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Book Review: The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

“Let’s start with the end of the world, why don’t we? Get it over with and move on to more interesting things.” Beginning the book with an apocalypse as a cold open is just the first audacious and bold maneuver that writer N.K. Jemisin pulls off in The Fifth Season, the first of the Broken Earth series. The Fifth Season continues Jemisin’s technique of crafting interesting, diverse and unique fantasy worlds to explore ideas, concepts and characters in her burgeoning signature style. I listened to this in audiobook form, an excellent narration by Robin Miles. After that cold open, and a very brief immersion into the world, less than a page, the novel launches us into the stories of the characters. The novel focuses on three characters, and given that apocalypse, one quickly realizes that two of the characters’ stories predate that critical cold open event, and one, the character we meet first,  is a survivor of the aftermath. The characters are all women, all in different stages of life.

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Mining the Genre Asteroid: The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester

Eight, sir; seven, sir; Six, sir; five, sir; Four, sir; three, sir; Two, sir; one! Tenser, said the Tensor. Tenser, said the Tensor. Tension, apprehension, And dissension have begun   In the days of Sad and Rabid Puppies and food fights over the Hugos and the legacy of science fiction, it’s valuable to go back to the award’s beginning. In 1953, the first ever Hugo award for Best Novel was awarded. The winner was The Demolished Man, by Alfred Bester. The Demolished Man stands with Bester’s The Stars My Destination as one of the two masterpieces of SF author Alfred Bester.

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Book Review: To Shape the Dark edited by Athena Andreadis

Athena Andraedis’ anthology The Other Half of the Sky was an explicit attempt at highlighting and fighting a severe tendency for female characters in science fiction to be secondary characters, love interests or even just wallpaper by gathering an excellent group of writers to bring forth a set of stories with female protagonists in science fictional settings. The fact that they were women informed their choices, outlooks, and actions, and the stories help correct the mistaken idea some have, ‘Chekov’s Lesbian’, that such diversity has to be of primary plot importance to be justified. To Shape the Dark, the newest anthology from Andraedis, continues the tradition of female protagonists in science fiction settings by focusing on female protagonists in science fiction stories who, specifically, are doing science. Science Fiction as midwife for future scientists and in general appreciation for and inculcating science literacy in its readership is a long and important tradition in the field. This anthology helps that tradition along by showing readers, of any gender, that women can and do have an equal role to play as scientists in science fiction stories, and in our society.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

#45. Captain America: Civil War (2016) — A Shoot the WISB Subcast

http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/ShootTheWISB45CaptainAmericaCivilWar/ShootTheWisb45–CaptainAmerica-CivilWar.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSUnited Nations shenanigans, tragic villains, and Black Panther, oh my!  In our 45th episode of the Shoot the WISB Subcast, Mike Underwood, Jen Zink, Paul Weimer, and Shaun Duke join forces to combat Marvel’s latest entry in the MCU, Captain America: Civil War.  We cover the plot, some of the unique thematic elements in this film, Captain America’s and Iron Man’s legacy, and much more! We hope you enjoy the episode! Note:  If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Here’s the episode (show notes are below):

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

#44. Babylon 5 (Season 2; Disc 1) — A Shoot the WISB Subcast

http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/ShootTheWISB44Babylon5S2D1/ShootTheWisb44–Babylon5S2d1.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSAncient enemies, betrayal, and new beginnings, oh my!  The Babylon 5 re-watch continues!  Shaun, Paul, and Mike join forces to tackle Season 2 (Disc 1).  We talk about where the show left off, the new characters, and some of the surprises in the first episodes of this season! We hope you enjoy the episode! Note:  If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Here’s the episode (show notes are below):

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Book Review: When the Heavens Fall and The Dragon Hunters by Marc Turner

In the Empire of Fantasy, there are many duchies, kingdoms, republics, city states, freeports and shires. Even the field of epic fantasy, a large chunk of that aforementioned Empire, has a number of subdivisions one can make, based on the particular style of the epic fantasy. Readers who go deep into epic fantasy can tease out the essential differences between Robin Hobb’s style of fantasy to Kate Elliott, or George R R Martin, or Robert Jordan. As these authors have produced novels and created fans, they have in effect helped guide schools of thought within Epic Fantasy. Marc Turner’s Chronicle of the Exile series, starting with When the Heavens Fall and continuing through The Dragon Hunters, falls within a school of fantasy that I attribute and associate most with the works of Steven Erikson in his Malazan universe.

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