fantasy
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Review of Shadebringer by Grayson W. Hooper
Shadebringer begins with an inscrutable world map and intriguing chapter quotes. The title led me to believe it would be a traditional fantasy work in the vein of Brandon Sanderson. That is not the case. Brent Weeks and other authors have a tendency to use titles like this to ease…
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Review of The Complete Multiple Warheads by Brandon Graham
It’s a shame that such magnificent artwork is undermined by amateurish writing. The layouts and designs are reminiscent of Moebius, while the dialogue and plot are barely readable pulp, pun-infested nonsense. Plenty of good ideas, creatures, gadgets, and character potential beneath the immaturity, but it’s well-lathered with cringe-worthy speech bubbles.…
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Review of Awakening (The Commune’s Curse Book 1) by Lucy A. McLaren
In this new debut fantasy novel, promising a series to follow, adaptable child protagonists deal with past hardships in a refreshing way. The conflict stems from a menacing society within the context of an intriguing fantasy world. Children play a key role in the world building of this novel at the center…
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Review of The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
“The Jungle book” is a fun collection of timeless stories worthy of their fame. The movie brethren of this tale resemble the source material in only superficial ways. Mowgli only features in less than half of the book’s stories for one thing. However every story is interesting and connected in…
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Review of The Opposing Shore by Julien Gracq
While the descriptive passages are gorgeous, I tired of the narrative and the narrator about 2/3 of the way through. My reading was hindered by some inconsistencies in the prose, which tended to ebb and flow, ranging from excellent evocation of dense imageries, conjured with immaculate confidence, to forced, teetering,…
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Review of 2020 on Goodreads by Various
My reading status and accompanying thoughts at the end of 2020 are as follows: Some mixed reading experiences this year. In the pursuit of a better reading year in 2021 I am not going to follow trends as much, or read as many reviews. My backlog of TBR grows as…
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Review of Reflections of Destiny by Benzon Ray Barbin
One of the first things you’ll notice about this debut novel is the striking imagery. While not always fantastical, it does not shy away from surprising and otherworldly moments.The setting has a baroque atmospheric quality, with many points of reference on which the short scenes tend to hang. It deals…
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Review of The Outlands (The Outlands Saga #1) by Tyler Edwards
I was pleasantly surprised by The Outlands. The book has movement, action, and fast pacing. The writing rarely slows down, offering a new layer or concept page by page. A labyrinthine world unfolds, depicting the ins and outs of thievery. As orphans in Dios, our main characters are subservient to…
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Review of Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fiction and Illusions by Neil Gaiman
Started out strong but ended up inconsistent. Whereas the much-touted Gene Wolfe produced unpredictable story collections of genre-bending, unconventional tales of varied length culled from a wide selection of magazines over decades, IMO any of Wolfe’s collections are better than the totality of Gaiman’s output. It is not just that…
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Review of Third Winter’s War (Seventh Realm, #3) by M.L. Little
This third book continues in the Seventh Realm to bring us more of what every reader is likely to adore from the first two including a large cast of colorful characters and an intriguing plot with expert world building. It begins where the last book left off and shapes into…
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Review of The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike
Why Updike?This book was more libidinous than a high school boy’s locker room. But that’s unfair. I’m sure not all locker rooms are this bad.Hyperdetailed. Meandering. The man could write description. But, in so many cases he dwells on images we can do without. Plot and characters go out the…
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Review of A Phantom’s Vengeance by Marco Mizzi
Starting off, you will notice impressive world maps. I always spend way too much time reading and gazing at fantasy world maps at the beginnings of books with other-world settings. Then, throughout my reading I am constantly waiting for specific locations on the maps to be mentioned in the text.…
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Review of The Shivering Ground & Other Stories by Sara Barkat
In this generous and surprising collection, enigmatic mysteries intrude upon an elegiac setting. A precocious protagonist discovers a dislocation from the every day. Media intrudes in multifarious forms, and inanimate objects or nature blend with the human elements in a well-orchestrated interplay of fantasy and gothic revelations.They seethe with cognitive…
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Review of The Phoenix Rises (Beyond Imagination, #1) by P. Benjamin Mains
Epitomizing an appreciation for superhero culture, this novel launches the reader into a wacky adventure amid a casual narrative voice, and approachable, easy to follow prose. I recommend you sink into the first person perspective and let the cinematic quality of the novel spirit you away. The pop culture references…
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Review of Victorian Songlight: The Birthings of Magic & Mystery by Kathy Martone
The first thing the reader will notice about this novel is the rich texture of the setting. This thought-provoking tale is set in the Ozark Mountains right off the bat, providing a luscious ambiance for the plot. It is a setting equipped with the authentic feel of its time and…
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Review of Shadow Of The Wicked by Douglas W.T. Smith
Douglas Smith’s Shadow of the Wicked takes place within a realm called Three Kingdoms. Firstly, I was highly impressed with the cover design and map design, and the perfect formatting of the book. I believe this will appeal to fans of Game of Thrones or Wheel of Time, though I…
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GoodReads Giveaway
Undertones is now available for a limited time as a Goodreads Giveaway. Enter for your chance to win a copy. Click Here: Dane was a reliable guitarist until he got addicted to ants. Now he’s just a giant anteater with an abysmal grade point average. On a date with lead…
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Undertones, an Excerpt
Thank you to Bewildering Stories for publishing an excerpt from Undertones. Check it out. Click Here:
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UNDERTONES
Our Noir / Fantasy novel is now available. Click Here Also Available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble! Click Here
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new flash fiction
Check out our flash fiction in Havok on June 12th, 2019 and vote for it!
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Echoes From Dust, a serial novel
The serialization of our novel has begun in Bewildering Stories! Click Here
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How to Train Your Slime, flash fiction
Bull & Cross published a new flash fiction story by L. S. Popovich! Click Here
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4th Quarterly Review 2017
My short story “Cygnus” was featured in the 4th Quarterly Review of Bewildering Stories for 2017. Click Here
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The Heart of Cygnus, a short story
A new story of mine has been published in Bewildering Stories: Click Here
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3rd Quarterly Review
My story, “Eve in the Belly of the Whale” was included in the 2017 3rd Quarterly Review of Bewildering Stories. Check it out: Click Here
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The Last Meeting of Intelligent Organisms
My new flash fiction story has just been published in 365tomorrows. Click Here
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Eve in the Belly of the Whale, a short story
My new short story is available through Bewildering Stories. Click Here:
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1st Quarterly Review 2017
My short story is now featured in the 1st Quarterly Review of Bewildering Stories! Click Here
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The River Waits, a short story
Now available in issue 705 of Bewildering Stories! Click Here
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The Tale of Nathaniel Ravendrake, a short story
Bewildering Stories published my new short story. Click Here
L. S. Popovich 