Author Archives: lydias

About lydias

I'm a sci-fi writer who loves lifting weights and hates eating Brussels sprouts.
May 8, 2025 · 1:00 am

A Review of Pain Is So Close To Pleasure

Book cover for Pain Is So Close to Pleasure by Jonathan Antony Strickland. Image on cover shows an orange octopus with all eight tentacles curling around its body. Title: Pain Is So Close to Pleasure

Author: Jonathan Antony Strickland

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: October 5, 2012

Genres: Science Fiction, Horror

Length: 5 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 3 stars

Blurb:

This is the story “Pain Is So Close To Pleasure”, a short comedy story I wrote several years ago. The story looks at an alien race who has recently come into contact with our own. To learn more about each other, ourselves and the aliens decide to send an exchange student to the others world to spend time there so each race can learn more about the other.

Content Warning: Swearing and death.

Review:

Cultural misunderstandings don’t even begin to cover what happened here.

Mr. Kolmortis truly felt like an alien to me which is not always something that happens when I read science fiction about creatures from other planets. His thought processes were so different from how a human would interpret the same situation that I understood why he was bewildered by our species. We were not at all what he expected to find when he agreed to this exchange student program on behalf of his school.

With that being said, I struggled to believe that either side would agree to this program without getting to know a lot more about each other first. Just because two species can communicate in some way doesn’t mean that what works for one of them will be a good idea for the other one, too. Yes, I know I’m being vague here, but the twist is something best left up to other readers to be surprised by just like I was. If only the protagonist had given more hints about why this decision was made and why the adults in the situation assumed they had all of the information they needed for such a massive step in interspecies relations.

I did appreciate Mr. Kolmortis’ closing paragraphs in his confused letter to Mr. Francis, the human headmaster who had chosen Peter as the representative of humanity for this cultural exchange. He genuinely wanted to get to the bottom of what had recently happened, and he had no idea how readers were going to react to the information he included that didn’t make sense to him. It’s not always easy to write characters like him, so kudos to Mr. Strickland for diving so deeply into this world and imagining what it might really be like to meet a sentient alien species.

Pain Is So Close to Pleasure was a wild ride.

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May 7, 2025 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Favourite TV Shows and Why

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

Black and white photo of a pair of black-rimmed glasses and a tv remote sitting on leather couch. I have cut way back on watching TV these past several years.

When I do sit down to watch a tv show these days, I have a strong preference for lighthearted programs that do not remind me of any of the difficult stuff going on in the world or in life in general at the moment.

So what do I like to watch?

Young Sheldon. This was a prequel to The Big Bang Theory that I’m slowly catching up on. It shows what Sheldon was like as a preteen and teenager and why he behaved the way he did as an adult. I appreciate the kindness Sheldon often experiences in this show as well as all of the references to life in a small town in the 1990s.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. It feels like classic, episodic Star Trek to me with the characters visiting a new planet or meeting a different species of alien every week. It’s nice to see problems resolved in this universe so cleanly in most cases.

The Orville. This was originally written as a friendly parody of Star Trek, but it’s become something that honestly feels a lot more like a Star Trek show than, say, Discovery. (Which was not a bad show or anything! It simply didn’t have the time for the lightheartedness or unbridled hope for the future that I prefer in this universe). I love the optimism and humour in The Orville and am thrilled it will have another season coming out at some point.

The Simpsons. Yes, I know this show is an older one, but I’ve started slowly watching beginning from season 1 which came out many years before I  was old enough for such programs. I think I’m on season 2 or 3 now, but I enjoy the silliness of it all and how, no matter what happens in an episode, just about everything will go back to the way it was by the time the next episode rolls around.  The writers have “predicted “ some things in their plots that actually came true, too!

The Last of Us. This is one of the few exceptions to my preference for lighthearted, fluffy shows because it’s so far removed from any of the scary stuff happening in our world right now that I can generally watch it without being reminded of what I watch tv to try to forget. I liked the explanation of how cordyceps takes over the human body in the first season, and I’m hoping the characters will find a cure for it by the time the last episode airs. That would be such a refreshing ending for the zombie genre.

