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Magicians and mystery: unraveling the secrets of the loneliest sleuths
In a mystery series, the protagonist is key to a reader’s enjoyment. The proper selection of protagonist can have critical impacts on a reader’s willingness to accept the investigation. Does it makes sense that this character investigates this crime? Does her expertise seem actually relevant to her solution? And, to an equal extent – does…
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The Magic Touch: Four Black fantasy authors who spin up diverse and engaging worlds
February is Black History Month in the US, and I’m celebrating by sharing my favorite fantasy novels by Black authors. Growing up, fantasy was too often dominated by the same stories and tropes and plot beats. These novels break new ground in terms of creativity and storytelling. Innovative magic systems, exciting wordlbuilding, and compelling characters…
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Piranesi: the loneliness and dramatic irony of journal entries
Have you ever seen a piece of art get so hyped up that you avoid it, because you’re worried that there’s no way it can live up to it? This is how I felt about Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, a weird and wonderful novel that unfolds via journal entries. Despite seemingly everyone in the entire…
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TCO Reviews: VenCo by Cherie Dimaline
Since I was a young girl, I’ve loved fantasy novels, especially those in urban settings. It was never Big Battles that did it for me – instead, I preferred to see magic used in daily life, on human scale. To this day, I prefer this juxtaposition of the ordinary and extraordinary – whether it’s a…
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The World of Pondside: Cozy mystery with a video-game twist
I’ve always loved the idea of video games as interactive art. Growing up, cozy puzzle-solving games like Professor Layton were a welcome interactive escape. Later, in college, I discovered channels like Extra Credits that got me thinking critically about how the interactivity of games sets them apart. And Cozy Grove, with its wholesome story of…
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TCO Reviews: Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
I was really excited to get the chance to read Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson. Many thanks to the publisher for the gift! This fun take on the manor house mystery will release January 2023, and I honestly liked it so much that I’ll probably buy myself a copy to…
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They Do It With Mirrors, Part 2: creating a character ecosystem
It’s time to take a closer look at the two TV adaptations of They Do It With Mirrors. This is a bit of a tricky one, because the novel has distinct strengths and weaknesses. Specifically, the novel features quite strong character portraits but a questionably consistent theme. Last week, we discussed that the overall effect…
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They Do It With Mirrors, Part 1: A suite of character studies
Welcome back to our series on the art of literary adaptation, using the Miss Marple series as a guide. For those of you who are new, I’ve been re-reading the adventures of my favorite spinster sleuth, and comparing the novels with both the BBC and ITV adaptations. It’s been a fascinating way to see how…
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Cozies, fantasies, and more: the most exciting books of 2023
Happy New Year! We just finished a roundup of some of my favorite books of 2022, and it’s time to look ahead to the new year. While I do my best to vary my reading diet and not only take in new books, there are a few I’m particularly excited to get on my shelf.…
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TCO Reviews: Death Comes to Marlow by Robert Thorogood
In addition to mystery novels, I am also an avid fan of word games. I particularly love crossword puzzles: I regularly race my friends to complete the New York Times crossword, and got into cryptic crosswords over the pandemic. I’m still terrible at them – I can’t solve anagrams to save my life – but…