Temperament – A Novella by K. Aurum

September 21, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Temperament – A Novella by K. Aurum
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

The stroke took his hand. The implant gave it back. Then it kept going.
Jon Finn was a violinist before a stroke stole his right side and his voice. The experimental device his doctors offer is a quiet miracle: it restores his hand, his speech, his playing. His recovery astonishes the hospital. His bowing has never been cleaner. He and the woman he loves have never fought less.

And, note by note, word by word, he is vanishing.

The implant doesn’t take his life. It takes his self: smoothing the edges, finishing the sentences, choosing the notes he used to reach for. Everyone sees a man restored. Only Jon feels his own wanting drain away.

Spare, unsettling, and quietly devastating, Temperament is a debut novella about identity, illness, and the hidden cost of being made better; a story that grows shorter and quieter as its narrator disappears.

Written by a practicing physician, it lingers where medicine can’t answer: when everything you can do remains, and only the you is gone, is that still you?

Sometimes science fiction is about asking questions that many people would rather ignore.

The author did an excellent job of exploring the ethical implications of using a artificial intelligence for medical purposes. Whether or not readers agree with the conclusions certain characters came to didn’t necessarily matter. An intelligent argument could be made for many different points of view, and even the ones I didn’t personally agree with still followed a logical and understandable path from one assertion to the next. This is the sort of discussion I’m drawn to when reading this genre, and it was handled smoothly here.

It would have been nice to see more clues added earlier on in the storyline about what was truly going on with Jon’s cognition. As much as I enjoyed being able to come up with my own theories about what was happening to him, this would have been an even stronger piece of work in my opinion if the author had spent more time developing the beginning and perhaps allowing a bit more of his opinion of how the final scene should be interpreted to bleed through, so to speak.

The deliciously ambiguous ending was what encouraged me to select a four-star rating for this tale. I appreciated the fact that it could be interpreted in multiple ways. While I don’t want to influence how other readers understood those last few sentences, their ability to be understood from so many different points of view reinforced my own assumptions about what was happening and made me shudder in a good way.

Temperament – A Novella reminded me why I like speculative fiction so much.

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Tales of New Stenchford by Ben Rubin

September 10, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Tales of New Stenchford by Ben Rubin
New Stenchford, Book 1
Publisher: Nat 1
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Historical, Action/Adventure
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

If you visit the town of New Stenchford, you might consider leaving your good shoes at home. No sparkling castle, or square-jawed heroes here. Mostly it’s just mud, beer, and trouble.

Queen Strongbottom, brave of heart, strong of bottom, runs the place, but has no idea that Wanda Stickybuns, the secret mistress of Queen Strongbottom’s father Gluteus, is plotting to overthrow the King and install her illegitimate two-headed son on the throne.

If you choose to come and see for yourself you’ll want to keep a close eye on your belongings and wash your hands thoroughly when you get home, if you get home.

It’s not beautiful, but it is home.

The world building was complex and attention grabbing. I especially enjoyed the many references to the unique food and drinks that characters have access to in New Stenchford as this isn’t something that contemporary authors always think to include when describing a setting to their audience. Small things like that can go a long way to creating a three-dimensional understanding of a world, though, and they made me curious to see what might happen to these characters in the future if or when a sequel is ever released.

It would have been helpful to have more plot development. Rizzle and his pals met many memorable characters along the way, but there wasn’t as much emphasis on their quest or the secret plot to overthrow the King as I would have liked to see. Sometimes this read more like a series of anecdotes than a novel that was slowly building up to an important confrontation in the end, and despite how much I liked so many other aspects of the characters and storyline I needed more conflict than I was given in order to justify a higher rating.

I enjoyed the many humorous references to a wide variety of historical and pop culture events that were included here. They were an excellent addition to a universe that was already designed to avoid taking itsel too seriously. Sometimes there were also dreamlike qualities to these scenes due to how gently they blended into each other and how wonderfully absurd some of them were.

Tales of New Stenchford was lighthearted and creative.

