Blog Posts

Blog Posts

“On Game of Thrones and Gritty Fantasy: Why does it sell?” by Clifton Hill (Veil of a Warrior)

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Visceral, terrible, gut wrenching, laden with death and loss. Why does it sell? And why in the genre of luminescent fairy wings, immortal wizards, and chivalrous knights that cannot die? Why do we want to bring in the grime, the stink of malice and the cut of despair? In an industry dominated by the One Ring and a boy wizard — where there was death and violence, but only to an extent — it seemed that Fantasy was a soft genre. There was the thrill of discovery, strange wondrous new lands…and magic! So what made The Game of Thrones rise so high? Perhaps because it was more real. The setting is not one of wonder; it is one terrible and dirty — where people die. A world where a single man rules with the authority to kill on a word, where political factions scheme for power and survival:  the landscape of influence can change in a heartbeat.

Blog Posts

Interview w/ Jennifer Ellis (Author of A Quill Ladder)

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For this feature interview, I contacted Jennifer Ellis by email with some questions pertaining both to A Quill Ladder and the Derivatives of Displacement series in general, on writing YA, and on her perspectives as a successful indie author. Here, then, are those questions and her wonderful responses, including information on what she has in store for the future: DPH: The YA category has changed a lot since either of us was younger, and the SciFi/Fantasy offerings have exploded. In what ways did you try to make these middle grade novels balance between the classic and modern worlds? How do you balance between revealing things to the readers (and characters) and holding things back for maintaining the drive of the series?

Blog Posts

Book Review: A Quill Ladder by Jennifer Ellis (with an Interview)

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For my May contribution to this year’s focus on female writers, I wanted to feature two young adult SciFi/Fantasy titles written by women authors whose work I enjoy and initially discovered by happenstance:  Jennifer Ellis and Frances Hardinge. Even if you don’t typically read YA, you certainly know some children or young adults who are looking for good reads in the genre, and both of these writers deserve plenty of appreciation. First up for this post is Jennifer Ellis. Ellis is an indie author from Canada who writes both middle-grade science fiction/fantasy novels and adult dystopic novels featuring elements of adventure, romance, and environmental themes. I discovered her work through a Goodreads giveaway listing for her adult novel In the Shadows of the Mosquito Constellation. It looked potentially interesting to me, but looking at her website and blog really sold me on taking the time to check out the novel. Though I didn’t win the giveaway, I was able to get an electronic version directly from her; immediately upon starting it, I was drawn in and impressed through the end.

Announcements and Errata

The New Skiffy and Fanty: Changes to Come on the Show

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A little while ago, we ran a listener survey to learn more about how you access our show, what you listen to, what you like and dislike, and so on.  That survey garnered a lot of wonderful responses — thanks!  As such, The Skiffy and Fanty Show will be changing a bit. These changes aren’t permanent.  They’re an experiment.  We’ll reassess in a few months to see how it’s working out, and we’ll ask you all for feedback again (because you’re awesome). Here’s what you can expect around these parts for the foreseeable future:

Blog Posts

Around the World: The Driller Killer (1979; dir. Abel Ferrara)

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As Abel Ferrara’s first non-porn feature film, The Driller Killer  serves as a signpost of the director’s vision of New York City and its social ills.  Ferrara would hone this vision into a more coherent film three years later (in Ms. 45), but in The Driller Killer, he was, I think, in his rawest form:  vulgar, uncompromising, and noisy.  It’s not surprising, then, that the film was banned in the UK in 1983 given that its UK distribution included a still shot of one of the more gruesome scenes in the entire movie:  a man having a drill bit shoved into his skull.  What is surprising is that, as Mike Bor of the British Board of Film Classification notes, Ferrara’s film was “almost single-handedly responsible for the Video Recordings Act of 1984,” a reactionary piece of legislation that required creative works to be classified to be legally sold; unclassified works, as such, would be banned.

Announcements and Errata

Next Month’s Film (and Where to Watch It): The Swimmer (1968)

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As we announced at the end of Episode 4 (on The Shop Around the Corner (1940)), our next film for discussion will be Frank Perry and Sydney Pollack’s The Swimmer (1968).  Episode 5 will drop on the first, which means you’ve got a little under a month to watch the film! Here’s how to watch it: Google Play:  $2.99 (Rent) / $9.99 (Buy) VUDU:  $3.99 or $2.99 (Rent HDX, HD, or SD) / $13.99 or 9.99 (Buy HDX, HD, or SD) Amazon:  $3.99 or $2.99 (Rent HD or SD) / $12.99 or $9.99 (Buy HD or SD) Netflix:  DVD Rental Only We hope to hear your thoughts or questions leading up to the episode. Happy viewing!

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