Book Review: Three Space Opera Novellas from Tor.com Publishing
In the evolution and growth of the Novella program from Tor.com Publishing, an innovation that they have hit upon, as their lineup has grown and they have expanded their horizons, is the idea of thematic seasons. Instead of a welter of novellas of all kinds as they did in their initial phases, starting with 2017, the publisher has focused on themes. In Summer of 2017, the focus was on Space Opera. I’ve previously discussed All Systems Red: The Murderbot Diaries, by Martha Wells, which kicked off the Summer of Space Opera. I’ve since gone on to read three of the four other novellas in the set.
Book Review: Behind the Throne by K.B. Wagers
Behind the Throne by K.B. Wagers takes a familiar idea, the fish out of water, from a distant part of a galactic empire, and updates it for a 21st century mentality and enlightened point of view. In not all, but many works past, the protagonist would be male, it’d be a patriarchal empire ruled by a King, Emperor, what have you. Women would have at best secondary roles, with even the occasional strong female character having a relatively unexplored interior life, and certainly not a full-on point of view that gives us her real story (I’m looking at you, Princess Leia). A man’s world, where men were real men, women were real women and small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri were real small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri. Some novels and novelists have tried to buck this sausage fest of space opera in the past. Elizabeth Moon’s Vatta series, for example. Some of Debra Doyle’s and James D. MacDonald’s Mageworld novels feature a strong female protagonist front and center. Even with these exceptions, Space Opera and space adventure have for decades been overwhelmingly a male-dominated and male-catered affair. Luke Skywalker and Han Solo cast long shadows indeed.
Reading Rangers #3: The Warrior's Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold
https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/ReadingRangers3WarriorsApprenticeByLoisMcMasterBujold/ReadingRangers3–WarriorsApprenticeByLoisMcmasterBujold.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSHello, Rangers! In this installment of Reading Rangers, Jen, Paul, Alex, and Stina dive into the third book (internal chronology) of the Vorkosigan Saga, The Warrior’s Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold. Alex and Paul offer the experienced voices, Stina the slightly new, and Jen the completely new (and she’s SO excited to finally meet an adult Miles)! The team tackle everything from Miles’ improbable ability to juggle lots of plates, even though he does drop a few along the way, how his level of privilege plays into some choices that have far-reaching consequences, the dunder-headedness of Ivan Vorpatril, and so much more along the way. Next time, we’ll be discussing The Vor Game. Will the Dendarii Mercenaries join Miles again? Find out next time! 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):
A Book by Its Cover: The Dispatcher by John Scalzi
Morgan Filchberger is the last 911 Dispatcher to be promoted to Detective after floppy-armed robots replaced the entire workforce. Anyone else might be bitter about that, but Morgan has failed the Department of Uniformed Detectives Exam five times. Now, he’s living the dream: the pay is good and he gets to tell his high school buddies that he’s a real badass. That is until members of the Irradiated Blue Man Group start showing up dead and partially digested in the streets of Orlando. With Captain Northrup Wilkinson and the union representative of the IBMG breathing down his neck, Morgan wonders if he’s really cut out for the detective life… Enter Felicia Guffman, a smartmouthed rookie slash amateur thespian with a penchant for unfinished Greek tragedies and Morgan’s new partner. If there’s one thing Felicia does well, it’s propping up mediocre (male) members of law enforcement to make them look good. Call it a gift. Or a curse. Whatever you call it, Felicia has been putting her talents to use since graduating from the Louisiana Academy of Detective Youths four years ago. And a bunch of dead glowing blue guys aren’t going to keep her from making a name for herself, even if she has do it by making Morgan into a hero before exposing him for the fraud that he is.
Podcast and Blog Stats for 2016: Most Popular, Most Downloaded, and Other Oddities
I haven’t done one of these posts in a while, but after randomly looking at our download figures, I got the bug to share what has been popular on this podcast and on the blog. So, with that in mind, the following are a few “top 10” lists of the most popular posts and episodes of 2016 and all time according to our WordPress statistics. I’ve also included a list of our most downloaded episodes of all time using data from our file host, which makes for some curious comparisons. Enjoy!
Shaun’s Rambles 003: On Negative Reviews and Their Value
http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/ia801504.us.archive.org/10/items/ShaunsRambles003OnNegativeReviewsAndTheirValue/ShaunsRambles003–OnNegativeReviewsAndTheirValue.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSS…in which I talk about things some people don’t want to write. In this edition:
