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2020 in Words

So 2020 was a year that happened . . .

Writing didn’t stop, though many projects and plans derailed.

A lot of good books were published and read, and I’ve provided a round-up of my reviews for this year below. Click the covers to link to the full review of each. And scroll down for my 2020 fiction round-up!

Review Round-up

1. The Books of Koli: Easily my favorite discovery this year, Carey’s post-apocalyptic fiction is filled with grace and wit, as well as carnivorous trees. The first two books of the series were a joy to read even in this, a year of apocalypses. Do yourself a favor and check them out in anticipation of the third and final volume coming in 2021.

2. The Ten Thousand Doors of January: I shared space with Alex Harrow back in Shimmer a few years ago, and since then she’s taken the fantasy world by storm with her debut novel. It’s already been followed by another (which I haven’t read yet), but this is the book for you if you believe there’s a story through every doorway. (Spoiler: there is.)

3. The Expanse, Season 4: Okay, so not strictly a book though I’m loving this series and reading the books in anticipation of each new season. The story gets better with each new volume, wider in scope and deeper in content. I wrote about the series in the context of faith for Mysterion Magazine.

4. Mouthful of Birds: If you like short fiction that leaves you black and blue in the brain, Schweblin’s collection of surrealist pieces will not disappoint. These stories sting with their beauty and pain.

5. A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians: Admit it: you always wondered what the Napoleonic Wars would be like if Napoleon had the power to raise the dead. In Parry’s delightful reimagining, the stage is set and we explore an alternate Europe where the British abolitionist William Wilberforce and the Prime Minister William Penn are still best buds but also fight vampires.

6. That We May Live: A gorgeous volume filled with gorgeous stories, this collection of modern Chinese speculative fiction by some of the best writers and translators in the field today is filled with surreal urban landscapes.

7. Multiverse: An international anthology of speculative poetry that features some of the best, weirdest, and most wonderful poems exploring themes of fantasy, scifi, and science.

My Fiction This Year

And here are links to all my pieces of original fiction published in 2020!

Ten Things to Consider When Blinking: A (very) short story about the dangers of interstellar travel, this was published as part of AE Science Fiction’s Stargazers micro-fiction anthology. Read it for free below!

Law of Conservation of Baseball: A story about loss and the end of summer published (appropriately) this fall. Sometimes falling in love makes it feel like the universe holds a secret only you know— and sometimes it’s the actual truth. Read this one in the September issue of Hybrid Fiction.

The Gunsmith of Byzantium: This is a story I wrote nearly a decade ago that’s finally found a home. It’s inspired by some of the myths surrounding the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and involves angels and the implication of a promise kept for seven hundred years.

The Wolves of Horus System: Last but not least, I wrote a piece published in the latest NewMyths anthology about siblings raised by (space)wolves in a dying stellar system. This one was a lot of fun.

That’s all for now! Wishing you and yours the very best this holiday season and a brighter 2021. Keep reading, and stay in touch!