AUGUST 2023

Umineko When They Cry Episode 2 | 5 out of 5

"Welcome to the Rokkenjima of October 4, 1986. You have been given a chance to catch a glimpse of the family conference held annually by the Ushiromiya family. The remaining life in the old family head who has built up a vast fortune is very slim. To his children, the greatest point of contention at this family conference is the distribution of his inheritance. Everyone desires all that money, no one relents, and no one believes. Who will gain the old head's vast inheritance? Where is the 10 tons of gold that the old head is said to have hidden? Can the unnerving riddle of the epitaph which is said to point to the location of that gold be solved? In the midst of this, a suspicious letter is sent from one claiming to be a witch. The presence of a 19th person on this island, which should only have 18, begins to hang in the air. Brutal murders repeat, and unsolvable riddles are left at the scene. How many will die? How many will live? Or will everyone die? Is the culprit one of the 18, or not? Is the culprit a "human", or a "witch"?

Please, enjoy this isolated island, western mansion, mystery-suspense gadget of the good old days to the fullest."

Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir by Akwaeke Emezi | 6 out of 5

"In three critically acclaimed novels, Akwaeke Emezi has introduced readers to a landscape marked by familial tensions, Igbo belief systems, and a boundless search for what it means to be free. Now, in this extraordinary memoir, the bestselling author of The Death of Vivek Oji reveals the harrowing yet resolute truths of their own life. Through candid, intimate correspondence with friends, lovers, and family, Emezi traces the unfolding of a self and the unforgettable journey of a creative spirit stepping into power in the human world. Their story weaves through transformative decisions about their gender and body, their precipitous path to success as a writer, and the turmoil of relationships on an emotional, romantic, and spiritual plane, culminating in a book that is as tender as it is brutal.

Electrifying and inspiring, animated by the same voracious intelligence that distinguishes Emezi's fiction, Dear Senthuran is a revelatory account of storytelling, self, and survival."

Far Distant by A Liang Chan | 4 out of 5

"While completing their second cycle conducting research in isolation, this Keeper contemplates an anomalous transmission that describes something unknown, until their dreams begin to change and soon, a choice must be made: repeat the same cycle over and over or transform. When alone with your thoughts, what would you do when your dreams start talking to you?"

Of Thunder & Lightning by Kimberly Wang | 4.6 out of 5

"In a world where pop media meets military power, two idol-supersoldiers are locked in a world-ending conflict on behalf of their corporate nations. Battles blast across a dying land, both sides convinced of their own righteousness. Ragnarok looms on the horizon. Yet Magni and Dimo—young icons created for the sole purpose of eliminating the other—find their closest reflection in their opposite. Now, completing their mission means destroying the one who understands them most."

Darlin' and Her Other Names Part 1: Marta by Olivia Stephens | 5 out of 5

"Two strangers meet during a moment of mutual desperation and forge a vengeful partnership.

DARLIN’ AND HER OTHER NAMES, PART 1: MARTA is the first installment of a werewolf-western-horror-romance comic set across Colorado and Kansas in 1881."

Check Please! Madison by Ngozi Ukazu | 4 out of 5

"Madison is a short and sweet comic about Jack and Bitty's first summer together in Madison, Georgia. It takes place right after Year 2. It's a breezy little story where Jack sees Bitty's life outside of Samwell, and Bitty learns how to have (and be) a boyfriend for the first time - which isn't as easy as it sounds."

NOTE: this is a side comic set in the Check Please! universe. and i don't think this is available for purchase anymore but i believe you might be able to still find the PDF once print copies are sold out?

The Prisoner by Ignatz Maria | 3 out of 5

NOTE: this story had no description so i am writing my own!

A short story about an unconventional prisoner.

638 Cobalt Road: Or, The Alienated Labourer’s Resentment by Ave Wiseman | 4.3 out of 5

NOTE: this story had no description so i am writing my own!

A short story about the woman who cleans an office building that doesn't exist.

You Will Not Live to See M/M Horrors Beyond Your Comprehension by Isabel J. Kim | 4.8 out of 5

NOTE: this story had no description so i am writing my own!

A short story in the style of classical antiquity and translations thereof about the Greek hero Achilles visiting an oracle and the future fandom that wants to change the story.

With Strange Dreams by Impern | 4 out of 5

"The name of your soulmate is meant to appear on your wrist when you’re ready for that sort of thing. Most people get it somewhere after they turn fifteen or so. Some people never get one. Maria had just turned seventeen when her mark came in and grew to wrap around her entire arm.

A short story about soulmates, fate, and something trying to rig the system for it's own ends."

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon | 5 out of 5

"Aster has little to offer folks in the way of rebuttal when they call her ogre and freak. She's used to the names; she only wishes there was more truth to them. If she were truly a monster, she'd be powerful enough to tear down the walls around her until nothing remains of her world.

Aster lives in the lowdeck slums of the HSS Matilda, a space vessel organized much like the antebellum South. For generations, Matilda has ferried the last of humanity to a mythical Promised Land. On its way, the ship's leaders have imposed harsh moral restrictions and deep indignities on dark-skinned sharecroppers like Aster. Embroiled in a grudge with a brutal overseer, Aster learns there may be a way to improve her lot--if she's willing to sow the seeds of civil war."

Letters From the End of the World by Joan Tierney | 4.8 out of 5

"Everything ends. When you go, what will be left from your time here? Who will be the one to find it?

A series of worlds, apocalypses, and the evidence of life, love, and hope left behind."