Dungeons and Dragons is an incredible hobby, game, and way to hang out with your friends. Building an entire campaign — a long-lasting game with the same characters played out over years — can be really intimidating, especially if you’ve never run a game before. While Dungeons and Dragons official content, like the new Dungeons […]

If you’ve been following along with me on this website at all, you’ve probably run across me saying that Sharon Shinn is an insta-buy for me. She’s such a favorite of mine that to date she is the only author I’ve ever sent a fan letter to, just to tell her how much her characters […]

They might not be raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but that doesn’t mean that we love them any less. Welcome back to My Favorite Things, the weekly column where we grab someone in speculative circles to gab about the greatest in geek. This week, we sit down with Speculative Chic contributor Merrin, who […]

What a whirlwind of a week! If you’re feeling whiplash already, no one would blame you. July disappeared in a blink of an eye, and in some parts of the US, school’s back in session! It’s been so busy that this week’s edition of the Weekly Roundup is being brought to you by TWO PEOPLE: […]

Bonjour mes amies, comment allez-vous? Die Sommer geht weiter. 暑いですね。Gobeithio eich bod yn iach. Isn’t language a marvelous thing? Today we’re taking a look at works of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror from around the world that have been translated for a variety of audiences (at Speculative Chic, we’re focusing on English translations). International works are […]

Another year, another installment in J.L. Gribble’s urban fantasy/alternate history series! Speculative Chic’s resident Marvel Cinematic Universe fangirl-in-chic is taking a break from obsessing over all the new MCU Phase 4 news to share her latest book, Steel Shadows. This looks different from anything else in the series so far, but if you like a dose […]

The Affair of the Mysterious Letter (2019) Written by: Alexis Hall Genre: Fantasy Pages: 350 (Kindle) Publisher: Ace Why I chose it:  I’m a big fan of Hall’s Prosperity series. I like the way Hall can write characters full of outlandish and oversized personalities, and create a weird world for his characters to run amok […]

For better or worse, I’ve been bingeing a lot of television lately. Not all of it is speculative fiction: I could drone on for hours about how absolutely amazing HBO’s mini-series Chernobyl is, or how refreshing it was to see True Detective get back on track in season three, but that’s not what you’re here […]

They might not be raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but that doesn’t mean that we love them any less. Welcome back to My Favorite Things, the weekly column where we grab someone in speculative circles to gab about the greatest in geek. This week, we sit down with J.L. Gribble, whose latest book, […]

Welcome back, denizens of geek! We’ve got another Roundup in store for you, with all the best of spec this week! I’m quivering with antici… …pation, so let’s cut the usual goofy intro and jump right in! Read More »

I am so excited! This year, for my resolution project, I’m rewatching the Star Wars franchise. I chose it because I love Star Wars, and I thought it would be fun to re-watch the movies in order of release date, with perhaps a bit more of a critical and appreciative eye than I have before. This month’s […]

I decided to take a page out of Merrin’s book and go on a dig in the salt mines. I, too, have things that stick under my craw for various reasons. We all have a lot of feelings about certain things, not all of them are good, and sometimes you just have to let the […]

July 31, 2019 The Winter of the Witch (2019) Written by: Katherine Arden Genre: Fiction Pages: 285 (Hardcover) Series: Winternight Trilogy Book #3 Publisher: Del Rey Why I Chose It: The first book in the Winternight Trilogy, The Bear and the Nightingale, is one of my favorite books that I have reviewed for Speculative Chic. […]

Smack dab in the middle of the speculative fiction universe, lies a parochial planetary empire, somewhere to the right of the Cyteen System in firm Space Opera territories, lies Barrayar. Ruled by an emperor, Barrayar is primitive, patriarchal, and flat out backwards in the viewpoint of one of its most famous ladies — Countess Vorkosigan […]