great!
So, to any still-struggling writers out there: I am still a baby in this industry, but please, never give up! If you have to, take a break. I actually took this entire week off from writing (and working out, ulp!) to relax my brain, but I’m back at it tomorrow after work.
Perpetual Dark Night of the Soul 