Sharing the Love

There are a lot of people online screaming about things they hate (hell, I do it, too), and we’ve become unknowing rats in the algorithm game in which companies know what we bought or watched or listened to recently and serve us up more of the same. Oh, and then there are people recommending things online but getting paid for them. Sigh. So how about just some good old “I loved this thing and want to nerd out about it just because”? This year, I liked/loved some new stuff and some older stuff:

Books

How the Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler: This book is a riot! It’s about Dani, who keeps on dying (this isn’t a spoiler; it's there in the first pages) and comes back to life until she thinks “Screw it” and decides to be the boss instead of the corpse. I’m saving the sequel for when I finish my Clarke Award reading (I’m a judge this year and am currently being buried beneath books!).

I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones: As someone who grew up watching ‘80s slasher films (against my will mostly; long story), I loved how this turned things around and took me inside Tolly’s head as things go really awry. And the end? Oh, gosh…

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls also by Grady Hendrix: One of my fave authors brought out another book this year that shows he knows how to write women. This one is about unmarried teenage girls in 1970 sent to a home to give birth but not given any real information about what is going to happen to them or their bodies. When they decide they want some control over their lives, they look to the only choice they seem to have.

Dirt Upon my Skin, a collection from Steve Toase: This book of stories by archaeologist/writer Toase explores digs and sites with the darkest of eyes. I mention it in Spec Fic for Newbies 3 because it’s rare to get a story about archaeology that isn’t just a bullwhip and a quick quip.

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang: This book made me so anxious, but in a good way. You basically peek through your fingers the whole time while saying, “She can’t! and “She won’t!” while she can and she does.

TV shows

Interview with the Vampire: Said it last year and gonna say it again: I just absolutely love this show and can’t get enough. It’s violent and heartbreaking and dark and wonderful. And I’m being as patient as possible while waiting for the next season, titled The Vampire Lestat.

Future Man: I didn’t hear about this at all when it came out on Disney back in 2017. I only stumbled across it on Netflix a couple of weeks ago. I’ve watched a good chunk of the first series and it’s delightful. It’s rude, surprising, and “goes there” every now and again. Also, there’s time travel, which I love. In it, Josh Futterman is a janitor who lives with his parents and is obsessed with winning an unwinnable video game. Then he wins it, and all hell breaks loose when the game turns out to depict the actual future.

Murderbot: I’ve only read the first book (the first pair of novellas), but it’s not necessary to do so before watching the show. I think it’s a riot how the world has fallen in love with this bot who just wants to be left alone to watch his space soap opera. (Also, how it asks questions about humanity and autonomy.)

Films

The only film I seem to recall with any detail is Sinners, but it’s so amazing that it’s entirely possible it’s simply overwritten any other films I’ve seen this year. It’s about music in the American South in the 1930s that happens to also feature vampires. And that scene?! If you’ve seen it, you know the one I’m talking about (if single scenes could get Oscars, that one would win). If you haven’t seen it, I’m not going to spoil it for you. But trust all of us when we say you’ve gotta see it!

Book News

About ten minutes ago (really), Val Nolan and I handed in the manuscript for Spec Fic for Newbies Volume 3. The plan is for Luna Press to launch it at Eastercon (in Birmingham next year). It’s chock full of another 30 subgenres and major tropes of SFF/H. Here’s a sneak peek at the table of contents!

And on that note, it is time for me to go hibernate for the next couple of weeks, enjoy the holiday, and recharge (and start adding more books, tv, and films to my list for next year). Here’s wishing all of you a cozy holiday season/winter full of good snacks and lots of nerdy fun with people you love being with!

Bye, 2025!