Fiction
Top Indie Science Fiction and Fantasy Reads on Stupefying Stories
Honored samurai, ruthless ronin, wayward vagabonds, shadowy ninja and helpless villagers... welcome. 2023 and 2024 were big years for me. I had 4 stories and 1 TRPG published — “The Shrine Keeper”, “Something CUTE This Way Comes” and “Dark Hour” in 2023, Bioheist: The Hellflesh Heist and “Fathom” published in 2024, and I finished 2 others (yet unpublished).
By Made in DNA5 months ago in BookClub
"Men": The Acclaimed Play by Stefano Labbia is Finally Released in English.
There is a profound resonance when a piece of art transcends its original language, moving across borders not just of geography, but of soul. It signifies that the core of the message, the essential human truth within the narrative, is potent enough to reach us all, no matter where we call home. Today, we are witnessing this powerful moment with the English edition release of the theatrical work, Men. This isn't just a translation; it is an invitation. An invitation to look closer, to listen harder, and to feel the sometimes-uncomfortable reality that the playwright, Stefano Labbia, places so deftly right before us.
By Ria Bassett5 months ago in BookClub
The Quiet Conflict: Why We Set Good Books Down
We've all been there. That moment when you hold a new book, heavy with promise, the scent of the pages like a fresh start. You commit. You dive in. And then, somewhere between the introduction and the rising action, something shifts. The momentum stalls. You find yourself glancing at the clock, your eyes tracking the lines but your mind floating somewhere between the grocery list and that email you forgot to send. Eventually, quietly, almost shamefully, you place the book face-down on the nightstand, where it becomes not a window to another world, but a gentle reproof.
By Ria Bassett5 months ago in BookClub
The Rape Scene So Graphic It Made Me Quit Male Authors. Content Warning.
I’ve always loved horror. I love the rush, the unease, the way a book can make you sleep with the lights on. But there’s a fine line between disturbing and exploitative — and Are Your Parents Home? by Jon Athan bulldozed right past it.
By No One’s Daughter5 months ago in BookClub
Drawing in the Sands by Zoe Klein
I finally finished the book Drawing in the Sands. Here is a little overview of the story. "Brilliant archaeologist, Page Brookstone, is convinced bones speak, yet none of the ancient remains she has unearthed during her twelve years of toiling at Israel's storied battle grounds of Megiddo has delivered the life-altering message she so craves. Which is why Ibrahim and Naima (in the summary, it says Aisha, but in the book, it's Naima) Barakat, a young Arab couple who implore Page to excavate the grounds beneath their house in Anatot, instantly intrigues her. The Barakats claim the ghosts of two lovers haunt their home, overwhelming everyone who enters with love and desire. Ignoring the scorn of her peers, Page investigates the site, where she is seduced by the undeniable force. Once Ibrahim presents Page with hard evidence of a cistern beneath his living room floor, she has no choice but to uncover the secret of the spirits. It is not long before Page makes a miraculous discovery - the bones of the deeply troubled Prophet Jeremiah locked in with an eternal brace with a mysterious woman named Anatiya. Buried with the entwined skeletons is a collection of Anatiya's scrolls, whose magical words challenge centuries-old interpretations of the prophet's story and create a worldwide fervor that threatens to silence the truth about the two lovers forever. Caught in a forbidden romance of her own, and under constant siege from religious zealots and ruthless critics, Page risks her life and reputation to deliver Anatiya's passionate message to the world." - From the summary in the book
By Jessie Lynn Nelson5 months ago in BookClub
The Bookclub That Never Agreed
M Mehran Most bookclubs bond over shared taste. Ours bonded over the exact opposite. We never agreed on anything—not the genre, not the author, not even the definition of a “good book.” And strangely enough, that was the secret that kept us together.
By Muhammad Mehran5 months ago in BookClub
The Secret Bookclub in the Park
M Mehran Most people walked past us without noticing. To them, we were just a cluster of strangers on picnic blankets, sipping tea from mismatched thermoses. But for those who stopped and listened, they’d realize something unusual: we weren’t talking about the weather or politics. We were unraveling worlds, chapter by chapter, beneath the old oak tree in the park.
By Muhammad Mehran5 months ago in BookClub
