Michael Schmitt

May 2026 — Read on Serial Reader. Just about what I expect from an Agatha Christie: cozy, fairly danger-free mystery with some interesting characters and a bonus classic steamship trip. I don't know if the mystery was all that great but fun enough to follow along and not think about too deeply. The destination being Africa unfortunately means when the narrative has some needless racism (when it isn't just plainly ignoring Africans) and tops it off with some tired period gender roles towards the end.

May 2026 — Early cyberpunk with so much nearly spot-on Internet setup -- and elements later seen in anything from Blade Runner to The Matrix -- it's really easy to forget it's from 1980. The narrative was dream-like to me a lot of the time; the reader is really tossed into unfamiliar experiences and expected to figure it out. I enjoy that, though I'm not sure I ever found my footing. Treatment of women is distractingly regressive as well. The world is jammed with interesting elements though and sports a striking combination of grime & gold.

April 2026 — Read on Serial Reader. Quick little vampire tale from a quarter century before Dracula, so unfortunately leans on characteristics & plot points that have since been made cliche. That said, some genuinely disturbing nighttime hauntings and behavior so oddly detached at times it feels surreal (ex: almost no reaction from any of an assembled party when someone randomly chases another away with an ax).

April 2026 — Buehlman's "Between Two Fires" was amazing & I had been meaning to try more from him in a while. But I wasn't expecting a K.J. Parker-style fantasy adventure! Meaning, a perhaps-shady smart-ass narrator (complete with a heart of gold) surrounded by skilled, deadly, interesting characters (usually competent women), an intriguing world, and a quest that grows/complicates as you progress through the story. The goblins and fate of horses in this world are particularly striking. I'll be continuing this series for sure.

March 2026 — Read on Serial Reader. I really enjoy M.R. James-type spooky stories and these felt pretty similar, though much heavier on creating an almost suffocating presence than on any concrete Entity. Quick stories all exploring how the alluring, powerful, and dangerous bits of the past can reach out to the present.