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@billcap.bsky.social
110 followers 300 following 160 posts
writer of essays, stories, and plays; reviewer of fantasy/sci fi at fantasyliterature.com and (rarely) Tor.com, reader of just about anything, adjunct instructor, ultimate player, hiker, camper, devourer of worlds (or is that words . . . )
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review: "a lyrical, often moving story that packs a hefty punch despite its slim length and is, appropriately for a story about the designer of the labyrinth, filled with twists and turns along with its fair share of monsters."

fantasyliterature.com/reviews/daed...

#bookreview #booksky
the bottom half is a maze/labyrinth with a shadow of a minotaur in the central corridor. The maze seems to end in a head that take up most of the middle of the cover. The head itself seems to be formed out of the maze, with a prominent mouth, partial nose, and one eye and ear and the rest of the face made up of similar corridors as the maze below the head. The head itself is cut off just above the eye. A sun shines just over the jagged line where the head is cut off and a winged figure stands before the sun, backlit by it. The title, Daedalus Is Dead, floats above the sun and a bit of cloud above the sun. The author's name, Seamus Sullivan, is at the very bottom of the cover.
August 23, 2025 at 7:24 AM
review: hard to imagine anyone not picking up book 2 of this duology, The Witch Roads is that much fun, w/ vibrant characters, an intriguing world, & vivid detail, it’s one of my most enjoyable reads this year

fantasyliterature.com/reviews/the-...

@kateelliottsff.bsky.social @torbooks.bsky.social
background is a blue sky with pink crowds. Set against the sky is a structure with with three spire towers connected by bridges near their tops. Before the archway leading into the structure is a road lined by tall statues of animal-headed people clad in armor with some holding weapons. Two small human figures stand just before the arch
July 12, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Tip to Nitrate Picture Show '25 & its gift of beloved classics & unfamiliar films on the big screen in beautiful nitrate. Favorites this year: La Ronde & My Man Godfrey
Thanks for a magical time to all at @eastmanmuseum.bsky.social, @drydentheatre.bsky.social @nitratepictureshow.bsky.social

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Top image is a young woman sitting forlorn looking at a table with a drink on it. To the left is the movie information (La Ronde France 1950) Bottom image is William Powell and Carole Lombard at a sink. He is washing dishes wearing an apron and she is drying. They are looking at each other and smiling/laughing. To the left is movie information (My Man Godfrey US 1936)
June 2, 2025 at 2:54 AM
review: "we open w/ a story-within-a-story (a clever way of doing the recap). We saw these interludes of digressive stories in The Stardust Thief, and it remains a strength here, with some of my favorite writing appearing in these stories."

fantasyliterature.com/reviews/the-...
#bookreview #booksky
a black background dotted with stars, the central part filled with a swirling blue cloud of fire. Over the fire is an ornate pagoda-like structure with a gold and inscribed dome with jeweled stars. Inside the structure the blue swirls form the shape of a bird. The title is above the dome: The Ashfire King, while the author's name is below the structure's floor: "Chelsea Abdullah"
May 24, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Review: This mingling of joy & sorrow, the pleasure of the moments we exist in & their inevitable end is conveyed via a theme of 'interludes' ... a subtle use of structure, imagery, and POV worth the price of admission alone

fantasyliterature.com/reviews/writ...

