Book Review: A PRINCESS OF MARS: SHADOW OF THE ASSASSINS

TITLE: A Princess of Mars: Shadow of the Assassins

AUTHOR: Ann Tonsor Zeddies

314 pages, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., ISBN 9781945462698 (paperback, hardcover, limited edition)

MY RATING:  5 stars out of 5

The Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe (or ERBU) continues to expand with Ann Tonsor Zeddies’ A Princess of Mars: Shadow of the Assassins, the first new canonical novel to truly feature Dejah Thoris in the main role since she was introduced in Burroughs’ first Barsoom novel (also titled A Princess of Mars) in 1911 (when it was originally serialized in All-Story magazine as “Under the Moons of Mars”). Despite the title, A Princess of Mars focused more on John Carter, the amnesiac and long-lived Earthman who is mysteriously transported to Mars and finds himself caught up in the political and existential crises of a world not his own, than it did on the titular Princess. Carter does meet and fall in love with Dejah Thoris, princess of the human city-state of Helium, and her scenes introduce us to a woman adept at statecraft, quick to make decisions, handy with weaponry, and not easily wooed/swayed by the presence of a handsome stranger.

People who have never read Burroughs, who rely only on the television and movie interpretations of his work from the 1950s and ‘60s to inform their opinion of him, are surprised to discover just how progressive (for his time) Burroughs was in writing his female characters. Dejah Thoris, Jane Porter, Duare of Amtor, Dian of Pellucidar, and so many others are not the wilting damsels-in-distress of so much media of the time. They are all strong, intelligent, proud women capable of not only getting into danger but rescuing themselves from it (as discussed in “The Women of Edgar Rice Burroughs” panel at Pulpfest 2024, as discussed in my post earlier this week).

Ann Tonsor Zeddies takes what we know of Dejah Thoris’ personality and history from the Barsoom novels she featured prominently in and delivers a prequel novel that shows us how she grew into the woman John Carter falls in love with. Dejah starts off the novel straining against her father’s (Mors Kajak, jed of Lesser Helium) reluctance to treat her like an adult. While her brother gets to go off on scientific expeditions, Dejah is expected to stay in Helium and await the wooing of suitors from the city’s warrior class. The unexpected arrival of an embassy from another city-state and the bad timing of an attack by a tribe of Mars’ green men conspire to place Dejah in the position of representing her father, and her city, at a series of Olympics-like games in the previously unheard-of city of Zor. (The timing of this novel, which so heavily features sporting competition and the awarding of honors for same, coming out amid the 2024 Summer Olympics may or may not have been planned by Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc. If it wasn’t, it is certainly fortuitous.)

Shadow of the Assassins is somewhat an origin story for Dejah Thoris. We get to watch her grow from a girl who thinks she knows everything to a woman who recognizes that to be a good leader, one must surround oneself with trusted and smart advisors – and not just be in their company, but also listen to them. She bungles her initial interactions with the Jeddak of Zor, Jan Vajo, and his sister Phortara, ignoring the advice of the older friend of her mother’s sent as adviser in Dejah’s retinue. She also takes ownership of her mistakes and strives to make amends – although almost too late – and in the end makes a series of decisions that not only save herself and her friends but also her embattled father.

Zeddies also crafts exciting, engrossing chase and fight scenes full of tension that alternate wonderfully with the scenes of courtly intrigue. Both the action scenes and the intrigue scenes work together to deepen and further the mystery Dejah Thoris must solve: what is really going on in Zor and how will it affect Helium?

Since this is a prequel, we know that Helium will be okay, but the threat still feels palpable. Few of the familiar characters from Burroughs’ original Barsoom novels appear outside of Dejah’s parents and grandparents. But there are winks at some of the friends and threats that appear in the Burroughs books and there are new characters introduced who add to the interesting tapestry of the Barsoom books without contradicting anything we already know and who hopefully will continue to appear as the ERBU grows.

The book also includes a new John Carter of Mars novella, “John Carter of Mars: Swords of the Mind,” written by Geary Gravel (who also wrote the ERBU novel John Carter of Mars: Gods of the Forgotten, part of the company’s “Swords of Eternity” Super-Arc, which I reviewed HERE). The novella is a sequel of sorts to Gods of the Forgotten as well as to Burroughs’ novel Thuvia, Maid of Mars, but you do not have to have read either novel to enjoy this novella. John Carter discovers that his son Carthoris is missing and goes to investigate. An old threat is found to not only still be active but also stronger in power. Geary expertly weaves together and extrapolates from Burroughs’ concepts to expand the mythos with new dangers. And to introduce a new character! One of the things I’ve enjoyed about the new ERBU books is the introduction of the “next generation:” Suzanne Clayton (granddaughter of Tarzan), Victory Harben (daughter of Gretchen von Harben), Janson Gridley (son of Jason and Jana), and now Djon Dihn (son of Carthoris and Thuvia). Burroughs had no problem extending the family trees of his characters (having given us Korak, son of Tarzan, and Carthoris and his sister Tara, children of John Carter and Dejah Thoris), and I think he’d be happy to see the way that tradition is being carried on in the new spate of canonical ERBU books.

I hope this is just the first of several Dejah Thoris prequel novels from Ann Tonsor Zeddies, who also wrote the novella “Victory Harben: Stormwinds of Va-Nah.” I am excited to see where she’ll take Dejah and her new friends next, in the years between this book and A Princess of Mars.

I received an advance reading pdf of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. A Princess of Mars: Shadow of the Assassins can be pre-ordered now (in paperback, hardcover, and limited-edition collector’s hardcover versions) at the Edgar Rice Burroughs Incorporated website.

