History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

Review of Broken Metropolis edited by dave ring

| February 27, 2019

My latest book review is up at Mad Scientist Journal, for an anthology of stories with queer protagonists called Broken Metropolis. Within, you’ll find 10 short pieces ranging all over the urban fantasy landscape. A number of the stories feature some wonderful magical realism, while others involve clearly supernatural creatures. You can read my review here, or […]

Comic Recommendation: The Sun and Wayward Wind

| February 20, 2019

Back in 2017, I posted about an awesome looking Kickstarter on Mad Scientist Journal for The Sun and the Wayward Wind from Dandelion Wine Collective. It’s a comic anthology featuring myths and legends, some of which are reimaginings of traditional myths and some of which are new creations. I finally got around to reading it, because my […]

Movie Recommendation: Legend (2015)

| February 13, 2019

No, not the one from the 80s with Tom Cruise and Tim Curry. The one from 2015 with Tom Hardy and Tom Hardy. Yeah, you read that right. Tom Hardy plays twin brother mobsters, Ron and Reggie Kray. And a nice chunk of the British actors I love are right there alongside him. As a […]

Music Recommendations: Mika’s “Good Guys”

| January 30, 2019

Jeremy has recently become a big fan of Mika. He played me this video recently, and I fell in love with both the video and the song. It also reminded me of another favorite artist of mine from some years back, Rufus Wainwright (who I think gets a name drop in the song). Enjoy!

Review of Magic or Die by J. P. Jackson

| January 23, 2019

My newest book review is up at Mad Scientist Journal for Magic or Die by J. P. Jackson. It’s a fast-paced urban fantasy book with evil corporations, power magic users, and queer romance. It’s the first in a series, and after reading this one, I’m chomping at the bit for the next one, in part because of the agonizing […]

Winter Reads: Twenty Thousand Leagues, Futhermuckers by Matt Youngmark

| January 16, 2019

If you’re a fan of young adult books with a whole boatload (tee-hee!) of swearing and classics of literature that have fallen into the public domain, you’re going to want to get your hands on Twenty Thousand Leagues, Futhermuckers by Matt Youngmark. It’s a delightful tale of one Arabella Grimsboro as she journeys through literature (but only that […]

Winter Reads: Seasons of Horror by Lucinda Gunnin

| January 9, 2019

I’m surrounded by tons of talented writers, both in Seattle and across the world (nearby through the power of the internet). My best friend lives almost as far across the country as she can from me (because we both want excuses to visit the opposite coast now and then). She’s also a writer who got […]

Review of Murder on the Titania by Alex Acks

| January 2, 2019

My newest book review is up at Mad Scientist Journal today, wherein I review the delightful Murder on the Titania and Other Steam-Powered Adventures by Alex Acks. This book was right up my alley, involving airships, piracy, and wonderful characters. Toss in some alternate history as well, and I was quite pleased with this collection of novellas and one short story! If this sounds […]

Music Recommendation: Korean Pop

| December 26, 2018

My current music obsession has surprised some folks, while other folks have just nodded knowingly. Jeremy got me completely hooked on Korean pop music. It’s become my go-to music for when I need to concentrate on a repetitive task but need some sort of music to keep me motivated. The fact that I can understand […]

Winter Reads: Kensei

| December 19, 2018

Teenage life plus being a superhero? That’s a tough break! But in Jeremy Zimmerman’s Kensei, the titular character deals with both (and more). She’s got to protect her city, navigate her first relationship, and figure out what’s going on with this weird gossip blog that’s disrupting her school. If you’re a fan of young adult books […]