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The Band From Another World by Kevin Garone

September 8, 2026 By Leave a Comment


The Band From Another World by Kevin Garone
(Alien Survival Guide Book 3)
Publisher: Temor Press
Genre: Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

When Marv traces a mysterious transmission to an abandoned house, he’s ready to finally uncover proof of an otherworldly invasion. But when he and his friends sneak inside, they don’t find aliens.

Instead, they find a dusty basement full of musical instruments.

To Marv’s friends, this means one thing: instant rock band. But Marv was right to be suspicious. Strange shadows reach from the walls. Faces flicker in the dark. Worst of all, his friends start acting off. Like they’re not entirely themselves anymore.

And it’s happening to Marv, too.

Suddenly, he can play guitar like a total legend-no practice, no lessons, no explanation. But every note pulls him in deeper. The thoughts in his head aren’t all his. And the music doesn’t want to stop.

Can Marv uncover the truth behind the transmission before he loses himself completely?

Because something else is listening to the broadcast. And it’s not here for the music.

Not every wish should come true.

The paranormal subplot was a surprising and welcomed addition to this universe. While I can’t go into much detail about it without accidentally sharing spoilers, what I can say is that it added another layer of depth to what I already knew about this universe and could be a fantastic springboard for future adventures if the author is planning to write more about these characters. I don’t know if that will happen, of course, but he left plenty of space here for further explorations of the world Marv and his friends live in which, if nothing else, provides a lot of fodder for the imagination in the meantime.

I mentioned wanting more character development in my review of book one, I Know What UFO Did Last Summer. This was once again something that came to mind while I was reading, but this time it involved the secondary characters instead of the protagonist. As much as I enjoyed the plot and world building, I was hoping to get to know Marv’s friends better by this point. Although I could easily describe his personality and habits, it’s something I’d struggle with a bit if someone asked about what Jace, Kenji, Nora, or Liv were like. If as much attention had been paid to this as was given to describing their interest in aliens, I would have happily gone for a full five-star rating.

This is the third instalment of a series, but it works perfectly well as a standalone story, too. With that being said, there were some wonderful references and callbacks to the first two stories included here. One of them involved a fun plot twist related to previously-introduced characters that I didn’t see coming in advance, so do keep an eye out for it if you’re already familiar with these characters. Balancing the expectations of new and returning readers isn’t always easy, and I must tip my cap at Mr. Garone for making things accessible and amusing for everyone.

The Band From Another World (Alien Survival Guide Book 3) was a wild ride that still has me wondering what might happen next.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Jazz Bang Boom by Will Okati

September 7, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Jazz Bang Boom by Will Okati
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Erotic Romance, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Action/Adventure, Contemporary, Historical
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Riot’s attempt to teach his pretty lover to behave himself doesn’t… quite… go as planned.

Jazz loves pretty things and things that go BOOM. Tyger, AKA Riot, is a man on a mission, searching for the bits and pieces that’ll repair his damaged, bio-constructed DNA. It only makes sense for the happily mismatched lovers to turn airship pirates and sneak, snatch or con what they need, right?

Right. One problem. Occasionally Jazz gets a little too fond of explosives, and Tyger gets a tad too focused on his quest. When that happens, they need to vent a little steam. So to speak.

Adrenaline is a drug like no other.

Jazz and Tyger’s relationship was what made this tale gel together for me. Not only was their chemistry fantastic, their dialogue was playful and witty as well. I loved seeing these two characters and thought they made the perfect match both inside and outside of the bedroom to the extent that I briefly wondered if this was a series I’d accidentally jumped into the middle of. It’s nice as a reader when that happens as it can give the characters an additional layer of depth due to all of the effort that’s been put into exploring who they are as individuals.

The ending was something I do wish had been given a little more time to evolve. While the fast pacing worked well for these characters and the world they inhabited in general, it would have been nice to slow down just a tad in the last few paragraphs in order to explain how their time travel worked and why they always seemed to travel together.