READING ROUNDUP: April 2024

Here’s what I’ve been reading, listening to, and watching in April 2024!

BOOKS

I read 14 books in April: 7 in print, 3 in e-book format, and 4 in audio format. They were:

1.       Triad Blood (Triad #1) by ‘Nathan Burgoine (PRINT)

2.       The Brides of High Hill (Singing Hills Cycle #5) by Nghi Vo (E-BOOK)

3.       Macbeth (an undoing) by Zinnie Harris (PRINT) (also saw a live production)

4.       Triad Soul (Triad #2) by ‘Nathan Burgoine (PRINT)

5.       Becoming by Michelle Obama (AUDIOBOOK, Non-Fiction Challenge, 2024 TBR Challenge)

6.       Stories of a Lifetime by Dan Rather (AUDIOBOOK, Non-Fiction Challenge)

7.       Legends & Lattes (Legends & Lattes Book 1) by Travis Baldree (E-BOOK)

8.       The Champions Classic: The Complete Collection by Tony Isabella, Bill Mantlo, Don Heck, John Byrne and others. (PRINT, Graphic Novel Challenge)

9.       House of Slaughter Volume 3: The Butcher's Return by James Tynion IV, Tate Brombal, Werther Dell’Edera, Antonio Fuso and Miquel Muerto (PRINT, Graphic Novel Challenge)

10.   House of Slaughter Volume 4: Alabaster by James Tynion IV, Sam Johns, Werther Dell’Edera, Letizia Cadonici and Francesco Segala (PRINT, Graphic Novel Challenge)

11.   All The Names They Used for God: Stories by Anjali Sachdeva (AUDIOBOOK, short story challenge)

12.   Paradox Lost by Roberta Pescow (E-BOOK, short story challenge)

13.   Breaking Bold and Brave: A Fan's Journey Through One of Comics' Greatest Titles by Jim Beard (introduction by Paul Kupperberg) (PRINT, Non-Fiction Challenge)

14.   Harry Clarke by David Cale (AUDIOBOOK)

STORIES

Here’s what I read this month and where you can find them if you’re interested in reading them too. If no source is noted, the story is from the same magazine or book as the story(ies) that precede(s) it.

1.       “A Pedra” by Endria Isa Richardson, in Lightspeed Magazine #167, edited by John Joseph Adams

2.       “Under a Star, Bright as Morning” by David Anaxagoras

3.       “Mother's Day, After Everything” by Susan Palwick

4.       “Limping Towards Sunrise” by Rich Larson

5.       “a testament to indirection, an enigma, the sun above” by Mitchell Shanklin

6.       “How To Know Your Father Is a God” by Modepeoluwa Shelle

7.       “Salemo” by David Marino

8.       “Travelers' Tales from the Ends of the World” by Vandana Singh

9.       “A Traveler's Guide to Fantastical Countries” by Seanan McGuire, on the Author’s Patreon

10.   “Vivisepulture” by James Bennett, from The Dark #107, edited by Sean Wallace

11.   “Water Like Broken Glass” by Carina Bissett

12.   “Imago” by Steve Rasnic Tem

13.   “Dead But Dreaming Still” by Michael Kelly

14.   “The Coffee of Torcat” by Devin Miller, from Beneath Ceaseless Skies #404 edited by Scott H. Andrews

15.   “The Lark Ascending” by Eleanna Castroianni, from Clarkesworld #211, edited by Neil Clarke

16.   “An Intergalactic Smuggler's Guide to Homecoming” by Tia Tashiro

17.   “Stitched to Skin Like Family Is” by Nghi Vo, from Uncanny Magazine #57, edited by Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas

18.   “The Best Ever Cosplay of Whistle and Midnight” by Annalee Newitz

19.   “Three” by ‘Nathan Burgoine, from Blood Sacraments: Gay Vampire Erotica, edited by Todd Gregory

20.   “Possession” by ‘Nathan Burgoine, from Erotica Exotica: Tales of Sex, Magic, and the Supernatural, edited by Richard LaBonté

21.   “Bound” by ‘Nathan Burgoine, from Not Just Another Pretty Face, edited by Louis Flint Ceci

22.   “The World by Night” by Anjali Sachdeva, from All the Names They Used for God

23.   “Glass-Lung” by Anjali Sachdeva

24.   “Logging Lake” by Anjali Sachdeva

25.   “Killer of Kings” by Anjali Sachdeva

26.   “All the Names They Used for God” by Anjali Sachdeva

27.   “Robert Greenman and the Mermaid” by Anjali Sachdeva

28.   “Anything You Might Want” by Anjali Sachdeva

29.   “Manus” by Anjali Sachdeva

30.   “Pleiades” by Anjali Sachdeva

31.   “A Life in the Service” by Roberta Pescow, from Paradox Lost

32.   “Bad Left Turns” by Roberta Pescow

33.   “A Monster's Tears” by Roberta Pescow

34.   “Be Right Back” by Roberta Pescow

35.   “A Presence Beyond the Shadows” by David Lee Summers, from Arithmophobia: An Anthology of Mathematical Horror, edited by Robert Lewis

36.   “The Artful Eagle” By Barbara Krasnoff, from Kaleidotrope Magazine, Spring 2024, edited by Fred Coppersmith

37.   “Where the Girls Who Were Eaten Alive Live” by R.K. Duncan

38.   “Pillow Fort” by Alexandra Munck

39.   “Harry Clarke” by David Cale, from Harry Clarke

40.   “Lillian” by David Cale

41.   “Necessary Evils” by ‘Nathan Burgoine, from Raising Hell: Demonic Gay Erotica, edited by Todd Gregory

42.   “Intercession” by ‘Nathan Burgoine, from Wings: Subsersive Gay Angel Erotica, edited by Todd Gregory

So that’s 42 short stories in April. More than “1 per day” for the first time this year, which puts me back on pace for the year! (April 30th was the 121st day of 2024.)

