Dave Higgins's Blog

Refuge asked me to share this tool to help untangle one’s digital life from an abusive partner. It is my hope that none of you will need it but I am more than willing to share in case any might.

Dobson fuses police procedure with magic and dramatic fights, creating a fantasy action thriller with smart and active characters. For newly minted inspectors Marten Mingenstern and Boog Eggstrom, catching a thief in the act of selling the jewels seems like a good way to close the case—until a strange force blasts the thief apart and … Continue reading Flames Over Frosthelm by Dave Dobson

As an ancient and venerable roleplayer with a great fondness for Burning Wheel (one of the tropes of which is to fight for what you believe in), I like computer games that slant more toward complex or characterful challenges than primarily being tests of swiftness of reflexes or memorisation of extended move combos; thus, I … Continue reading SubNoticeable

Rosell combines a close focus on the protagonist with nation-spanning schemes and cataclysmic magic, creating a powerful conclusion to a character-driven epic fantasy series. This is the fifth volume in Rosell’s Rangers of the Titan Wilds series. Those wishing not to uncover the secrets of the past should turn back. As Leiyn planned, attacking the … Continue reading The Titan Revenant by J.D.L. Rosell

I have spent much of today—on and off—defrosting our freezer, an undertaking that fills me with a slight warm glow. Which is both fortunate and ironic because it also fills me with a literally icy chill. It will also—to continue the rhetorical structure—allow me to refill our stocks of various frozen items, which will be … Continue reading Winter is Going

Gay combines the mental freedom of club culture with the physical restriction of a lunar colony, creating a science-fiction thriller filled with youthful energy. Even without the frequent power failures plaguing the Moon, Ethan Keller’s warehouse job isn’t enough to cover his expenses and legally acquire everything he needs for the dance parties that are … Continue reading Night Owls by Stephen Gay

Weep, O gentle stars! Great and horrible doom strikes the House of Higgins! Bring forth the heavy goblet! Raise up the rod! By which I mean that my ceramic burr coffee grinder succumbed to a critical fault in a non-serviceable part; a situation most impactful given we had just transferred over to purchasing all our … Continue reading All Nashing No Grinding

Gingell presents a liminal zone between modern life and the otherworldly, creating an urban fantasy thriller that conjures the unsettling contrast between the once-human and never-human. When Viv attempts to protect a child from an escaped dog, she doesn’t expect it to end in a job offer from Jasper Renner, scion of the wealthy Renner … Continue reading Splintered Mind by W.R. Gingell

NetanyahuHamas Screaming from the void That night-swallows puffy ego. Staring frantically at god in the mirror Seeing only themselves Ceremonial innocence drowning truth. They shall build like Ramesses A crumbled memory carved with despair Echoes of past echoes of past. And the world will not end At the call of some brief horn.

Reed blends piratical space combat with espionage, creating science fiction that focuses on sweeping plot rather than the minutiae of living beyond Earth. Christopher Raleigh and his crew have no interest in living under either of the interplanetary governments that vie for control of the galaxy; however, the letters of marque offered by the Republic … Continue reading Digital Assassin by Jaxon Reed