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8/10
Review: The Underwater Ballroom Society, Edited by Stephanie Burgis & Tiffany Trent
Reviews / April 16, 2018

When Stephanie Burgis contacted me to propose I read and review this collection of short stories from various authors, I was quite intrigued: I had enjoyed both her two historical fantasy novels (Masks and Shadows and Congress of Secrets) and her novella Snowspelled, with its alternate version of Regency England where magic is as common as teapots, so that I was fairly certain I would appreciate these short works centered on the shared theme of an underwater ballroom. The location itself would have been enticement enough as a narrative lynchpin, but once I learned from the preface that an underwater ballroom does indeed exist as the remnant of a once-lavish estate, my curiosity did skyrocket: I have by now learned that Ms. Burgis loves to employ true historical details as her writing’s cornerstones, and the fact that she proposed the same core theme to other writers, to do as they pleased within their stories, made for a potentially fascinating journey.  And that’s what this collection was, indeed. Each story is wildly different, ranging from steampunk fantasy to what I labelled as “fairy stories for grown-ups”, but each of them features the famous underwater ballroom in one way or another, and…

Upcoming Releases: October 9 – 15, 2016
Upcoming Releases / October 8, 2016

Here’s a rundown of the books we think you should look out for in coming in the week. See any that you are really looking forward to? Find any you had not heard of yet? Know of books we missed? We know we don’t have everything and would love to hear what you feel we may have overlooked.   FANTASY          URBAN FANTASY        HORROR   FANTASY                   URBAN FANTASY   HORROR       FANTASY          URBAN FANTASY        HORROR Chaosmage Aryan, Stephen 10/11/2016 Orbit Conspiracy of Ravens Bowen, Lila 10/11/2016 Orbit Crimson Death Laurell K. Hamilton 10/11/2016 Berkley Hag-Seed Margaret Atwood 10/11/2016 Hogarth Shakespeare Hammers on Bone Khaw, Cassandra 10/11/2016 Tor.com The Apothecary’s Curse Barnett, Barbara 10/11/2016 Pyr The Graveyard Apartment Mariko Koike, Deborah Boliver Boehm (Translator) 10/11/2016 Thomas Dunne The Librarians and The Lost Lamp Cox, Greg 10/11/2016 Tor Books The Midnight Star Marie Lu 10/11/2016 G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers Treachery’s Tools Modesitt Jr., L. E. 10/11/2016 Tor Books Unhonored Hickman, Tracy 10/11/2016 Tor Books