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thetypedwriter · 3 years

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All the Young Dudes Fanfiction Review

All the Young Dudes Fanfiction Review by MsKingBean89

So.

This is a first.

If you’ve been following this blog for some time, then you know I generally read young adult books and write far too lengthy reviews on them with the occasional outlier of adult fiction, mystery, sci-fi, etc.

At any given time, I usually have both a physical book that I’ve bought from somewhere that I’m working on (right now it’s Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley) as well as a fanfiction that I reserve until before I go to bed (my treat for a day well lived).

Fanfiction is something that I’ve mentioned copious amounts of times on this blog in varying degrees, but this is the first time I’ll be writing an actual review for one of them on this platform.

The reason for this is myriad.

One, this fanfiction called All the Young Dudes is a far-cry from your normal standardized fanfiction of 5-50,000 words-something I can easily consume in a few minutes to a few hours.

Nope, this behemoth ends on a staggering 526,969 words and 188 chapters, not including bonus chapters and extra in-universe canonical content the author has also written and published. Roughly speaking, if this was actually published onto paper it would be well over 2,000 pages.

2,000 pages.

Yeah. And I enjoyed every single moment of it.

Two, while I read a lot of fanfiction I generally don’t put any of it on this blog because while I’ve dedicated it to published novels, I also usually have very simple feelings about fanfiction. My thoughts run the gambit of: It was good, it was fluffy, it was a train-wreck, so on and so forth.

Normally my reviews are so long and wordy because I have too many thoughts about the published books that I read and I need an outlet to let them loose.

Whether because of its longevity or because of its content, All the Young Dudes is a story I find myself having a profusion of thoughts for. Hence, the birth of this review.

If fanfiction isn’t your thing, feel free to skip this particular review of mine (although fanfiction is a gift to this world and you should really rethink your stance on it if you don’t like it, just saying).

Third, All the Young Dudes is well written and rivals any actual published content.

Fourth, because of how extensive this fanfiction is, it took me over a month to read it-time I generally would have been reading something else. Instead of leaving you all hanging for a few more weeks until I finish Firekeeper's Daughter (don’t hold your breath-the book is sort of a slog for me personally right now), I decided to just take the jump and write my first-ever typedwriter review for a fanfiction.

Fanfiction has been a part of my life for the better part of almost two decades now. It was truly something I found by accident and in retrospect, it’s insane to me that it’s still something that brings me continuous joy and happiness.

I discovered fanfiction when I was 11-years-old and deeply obsessed with the Harry Potter fandom.

Now, as an overall disclaimer I completely disagree with J.K. Rowling’s stances of gender and biology and differ wholeheartedly with her views of trans and non-binary individuals. With that said, I still love Harry Potter as a story and while I no longer buy anything that profits J.K. Rowling directly, I still love the fandom and the people in it, including fanworks like All the Young Dudes.

When I was 11, the seventh Harry Potter book had yet to come out and like many other people in this time period of agony while waiting for 2007 to roll around so that I could find out what happened, I discovered fanfiction as a way to fill in that ache I was so keenly feeling.

I found myself suddenly immersed in this world of online fiction-both good and bad-but completely entrancing all the same.

I never left.

That is to say, I did eventually move onto other fandoms with their own fanfiction cultures, but Harry Potter was still my first in terms of fanfiction and introducing me to the concept as a whole.

Specifically and maybe oddly, I never found myself curious for actual fanfiction about Harry or Hermione or Ron. In my mind, I already knew what had happened to them and reading about them in fanfiction was redundant.

In addition, the first fanfiction I just happened to come across was a Lily/James marauder era fanfiction on mugglenet.com

This idea immediately intrigued me as fans as a whole knew next to nothing about the infamous Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs and while I knew everything I needed to about Harry Potter it was intoxicating to think that I could learn about a time before the series had existed and about characters who were important, but off screen.

I was hooked and devoured as much as I could for most of middle school about the marauders and Lily and James’ romance in particular (I even wrote and published some of my own that will go unmentioned as they are truly really terrible).

That being said, I haven’t read a Harry Potter fanfiction in years. I grew up and out of the fandom eventually thanks to Twilight and from there I’ve bounced from fandom to fandom as I’ve aged and consumed different things and fallen in love with different characters and different worlds.

That isn’t to say I’ve forgotten though.

I still remember my favorite marauder stories, my favorite Sirius Black/OFC (original female character), and my favorite baby Harry drabbles. They made such a huge impression on me and even though it’s been sixteen years, I still recall those stories with fond nostalgia and jubilation.

Which is why it’s almost ironic that I would return to this particular time period of the marauders with All the Young Dudes.

In a fashion that’s almost scarily full circle, I happened to be on Youtube one day and saw a recommendation video about this girl reviewing a fanfiction called All the Young Dudes. Now, youtube book reviews aren’t uncommon, but a thirty minute video for a fanfiction? Not your typical sighting.

So out of pure curiosity, I searched All the Young Dudes fanfiction on Google and low and behold the overwhelming and top results were all for a marauder-era fanfiction by MsKingBean89. Piqued, I clicked on the link in ao3 and thought why not?

While I’ve mainly been reading in other fandoms recently (BTS, some anime and manga, All for the Game) I had been in a little bit of a slump for finding a really good, really alluring story for some time and really didn’t think I had anything to lose by reading All the Young Dudes, especially as the more research I did, the more I found how popular it was-a plethora of videos on youtube, tiktok compilations, and dozens of fanart posts.

Plus, it had been so long since I had read anything from my progenitor fandom and the thought of going back was strangely comforting.

Hence the journey of reading All the Young Dudes began and oh what a journey it was.

Now, that this review is already five pages in, I should probably tell you what on earth All the Young Dudes is actually about.

The whole story is a marauder-era fanfiction told from Remus Lupin’s POV from the summer of 1971 when Remus is 11-years-old to the summer of 1995 when he is 35-five-years-old. It is an in-depth portrayal of Remus’ time at Hogwarts from year one to year seven and then going all the way up to the start of the second wizarding world, ending around the time Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix begins.

While already the scope makes this a massive undertaking, the author also includes all canonical content from the original series involving Remus, the Marauders, and the time period and incorporates it into her fanfiction-making it canon compliant from start to finish.

While a very large portion of this story is not romantic, there is eventual WolfStar (Remus Lupin/Sirius Black) and if you have read the original Harry Potter series...well. You know things don't end up super dandy for these two characters in particular so you know how the story will end before it begins.

This fanfiction left me speechless for so many reasons.

The scope and length is frankly unbelievable. This fanfiction was published on March 2, 2017 and it was completed on November 12, 2018.

….how?

How did she manage that? I frankly have no idea, but I am in complete and utter awe at her ability to write content with such a magnitude and actually complete it. She gets an award just for that honestly.

Not only that, but the fanfiction is actually superbly well-written. I won’t lie and say it’s the most poignant and beautiful piece of literature I’ve ever consumed, but it was consistent in its pacing, characterization, themes, motifs, and structure, which, for 2,000 pages, is an incredible achievement when you think about it.

Speaking of characterization, everyone was So. Well. Done.

Remus was such an interesting POV to read from and while he was compliant in every sense of the word-werewolf, prefect, bookish-MsKingBean89 added so much more to his character and fleshed him out so incredibly that it’s truly tragic that he’s not a real person.

And to that extent, she does this with all of the characters. You see James’ optimism and leadership, Sirius’ arrogance and loyalty, Peter’s jealousy and chess skills.

Every character was so well-rounded and real. She did an incredible job of taking the bits and pieces from the canon series and using that to build up her own flesh and blood people with motivations, likes, dislikes, dreams, and desires.

That being said, she also had 2,000 pages to do it sooooooo it would be bad if the characters weren’t fleshed out by the end honestly.

In addition, I really appreciated that she didn’t just focus on Remus, Sirius, James and Peter. Lily Evans played a critical role in Remus’ school life and after and so did the other Gryffindor girls like Marlene and Mary.

Too often, the focus is on the boys and their close friendship and while that was a huge focus, we also get to see Remus develop friendships with the girls in his own right and other friends as well that were often OC’s of the author’s.

Now. OC’s are generally something I dislike. I’m reading fanfiction to read about particular characters that I’ve sought after, not to read about some imaginary cast. However, just like any of the canon characters, all of the OC characters were well-developed and played crucial roles in Remus’ development-while either at Hogwarts or after-and I found myself not minding them in the least. In a few cases (Grant) I actually really loved them.

The biggest draw for this fanfiction for me was Remus’ time at Hogwarts. It was so well-written and incredibly descriptive and I found myself thrust back into the world of magic so suddenly and seamlessly that it was like I never left.

MsKingBean89 includes so many intricate details and builds up the world so beautifully that I’d recommend any Harry Potter fan to consume it, just to get some good Hogwarts material out of it.

Another thing I greatly appreciate about this fanfiction was the slow burn. I’ve read slow burn before (All for the Game trilogy anybody?), but this truly took the cake. Sirius and Remus don’t properly get together until the end of year six going into year seven. That’s over 100 chapters in.

100 chapters out of 188.

Meaning that over half of this beast doesn’t have the main pairing even together. For some people, this could be a drawback. You might think to yourself: It takes how long for them to confess their feelings and stop being prats?

A very, very long time.

However...it didn’t bug me. I like slow burn to begin with, but being along for the ride as Remus goes from being a child to an adolescent with unrequited feelings to being in a relationship with someone he loves is so rewarding and fulfilling that the 100 previous chapters are completely and utterly worth it.

MsKingBean89 develops them so well and so carefully that the payoff is so sweet and satisfactory that it's enough to bring the tears right then and there.

The last huge feat of this fanfiction for me was the author’s dedication to canon not just confined to Hogwarts and the Harry Potter books, but also to the time period. Either she lived through the 70’s and 80’s herself or she had done her due diligence when it comes to research because anything from London anti-gay laws to British slang was commonplace in her fic.

I found it completely amazing how she was able to tie in real-time historical and cultural moments like famous singers and movies playing at the time alongside convoluted muggle politics warring with the wizarding ones.

I was so blown away by the accuracy and genuine love behind this fic that it often brought me out of my own mind to simply ponder once again how much work this was and how well she was delivering it.

Even unpleasant things, like homophobia and bigotry, are dealt with in a very carefully constructed way that is aligned with the time period in which the story takes place.

Unfortunately, everything beautiful is not without flaws and All the Young Dudes is not the exception, although it’s flaws are nary compared to its achievements.

The few complaints I have with this fic are honestly quite negligible.

First, there are a few grammatical and punctuation errors. Very few, but I did notice some.

Next, and again, this complaint is really just me whining, but...the end of the fic was really fucking sad. The end of this whole story took me so much time to complete simply because I didn’t want to read it.

I know what happened during the first wizarding war and I also know what ended it (James and Lily Potter dying, Harry being shipped off to the Dursley’s, Sirius imprisoned for a murder he didn’t commit, Peter presumed dead) and in one fell swoop Remus lost everything and everyone he ever loved.

After spending over 1,500 pages of Remus growing to love these people it is absolutely devastating and heart-breaking to see him lose it all.

The last handful of chapters are just really, really sad and it makes me wonder why MsKingBean89 decided to write it in the first place. Frankly, I don't know why she didn't write about Remus’ time at Hogwarts and stop after graduation because we all know what happens after that and none of it is good.

Looking back, I wish I could time travel and tell myself to stop at chapter 150. I truly didn’t need to read about the tragedies that happened after that and the hell that all of the characters go through.

