The people of Anjiin know they’re living on an alien planet, but they don’t remember why or how they got there. They’re about to discover they are not alone in the universe, and be made to prove their right to continue to exist in it. But the Carryx are not the only aliens watching humanity. Which side of an eternal war will offer the best chance of survival?
Category Archive: Reviews
While I don’t feel like I’ve been watching a lot of films recently, I seem to have watched a lot of films recently (as well as rewatching some favourites). Let’s see if I can make a habit of talking about them more often than twice a year while I’m on a roll!
I’m considering two novels about the haunting of unlikeable women today: Jennifer Thorne’s Diavola and The Witch In The Well by Camilla Bruce. I liked one of these far more than the other, but which? Clue: one has cover art to give you nightmares, the other has hashtags #IYKNK
There are several series that showcase how bad I am at finishing things. I blame ARCs for constantly pulling attention away from buying and reading books even when I’m already invested in them. Enter Melissa Caruso, whose debut trilogy Swords and Fire is an all-time favourite, but whose second series Rooks and Ruin languished on my shelf for no fault of its own. It has taken me five years to slowly read this trilogy, which does it a major disservice: it’s fast, fun, dramatic, self-assured and delightfully queer.
The Great Series Read Project is an acknowledgement that many of us are better at starting series than we are at finishing them. When I signed up, I was in denial – historically, I was very focused on finishing series! – and I’ve slowly admitted that I’ve become terrible at it. Six years in, I’m considering which of the series I’ve started I actually want to finish.
Before I turn my back on 2025, I’m catching up on all the films I saw in the second half of the year (a stack, thanks to the Inverness Film Festival in November). There’s 3 new favourites, many films I admired, and a few I appreciated rather than enjoyed and am unlikely to watch again. Top pick for your winter watching: Pillion, the unexpectedly sweet if explicit dom-com (thanks Mr Skarsgard).
I’m seizing the opportunity offered by today’s ScifiMonth prompt to round up the SF I’ve read and loved over the past 12 months. I’ve been particularly bad at both reading and reviewing in 2025, so it’s good to pause and reflect on what I’ve enjoyed.
When the tyrant who rules your land with an iron grip demands you revisit your worst nightmare to save his children, you obey. Knowing what they face in a dark, haunted land, you obey. Knowing what horrors your family face if you don’t succeed, you obey. Without hope, perhaps knowledge will see you safe home.
We’re halfway through the year, and it’s been a great first half for TV. I’m often months behind, but I’ve done well for picking shows that I thoroughly enjoyed in 2025 – partly because I was largely watching sequels of shows I was already on board with. With no Netflix or Disney in the house this year, my diet has been primarily Apple TV with the occasional dash of Prime.
Every year, I tell myself this is the year that I will read some of the non-fiction on my shelf. This year, it actually is – I walked the Highlands with Dougie Strang in the spring, and have considered apocalypses with Adam Roberts this summer. Who knows what the autumn will bring (there are plenty of options). Before we get that far, some thoughts on The Bone Cave and It’s The End Of The World.
Wyrd & Wonder got away from me thanks to some unforecast life complications, so today I’m playing catch up with all vibes reviews of two piratical fantasies that I read in May. The Vengeance is Emma Newman’s return to fantasy, while The Lies We Tell Ourselves is LK Kitney’s debut novella. Hoist the black flag and let’s go!
Yesterday’s Wyrd & Wonder prompt was deep dive, which reminded me that we need to talk about a 2024 autumn release that enchanted me so much I’ve reread it within 6 months. Angie Spoto’s excellent second Gothic novel The Bone Diver is an immersive tale of monsters and curses, transformation and redemption. And I love it, friends. I LOVE IT.
Tomorrow’s Wyrd & Wonder challenge prompt is bite-size islands, and I’m getting in a day early to share reviews of two novellas I’ve read recently and recommend a bunch more that I’ve enjoyed in the past. Today’s picks are a haunting drama set on the Icelandic coast and a fuck around and find out selkie story…
Where did the first third of the year go? I’m not sure, and I absolutely failed in my intention to at least keep a Bluesky thread going with my gut reactions to the films I watched along the way. I am sticking to my resolution to write down my thoughts though – so here we go, better late than never, with a round-up of the films I’ve watched since New Year.
Sean Wren has survived an alien invasion, a haunted spaceship and his bad habit of making things worse (just to see). Now he’s on the run with his unlikely allies, determined to stop a war – until an unexpected message turns his world upside down. Caught between friends and family, Sean will have to decide who to trust, who to save and who to lie to…
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