Blog Posts

Short and Sublime: April 2015 Round-Up

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April stories include historical fantasies, fairy tales, near futures, and one space fantasy tale. “Wild Things Got To Go Free” (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #170) by Heather Clitheroe works because of, and is refreshing due to, its spare worldbuilding. Soldiers are rounding up and hunting down certain civilians, who are turning into, or have the potential to turn into, other creatures — which includes the young protagonist and her mother. The two young women in “The Ways of Walls and Words” (Tor.com) by Sabrina Vourvoulias are similarly threatened by the yoke of the real world Spanish empire; though they, and their ways of life, couldn’t be more different. It’s a story about friendship, Nahuatl magic, and the power behind language.

Blog Posts

Book Review: Aurora: Darwin by Amanda Bridgeman

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In the Solar system of 2075, the UNF, an extra-national and international force deriving from all of the nations of Earth, handles much of the policing and issues among the variety of space stations and habitats. The UNF handles international disputes on Earth as well, and many who have Earth Duty in the UNF dream of Space Duty. Corporal Carrie Welles is the daughter of one of the first UNF soldiers to ever get Space Duty, an Original. Living up to her father and her family’s name is important to her. Thus, when Captain Harris of the Aurora is assigned Corporal Welles, and two other female recruits in the bargain to a formerly male-only ship, and given mysterious orders to visit a silent space station on the edge of inhabited space, Mars orbit, this is Welles’ big chance. She’s already made a name for herself as a sharpshooter on Earth, but those skills are going to be far more useful than she expects when the mystery of the Darwin is uncovered.

Announcements and Errata

Announcement: Around the World (Cycle One) and the New Retro Nostalgia Begins!

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For the past month, I’ve been thinking about my various blogging ventures and how to improve them.  For Totally Pretentious, that has involved reconsidering how I engage with film in written form.  After all, I can’t keep up with Hollywood’s production levels no matter how hard I try; that requires a full time commitment. So I decided to concentrate my film discussions on two specific projects:  the Retro Nostalgia feature (derived from my personal blog) and a new feature called Around the World.  There will still be the occasional review of a film that doesn’t fit in either of these categories, but my primary focus outside of the podcast will be on these two projects.  These changes will also be noted on my Patreon page, which you can support if these columns (or anything I do) interest(s) you. So what are “Retro Nostalgia” and “Around the World”?

Blog Posts

The April 2015 Read List: What You Read and Loved

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Last week, I asked for listeners/readers to share their favorite reads from April 2015.  The following is a reading list comprised of those favorite reads.  Do with this mystical knowledge what you will! Novels: Fool’s Assassin by Robin Hobb Edge of Dark by Brenda Cooper The Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin The Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler A Companion to Wolves by Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear The Boy Who Lost Fairyland by Catherynne M. Valente I, Robot by Isaac Asimov The Stars Seem So Far Away by Margrét Helgadottir Beasts of Tabat by Cat Rambo Last First Snow by Max Gladstone Short Stories: “The Shape of My Name” by Nino Cipri There you have it.  It’s a small list, but we just started this fancy feature. I’ll put up a call for your favorite reads from May later this month!  Now get reading!

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

270. Logan’s Run (1976) — A Torture Cinema “Adventure”

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http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode270LogansRun/SandF%20–%20Episode%20270%20–%20Logan's%20Run.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSS(I’ve temporarily disabled comments on this post because of an excess number of irritating spam.  I’ll enable comments again in the future.  If you’d like to get in touch about the episode, send us an email.) Carousels, Popsicle people, and protein from the sea, oh my!  In this very special “Childhood Destruction” edition of Torture Cinema, the entire crew (minus Mike) join forces to talk about David’s childhood movie crush, Logan’s Run. 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): Episode 270 — Download (MP3) Show Notes:

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