One of the things I found most interesting about the mystery and science fiction storylines was how much the author trusted his audience to put the clues together. As much as I wanted to know more about their adventures, this was one of those cases when it wasn’t strictly necessary to have a lot of plot development in order for everything to make sense. A little bit of development went a long way.

Jazz Bang Boom was action packed from the first scene to the last one.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Wandering Star and Other Stories by Sarena Ulibarri

September 3, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Wandering Star and Other Stories by Sarena Ulibarri
Publisher: World Weaver Press
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, LGBTQ, Historical, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Twelve stories of mythic fantasy that will transport you to the oceans and mountains of lands where water nymphs long for the touch of a mermaid, a mother’s tears of grief create a river in a desert village, and ancient songs can stop the moon from falling, make a flower bloom, or keep a dark power at bay. A quest to save a princess turns into a mission to escape a cult of giant snails. A selfish older sister seeks the favor of the last magical queen who grants wishes when the two moons align. A refugee journeys to find her lover while a comet hurtles toward their world.

A better world is possible.

“The Riverhead” was a beautiful fable about how a mother’s grief created a nearly endless supply of water for a desert village. I loved the descriptions of how various villagers reacted to her supernatural ability and what happened when the water levels rose so high that nobody knew what to do with them. Not only were they good storytelling, they explored the many faces of grief that not everyone feels comfortable showing in public.

As much as I enjoyed this collection in general, I did find myself wishing that some of the stories in it were given more time to develop. “The Ice Tree,” which followed Mirella as she attempted to kill every lizard in her community, was one such example of this. Her motivation for this and other disturbing changes she attempted to make to her environment was unclear. While I understood the point the author was trying to make, I think this would have been a stronger piece if Mirella had been given more opportunities to explain herself to the audience and convince us that her plan made more sense to her even if others disagreed with it.

I loved the world-building in “A Chorus of Shadows,” particularly as it applied to how a small group of professional singers were responsible for everything from how plants grew to what the future of humanity would look like. The descriptions of their musical abilities and the many years it took for them to perfect their skill made me wish this one could be a full-length novel. It was brimming with beauty and possibility.

The creativity shown in Wandering Star and Other Stories makes me want to read more from Ms. Ulibarri soon.

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Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge for September 2, 2026

September 2, 2026 By 2 Comments

Each Wednesday, Long and Short Reviews hosts a weekly “blog hop”. For more details on how to participate, please click here.

One Sci-Fi Item or Ability I Wish Really Existed

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The Last Rift Dragon by Shami Stovall

August 31, 2026 By 1 Comment

The Last Rift Dragon by Shami Stovall
Publisher: Capital Station Books
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Rated: 5 stars
Review by Rose

The City of Bridgehaven is under attack.

The nation to the west intends to murder Bridgehaven’s last three remaining dragons, rendering them extinct. They’ll stop at nothing to crush the eggs, flay the dragons, and burn Bridgehaven to the ground.

But Richter Whitlock is determined to make sure that doesn’t happen. He joins the Knights of the Silver Fog—individuals dedicated to protecting Bridgehaven, and the dragons, at all costs—in the hopes of caring for a fragile dragon egg, so that one day he may bond and fight back.

But there are traitors in Bridgehaven, and enemies are circling close.

If Richter hopes to save his home, and his egg, he’ll have to master his magic, learn to craft magitech, and become one of the greatest Knights anyone has ever seen…

Shami Stovall has done it again! A brilliant new series has arrived with wonderful characters, world-building that is literally out of this world, and non-stop action which would work so well on the screen. Not since her Arcanist series have I read a book that so instantly drew me in to such an extent that I could not put the book down until I had finished it!

There were so heartbreaking moments as well as moments that had me holding my breath until things were resolved. I really think this is Ms. Stovall’s best work to date. I love all the dragons, and it’s obvious there are a lot more about dragons to learn about. Great job!!!

I am so looking forward to the next installment of this series.

