Beautiful Dystopias: ‘The Belles’ and ‘Uglies’
Since the launch of The Belles earlier this year, Dhonielle Clayton has been very open about taking inspiration from Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. The two books form an interesting dialogue, with The Belles building on the foundation formed by Uglies while bringing a somewhat more nuanced and feminine perspective. The two books share a focus on beauty, with each building […]
Book Review: American War by Omar El Akkad
It is approximately half a century in our future. Climate change has altered the coasts of the United States, wiping out much of Florida and Louisiana. Amid these changes, the Second American Civil War breaks out. While the issue of slavery drove the original Civil War, southern state refusal to accept a federal ban on […]
Book Review: The Red Men by Matthew de Abaitua
About a third of the way through The Red Men, Matthew de Abaitua’s ravishing new-old (I’ll explain in a moment) cyberpunk nightmare, is very likely the creepiest scene I’ve ever encountered in literature. Not just in genre fiction. In literature. I’m not going to spoil it for you. You’ll know it when you hit it. […]
Movie Review: "Blade Runner 2049" (‘As clear as dreaming’)
I can’t remember ever being as disturbed and enthralled at one time by any movie as by “Blade Runner 2049.” That makes it fine art in my eyes. The movie is disturbing because it so explicitly poses questions about personhood, objectification and empathy. I gasped a few times and flinched several more times, and so […]
278. The Postman (1997) — A Torture Cinema “Adventure”
http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/ia601509.us.archive.org/16/items/SandFEpisode278TortureCinemaMeetsThePostman/Sandf–Episode278–TortureCinemaMeetsThePostman.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Stitcher | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSThe Post Office, mules, and Shakespeare, oh my! In our fourth edition of the Torture Cinema Childhood Destruction feature, we take a stab at the infamous […]
Book Review – Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine
Imagine if the Royal Library of Alexandria had not been destroyed in flames. In Ink and Bone, Rachel Caine uses this alternate history speculation to craft a universe where the “Great Library” has survived and flourished through the centuries, expanded with satellite institutions around the world. The cultural influence and political power of the Library […]
