books

Books & anime for your solitary, locked-in-alone binging pleasure

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I knew when I started writing about books and anime for Tor.com that I wanted to work on this article:

With horror fiction and horror anime both being such incredibly in-depth areas, we’ve narrowed it down to pairings of stories that focus on people and the relationships between them. While many of the stories possess paranormal elements, the real terror lies not in the monster you’ve barricaded out, but the person you’re locked inside with.

Find my four perfect pairings over at Tor.com. Fun fact: the first anime on the list terrified me so much I had to be removed from a Youmacon screening room in 2009, one of my favorite series of all time is the second, and the last involves something I’ve loved for quite some time — but you can read more online.

I can put Murder Schoolgirls everywhere

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Okay, so this isn’t TECHNICALLY about murder schoolgirls. Over at Tor.com, I’ve got a list of book & anime pairings for anyone looking for a great school story.

As a long-time fan of both speculative fiction and anime, one common thread I’ve noticed in both media is the enduring presence of The School Story. Plenty of fantasy readers make their grand entrance to the genre via a school fantasy story; for teens, who spend more time at school than at home, what other setting could tie the fantastic world to mundane reality?

You can find out what murder schoolgirls go best together what anime go best with your favorite school books over at Tor.com!

Everyone should read the new Miles Morales novel

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I’ve been telling literally everyone who will listen to me about Jason Reynolds’ new Miles Morales novel, available now from Marvel Press:

At 16, Miles is concerned he’s destined to follow the same path as his father and his uncle, who both went in and out of jail as teens for petty crimes and more. His Spidey senses keep going haywire at the worst time: in the middle of history class, taught by a “subtly” racist teacher named Mr. Chamberlain who seems to have it out for Miles. And every mistake he makes at Brooklyn Visions Academy puts his scholarship — and his future — in peril.

Miles’ struggle in this story isn’t an exclusively superhuman one, and the fight against the Big Bad isn’t even one he truly needs superpowers to fight. (Although his superpowers definitely help. A lot.) His journey is an incredibly personal one: trying to figure out whether he deserves to be Spider-Man or if he’ll never be anything more than a criminal, which is how many of the school’s administrators treat him.

You can read my full review now at Girls in Capes.