History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

The Non-Player Review of Video Games: The Music of the BioShock Series

| June 25, 2025

I love music in general, and music in video games is a large part of what makes them memorable for me, possibly especially because I’m not playing the games. The first two BioShock games have a ton of music from the first half of the twentieth century, with a few assorted pieces from earlier and […]

Review of Aether Beyond the Binary

| June 18, 2025

Aether Beyond the Binary (Duck Prints Press, 2024) is an anthology of speculative short stories with gender diverse characters, all revolving around a concept of aether, a semi-magical substance that has properties as different as the stories in which it features. Each of the 17 stories has a listing of “tags” at the beginning of […]

Review of A Crane Among Wolves by June Hur

| May 28, 2025

June Hur’s A Crane Among Wolves (Feiwel & Friends, 2024) is the fourth of this author’s books I’ve read and reviewed. And every time I think she’s written my “favorite” of the bunch, she knocks it out of the park with another amazing young adult Korean historical mystery! Iseul’s sister has been taken away as one […]

The Non-Player Review of Video Games: Surprisingly Good at Tiger Woods Golf?

| May 21, 2025

Many years ago, I dated a guy who was one of four brothers. All of them played video games, though they had different game preferences. His two older brothers were mainly interested in sports games, so that’s what he played with the two of them. And one at least one occasion, they invited me to […]

Review of North Continent Ribbon by Ursula Whitcher

| May 7, 2025

North Continent Ribbon by Ursula Whitcher (Neon Hemlock, 2024) is a collection of six linked sci-fi short stories that span 400 years, but with all but one of the stories taking place in a 100-year span. Featuring queer characters occupying a vast star-faring culture, the stories stand alone but also contribute to the larger storyline. […]

Kickstarter Recommendation: Outsiders by Jessie Kwak

| April 30, 2025

Jessie Kwak, who has written a few books I’ve reviewed, is currently running a Kickstarter for Outsiders, a speculative short story collection! She’s already reached her funding goal, so there’s no worries about whether or not this collection will exist, but you can back it through May 9th to get in on this collection and some […]

The Non-Player Review of Video Games: Hey, I Know That Voice (Brutal Legend)

| April 23, 2025

Several years ago now, Jeremy picked up a copy of Brütal Legend, and as per the usual, he played it while I was doing other things. This game caught my attention in part because of the music, but my main focus was “hey, I know that voice!” I have an uncanny talent for recognizing actors across […]

Kickstarter Recommendation: Neon Hemlock’s Sixth Novella Series

| April 9, 2025

Neon Hemlock is at it again with another novella series for 2025! This year’s Kickstarter will fund the publication of six novellas and a short story collection. There’s one historical fiction novella on tap, alongside several contemporary fantasy titles, which will carry into early 2026. I’ve enjoyed all of the Neon Hemlock novellas and collections […]

Review of Cursed Shards

| March 26, 2025

Cursed Shards: Tales of Dark Folklore, edited by Leanbh Pearson (IFWG Publishing International, 2024), is an anthology with ten stories that each contain a shard of a broken mirror at the core of their premise. Some stories touch on well-known folklore, while others use more obscure myths and legends as their core. The stories are […]

The Non-Player Review of Video Games: Cyberpunk 2077

| March 19, 2025

Jeremy has been a cyberpunk fan for years, so of course he picked up Cyberpunk 2077 when it came out. I was excited, because Keanu Reeves voices one of the characters in the game. I was not prepared to hate a character voiced by Keanu Reeves. But man, Johnny Silverhand is a DICK! He’s grumpy […]