Bringing you stories, book and game reviews, writing tips, and updates from author S.G. Baker.
In Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir, orphaned, broadsword-wielding Gideon Nav makes a bid for freedom from a life of servitude on the claustrophobic planet of the Ninth House, but the Reverend Daughter Harrowhark Nonagesimus, necromancer and bone manipulation prodigy, thwarts Gideon's attempt at escape, demanding the swordswoman's help in exchange for her freedom. The … Continue reading Book Review: Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
A person was laying in the grass, and she had been for quite some time. Flat on her back. A bouquet of big white and yellow daisies clutched in her hands lay across her chest. When she continued not to move from her grassy bed, I walked over to investigate. Blue eyes widened when I … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – Jealous Grass
Seven boats lay keeled over on their sides in the shallows of a cloudy bay. Water swallowed the gray sky above until they became mirrored reflections, indistinguishable, and lapped against the exposed ribs of the boats like a kitten at a captured fish. Wood and metal creaked as the tide began to shift back out … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – A Seven Vessel Mission
In a remote field of faded stubble, buried deep in the woods, I had almost crossed to the other side when two young women stepped out in front of me. I pulled up short, but they just stood there next to each other. Both wore a lacy white sun dress and no shoes. They seemed … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – Field Guardians
Along a well-maintained forest path, I found myself walking beside an old stone fence. Sunlight streaming through the leaves overhead caught among mossy fibers, turning them to filaments of fire, wreathing the green fence in a golden glow. Rocks piled on rocks made for a lumpy surface, but the thick cushion of moss looked so … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – Evidence of a Struggle
While rambling through a remote area of woodland, I happened upon a river of pink flowers flowing along the forest floor. Meandering back and forth across my path from my left to my right. I suspected the flowers must have sprung up from the moisture in an old river bed, yet my heart fluttered at … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – A Pink Path for Pilgrimage
At the top of a snowy mountain in the earliest morning, when rays of sunlight bloodied peaks and bruised purple clouds low on the jagged horizon, the noise of claws scratching on ice brought my gaze up from my boots. My nose burned with the cold and my hands ached where I nestled them inside … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – A Dogged Decree
In the depths of a cloudy blue twilight, I spotted a darker shape flailing within a grassy field. All around, long stalks reached toward the sky, silhouetted black against the encroaching twilight. Among them, the figure whirled and leapt, feet thumping against the dirt. Shoulders and hips swayed. Though I squinted, I could not make … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – A Dance at Dusk
Over a still lake, pale pink fog rolled, muffling the surrounding forest noises to silence. I knelt on the pebbled shore of a small peninsula, cleaning myself in the water. Splashes echoed into the distance. Goosebumps raised on my chilled skin. Once I finished, the surface became mirror smooth. Reflecting the fog back on itself … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – Mirror Mimic
With sickness dragging at my bones, my throat, and the pit of my stomach, I shambled through a flower market nestled in the heart of an unfamiliar region. As I was new to the area, I didn't know where to find the plant I needed. That plus the language barrier meant this market was my … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – Toxic Remedy
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