Like the title says, this is a weird thought that has been bouncing around in my head for a while, and I just want to get it out. Won’t be revisiting this post ever- just getting it out of my head, into the world, and whatever reaction it will cause, it will cause.

So. What do I mean.

First off, weird thing to say, lot of fiction out there has men as protagonists, we’re a pretty common character, we’re not really strap for representation. And this is very true.

But rarely have I read a male character and gone, ‘this man is like me’. Maybe it’ll be, ‘I see bits of me in there’ or ‘this is who I’d maybe like to be’. Usually, its just this very idealized form. All the gruffness, all the stoicism, all the ‘calm attitude’.

But rare is the author who wants to actually explore the cost of that. Or maybe thinks there even is a cost to that, patriarchal norms being what they are in the western world.

Like. You …

Recommend me some fantasy books where the heroic main character is actually scarier and more unhinged than the actual villains.

The best example I know of is King’s Dark Tidings.

The series is honestly one of the best plotted shows I’ve ever seen, with fantastic character arcs for almost everyone in it.

I’m going to be honest, I’m bad with summarizing even simple things, let alone a series as involved as this, where even the smallest detail revealed can constitute a big spoiler, so instead I’ll just share the summary that gave me the push to give the series a try.

Here’s a snapshot. Our story takes place in the fictional small town of Winden, somewhere in Germany. The town is in a tizzy because there is a teenage boy missing, Erik Obendorf. The police have been unable to solve the crime, and everyone is understandably upset and on high-alert. We also learn that another boy went missing under similar circumstances back in 1986. A group of kids all meet at school and plan to meet that evening for some typical high school hijinks while their parents are at an emergency meeting about the missing boy. There are six kids who meet at …

Whenever dwarves get brought up, I often see people complain about them having a Scottish accent, and I don’t really understand why. I’ve never seen anybody complain about elves having a posh English accent or Orcs being cockney. In fact, people seem to love cockney orcs. I actually like Scottish dwarves. Rarely do we get any representation in the media, even fantasy, and when we do, it’s often just a random side character that happens to be Scottish because the actor is. But with Scottish dwarves, we have a whole race and culture representing it. Sure, it might be tropey, but I think it’s cool, even if I have to put up with a bad Scottish impression every now and again. Now, if they wanted to remix it and make Orcs Scottish, and Dwarves Welsh, or I don’t know, Himalayan? That would be cool as well.

Are you a fan of Scottish dwarves? If not, why not? 

Often I see people recommending a series or the first book from a longer series to someone and when I research the series and see what people thought, it has mixed reviews about the latter books.

So, what series keep their quality and consistency all the way through?

Caveat: I haven’t watched the new season yet.

So the review makes the point that the problem is not Hemsworth, but the “bloated mess” of the story. Then the article describes the story…  and, er… that’s the books! They’re doing the books! Which is what everyone was moaning they weren’t doing.

Mind you, I *knew* that if they did the books, people would hate it. *The Witcher* books are brilliant but they are *extremely* idiosyncratic. If they end the show the way *The Lady of the Lake* ends, people will riot.

I just finished reading Anathem by Neal Stephenson and honestly it was one of the best books ive read in years. I enjoyed it in a way that I haven’t enjoyed any other book since I read A Canticle for Leibowitz years ago.

I understand that these books feel like dry slogs for some people, and i can get that. But theres something nostalgic to them almost for me. I did philosophy at University before focusing on Political Philosophy, and whilst I’d never claim to be an expert i know enough that both these books where an utter joy for me. I enjoyed them immensely from the way the philosophy wasn’t just tagged on but integral to the characters and story.

Sadly in all my time reading sci fi, these are the only two books that really hit me that way. Maybe because of how the philosophy of each book was so grounded in Academics. Some other books by Asimov, or Adrian Tchaikovsky have come close at times; but these two books stand a step above in how much ive enjoyed them.

I …

Hi all, clue is in the title. Im having a bit of SF month in November. My favourite sub genre is Espionage. Can anyone please recommend me some SF reads that have heavy espionage themes? John Le Carre esque in a far future setting would be terrific. Thanks.

Sphere (1987), Contact (1985) and Ender’s Game (1985) were some of the first real novels I read as a kid, and a love of first contact stories has stuck with me ever since.

Whether they’re of the “good for humanity” flavor (e.g., Contact or Story of Your Life/Arrival) or the “bad for humanity” flavor (e.g., Revelation Space, Dark Forest, or Salvation Sequence), these types of stories have always tickled my imagination in an enjoyable way.

What are some of your favorite first contact stories, whether of the optimistic or pessimistic type? I tend especially toward liking works that explore different reasons for the Fermi paradox.

P.S. I just finished Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary in the last week. To anyone with similar interests: don’t miss this one!

I’m thinking of Middle Grade books with spaceships, aliens, possibly interstellar empires, and all that good stuff. It seems to have fallen out of favour.

When I talk to most people right now I find that they are not hopeful about the present or the future. It seems like a forgone conclusion that we are heading straight into (and perhaps already deep in) a techno-dystopia.

I’ll admit that some of my favorite SciFi has contributed to this bleak outlook, and looking back it seems like there was a shift where people stopped being amazed and hopeful about where technology could take us.

I’ve seen The Culture Series mentioned here as something that provides a less bleak perspective on what the future might hold, which is next on my reading list and I’m really excited to dive into. What other books have made you excited for our future?

Not just catching adult jokes you missed. films where your whole sympathy shifted. Maybe you realized Ferris Bueller was kind of terrible to Cameron. Or Mrs. Doubtfire is genuinely disturbing. That moment where you’re watching your childhood favorite and suddenly thinking ‘wait… the ‘villain’ was completely right.

The killer responses come when people realize they BECAME the character they used to hate. Watching Dead Poets Society and siding with the cautious parents Seeing The Little Mermaid and thinking Triton had valid concerns about his 16-year-old daughter. That vertigo of realizing you’ve crossed to the other side of the story.

Damian Woetzel (president of Juilliard)  ”The catalyst is John Williams, who is in Los Angeles doing what he does: he is working with Steven Spielberg on the next movie. And that is something to be happy about.”