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The Whitechapel Full Moon Society by Elizabeth DeLozier

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What happens when you combine urban fantasy with British historical mystery, add a dose of found family, and flavor with Gothic sauce? Apparently, you get Elizabeth DeLozier's second novel, The Whitechapel Full Moon Society -- and a diverting combination it is.

Although the opening chapters are fully Victorian in their pacing, they contain a lot of information (AKA clues) and are in keeping with the era. After all, a young lady like Caroline Foster can't lose her stately home to creditors after her father dies, decide to join her older brother in London, and wind up as a maid in his Whitechapel boardinghouse without a certain amount of detail. The most important of these is the year: 1888. Autumn is here, and the Ripper has started his series of bloody murders and mocking letters to the police. (Several of these letters appear in chapter headings.)

Caroline soon discovers that her brother went missing from this boardinghouse months ago -- after promising to marry one Mary Jane Kelly. She eventually tracks Mary Jane down, but finds out very little about her brother before the girl is hideously murdered. Meanwhile, she's having her own health problems as a medication she's taken since girlhood -- but has been unable to find in London -- runs out. One of the boarders (a chemist by trade) offers to help her figure out what it is and where to get it, but seems reluctant to tell her what he finds out. And once a month, she's told to lock herself in her room after helping serve an elaborate dinner at the Full Moon.

Caroline's job gives her a reasonably believable way to search rooms and make discoveries, including a stash of books her brother kept hidden. One of them is a very old family Bible, with markings she almost recognizes. Before she can connect the dots, though, it's full moon banquet night again. Will she survive it?

A little too much action is packed into the last few chapters, along with a large dose of All Is Revealed. How well this works for the individual reader may depend on how what that reader thought they were signing up for. I wasn't disappointed in the least, and appreciated the brief afterword with suggestions for further reading. Recommended for historical fantasy readers, open-minded Ripper theory enthusiasts, and anyone who enjoys working through a well-crafted Victorian puzzle.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with ARC for review.

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The Unheld: A Novel by Luke Larkin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Luke Larkin's The Unheld is an ambitious weird Western set in the Montana Territory, with effective atmospherics and a genuinely different monster. This last is accompanied by a blight on nature, producing out-of-sync seasons and malformed creatures reminiscent of Lovecraft's "The Colour Out of Space." Unfortunately, the structure of this novel isn't nearly as tight as that classic work. Though the action seldom slows, plot points sometimes fail to connect convincingly.

The main viewpoint character, young Charlie /Charlotte Webber, lives with her hunter father on the edge of Plainsend, a struggling community transformed by the building of the transcontinental railroad. Her father's livelihood is being destroyed by the blight. Charlie feels trapped -- both by her circumstances and by a father who apparently blames her for her mother's death in childbirth.. When a mysterious Easterner interested in the corrupted wildlife arrives in town, Charlie tries to interest him in her father's unsalable trophies. Soon enough, there's a new trophy -- captured alive -- that the Easterner decidedly does want.

Meanwhile, an exiled member of the Cheyenne tribal police is also tracking this trophy, whom he blames for his brother's disappearance. When Charlie's Pa vanishes as well, she must join forces with the Easterner Theodore (a member of a shadowy Society devoted to esoteric knowledge) and the Cheyenne Patton to recover him. This involves a confusing number of flashbacks and a lot of blood, plus more body horror than this reader was expecting. The ending is particularly surreal.

I wanted to like this one more than I did, and I did like Charlie herself very much. I had more trouble with the number of supporting characters, the back stories that never got resolved, and a general feeling that all the plot pieces weren't fitting together. In particular, we never find out how the main creature is producing the array of monstrosities and seasonal aberrations. However, there's a lot of imagination and heart (particularly on the subject of loneliness) here; and the writing itself is polished. Weird Western fans with a taste for the cosmic might want to give it a try.

My thanks to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for ARC.

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The 2026 Rhysling Anthology by AJ Wentz

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As usual, this 2026 edition of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association's Rhysling Award voting anthology is a great snapshot of the current state of speculative poetry (at least spec poetry written in/translated into English). Since this is now a juried anthology, there are "only" 50 short form & 25 long form poems included. This is still a generous (137 pp.) selection, though most readers will find that some poems are more to their tastes than others.

A few trends I noticed this year are: 1) very little formal verse -- though what there was, was excellent, 2) not a lot of straight-up horror, 3) quite a lot of slipstream verse which might be equally appropriate in a mainstream journal, 4) strongly narrative rather than lyric approach, esepcially in the long-form poems, 5) more hard SF / space science poems than I recall seeing in past years. Also, interest in fairy tale /folkloric poems has faded somewhat.

