363. Alix E. Harrow (a.k.a. The Door Builder) — The Ten Thousand Doors of January (An Interview)
https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/sandfepisode363alixeharrowtenthousanddoorsofjanuary/SandF–Episode363–Alix_E_Harrow_Ten_Thousand_Doors_of_January.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSFootnotes, diaries, and doors, oh my! In today’s episode, Jen Zink and Paul Weimer interview the Hugo Short Story winning writer, Alix E. Harrow, about her debut novel, The Ten Thousand Doors of January! Find out how this book puts Alix’s cheating methods on display, how she worked to subvert the white colonial narrative of classic portal fantasy, what books she used as a model, and so much more! We hope you enjoy the episode! Don’t forget, if you sign up for our Patreon, you’ll be able to listen to our Patreon exclusive interview, 5 Questions with Alix E. Harrow!
Torture Cinema #92: Starcrash (1978/79)
https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/sandftorturecinema92starcrash/SandF–Torture_Cinema_92–Starcrash.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSThe Hass, chauvinist robots, and Italians, oh my! In a Torture Cinema podcast that meanders almost as much as the movie, Shaun Duke, Jen Zink, and Trish Matson get together to discuss this month’s Patreon selection, Starcrash! Not only do the team discuss everything from the truly awful logic to the surprising inclusion of an… uhhh… active female protagonist, we also introduce a new segment to Torture Cinema called, “What is Paul’s Like?” Make sure you listen, because it includes some of the absolute best aspects of this truly terrible film. We hope you enjoy the episode!
Book Reviews: THE CALCULATING STARS and THE FATED SKY by Mary Robinette Kowal
Mary Robinette Kowal’s Lady Astronaut series began in 2012 when Audible.com published her novelette “The Lady Astronaut of Mars” within RIP-OFF, an original audiobook anthology. The Hugo-winning story subsequently saw print. Since then, Kowal has revisited the universe of that novelette with additional short stories, including “The Phobos Experience” in an issue of last summer’s The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Additionally, she has also taken the story back to its “origins,” starting a series of Lady Astronaut novels with The Calculating Stars and The Fated Sky. The third novel in this series, The Relentless Moon, is due from Tor Books in 2020, meaning that you have plenty of time to catch up if you haven’t yet experienced this series of positivity and hope. Combining alternate history with science fiction, the series tells a story both progressive and uplifting. At the core of the series lies the principle that if space is the future of humanity, then the process of humanity’s movement beyond the confines of Earth should involve all elements of that humanity. The stories are about the societal and technical challenges that face the characters involved in reaching that goal of colonizing alien worlds. Starting chronologically in 1952, Kowal takes elements of history and spins in an imagined catastrophe to set in motion an alternate timeline where the space program could be built differently, perhaps with more diversity. The establishment of that diverse representation proves as great of a challenge for humanity as do the physical threats against extra-planetary survival. The Lady Astronaut series depicts its characters overcoming these challenges, one step at a time.
Book Review: Sherwood by Meagan Spooner
Lady Marian is left heartbroken when her fiance, Robin of Loxley, is killed in the Crusades. Already feeling constrained by society’s expectations of her as a noblewoman, she finds herself also increasingly struggling against the unjust laws and taxes levied against Robin’s people—her people in all but name. When she sneaks out one night to help the fugitive Will Scarlet evade Guy of Gisborne, she is mistaken for Robin and drawn into a double life. This feminist retelling was everything I could have wanted. Marian doesn’t conform to traditional ideas of femininity. She has Opinions about the injustice she sees around her, but is smart enough not to be too vocal about it; she knows well enough that her voice will be ignored and that there is a limit to what talk will accomplish. She’s also uncommonly tall, is terrible at embroidery, has a head for figures and is a brilliant archer (natch). This makes it sound she’s Not Like Other Girls, and I feel she definitely skirts the line. However, the story belies this by showing how she’s supported by other intelligent women. Some of these women are more traditionally feminine, but, like Marian, are smart enough to know that speaking up will get them ignored (at best). Instead, they act strategically in an effort to support a more just world.
Book Review: Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan
Natasha Ngan’s Girls of Paper and Fire is a stunning young adult novel, the first in a new trilogy, where girls show their heart and strength in a world that seeks to crush them beneath its feet. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, although this book does come with accompanying trigger warnings: There are several scenes of violence and a few scenes of sexual abuse in this novel. There is also violence against a dog. Please take care of yourself while reading this book.
Book Review: Red Waters Rising by Laura Anne Gilman
The Devil’s West trilogy comes to its concluding volume in Laura Anne Gilman’s Red Waters Rising, sequel to Silver on the Road and The Cold Eye. The novel finishes, at least in this trilogy the stories of Izzy and Gabriel, bringing their adventures to the furthermost southeastern portion of the Devil’s Territory, and a glimpse at the limits of the future of the entirety of the Territory, as well. The plotting of the novel follows a similar pattern to the first two volumes in this concluding volume, in the broadest of senses. Izzy and Gabriel head toward the town of Red Branch (in our world’s position and location of Baton Rouge), along the way getting intimations that this region of the boundary of the the Territory is under some sort of unknown, vague threat. Izzy and Gabriel have been on the Road for a while now, Izzy growing into her role as the Devil’s Hand. They come to the Red Branch area to find that the local Native residents and the town’s residents alike are uneasy, tensions are high, and the Americans on the other side of the river loom as a threat. The Americans have threatened the Territory before, and perhaps they are game for another try. The Red Waters may indeed, rise, whether Izzy and Gabriel will or no.
