Book Review: The Hidden Palace, by Helene Wecker
Helene Wecker’s The Golem and the Jinni is one of my favorite books. Set in 1899 New York City, the story serves up a unique blend of...
3 min read
Book Review: A Study in Crimson, by Robert J. Harris
A condensed version of this review appeared in the August 2021 issue of The Historical Novels Review. Sherlock Holmes is the type of...
2 min read
Book Review: All Systems Red, by Martha Wells
Ever hate your job and just want to watch Netflix? Turns out Murderbots feel the same way. At least, that’s the general attitude of the...
2 min read
New Release: Magic in the Mud Show
Magic in the Mud Show is out! This is my historical fantasy novella set in the Barnum & Bailey Circus of 1892. The story serves as a...
1 min read
Book Review: This Is How You Lose the Time War, by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
Letters are many things in Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone’s This Is How You Lose the Time War. Taunts between foes. Invitations to...
3 min read
Book Review: The Dark Forest, by Cixin Liu
Cixin Liu’s The Dark Forest generally operates on a galactic scale. But it starts with the perspective of an ant. The diminutive point of...
3 min read
New Release: Witch in the White City
Witch in the White City is out! (This is my new dark historical fantasy/mystery set in the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.) To buy it,...
2 min read
Bonus Content: White City, Dark Truths
In some of my earlier posts about Chicago’s World’s Fair of 1893—also known as the Columbian Exposition—I talked about how it was a grand...
2 min read
Book Review: A Perfect Spy, by John le Carré
Even without context, John le Carré’s A Perfect Spy—a tale of a British secret agent who betrayed his country because he couldn’t unlearn...
3 min read
Bonus Content: Images of the Fair
In describing Chicago's first world's fair (also known as the World's Columbian Exposition), I realized that it's easy to hear "fair" and...
1 min read
Bonus Content: How Witch in the White City Began in a Museum
Note: The post below is a spoiler-free version of my afterword to Witch in the White City, a historical fantasy/mystery set in the 1893...
2 min read
Book Review: Gods of Jade and Shadow, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Gods of Jade and Shadow starts as a Mexican Cinderella story, except that the fairy godmother is a Mayan god of...
2 min read