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Freyja by Margrét Ann Thors

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Less Nordic Noir than an Icelandic take on the modern Gothic, Freyja gives the reader an unreliable narrator who knows she is -- and is trying very hard not to be. Shifting between her present and a half-remembered past, this dark thriller skirts the edge of Northern myth without quite tipping over the edge. Or does it?

Single mom Unnur is raising her daughter Lilja quietly in Reykjavik, supporting them both with her bakery job and coping with her unreliable ex. When her worst (and most fragmented) childhood memory becomes a cold case sensation, however, Unnur is forced to untangle exactly what happened that night. In the forlorn Dark Valley, in the water off a black sand beach, she failed to rescue her best friend. Did Freyja die that night, or just disappear? And if she did disappear, who is she now?

When her ex's new police detective girlfriend precipitates a crisis, Unnur is forced out of her carefully circumscribed life. If she wants it back, she has to untangle her past, return to the place where things went wrong -- and figure out who she can trust, starting with herself.

There's a lot of self-doubt, scrambling, and breathless revelation in the latter half of this novel, and perhaps a few too many pieces forced into place. The ending is satisfying, though; and the nearly mythical landscape captivating all by itself. Recommended for fans of female-forward thrillers, Gothic vibes, or Nordic atmosphere.

[My thanks to Spiegel & Grau and NetGalley for supplying me with ARC.]

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one small step
harder to fill
every year

-- Ann K. Schwader

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11

Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The most unusual -- and best written --occult horror I think I've read in a long time. Very much a historical novel, however. The more you know (or are willing to check Wikipedia for) about France during the Black Death (14th C) & its complicated religious situation, the more you'll probably enjoy this.

Passages of graphic physical horror on the order of Hieronymus Bosch alternate with sensitive character moments as a disgraced knight, a seriously flawed priest, & an otherworldly young girl attempt to reach Avignon across a true hellscape. The war in Heaven has seeped down to Earth, & no one's beliefs have prepared them for what lies ahead.

Recommended for readers of dark historical novels or occult horror looking for something memorable.

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no winners
in cosmic pinball
Asteroid Day

https://asteroidday.org/

-- Ann K. Schwader

Platform Decay (The Murderbot Diaries #8)

Platform Decay by Martha Wells

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This installment of the Murderbot Diaries is essentially one space station rescue mission, start to finish, narrated by Murderbot (whose mind/mouth, as usual, reminded me a lot of Deadpool if that "superhero" were recast as an android). This time around, Murderbot is working with emotional check-ins -- a new experiment for him, and a definite complicating factor for the mission.

I continue to enjoy the heck out of these shortish SF novels, but found it difficult this time to figure out exactly what was going on or how much backstory I'd forgotten since the last installment. This process took me at least the first chapter to resolve, & I do wish Wells would insert a few more reminders to help readers get up to speed. That said, watching Murderbot evolve continues to fascinate me. Wells' worldbuilding is detailed, if more than a little dark, & gives the reader plenty to think about regarding industry vs. governmental systems.

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after the man
the shadow
Tiananmen

-- Ann K. Schwader

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tank_Man

Paradox by Douglas Preston

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the second in Douglas Preston's new Cash & Colcord series (following Extinction), and the first co-written with his daughter Alethiea. Though set "in the world of" the Colorado Neander situation from Extinction, the plot runs in quite a different direction, focusing on the theft of a relic from the Vactican and a series of gruesomely imaginative murders. Oh, and a society dedicated to one particular theory about alien visitation . . .

In short, this is a well-crafted Preston thriller, with the trademark touch of weirdness and a fascinating tangle of subplots to resolve. The new Frankie Cash (a CBI agent) and Jim Colcord (Eagle County sheriff) partnership has a lot of potential, with a refreshing lack of flirtation in favor of a professional friendship. I'm not sure I enjoyed this one quite as much as Extinction, but I'll definitely be sticking around for whatever comes next in this series. Colorado residents (such as myself) may find it particularly interesting.

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Tillinghast: A Novel by Clare Cavenagh

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The initial question behind a certain kind of horror novel is: What if it's real, after all? In the case of Clare Cavenagh's debut novel Tillinghast, that question involves the New England vampire panic of the late 18th-19th centuries. Fueled by the spread of tuberculosis ("consumption") in families, it assumed that living family members were being drained of life by their deceased loved ones. The grim folk remedy involved exhumation, dissection, and sometimes decapitation of the body. This went on until at least 1892, with the well-known Mercy Brown case in Rhode Island.