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Movie Review: The Odyssey by Writers: Christopher Nolan

August 31, 2026 By 1 Comment


The Odyssey by Writers: Christopher Nolan
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Zendaya, Charlize Theron
Publisher: Universal Pictures
Genre: Action/Adventure, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Historical
Rating: 4 Stars (8 on IMDB)
Reviewed by Dicentra

Odysseus, king of Ithaca, embarks on a perilous journey to return home after the Trojan War. Crossing the Mediterranean Sea with his fellow soldiers, they soon find themselves battling not only the elements, but an array of deadly obstacles and mythical creatures along the way.

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, the latest adaptation of the Greek epic poem by Homer, was a massive endeavour and well worth the hype. I was impressed by the directors commitment to practical effects and how the movie was the first to be filmed entirely in IMAX, but the reliance on the audience’s previous knowledge of the story and some of the scenes that they cut out kept me from giving the movie a full five stars.

Matt Damon’s Odysseus was definitely the star of the movie. I was impressed with his ability to command different scenes, whether that was in the belly of the Trojan horse (where apparently Christopher Nolan was in there with them) or on deserted beaches acting opposite Charlize Theron’s Calypso. While he was definitely the focus of the movie, he was by no means the only talented actor. Anne Hathaway did an excellent job bringing Penelope’s quiet strength to the screen. Robert Pattinson did an excellent job bringing the smarmy suitor Antinous to life. And my jaw dropped with Samantha Morton’s whole portrayal of Circe. I was flabbergasted when I later learned that the scene in which she turns Odysseus’s men into pigs was mostly practical effects instead of all CGI.

While the actors in this movie were great, there are some scenes where the director relies on the audience’s prior knowledge of the story for them to make full sense. For example, the scene with the Laestrygonians on screen mostly just looked like giant people in armor smacking around Odysseus’ crew and killing them. They took out more of Odysseus’ crew than the Cyclopes or Charybdis and Scylla, yet they get no explanation time on screen. I was also saddened that the full ‘Nobody’ sequence from the original story did not make it into the movie, though I understand that adding multiple Cyclopes would have been out of the budget (even for a massive film such as this).The scene with Clytemnestra and Agamemnon’s homecoming also makes more sense when you know the catalyst for her decision (it got maybe 5 seconds of screen time hinting towards what happened).

Overall, this was a great movie and I’m glad I took the time to see it in IMAX (even though I wish I brought some earplugs to dull the noise, haha). I do recommend that people go see the movie in theaters, though I think for the best experience it would be good to brush up on the general outline of the story beforehand.

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Our Ghost Harry by Peter De Geesewell

August 31, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Our Ghost Harry by Peter De Geesewell
Publisher: Rowanvale Books
Genre: Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Horror, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Contemporary, Historical
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

How would you react if one day you found a genuine ghost sitting in your living room – declaring that from now on he’s your new housemate?

Meet Sir Henry, the bitter, mischievous ghost of Urquhart Castle in Scotland. Cursed by his own son to haunt his castle until he saves a girl’s life, he finally decides to leave his dilapidated, abandoned home and ‘emigrate’ to Switzerland, where he transforms himself into the genial and funny guardian spirit of his newly adopted family.

Our Ghost Harry is a charming ghost story that is equal parts spooky, hilarious and moving, perfect for readers aged 10 to 100. Ideal for reading aloud or enjoying on your own, it will terrify and delight audiences of all ages.

Regret is good, but fixing things is even better.

Sir Henry was a funny, cranky ghost whose past contained a few dark secrets he’d been wrestling with for over seven hundred years. Sometimes I loved him for his sense of humor and dramatic habits, but in other scenes I was exasperated by how unsympathetic and stubborn he could be. There’s something to be said for a character whose flaws are deeply woven into their personality and who was as well-rounded and interesting as he was.

The other characters in this book, especially the older members of Henry’s chosen family, were not given this same chance to shine. While I wouldn’t expect the exact same amount of time to be spent on describing what their personalities were like, the fact that I would struggle to describe how they behaved or what their biggest weaknesses were was why I ended up choosing a four-star rating. As much as I enjoyed the main character and the plot, I simply had too many questions about what the people around Henry were like to pick a rating higher than that.

