Content Warning: Torture
Black Sails 2.2 Ow. All I can say is ow. We have torture in this episode, just saying. We also have goat f**king. Maybe. Possible. I mean, not on camera,...
Global Trade is Not New
Okay, so there’s an ongoing myth that our ancestors only traded very locally. And it’s true that a lot of people never traveled more than a day’s walk from...
Nebula Novel Finalist Thoughts
I spent the last week rereading Murderbot, so I don’t have any reviews. So, I thought, instead I’d give my analysis for the Nebula Award for Novel and who I...
Ack! Crows!
The crows have a new game. It’s called “take turns buzzing the human.” There are no eggs yet. They only do it when I’m working out on the balcony. They are...
Revolutions
Yes, there’s a bit of a theme this week. The Handmaid’s Tale 1.5 “Faithful” This episode is about sex. And who has it better. The new Ofglen was a street...
Dire Wolves? We've Seen That Movie
News broke last week that a genetics company had successfully genetically engineered three healthy dire wolf pups. Yes, dire wolves were real. They lived...
Moons, Ghosts, and Mood Ring Hair
Review: Moonstorm by Yoon Ha Lee In Machineries of Empire, the Hexarchate’s technology is controlled by rituals. Change the rituals, change the laws of...
Ravencon, Poe!
Okay, so I have part of my schedule for RavenCon. Subject to alteration, as such things are. Friday, 4pm: A Panelist’s Guide to Panels Friday, 5pm: I’ve Got...
Arrr...and Argh
Black Sails 1.5 Actual piracy! This show is much more about piratical intrigue than actual theft on the high seas. That’s probably because piracy is...
The Tales of Robin Hood
I recently experienced a disappointment when a book entitled Sherwood Nation turned out not to be about Roin Hood (but only stealing some imagery from the...
Puzzled
Just the one book this week. Partly not having much weekend, partly the fact that the first two Andre Norton entries were books I already read and reviewed....
AwesomeCon!
So, why didn’t I post yesterday? Because my brain went “It’s a local con, you’ll have time.”Uh-huh. Yesterday was 11 hours door-to-door, 7.5 on the floor,...
What If...Not Sure I Care
…and some truly terrible flicks. Black Sails 1.4 When somebody says the beach is too steep for careening your ship…listen. Oh, that was so predictable....
Welcome to the Crowborhood
On March 3, I noticed a crow perched in the ash tree next to my balcony seriously contemplating…a twig. On March 4, a crow gave me three quiet croaking caws,...
Deep Into The Weird
Review: Asunder by Kerstin Hall Weird gods that…well…eat their most favored worshippers. Which are gods? Which are demons? Asunder pretty much puts them all...
Con Season Ramping Up
Ponies! The ponies are to cheer me up. I decided I didn’t want to fly to Kansas City under current circumstances relying on whatever pre-MMR measles shot I...
What if...
Very light week because I’ve been busy with other stuff. I’ve started watching 2025 stuff, though. Marvel’s What If 3.1 …the Hulk Fought the Mech Avengers?...
A Brief History of Lighthouses
Eagle Bluff Lighthouse The Patara lighthouse in Turkiye is being restored. The goal is to put a light in it when it’s done. This lighthouse was built during...
All Kinds of Love
Three books about…love, in some way, shape or form. Review: Someone You Can Build A Nest In by John Wiswell This is a monsterf*ing story. Except it’s an ace...
Achoo!
I hate living in DC during the spring. I’m allergic to cherry pollen, and don’t respond, shall we say, well to antihistamines. In other words, sniffle...
Robots and Pirates
Cinema Disaster: Robot Riot Things this movie has: Robots Things this movie does not have: A riot. A group of soldiers sign up to train with the “mechs.”...
Thinking about Bodies, Horror, and Puberty
Middle grade horror is a strange beast. In some ways, kids can tolerate certain kinds of horror better than adults. Kids also still live in a world where...
Hopes and Cures
Review: Sherwood Nation by Benjamin Parzybok CW: Domestic violence, weird politics The title of this book intrigued me, because anything to do with Robin...
Nebulas Are Out
The Nebula finalists are out and I have mixed feelings. My favorite novel of 2024, The Wings Upon Her Back by Samantha Mills did not make a cut. Only one of...
Cinema Fails
Review: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) This installment of the franchise attempts to instill the one thing it absolutely did not, under any...
