The Seaboard Review of Books: June 16, 2025
Volume 2, Issue 23
In this issue:
New books by Jeremy Thomas Gilmer, and Madeleine Thien, some lighter “summer reads” from Christine Stringer and Sarah Harman, whimsical speculative poetry from Lisa Timpf, a book excerpt, a memoir and two interviews round out this mid-June issue of The Seaboard Review of Books. Thanks for reading!
Review of the Week
This Rare Earth by Jeremy Thomas Gilmer
Across the world, mining companies dig deep in the earth for minerals and elements deemed essential to our modern world: gold, lithium, iron ore, cobalt, copper, diamonds, to name a few. For twenty-five years, Jeremy Thomas Gilmer has been on the ground at these mine sites, working for some of the biggest companies, witness to both beauty and horror. Hi…
Other Reviews
Fiction
Charity Trickett Is Not So Glamorous by Christine Stringer
Charity Trickett dreams of making it big as a screenwriter in Hollywood, but knows she has to pay her dues. While working as an assistant on a blockbuster movie filmed near Vancouver, she develops close bonds with her co-workers, including the film’s mega-star actor. When her boyfriend betrays her, and she is heartbroken and looking for an escape, she i…
All the Other Mothers Hate Me by Sarah Harman
There are many sub-genres in mystery fiction: minimal-violence “comfy ones”; English village dramas; bumbling detectives whose pets point them to clues; noir; and so on. One of my favourites are those that blend comedy with a wicked plot, affording both laughs and chills as the plot unwinds. The late Sue Grafton’s protagonist Kinsey Millhone often blend…
Non-Fiction
Cautiously Pessimistic by Debbie McGee
Cautiously Pessimistic by Debbie McGee is a hard book to classify. On one level it is a memoir of a sometimes-tumultuous love affair, and an account of the long, painful death from brain cancer of one of the partners. On another level, it is an examination and critique of the new phenomenon of living life and death via social media.
Poetry
Lion by Tallas Munro
Tallas Munro’s Lion is a compact collection of poems that maintains emotional weight while also leaning into brevity. Most of the pieces are under a dozen lines, and some, like “Invisible” and “Freedom,” are just two or three. The style is minimalist, but not cold. Munro has a talent for precision, and his short poems work like match-strikes.
Cats and Dogs in Space by Lisa Timpf
I have known Lisa Timpf for quite some time now. She was a regular contributor of reviews to my former book review website, and I was very happy when she decided to come aboard The Seaboard Review of Books. She is punctual in reading and reviewing the books she chooses to read, and I can always count on her to submit a good-quality review, whether it is…
Excerpt
Michael Greenstein Reviews:
Interviews
Elana Wolff in Conversation with Mary Lou Soutar-Hynes
Elana Wolff: First of all, congratulations on the publication of your new collection of poems, Slender Certainties, Mary Lou!
In Dialogue with Anya Liftig
Performance artist Anya Liftig and Kevin met to discuss her trajectory from photography to performance art, formative performances by which she would reveal the commercial and commodifying contexts of prominent American arts institutions, including a guerrilla intervention at MOMA, and her memoir,
Hot Takes: Brief Notes on Books Present & Past
(Note: clicking on the underlined link takes you to the book’s publisher page or Amazon.ca for more information or for purchasing purposes)
Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao is the second in her Iron Widow series. At the end of the first novel, Zetien had just revived Emperor Qin Zheng and lost Shimin when the gods took the wreckage of the Vermilion Bird to the Heavenly Court. Now she and Qin Zheng are reluctantly thrust together as Empress and Emperor and Zetien must play the part perfectly. The gods are watching. Qin Zheng sets off a Communist revolution and Zetien uses her influence to improve the lives of women. Secretly, Qin Zheng trains Zetien so they’ll be ready to attack the Heavenly Court and kill the gods. Inspired by the life of Wu Zetien, the only female emperor in Chinese history, Heavenly Tyrant is set in a compelling futuristic world filled with political intrigue, love, betrayal, mech battles, and revolution. (Contributed by Melanie Marttila)
Linghun by Ai Jiang is a Nebula-Award-winning novella and a modern gothic. Set in the mysterious town of Home, a place where people who can’t release their beloved dead move to reunite with them, Linghun tells the stories of Wenqi, Liam, and Mrs. Wenqi’s family has moved from Toronto into one of Home’s haunted houses to summon the ghost of her brother, who died when he was a child. Wenqi barely remembers him and wants to go back to Toronto and live a normal life. Liam and his family are “lingerers,” people who can’t afford a haunted house and engage in blood-sport auctions when one becomes available. Liam has been assigned the task of making Wenqi and her family give up their house, but Liam has other ideas. Mrs. lives and dies in the house where her deceased husband refuses to apparate, but she has a strange connection to both Wenqi and Liam. Great, creepy read! (Melanie Marttila)
Book News
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Emily Weedon’s Drunk Fiction Event:
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Thanks for reading this issue of The Seaboard Review of Books!
James M. Fisher, editor-in-chief
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