This included a wonderful mixture of genres that I don’t get to see used together as often as I’d like to, especially when it came to combining comedy with horror. Some of my favorite scenes were the ones that explored the cultural differences between life today and what Henry experienced in the 1300s. His expectations of how things should proceed, especially when it came to who should decide how what was now a historical site should be used, were obviously wildly out of touch with what someone born several decades ago has grown up knowing as the proper way to do things. I know this is a little vague, but there are later plot points related to how the law and social norms have changed over the centuries that fans of history or adult readers might especially like.

Our Ghost Harry made me wish for a sequel. This was such an exciting romp through both modern-day and medieval life.

Filed Under: Horror, Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Vile Aliens – Weird Tales of Sci-Fi, Pulp and Humor by Keith Vile

August 27, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Vile Aliens – Weird Tales of Sci-Fi, Pulp and Humor by Keith Vile
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Holiday, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Mass-murdering UFOs and a psychedelic conspiracy. A Navy sub overrun by an alien kegger. A mom abducted by a UFO on her worst day ever. Santa Claus vs. Space Nazis.

In these four tales of cosmic weirdness, science fiction collides with mystery, horror, noir and comedy as ordinary lives are upended by extraterrestrial subversion:

Pencilnecks: A struggling single mom’s terrible day gets much worse when she’s abducted for a disturbing alien experiment. A modern pulp tale featuring cameos from famous hip-hop legends.
The Heavens Keep a Body Count: A violent investigator uncovers a conspiracy involving mass-murdering UFOs, hate groups and psychedelic excess in a grim sci-fi noir mystery.
American Sub Presents: Nuclear Kegger – Unrated Edition: Partying aliens infiltrate a nuclear submarine by exploiting its crew’s loneliness in a raunchy, American-Pie-inspired story that’s equal parts hilarious and horrifying.
Claus Encounters of the Fourth Reich: After Space Nazis attack the North Pole and murder Mrs. Claus, Santa and his elf army (and Easter Bunny) wage war in a heartwarmingly weird tale that reveals the origins of Christmas magic.

Perfect for readers who enjoy bizarre science fiction, pulp adventures, dark humor and cosmic horror with a literary flair.

Weirdness is a badge of honor.

The body horror in “Pencilnecks” made me shudder, but it fit the alien abduction motif well. Few things are more frightening to me than losing control of one’s body, particularly when it involves creatures that are not human and therefore either cannot or will not communicate their intentions. I did find myself wishing the ending had been explained better, though, as it could have been heartwarming or scarier than ever depending on how certain aspects of it were interpreted.

“The Heavens Keep a Body Count” assumed a gorier result of human meeting aliens for the first time. Alien tales aren’t always told from the perspective of law enforcement officers who have to try to figure out what actually occurred after much of the conflict has already taken place, so I appreciated this point of view. It put an interesting spin on what might really happen if the aliens who first introduced themselves to humanity didn’t necessarily have the best of intentions, and the plot twists involving what the aliens were truly here for that were introduced later on were top-notch.

There was so much going on in “American Sub Presents: Nuclear Kegger – Unrated Edition” that I needed to read some paragraphs of it over again a second time to keep my thoughts about it organized. While I loved the zany approach some of the characters took to the strange occurrences on their submarine, their reactions were so out of place for sailors that it pulled me out of the plot and made me wonder why their commanding officers didn’t have better control over the crew.

Santa Claus’s new origin story in “Claus Encounters of the Fourth Reich” was as creative as it was deeply rooted in the fantasy genre. I especially appreciated all of the connections the narrator made between Santa and other similar mythical figures. That isn’t something I generally see when the jolly man in the red suit pops up in fiction, so it made me quite curious to discover just how many other famous figures he knew about and what they all thought of each other. This was my favorite section!

Vile Aliens – Weird Tales of Sci-Fi, Pulp and Humor was a creative collection that made me want to read more from Mr. Vile.

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