#Oliver K. Langmead

[haveyoureadthisscifibook]

vote yes if you have finished the entire book.

vote no if you have not finished the entire book.

(faq · submit a book)

[bormgans]

GLITTERATI - Oliver K. Langmead (2022)

Glitterati is a “influencer comedy of horrors billed as A Clockwork Orange meets RuPaul’s Drag Race“, according to New Scientist, who included it in their list of best speculative fiction of 2022. Oliver Langmead also wrote Dark Star, “a sci-fi noir detective story told in verse” and Bird of Paradise, an “adult fantasy about the Biblical Adam recovering the lost pieces of the Garden of…

[aly-fisch-writings]

This book was an amazingly good read. It starts out a bit slow, but as the story builds it gets more fast paced.

It is about Adam, the first man, working with the help of Magpie, Crow, and other animals from Eden to track down and rebuild paradise as bits of the garden begin to turn up in the United States and British Isles.

I have to agree with Francesco Dimitri who states "Birds of Paradise sits in between a place between Plato and John Wick, a place which frankly I didn't know existed. And it's profoundly human too: whoever has ever known loss will resonate with it"

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

i'll bite! books that feel like lemon-scented cleaning products smell, or books full of toxic glitterati nonsense?

okay, apologies in advance if you don't find the scent of lemon cleaning products comforting, because I definitely do! so I'm recommending Becky Chambers' The Galaxy, and the Ground Within. "Makenzie, isn't that the last book in a four part series?" listen. technically yes, but all of the books can be read on their own, and this book is gorgeous. the Wayfarers series is thoughtful slice of life sci-fi, and GATGW sees it at its absolute coziest following a group of travelers from different worlds and species stuck together for longer than planned when technical difficulties stop them from leaving their galactic airbnb on time.

and for toxic glitterati nonsense, might I recommend none other than Oliver K. Langmead's Glitterati? it's an influencer dystopia that I have to admit didn't quite stick the landing for me, but I can't pretend all the glamour and nastiness wasn't fun to read. think of Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series all grown up.

[chargoeson]

to begin my noble quest of being more annoying (a neutral term for me meaning: efforts to be more outspoken about my interests)

i literally just want to make lists of shit i am into so you all can get a better feel for who i am and why i write what i do and hopefully find things in common <3

music: not to be that guy but i genuinely do listen to everything. though not in a "play whatever it's nbd," but in a "music has been a special interest of mine since childhood and i have made hours long multi-genre playlists every month since my senior year of high school" BUT some current favorites include: Blondshell Searows Elton John (and by extension George Michael, duh. friendship of the century. Elton just came first and led me to George) Simon and Garfunkel Faye Webster Dijon Eagles Feist The Sundays Prince Chappell Roan Gorillaz Fiona Apple i am cutting myself off now, but trust there are many more and they are swirling in my head at all times.

film similarly i have such a taste for movies that's all over the place and often go against people's perception of me (i am a lesbian with a philosophy minor whose primary focus was feminist theory and i fucking loves James Bond) but that's what makes it FUN! film and fiction in general is literally a playground. So this is gonna be a mix of specific movies and directors! James Bond (2006 Casino Royale is the best, you can fight me on this but i won't listen) Memento Only Yesterday and Porco Rosso (by Studio Ghibli) Emma (2020 version by Autumn de Wilde) But I'm a Cheerleader Say Anything Rocketman Kingsman: The Secret Service You've Got Mail The Usual Suspects Eyes Wide Shut and our newest addition, Saltburn <333 David Cronenberg (Crash and Dead Ringers especially) David Lynch (Fire Walk with Me and Blue Velvet especially)

tv let's just go simple here The X Files Twin Peaks The L Words Buffy The Vampire Slayer John Doe Bob's Burgers King of the Hill Futurama

literature listen, i have a lit degree but i am also who i am, so my favorite books are usually the last good ones i read. that being said, my most longstanding favorites and the authors i return to are: Haruki Murakami (1Q84, Norwegian Wood, After the Quake, etc. i have genuinely read 80% of this man's 50 years of writing at this point) Melissa Febos Sally Rooney James Baldwin Ottessa Moshfegh Oliver K. Langmead Iain Reid Sean Hewitt hobbies i collect 'em! acoustic and electric guitar crocheting, knitting, embroidering quilting jewelry making collaging indie perfume (i will no doubt be gushing about this more on this account because i also connect perfumes to my characters/projects and i have upwards of 100 scents in my collection) if you are still here you rock i have also thought of starting a youtube channel for literal years (like many of us late 90s-early 00s kids i have tried several times throughout the worst years of adolescence lol) to just talk about writing and also alllll of that. idk if it will happen but if it does think of this as a sort of primer!

