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Hugh Likes Fiction: Audition for the Fox

February 26, 2026

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Audition for the Fox
Written by Martin Cahill

Published by Tachyon Publications

Read on Kindle Fire via the Hoopla app

The Skinny – A timely novella about revolution, trickery, and the nature of kindness

Nesi has a problem. For complex hereditary reasons, she must earn the patronage of one of the 99 Pilars, a pantheon of gods. But after 96 failed auditions, she’s running out of options. She takes a chance and offers a prayer to T’sidaan, the Fox of Trickery. But when she finds herself the prisoner of an invasion force hundreds of years in the past, it will take everything she has just to survive and make sure history goes the way it should, much less pass the audition.

A mix of A Game of Thrones-style fantasy politics and Just So Stories fables, Author Martin Cahill intersperses chapters of Nesi’s story as she works to liberate a lumber camp turned fortress with legends of T’sidaan’s exploits as told by various storytellers, clerics, and acolytes. The world building in these contrasting sections is impeccable, bringing their world to life without bogging down the stories, and Cahill’s narration is voicy and evocative. The structure is constantly referencing and reinforcing itself, slowly revealing not only Nest’s story and character, but T’sidaan’s as well. It’s a clever trick in its own right, and the author pulls it off with style.
Audition for the Fox is a timely novella with flawed but endearing characters. It stresses not only the need for resistance, but for compassion within resistance networks. It focuses on empathy as a revolutionary act and stresses that fighting back against fascism is not just about aggression and resistance to your enemy, but built on solidarity and kindness to each other. I found the theme to be especially relevant as we move through early 2026.

Audition for the Fox is available at your local bookshop, wherever you buy books, or your local library. I rented a digital copy from my library using the Hoopla app. I highly recommend taking a look, with love in your heart and trickery on your mind.

Hugh Likes Comics: What Did You Eat Yesterday?

April 28, 2025

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What Did You Eat Yesterday?

Written and Drawn by Fumi Yoshinaga

Published by Vertical, Inc.

The Skinny: A Gay slice-of-life cooking manga that has more romaine than romance.

Shiro and Kenji are a Gay couple in their 40s living together in Tokyo. Closeted lawyer Shiro fends off the questions about his girlfriend, while boisterous barber Kenji is much more relaxed and free-spirited. But every day Shiro cooks an amazing meal for his partner at the end of the day.

Equal parts slice-of-life and cooking manga, What Did You Eat Yesterday? has very little plot to speak of, just the day to day lives of the protagonists and their emotions. Shiro is a fussy and vain, but he demonstrates the depths of his emotions in his cooking for Kenji, who can be jealous. I wish the book were a bit more, well, it has all the spice level of a cup of milk, to be frank. But for as little physical affection as the characters show, the book is a look into the daily lives of people who usually don’t get a spotlight in either manga or western comics.

Yoshinaga’s art style is easy to read and balances a fashion plate-like style for the characters with gorgeous, detailed renderings for the food. It also includes clear recipes that, while being originally intended for the Japanese market, are easy to follow and recreate in the kitchen of a Western reader. The comic follows Shiro from the grocery store to plating and serving the dish for Kenji, often involving the math and planning stages, interwoven into the story. Do I wish that Shiro’s parents were more open and accepting of their son, yes. But did you see that amazing drawing of fried tofu?

What Did You Eat Yesterday? also received its own live-action television series, consisting of two seasons and a movie. It also has its own accompanying fan-fiction series, which includes all of the adult content the comic doesn’t cover. I am glad that the translation includes the frank discussion of everyday life of these characters and their relationships, something that we haven’t always gotten, particularly for queer characters in larger franchises. Stares in ‘They’re Cousins’ This is a serious manga for adults, but if you are looking for spice, you’re going to find more on the plate than in the sheets.

What Did You Eat Yesterday? is available in print and digital editions from the usual online retailers, or in print from your local bookstore or comics shop. You may be able to find it or ask for it at your local library!

Hugh Likes Fiction: The Butcher of the Forest

July 5, 2024

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The Butcher of the Forest
Written by Premee Mohamed
Published by Tordotcom

The Skinny: A dark fairytale about the rules of power: how to bend them, and how they break you.

The villagers stay away from the North Woods. They raise their children on the stories of the things that live in the forest and the strange, magical realm in its heart. They memorize the rules they will need to survive should they wander too far into the trees. But while the knowledge was passed on, it never reached the Tyrant, who conquered the village and established his castle on the outskirts. Nor did it reach his two children.
So when Veris is roused before dawn and brought before the Tyrant, she knows what he will demand before he tells her: His two children are missing, and as the only living person to venture into the North Woods and the Elmever that lies within its boundaries, she will bring them back.
In this dark fairy tale reversal over Hansel and Gretel, everything resolves around power, and the rules it follows. Contrasting the typical rules of entering a fairyland (don’t eat anything, don’t give your real name, don’t try and negotiate) with life under a dictatorial regime is a brutal and brilliant choice. Fascists are as capricious and dangerous as the fey. Their rules are no less byzantine, and the penalties for breaking them are no less deadly.
Mohamed’s writing is spare and sharp as a knife, compressing the story into a single day. This is a quick but by no means easy read. The story is gripping, and the characters have depths that peek in just at the edges of their dialog and the narration. This book will get its hooks in you until the final, brutal reveal. I highly recommend it. The Butcher of the Forest is available in print from your local independent book store, or in digital formats from the usual online storefronts.

An open challenge to anyone who doesn’t read diversely

March 25, 2015

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So you say you don’t judge a book by it’s author, that you don’t ‘notice’ race, gender, or national identity.  Fine.  I’m calling your bluff. Below are ten excellent genre books, listed only by their descriptions.  Each one is a link to amazon.  Some are bestsellers.  Some are classics.  Some are even *gasp* self-published.  But they’re all stories of the highest quality. I challenge you to pick out the one you find most interesting, and read it.  If you aren’t afraid to read something that without checking the cover first, that is.

An aging monster hunter and his young bodyguard stumble across a plot that to bring a kingdom to its knees.

A man with the ability to dream things into being sees a psychologist for a cure, but is manipulated into using his power to ‘improve’ the world instead.

A serial killer stalks 20th century Chicago with the help of a house that allows him to travel through time.

An out of work editor gets more than they bargained for when they take a job creating a travel guide for monsters.

A retelling of the Hades/Persephone myth with Zeus as the villain.

A barbarian gets unwittingly embroiled in court politics when they are named heir to a magical empire.

A man caught in a fight between a scientist and criminals is haunted by his memories of a fantastic city filled with unicorns.

A falsely imprisoned man is consumed by his quest for revenge.

The Son of a Spanish nobleman and a Shoshone woman fights injustice in 18th Century California.

Two members of an order of ghost hunters and a cursed pirate prince fight a mysterious cult in an isolated village.