Cavenagh's vampire -- though he never speaks of himself as one -- is the Reverend Stutley Tillinghast, last survivor (by at least a century) of strict nonconforming Protestant family. Finally returned to his home in Rhode Island after decades of wandering, he is struggling with the current century and terminally depressed. In a series of confessional writings, he lists those he's killed to serve his appetite, rebukes himself for his sins, and recalls his single encounter with the woman who made him what he is. He also tries to maintain the Tillinghast Church, though he lost his faith long ago. Above all, he is deciding how to die.

As he is preparing to burn down his house (and immolate himself), however, he gets a call from an angry hotel owner in town about a sick "young relative" creating trouble and trashing her room. Will he please come collect her? Tillinghast's reluctant decision to do so propels him back toward life. The relative is one Sarah Tillinghast, who bears a strong resemblance to Tillinghast's maker. She may also be his daughter, though the chronology for this is seriously skewed and never explained.

Tillinghast's attempts to help Sarah -- whose symptoms he recognizes all too clearly -- and snippets of Sarah's own viewpoint keep the plot moving, but this novel is weighted heavily toward character. Unfortunately, both Tillinghast and Sarah have oddly muted personalities. Despite their violent actions, they seem almost ambivalent about survival.

More than a vampire novel, but not quite a literary novel, Tillinghast offers fine writing and an intriguing premise. What it did not deliver, at least for this reader, was a coherent and well-paced plot. YMMV, always, and those who prioritize detailed characterization and atmospherics may be well satisfied.

[My thanks to NetGalley for providing me with ARC in exchange for an honest review.]

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I have a Lovecraftian sonnet (reprint, from a back issue of Spectral Realms) inOne of Cleopatra's Nights and Others: Tales & Poems of Egyptian Horror. Out now from S. T. Joshi's own Sarnath Press, this perfect-bound paperback anthology (265 pp.) combines vintage rarities of Egyptian-themed prose horror with contemporary weird poetry on similar topics.

For more information, or to order:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GX23X1ST

This is definitely something of a niche project -- but many of the items here are hard to find, & fascinating if Egyptian weird/pulp is your thing. (Guilty as charged . . . )

saucer tourists
rebooking for Mars
Earth Day

-- Ann K. Schwader

The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

All stories are love stories if you love stories.

This may be my favorite quote from this remarkably quotable cozy fantasy, by an author whose previous two books (The Wishing Game and The Lost Story) also celebrated the power and comfort of storytelling. The Book Witch offers several kinds of love story, ranging from a straight-up romance to family/parental love to the love of a writer for her favorite characters . . . and, at the last, the love of any reader for a book which comes along at the right time.

The twists and turns of the plot make this one hard to summarize without committing Spoiler. Rainy March (save the meteorology jokes, she's heard them all) is a young Book Witch tasked with saving threatened works of fiction. Rainy's main opponents are Burners, whose mission is pretty self-evident. Both Book Witches and Burners have the ability to enter books directly, interacting with the plot to prevent or bring about change. If Burners succeed, the books they infiltrate may vanish or become unreadable.

When Rainy's grandfather (who raised her) and her deceased mother's prized Nancy Drew book both vanish on the same day, she turns to her favorite fictional detective for help. Unfortunately, she's also had a crush on the Duke of Chicago since her teens. When he crushes right back, the pair find themselves in violation of Book Witch regulations -- and on the hunt for answers to still more mysteries, including Rainy's own parentage.

That hunt gets a little tangled from time to time, though all the loose ends are eventually tied up in a last celebration of the healing power of reading. This is one to get lost in. Recommended for anyone who enjoys books about books, or simply needs a therapeutic escape. I'm already waiting for Meg Shaffer's next one!

Many thanks to NetGalley & Ballantine Books for providing me with ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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The venerable speculative lit mag Space & Time is turning 60 this year, and I'm happy to announce that I've got a poem in #149!

Available in both print & digital formats, S & T #149 features 6 short fiction authors and 31 poets (just in time for National Poetry Month). Editor-in-Chief is Angela Yukiro Smith, poetry editing is by Linda D. Addison. Full color cover by Kyra Starr. 88 pp.

For more information, or to order:

https://books2read.com/u/b66vA0

If you do order, my villanelle "The Martians We Won't See" is on p. 9.

Pendergast: The Beginning (Agent Pendergast #0.5)

Pendergast: The Beginning by Douglas Preston

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Every hero needs an origin story, and the Preston & Child team have finally provided us with Pendergast's. It was worth the wait.

This novel describes Special Agent's Pendergast's entry into the FBI's Louisiana branch, & almost immediately getting/finding himself in trouble in the process of doing the right thing. This leads him, bewildered senior partner in tow, into what begins as a cold case investigation --& rapidly turns into an increasingly bizarre serial killer hunt. Which then morphs into . . . .