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May 6, 2025 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Authors Who Live In My Country


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

A Canadian flag flying on a flagpole in front of the Banff National Park mountains which are large and spectacular. There’s a large hill or maybe a small mountain between the flagpole and Banff that’s covered in fir trees. Thank you to Jennifer @ Funk-N-Fiction for submitting this week’s theme.

Here are ten books written by Canadian authors other than L.M. Montgomery or Margaret Atwood due to how well-known their books are across the globe.

There is another Canadian author I’m leaving off this list due to some terrible allegations that were made about them a few years ago. No need to give them any more attention if you ask me. 

I’d rather focus on authors with good reputations – at least so far as I know –  that you may not have heard of yet!  If you see this little asterisk symbol * it means I have read something they’ve written.  (I hope that’s the right word for that symbol. I believe it is). 

1. Cheryl Kaye Tardif

2. Margaret Laurence *

3. Jane Urquhart

5. Kelley Armstrong *

6. Michael Ondaatje

7. W.O. Mitchell *

8. Carol Shields

9. Farley Mowat

10. Richard Wagamese *

11. Robert J. Sawyer *

I’m purposefully not saying what I’ve read from the authors I have tried from this list because I don’t want to influence your opinions if you decide to give anyone’s books a shot.

(And also because in at least one case I believe I’ve read one of their books but don’t remember enough about it to have a strong opinion in any direction anymore. Don’t you hate it when that happens? 😂)

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May 1, 2025 · 12:00 am

A Review of It Happened One Wednesday

Book cover for It Happened One Wednesday by C M Weller. Image on cover is a black and white photo of a 1950s style diner with a black and white checkerboard linoleum floor, seats up by the kitchen for solo guests, and cute little booths on the side of the room for groups of two or more. Title: It Happened One Wednesday

Author: C M Weller

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: December 24, 2013

Genres: Science Fiction, Historical, Contemporary

Length: 9 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 4 Stars

Blurb:

For your consideration, an ordinary girl on a hot, summer’s day. But watch out for the door she’s about to enter, for it leads straight to the past… which is, indeed, another country.

Content Warning: Influenza and racism. I will discuss the latter in my review.

Review:

Get ready for a fun time travel paradox!

No, I can’t tell you what it is, of course, but trying to figure out how the various events fit together when they all needed each other in order to happen in the correct order was amusing. This is one of those things I like the most about time travel tales, and I was glad to have enough time to puzzle about how certain events probably fit into the timeline and why Esperanto was determined to return to such a racist and sometimes dangerous chapter of American history.

I would have loved to see more world building in this short story. Yes, it was modelled heavily on The Twilight Zone and therefore some mystery was to be expected, but from a reader’s perspective I felt a little confused by what was going on and how Esperanto managed to travel so far back into time and what on Earth she hoped to accomplish there. If this had been explained a little better, I would have happily gone for a full five-star rating as this was quite the experience for her.

Social mores can change quite a bit from one generation to the next, but they happen so slowly that the people experiencing them may not always notice right away while the generations to come might be shocked by what things that were normal sixty years ago but are now prohibited by law. Yes, this paragraph is about racism and how the protagonist responded to it. I’ll leave the details of that up to other readers to experience for themselves, but it was refreshing for me as a reader to get a glimpse of the past that doesn’t attempt to whitewash the ugliness in it.

It Happened One Wednesday made me want to know what happened next.

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April 30, 2025 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Books I Want Youth to Discover

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

A teenage girl sitting at a desk and doing homework. She’s just turned around to see who is behind her and has a thoughtful expression on her face. Since I don’t have kids, maybe these books are already widely loved by kids and teens today.

Either way, I think they’re timeless and worth reading. I’m picking some older books and then including newer ones, too.

1) Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

Why? Because Shel understood the weirdness of being a kid.

 

2)The Sneetches and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss

Why? Dr. Seuss knew how to explain complex and important topics to young readers in fun and accessible ways.

 

3) Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery by Deborah Howe

Why? To help develop their critical thinking skills and because the idea of rabbit vampires who drain the life out of vegetables is amusing.

 

4) The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Why? One of the things that really bothered me when I was a kid was how resistant some of my male classmates were to stories about girls. I never complained about the dozens of male protagonists we read about, but somehow it was considered a big deal for them to see the world through a girl’s perspective or empathize with us.

I think books like this one could be a good way to help push against the idea that men and boys are somehow more important or interesting than women and girls.

 

5) The Small Spaces Quartet by Katherine Arden

Why? It’s an exciting middle grade mystery quartet that includes strong friendships and talks about some interesting historical events.

 

6) She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran

Why? This is a good introduction to the haunted house genre, and the deeper themes in it about racism and colonialism are thought provoking as well.

 

7) Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Why? It’s a thoughtful and honest discussion about race and racism.

 

8) The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

Why? From what I’ve heard, it’s a nuanced coming-of-age story, and every kid and teen should read lots of those!

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April 29, 2025 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Books with the Word Rose in the Title


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Two red roses against a black background. The roses are still attached to their stems. Here are ten books with the word rose in the title. They’re such a pretty type of flower!

1. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

2. The Tea Rose (The Tea Rose, #1) by Jennifer Donnelly

3. Rose Red and Snow White: A Grimms Fairy Tale by Ruth Sanderson

4. Rose Madder by Stephen King

5. Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley

6. A Rose for Emily and Other Stories by William Faulkner

7. I Never Promised You a Rose Garden by Hannah Green

8. The Nightingale and the Rose by Oscar Wilde

9. A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #1) by Sarah J. Maas

10. The Black Rose by Thomas B. Costain

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April 28, 2025 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Books That Need a Sequel

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

Photo of a person’s hand who is holding up two fingers. I feel like I’ve been pretty fortunate with the numbers of books I wanted sequels for that eventually were written.

Here are some more books I wish had sequels:

Room by Emma Donoghue

Why: I want to know what Jack’s life is like when he’s older. Spending the first five years of one’s existence in captivity must lead to all sorts of medical and social challenges later on.

 

Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Why: Frankenstein’s monster needs a better ending than the one he received!

 

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Why: I was confused by the passivity of the main characters in this novel and thought the ending undermined the point the narrator was making about their lives.

 

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Why: I loved these characters and thought they could have a lot more to say. Sorry, have to be vague here to avoid spoilers, but here’s hoping the film adaptation of this that’s in the works shares more about their later lives.

 

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Why: This was one of the most gentle post-apocalyptic books I’ve ever read, and I wish the final scene could have segued into a sequel that explored this world and how people thrived in it in greater depth.

 

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

Why: The last few scenes set up all sorts of possibilities for a contemporary sequel to this tale as the land around Hundreds Hall was sold and new houses began to be built right next to the crumbling mansion. I could just imagine neighbourhood kids exploring this area without realizing the history of the place and what they may find there.

 

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Why: Faina‘s child is eventually going to want to know what really happened to their mother which would be an excellent reason to revisit this world.

 

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April 24, 2025 · 1:00 am

A Review of Heart of Water and Stone

Book cover for Heart of Water and Stone  by EE Ottoman. Image on cover shows some small white wildflowers growing next to stream that has a rocky bed in it and some stones piled beside it, too. The water is rippling slightly as if it’s a somewhat windy - but not stormy - day. Title: Heart of Water and Stone

Author: EE Ottoman

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: March 12, 2025

Genres: Fantasy, LGBTQ, Romance, Historical

Length: 68 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

Girin is a troll, content with his simple, quiet life in the forest—a life thrown into chaos when he stumbles across an unconscious human on one of the mountain paths. The human is not an ordinary one either, but a witch—tortured, branded, and mere steps from death when Girin finds him. Unable to leave him there to die alone, Girin takes the human home to nurse him back to health. But he quickly learns that keeping one stubborn human alive is a far more difficult task than he first surmised …

Content Warning: Historical references to slavery, torture, and the belief in witchcraft.

