November 2024 - Page 2 of 4 - A Literary Escape

SFINCS Review: A Princess of Oldir by Bryan Wilson

Published on November 22, 2024November 17, 2024 by Celeste1 Comment

Today’s review is about A PRINCESS OF OLDIR by Bryan Wilson. It’s part of the Power of the Stars series, but easily reads as a standalone. This sci-fi novella is about a ruling family losing power and a neighboring planet taking advantage of the situation. I found this reminiscent of Dune.

This review is brought to you by my participation in the Speculative Fiction Indie Novella Championship (SFINCS). SFINCS, pronounced “sphinx”, is a yearly competition to recognize, honor, and celebrate the talent and creativity present in the indie community. It’s a sister competition to both SPFBO and SPSFC, and it highlights greatness in the novella format in all areas of speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction, horror, etc.). I am part of Team Behind the Musings. You can find out more about us here.

Author: Bryan Wilson
Series: Power of the Stars, #2.5
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Self-Published
Publish Date: July 30, 2024
Print Length: 93
Purchase: Amazon

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Nonfiction November Mind Opening Books

Published on November 21, 2024November 18, 2024 by Celeste2 Comments

It’s time for another Nonfiction November post! This week Rebekah is the host and the prompt is mind openers. So below is a list of Nonfiction November mind opening books that I think everyone should read.

Week 4 (11/18-11/22) Mind Openers: One of the greatest things about reading nonfiction is the way it can open your eyes to the world around you–no plane ticket required. What nonfiction book or books have impacted the way you see the world in a powerful way? Is there one book that made you rethink everything? Is there a book that, if everyone read it, you think the world would be a better place?

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The Last One by Rachel Howzell Hall

Published on November 18, 2024November 27, 2024 by Celeste7 Comments

Today’s review is about THE LAST ONE by Rachel Howzell Hall. This is a romantasy debut by the author and appears (so far) to be a standalone book. Although the comparison to N.K. Jemisin meets The Witcher sounded intriguing, unfortunately this was a DNF for me. Read on to find out why.

Author: Rachel Howzell Hall
Series: No
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Entangled: Red Tower Books
Publish Date: December 3, 2024
Print Length: 496

Want to support local bookstores? Buy a copy of The Last One on Bookshop.org!*

*These are not affiliate links and I do not make a commission from any purchase made using these links.

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Nonfiction November Book Pairings

Published on November 17, 2024November 16, 2024 by Celeste7 Comments

Here I am forgetting and re-remembering that this month is also Nonfiction November! In my first post to celebrate this genre I talked about my past year reading nonfiction. This week Liz is the host and the prompt is book pairings. So, obviously I’m here to discuss nonfiction and fiction book pairings.

Week 3 (11/11-11/15) Book Pairings: This week, pair up a nonfiction book with a fiction title. Maybe it’s a historical novel and the real history in a nonfiction version, or a memoir and a novel, or a fiction book you’ve read and you would like recommendations for background reading. Or (because I’m doing this) two books on two different areas have chimed and have a link. You can be as creative as you like!

I have four book pairing categories to share: ballet, reproductive rights, cats, and World War II!

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SciFi Month: Since We Last Met

Published on November 14, 2024November 13, 2024 by Celeste9 Comments

I may or may not be about a week late with this prompt. But who really has to know? Time travel is, after all, a nice component of science fiction. Consider it employed here. Anyway, as imyril explains here, “Since we last met” is a prompt to mention the sci-fi books I read since last SciFi Month.

I don’t usually read a ton of sci-fi. However, this is my second year as a SFINCS judge, so I’ve been exposed to more sci-fi than I might typically reach for (which is a good thing). Since most of my sci-fi reads are by self-published authors, I’ll just mention all of the books I read between November 2023 to the end of October 2024. Maybe one of the self-published novellas will catch your interest!

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