And while it does end on a….sort of kind of maybe positive (?) note with Sirius and Remus reuniting briefly once the events of Harry Potter and Prisoner of Azkaban take place, it was really tainted and bittersweet for me knowing that in a year Sirius would die and Remus would marry his fucking cousin and have a child.

Urgh.

I just can’t.

That being said, I understand it’s not the author’s fault and I’m not saying it is. She wrote a canon compliant fic to the end and it was my choice to continue reading. That being said, she said she ended it before the events of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix because Sirius and Remus are happy and back together and she didn’t want to write what was coming next if she continued.

I truly, truly get that.

But in the same vein, why even write the events of the first wizarding world to begin with then? I’m confused with that response as it doesn’t make much sense to me. I felt like ending it right then and there was not a happy ending. They’re together, yes, but at this point they are both shells of who they used to be. Both have severe trauma and PTSD and frankly I don’t even know if I agree with them being together just because they’ve put each other through so much.

It’s just an interesting choice at the end of the day in terms of the author.

Once again, however, I truly understand that she can do whatever she wants and that she doesn’t owe anyone anything, especially as she’s writing this for free and just because. So please keep in mind that although I’m complaining, I truly understand how fortunate we are to even have this fic in the first place.

Okay.

Secondly, my only other huge complaint is that MsKingBean89 made Remus gay. Not bi, not pan. Gay.

You could argue that Remus just calls himself gay in the fanficiton as he didn’t know about other kinds of sexuality. You could argue that Remus’ sexuality changes and develops as he ages and experiences trials and tribulations. You could argue that it was a sign of times like so much else in this fic.

I frankly just found it to be a frustrating choice as the fic is canon compliant and even though it ends before the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows we know that Remus eventually marries Tonks and has a baby son named Teddy Lupin.

How does that make sense?

I tried very, very hard to come up with some sort of feasible explanation for how a gay man would have ended up with the love of his life’s female cousin and truly could not think of one that was not fucked up to some degree.

Again. I know I’m being nit-picky, but it irked me that she made this choice regarding Remus’ sexuality and essentially ended her fic with Remus stuck in a corner regarding how the series actually ends.

At the end of the day, all of the negatives are truly, truly not important. I’m just whinging to whine and to express my thoughts, but I do once again understand that MsKingBean89 isn’t profiting from this fic and that she can do what she wants as is her prerogative.

I hope I was able to express that while I understand that, I can still be frustrated with some of the choices she made.

To wrap this all up, All the Young Dudes is a masterpiece and is a must-read for anyone who loves Harry Potter, the Marauders, or Wolfstar. I was blown away by the sheer magnitude, the love and care she put into her craft, the slow and deliberate development of all the characters, the beautifully constructed love between Sirius and Remus, and the intricate world-both muggle and magic-that surrounded the story like a cocoon.

I am so happy I found this fic and I truthfully am floundering at what to do with myself next. If you have any more current Marauder era fics that I’ve missed out in the past eleven years, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

Recommendation: Go read All the Young Dudes. For weeks, you will cry, you will laugh, you will despair, and you will smile. This fanfiction will make you wish this was canon and in my mind, it now is.

Score: 8/10

Links:

1. All the Young Dudes on ao3

2. The Youtube Video about All the Young Dudes that made me aware of its existence

#all the young dudes #wolfstar #Harry Potter #fanfiction #harry potter fanfic rec #marauders #book review #Book Recommendations #fanfiction recs #fanfiction review #wolfstar fanfiction #wolfstar fanart

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kindred-is-obsessed · 5 years

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Reasons you should be watching Craig of the Creek

Not enough people are watching this wonderful show, so I thought I’d do my best to introduce people to it. It’s made by former Steven Universe crew Ben Levin and Matt Burnett, so if you’re missing Steven Universe while it’s on hiatus this is a great way to keep away the hiatus blues, or if you just enjoy in cartoons. It’s great for a whole list of reasons, which broadly fall into the two categories of great representation and great storytelling:

Canonical queer representation

- The witches premiere in the episode The Curse. If you aren’t sure if you want to watch this whole show definitely watch this one at least! It’s my absolute favourite not least of all because it’s about teen goth girls in love. It has a sequel The Last Kid in The Creek which is also wonderful, and the witches cameo throughout the series. I don’t want to spoil too much but The Curse is essentially about the two not wanting to be separated and struggling to admit their feelings for each other. (Spoilers: they do and walk off alone, blushing, staring at each other lovingly, while the kids aww at them)

- Bernard and his girlfriend watch a cooking show hosted by a gay couple.

- Other cameos, hints and coded queer kids such as JP’s sister (who has fancy dinner reservations with Kat, a woman with a shaved head who compliments Kelsey’s fake sword). There’s also Raj and Shaun (two very close friends), as well as several very boyish tomboys, including Handlebarb and Turner.

- All public bathrooms I’ve spotted in the show have gender neutral signs on them which is nice.

POC representation

- Craig, the main character, is black and has a loving family explored in depth, including an activist grandmother working for the council, a wise and fun grandfather, a supportive fun dad who loves his amazing wife, an adorable assertive little sister, and an angsty overachieving older brother who just wants to be a good grownup who loves his family and girlfriend.

- There are MANY characters of colour. There are black and brown characters, Raj is Indian, Stacks is Hispanic (and it’s implied she is an immigrant), there are several Asian characters, Kelsey is Hungarian and Jewish, a persistent background character wears a hijab (I’m pretty sure she was named at some point but I can’t find her name anywhere. She definitely has lines at one point). I’m sure there are others I have missed. No one is a stereotype as far as I am aware.

Subtle neurodivergent representation

- JP is possibly on the autism spectrum. I’d love neurodivergent people’s opinions on this, but while the representation isn’t canonical or obvious I think it’s good that while JP is represented as having different thought processes from his friends, he isn’t made fun of for it, at least not by them. It’s noteworthy I think that he’s the eldest of the core trio, probably because he finds it easier to relate to younger people who still share his imagination and care less about his unique way of thinking. His neurodivergence is explored most explicitly in the episode Jextra Perrestrial, so if you’re interested in this kind of representation definitely check that episode out.

Non-nuclear family representation

- While the main character is a member of the typical nuclear family you see on TV (except black, and actually interesting) most of the other families we see are not.

- JP is raised by his mother and older sister. His father is never mentioned and their house is definitely in worse condition than the others we see. His family works hard to take care of each other. His sister is a nurse and both her and her mother are away a lot of the time, but they both love JP very much. JP’s sister also happens to be really openly body positive. I love them a lot.

- Kelsey’s father is an only parent. There’s still a lot of mystery surrounding how Kelsey’s mother passed away. It’s a very subtle but important part of Kelsey’s character and comes through in really bittersweet adorable ways (not limited to Kelsey using her “half-orphan”ness to guilt trip a man into giving her money)

- Other kinds of families are scattered throughout the show, including families that move around a lot, a home-school kid with a strict mother, and more.

Unique approach to fantasy and sci-fi

- You know how most kids show will take a kid’s fantasy and bring it to reality? Well Craig of the Creek keeps the fantastical and nostalgic element of that line of thinking but never confirms or denies whether the kids fantasies are real or in their heads. And not in a Scooby Doo way where the fantastical elements are explained away, but are hinted as a possibility right at the very end. Instead, two perspectives (the fantastical perspective and the realistic perspective) are woven into every episode.

- This means there are two ways to interpret every episode. You can view the witches as real witches, or as goth teenagers. You can view Helen as a kid from another dimension, or a home-school kid who is never at the creek at the same time as the other kids. You can view Deltron as a cyborg from the future, or as an imaginative kid from a big city.

- This is super unique and fun to watch. They come up with so many new ideas and its always fun to figure out what’s actually happening, while still getting to relive childhood fantastical nostalgia.

- Almost all of these episodes use this to talk about an issue, but these issues can get quite complex and are definitely not shoved down your throat.

Overarching mystery plot about a colonialist kingdom / cult

- Love the slow burn storytelling of Steven Universe’s Diamond Authority? Love putting together the mysteries of Gravity Falls? Then you’ll love this plot about colonialism, classism, bullying, peer pressure and more and its mysterious build up including cryptic graffiti art and flower symbolism.

- Even before this arc properly begins, Craig of The Creek primarily centers around the microcosm of the Creek. Many of the episodes have a lot of commentary on society, politics and how different factions of people form and interact.

- The show is over 50 episodes in and this arc is only just starting to kick off so now is the time to catch up and watch.

- Fun complex villain(s)

Complex relatable characters

- Want commentary and nostalgia about horse girls, children’s tea parties, weird kids, angsty teens, young weebs, dweebs and more!? Every childhood obsession is represented in this show.

- Adults! All the parents and older teens in this show are just as rich and complex as the kids. They are all so interesting and fun.

- Want characters with arcs, aims, fun relationships and complexity!? Look no further! Redemption arcs! Revelations! Found family! It’s all here!

Great art and soundtrack

- Cute background and character designs that make you nostalgic as hell and are also beautiful and well thought out.

- Sometimes the art design is changed up for a particular episode to portray a certain fantastical / sci fi element. It’s very fun and engaging.

- An opening song that’s fun to sing along to, bittersweet ending song that makes me want to cry, a couple of musical episodes including a super fun rap musical episode, and a great OST

Queer headcanons

- There are tons of ways to interpret the show but here’s some of my head canons just to get an idea.

- (Note that despite my headcanons I use the pronouns for the kids that they use in the show cause I’m not certain about any of it and they’re kids who haven’t come out yet and also for clarity and consistency’s sake – I’m not saying trans people are not their genders. Don’t worry I’m nonbinary)

- I headcanon that all the main trio grow up to realise they are queer. They strike me as that weird group of friends that doesn’t fit in with the other kids and aren’t quite sure how they all came to be friends, only to later realise they all showed early signs of breaking gender roles and that’s why they stuck together.

- Craig definitely grows up to realise he’s gay, bisexual or queer. His admiration for characters like Deltron and Green Poncho are definitely crushes that he mistakes for a strong sudden and eager desire for friendship.

- Kelsey probably grows up to realise she is nonbinary, a trans boy or a WLW. I mostly headcanon this because I relate to her a lot and I’m nonbinary and queer so I said so. She reminds me a lot of myself as a kid. She throws herself into books, mostly fantasy for escapism. She fantasises and writes a lot for the same reasons. She dresses like a tomboy (She always wears her hair up in the same bun which strongly reminds me of my own childhood hair dysphoria) and she hangs out solely with male friends.

- JP gives me strong trans lesbian vibes, or to a lesser extent nonbinary vibes. (I know his sister is WLW coded but take it from me there can be more than one queer in a family). He is interested in girls, specifically Maney the horse girl (he even joined the horse girls for one episode). He wears a long V-neck shirt that is essentially a dress ALL the time. He’s aware that he’s different and while self conscious sometimes, mostly just wants to express himself the way he wants to. He also chooses to go by initials JP over his very gendered name Johnathan Paul (In a recent episode he names a ship after himself, calling it “The SS Johnathon Paulina”).

- (Sidenote if you do start watching this show and I see any nasty shipping of these characters in non puppy-love fashion so help me god)

Other reasons

- The show is at times very intertextual and references Princess Mononoke, Super Smash Brothers, Sailor Moon, Lord of the Rings, and a billion other things. It also has some fun cameos, including background images of the Tres Horny Boys from The Adventure Zone, a TARDIS from Doctor Who, and a Cookie Cat from Steven Universe.

