MAY 2024

the aftermath [it isn’t over as it ends] of the bombs by musa bouderdaben | 5 out of 5

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stoner termites by Dane Lyn | 4.7 out of 5

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Dissociation: An Ars(enal) (of) Poetica by Addie Tsai | 5 out of 5

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Out of Mind & Into Body by [sarah] Cavar | 5 out of 5

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"Out of Mind & Into Body tears through the medicalized trappings of social embodiment with analytical precision. From examining the ways in which doctors pry through autistic minds to unraveling the feminine coding of a fainting couch, Cavar leaves no diagnostic harm left unquestioned. Readers, be warned: this is a book for the faint of heart and audaciously limp of wrist. With their third stunning chapbook release in under a year, Cavar asserts themselves as an incomparable force across genres and forms. “what does it mean when i stand naked revealing you, nothing.”-Fox Auslander, lead poetry editor of Alien Literary Magazine."

The Chromatic Fantasy by H.A. | 4.3 out of 5

"Jules is a trans man trapped in his life as a nun. The devil that the convent guards against offers him a deal to escape: an illicit tryst and lifelong possession. Jules takes the deal, and begins his new life as a criminal who’s impervious to harm. He soon meets Casper, another trans man and a poetic thief, and together they steal, lie, and cheat their way through bewildering adventures, and develop feelings for each other along the way. But as Jules and Casper’s relationship deepens, so does the devil’s jealous grasp…"

Authority by Jeff Vandermeer | 4.6 out of 5

"After thirty years, the only human engagement with Area X--a seemingly malevolent landscape surrounded by an invisible border and mysteriously wiped clean of all signs of civilization--has been a series of expeditions overseen by a government agency so secret it has almost been forgotten: the Southern Reach. Following the tumultuous twelfth expedition chronicled in Annihilation, the agency is in complete disarray.

John Rodriguez (aka "Control") is the Southern Reach's newly appointed head. Working with a distrustful but desperate team, a series of frustrating interrogations, a cache of hidden notes, and hours of profoundly troubling video footage, Control begins to penetrate the secrets of Area X. But with each discovery he must confront disturbing truths about himself and the agency he's pledged to serve. "

Rascal News co-founded by Lin Codega, Rowan Zeoli, and Chase Carter | 5 out of 5

NOTE: this is a TTRPG news outlet that requires a subscription to access a majority of the articles but i can't emphasize enough how worth it it is. just assume from this point on i'm reading every single article Rascal publishes because that's how it's been so far!

"A new, independent, reader-supported, worker-owned outlet for journalism about tabletop roleplaying games and the people who make them."

Why do scholars get ARGs so wrong? by Adrian Hon | 4 out of 5

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