Author Archives: Roseanna

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About Roseanna

A London-based reviewer mainly interested in scifi and fantasy, but occasionally prone to dabble in historical and mythological fiction. Currently an editor at Hugo and Ignyte award-winning fanzine Nerds of a Feather. When not reading, can be found playing rugby, collecting too many crafting hobbies or attempting to learn how to fight with a longsword.

The Sentence – Gautam Bhatia

Posted on 06/04/2025 by Roseanna

So… suspension of disbelief. It’s tricky, right? And, of course, intensely personal. For many, an incorrect historical detail or the use of an unexpected name can make or break their immersion within a story. Sometimes, this is fair enough – … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Detective/Mystery, Science Fiction | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Dragon Rider – Taran Matharu

Posted on 01/04/2025 by Roseanna

For my most recent read, I am reminded of an emotion that I don’t actually have a word for. The feeling you get, when you experience something you thought long consigned to the scrap-heap of history, and suddenly here it … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Fantasy | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Death of Stalin

Posted on 30/03/2025 by Roseanna

I don’t normally review films. Hell, I don’t normally watch films. But sometimes, a reason important enough comes along that forces my hand, and that reason is “for the bit”. So here we are. My previous awareness of Armando Ianucci’s … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Else, History/Myth, Off-Topic | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The River Has Roots – Amal El-Mohtar

Posted on 25/02/2025 by Roseanna

Many (too many) years ago, I had to write an undergraduate essay about coherence and cohesion, in the linguistics sense, and texts which can have one but not the other. In essence, coherence is about a text having more fundamental, … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Fantasy | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Hugo Nominations 2025

Posted on 20/02/2025 by Roseanna

Maybe it’s because I read more books last year than any since records began, but this time around in the Hugo nominations it has been such a dilemma cutting it all down into five per category (mostly, there are some … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Else, Not A Review | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

One Fool’s Whistlestop Tour Through 2024’s Speculative Poetry

Posted on 01/02/2025 by Roseanna

There’s a new Hugo Award this year, just for the once, as a special little treat – and it’s for Best Poem! As a long time poetry reader and insufferable snob, I couldn’t be happier about it. Or… well. That … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Else, Not A Review, Off-Topic, Poetry | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Eligibility Post – 2024 Edition

Posted on 27/01/2025 by Roseanna

It is, apparently, that time of year again. It still feels weird to me to write these, but the urge to make a self-deprecating joke has always been at war with the need for self-promo, and I see no reason … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Else, Not A Review | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Kalyna the Cutthroat – Elijah Kinch Spector

Posted on 19/01/2025 by Roseanna

Kicking 2025 off with a slightly difficult one – talking about the second book of a series, when I never talked about the first one. Double down on that – talking about the second book in a series, when a … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Fantasy | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

2024 in Everything Except Books (Mainly Reviewing)

Posted on 03/01/2025 by Roseanna

This is a new addition to the annual roundup. I don’t know if I’ll do it every year, but this year was rather full on, in a number of ways I wanted to mark, so here we are. Firstly, and … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Else, Not A Review, Off-Topic | Tagged , | 1 Comment

2024 in Books

Posted on 31/12/2024 by Roseanna

New Year’s Eve arrives, and it is once again time for the traditional round up my year in reading. Except this year, I’ll actually be doing two. This will be the usual one, full of graphs, stats and silly awards, … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Else, Not A Review, Off-Topic | Tagged , | 1 Comment