- Honestly, this post hasn’t done the best job explaining why I love this show so much. You honestly just have to watch an episode to understand fully what I’m talking about, so give it a go! Watch The Curse at least, it only goes for 10 minutes.

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kindabraveandlittlestupid · 6 years

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A love/hate review of the Star Wars The Last Jedi and also the disappointment in corporate Disney trimming the extended universe away from the Star Wars. Just to be clear, I don’t stand with those toxic males of the web who attacked Daisy Ridley, Kelly Marie Tran and the rest of the cast/crew. The movie is a work of fiction and I above all other emotions value decency as the foundation of my views and beliefs (or at least I try to make that my foundation). I am gonna share my opinions/views as always, I am just a guy on the web with little power what Hollywood makes. If you agree with me, that's great! And if you don't, that's fine too.

Goodbye J. J. (Hate) My first complaint is the change of direction from the first movie. J.J. Abrams had managed to establish some worthwhile intrigue with the characters/plot like Rey's background, the hunt for Luke, and Finn's moral crisis. Seemingly the new director/writer decided to take a step away from these established storylines/characters to explore his own take on these things. Luke is no longer interested in the good fight and embraces apathy, Rey comes from nowhere/no one, and Finns short coma results in him having the same cowardly acts from the first movie instead of giving him personal growth after his heroics at Starkiller Base. It's like whiplash where you have had expectations of these story/plot threads being followed only to have them be ignored or to become completely unremarkable in the next film.

Rose & Paige Tico (Love) I admit there is a lot of things about this movie that rubbed me the wrong way but the addition of Rose was not one of them. The Star Wars has always suffered from a lack of female characters in the movies and they seem to be making some strides to balance out the gender scales. She provided a new character to focus on away from the Roguish Pilot and the Ex-Stormtrooper giving us the optimistic/loveable Mechanic that we could invest out feelings in (which reminded me of another sci-fi female mechanic who I wish I saw more on screen).

What upset me about Rose was the fact I wanted to know MORE about her backstory and her relationship with her sister, Paige. The geek in me would love to have some webisodes dedicated to their relationship (as well as other characters) and how they got into the rebellion in the first place but alas the story relegated her to a secondary plot line on a gambling planet that showed off rich people being assholes which was ultimately pointless to the storyline and failed to further the plot.

I look forward to seeing how they develop her in the next movie, considering so few people are left in the Rebellion... I mean Resistance. On a parting thought, I am still not sure about the Fin/Rose kiss they tried to apply to the movie... felt a little forced if you ask me.

Marvel Humor (Hate) There is a noticeable change to the formula of the Star Wars movies and we know this new formula very well. Disney has been enjoying the tidal wave of cash coming in from the MCU with movies like the Avengers, Ironman, Thor, Guardians of the Galaxy and so on which brings in billions (with a B) into the Magical Kingdom. Naturally, they think they struck gold (which they have) but now they are taking that Marvel Universe humor and projecting it into other franchises they own to try and milk money out of them.

This was on full display in Star Wars with the ‘prank call’ Poe used while talking to Hux. This universe enjoyed some banter in its previous movies but this very scene seemed foreign in the Star Wars Universe. As if Hux wouldn't have a laser cannon blow Poe right up. The movie continued to layer more and more MCU humor into the movie with Chewie eating the Porg in front of other horrified Porgs, Luke throwing a lightsaber nonchalantly over his shoulder, and tickling Rey with a piece of grass.

Granted there wasn't AS MUCH humor as you might see in Guardians or Ironman but they are starting to inject it into the films and in my opinion, it undermines the quality of the movie and the universe quite a bit by trying to make it something its not. This is why I enjoyed the grittier Rogue One so much that applied some humor with the android K-2SO but didn't allow shtick with other characters (which was good).

The point is their Gold Equation of humor connecting to the audience shouldn't be transplanted so easily from one franchise to the next, it robs the authenticity of Star Wars and what we know and love.

Vice Admiral Holdo (Love/Hate) Such a disappointing end to what could have been a good transfer of authority to a new female lead. I know we all mourn the death of Carrie Fisher and I appreciate the Luke and Lei scene at the end but the introduction of Holdo only to have her kamikaze the cruiser left me wondering why even make her a part of the movie? I mean really... her fight with Poe and his tactics could have carried into the next film, having her fill in as the new leader of the rebellion would have created a new strong female character and the very ‘heroic’ death she was given could have been done by Leia or Admiral Fucking Ackbar which would have been 10 times better then a random character added only to be killed off.

I blame this (like most things) on Director Rian Johnson who thought he was being clever but making the audience think "Oh she must be taking over for Leia!" only to kill her off as a sort of low-level plot twist. Frankly, it came off as less of a twist and instead of a pointless removal for an otherwise interesting character who could have moved onto the next movie.

Rey and Kylo Tag Team (Love) This might be hands down one of the best lightsaber fight scenes in the Star Wars Universe. If I am going to give the director any credit, it will be for giving us this gem of a scene where Kylo turns on his Master Snoke. This is the sort of action I crave to see in the Star Wars movies and making me wish (badly) that there was a Knight of the Old Republic film in the making. Hell, I just watched it again on Youtube just to remind myself how awesome it was.

Rey and Kylo Shipping (Hate) On the other hand with the whole force connection thing between Kylo and Rey, the idea of them being attracted to each other felt like a betrayal to well... Rey’s logic and mortality. Let us assume she has some attraction to Kylo would she have forgotten everything he did in the previous movie? Destruction of two villages on Jaku, slashing her new best friend in the back (Finn), stabbing her new father figure (Han) thru the chest, killing Lukes students, attempting to torture her for information and lastly being part of the First Order after shooting off Starkiller Base that destroyed 4 inhabited planets with billions (with a B) of lives on said planets? I know Rey might have temptations to the dark side but for fuck sake is she turned on by a literal genocidal maniac?

Rian Johnson & Disney Scaling Back the SWU (Hate) I realized this review is leaning more towards the Dark Side then the Light but I agree with some of the fanboys sentiment on the destruction of the Star Wars Universe. I am not sure if Rian is to blame 100%, I know Disney decided to cut all books, comics, and video games as NOT canon in the SWU but he seemed to have his hand in it with each rebel ship blown to pieces while escaping the Imperial... I mean First Order fleet.

This was hard for me to some degree, I played games like Knight of the Old Republic, The Force Unleashed, Jedi Academy, Shadows of the Empire, Republic Commando and read dozens of comics and books over the years. An yet because the franchise switched hands from Lucas to Disney and Disney had no hand in building all the extended universe they simply cut it away and said: “Nope! None of that counts”. I can understand why some people might get upset having invested time into exploring the Star Wars Universe only to have to evaporate before them like Thanos’s Infinity snap.

Rian drove this point home in the movie burning the Jedi texts (which contents weren't really important but symbolic of the Jedi Philosophy no longer being part of Star Wars), decimating the Rebels (Resistance) to the point the remainder all fit onto the Millennium Falcon, and even killed off or sent away new additions that could have helped expand the new trilogy into something great. Porg Plushies (Hate) *Sigh* I don’t like adding another hate to the list but few things in this movie made me personally feel good about it. We killed off interesting characters (Phasma and Holdo), had pointless side plots on Canto Bight (the Gambling Planet) and the scaling back of a great extended universe. An then we had the addition of Porgs...

I don’t dislike the concept of the Porgs, in fact, these puffin/otter hybrids are kinda cute. I dislike them as they seemed to have the pretty clear purpose of moving merchandise. Now, this isn't new for Star Wars if you know cinema you know that Lucas was highly protective of his own toy sales which is how Spaceballs was able to parody Star Wars so much as long as they didn't sell their own toys. They use the word Toyetic for this very thing of making a character or thing so they can move product off the shelves. Its why the Batmobile had so many changes with each passing movie in the 90′s.

The Porgs are no different, they maxed out the BB8 toy sales from the last movie and introduced an animal to sell plushies, slippers, bobbleheads and backpacks for kids and geeky adults. I am honestly not a fan of this sort of capitalism being pushed off thru movies but there it is and I am sure when episode 9 comes out there will be something new for them to sell us.

DJ (Love) Despite there being literally no good reason for DJ (Benicio del Toro) being in this movie with the pointless side quest on Canto Bight. This character might have some potential for future movies. We certainly explored the good smuggler scoundrel with Han Solo and Lando Calrissian but never explored the bad smuggler element quite yet (save some in the Solo movie).

I particularly liked the whole part with him explaining the manufacturing of weapons for both the First Order and the Resistance. It was perhaps one of the most insightful moments in the movie that could have easily reflected back on our own failings in regards to war. Just like how Canto Bight reminds us that the scum of the Galaxy don't just reside at the bottom but also the top. I hope to see him again but I am not sure how they will explore him in the next plot.

Super Leia (Hate) Lord knows when Leia became adept in the force that she could survive in outer space let alone fly around like Superman! This scene seemed crafted for the trailers making everyone believe this would be the way to double down on the ‘Evil Kylo’ angle and writing Carrie Fisher out of the Star Wars Universe but instead she survives as another pointless twist just like Holdo being the one to ram the ship into The Supremecy or DJ betraying Finn and Rose for money.

Just reminder if you're in space; your air escapes your body (including your butt), the saliva in your mouth begins to boil, air is cut off to your brain, and all the blood vessels on the surface of your body would break. I am glad she didn't die and had another scene with Luke but due to poor writing and trailer bait, they decided to keep this horrible scene in the movie.

Shallowing (Hate) Beyond the new additions (Holdo, DJ, Rose), the reoccurring characters become shallow in their roles. As I said, Luke now doesn't give a shit despite having 30+ years to mature, Hux is reduced to a punching bag for Kylo, Kylo is still emo as ever, Rey is becoming a Mary Sue (or perhaps not with her floundering romance with a mass murder), Finn had the same "coward, not coward" story arc from the first film, Phasma disappointingly is defeated by FN 2178 a second time, Poe is now a one dimensional reckless flyboy, and Leia is secretly Kryptonian. Point is there is no meaningful personal conflict with the characters, not enough time spent with the new ones, and a few of their portrayal betray canon for either a laugh or just because they simply didn't care.

Conclusion The point is, I liked the Kylo/Rey lightsaber battle against the Bodyguards, I enjoyed the battles in space, the silent ramming of the Raddus at light speed into The Supremacy and I still loved the new character (Rose). Most of the problems in this film start not from the characters but from Disney scaling back the universe and the new Director who changed the narrative. It bothers me just a little that everyone is celebrating the film despite these major flaws and aren't more pissed off those decades of content has just been expelled from the Star Wars Universe in exchange for the new “Disney Star Wars Universe" we will be forced to live with. About the only thing that is safe is Chewie and thats because the Wookie doesnt age like actors do. Thanks for the read.

Regards Michael California

#Star Wars #The Last Jedi #MovieReview

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mrmichaelchadler · 6 years

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Thumbnails 11/2/18

Thumbnails is a roundup of brief excerpts to introduce you to articles from other websites that we found interesting and exciting. We provide links to the original sources for you to read in their entirety.—Chaz Ebert

"CIFF 2018: 'The Hate U Give' and 'Widows' on the Red Carpet": My interviews with filmmakers Steve McQueen and George Tillman Jr., author Gillian Flynn and actors Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez and Amandla Stenberg at the Chicago International Film Festival, published at Indie Outlook.