MOVIES

April was an improvement over March because I managed to watch four movies in April:

1.       Knock at the Cabin (2023)

2.       Gamera vs. Viras (1968)

3.       Just What the Doctor Ordered (2021)

4.       Doctor Who: The Movie (1996)

TELEVISION

·       Heartstopper Season 1, Episodes 1-8 (8 episodes)

·       Heartstopper Season 2, Episodes 1 – 8 (8 episodes)

That’s 16 episodes of television, again not the “1 per day” I was shooting for, and slightly worse than February’s total.

LIVE THEATER

It was another good month for live theater:

·       Macbeth (an undoing), Polonsky Shakespeare Center, Brooklyn, NYC

·       Water For Elephants, Imperial Theatre, NYC

Summary of Challenges:

“To Be Read” Challenge: This month: 1 read; YTD: 2 of 14 read.

366 Short Stories Challenge: This month:  42 read; YTD: 121 of 366 read.

Goodreads Challenge: This month: 14 read; YTD: 41 of 120 read.

Graphic Novels Challenge:  This month: 3 read; YTD: 11 of 52 read.

Non-Fiction Challenge: This month: 3 read; YTD: 7 of 12 read.

Read the Book / Watch the Movie Challenge: This month: 0 read/watched; YTD: 1 read/watched.

Movie Challenge: This month: 4 watched; YTD: 9 of 52 watched.

TV Shows Challenge: This month: 16 episodes watched; YTD: 79 of 366 watched.

Live Theater Challenge: This month: 2 shows attended; YTD: 6 of 12 attended.

Book Review: A VOICE CALLING

TITLE: A Voice Calling

AUTHOR: Christopher Barzak

103 pages, Psychopomp, ISBN 9798891160019 (softcover, also in e-book)

MY RATING: 5 stars out of 5

Christopher Barzak’s new novella A Voice Calling is ostensibly a haunted house story, but it is also very much a haunted community story, an elegiacally written and unsparing look at the way secrets and violence can permeate and shape both places and people (individually and collectively).

In Barzak’s hands, Button House takes a rightful place alongside Shirley Jackson’s Hill House, Poe’s House of Usher, King’s Marsten House, and Elizabeth Hand’s Wylding Hall as iconic haunted houses (each of those listed left an indelible mark on my imagination; your list may be different). Button House has a mood I can only describe as “habitable desolation,” thanks to its history. That history, revealed through flashbacks of varying lengths throughout the narrative, starts with an unsurety as to whether the house or the orchards that surround it came first. One way or the other, the property has roots that are more than one hundred years old, and most of that history is sordid and bloody. House and orchard together are fixed in my mind as someplace I wouldn’t want to be alone in at any time of day – and Barzak works this magic with very few detailed descriptions of the house and grounds. It is largely through mood and inference that a picture of the property forms in the reader’s mind, which I think is far more effective than overly detailed descriptions of the furniture in every room.

But as I said, it’s not just the house that is haunted. It is the nearby community as well. This community narrates the story with a collective “we.” These faceless, and mostly nameless, voices are at times judgmental, speculative, defensive, infuriated, occasionally even concerned – but they are never warm, never really welcoming or hospitable. And thus they are also blind both to how complicit they are in the events that occur (by turning a blind eye to the house and its inhabitants when attention might have swayed matters) and to how haunted they are by those events. The fear of a community is a palpable thing, self-perpetuating and uncontrollable. As the book progressed, I found myself increasingly picturing the narrators as one of the angry mobs from the early Universal monster films. Like those mobs, Barzak’s narrators never really gain any sense of individuality. Sure, we get a townsperson’s name here and there, for color. But we never get to know them.

We do get to know the focal character of the present day portions of the novel, the character the nameless narrators are most concerned about because she used to be one of their own: Rose Billings (the narrators never really accept her marriage to Button House’s last living resident, Jonas Addleson, and thus never refer to her by her married name, another manifestation of their fear and mistrust). Caught out near Button House during a bad storm, Rose, who has heard voices in her head all her life, feels called to the House. But did the House call to Rose because Jonas needed rescue, or because something else did? Barzak neatly conjoins this mystery with the bloody history of the house in prose that is compelling and engrossing, with not a superfluous word in the work. Even with chapter breaks, the story has so much momentum that it qualifies as my first “couldn’t put it down until I was done” read of 2024.

Throughout my reading, I kept feeling like the story was familiar, like I’d read it before. I chalked it up to Barzak being one of my favorite writers and just feeling at home in his style, because this is the first publication in any form of A Voice Calling. My feeling was correct, though. This novella grew out of a short story “What We Know About the Lost Families of –House,” which I’ve read at least once. The original story is great, but the novella format gives the story a bit more room to breath and to suck the reader into Button House’s history.

This book is also the first release from small press publisher Psychopomp (previously known for The Deadlands magazine). It is an excellent start to what I am confident will be a lengthy line of eerie books that explore our relationship with death in all its myriad facets, as well as what may or may not come after.

Reading Round-Up: March 2024

Here’s what I’ve been reading, listening to, and watching in March 2024!

