Usually-short reviews of books and sometimes other media that I enjoyed or had thoughts on.
Welcome to Dorley Hall by Alyson Greaves - 18 April, 2025
Welcome to Dorley Hall is the first book in an ongoing forcefem webfiction that is being now physically published by Alyson Greaves. As seems to be a theme with small published trans books, it takes the absurd premise of a forcefem cult and uses it delightfully seriously.
Ranma ½ (2024) - 3 March, 2025
Ranma ½ (2024) is a remake of a 1989 anime based on a 1986 manga that currently has one season. Featuring a martial arts boy in an arranged marriage with a martial arts girl, the twist is that when the boy gets splashed with cold water, he turns into a girl. I don’t think it’s very good.
Otherside Picnic by Iori Miyazawa - 27 February, 2025
Otherside Picnic is a Roadside Picnic-inspired yuri light novel by Iori Miyazawa that takes inspiration from internet horror stories and creepypastas for its ‘zone’. It features two girls with the closest kind of relationship in the world exploring a green and blue wasteland devoid of life; except for the horrors.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers - 13 January, 2025
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is a fun, sometimes emotional, little romp across the galaxy in the form of a sci-fi book written by Becky Chambers. It features a diverse cast of characters on a journey of self-discovery doing a job to get paid and making lots of stops along the way.
To Own the Libs by Zoe Storm - 30 November, 2024
To Own the Libs by Zoe Storm is exactly the kind of book I’ve been searching after for years. I think I found it when going down a Goodreads rabbit hole of trans books, and with a title like that how could it not grab my attention. Despite its meme-able name however, this book can be extremely serious, grounded and relatable on a personal level.
The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin - 25 October, 2024
The Three-Body Problem is a science fiction novel originally released in China by Liu Cixin before being translated to English by Ken Liu. It features multiple storylines taking place at different points in time; one with a disgraced astrophysicist after the Chinese Cultural Revolution and one with a nanotechnology professor seeking to uncover a conspiracy.
The Scapegracers by Hannah Abigail Clarke - 10 June, 2024
The Scapegracers was recommended to me in a random Discord chat as I was bitching about how hard it was to try and find good queer non-contemporary fiction. Written by August Clarke as their debut book, as soon as I saw it involved lesbians, witches, deer and the colour purple it instantly shot to the top of my “to-read” list.
Axiom's End by Lindsay Ellis - 7 December, 2023
Axiom’s End is a sci-fi first-contact novel by the ex-YouTuber, now Nebula-er(?) video essayist Lindsay Ellis. Set in 2007, it features Cora Sabino trying to live a normal life after her estranged father whistleblows a government cover-up of first contact in the wake of a large meteoric event. Her attempts are quickly thrown off when a second event happens right over her new workplace.
Artemis by Andy Weir - 23 June, 2022
Artemis by Andy Weir is an awesome hard sci-fi action/mystery in which entire chapters of the climax are dedicated to welding and it could not be more riveting. Weir branches out a lot compared to his previous novels and it pays off, with more great characters and a diversity that makes the world feel alive.