“There’s no question Tillman Jr.’s film would make an essential double bill with Carlos López Estrada’s ‘Blindspotting,’ another powerful illustration of modern-day prejudice amplified shamelessly by our president. ‘What I want to illuminate for audiences is the importance of having empathy instead of sympathy, of having understanding as well as the ability to listen to each another,’ Tillman Jr. told me. ‘We must have the tough conversations provoked by this film, and I’m very excited for audiences to take it all in.’ Among the most potent truths illuminated by ‘The Hate U Give’ is the tendency for white people to mistake ‘color blindness’ as a form of acceptance. Having been open about her own sexuality in recent years, Stenberg told me that the importance of acknowledging one’s identity extends far beyond the realm of race. ‘Whether it’s your blackness, your gayness, your trans-ness or whatever it is, I think it is always so important to acknowledge the components of self that make us us,’ stressed Stenberg. ‘The premise of ‘I don’t see color’ is one that rests upon the idea that we live in a post-racial or post-identity society, which is not true. When we relate to one another and see, hear and regard each other, I think it’s really important to be inclusive of all the different facets of self that contribute to one’s own experience. You have to make sure that when you are seeing someone, you are seeing them not despite of who they are, but including and because of who they are.’”

"The Many Faces of Women Who Identify as Witches": Including Deborah Kampmeier, the exceptional filmmaker pictured above, in an article by The New Yorker's Naomi Fry. Catch the exhibit at NYC's ClampArt before it closes on November 24th.

“In her portrait series ‘Major Arcana: Witches in America,’ which will be shown at the ClampArt gallery, in Chelsea, beginning October 4th, the photographer Frances F. Denny seeks to explore the figure of the contemporary witch beyond the cultural chestnuts that have shrouded and obscured it. In the course of the past two years, Denny, who holds an M.F.A. in photography from the Rhode Island School of Design (where I taught her for a semester a number of years ago), has travelled in California, Louisiana, and along the East Coast, taking the portraits of dozens of women who identify as witches. Her subjects are of diverse age, social class, and ethnicity, and practice a range of rituals, often drawing on ‘mysticism, engagement with the occult, politically oriented activism, polytheism, ritualized ‘spell-work’ and plant-based healing,’ according to Denny’s exhibition notes. Among them are ‘self-proclaimed green witches, white witches, kitchen witches, hedge witches, and sex witches.’ The series as a whole aims to avoid easy formulas and, instead, to exhibit the heterogeneity and individuality of modern-day witches, Denny told me recently, adding, ‘I’m not pinning these women down.’”

"Fare Thee Well, Filmstruck": Our critic Monica Castillo eulogizes the irreplaceable streaming service in her latest Tiny Letter newsletter, which you can sign up for here.

“I don't need to tell you the news has been bad lately. But to lose a source of comfort in these trying times? It feels especially cruel, almost personally so. Last week, Time Warner pulled the plug on FilmStruck, the streaming service that offered treasures from the TCM vault and the Criterion Collection. As far as I know, there is no other streaming service that takes programming and extras so seriously. FilmStruck started the season after I began at The New York Times. It was exciting news to cover, and I felt especially attached to FilmStruck because of the timing. I picked movies from its collections after work to de-stress. Later, I came up with ideas on how to cover some new discovery I just HAD to write about. I cried my way through the early films of David Lean during a few rough patches, and I threw on old favorites like the movies of Peter O'Toole while doing chores to keep me company. FilmStruck proved the streaming world wasn't all bad news for classic movie fans, but that it could be a curated resource useful to diehard cinephiles and newcomers alike.”

"The Halloween Tree": Andrea Thompson revisits the 1993 animated gem at The Young Folks.

“Yes, Halloween has lasted, but everything mentioned above is mere window dressing. What has kept this holiday going is one of the universal truths of humanity which unites us all, and that is our fascination with fear and the individual horrors that shake us to our core. Few movies understand this, but the Emmy-winning 1993 TV movie ‘The Halloween Tree’ does. I discovered this little gem as a kid because I had the childhood most writers have, the kind with a nose fully inserted in a book. And the author of many such books was one of the great masters of sci-fi himself, Ray Bradbury, the author of the novel of the same name, as well as other books such as The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, and Fahrenheit 451. For the film adaptation, Bradbury actually penned the screenplay and serves as narrator, which means much of his poetic prose is preserved. The movie takes place on Halloween Night, and follows four preteen kids, Jenny, Ralph, Tom, and Wally, all costumed up as a witch, a mummy, a skeleton, and a monster respectively, and eager to join their best friend Pip. As ‘The Halloween Tree’ puts it, ‘Some say that on the day he was born, all the soda pop bottles in the world fizzed over. Pipkin, who could yell louder, sing better, and eat more popcorn. Pip, the greatest boy who ever lived.’”

"'Bohemian Rhapsody': A Disservice to Freddie Mercury": Solzy at the Movies critic Danielle Solzman eloquently explains why the hotly anticipated biopic is a missed opportunity.

“While the band’s popularity is the large focus of the film, it’s hard to discuss Freddie Mercury without knowing what we know about his sexuality. There were the rumors in the tabloids during the band’s heyday. The film doesn’t ignore it per se. There’s a montage of clips where Freddie and personal manager Paul Prenter walking into gay clubs. Even though we see him clearly hitting on guys, there’s not much outside of the relationship with Paul and even Jim Hutton (Aaron McCusker). This is it. Nothing to say of Freddie’s relationship with radio DJ Kenny Everett (Dickie Beau). There’s not even any sex scenes between them! I liken it to social media in that they’re only showing us what they want us to see. The biggest worry obviously has come true. It really does a disservice to the singer. When Freddie receives his AIDS diagnosis, the moment is not as emotional as it could be. This is a serious disease that killed many people. It led to his passing at the age of 45 years old on November 24, 1991. Here it is, the film misses an opportunity to have a bigger focus on his battle with the disease. To make matters worse, Freddie was diagnosed two years AFTER the Live Aid performance and yet as they rehearse for the gig, he opens up about his battle with AIDS! If you’re going to tell the story, tell it the right way.”

Image of the Day

Chicago's indispensable "cine-club," Filmfront, 1740 W. 18th St., is celebrating its first three-and-a-half years of free film and education programming with a fundraising party on Saturday, November 3rd. For more information on the event, visit Filmfront's official Facebook page. You can make a donation here and sign up for its monthly newsletter here. Also be sure to check out my article on Filmfront from 2016. Poster courtesy of Jacob Lindgren.

Video of the Day

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The streaming platform Kanopy recently teamed up with the Goethe-Institut to showcase 48 acclaimed German features on its streaming platform. View the complete list here.

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darthvadersgirl · 6 years

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We’re just about to head into the fall publishing season and there are so many amazing books that I’m looking forward to and I wanted to share the joy by putting together this preview.

Since there are a lot of books on this list I’m going to be keeping the descriptions to no more than a few sentences. Which if I’m being perfectly honest, is usually all I need to know if a book is up my alley. And if you’re the kind of person who needs to know more, never fear! The titles are linked to Goodreads so you can read their full synopsis and add them to your to-read shelf.

August 28th 2018

I’m Afraid of Men by Vivek Shraya

A trans artist explores how masculinity was imposed on her as a boy and continues to haunt her as a girl–and how we might reimagine gender for the twenty-first century.

Seafire by Natalie C. Parker

The first in a trilogy that recalls the power of Wonder Woman and the powder-keg action of Mad Max: Fury Road, Seafire follows the captain of an all-female ship intent on taking down a vicious warlord’s powerful fleet.

Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft edited by Tess Sharpe and Jessica Spotswood

An anthology of 15 stories featuring contemporary, historical, and futuristic stories featuring witchy heroines who are diverse in race, class, sexuality, religion, geography, and era.

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Sheets by Brenna Thummler

A middle-grade graphic novel about a thirteen-year-old named Marjorie and Wendell, the ghost who makes her family’s laundromat into his nighttime playground.

The House in Poplar Wood by K.E. Ormsbee

For as long as the Vickery twins can remember, Lee and his mother have served Memory, while Felix and his father assist Death – this is the Agreement. But one Halloween, Gretchen Whipple smashes her way into their lives and presents an alternative: If the twins help her solve the murder of local girl Essie Hasting, she’ll help them break the Agreement.

French Exit by Patrick deWit

The author of The Sisters Brothers is back with a darkly comic novel about a wealthy widow and her adult son who flee New York for Paris in the wake of a scandal and financial disintegration

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Mirage by Somaiya Daud

Shatter Me meets The Wrath and the Dawn in this epic fantasy inspired by the author’s Moroccan heritage about a poor girl who must become the body double of a princess of a ruthless empire.

That’s Not What Happened by Kody Keplinger

It’s been three years since the Virgil County High School Massacre when Sarah, was killed in a bathroom stall during the mass shooting proclaiming her faith. But that’s not the real story and her best friend is the only one is knows the truth – but should she break her silence or let everyone else continue to believe in Sarah’s martyrdom.

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

One of my favourite authors is back with a spooky new middle-grade novel, perfect for fans of Stranger Things and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children about a somewhat inept ghost-hunting team, their daughter Cassidy who can really see ghosts and her best friend Jacob, who just happens to be one.

Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames

Speaking of Victoria Schwab…she was actually the one who put this book about a band of fabled mercenaries, led by the infamous Bloody Rose on my radar. The novel follows the band as they tour a wild fantasy landscape, battling monsters in arenas in front of thousands of adoring fans, but a secret and dangerous gig ushers them to the frozen north, and the band is never one to waste a shot at glory… even if it means almost certain death.

Exit Stage Left (The Snagglepuss Chronicles) by Mark Russel

A reimaging of the classic cartoon character, as a renowned Southern playwright in 1953. But behind the bright lights, darkness is brewing as Snagglepuss prepares for his next hit play. The Red Scare is in full effect, and the House Un-American Activities Committee is hunting down every last subversive in show business. So far, Snagglepuss has stayed out of their spotlight but Snagglepuss is gay…and his enemies are out to destroy him for it.

September 4th 2018

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The Pasha of Cuisine by Saygun Ersin

For readers of Ken Follett’s Kingsbridge series and Richard C. Morais’s The Hundred-Foot Journey, a sweeping tale of love and the magic of food set during the Ottoman Empire.

Not Even Bones by Rebecca Schaeffer

Dexter meets This Savage Song in this dark fantasy about a girl who sells magical body parts on the black market — until she’s betrayed.

And the Ocean Was Our Sky Written by Patrick Ness, Illustrated by Rovina Cai

The author of The Chaos Walking series, A Monster Calls and The Rest of Us Just Live Here reimagines the classic story of Moby Dick in a way that flips the story of violent obsession on its head with heart-stopping questions about power, loyalty, and the monsters we make.

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Sadie by Courtney Summers

A novel about a missing girl on a journey of revenge and a Serial—like podcast following the clues she’s left behind, from one of my favourite Canadian authors. Please go read All the Rage and Fall For Anything while you wait for this to hit shelves.

A Room Away from the Wolves by Nova Ren Suma

A spellbinding ghost story set in a refuge for troubled girls deep in the heart of New York City, from the author of The Walls Around Us.

The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker

The Booker Prize-winning author of the Regeneration trilogy turns her attention to the timeless legend of The Iliad, as experienced by the captured women living in the Greek camp in the final weeks of the Trojan War.