[ladybobofdoom]

- Do You Dream of Terra-Two by Temi Oh

- Embassytown by China Mieville

- Tentacle by Rita Indiana

- Calypso by Oliver K. Langmead

- Girl One by Sara Flannery Murphy

- Little Mushroom by Shisi

- The Seep by Chana Porter

- Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

- The Membranes by Chi Ta-wei

PLEASE for the love of the universe read anti-colonial science fiction and fantasy written from marginalized perspectives. Y’all (you know who you are) are killing me. To see people praise books about empire written exclusively by white women and then turn around and say you don’t know who Octavia Butler is or that you haven’t read any NK Jemisin or that Babel was too heavy-handed just kills me! I’m not saying you HAVE to enjoy specific books but there is such an obvious pattern here

Some of y’all love marginalized stories but you don’t give a fuck about marginalized creators and characters, and it shows. Like damn

[deepdarkspaceblog]

2023 British Fantasy Awards Shortlists

The shortlists for the British Fantasy Awards have been announced. #fantasy #awards #bfs

The finalists for the 2023 British Fantasy Awards have been announced. Here are the awards and the finalists: The Robert Holdstock Award for Best Fantasy Novel Jurors: Elias Eells, Elloise Hopkins, S.D. Howarth, Nadya Mercik, Roseanna Pendlebury The Bone Orchard – Sara A. Mueller (Tor) Cast Long Shadows – Cat Hellisen (Luna Press Publishing) Glitterati – Oliver K. Langmead (Titan) The…

[please-consider-me-a-dream]

The king! In the form of man: Reviewing Birds of Paradise by Oliver K. Langmead

The king! In the form of man: Reviewing Birds of Paradise by Oliver K. Langmead

Hi everyone! January may be as dreary as ever, but I hope you are still doing all right. I have been on the lookout for this book for a while and finally managed to find a copy in Barnes and Noble’s. It seems like a lot of the books I want aren’t available in mainstream book stores. I have to turn to Amazon and I’d really rather not contribute to Amazon any more. I don’t about the rest of you,…

[wordsofapaige]

Birds of Paradise - Honest Book Review

Birds of Paradise was a book that I had a very hard time putting down. It has a incredibly original and wonderful mythology that I adored. Thank you @titanbooks for the review copy! My full review can be found here:

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Expected Publication: April 8th, 2021 Rating: ★★★★ (4/5) Standalone Review: My goodness I really enjoyed this one. We follow Adam, the first man, who has been alive all this time living many many different lives all over the world. His weary, indifferent view on the world and humanity actually makes him a wonderful character to…

[ninja-muse]

My 2021 Release TBR

As usual, there are too many good books coming out and I need to read them all right now. What’s on your list for the year? Do we share any? Have I added any to your list? (All titles are adult unless stated otherwise.)

First Light - Casey Berger - January 1 (space opera)

Persephone Station - Stina Leicht - January 5 (space opera)

Padoskoks - Joseph Bruchac - January 7 (mystery)

Across the Green Grass Fields - Seanan McGuire - January 12 (portal fantasy)

The Ruthless Lady’s Guide to Wizardry - C.M. Waggoner - January 12 (fantasy)

Last Night at the Telegraph Club - Malinda Lo - January 19 (YA historical)

The Mask of Mirrors - M.A. Carrick - January 19 (fantasy)

We Could be Heroes - Mike Chen - January 26 (superheroes)

The Fabulous Zed Watson! - Basil and Kevin Sylvester - January 26 (middle grade)

The Paris Library - Janet Skeslien Charles - February 2 (historical)

The Ratline - Phillip Sands - February 2 (history)

The Memory Theater - Karin Tidbeck - February 16 (fantasy)

We Had a Little Real Estate Problem - Kliph Nesteroff - February 16 (history)

Calculated Risks - Seanan McGuire - February 23 (contemporary fantasy)

A Dark and Hollow Star - Ashley Shuttleworth - February 23 (YA fantasy)

Satellite Love - Genki Ferguson - March 2 (literary)

Return of the Trickster - Eden Robinson - March 2 (literary/contemporary)

The Lost Apothecary - Sarah Penner - March 2 (historical)