Review:

Goodness comes in many forms.

Trolls aren’t common protagonists in fantasy, so I was excited to meet one here. It’s always nice when authors purposefully seek out themes and types of their genres that are not currently in vogue. Yes, it can be a risk in some cases depending on how audiences react, but I’d argue it’s one worth taking. It’s much more interesting to read tales that flip the reader’s expectations around and play around with who we’re supposed to sympathize with than it is to read one that sticks closely to the tropes. (Not that tropes are bad things, of course! There’s simply something to be said for thinking critically about why specific ones are being used).

I would have liked to see more world building in this piece, especially as it was related to Girin’s communication with the mountain during a point of conflict in one of the later scenes. There were so many things I wanted to know about how their relationship worked and what the mountain might be capable of doing to help him. If this had been explained better, I would have happily gone with a higher rating.

The slow-burn romance worked well for the characters and storyline. Both Girin and Ronan had plenty of reasons to be cautious about falling in love, so it made perfect sense for them to build a strong friendship first. This also meant that the romantic elements of the plot were often overshadowed by the fantasy and adventure themes which was a positive thing to this reader. A dash of this sort of content is plenty for my tastes most of the time.

Heart of Water and Stone made me smile.

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April 23, 2025 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Things I Wish More Books Talked About

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

I believe we’ve had this topic before, but I’m purposefully not looking up my old post about it. Let’s see how I answer it this time without that influence.

 (I promise the baby goats in today’s photo are relevant to the post 😂).

Three kids (baby goats) sticking their little white heads between the wooden fence slats as they peer out at the world. 1. Disabled and/or chronically ill heroes whose diagnosis is not the main storyline.

2. Failure. (For example, how characters deal with not getting what they want but maybe ending up with something even better instead).

3. Rabbits. You all know how much I love rabbits!

4. Antarctica. I can think of so few books set there, but with global temperatures rising I wonder if humans will eventually start living there year-round.

5. Fitness and exercise. So many heroes and heroines are described as being in great shape, especially in the thriller genre, but the plot often glosses over how much work it takes to grow and maintain those strong muscles.

6. Sick days. Whether it’s food poisoning, the common cold, or something much more serious, characters in books almost never have a few days spent in bed feeling icky. I find that odd.

7.  Socially awkward characters. I wish we had more examples of protagonists who maybe don’t always make a great first impression but who are wonderful folks once you get to know them.

8. Funny things that pets do (but the pets do not die in the book).

9. Genuinely kind and good people from every walk of life. (Can you tell I’ve been reading too many scary stories lately?)

10. Slice of life fiction. I need low-stakes conflicts. Show me what happens when Henry runs out of coffee beans but doesn’t live close to a coffee house or when Agnes forgets to shut the back gate and the goats all escape. That’s the sort of trouble I want to read about.

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April 22, 2025 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Surprised Me


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Photo of two light brown gift boxes with red ribbon tied around their lids. They are sitting on a red surface in front of a red wall.As usual, I’m focusing on the positive for this week’s prompt. Here are ten books from various genres that have fantastic plot twists.

No, I won’t give any hints about what they are, and I’m requesting that everyone reading this to do the same if you’re already familiar with any of these stories.

Some things are best left for new readers to discover on their own.

If anyone knows of some great contemporary diverse authors who write fantastic plot twists, please share! A lot of these are older books and therefore not as representative as what I’d normally pick.

1. I Am the Cheese by Robert Cormier

2. Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

3. The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin

4. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

5. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

6. Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

7. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

8. Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo

9. Beloved by Toni Morrison

10. Life of Pi by Yann Martel

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