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The Golden State by Lydia Kiesling

Daphne, a young mother on the edge of a breakdown, flees her sensible but strained life in San Francisco for the high desert of Altavista with her toddler, Honey. Bucking under the weight of being a single parent―her Turkish husband is unable to return to the United States because of a “processing error”―Daphne takes refuge in a mobile home left to her by her grandparents in hopes that the quiet will bring clarity.

Ignite the Stars by Maura Milan

Everyone in the universe knows his name. Everyone in the universe fears him. But no one realizes that notorious outlaw Ia Cocha is a seventeen-year-old girl. This sci-fi debut is perfect for fans of The Lunar Chronicles!

The First Prehistoric Serial Killer and Other Stories by Teresa Solana

Ingenious, always witty and sometimes gruesome short stories by one of Spain’s best-known crime writers.

September 11th 2018

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Ordinary People by Diana Evans

Evoking the sharp insight of Little Fires Everywhere and the sweep of NW, an incisive portrait of the bliss and torment of domestic love.

She Would be King by Wayetu Moore

A novel of exhilarating range, magical realism, and history—a dazzling retelling of Liberia’s formation.

The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar

In 1780s London, a prosperous merchant finds his quiet life upended when he unexpectedly receives a most unusual creature—and meets a most extraordinary woman—in this atmospheric debut that examines our capacity for wonder, obsession, and desire.

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The Biggerers by Amy Lilwall

The Biggerers is set in a dystopian future where our two heroes, Bonbon and Jinx, spend their days gathering stones and feathers for their basket and waiting to be fed by their owners. But it’s not long before getting sick, falling in love and wondering why they can’t eat with a spoon pushes them to realize they are exactly the same as their owners … only smaller. For fans of The Borrowers, Munmun and The Truckers.

Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women’s Anger by Soraya Chemaly

A transformative collection of essays urging twenty-first century-women to embrace their anger and harness it as a tool for lasting personal and societal change.

A Spark of White Fire by Sangu Mandanna

The first in a new series inspired by the Mahabharata and other ancient Indian stories, A Spark of White Fire is a lush, sweeping space opera about family, curses, and the endless battle between jealousy and love.

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Rule by Ellen Goodlett

Three girls. Three deadly secrets. Only one can wear the crown. Three Dark Crowns meets Pretty Little Liars in this fantasy debut.

Woman World by Aminder Dhaliwa

A collection of the hilarious Instagram comic about a world without men, including some previously unpublished material.

The Personality Brokers: The Strange History of Myers-Briggs and the Birth of Personality Testing by Merve Emre

An unprecedented history of a personality test devised in the 1940s by a mother and daughter, both homemakers, that has achieved cult-like status and is used in today’s most distinguished boardrooms, classrooms, and beyond.

Crudo by Olivia Laing

A brilliant, funny, and emphatically raw novel of love on the brink of the apocalypse, from the acclaimed author of The Lonely City.

September 18th 2018

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Washington Black by Esi Edugyan

After he’s falsely accused of murder, young Wash, a field slave-turned-manservant in Barbados, flees the life he knows with the help of an eccentric naturalist, travelling from the eastern coast of America to a remote outpost in the Arctic. From the author of the award-winning international bestseller, Half-Blood Blues comes a dazzling new novel, about a boy who rises from the ashes of slavery to become a free man of the world.

We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix

In this hard-rocking, spine-tingling supernatural thriller, the washed-up guitarist of a ‘90s heavy metal band embarks on an epic road trip across America and deep into the web of a sinister conspiracy.

Secret Passages in a Hillside Town by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen

Tense, atmospheric and very funny, Secret Passages in a Hillside Town is another magical Finnish romance from the author of the acclaimed The Rabbit Back Literature Society.

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The Good Demon by Jimmy Cajoleas

True Detective meets The Exorcist in this gripping YA mystery debut about one girl’s exorcism—and her desperate quest to reunite with her demon

Kens by Raziel Reid

Gay Heathers meets Mean Girls in a new novel from the author of When Everything Feels like the Movies. Heterosexuality is so last season.

Transcription by Kate Atkinson

In 1940, eighteen-year-old Juliet Armstrong is reluctantly recruited into the world of espionage tasked with monitoring the comings and goings of British Fascist sympathizers. Ten years later, now a radio producer at the BBC, Juliet is unexpectedly confronted by figures from her past. A different war is being fought now, on a different battleground, but Juliet finds herself once more under threat.

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Rosewater by Tade Thompson

Rosewater is a town formed around the edges of a mysterious alien biodome, its residents are a tired people eager for a glimpse inside the dome or a taste of its rumoured healing powers. Kaaro, a government agent with a criminal past has seen inside the biodome, and doesn’t care to again — but when something begins killing off others like himself, Kaaro must defy his masters to search for an answer, facing his dark history and coming to a realization about a horrifying future.

The Infinite Blacktop by Sara Gran

A thrilling noir mystery that follows three separate narratives starring the self-proclaimed “world’s greatest detective,” Claire DeWitt.

Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton

Once, a witch made a pact with a devil. The legend says they loved each other, but can the story be trusted at all? Find out in this lush, atmospheric fantasy novel that entwines love, lies, and sacrifice.

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To Make Monsters Out of Girls by Amanda Lovelace

In this first installment, of a new illustrated duology, poet amanda lovelace explores the memory of being in an abusive relationship. She poses the eternal question: Can you heal once you’ve been marked by a monster, or will the sun always sting?

Pride by Ibi Zoboi

In a timely update of Pride and Prejudice, National Book Award finalist and author of American Street Ibi Zoboi skillfully balances cultural identity, class, and gentrification against the heady magic of first love in her vibrant reimagining of this beloved classic.

September 25th 2018

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A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney

Alice in Wonderland re-imagined as an urban fantasy in Atlanta with a black teen heroine.

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White

A reimagining of the classic novel, Frankenstein, from the perspective of Elizabeth Lavenza.

Black Wings Beating by Alex London

Brysen and Kylee are twins but they couldn’t be more different. Brysen wears his heart on his sleeve and strives to be a falconer like his late father but Kylee has no time for love and wants nothing to do with falconry. Together they embark on a journey—Brysen to save the boy he loves, and Kylee to save Brysen from getting killed—into the treacherous Uztari mountains to hunt the legendary Ghost Eagle, a beast deadly enough to sway the tides in a territorial war about to ravage their village.

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Vengeful by V.E. Schwab

A second Victoria Schwab book! This is a tale of super-powers, evil genius, cruelty, and the lengths one will go for vengeance. It’s also the long-awaited sequel to Vicious.

The Sisters of the Winter Wood by Rena Rossner

Captivating and boldly imaginative, with a tale of sisterhood at its heart, Rena Rossner’s debut fantasy invites you to enter a world filled with magic, folklore, and the dangers of the woods.

A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos

Get ready to lose yourself in this French bestseller and the fantastic world of the arks and in the company of unforgettable characters in the English translation of Volume 1 of The Mirror Visitor quartet.

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For a Muse of Fire by Heidi Heilig

The first book in a new trilogy from Heidi Heilig, author of The Girl from Everywhere. A young woman with a dangerous power she barely understands. A smuggler with secrets of his own. A country torn between a merciless colonial army, a terrifying tyrant, and a feared rebel leader. This book is perfect for fans of fans of Sabaa Tahir, Leigh Bardugo, and Renée Ahdieh.

Time’s Convert by Deborah Harkness

The first book in a new series from the author of A Discovery of Witches. A novel about what it takes to become a vampire.

The Caregiver by Samuel Park

From the critically acclaimed author of This Burns My Heart comes a gorgeous, emotionally wise tale about a daughter who unearths the hidden life of her enigmatic mother.

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The Shape of the Ruins by Juan Gabriel Vasquex

When a man is arrested at a museum for attempting to steal the bullet-ridden suit of a murdered Colombian politician, few notice. But soon this thwarted theft takes on greater meaning as it becomes a thread in a widening web of popular fixations with conspiracy theories, assassinations, and historical secrets; and it haunts those who feel that only they know the real truth behind these killings.

A Cathedral of Myth and Bone by Kat Howard

In these sixteen exquisite stories, Kat Howard deftly weaves in and out of the countries of myth and hagiography to write the lives of women untold and unexplored.

Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq

From the internationally acclaimed Inuit, throat singer comes a heartbreaking story of a pregnant girl growing in Nunavut in the 1970s. Veering back and forth between the grittiest features of a small arctic town, the electrifying proximity of the world of animals, and ravishing world of myth, Tanya Tagaq explores a world where the distinctions between good and evil, animal and human, victim and transgressor, real and imagined lose their meaning, but the guiding power of love remains.

October 2nd 2018

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Star Wars: Women of the Galaxy by Amy Ratcliffe

A celebration of the women of Star Wars! This book gathers 75 profiles with text by Ratcliffe and all-new, incredible artwork from 18 talented female and non-binary artists.

When We Caught Fire by Anna Godbersen

From the New York Times, bestselling author of the Luxe series comes a lush, romantic, soapy YA standalone that tells the story of the love triangle that started Chicago’s infamous Great Fire.

Saga Volume 9 by Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples

The multiple Eisner Award-winning series returns with a spacefaring adventure about fake news and genuine terror. Get ready for the most shocking, most impactful SAGA storyline yet.

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All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung

The editor in chief of Catapult magazine and the former managing editor of The Toast investigates the mysteries and complexities of her transracial adoption.

Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa

Enter a beautiful and perilous land of shapeshifters and samurai, kami and legends, humans and demons…a world in which Japanese mythology and imagination blend together to create a brand-new and lushly drawn fantasy adventure from the New York Times bestselling author of The Talon Saga and The Iron Fey.

The Spy with the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke

Blackmailed into service during World War II, Ilse lends her magic to America’s newest weapon, the atom bomb, while Wolf goes behind enemy lines to sabotage Germany’s nuclear program. It’s a dangerous mission, but if Hitler were to create the bomb first, the results would be catastrophic. When Wolf’s plane is shot down he needs Ilse’s help to develop the magic that will keep him alive, but with a spy afoot in Ilse’s laboratory, the letters she sends to Wolf begin to look treasonous. Can Ilse prove her loyalty—and find a way to help her brother—before their time runs out?

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Damsel by Elana K. Arnold

A breathless dark fantasy that is also a sharp critique of the patriarchy as it manifests both in traditional fairy tale tropes and in our society today.

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand

Fans of Victoria Schwab, Nova Ren Suma, and Netflix’s hit show Stranger Things will crave this frightening standalone contemporary teen horror novel about three girls who take on an insidious monster that preys upon young women.

Mutiny at Vesta by R.E. Stearns

Adda and Iridian have survived the murderous AI that tried to kill them in Barbary Station…but now they’ll need all of their ingenuity to escape the evil megacorporation that wants to own them, in this second space adventure in the Shieldrunner Pirates trilogy.

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The Boneless Mercies by April Genevieve Tucholke

A dark and gorgeously drawn gender-swapped Beowolf, about a band of mercenary girls in search of female glory.

The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee

The highly anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue! Felicity Montague must use all her womanly wits and wiles to achieve her dreams of becoming a doctor—even if she has to turn to a life of crime to do it.

The Witch of Willow Hall by Hester Fox

Two centuries after the Salem witch trials, there’s still one witch left in Massachusetts. But she doesn’t even know it…

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On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden

A graphic novel about a girl who travels to the ends of the universe to find a long lost love from the author of Spinning.

