Review: A Seal of Salvage, by Clayton B. Smith
Clayton B. Smith’s name first came to me during my time as a juror for the 2025 Sunburst Award. A Seal of Salvage is his debut novel went on to be shortlisted for the award.
2025
Review: The Witch of Willow Sound, by Vanessa F. Penney
Vanessa F. Penney is a bit of a mystery: a debut author, born in northern Newfoundland, raised in rural Nova Scotia, there is next to no information about her beyond those spare facts. There is no website about her. Her publisher has little beyond that information but for a photograph. This is intriguing.
Review: The Drowned Man’s Daughter, by C.J. Lavigne
C.J. Lavigne who, besides being a PhD in communications studies, and holding an MA in English Literature, is an award-winning speculative fiction writer.
Review: Starship Librarians, edited by Shannon Allen and JR Campbell
Starship Librarians is the 15th anthology from Tyche Books, an indie publisher of fantastika, encompassing stories from Canadian authors. It is a wide range of styles and views, all presenting the premise of libraries following humanity into space.
Review: Seventhblade, by Tonia Laird
Seventhblade is Tonia Laird’s first novel, published by ECW Press, an indie publisher which champions under-represented voices. Laird is a Métis writer from Treaty 6 territory, with a background writing for literary, fantasy and comic book publications, as well as a lorekeeper, writer and world-builder for video games
Review: Written on the Dark, by Guy Gavriel Kay
A new novel in Guy Gavriel Kay’s shared world, Written on the Dark offers a lush and evocative story set in a France-like setting during the 100 Years War, and often references the stories in Sailing to Sarantium and others.
Review: Lost Lives, by Noah J.D. Chinn
You know that feeling you get when you’ve had that perfect cup of coffee on that perfect morning? That sense of completion and being complete, of knowing your place in the world and finding contentment in that?
Review: Last Dance at the Kitten Club, by Noah J.D. Chinn
Marketed as a romantic comedy, there is an element of the fantastic to the story, a bit of mystery, suspense, and even history for good measure.
Review: Show, by Shane Peacock
Shane Peacock’s CV is quite impressive: an Ontario author, journalist, screenwriter, published in 20 languages and 18 countries. He’s won a sheaf of awards, both genre and literary, and been short-listed for a GG.
Review: The Elixir of Lies, by S.E. Kaiser
S.E. Kaiser is a Vancouver author, an outdoor enthusiast with an interest in history, any history. Writing, apparently, came about because of an unfortunate accident in which he broke his leg. The Elixir of Lies is a result of that injury.
Review: The Sun Runners, by James Bow
James Bow is a science fiction and fantasy author living in Ontario, Canada, who works as a communications officer for a charitable land trust protecting lands from development.
Review: Through the Portal: Tales from a Hopeful Dystopia, edited by Nina Munteanu and Lynn Hutchinson Lee
For some time, Exile Editions has been putting out a Book of series of anthologies all of which are some of the finest literary and speculative fiction being written in Canada. Through the Portal follows in that tradition, being the 20th edition.