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Articles by Michelle Hogmire
Space Hysteria by Ava Lock - Reviewed by Michelle Hogmire
Loved it! 😍 A trip to the stars goes incredibly wrong in this tongue-in-cheek sci-fi horror comedy about a haunted spaceship and the crew trapped inside Captain Ruby Harlow is in a real pickle. And I'm not even talking about Randall Pickle, the sleezy salesman who sells Ruby and her father Bob a haunted spaceship. I'm talking about the fact that the spaceship, Gloria, has a mind of her own--as well as an abundance of creepy ghosts and spooky bats.
The Insatiable Volt Sisters by Rachel Eve Moulton
As a kid, I spent a lot of summers on Vinalhaven island, off the coast of Maine. My mom’s former boss owned a house and a cabin there, and he’d give us good deals on the rental. I loved that old rickety white home—the wood banisters painted red that always gave me splinters, the backyard outhouse still somehow standing and covered in weeds, the long-running tale about a ghost named Norm who haunted the room where I slept.
The Moonshine Messiah by Russell Johnson - Reviewed by Michelle Hogmire
Must read 🏆 A West Virginian sheriff must choose between protecting her rowdy family and upholding the law in this engrossing Appalachian crime novel. Admittedly, as someone born and raised in West Virginia, I get my hackles up when I hear a book is set in the Mountain State. I'm so used to people who aren't from Appalachia, writing narratives ridden with stereotypes and misconceptions about my home.
Welcome to Master Hogmire's Scream Along Blog
He wasn’t big or tall, but he was always Appalachian-strong and normally blue jean-clad and consistently quiet to a fault. Unless, of course, you asked him to tell you a story. Then he’d spout off like an orator, holding the rapt attention of rooms, with comedic timing more spot-on than any so-called comedian I’ve ever met. He was a handyman and a father. A grocery store manager and a husband.
Take This Job and Shelve It!
A diary of worker organizing against COVID denial and disposability in a suburban public library, where bosses would rather prevaricate, pontificate, and condescend than admit how much depends on front-line staff. During my morning shift at the Batavia Public Library of Illinois on March 12, 2020, the library director, George H. Sheetz, offers me a piece of chocolate from a variety box. The chocolates are open, uncovered except for their little cupped paper beds.
Animal Person: Stories by Alexander MacLeod - Reviewed by Michelle Hogmire
A strong short story collection that takes up the oddness and epiphanies of daily life. Thanks to FSG for an advance copy of this title, which was published on April 5, 2022. I'm writing this review voluntarily.
Terminus by Proto Dagg - Reviewed by Michelle Hogmire
In a dystopian city where addiction to a drug called Power runs rampant, a marketer gets involved with a group pushing a curing substance. Everyone who lives in the city of Terminus is after Power with a capital P--a highly addictive street drug closely associated with the business, finance, and tech industries. Until one fateful night changes everything: turns out, there's a new drug on the market that might be even more powerful.
A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross - Reviewed by Michelle Hogmire
A folkloric fantasy novel about girls going missing on a magical island and the natives trying to track them down. Thanks to Harper Voyager for an advance copy of this book, which was published on Feb 15, 2022. I'm writing this review voluntarily. A fantasy novel as enchanting as its title, Rebecca Ross' A River Enchanted is a lovely Scottish-influenced folkloric tale about magic, music, and mystery.
Dusks and Dawns by S Ralph - Reviewed by Michelle Hogmire
A horror novel about an incredibly religious town and the Hell that's eventually coming for them. A splatterpunk-esque scary novel about a religious community and the Hell they fear, S Ralph's Dusks and Dawns is a nasty blend of gross-out gore and black humor. Jacob Miller is from New Hope, a supposedly pious town that awaits the eventual arrival of devils and demons.
Defenestrate by Renee Branum - Reviewed by Michelle Hogmire
A literary novel in fragments about how a supposed curse contributes to a family's downfall. Thanks to Bloomsbury for a free advance copy of this title, which was published on Jan 25, 2022. I'm writing this review voluntarily. A gorgeous debut novel of vignettes about all the different ways to fall, Renee Branum's Defenestrate is an emotional exploration of both the odd word of the title and the fragmentation of a family.