The Conductors - Nicole Glover - March 2 (historical fantasy)

Accidentally Engaged - Farah Heron - March 2 (contemporary romance)

The Rose Code - Kate Quinn - March 3 (historical fiction)

Fatal Fried Rice - Vivien Chien - March 9 (cozy mystery)

A Fatal Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum - Emma Southon - March 9 (history)

Birds of Paradise - Oliver K. Langmead - March 16 (contemporary fantasy)

Raft of Stars - Andrew J. Graff - March 23 (historical fiction)

Nöthin’ But a Good Time - Richard Bienstock and Tom Beaujour - March 30 (music history)

A Little Devil in America - Hanif Abdurraqib - March 30 (sociology)

What Abigail Did That Summer - Ben Aaronovitch - March 18 (contemporary fantasy)

The Fall of Koli - M.R. Carey - March 23 (post-apocalypse)

Wild Women and the Blues - Denny S. Bryce - March 30 (historical fiction)

Zoe Rosenthal Is Not Lawful Good - Nancy Werlin - April 6 (YA contemporary)

First, Become Ashes - K.M. Szpara - April 6 (contemporary fantasy)

The Last Bookshop in London - Madeleine Martin - April 6 (historical fiction)

Broken (in the Best Way Possible) - Jenny Lawson - April 6 (memoir)

The Dictionary of Lost Words - Pip Williams - April 6 (historical fiction)

Hana Khan Carries On - Uzma Jalaluddin - April 6 (romance)

When the Stars Go Dark - Paula McLain - April 13 (mystery)

Empire of Pain - Patrick Radden Keefe-April 13 (current events/true crime)

Between Perfect and Real - Ray Stoeve - April 27 (YA contemporary)

Angel of the Overpass - Seanan McGuire - May 11 (fantasy)

The Hellion’s Waltz - Olivia Waite - May 11 (historical romance)

People We Meet on Vacation - Emily Henry - May 11 (contemporary romance)

A Master of Djinn - P. Djèlí Clark - May 11 (alternate history/fantasy)

Son of the Storm - Suyi Davies Okungbowa - May 11 (fantasy)

The Album of Dr. Moreau - Daryl Gregory - May 18 (horror)

Pumpkin - Julie Murphy - May 25 (YA contemporary)

Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating - Adiba Jaigirdar - May 25 (YA contemporary)

The Kingdoms - Natasha Pulley - May 25 (alternate history)

The Blacktongue Thief - Christopher Buehlman - May 25 (fantasy)

The Lights of Prague - Nicole Jarvis - May 25 (historical fantasy)

How to Find a Princess - Alyssa Cole - May 25 (contemporary romance)

The Ship of Stolen Words - Fran Wilde - June 1 (middle grade fantasy)

One Last Stop - Casey McQuiston - June 1 (romance)

The Hidden Palace - Helene Wecker - June 8 (historical fantasy)

The Witness for the Dead - Katherine Addison - June 22 (fantasy)

The All-Consuming World - Cassandra Khaw - June 22 (space opera)

Dead Dead Girls - Nekesa Afia - June 1 (historical mystery)

The Library of the Dead - T. L. Huchu - June 1 (contemporary fantasy)

Jay’s Gay Agenda - Jason June - June 1 (YA contemporary)

This Poison Heart - Kalynn Bayron - July 6 (YA fantasy)

Lake Crescent - J. J. Dupuis - July 6 (mystery)

A Radical Act of Free Magic - H.G. Parry - July 20 (historical fantasy)

The Middle Ages: a Graphic History - Eleanor Janega - July 23 (graphic non-fiction)

Small Favors - Erin A. Craig - July 27 (YA fantasy)

Summer Fun - Jeanne Thornton - July 27 (contemporary)

The Rocky Road to Ruin - Meri Allen - July 27 (cozy mystery)

All’s Well - Mona Awad - August 3 (contemporary)

Clark and Division - Naomi Hirahara - August 3 (historical mystery)

Sisters in Arms - Kaia Alderson - August 3 (historical fiction)

The Bookseller’s Secret - Michelle Gable - August 17 (historical)

A Snake Falls to Earth - Darcie Little Badger - August 17 (YA contemporary fantasy)

Hot and Sour Suspects - Vivien Chien - August 24 (cozy mystery) moved to 2022

My Heart is a Chainsaw - Stephen Graham Jones - August 31 (horror)

