Book Review: In the Dark Spaces by Cally Black
Cally Black is a fresh voice in young adult science fiction. Her debut novel, In the Dark Spaces, is a YA sci-fi horror that has received some critical acclaim in Australia, winning the Ampersand Prize for unpublished manuscripts in 2015 and, more recently, the Aurealis Award for Best Young Adult Novel. It explores some big issues, such as the myth of Terra Nullius and the flaws of capitalism, in a way that’s accessible for younger readers.
#PollMondays: Which of these sf/f characters would win in a free-for-all fight?
It’s time for another poll! This week, we’ve decided to make your life hell by forcing you to choose the character you think would most likely win in a fight. Imagine, if you will, that we stuck all of these folks in a cage match. Who would win? Why? Take the poll, and leave a comment!
Book Review: Rosewater by Tade Thompson
In the mid-21st century, the year 2066 to be precise, Kaaro has a number of jobs and ways to make ends meet in the conglomeration of humanity known as Rosewater, located in Nigeria. From foiling Nigerian bank scams to finding people and things, Kaaro’s unusual psionic abilities, his connection to the so called xenosphere, are a mixed blessing to be sure, but they are also a way to make ends meet. It is a living, for better and worse. Rosewater, too, is much like that, a welter of humanity that lives around the alien domed structure known as Utopicity. Every so often the dome opens, and people who are near the dome when it happens can be cured of their ailments, diseases and problems. This is, for better and worse, not always a smooth process for those chosen to be healed. Over a variety of time frames, we piece together not only Kaaro’s story, but the story of Rosewater as well, Kaaro’s crucial role in the creation of the alien dome, and the community around it. And we slowly get to unfold what its future, and the future of Kaaro, too, will be.
#33. Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986) — A Shoot the WISB Subcast w/ Damien Angelica Walters
http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/ShootTheWISB33AlienAndAliens/ShootTheWisb33–AlienAndAliens.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSFacehuggers, flamethrowers, and angry momma aliens, oh my! Damien Angelica Walters brings her squee to this special Alien-centric episode! We discuss the legacy of Alien and Aliens, the evocative design of the films, their underlying metaphors, and so 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! Spoiler Alert: the following podcast contains spoilers for the film being reviewed; if you wish to see the film without having it ruined for you, download this podcast and save it for later.
Flick Bits: First Pics of Ridley Scott’s Prometheus!
Entertainment Weekly has a sneak peek into the much anticipated new Ridley Scott flick, Prometheus (thanks to Stephen Hunt for bringing these to my attention). Here you go: Scott’s film, set for release next June, is the latest addition to the Alien universe/series, which began with Alien in 1979 and continued under James Cameron with the 1986 film Aliens. Prometheus stars Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Patrick Wilson, Idris Elba, Noomi Rapace, and Guy Pearce (among others). IMDB describes the film as follows:
Aliens: Will They Come For Us (in the Dark)?
If you haven’t been paying attention to science lately, then you might have missed out on a lot of talk about why aliens might visit us. Not to say hello and give us warp drives and all that fun stuff. No. They’ll show up to get rid of us, because we’re too dangerous to exist in the Milky Way. I have reservations myself (about the study, not humanity), but it’s a question we should really ask ourselves: do aliens have a reason to get rid of us? And what can we do to make ourselves less a threat to the galaxy (let alone our galactic neighbors)? So the question comes to you: what do you think?
