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Book Review: THE CURIOSITY KILLERS by K.W. Taylor

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Years have passed since the second American Civil War split the nation in two, and physicist Edward Vere now devotes his time in the New British Empire to time travel technology, all while limited to the mostly Victorian-era technology that this portion of the former United States is permitted. During an experiment, a spacetime bridge opens between Vere and historic aviator Wilbur Wright, who is working with similar experiments in his own time. Perfecting the technology, Vere enters into a business partnership with historian Benoy Johnson. Together they start a time travel service for select individuals (references required), facilitating clients to go solve mysteries of the past as observers. However, there is a catch: upon returning, a client will be debriefed and then have their memory wiped to ensure that the technology or the ‘natural’ secrets of time do not spread to the public.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

Episode 5. Into the Wardrobe with Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971; dir. Robert Stevenson): The Age of Not Believing and the Problem of Empire

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https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEp5IntoTheWardrobeBedknobsAndBroomsticks/SandF–Ep5–Into_the_Wardrobe–Bedknobs_and_Broomsticks.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSIn this episode of Into the Wardrobe, Shaun and Jen talk about the utterly delightful, but definitely problematic, 1971 Disney production, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, directed by Robert Stevenson and featuring a heavy production overlap with Mary Poppins. The duo discuss everything from why they loved this film, the amount of nuance that they didn’t pick up on as children, the heavy influence of British Empire and Nationalism, the wonderful relationships and character arcs, and honestly a lot more that you’ll just have to discover yourself by listening to the episode! Enjoy!

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Review: Civilization 6: Gathering Storm

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The Aztecs are sorely pressing Sweden, having taken a number of their cities. Greece is exploring, sending caravels across the wide ocean and making contact with the Phoenicians at Ugarit. The Arab-Chinese war is turning hot again. And the Zulu have asked the Phoenicians to join them in a glorious war against the Dutch. The Phoenicians politely have refused. Wait! This is not the latest Alternate History novel from Harry Turtledove. This is my latest game session of Civilization 6 using the latest expansion, Gathering Storm.  Civilization 6: Gathering Storm adds new a new gameplay format, civs, and mechanics to provide a Civilization game resonant with our climate change age.

Anders The City in the Middle of the Night Cover
The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

359. Charlie Jane Anders (Hostess with the Mostest) – The City in the Middle of the Night

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https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode359CharlieJaneAndersCityintheMiddleoftheNight/SandF–Episode359–CharlieJaneAndersCityintheMiddleoftheNight.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSCool suits, touch telepathy, and tidally locked planets, oh my! We didn’t know it at the time of our interview, but Paul and Elizabeth sit down with one of our official Hugo Fancast nemeses, Charlie Jane Anders, to talk about her new book, The City in the Middle of the Night! Listen to why Charlie Jane picked her setting and what that meant for the story, how generation ships might actually work out unless designed in a very specific way, how concepts of time play a key role in the world-building, the effects of trauma on a species that communicates via touch, what fashion looks like on the planet of January, and so much more! We hope you enjoy the episode!

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Book Review: Descendant of the Crane by Joan He

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Descendant of the Crane is a Chinese-inspired YA fantasy novel about politics, leadership and sacrifice. When the King of Yan dies suddenly, Hesina knows her father has been poisoned. In order to launch an official investigation, Hesina must take her place as the queen—no easy task when this involves gaining the approval of her mother. Plus, any ruler of the Kingdom of Yan faces a number of troubles. Whole villages are disappearing without a trace along the border, but Yan’s philosophy prevents the country from going to war. Within the capital there’s rumours that the soothsayers, the magic users who propped up the previous regime of profligate emperors, aren’t as dead as once thought, and neighbours begin to turn on each other. Hesina must somehow balance these concerns with her quest for the truth about her father’s death and her growing awareness of treachery from within her court.

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Book Review: Edges (Inverted Frontier, Book 1) by Linda Nagata

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Edges capably starts a new sequence of Inverted Frontier novels set in the far future universe that first made the reputation of its author, Linda Nagata. Back in the 1990s, Cyberpunk and nanotech and transhumanism had a boom of novels and idea exploration. The first wave of cyberpunk led by Neuromancer and its ilk was succeeded by novels that pushed the concept further, exploring the consequences of programmable matter, multiple lives across copies, virtual existences, and fantastic landscapes and settings across the Earth and beyond. From Kathleen Ann Goonan to Walter Jon Williams, a number of authors explored this space.

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