Girl Squads by Sam Maggs

A modern girl is nothing without her squad of besties. But don’t let all the hashtags fool you: the #girlsquad goes back a long, long time. In this hilarious and heartfelt book, geek girl Sam Maggs takes you on a tour of some of history’s most famous female BFFs.

Feuding Fan Dancers: Faith Bacon, Sally Rand, and the Golden Age of the Showgirl by Leslie Zemeckis

Leslie Zemeckis continues to discover the forgotten feminist histories of the golden age of entertainment, turning her sights on the lost stories of Sally Rand and Faith Bacon—icons who each claimed to be the inventor of the notorious fan dance.

October 9th 2018

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Mage Against the Machine by Shaun Barger

Harry Potter meets The Terminator in this action-packed, futuristic adventure about a young man who discovers that everything he believed about his world is a lie.

Odd One Out by Nic Stone

From the New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin comes this illuminating exploration of old friendships, new crushes, and the path to self-discovery. Told in three voices, Nic Stone’s new book is perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli, Nicola Yoon, and Jason Reynolds.

What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

Becky Albertalli, award-winning author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, and Adam Silvera, New York Times bestselling author of They Both Die at the End, combine their talents in this funny, heartfelt collaboration about Arthur and Ben, two very different boys who can’t decide if the universe is pushing them together—or pulling them apart.

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Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami

An epic tour de force of love and loneliness, war and art–as well as a loving homage to The Great Gatsby, from the brilliant Haruki Murakami.

The Witch Elm by Tana French

A new standalone novel from the author of the Dublin Murder Squad series!

Blanca & Roja by Anna Marie McLemore

Award-winning author Anna-Marie McLemore retells Swan Lake in this spellbinding YA story of sisters who are each other’s best friends—and worst enemies.

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Light Years by Kass Morgan

Hidden secrets and forbidden love collide at an interstellar military boarding school in a new sci-fi series from the author of The 100.

Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria

A sweeping fantasy about four teens and a fateful prophecy from the acclaimed author of IronCast

The Phoenix Empress by K. Arsenault Rivera

The sequel to K Arsenault Rivera’s incredible novel, The Tiger’s Daughter, an epic historical fantasy in the vein of Patrick Rothfuss and Naomi Novik.

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Dear Evan Hansen by Val Emmich

From the show’s creators comes the groundbreaking novel inspired by the Broadway smash hit Dear Evan Hansen.

Exiles Vol 1 written by Saladin Ahmed, illustrated by Javier Rodriguez

Blink’s talents are needed once again! When a mysterious threat begins eating away at the fabric of reality, the Unseen – the man once known as Nick Fury, who can now only watch Earth from a lofty post on the Moon – recruits her as his champion to save all that is. But Blink can’t do it alone. She’ll need a team drawn from across the Marvel Multiverse.

Movers and Shakers: Women Making Waves in Spirits, Beer and Wine by Hope Ewing

A collection of stories and advice from the first female master brewers, innovative self-starter winemakers, most badass bartenders and more, sharing how they got started in the alcohol industry and the challenges they’ve faced

October 16th 2018

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In the House in the Dark of the Woods by Laird Hunt

The eerie, disturbing story of one of our perennial fascinations–witchcraft in colonial America–wrapped up in a lyrical novel of psychological suspense.

Home and Away by Candice Montgomery

Friday Night Lights meets Dear Martin in this thought-provoking coming-of-age story about family, identity, and forgiveness.

Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver

A new novel from the author of The Poisonwood Bible. Unsheltered is the story of two families, in two centuries, who live at the corner of Sixth and Plum, as they navigate the challenges of surviving a world in the throes of major cultural shifts.

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A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi

It’s 2002, a year after 9/11, and Shirin has just started at yet another school. It’s an extremely turbulent time for the world, but especially for someone like Shirin, a sixteen-year-old Muslim girl who’s tired of being stereotyped. From the author of the Shatter Me series comes a gorgeous and heartrending contemporary novel inspired by her own experiences with first love, breakdancing, and the devastating impact of prejudice.

The Library Book by Susan Orlean

Susan Orlean, hailed as a “national treasure” by The Washington Post and the acclaimed bestselling author of Rin Tin Tin and The Orchid Thief, reopens the unsolved mystery of the most catastrophic library fire in American history, and delivers a dazzling love letter to a beloved institution—our libraries.

October 23rd 2018

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The Light Between Worlds by Larua E. Weymouth

What happens after you return to the real world after being in a fantastical one like Narnia? Told in dual POV and chapters that alternate between the fantasy world of the Woodlands and post-WWII England, debut author Laura E. Weymouth’s magical and lyrical novel is an exploration of loss and healing and what it means to find where you belong.

An Assassin’s Guide to Love and Treason by Virginia Boecker

Philippa Gregory meets Mr. and Mrs. Smith in this witty and thrilling action-adventure novel of star-crossed assassins in Elizabethan England.

Little by Edward Carey

The wry, macabre, unforgettable tale of an ambitious orphan in Revolutionary Paris, befriended by royalty and radicals, who transforms herself into the legendary Madame Tussaud.

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Harry Potter: A Pop-Up Guide to Hogwarts by Kevin Wilson

Exactly what it sounds like! An interactive guide to the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with pop-up re-creations of key locations inside and outside the castle.

The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition by Ursula K. Le Guin (illustrated by Charles Vess)

Commemorating the 50th anniversary of A Wizard of Earthsea, this omnibus edition collects fifty illustrations by Charles Vess (commissioned by Le Guin herself), as well as some additional stories and Le Guin’s “Earthsea Revisioned” Oxford lecture.

October 30th 2018

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The Brilliant Death by Amy Rose Capetta

An Italian-inspired fantasy romance about a Mafia daughter from the author of Entangled and Echo After Echo.

Abbott by Saladin Ahmed

In the uncertain social and political climate of 1972, Detroit, hard-nosed, chain-smoking tabloid reporter Elena Abbott investigates a series of grisly crimes that the police have ignored. Crimes she knows to be the work of dark occult forces. Forces that took her husband from her. Forces she has sworn to destroy.

Alice Isn’t Dead by Joseph Fink

From the co-author of It Devours! and the podcast Welcome to Night Vale comes a fast-paced thriller about a truck driver searching across America for the wife she had long assumed to be dead.

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This is Kind of an Epic Love Story by Kheryn Callender

A fresh, charming rom-com perfect for fans of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and Boy Meets Boy about Nathan Bird, who has sworn off happy endings but is sorely tested when his former best friend, Ollie, moves back to town.

The Monster Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson

Even more sweeping and heart-wrenching than its 2015 prequel, The Monster Baru Cormorant is the epic follow-up to the critically acclaimed The Traitor Baru Cormorant. A breathtaking geopolitical thriller as fraught as Game of Thrones about one woman’s scheme to destroy an empire from within.

I Might Regret This: Essays, Drawings, Vulnerabilities, and Other Stuff by Abbi Jacobson

From the co-creator and co-star of the hit series Broad City, comes a hilarious and poignant collection about love, loss, work, comedy, and figuring out who you really are when you thought you already knew.

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The Governesses by Anne Serre

Written with the elegance of old French fables, the dark sensuality of Djuna Barnes and the subtle comedy of Robert Walser, this semi-deranged erotic fairy tale introduces American readers to the marvellous Anne Serre.

Isola Volume 1 by Brenden Fletcher, Karl Kerschl and Msassyk

An evil spell has been cast on the Queen of Maar and her Captain of the Guard will do anything to reverse it. Their only hope lies on an island half a world away–a place known in myth as Isola, land of the dead. From two of the creators of Gotham Academy comes a new series recommended for fans of Studio Ghibli and the work of Hayao Miyazaki.

Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of ’80s and ’90s Teen Fiction by Gabrielle Moss

Every twenty- or thirty-something woman knows these books. The pink covers, the flimsy paper, the zillion volumes in the series that kept you reading for your entire adolescence. In six hilarious chapters (Friendship, Love, School, Family, Jobs, Terror, and Tragedy), Bustle Features Editor Gabrielle Moss takes the reader on a nostalgic tour of teen book covers of yore, digging deep into the history of the genre as well as the stories behind the best-known series.

After Emily: Two Remarkable Women and the Legacy of America’s Greatest Poet by Julie Dobrow

Despite Emily Dickinson’s world renown, the story of the two women most responsible for her initial posthumous publication—Mabel Loomis Todd and her daughter, Millicent Todd Bingham—has remained in the shadows of the archives. A rich and compelling portrait of women who refused to be confined by the social mores of their era, After Emily explores their complex bond, as well as the powerful literary legacy they shared.

November 6th 2018

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The Best Bad Things by Katrina Carrasco

Trained in espionage by the Pinkerton Detective Agency—but dismissed for bad behaviour—Alma Rosales now works for Delphine Beaumond, the mastermind of a West Coast smuggling ring. When the product goes missing, Alma disguises herself as a scrappy dockworker, Jack Camp, and is ready to muscle her way into the local organization, win the trust of the magnetic local boss, discover the turncoat, and keep them all from uncovering her secrets.

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

Each year, eight beautiful girls are chosen as Paper Girls to serve the king. It’s the highest honour they could hope for…and the most demeaning. This year, there’s a ninth. And instead of paper, she’s made of fire.

Those Who Knew by Idra Novey

On an unnamed island country ten years after the collapse of a U.S.-supported regime, Lena suspects the powerful senator she was involved with back in her student activist days is taking advantage of a young woman who’s been introducing him at rallies. When the young woman ends up dead, Lena revisits her own fraught history with the senator and the violent incident that ended their relationship.

Toxic by Lydia Kang

Told from the dual POVs of an artificially created Korean girl and a biracial Chinese mercenary, this thrilling sci-fi romance is perfect for fans of Beth Revis and Amie Kaufman.

Alice Payne Arrives by Kate Heartfield

A novella about a disillusioned major, a highwaywoman, and a war raging across time.

Blame this on the Boogie by Rina Ayuyang

The true story of how Hollywood musicals got one person through school, depression, and the challenges of parenthood.

This is What it Feels Like by Rebecca Barrow

It doesn’t matter what the prize for the Sun City Originals contest is this year. Because Dia knows that without a band, she hasn’t got a shot at winning Sun City. It used to be the three of them, Dia, Jules, and Hanna, messing around and making music. But that was then, and this is now—and now means a baby, a failed relationship, a stint in rehab, all kinds of off beats that have interrupted the rhythm of their friendship. No contest can change that. Right?

November 13th 2018

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Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri

A nobleman’s daughter with magic in her blood. An empire built on the dreams of enslaved gods. Empire of Sand is Tasha Suri’s captivating, Mughal India-inspired debut fantasy.

Pulp by Robin Talley

Robin Talley, the New York Times bestselling author of Lies We Tell Ourselves, weaves a stunning dual narrative story of two gay teens, one in 1955 and the other in present day, connected by their interest in the literary legacy of lesbian pulp fiction.

Becoming by Michelle Obama

A powerful, and inspiring memoir by the former First Lady of the United States.

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This Splintered Silence by Kayla Olson

Lindley Hamilton has been the leader of the space station Lusca since every first-generation crew member on board, including her mother, the commander, were killed by a deadly virus. This sci-fi thriller is perfect for fans of The Illuminae Files

A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne

The new novel from the beloved New York Times bestselling author of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and The Heart’s Invisible Furies, a seductive Highsmithian psychodrama following one brilliant, ruthless man who will stop at nothing in his pursuit of fame.

