So, I’m going over to Japan in a few days. Now whilst I’ve been busy preparing for my holiday it was always my intention to have my February reviews up before I left. However, there has been a death in the family that has sapped both my time, and my will to be productive, so no reviews for now. I might put last months reviews up when I get home from my holiday, or maybe I’ll just make a combined February/March post next month.

I will say that I have read some interesting stories last month. Michael Flynn’s 2006 novel Eifelheim had me completely engrossed, and Josiah Bancroft’s novel Senlin Ascends has introduced me to a fascinating world. I’m also up to date on the gorgeous graphic story Monstress by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takada, and I’ve read some exceptional short fiction in Analog and The Dark, though I am still not up to date with either magazine. I have so much to talk about, and hopefully I’ll be in a state of mind to do so soon.

In other big news, Pokemon Gen VIII has been announced, with the new games named Sword and Shield. The setting is the Galar Region, aka, Pokemon UK, which means that this new region looks a bit like Westeros. The Game of Thrones similarities continue with the logos have what appears to be a wolf-like Pokemon in the design. Hell, the art for Pokemon Sword looks like it could be Longclaw. I’m still not sure about the starters, though I do seem to be in a minority for not instantly wanting Scorbunny. Again, there is a lot to talk about with these new games, but I’m just not in a position to do so at the moment.

In January I included a review of a music album, and whilst I don’t have any plans to include regular music reviews, I did like sharing songs. I’m going to try and include a Science Fiction/Fantasy music video of the month in my monthly reviews. Not necessarily a new release song, but just a music video or song with SF/F themes that I’ve been enjoying lately.

This month, my featured song will be a shout out to an amazing band that I saw live in February. The one and only Ninja Sex Party. Go listen to Dinosaur Laser Fight, the song that introduced me to the band and which was a highlight of their Sydney show. Yes, it is as weird as it sounds, but NSP is so awesome.

I’ve got a lot of conflicting feels right now. There’s been so much excitement, but also a lot of sadness and anxiety. I’m going to miss my Nana, and it feels wrong to be going on with my life, especially with such amazing exciting things happening. But that’s not the way the world works you know. Death happens, and the world keeps turning. Still, I’ll be back soon with more reviews, and maybe if people are interested some highlights of my trip.

Until then, Happy Reading,

~ Lauren