BOOKS

I read 8 books in March: 4 in print, 3 in e-book format, and 1 in audio format. They were:

1.       Something is Killing the Children Volume 7 by James Tynion IV, Werner Dell’Edera, Miguel Muerto and others. (PRINT, GRAPHIC NOVEL CHALLENGE)

2.       Death Comes Too Late by Charles Ardai (E-BOOK, ARC) REVIEW LINK

3.       Crone Unleashed (Crone Wars #4) by Lydia M. Hawke (PRINT)

4.       Chita: A Memoir by Chita Rivera (AUDIO, NON-FICTION CHALLENGE)

5.       The Vineyard Remains by Addison McKnight (E-BOOK, ARC) REVIEW LINK

6.       A Voice Calling by Christopher Barzak (E-BOOK)

7.       Mammoths at the Gates (Singing Hills Cycle #4) by Nghi Vo (PRINT, REREAD) REVIEW LINK

8.       Seven Swords by Evan Daugherty, Frederico Dallochio, Riccardo Latina, Valentina Bianconi, and Dave Sharpe (PRINT, GRAPHIC NOVEL CHALLENGE)

STORIES

Here’s what I read this month and where you can find them if you’re interested in reading them too. If no source is noted, the story is from the same magazine or book as the story(ies) that precede(s) it.

1.       “Let the Star Explode” by Shingai Njeri Kagunda, in Lightspeed Magazine #166, edited by John Joseph Adams

2.       “An Incomplete Body Has No Answers” by Angela Liu

3.       “The Three Thousand, Four Hundred Twenty-First Law of Robotics” by Adam-Troy Castro

4.       “Islands of Stability” by Marissa Lingen

5.       “Fragments of a Symbiotic Life” by Will McMahon

6.       “Kopki and the Fish” by Alex Levine

7.       “Only Some of True Love's Miracles” by P H Lee

8.       “Season of Weddings” by Sharang Biswas REVIEW LINK

9.       “The Home Front” by Charles Ardai, in Death Comes Too Late

10.   “Game Over” by Charles Ardai

11.   “The Day After Tomorrow” by Charles Ardai

12.   “The Case” by Charles Ardai

13.   “Goin' West” by Charles Ardai

14.   “The Shadow Line” by Charles Ardai

15.   “Nobody Wins” by Charles Ardai

16.   “Jonas and the Frail” by Charles Ardai

17.   “The Deadly Embrace” by Charles Ardai

18.   “Don't Be Cruel” by Charles Ardai

19.   “Mother of Pearl” by Charles Ardai

20.   “The Fall of Man” by Charles Ardai

21.   “Fathers and Sons” by Charles Ardai

22.   “Sleep! Sleep! Beauty Bright” by Charles Ardai

23.   “Masks” by Charles Ardai

24.   “My Husband's Wife” by Charles Ardai

25.   “Secret Service” by Charles Ardai

26.   “A Bar Called Charley's” by Charles Ardai

27.   “A Free Man” by Charles Ardai

28.   “The Investigation of Things” by Charles Ardai

29.   “Hello! Hello! Hello!” by Fiona Jones, in Clarkesworld #210, edited by Neil Clarke

30.   “Big Bad” by Chandler Baker, from Amazon’s Creature Feature collection

31.   “Best of Luck” by Jason Mott

32.   “The Pram” by Joe Hill

33.   “Ankle Snatcher” by Grady Hendrix

34.   “It Waits in the Woods” by Josh Malerman

So that’s 34 short stories in March. More than “1 per day” for the first time this year, which catches me up a little bit but still behind pace for the year so far. (March 31st was the 91st day of 2024.)

MOVIES

March was an improvement over February because I managed to watch one movie in March:

1.       Gamera vs. Gyaos (1967)

TELEVISION

·       Slow Horses Season 2, Episodes 2-6 (5 episodes) REVIEW LINK

·       Love, Death & Robots Season 2, Episodes 1 – 8 (8 episodes)

·       Love, Death & Robots Season 3, Episodes 1 – 9 (9 episodes)

·       Star Trek: Discovery Inside the Final Season (1 episode)

That’s 23 episodes of television, again not the “1 per day” I was shooting for, but slightly better than February’s total.

LIVE THEATER

It was a good month for live theater:

·       Drunk Shakespeare, Ruby Theater, NYC (for goddaughter’s 21st birthday) REVIEW LINK

·       Alan Cumming Is Not Acting His Age, Studio 54, NYC (cabaret-style show)

·       All The Devils Are Here, DR2 Theater, NYC (2nd time seeing Patrick Page’s 1-man show about Shakespeare’s villains) REVIEW LINK (from the first time I saw the show; 2nd time was as great)

Summary of Challenges:

“To Be Read” Challenge: This month: 0 read; YTD: 1 of 14 read.

366 Short Stories Challenge: This month:  34 read; YTD: 79 of 366 read.

Goodreads Challenge: This month: 8 read; YTD: 27 of 120 read.

Graphic Novels Challenge:  This month: 2 read; YTD: 8 of 52 read.

Non-Fiction Challenge: This month: 1 read; YTD: 4 of 12 read.

Read the Book / Watch the Movie Challenge: This month: 0 read/watched; YTD: 1 read/watched.

Movie Challenge: This month: 1 watched; YTD: 5 of 52 watched.

TV Shows Challenge: This month: 23 episodes watched; YTD: 63 of 366 watched.

Live Theater Challenge: This month: 3 shows attended; YTD: 4 of 12 attended.

