Book Reviews

Critical Weight: A Collection of RE Book Review Favorites

Considering that book reviews are usually about the newest and latest, it may be odd to point to some of our favorites. But if you want to know how to write a review, or if you just want to know what we at Reflection’s Edge tried to do with them, the examples below show some of our most interesting approaches[...]

Redemption in Indigo, by Karen Lord

It should be said outright—Redemption in Indigo will not get the attention it deserves.
Small Beer Press, the publishers behind Indigo and Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet have made a habit of [...]

This Other Eden, by Michael Hemmingson

In this pulp-noir short story collection, tough men and women grit their teeth through lousy jobs and half-crazy plays for action. Whether they’re on the top of the heap or [...]

The Ox-Bow Incident, by Walter Van Tilburg Clark

Outside the cadre of die-hard fans of western fiction, few of its authors have much popular cache—Zane Grey; Larry McMurtry; Cormac McCarthy. The number of westerns on the shelf of [...]

Soulless, by Gail Carriger

Miss Alexia Tarabotti is a spinster, a bluestocking, and a woman entirely without a soul—a rare condition which allows her to neutralize vampires, werewolves, and other manifestations of the supernatural. [...]

The Age of Ra, by James Lovegrove

Staff writer Ciro Faienza looks at the the well-respected Lovegrove’s latest work.

Stars in my Pocket Like Grains of Sand, by Samuel R. Delany

New staff member Ciro Faienza reviews Delany’s science fiction classic in one of our New Look at an Old Book series.

Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America, by Robert Charles Wilson

The Hugo-winning author of Spin writes a futuristic novel that reads like historical fiction.

The Demon’s Lexicon, by Sarah Rees Brennan

A fantasy adventure about teenage demon hunters in contemporary England. Debut novel by an internet favorite.

New Look at an Old Book: Carrie, by Stephen King

In this new feature, readers and staff members are invited to peruse a classic of genre they’ve somehow never gotten around to reading, and to share their thoughts and expectations. Contributing editor Romie Stott takes the first stab with a review of Steven King’s groundbreaking first novel, and finds it astonishingly fresh.

The Memory Palace, by JoSelle Vanderhooft

Contributing editor Romie Stott reflects on genre interplay in RE author JoSelle Vanderhooft’s new book of confessional poetry, and discusses the ways that speculative fiction is entering the literary mainstream.

The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard, by Robert E. Howard

Guest reviewer Ciro Faienza looks into a collection that shows Robert E. Howard was much more than just the author of the Conan stories.

The Watchers out of Time, by H.P. Lovecraft and August Derleth

Contributing Editor Romie Stott looks into a new release in Ballantine Books’ ongoing series of H.P. Lovecraft anthologies, and discovers a different Old God than the cover suggests.

The Engine’s Child, by Holly Phillips

Kyle White finds that in Phillips’ The Engine’s Child, the magic is in the prose as much as the story.

Pandemonium, by Daryl Gregory

Our staff book reviewer dives into Pandemonium, and finds new novelist Daryl Gregory has a way with madness.