ORB's March 2026 Issue
Welcome to our end-of-winter issue. In it, our core reviewers explore romance, early feminism, racism and an intriguing memoir by one of Canada’s most prolific SF&F, crime, and historical writers. Once again, something for everyone to enjoy as the crocuses push through the melting snow.
Big of You by Elise Levine
Reviewed by Timothy Niedermann Elise Levine is an award-winning writer with two novels, a pair of novellas, and two previous short-story collections under her belt. Big of You is her third. The stories in this volume are quite diverse. A woman remembers a long-ago summer trip to Europe with a friend with whom she has lost contact. A trio of women—old friends—share a vacation in the US Southwest where they hike into a small box canyon to see ancient petroglyphs. A teacher lam
A Guy Just Passing Through by Matthew Hughes
Reviewed by Robert Runté As a critic, I’m often interested in the lives of writers. Understanding how writers' backgrounds shaped their worldview and inspired their characters can deepen one’s enjoyment of their work. Matthew Hughes is a prolific Canadian SF&F, crime, and historical author whose work I greatly enjoy. I was therefore inordinately happy when he made his personal memoir, A Guy Just Passing Through , available to the public. Much of the book focuses on his early
Eyes Have Seen by Fred Anderson
Reviewed by Timothy Niedermann The great strength of this memoir by Fred Anderson is that it shows the humanity behind the struggles he has experienced, both as a black person in the American Deep South and as an illegal immigrant in Montreal. Anderson was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, in 1947 and grew up in conditions that are barely imaginable to most Canadians today: abusive segregation, pervasive racial injustice, an ever-present fear of violence, even death, at the h
Finding Flora by Elinor Florence
Reviewed by Wendy Hawkin Destined to become a Canadian literary classic, Finding Flora chronicles the bittersweet journey of twenty-four-year-old, red-haired, Scottish immigrant, Flora Craigie. Readers can’t help but root for this young, feisty hero whose first act of rebellion is to leap into the darkness from a moving train to escape her new, sick, predatory husband. Hoodwinked by Hector Mackle, an unscrupulous land agent with the CPR, Flora marries in Scotland, only to di
Old Romantics by Maggie Armstrong
Reviewed by Timothy Niedermann While some of the stories in this first short-story collection by Irish writer Maggie Armstrong are written in the first person, others in the third person, it soon becomes apparent that the stories are related and are moving forward in time. As such, Old Romantics reads much like a novel. The main character in each story is a woman named Margaret who is bouncing from one unsatisfactory love affair to another. The men are abusive or unreliable,
ORB February 2026 Issue
After a well-deserved winter break, we are back with our Valentine issue, which ironically does not feature even a wisp of romance. Not to worry, the issue does line up some excellent insights into six books of recent Canadian fiction by Natalie Southworth, Ann Cavlovic, Beverley McLachlin, Finnian Burnett, Drew Hayden Taylor and Su Chang, all good reading to help you wind down after the wine, chocolates and flowers. We hope you enjoy this first issue of 2026.
There’s Always More to Say by Natalie Southworth
Reviewed by Timothy Niedermann In this, author Natalie Southworth’s first short-story collection, three stories frame the other six: the first, “There’s Always More to Say,” the fifth, “The Bottom Line,” and the ninth and last, “Inheritance.” Each is narrated by Cora, the younger of two daughters in a family of four. The stories take place at different times during the girls’ lives—pre-teen, teen, and adult—as the family tries to cope with the mother’s mental issues and their