Book Review: VICTORY HARBEN: FIRES OF HALOS

TITLE: Victory Harben: Fires of Halos

AUTHOR: Christopher Paul Carey

404 pages, Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc., ISBN 9781945462498 (hardcover, paperback, collector’s edition hardcover)

MY RATING: 5 stars out of 5

SHORT REVIEW: Victory Harben: Fires of Halos, written by Christopher Paul Carey, is classic Edgar Rice Burroughs interplanetary adventure from start to finish, a worthy continuation of the first true interconnected universe in fiction. Victory Harben is a new character in that universe, every bit as smart, sassy, resilient and strong as Burroughs’ own Jane Porter, Dejah Thoris and Duare, all of whom were easily a match for the men in whose books they appeared. The novel is non-stop action that takes our heroine from a setting most Burroughs fans are intimately familiar with, Pellucidar, to one fans may be less familiar with, the Omos star system of one of Burroughs’ final books, the short novel Beyond the Farthest Star. Carey’s facility with creating alien worlds, societies, and wildlife is wondrous and perfectly Burroughsian, as Victory navigates her way through as many near-death encounters as her forebears Carter and Carson. The interplanetary roller-coaster leads to a well-earned finale that wraps up the major threads of the novel nicely while leaving plenty of room for future Victory Harben novels. Burroughs fans both life-long and intermittent will not be disappointed.

LONGER REVIEW: Victory Harben: Fires of Halos is a landmark book in the history of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. for several reasons. First, it brings to a conclusion the first set of new officially canonical Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe books released since the Master of Adventure died in 1950 and the last of his original works was released (barring a Tarzan novel later completed by Joe Lansdale). Yes, there have been plenty of novels and comic books released in the decades since featuring Burroughs’ most well-known characters, many of them published in recent years by ERB Inc directly, but it is only in the past few years that the company has started declaring certain novels as official additions to the Canon, based on how closely those books hew not just to the timeline of Burroughs’ original works but also the style, pacing and intent. Tarzan novels by Fritz Lieber and Philip Jose Farmer released in the 1970s have been officially canonized, along with Pellucidar novels by John Eric Holmes – and of course the four novels that comprise the “Swords of Eternity Super-Arc,” of which Fires of Halos is the final installment.

Victory Harben: Fires of Halos, written by Christopher Paul Carey, is classic Burroughs interplanetary adventure from start to finish. It opens with the author, at work in the ERB offices in Tarzana, California, receiving a message sent across space and time by Victory Harben, ready to relate her latest adventure for his transcription and fictionalization (to cover up details the world isn’t ready to know or believe yet) – just the way Burroughs received such messages from John Carter and Carson Napier among others. Told in first person narration by Victory Harben after that brief introduction, the novel is non-stop action that takes our heroine from a setting most Burroughs fans are intimately familiar with, Pellucidar, to one fans may be less familiar with, the Omos star system of one of Burroughs’ final books, the short novel Beyond the Farthest Star. There are stops in locales familiar (Barsoom!) and new (Kjarna! Zandar! Both of which I hope we’ll see more of in future novels). Carey’s facility with creating alien worlds, societies, and wildlife is wondrous and perfectly Burroughsian, as Victory navigates her way through as many near-death encounters with wild animals and angry aliens as her forebears Carter and Carson. The interplanetary roller-coaster leads to a well-earned finale that wraps up the major threads of the novel nicely while leaving plenty of room for future Victory Harben novels.

The second reason Victory Harben: Fires of Halos is a landmark novel in the publisher’s history is that it is the first new canonical novel to headline a character not created by Burroughs himself. Part of ERB Inc’s current efforts to revitalize the ERB Universe includes expanding it to include new characters with connections to the classic Burroughs creations. In her previous novella and comic book appearances, we’ve seen Victory study under Tarzan, Jason Gridley, David Innes and Abner Perry as well as encounter Caspak (The Land That Time Forgot) and Carson of Venus. And of course her mother, uncle, and grandfather are all characters who first appeared in supporting roles in various Tarzan novels. The three previous novels in the “Swords of Eternity Super-Arc” featured Carson of Venus, Tarzan, and John Carter, but here Victory gets the spotlight. And make no mistake: she is a character in the classic Burroughs mold – as smart, sassy, resilient and strong as Burroughs’ own Jane Porter, Dejah Thoris and Duare, all of whom were easily a match for the men in whose books they appeared. Victory Harben as a character is a terrific addition to the ERB Universe, a character I am sure we’ll see taking the lead in many more novels.

The book is rounded out with “Rescue on Zandar,” a novella by Mike Wolfer that further expands the ERB Universe by giving us the back story of Tii-Laa, a native of Zandar who first appeared in the recent ERB comic mini-series Beyond the Farthest Star: Warriors of Zandar alongside Victory Harben. In the novella, we get a Tii-Laa who is only just starting to realize how different she is from the rest of her race. Her confusion about being different and not fitting in, her defiance of constrictive societal norms, and her self-acceptance infuse the story with a modern feel without detracting from the classic Burroughs pulp-adventure pace. (And again, the pace is rapid-fire, with several interesting new creatures to survive encounters with.)

I have tried to keep this review as spoiler-free as possible while still hopefully getting across the sheer fun, excitement, and yes, importance, of the book. Burroughs fans both life-long and intermittent will not be disappointed in Victory Harben: Fires of Halos.

I received an advance reading pdf of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Victory Harben: Fires of Halos is due out in November, and can be pre-ordered in hardcover, collector’s edition hardcover, or trade paperback editions directly from the Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc website.)