No Gods, No Monsters - Cadwell Turnbull - September 7 (contemporary fantasy)

When Sorrows Come - Seanan McGuire - September 14 (contemporary fantasy)

Cloud Cuckoo Land - Anthony Doerr - September 28 (literary fiction)

Along the Saltwise Sea - Seanan McGuire - October 12 (portal fantasy)

The Haunting Season - October 21 (ghost stories)

A Marvellous Light - Freya Marske - November 2 (historical fantasy)

The Nobleman’s Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks - Mackenzi Lee - November 16 (YA historical)

Rivers of London, Vol. 9 - Ben Aaronovitch - November 16 (graphic novel, urban fantasy)

Tread of Angels - Rebecca Roanhorse - possibly? (historical fiction)

[spaceandsorcerysblog]

GLITTERATI, by Oliver K. Langmead

GLITTERATI, by Oliver K. Langmead

This is probably the weirdest book I have read so far, and even though I was somewhat prepared for this story – having been inspired to read it by the review of fellow blogger Tammy – still it turned out to be a very odd experience. Intriguing, but definitely odd… The story is set in a somewhat dystopian version of our world, one that’s divided between normal, everyday people – although they are…

[jorgha-haq]

Glitterati

Glitterati by Oliver K. Langmead is, in the words of Jack Edwards, chef’s kiss. This book is amazing. I want to tell everything about it, but I don’t want to give spoilers. Simone St. Claire is one of the glitterati, the filthy rich fashion elite. He doesn’t follow trends, he sets them. His fashion rival, and co-worker, Justine, has a habit of stealing his ideas and taking credit for them. A…

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

reading update: December edition

hi all! while I already did my roundup for every book I read in 2022 and included the books I read in December, they still haven't gotten their own special little recap because the last few days of 2023 were crazy hectic and I didn't have the time. now that I'm back in the office (barf, gag) with hours to kill, let's rewind and look at the year's last batch of books!

what I read:

The End of Policing (Alex S. Vitale, 2017) - excellently concise and thorough breakdown of why policing simply is not beneficial or even practical for the communities it allegedly serves. strongly recommend, I highlighted so much.

Glitterati (Oliver K. Langmead, 2022) - a book that was so infuriatingly close to being one of my favorite books of the year, until it shot itself in the dick in the last quarter. Glitterati starts out as a Vantablack-dark comedy absolutely skewering ultrawealthy celebrity influencer paparazzi aesthetic culture, and for most of the way Langmead does an admirable balancing act making out protagonist, Simone, utterly reprehensible in his alienation from anything human and sincere while also making clear that Simone and people like him are fundamentally hollow, miserable shells. (one detail that sticks with me so clearly is the mention that Simone loved playing the cello, but gave it up because he was too afraid of getting calluses.) when I say that Langmead fumbled massively by (spoilers) writing a happy ending pseudo-redemption arc for Simone I'm not saying that out of some asinine belief that it's Morally Wrong to show bad people growing and changing because that encourages readers to emulate their bad behavior; I just think this novel really seemed like it had something to say and then balked at the last minute in order to conform to a more conventional narrative structure. it's disappointing, reader. I'm disappointed.

Bruce Wayne: Fugitive (Greg Rucka et al, 2002) - Fugitive isn't as strong as the preceding Murderer by a country mile - it feels much less tightly organized, and meanders on a bit too long - but frankly all of that is worth it for a scene of Bruce Wayne sincerely apologizing to his family for being an insufferable bitch who's unpleasant to be around 99% of the time. while I was reading Murderer I made a post about how I can't fuck with much of Batfamily fanon and Wayne Family Adventures-style writing that posits the Bats as generally well-adjusted, endlessly supportive, and excruciatingly aware of their various troubles, and I think this is why: the moments of emotional vulnerability feel so much more satisfying when they're extracted from a rotten mess of misunderstandings rather than the default.

Even Though I Knew the End (C.L. Polk, 2022) - C.L. Polk is one of those authors who has my attention immediately whenever they drop something new, and this novella did NOT disappoint. a crisp and stylish noir murder mystery following a lesbian couple navigating the forces of heaven and hell through mid-century Chicago, this story begs to be devoured in a single sitting.

Interview with the Vampire (Anne Rice, 1976) - I wanted to like this book so much, and I do like parts. but the high highs are contrasted with low lows, and sometimes Louis' incessant whinging had me skimming for pages at a time. I'm afraid that my love of morbidly depressed bisexual vampires with complicated family dynamics won't be enough to keep me reading, Anne.