‪@guygavrielkay.bsky.social‬
Against a blue-toned night sky, a full moon sits in the top third within a cloudy sky. Below and prominent is a tone arched bridge over a river with a long horseman riding across (currently at the midpoint). City building can be seen vaguely in the background. The title, "Written on the Dark" is superimposed over the full moon and just above the rider's head. Below the rider, the author's name, "Guy Gavriel Kay" is superimposed on the bridge. Beneath in small type is the phrase "International bestselling author of All The Seas of the World". In each of the four corner, a partial circle sits filled lithesome ornate scrollwork
May 20, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Thrilled to be part of this group of writers for a fun night of micro-plays at Writers and Books!
Post saying Join us for script-in-hand readings of 10 plays selected as winners from our 2 Pages/2 Voices Competition. Plays feature two characters, are restricted to a two- page script, and include the word "dream" in any of its multiple meanings, inspired by Writers & Books' 2024 Rochester Reads selection, Xóchitl Gonzalez's bestselling novel Olga Dies Dreaming, our 2024 Rochester Reads selection. This year's winners: When I Dream, I Choke, by Daniel Burge Nightstreams, Inc., by Bill Capossere The Language of Love, by Greg Cummings Vantage Point, by Robin L Flanagan Don't Call Me Al, by Jeffery Jones The Best Garage Door, by Julia Beth Lederman Dirty Laundry, by Melissa Pheterson A Mother's Speech, by Justin Rielly Ready, Set, Dream, by Laurie Soltman The Enabler, by Taylor Terrance Judges: Jean Gordon Ryon, Alexa Scott-Flaherty, Chris Fanning Producer: Jean Gordon Ryon Directors: Jean Gordon Ryon and Alexa Scott-Flaherty This is an in-person event at Writers and Books To request accommodation, email us at office@wab.org at least 10 days prior to the event. Choose the ticket price that's right for you: Free, $5, $10, $15, $20, $25, $30 or $40 also a small collage of pictures in the top right corner of former performances of this event, each image two actors on a small stage save one picture of the audience reacting to a line
May 14, 2025 at 6:09 PM
review:
fantasyliterature.com/reviews/the-...

The Antidote is at times a great book, a befuddling book, and in a few instances, a flawed book ... The strengths are many: wonderful characters, important themes, a healthy dose of magical realism, and richly, vivid description
#bookreviews #booksky
A ramshackle old farmhouse with a windmill on top. It sits amid a dusty, dry, wasteland, with a fence post just visible behind it. The background moves through a spectrum from light pink through darker pink through yellow through green ending at the top with a teal color. The title, "the Antidote" is centered in the top third. Below reads "A novel" and then in large size font Karen Russel. Then in smaller font, "BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF SWAMPLANDIA!"
April 25, 2025 at 6:09 PM
me, gazing into the aching void of loneliness and abandonment, after realizing I am apparently the only person Pete Hegeth did not leak attack plans to
Me standing on a mountain trail at Lake Tahoe overlooking a vast expanse with a large lake in the distance
April 21, 2025 at 2:31 AM
new review:

fantasyliterature.com/reviews/airb...

"always informative, often fascinating, at times worrying ... an excellent science history that cautions us about avoiding the mistakes of the past if we want to do a better job against the diseases that plague us"

@carlzimmer.com #booksky
against a light blue/sky-colored background, a group of multi-colored clouds — blue, green, yellow, pink — hover. The title and subtitle are centered above the clouds (Air-Borne: The Hidden History of The Life We Breathe) and the author is centered below (Carl Zimmer Author of Life's Edge")
March 14, 2025 at 6:46 PM
review: Themes are thoughtfully explored, & Tchaikovsky makes room for humor, romance, exhilarating battles, tense fight scenes, moving moments ... I’ve enjoyed all three in the series, but this is my favorite
fantasyliterature.com/reviews/days...

@aptshadow.bsky.social #bookreviews #booksky
Book cover with title (Days of Shattered Faith) and author (Adrian Tchaikovsky) centered against black background. The image is of a city on a high rocky cliff. Below is a yellow-colored waterway with large and small ships visible (a figure rows a rowboat center low-down). In the four corner of the cover are grey insets separated by curved bars from the city scene. Lower right is a skull, lower left some insects fluttering around baskets, upper left a multi-legged creature, upper right some geometric shapes: possibly coins or tiles . In the top center, just above the title's black background, a large frog with a symbol on its chest sits looking outward
February 27, 2025 at 9:59 PM
new review:
"absolutely loved this book ... what really drives Orbital is wonder: at the beauty of the Earth, at how it brought us forth, at what we have done (dismay as well), wonder at the “trance of wild and lilting world.”

fantasyliterature.com/reviews/orbi...