READING ROUND-UP: July 2020

Continuing the monthly summaries of what I’ve been reading and listening to. This month’s numbers are a little higher than should be accurate, because three of the anthologies I proofread/copy-edited earlier in the spring finally came out, so I can include them (and the stories in them) in this month’s counts.

BOOKS

To keep my numbers consistent with what I have listed on Goodreads, I count completed magazine issues as “books.” I read or listened to 16 books in July: 12 in print, 2 in e-book format, and 2 in audio format. They were:

1.       Lightspeed Magazine #122 (July, 2020 issue), edited by John Joseph Adams. The usual fine assortment of sf and fantasy short stories. This month’s favorites for me were Tochi Onyebuchi’s “Zen and the Art of an Android Beatdown, or Cecile Meets a Boxer: A Love Story,” Ray Nayler’s “The Swallows of the Storm,” Kiiri Ibura Salaam’s “Rosamojo,” Mari Ness’s “Great Gerta and the Mermaid” and Christina Ten’s “Baba Yaga and the Seven Hills.”

2.       The Second Star by Alma Alexander. Alexander’s latest novel starts out as a mystery, when a lost starship returns with a startlingly altered crew. But it goes well beyond that trope. Full Review HERE.

3.       Ignorance Is Strength (The Dystopia Triptych Volume 1) edited by John Joseph Adams, Hugh Howey, and Christie Yant. Full disclosure: I proofread/copy-edited this trilogy of anthologies. I recommend buying all three and following each author’s story arc across books. They’re all wonderful, but I was most captivated by those written by Seanan McGuire, Carrie Vaughn, Merc Fenn Wolfmoor, Caroline M. Yoachim, Tobias S. Buckell, Alex Irvine, and An Owomoyela.

4.       Burn The Ashes (The Dystopia Triptych Volume 2) edited by John Joseph Adams, Hugh Howey, and Christie Yant.

5.       Or Else the Light (The Dystopia Triptych Volume 3) edited by John Joseph Adams, Hugh Howey, and Christie Yant.

6.       Flyaway by Kathleen Jennings. A rural fantasy fever-dream set in the outback. FULL REVIEW HERE.

7.       Lumberjanes Volume 14: X Marks the Spot by Shannon Watters, Kat Leyh, Dozerdraws, Maarta Laiho, and others. This time, the Roanoke cabin girls follow a treasure map and find a broken statue that turns out to be a vindictive ancient Grecian monster. A fun, fast adventure.

8.       A Spectral Hue by Craig Laurance Gidney. Gidney’s Lovecraftian mid-Atlantic Gothic novel explores the power of muses and the transformative nature of art.

9.       The Gown of Harmonies by Francesca Forrest. A really brilliant novella about a blind seamstress and the dangerous deal she makes with a faerie. Bonus points: the audiobook is narrated by C.S.E. Cooney, whose style is just perfect for this very mannered, deeply emotional tale.

10.   Fence Volume 4: Rivals by C.S. Pacat, Johanna the Mad and Joanna LaFuente. With the school fencing team roster set, the boys face off against their school’s arch-rivals in a pre-season match. Another fun installment.

11.   Malcolm and Me by Ishmael Reed. One of my few recent non-fiction listens. Reed’s life course was altered by his first interview and subsequent encounters with Malcolm X.

12.   Peace Talks by Jim Butcher. After a several year hiatus, Butcher returns to Harry Dresden. I liked the book, but it felt incomplete. It’s not the first time Butcher has used a Dresden book to “move the chess pieces around” to set up the next book, but it is the first time he’s given us a book where so many major plots are introduced and almost none of them are resolved. The next book, which presumably will wrap up some of them, comes out in the fall. (And yes, I’m aware Peace Talks and Battle Ground were originally meant to be one book. It’s still disappointing how much was left dangling.)

13.   Anthems Outside Time and Other Strange Voices by Kenneth Schneyer. A really stellar collection of Schneyer’s genre-bending and tradition-breaking short stories.

14.   Aftermath of an Industrial Accident: Stories by Mike Allen. I’ve described Allen’s most recent novella as a “masterful mind-fuck,” and that appellation could easily apply to a number of the stories in this collection. Full Review HERE.

15.   Unhallowed (Rath and Rune, Book 1) by Jordan L. Hawk. Hawk’s “Whyborne and Griffin” series may be over, but the author isn’t done with the city of Widdershins just yet. This new series focuses on the Librarians of the Ladysmith Museum, and a new set of cosmic horrors threaten to destroy the world. Really great first installment, and an intriguing new gay couple to root for.

16.   The Terrifics Volume 2: Tom Strong and the Terrifics by Jeff Lemire, Dale Eaglesham, Viktor Bogdanovic, Joe Bennett, and others. The art feels a little inconsistent in this volume, but the story feels really solid. The Terrifics bounce around the Multiverse, break up, and reform.

STORIES

I have a goal of reading 366 short stories (1 per day, essentially, although it doesn’t always work out that way) this year (366 because it’s a Leap Year). Here’s what I read this month and where you can find them if you’re interested in reading them too. If no source is noted, the story is from the same magazine or book as the story(ies) that precede(s) it. (NOTE: The Dystopia Triptych anthologies are the books I copy-edited several months ago, but couldn’t list the story contents until the books were published in July. So this list catches me up for the year, but I didn’t actually read all of these stories in the month of July.)

1.       “Zen and the Art of an Android Beatdown, Or Cecile Meets a Boxer: A Love Story” by Tochi Onyebuchi, from Lightspeed Magazine #122 (July 2020 issue), edited by John Joseph Adams.