We Can Save Us All by Adam Nemett

A ribald novel about a group of alienated Princeton students who respond to escalating climate change by forming an end times cult inspired by superheroes.

November 20th 2018

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My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Satire meets slasher in this short, darkly funny hand grenade of a novel about a Nigerian woman whose younger sister has a very inconvenient habit of killing her boyfriends.

All the Lives We Never Lived by Anuradha Roy

From the Man Booker Prize-nominated author of Sleeping on Jupiter, The Folded Earth, and An Atlas of Impossible Longing, a poignant and sweeping novel set in India during World War II and the present-day about a son’s quest to uncover the truth about his mother.

City of Broken Magic by Mirag Bolender

This fast-paced, adventure fantasy novella from Tor.com, features a bomb squad that defuses magic weapons.

Domino by Gail Simone, illustrated by David Baldeón

The product of a failed super-soldier program, Neena Thurman always made her own luck as the sharpshooting mercenary known as Domino…but what happens when her own powers betray her?

December 2018

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Hunting Game by Helene Tursten

The first installment in Helene Tursten’s brand new series featuring the strong, smart Detective Inspector Embla Nyström.

The Disasters by M.K. England

The Breakfast Club meets Guardians of the Galaxy in this YA sci-fi adventure debut.

Moonstruck Vol 2: Some Enchanted Evening by Grace Ellis, Shae Beagle and Kat Fajardo

Werewolf barista Julie and her supernatural friends try to unwind at a party, but a conniving fraternity of fairy bros has other plans for our heroes. With one of their friends trapped in the frat house and the winter solstice (a notable night of magical mischief) looming ever-closer, it’s up to the amorous werewolves and gregarious centaur to save the day.

Josephine Baker’s Last Dance by Sherry Jones

A novel based on the life of legendary performer and activist Josephine Baker, perfect for fans of The Paris Wife and Hidden Figures.

14 Weeks, 121 Titles: The 2018 Mega Fall Books Preview We're just about to head into the fall publishing season and there are so many amazing books that I'm looking forward to and I wanted to share the joy by putting together this preview.

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nyklifsondiviiportfolio-blog · 7 years

Text

Are you a: Boy? Girl? Alien? Cyborg?

November 29, 2015

Professor Loza, Hampshire College

Introduction:

There aren’t a lot of representations of non-binary people, even less of people of color who are non-binary in science fiction and fantasy. In the media, and every day. While this isn’t surprising that means theorists have to take a more critical look at gender-bending narratives. Some ways in which normal gender roles are blurred in science fiction and fantasy: shape shifting, time travel, and cross-dressing. The main two points I will be discussing though, are cyborgs and aliens. Both are crafted bodies that allow for varying gender creations.

In my research I realized that there aren’t many examples of canonical genderfluid characters and that the examples given by theorists who do approach this topic are a bit of a stretch. I will be discussing the monstrous queering of gender in cyborgs, shapeshifters, and aliens. In realizing that there aren’t many fantastical non-binary options to unpack I looked for transgender characters, but similar to the media’s depiction--there isn’t one. Not until recently, in American contexts, have trans* characters and people become slightly more visible. Albeit, these are not always positive images, but all press is good press right? Wrong. Most are white transgender females who are being fetishized completely cutting off the voices of queer people of color and first nation two spirit individuals.

In addition there are little to no academic sources on this topic by transgender individuals. This is because there is barely any source material to begin with, on top of the limited amount of transgender people who are able to be educated in the area of identity politics (Bornstein et al. 198). Fictional universes within the context of science fiction and fantasy seem to be an excellent place for gender binaries to be skewed and a way for non-binary characters to become more accepted images. In this paper I look into the examples--and lack--of nonbinary culture mainly in the context of feminist, queer, and racial theories pertaining to fantastical or science fiction content.

Trending Genders that you Might not Think are Queer:

Many forms of genderqueering exist that I could have discussed such as the plethora of cross-dressing in anime and other tv shows. Yet, that is not embodying a gender identity, that is merely passing within preconceived social constructs (Melzer 234). For example Ax from the Animorphs series is a Yeerk alien who takes DNA from the two girls and two boys of the series and mixes that together to create a human morph--a morph that he can go to the mall looking like. The human form is said to look like a very feminine boy or masculine girl, not placing him anywhere on the gender spectrum performance-wise. His “fluid body enables her an adaptive identity, which challenges the stable sex/gender/ sexuality correlation without erasing the materiality of the body”(Melzer 234). Being an alien already other’s him on top of the fact he is ambiguously brown in appearance due to one of the main character’s being black. This alien is faced with prejudice due to forced assimilation and not passing fully as male and being a person of color (Cohen 445). So when he starts trying food in the mall’s food court, he is chased by mall cops very quickly.

There are children’s books about girls who dress as boys to be able to be soldiers or knights. One example Is “The Song of the Lioness” series by Tamora Pierce. Alana, the hero, dresses as a boy until she is knighted. She binds with cloth wrapping and talks deeper as the boys she is growing up with go through puberty. Meanwhile she has no idea what to do when she gets her period. Her being in a supposed man’s position blurs the lines of her gender even after her secret is let out. In addition many examples of historical fiction exist about white women fighting in the civil war. These tropes and people subvert gender divides but still identify as cisgender. In addition are able to pass more easily due to being white, which is a harsh reality. Which, in the end, gives them a privilege after the battle where a gender nonconforming character and person live on gender lines (Bornstein et al. 268).

Technologically Created Bodies:

Fans all over have questioned BMO’s gender, wondering if they are a girl or boy. Pendleton Ward has released multiple statements saying that BMO is a robot and therefore has no gender. This reflects on how society today needs to consume culture. The audience is not used to a character that lives outside of binary standard, and will not accept this reality. The problem is, just like real non-binary people, society can not accept what is in front of them. “Cyborgs might consider more seriously the partial, fluid, sometimes aspect of sex and sexual embodiment” (Stryker 115). In the gender-bender episodes of the show, BMO is the only one who remains unchanged in appearance. In addition, BMO is referred to by characters as both M’lady, and with he/him pronouns.

BMO has an alternate self, when talking to themselves, named Football. Football calls herself a baby girl while BMO calls himself a baby boy, but both are the same robot. BMO in the episode “Football” comes out to their friends as Football and wants everyone to call them by that name after switching places with their mirror self, similar to when transgender people are transitioning from dead names (Bornstein et al. 199). The agendered character BMO is possible in a post-apocalyptic world which “is also an effort to contribute to socialist-feminist culture and theory in a postmodernist, non-naturalist mode and in the utopian tradition of imagining a world without gender, which is perhaps a world without genesis, but maybe also a world without end”(Haraway 2). This little robot was built to be human-like and able to imagine, as found out from their creator in the episode “B More.” That is why BMO is married to a bubble who is has no defined body or gender and dates a female hen on the show. They are free from a gendered body and in a time of candy people and vampires, why would a robots gender matter?

BMO is able to transcend gender binaries because they are a robot (Bornstein et al. 169). Pronouns are fluid for them being referred to from “it” to “her.” The female identity is internalized whereas BMO’s masculine detective episode and being a their creator’s son is external relating to common cyborg body politicking. Robots have been used to be characters that are an “alternative narrative of cyberpunk identity that begins with the assumption that bodies are always gendered and always marked by race...Thus, the more important dividing line” for a robotic body “is between material connection and virtual connection, not between female-body-in-connection and male-body-in-isolation”(Vint 116). A created body is in theory able to go beyond racial and gender lines, but this is still within a gendered and racialized culture that these stories are being told (Vint 117). BMO is a green little robot, does that make them a person of color on the show? The only human without gills is a white cisgendered male boy, while everyone else is some kind of monster that came out toxic waste. Except BMO is a created companion with their own agenda.

Androgynous Aliens:

Many literary examples of androgyny from the 70’s and 80’s appeared alongside second wave feminism. Creating an androgynous culture meant creating one where women were equal, in power, and able to be masculine (Annas 145). For example, in The Woman From Space uses “it” as a pronoun for love interest Lella at first, a dominant and masculine woman-ish from the planet Aronia. It is powerful, beautiful, tall, strong, and an intelligent scientist. Yet Lella’s femininity shines through as she forms a heterosexual relationship with the man who first meets her, Sarrazin from Earth. Both planets are set in gender binaries that oppose the other possibly queering the relationship they have. But, like most sci-fi feminist novels, it is a stretch (Larbalestier 76-78) Some books contained all female societies where women had learned how to clone themselves negating the usefulness of men.

The main example I will be delving into is one of the more famous books of the feminist science fiction genre, The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. The novel takes place in two societies called Karhide and Orgoreyn. They live on a planet called Gethen. The planet is populated by hermaphrodites who only have a chosen gender expression during “kenmer.” The theme of androgyny is used to represent different forms of bigotry being displayed in the human race and how having a “race of androgynes who live harmonious, peaceful lives” is used as a “cure for gender bifurcation and decisive hierarchies”(Pearson 28). This was the first famous creation of a queer utopia, that wasn’t so utopian. Androgynous societies often either show the shortcomings in our own or are meant as a plot point of a peaceful option that is “agendered. “

Gethenian believe that everyone else is disgusting. The king calls others with constant sexes “a society of perverts”(Le Guin 21).Whereas the human Genly, who is there to try to get them to join an intergalactic peaceful “Authority” is constantly being shocked by their gender incontinuity. He refers to almost every being with he/him/his pronouns no matter how femme they seem. He still is seeing through a binary lens, “I tried to, but my efforts took the form of self-consciously seeing a Gethenian first as a man, then as a woman, forcing him into those categories so irrelevant to his nature and so essential to my own. Thus as I sipped my smoking sour beer I thought that at table Estraven's performance had been womanly, all charm and tact and lack of substance, specious and adroit. Was it in fact perhaps this soft supple femininity that I disliked and distrusted in him? For it was impossible to think of him as a woman, that dark, ironic, powerful presence near me in the firelit darkness, and yet whenever I thought of him as a man I felt a sense of falseness, of imposture: in him, or in my own attitude towards him? His voice was soft and rather resonant but not deep, scarcely a man's voice, but scarcely a woman's voice either”(Le Guin 10). Genly, pronounced Genry by Gethenians, is in constant culture shock due to the gender fluidity of locals. The belief that any type of variant gender expression is wrong and shunned while being exoticised is similar to the sentiments felt today. It also existed in the late sixties when this book was written. The main character has his room showed by his “landlady”(Le Guin 26). He is a spectacle. This is similar to transgender women in mainstream media.

Ursula K. Le Guin made monstrous images of alien people of colour and an ignorant black both entrenched in racism. The king asks Genly if everyone is “as dark as him”(Le Guin 21). While aliens at the “Voluntary Farm” are described as growing darker. Yet they earlier are described as red-to-brown colouring with many inhabitants matching Genly’s skin colour. The author uses racist imagery of developing darkness as evil or traitorous. This idea is affirmed when Estraven early on explains patriotism as “I mean fear. The fear of the other. And its expressions are political, not poetical: hate, rivalry, aggression”(Le Guin 14). She explains this to show how “in these binaries a nostalgic longing for nature, a Rousseauistic desire for a community unfettered by the violence of cultural systems”(Namaste 223) exists no matter the society. The only way to break free is to escape, which is what Genly does.