#bookreviews #booksky
a brightly colored swirling image of planets in orbit. The title "Orbital" is centered at the top. Just below and to the right is "The Booker Prize 2004" Centered is "A novel". Below in the bottom third is the author's name (Samantha Harvey" with blurbs from the NYT and The Guardian below the name
February 4, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Just took part-time refuge in these two wildly different but equally wonderful books this week and highly recommend both
#booksky
two book covers On the left, When the Earth was Green has a black background. Plants and trees are depicted in the lower quarter with dinosaurs and other early creatures standing amongst them. The title is just over their heads and has dragonflies to the left and the right. The author and subtitle are above the main title. To the right, The Magpie at Night: A large moon takes up nearly all of the cover against a simple background of a slate blue-grey. In the top right corner is a single magpie flying from left to right The title and author are inscribed on the moon
January 29, 2025 at 4:51 AM
new review, when spreading news about good art feels even more necessary

"gives moving, passionate voice to the all-too often voiceless ... masterfully tense in its small moments...stands out amidst the retellings"

fantasyliterature.com/reviews/the-...

@doubledayuk.bsky.social ky.social #Booksky
two women in draped robes face another women wearing an elaborate headpiece. The background is water and deep in the back some classical building where water meets land, and then a rise into a hit with a Greek-style temple/tomb at the top of the hill.
January 20, 2025 at 6:50 PM
New review: “The main character remains likably engaging, the magic intriguing, the family history labyrinthine, and if the story doesn’t perhaps progress quite as much as one would prefer, it all results in a smoothly enjoyable read.”

fantasyliterature.com/reviews/an-i...
Ornate scrollwork lines the perimeter of a red background, in th emitting third we seem to be looking down a river form its center toward the large bridge spanning it, a black bird, wings outstretched, between our vision and the bridge. Within the perimeter scrollwork in symmetrical alignment to the right and left are paired images of gems, cats, and, and daggers The tile is centered in white text with the author’s name below in yellow. Blurbs sit atop the title and below the name
January 10, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Favorite Reads 2 (non-fiction) 2024
Becoming Earth
The Horse
Every Living Thing
Our Moon
Scattered Snows to the North
December 24, 2024 at 9:12 PM
Favorite Reads ‘24
Blade of Dream
One Hundred Shadows
The Mercy of Gods
Dead Cat Tail Assassins
The Bright Sword
The Last Song of Penelope
Wicked Problems
Play of Shadows
ASGARDIANS 1-2
Treacle Walker
Absolution
The Truth of the Aleke
Book of Love
System Collapse
Wind That Sweeps the Stars
December 24, 2024 at 9:11 PM
Post 46 Book Year in Review
Lazarus Man: Richard Price
www.goodreads.com/user/show/18...

I felt utterly immersed in its speech & setting, its warmly human characters just trying to get by day to day. It’s nearly impossible not to empathize with & root for these characters.
#bookreview
A cloud of dust rand particles rise from a building in a city neighborhood. A foreperson tends the building from a long extended ladder
December 20, 2024 at 7:31 PM
Post 45 Book Year Review
Absolution: Jeff VanderMeer
fantasyliterature.com/reviews/abso...
what the f—- did you expect? Goodnight f—-ing Moon? The Very F—-ing Hungry Caterpillar? If you’re gonna buy a Vanderf—-ingMeer book, then you better expect a f—-ing Vanderf—ker.
@jeffvandermeer.bsky.social
a warped, open-jawed alligator with plants/flowers growing on or out of it is sprawled against against a dark grey background, with pieces of the alligator next to it. The author's name is centered below (Jeff Vandermeer) with the tag "Author of Annihilation" in smaller text above the last three letters. The title and subtitle are at the top (Absolution: A Southern Reach novel)
December 20, 2024 at 7:26 PM
Post 42 Book Year in Review
Thor: George O’Connor
fantasyliterature.com/reviews/the-...

What I’ve been saying since the beginning: story is great, artwork is great, everyone should buy, every public/school library should own ...

