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Beautiful Dystopias: ‘The Belles’ and ‘Uglies’

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Since the launch of The Belles earlier this year, Dhonielle Clayton has been very open about taking inspiration from Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. The two books form an interesting dialogue, with The Belles building on the foundation formed by Uglies while bringing a somewhat more nuanced and feminine perspective. The two books share a focus on beauty, with each building a different culture around it. The Belles takes a fantasy angle: the people of Orleans are cursed by the gods to look ugly—with grey skin, red eyes and hair like rotten straw. They rely on the Belles to magically change their appearance into something beautiful. Exactly what that looks like changes from season to season, and these treatments eventually wear off, needing to be renewed. Camellia Beauregard hopes to be chosen as the Favourite of the Queen of Orleans and serve as the foremost Belle in the kingdom. However, she soon finds the reality of the dream is not quite what she expected.

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Book Review: The Alehouse at the End of the World, by Stevan Allred

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I’ll admit it, what initially drew me to this almost uncategorizably cool novel was this cover, evoking as it does a Renaissance playbill in Technicolor. It didn’t actually show me much of what the story was about, but it sure made me want to know. Plus, anything at the end of the world is probably pretty interesting. And what’s up with that bird?

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Interview: S. L. Huang on ZERO SUM GAME

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Today, on Skiffy and Fanty, we have an interview with author S.L. Huang. SL Huang is an Amazon-bestselling author whose debut novel, Zero Sum Game, is recently out from Tor. Her short fiction has sold to Strange Horizons, Analog, and The Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy 2016. She is also an MIT graduate, stuntwoman, and firearms expert.  She consented to an interview to talk about Zero Sum Game. 1. I’m very excited to see Zero Sum Game come out from Tor. What was the process like in changing and editing it from its original publication to its new release?

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

At the Movies #72 – The Christmas Chronicles (2018)

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https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFAtTheMovies72ChristmasChronicles/Sandf-AtTheMovies72-ChristmasChronicles.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSCrime, creepy Gremlin elves, and Marxist critiques of late capitalism, oh my! It’s the holidays, and that means it’s time to wax lyrical about holiday movies. This year, Shaun, Paul, Alex, and Mike join forces to discuss the brand new smash hit, The Christmas Chronicles. They talk about Netflix’s approach to the holidays, the film’s treatment of Christmas and Santa, the terrors of bad CG, and the cliched sappiness that makes the holidays as good as a nice warm cup of cocoa! We hope you enjoy the episode!

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Short Fiction Review: November 2018

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This month we have three new stories by new (and newish) writers that all feature queer characters and interesting points of view. Let’s get right into it. First, if you like fairy tale retellings, check out “Toothsome Things” by Chimedum Ohaegbu, which appears in Strange Horizons. It’s an imaginative reworking of Little Red Riding Hood that’s poetic and powerful. Next, I loved “How to Swallow the Moon” by Isabel Yap, which appears in Uncanny Magazine Issue 25. This lovely novelette features a moving romance, a rad monster, and wonderful Filipino-inspired worldbuilding. Lastly, I recommend “Talk to Your Children about Two-Tongued Jeremy” by Theodore McCombs, which appears in Lightspeed Magazine Issue 102. It’s a smart and gripping story about how technology, society, and capitalism can sometimes mix together in tragic ways.

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