The problem is that a lot of early feminist science fiction books with genderbending narratives are written by men, so therefore sexist. In Woman’s World the conclusion involves the way to solve gender differences is for men to gift women more responsibilities. How nice of men. What a lovely, yet misogynistic, sentiment. The Disappearance by Philip Wylie has a similar message (Larbalestier 79). The ending does state by multiple characters that “sex” is a woman + a man. To separate the two creates havoc, but this is just by heteronormative standards(84). What about the lesbians? What about the asexuals? So much of gender ideals in this gender are based on physicalities. What genitalia is “female” what bodies are “male” and going off of masculine and feminine societal ideals. In addition, when talking about bodies race never is discussed, in fact there are no black men in the book (Larbalestier 85). The women are called a “coloured colony” living in tents behind white women’s houses. Being owned by them. The ideas are along the lines of everyone is equal and similar sentiments and now that people realize that everything is going to be ok. As if all who identify as male or female have equity within those labels (Larbalestier 80). There is a plethora of role reversing novels in feminist science fiction, written by men, as a way for males to understand their privilege. And the books that are written by women are mostly white women who are internally oppressing themselves without realizing it and using racist imagery that has been normalized by white male science fiction writers.

Conclusion:

The failures of articles on cross-dressing, androgyny, and any kind of gender blurring. In other words, how word transgender seems to be invisible in academia while also in white feminist based theory. Society thinks of the wish to cross dress as a sexual fantasy, so it makes sense that hermaphroditism and greying of gender lines in more commonly accepted in the fantasy genre. But, there is little to no representation and the theory reflects,“one of the great failings of queer theory and especially queer politics has been their inability to incorporate into analysis of the world and strategies for political mobilization the roles that race, class, and gender play in defining people’s differing relations to dominant and normalizing power”(Cohen 457). Cyborgs are created bodies similar to the created bodies transgendered people and transvestites medically create through hormones and surgery. To have a nonbinary character on a popular children’s TV show is a good step towards more fantastical interpretations of gender besides Androgynous aliens and other monsters.

Bibliography:

Annas, Pamela J. "New Worlds, New Words: Androgyny in Feminist Science Fiction."Science Fiction Studies 5, no. 2 (1978): 143-56. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4239176.

Applegate, Katherine. The Predator, Book 5. Animorphs. New York: Scholastic, 1996.

Bornstein, Kate, and S. Bear Bergman. Gender Outlaws: The next Generation. Berkeley, CA: Seal Press, 2010.

Cohen, C. J. (1997). Punks, Bulldaggers, and Welfare Queens: The Radical Potential of Queer Politics?. GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies, 3(4), 437-465.

De Lauretis, T. (1987). THE TECHNOLOGY OF GENDER. In Technologies of Gender: Essays on Theory, Film, and Fiction (pp. 1-30). Indiana University Press. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt16gzmbr.4

Haraway, D. (2006). Cyborgs: A Myth of Political Identity. In S. Stryker & S. Whittle (Comps.), The Transgender Studies Reader (pp. 103-116). New York, NY: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.

Haraway, D. "A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late 20th Century." Simians, Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature, (New York;Routledge,1991), 149-81.

Larbalestier, Justine. The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction. Middletown, (CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2002), 73-103.

Le Guin, Ursula K. The Left Hand of Darkness. New York: Harper & Row, 1980.

Melzer, P. (2006). Beyond Binary Gender: Genderqueer Identities and Intersexed Bodies in Octavia E. Butler’s Wild Seed and Imago and Melissa Scott’s Shadow Man. In Alien Constructions (pp. 219-258). University of Texas Press.

Namaste, K. (1994). The Politics of Inside/Out: Queer Theory, Poststructuralism, and a Sociological Approach to Sexuality. Sociological Theory, 12(2), 220-231. doi:1. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/201866

Vint, Sherryl. Cyberpunk: Return of the Repressed Body. Bodies of Tomorrow: Technology, Subjectivity, Science Fiction (pp.102-123). Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2007.

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gigiglorious · 7 years

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r/fantasy bingo is this awesome reading challenge that happens over on reddit each year. 2016 was the first year I joined and it was a great way to expand my SFF reading habits. The 2017 bingo challenge is now live and will be running from April 1, 2017 – March 31, 2018 if anyone is interested in joining.

I didn’t actually think I’d finish this challenge. I was on track to do so, planning to knock out the last three books while recovering from a minor surgery. Then I got a horrific cold, had trouble getting into one of the books and started to panic about graduating. Technically I only needed to finish 25 books for the challenge but I’d made a goal of 75 and was feeling down about failing to reach it. But the last day of the challenge I finished a book I’d put down for two months, realized it counted for my unfilled square and quickly rearranged everything.

In 2016 I’d just gotten out of a three year reading slump and was trying to find books I enjoyed. r/fantasy bingo seemed like a fun challenge and so I jumped in part way through the summer. The thought process behind this overly large amount of books was that I wanted to really diversify my reading so I did a full card of books written only by women and a full card of books written only by people of colour or Indigenous people, plus an additional card of random books (which will turn into a card of small press books in 2017).

An additional rule was that a minimum of 50% of books must be written by people of colour and Indigenous authors. I met that goal with 47% (35/75) of books by people of colour and 4% (4/75) of books by Indigenous authors, for an total of 51%. Gender wise the books broke down to 28% men (21/75), 67% women (50/75), and 5% both (4/75), either in the 2+ authors square or short story anthologies.

I loved this bingo challenge. I learnt so much about my reading preferences (deep characterization all the way), discovered so many good books I might have passed up or never gotten too, had a lot of good conversations and got so many great recommendations. This was such a great experience and I’m looking to expand the 2017 bingo with a small press/indie/self-published card and a queer and trans characters/authors card.

Top Six Books (2 for each card although it was very hard to choose)

Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft: Senlin Ascends is exactly the type of fantasy I love, cultural mashups filled with mythology and blending genres, and well-written characters that develop and grow over the course of the book. I could barely put it down near the end.

The Devourers by Indra Das: Every time I try to describe this book it ends up getting boiled down to werewolves in India. But it’s so much more than that, it’s a compilation of history and mythology all wrapped up in beautiful and brutal prose.

The Enchantment Emporium by Tanya Huff: I know this book isn’t going to be everyone’s favourite but it took me completely by surprise. It’s a fast-paced, paranormal romance urban fantasy full of genre tropes set in Calgary with deadpan Canadian humour. The sequels weren’t as solid as the first book but The Enchantment Emporium was one of the best and weirdest books I read last year.

The Golem and the Jinni by Helen Wecker: I couldn’t believe how much Wecker brought The Golem and the Jinni to life. Every character was compelling and I could have sworn I was walking down the streets of New York in 1899.

Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee: It’s really hard to explain just how much I love Ninefox Gambit. I’m new to reading sci-fi and never though I would come to enjoy a military space opera but wound up crying uncontrollably half-way through the book, unable to put it down.

Ancient, Ancient by Kiini Ibura Salaam: This was just such an original, beautiful, weird, compelling collection short stories. It grabbed me from the first page and didn’t let go until the end.

Honourable Mentions

A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar

Kalpa Imerial: The Greatest Empire That Never Was by Angélica Gorodischer

King’s Shield by Sherwood Smith

Top Three Disappointments

The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson: Sanderson appears to be almost universally loved and so I had a really hard time figuring out why I didn’t enjoy Mistborn until I realized that his characters tend to be very cardboard-like. One of the benefits of reading so much SFF over a year is learning your reading tastes and unfortunately/fortunately I need deep characterization and Sanderson just doesn’t do it.

Octavia’s Brood, edited by by Adrienne Maree Brown & Walidah Imarisha: I was really excited for this anthology but found in the end it just fell flat. The concept was really cool, to have a collection written by activists from social justice movements, many of which were first time writers. But that was also its downfall in my opinion. A lot of the stories just didn’t go anywhere or left me hanging in a bad way and months after reading it I can’t remember a single story from the collection that stood out to me.

A Book of Tongues by Gemma Files: Normally when I don’t like books it’s due to the writing style, but my dislike for A Book of Tongues is purely content related. I had to finish this one because I was using it for two reading challenges and was running out of time, but would have put it down immediately otherwise due to the colonial racist genre tropes and anti-semitism. Do not recommend.

Magic Realism – Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami/ What is Yours is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi/ Beauty is a Wound by Eka Kurniawan

GR Book of the Month – Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb/ The Golem and the Jinni by Helen Wecker/ Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor

Romantic Fantasy/PNR – The Decoy Princess by Dawn Cook/ Spirit Caller 1-3 by Krista D. Ball/ Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh

Self-published/Indie – Accessing the Future: A Disability-Themed Anthology of Speculative Fiction, edited by Kathryn Allan & Djibril al-Ayad/ Kalpa Imperial: The Greatest Empire That Never Was by Angélica Gorodischer/ Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements, edited by Adrienne Maree Brown & Walidah Imarisha

Published in 2016 – Saint’s Blood by Sebastien de Castell/ The Rose and the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh/ Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee

AMA Author – Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft/ A Blight of Mages by Karen Miller/ The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard

Dark/Grimdark Fantasy – The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins/ The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin/ The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle

<3000 GR Ratings – Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson/ The Gaslight Dogs by Karin Lowachee/ This Strange Way of Dying by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

A Wild Ginger Appears – A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin/ A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab/ A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar

Female Authored Epic Fantasy – A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin/ Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey/ Into the Dark Lands by Michelle Sagara West

Science Fantasy/Sci-Fi – Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel/ The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers/ Nostalgia by M.G. Vassanji

Five Fantasy Short Stories – The Sea is Ours: Tales from Steampunk Southeast Asia, edited by Jaymee Goh & Joyce Chng/ The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter/ Filter House by Nisi Shawl

Graphic Novel – Saga by Brian K. Vaughan/ Through the Woods by Emily Carroll/ SuperMutant Magic Academy by Jillian Tamaki

Published The Decade You Were Born – Hogfather by Terry Pratchett/ The Goblin Mirror by C.J. Cherryh/ Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson

Written By 2+ Authors – Crux by Moira Rogers/ The Golden Key by Melanie Rawn, Jennifer Roberson & Kate Elliot/ Devil’s Wake by Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due

Published In The 2000’s – The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson/ The Enchantment Emporium by Tanya Huff/ Arrival (Stories of Your Life and Others) by Ted Chiang

Weird Western – A Book of Tongues by Gemma Files/ Silver on the Road by Laura Anne Gilman/ Are We Having Fun Yet? – American Indian Fantasy Stories by William Sanders

Non-Western Myth Or Folklore – The Devourers by Indra Das/ The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo/ Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord

Military Fantasy – King’s Shield by Sherwood Smith/ A Secret History by Mary Gentle/ The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu

Non-Fantasy Novel – Half a Lifelong Romance by Eileen Chang/ The Vegetarian by Han Kang/ Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Award Winning Novel – Doomsday Book by Connie Willis/ Uprooted by Naomi Novik/ Ancient, Ancient by Kiini Ibura Salaam

YA Fantasy Novel – Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare/ Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine/ The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf by Ambelin Kwaymullina

Protagonist Flies – Agatha H and the Airship City by Phil Foglio/ The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman/ Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler

Someone Read For 2015 Bingo – The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson/ The Philosopher Kings by Jo Walton/ Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho

Sword and Sorcery – Imaro by Charles Saunders/ Green Rider by Kristin Britain/ Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed

[Wrap-up] r/fantasy bingo 2016 r/fantasy bingo is this awesome reading challenge that happens over on reddit each year. 2016 was the first year I joined and it was a great way to expand my SFF reading habits.

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