2.       “The End of the World Measured in Values of N” by Adam-Troy Castro

3.       “The Blue Fairy’s Manifesto” by Annalee Newitz

4.       “The Swallows of the Storm” by Ray Nayler

5.       “Baba Yaga and the Seven Hills” by Kristina Ten

6.       “A Siege of Cranes” by Benjamin Rosenbaum

7.       “Great Gerta and the Mermaid” by Mari Ness

8.       “Rosamojo” by Kiina Ibura Salaam

9.       “Ratting” by Seanan McGuire, on the author’s Patreon page.

10.   “The Department of Talent Resources” by Carrie Vaughn, from The Dystopia Triptych Vol 1: Ignorance is Strength, edited by John Joseph Adams, Hugh Howey and Christie Yant.

11.   “Glasslands” by Tim Pratt

12.   “Animals Like Me” by Rich Larson

13.   “Glass Houses” by Cadwell Turnbull

14.   “Lyceum” by Karin Lowachee

15.   “The Truth About the Boy” by Adam-Troy Castro

16.   “The Shadow Prison Experiment” by Caroline M. Yoachim

17.   “Inheritors” by Hugh Howey

18.   “The Oracle of Exile” by An Owomoyela

19.   “Opt-In” by Seanan McGuire

20.   “One Thousand Beetles in a Jumpsuit” by Domenica Phettleplace

21.   “Red Sky At Morning” by Alex Irvine

22.   “Idle Hands” by Tobias S. Buckell

23.   “The Love” by Scott Sigler

24.   “The Orphan of Greenridge” by Darcie Little Badger

25.   “Mister Dawn, How Can You Be So Cruel?” by Violet Allen

26.   “Trust in the Law, For the Law Trusts in You” by Merc Fenn Wolfmoor

27.   “Keep Your Streak Going!” by Carrie Vaughn, from The Dystopia Triptych Vol 2: Burn the Ashes, edited by John Joseph Adams, Hugh Howey and Christie Yant.

28.   “Cacophany” by Tim Pratt

29.   “Our Lady of Perpetual Disdain” by Rich Larson

30.   “Sand Castles” by Cadwell Turnbull

31.   “Survival Guide” by Karin Lowachee

32.   “The Proscribed Words” by Adam-Troy Castro

33.   “Shadow Prisons of the Mind” by Caroline M. Yoachim

34.   “Inheritors of the Curse” by Hugh Howey

35.   “You Cannot Push Back the Sky” by An Owomoyela

36.   “Conscription” by Seanan McGuire

37.   “Paradise Requires A Wall” by Domenica Phettleplace

38.   “Print the Legend” by Alex Irvine

39.   “The Fruits of their Labor” by Tobias S. Buckell

40.   “The Hate” by Scott Sigler

41.   “How to Use Your Visor Evacuation Helper to Escape an Active War Zone” by Darcie Little Badger

42.   “Our Motto: Do Not Wake Up” by Violet Allen

43.   “Believe in the Law, For the Law is All” by Merc Fenn Wolfmoor

44.   “You Have Been Crowdfunded” by Carrie Vaughn, from The Dystopia Triptych Vol 3: Or Else the Light, edited by John Joseph Adams, Hugh Howey and Christie Yant.

45.   “Spheres and Harmonies” by Tim Pratt

46.   “Failsafe” by Rich Larson

47.   “Dresses” by Cadwell Turnbull

48.   “Sakura” by Karin Lowachee

49.   “Blood Relations” by Adam-Troy Castro

50.   “The Shadow Prisoner’s Dilemma” by Caroline M. Yoachim

51.   “Inheritors of the Earth” by Hugh Howey

52.   “A Foreign-Born Heir” by An Owomoyela

53.   “Recovery” by Seanan McGuire

54.   “Human Country” by Domenica Phettleplace

55.   “Blackberries” by Alex Irvine

56.   “The Machine Votes” by Tobias S. Buckell

57.   “The Sadness & Joy” by Scott Sigler

58.   “Making Faces” by Darcie Little Badger

59.   “Why Can’t I Sleep a Little Longer?” by Violet Allen

60.   “The Law is the Plan, the Plan is Death” by Merc Fenn Wolfmoor

61.   “Some Pebbles in the Palm” by Kenneth Schneyer, from his collection Anthems Outside Time and Other Strange Voices

62.   “Hear the Enemy, My Daughter” by Kenneth Schneyer

63.   “Living in the Niche” by Kenneth Schneyer

64.   “The Mannequin’s Itch” by Kenneth Schneyer

65.   “Lineage” by Kenneth Schneyer

66.   “Keepsakes” by Kenneth Schneyer

67.   “The Last Bombardment” by Kenneth Schneyer

68.   “Confinement” by Kenneth Schneyer

69.   “Serkers and Sleep” by Kenneth Schneyer

70.   “I Have Read the Terms of Use” by Kenneth Schneyer

71.   “The Age of Three Stars” by Kenneth Schneyer

72.   “Keeping Tabs” by Kenneth Schneyer

73.   “Selected Program Notes from the Retrospective Exhibition of Theresa Rosenberg Latimer” by Kenneth Schneyer

74.   “The Plausibility of Dragons” by Kenneth Schneyer

75.   “Calibration” by Kenneth Schneyer

76.   “Levels of Observation” by Kenneth Schneyer

77.   “Who Embodied What We Are” by Kenneth Schneyer

78.   “Tenure Track” by Kenneth Schneyer

79.   “The Sisters’ Line” by Liz Argall & Kenneth Schneyer

80.   “A Lack of Congenial Solutions” by Kenneth Schneyer

81.   “Life of the Author Plus Seventy” by Kenneth Schneyer

82.   “You in the United States!” by Kenneth Schneyer

83.   “The Whole Truth Witness” by Kenneth Schneyer

84.   “I Wrung It in a Weary Land” by Kenneth Schneyer

85.   “Six Drabbles of Separation” by Kenneth Schneyer

86.   “Dispersion” by Kenneth Schneyer

87.   “Six Waking Nightmares Poe Gave Me in Third Grade” by Mike Allen, from his collection Aftermath of an Industrial Nightmare: Stories.