@georgeoconnor.bsky.social @fanlit.bsky.social #bookreviews #booksky
Against a blue background with lightning streaks across it, Thor rides a chariot pulled by manic-looking goats. His right hand sports an armored glove, his right hand wields his hammer. The title "Thor" is centered above his head in Norse rune font
December 17, 2024 at 8:03 PM
Post 40 Book Year Review

The Wind That Sweeps the Stars: Greg Keyes
fantasyliterature.com/reviews/the-...

taut, thoughtful, moving at times, exciting & wryly funny at other times -- I would happily have spent more time with the two main characters
#bookreviews #bookssky @fanlit.bsky.social
The title The Wind That Sweeps the Stars is centered against a cream background. On the right and left borders are swirling circles/swirls, like weather patterns of wind. Above the title is are two crescent moons, points facing inward. between them is a mask or a demon face. Above is the author's name "Greg Keyes"
December 17, 2024 at 1:18 AM
Post 39 Book Year in Review

The Naming Song by Jedediah Berry
fantasyliterature.com/reviews/the-...

an ambitious work with a thoughtful and thought-provoking premise
#bookreviews #booksky
A woman's head in profile and shadow is set against a colored background. Her head is sheered off just above the nostrils and a steam engine train with an engine and two passenger cars sits atop, black smoke coming out of the engine. Above the smoke trail is a flock of birds. The title, The Naming Song, is set between the birds and the smoke
December 17, 2024 at 1:10 AM
Post 38 Book Year Review
Play of Shadows: Sebastien de Castell
fantasyliterature.com/reviews/play...

the relative uniqueness of the theater background freshens up more familiar elements, & never hurts to have strong characters and good banter

@decastell.bsky.social @fanlit.bsky.social #bookreviews
dark background with ornate scrollwork running the perimeter. At the top is the subtitle "Court of Shadows Book 1". Below is a figure in costume holding a sword in their left hand with the blade pointing upward. The figure is in grey save for a bright red/pink eye mask. Below is small image of a raptor. Below that is the author's name: Sebastien De Castell
December 14, 2024 at 3:41 PM
Post 37 Book Year Review
Dinosaurs at the Dinner Party: Edward Dolnick
fantasyliterature.com/reviews/dino...

enjoyable, informative, & engaging exploration of early dinosaur discoveries w/ a fascinating slant by focusing on their socio-psychological impact
#bookreviews @fanlit.bsky.social
a simple drawing of a circular table formally set for dinner with chairs around it. A dinosaur skeleton (bipedal) stands atop the table. A man and a woman in Victorian formal dress stand next to the table. Above the dinosaur skelton is the title Dinosaurs at the Dinner Party. To the right of the skeleton is the subtitle: How an Eccentric Group of Victorians Discovered Prehistoric Creatures and Accidentally Upended the World
December 14, 2024 at 3:34 PM
Post 36 Book Year Review
One Hundred Shadows by Hwang Jungeun (translated by Jung Yewon)
fantasyliterature.com/reviews/one-...

haunting novella told in simple, spare prose… the kind of book that passes quickly reading but lingers for some time after you’ve turned the last page
#bookreview #booksky
against an cream background, the title, One Hundred Shadows, is on top with each word below the other and slightly indented. The author's name is below, Hwang Jungeun, with the first name continuing the rightward indent but the last name is flush left lining up with the "O" in "One". The words are against a background of feathers or leaves which extend somewhat above or around the lettering.
December 13, 2024 at 4:19 PM
Post 35 Book Year Review
Blade of Dream: Daniel Abraham
fantasyliterature.com/reviews/blad...

Richly complex plot & characterization atop a wonderfully evocative foundation. Loved its gradual immersion into place & people. Actually, there is little if anything I didn’t love
@abraham.bsky.social
Title (Blade of Dream) in large text centered with author (Daniel Abraham) below with subtext "New York Times Bestselling Coauthor of The Expanse". Background image is looking at a city from a harbor or some sort of water close in to the city, looking with wharf pilings in the foreground. Large structures are visible: some sort of giant wheel-like structure, a column with 4 statues carved into its top, a massive cathedral-like building overshadows all in the background
December 13, 2024 at 4:14 PM