You get the point. This is another well-crafted installment of Preston/Child's central thriller mythos, which manages to fill in quite a few blanks of the Special Agent's bio without trying too hard. The denoument of this case is a little over the top, perhaps, but you don't read Pendergast for realism. This one is likely to satisfy his long-term fans completely , though newcomers would probably enjoy it also. Definely worth a full credit purchase for Audible listeners.

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sisters from the stars
our refugee status
automatic

-- Ann K. Schwader

https://www.internationalwomensday.com/

So who needs dragons when you can hatch a pterodactyl?

Jennifer Mandula's The Geomagician is a richly imagined, solidly researched historical fantasy with both heart and brains. Set in an alternate Victorian England, it features a fictional version of the very real Mary Anning, a humble but self-educated fossil collector and paleontologist. Fossils, it turns out, make excellent storage vessels -- reliqs -- for personal magic, which everyone has to some extent. Unfortunately, the poor often have no choice but to sell their magic to survive. Significant portions of England's Industrial Revolution are fueled by this . . . which, of course, has inspired radical reformers.

Mary steps into the thick of it after she lets the Geomagical Society of London know about her newly hatched pterodactyl, Alex. Toothy, cute, and possibly imprinted on her, the critter may be her ticket to membership in the Society (despite her inconvenient gender). Or it may trigger a series of other adventures -- bringing her to the attention of the Church of England's Inquisitors in the process. And reuniting her with the lost love of her girlhood, who has scientific / political ambitions of his own.

When Mary comes to London (with Alex) the plot shifts into high gear. There's a secret lurking at the heart of the Society she wants so much to join -- and a radical reformer or two among her friends. At every turn, Mary faces questions of loyalty. Does she advance her own ambitions, or support other women? Does she side with her lost love, or her conservative mentor?

There's a lot going on in this novel. Adding magic to a society in the throes of science-based change doesn't simplify anything -- but that's part of the fun. The more the reader knows about Mary Anning and her times, the more enjoyable the read is likely to be. ( Even a quick Wikipedia check enhanced my time with this book.) Recommended for urban fantasy enthusiasts looking for something chewy and different, or anyone fascinated by paleontology.

My thanks to NetGalley for providing me with ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My new Lovecraftian sonnet "Yuggoth at the Rim" leads off the TOC this time in Spectral Realms No. 24 (Winter 2026). Edited by S.T. Joshi., this venerable journal of weird verse and reviews offers 135 pages of new work by the Usual Suspects & many newer poets in the field, plus two Classic Reprints, one article devoted to Clark Ashton Smith, and two reviews. Perfect-bound with color cover.

For full TOC, or to order:

https://tinyurl.com/3wk49nyr

This chapbook collection from LindaAnn LoSchiavo features a remarkable variety of takes on the European vampire, in nearly as many verse forms. Though comfortable with free verse, LoSchiavo demonstrates her unforced skill with the prose poem, fibonacci ( and other syllabic patterns), villanelle, sonnet, golden shovel, and possibly others. The overarching feel, however, is not merely crafts(wo)manship. It is pure Gothic entertainment, with a wide streak of dark humor.

Enhanced by several full-page black and white illustrations-- also humorous -- by Giulia Massarin and Erin Caldwell, the poems shift between historical times and present day, with Dracula himself (or some analogue) frequently present in full evening dress. He pops up in the Playboy Club, near a hangman's tree in Poland, in a series of texts discovered after a disappearance from a college dorm. Other interactions with modern-day vampirism include an Italian sonnet describing an unsatisfying movie rental, and an online offer to train aspiring bloodsuckers with a prepaid master class.

Bram Stoker is given his own briefer section, with several poems focused on the novel itself. Quotes from Dracula and other appropriate texts add to the atmosphere.

Recommended for Gothic/vampire enthusiasts in search of a lighter touch, and any spec poetry reader unafraid of surefooted formalism. My thanks to NetGalley and Twisted Dreams Press for providing me with this ARC.

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Yaddith Times

writing, reading, & related remarks

Recent Entries

My Goodreads Review: The Whitechapel Full Moon Society

My Goodreads review: The Unheld

My Goodreads review: 2026 Rhysling Anthology

My Goodreads review: Freyja

way, way back in 1969

My Goodreads review: Between Two Fires

Asteroid Day 2026

My Goodreads review: Platform Decay

37 years on . . . .

My Goodreads review: Paradox

My Goodreads review: Tillinghast

One of Cleopatra's Nights & Others: Tales & Poems of Egyptian Horror

Earth Day (?) 2026

My Goodreads review: The Book Witch

Space & Time #149 is out!

My Goodreads review: Pendergast: The Beginning

International (and beyond!) Women's Day 2026

My Goodreads review: The Geomagician

Spectral Realms #24 available now!

My Goodreads Review: Vampire Verses