https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LxMt7d746k Super Democracy! You might call it a lie, you might call it filthy propaganda, you might suggest its striking similarity to fascism. If that's the case, the firing line's this way - let the bullets hit you on your way out. For all my fellow loyal citizens, I congratulate you: together ,we have done... Continue Reading →
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow is a Love Letter to the Gothic Genre | Book Review
https://youtu.be/OLS_7RnWwAs How might a love letter to the gothic genre look? It might, first, be in the novel form: nothing less would capture its grandiose themes, its dark and brooding atmosphere. Then, there must be a house. Not just any house will do. You know the type: a tangle of rust-covered metal gates and fence,... Continue Reading →
The Short Story Reader #128 – Born a Ghost by Nadia Bongo
Previous | Next What a beautiful, tragic human tale Nadia Bongo tells! "Born a Ghost" follows a small ghost girl's life from birth until her twelfth year. This story is a kind of ontology of the ghostly life across this period, a magical tale that hides reality under a thin layer of fiction. It's not... Continue Reading →
The Short Story Reader #127 – Spread the Word by Delilah S. Dawson
Previous | Next This psychological horror packs the punch of peak Stephen King, and its subject matter is reminiscent of the master storyteller's own interests. A strange, religious obsession befalls the dads of Will's new friends, transforming them, turning them violent and cruel. Will's no hero, he's just arrived to town after his own share... Continue Reading →
Lil’ Guardsman’s Top Six Characters! (With Spoilers?)
https://youtu.be/IFHxwYR1mxQ Lil' Guardsman presents a veritable treasure trove of memorable characters, but today, we at the Filip Magnus channel are going to talk about and celebrate the six best characters across all this lil indie game! Spoilers for Lil' Guardsman follow, so if you haven't played it - turn away! Why top six?! Because…shut up.... Continue Reading →
Bookshops and Bonedust by Travis Baldree is Cozy Fun with a Necromantic Edge! | Book Review
My Legends & Lattes review! The Dark Lord's Legends and Lattes review. https://youtu.be/qbuMDknoeao Travis Baldree's Legends and Lattes was the cosy fantasy the book-reading world needed in 2022; but does its prequel show that Baldree, former games developer and full-time narrator, can catch lightning in a bottle twice? The short answer: Yes. Yes, it does.... Continue Reading →
The Short Story Reader #125 – Dandelions by Martin Cahill
Previous | Next What happens when strangers from the stars come and their physiology interplays with ours in so unique a way as to invite nothing but murder. Martin Cahill's "Dandelions" is a flash piece that offers a refreshing reimagining of the alien invasion. Never mind that was exactly what they wanted to happen, what... Continue Reading →
What I Talk About When I Talk About Books In November – Part 2
Previously on What I Talk About When I Talk About Books In November... Hullo again! Time to cover a few more of the by-gone reads of yestermonth! Last time, I went on a Greek play binge! This time around, I reckon it's time to cover a few weirder reads from the Ancient and Medieval world,... Continue Reading →
The Short Story Reader #124 – Morag’s Boy by Fiona Moore
Previous | Next Once upon a time, some four months ago, I reviewed a little story by Fiona Moore called "The Spoil Heap". Imagine my shock when the very first story in Clarkesworld #207 is a standalone sequel, once more featuring my favourite postapocalyptic techie Morag! Now older, Morag is asked by her family to... Continue Reading →
Tyranny, Prophecy, and Freedom in Aeschylus’s Prometheus Bound
You can find my previous essay on a Greek tragedy (Medea) here. I wrote this for a university class, and I figured I might as well share it with you lot. Aeschylus creates one of Greek tragedy’s most sympathetic figures in Prometheus Bound’s eponymous protagonist. The titan Prometheus’s choice to defy Zeus for the sake... Continue Reading →