88.   “The Sun Saw” by  Mike Allen

89.   “A Deaf Policeman Heard the Noise” by  Mike Allen

90.   “Tick Flick” by  Mike Allen

91.   “The Cruelest Team Will Win” by  Mike Allen

92.   “Tardigrade” by  Mike Allen

93.   “Burn the Kook Kidz at the Stake” by  Mike Allen

94.   “Longsleeves” by  Mike Allen

95.   “Binding” by  Mike Allen

96.   “Nolens Volens” by  Mike Allen

97.   “Blue Evolution” by  Mike Allen

98.   “The Ivy-Smothered Palisade” by  Mike Allen

99.   “With Shining Gifts That Took All Eyes” by  Mike Allen

100.                        “The Sun Saw” by  Mike Allen

101.                        “Follow The Wounded One” by  Mike Allen

102.                        “Drift From the Windrows” by  Mike Allen

103.                        “Aftermath of an Industrial Accident” by  Mike Allen

So that’s 103 short stories in July. Way over “1 per day,” catching me up for the year so far and actually putting me slightly ahead. (July 30th was the 213th day of 2020.)

Summary of Reading Challenges:

“To Be Read” Challenge: This month: 0 read; YTD: 3 of 14 read.

366 Short Stories Challenge: This month:  103 read; YTD: 236 of 366 read.

Graphic Novels Challenge:  This month: 3 read; YTD: 13 of 52 read.

Goodreads Challenge: This month: 16 read; YTD: 77 of 125 read.

Non-Fiction Challenge: This month: 1 read; YTD: 7 of 24 read.

Read the Book / Watch the Movie Challenge: This month: 0; YTD: 0 read/watched.

Complete the Series Challenge: This month: 0 books read; YTD: 6 of 16 read.

                                                                Series fully completed: 0 of 3 planned

Monthly Special Challenge: July was a month away from special challenges so I could try to play catch up. I increased my graphic novel and non-fiction numbers (if slightly), and read a lot of short stories (even if we unofficially dis-count the three anthologies I’d read pre-publication several months ago). Not a perfect catch-up, but far better than the preceding two months.

In August, I was supposed to be attending Pulpfest/Farmercon. Pandemic put a stopper on that, but I’m still making August’s challenge “pulp and new-pulp adventure/horror/etc.” I also have several ARCs to read of books coming out in September. So that’s two mini-challenges!

2013 TBR CHALLENGE - Book Reviews

For the past two years, I’ve taken part in RoofBeam Reader’s “TBR Challenge.”

For 2011, I posted the list of titles I intended to read here on LJ. Of the 12 (plus 2 alternates), I managed to finish 4.
For 2012, I posted the list of titles I intended to read on my website. Of the 12 (plus 2 alternates), I managed to finish two.

For 2013, I’m attempting to participate again. You’ll see some of the same titles from previous years making it onto this list, but I also tried to pick some new titles. Maybe the third year is the charm, yes? I’m once again listing the rules and titles here and will mirror this post onto my livejournal.

In Adam’s own words:

The Goal To finally read 12 books from your “to be read” pile (within 12 months).

Specifics:

1. Each of these 12 books must have been on your bookshelf or “To Be Read” list fo AT LEAST one full year. This means the book cannot have a publication date of 1/1/2012 or later (any book published in the year 2011 or earlier qualifies, as long as it has been on your TBR pile – I WILL be checking publication dates) Caveat: two (2) alternates are allowed, just in case one or two of the books end up in the “can’t get through” pile.

My choices this year are:

1. The Valley of Fear, a Sherlock Holmes novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
2. Call For The Dead, the first Smiley novel by John LeCarre
3. Grifter’s Game by Lawrence Block
4. Blind Fall by Christopher Rice
5. Shockaholic by Carrie Fisher
6. Without You by Anthony Rapp
7. Poisoning For Profit: The Mafia and Toxic Waste in America by Alan A. Block and Frank R. Scarpitti
8. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
9. Spider-Man: The Darkest Hours by Jim Butcher Completed January 7, 2013
10. Hounded, the first Atticus O’Sullivan book, by Kevin Hearne
11. Second Thoughts by Steve Berman
12. Storm of Swords, the 3rd “Song of Ice and Fire” book by George RR Martin

and the two alternates:

13. Main Street by Sinclair Lewis
14. The Mark of Zorro by Johnston McCullers

Of course, I am under no requirement to read them in this precise order.  I’ll keep coming back and updating the list as I read the books, crossing them out and changing the color of the text. Four of these books will also help me with my on-going challenge to read more non-fiction.

This is the only official reading challenge I’m giving myself this year, seeing that I want to concentrate more on my own writing and also be a better contributor to my office book club. And of course, I’m proofreading the ebook editions of each issue of LIGHTSPEED magazine, which takes up some reading time each month.