The Sandman: A Game of You (Neil Gaiman et al, 1991) - this isn't my personal favorite Sandman arc, but I think it is maybe the most iconic and honestly? deserved for Wanda alone. much like Season of Mists, there's a compelling point to be made here that some of the best Sandman stories are the ones with as little of the actual Sandman as possible. love the grumpy bastard, but sometimes you need a nice long break from his shit.

America Is Not the Heart (Elaine Castillo, 2018) - a last minute entry that stole my whole heart. you may recall me absolutely swooning over Castillo's essay collection, How to Read Now, that was released earlier this year, and I'm so glad I decided to seek out her novel so promptly. America Is Not the Heart is a gorgeous coming of age for a 30-something doctor from the Philippines remaking her life after being released from a prison camp and moving to California to live with her uncle's family. she bonds with her baby cousin, she develops a big fat crush on the local faith healer's granddaughter, she remembers how to have friends. it just painfully beautiful in a lot of ways and got me so good; I can't recommend it enough.

White Tears/Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color (Ruby Hamad, 2020) - a lightning-fast, brilliantly organized read that dives DEEP into the impact of racist colonial laws around the globe and how they contribute to misogynoir and other forms of racialized misogyny today. there's a particular motherlode of information about the sexual politics of interracial sex under colonialism and slavery - the dehumanization of Black and brown women considered perpetually sexually available to white men, the demonization of Black and brown men seen as sexual threats to white women and white supremacy by extension, the difficulties of knowing if any interracial relationship could truly be considered consensual under such conditions. I've got several books on the intersection of sex, sexuality, and racism on my to-read list for the year, and this felt like as good a place as any to start.

what I'm reading now:

Jade Legacy (Fonda Lee, 2021) - I'm so excited for the conclusion of the Green Bone Saga, even though this book is like 700+ goddamn pages long. I truly cannot extend enough thanks to the person who ruined my reading poll by doing the exact thing I told everyone not to do and complaining about one of the options; it made me read Jade City immediately and I've loved every second of the series since.

Shit Cassandra Saw (Gwen E. Kirby, 2022) - very cool short story collection, one of my favorite covers ever

what's next:

Catwoman: Lonely City (Cliff Chiang, 2021) - Cliff Chiang's striking art was one of my favorite parts of Paper Girls, and I'm beyond excited to see his illustrations for a one-last-heist story about Selina Kyle

Where It Rains in Color (Denise Crittendon, 2022) - splashy new sci-fi and one of the only 2022 releases that I couldn't get my mitts on before the year was over!

Babel, Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution (R.F. Kuang, 2022) - I'm going to be so real: I've had R.F. Kuang's Poppy War series sitting on my TBR forever and wasn't in any particular hurry to get around to it, but seeing white bookstagrammers complaining about this book's """"reverse racism""" made me more interested in reading it than literally any actual marketing campaign could have.

[maryrobinette]

My Favorite Bit: Oliver K Langmead Talks About GLITTERATI

Join @oliverklangmead as he talks about his favorite bit of GLITTERATI

Oliver K. Langmead is joining us today to talk about his novel, Glitterati. Here’s the publisher’s description: A Clockwork Orange and RuPaul’s Drag Race meet Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in this fabulous dystopian fable about fashion, family and feckless billionaires.Simone is one of the Glitterati, the elite living lives of luxury and leisure. Slave to the ever-changing tides – and…

[jscalzi]

The Big Idea: Oliver K. Langmead

The Big Idea: Oliver K. Langmead

Punching billionaires: Can it be done? Should it be done? In this Big Idea for Glitterati, author Oliver K. Langmead offers a mechanism for it that is (probably) unlikely to get one landed in jail for it. OLIVER K. LANGMEAD: Capitalism isn’t working too well right now, and one of the most grotesque symptoms of the failing system is the rise of the billionaire class. We are, in many ways,…

[whateveradjunct]

The Big Idea: Oliver K. Langmead

The Big Idea: Oliver K. Langmead

Punching billionaires: Can it be done? Should it be done? In this Big Idea for Glitterati, author Oliver K. Langmead offers a mechanism for it that is (probably) unlikely to get one landed in jail for it. OLIVER K. LANGMEAD: Capitalism isn’t working too well right now, and one of the most grotesque symptoms of the failing system is the rise of the billionaire class. We are, in many ways,…