Men Bad, Women Good - Gender Essentialism in Feminist Science Fiction (copy)
Last year somebody gave me copies of Native Tongue and The Judas Rose, the first two parts of a feminist trilogy by Suzette Haden Elgin. These are reprints...
Apocalypses?
Review: Archivist Wasp by Nicole Kornher-Stace Growing up, I was very much “Not like other girls.” Buffy spoke to me, although that speaking is colored by...
AwesomeCon Prep
After being waitlisted twice, I got my table for AwesomeCon DC (picture is from a prior year). I’ll be selling books in the Author’s Lane segment of Artists’...
Aping Around
Review: Planet of the Apes (2001) So, here’s where I confess my dim memory of the originals. In fact, the only thing I actually remember is the nuke at the...
What Tech Level is Your Fantasy Part 6
And this is the last part, but I’d like to talk about misconceptions about what technology people had. What things were invented well before we think they...
Gender...forget it
Review: The Judas Rose by Suzette Haden Elgin This is book two. I wasn’t given book three and won’t be looking for it. Bluntly, Elgin doubles and triples...
Convention News!
Woot! I’m going to be busy. First of all, I got my invite to be on programming for Balticon and signed up for 24 panels. We’ll see how many I’m eventually...
In Pursuit
Reviews will be light for a while because somebody put off watching panels from last year’s Nebulas and now doesn’t have time to watch much else ;). Review:...
What Tech Level Is Your Fantasy Part 5
So, let’s talk about computers. Which we think of as a very modern thing. Secondary world, Medieval style fantasy doesn’t typically have computers. With one...
Justice for...
Review: Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie Yes, I’m going back a few years, but I finally got around to reading this. I can see why it won all the awards it...
The Sweet Smell of Spring...
Okay, not quite yet, but it is going to be in the 50s next week, which is sit outside and eat taco weather for me. Maybe not for you, but for me it is. Of...
Being Invisible
Marvel’s Hit-Monkey 2.9 “The Concrete Jungle” Because of course we have to have an episode called that where New York turns into a literal jungle. Your puns...
What Tech Level Is Your Fantasy Part 4
So, having gone down the clothing rabbithole, let’s talk about domestication. I know I initially said animals, but plants matter too. Let’s start by defining...
Zombie PI
Just one this week, but it’s a fun one. I’m currently reading some random comics from past years’ SPX. Review: Death Warmed Over by Kevin J. Anderson If you...
Happy Valentine's Day
If you don’t have a reason to celebrate, go pet a dog (the original celebration involved dogs). That’s Danny Boy, who chases bears and runs from ermines....
Monkey Do?
Marvel’s Hit-Monkey 2.3 “The Rope” Oh dear. Bryce…really hasn’t grasped that he’s a demon now. And is trying to fix things with his daughter. Who hates him...
What Tech Level is your Fantasy Part 3
So, I’m going to start this one with something really important: Clothing. We take clothes for granted (except when we’re that broke) and if we think about...
Peter Pan is Not a Vampire
…but I have a Peter Pan book and a vampire book. Just not at the same time. The statue, by the way, is the Peter Pan statue in Hyde Park. Review: Forgotten...
Farpoint!
By the time you see this, I’ll be at Farpoint. If you’re there, here’s my schedule: Books to Movies - Friday 4:00pm - Belmont Scary Stories to Tell at the...
Ooh ooh ooh?
Marvel’s Hit-Monkey 1.1 “Pilot” I’m tired of the trend of titling pilot episodes pilot. It was amusing the first few times, now it just feels lazy. This...
What Tech Level is Your Fantasy - Part 2
Covered wagon in Tombstone, Arizona Okay, so moving on to some more thoughts on tech in traditional fantasy. I apologize for splitting this across platforms,...
Slow Reading Week
Just one this week, and unfortunately it wasn’t to my taste. I’m now reading “Forgotten” by A Gural…which is definitely better, but still not to my taste....
Welcome Subscribers - Test Message
A swan in a parking place. Okay, so. I apologize for the double email, but this is a test message to make sure the migration worked and for me to get used to...
You Can Never Go Home
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew 1.1 “This Could Be a Real Adventure” So, I do have an issue with this show right from the start. I get it, this is an MG show, and...
What Tech Level Is Your Fantasy? - Part One
Traditionally, secondary fantasy worlds have hovered somewhere between late Medieval and early Renaissance, depending on whether the author or designer wants...