Gamma Bots by Ava Lock - Reviewed by Michelle Hogmire
The stunning conclusion to The Womanoid Diaries Series, in which AI Cookie Rifkin attempts to destroy Stepford Corp and stop a nuclear war. You know you're having a bad day when your AI best friend/unrequited love of your life, Paula, comes back from the grave in "kill mode" and commands an army. And that's not even mentioning the mechanized shark attack. Suffice it to say Cookie Rifkin has returned in Ava Lock's Gamma Bots--the action-packed, heartfelt conclusion to The Womanoid Diaries Series.
THE ECHO OF A LOST DREAM by Mai L. Herrero - Reviewed by Michelle Hogmire
An unnerving gothic novel about an exceptional sculptor who falls under the influence of an immoral patron in seventeenth-century Spain. Jacobo is a precocious sculptor with an unusual talent: he can infuse his artworks with his soul, breathing emotions and memories into the very clay. But as a poor young boy growing up in small-town Spain in the seventeenth-century, he'll have to leave his loving mother and venture forth on his own to improve his skills.
The Sick Box by Matthew Fries - Reviewed by Michelle Hogmire
A devilishly funny dark comedy about a woman in Hell who must possess a young child on Earth in order to fulfill a fated prediction. If Hell is other people, then the other people are certainly our corporate coworkers. Karen Floyd is living out this workplace version of Hell: she's employed at a communications company in the fiery depths, filled with absurd acronyms, even absurder motivational posters, and zombie outbreaks.
Song of Sundering by A. R. Clinton - Reviewed by Michelle Hogmire
Loved it! 😍 A menacing army of bizarre beings provokes a city to go to war in this epic fantasy novel about family, magic, technology, and secrets. In the epic fantasy world of A.R. Clinton's Song of Sundering, the "Sundering" of the title refers to a catastrophic event--an apocalyptic fall that changed society forever. The main surviving city, Prin, is a vestige of relief, magic, and technology among the chaos, at least for those who are living topside.
Evil Eye: A Slasher Story by April A. Taylor - Reviewed by Michelle Hogmire
Loved it! 😍 An exciting slasher novella about five strangers stuck on a Florida island with a vicious killer during a hurricane. Welcome to picturesque St. George Island, Florida--a pristine vacation spot with plenty of beaches, hotels, resorts, boat rides, and adult beverages. Only today, the island is getting slammed with a hurricane, and unfortunately the storm isn't even the biggest danger: a killer, stalking in the night, is out for blood. April A.
The Human Zoo by Kasey Rocazella - Reviewed by Michelle Hogmire
A dystopian romance about a futuristic eugenics-based society where genetically-enhanced humans live freely, but everyone else lives in zoos In the future, the concept of eugenics is the dominant ideology ruling society, culture, and the world at large. Genetically engineered humans--smarter, faster, stronger, more conventionally attractive, and more ruled by logic and reason--are the norm, while "original" humans have mostly been eradicated.
The House on Infinity Loop by Bonnie K.T. Dillabough - Reviewed by Michelle Hogmire
A blogger inherits a secret job guarding dimensional portals and fights in a battle to save the multiverse in this SF novel about teamwork. LA blogger Jenny Japhet can't believe her luck: she's received a sizeable inheritance from her late Aunt Lizzie--a woman she's only ever met twice. Now Jenny has a nice house with a gardener, a group of kind neighbors, a new cat named Tidbit...and a mysterious necklace with a gold key. Turns out, Aunt Lizzie was hiding some major secrets.
Asides & Strangers
An intelligent and exciting debut short story collection, White Dancing Elephants (Dzanc Books, Oct 2018) focuses on the varied experiences of women of color. Bhuvaneswar deftly explores the complexities of intersectional feminism through tales about queer Indian women, queer biracial women, diverse immigrants, narrators with physical and mental illnesses, women of color coping with the trauma of miscarriage and rape, etc.
by Michelle Hogmire
To respond to a catcall or not to respond to a catcall? If that's the question, Erika Carter's debut novel Lucky You (Counterpoint, March 2017) begins with an answer.
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