776. Walk to the End of the World by Suzy McKee Charnas (1974) — Mining the Genre Asteroid
https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/sand-f-776-charnas/SandF_776_Charnas.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSCollapsing societies, feminist interpretations, and harsh truths, oh my! Trish Matson and Paul Weimer join forces to discuss Suzy McKee Charnas’ Walk to the End of the World (1974). Together, they explore the book’s worldbuilding, its feminist themes and historical significance, Charnas’ prose, the oppressive feeling of living in a society that is collapsing, and so much more. Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy the episode!
775. Masters of the Universe (1987) — Torture Cinema #141
https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/sand-f-775-masters-of-the-universe/SandF_775_MastersOfTheUniverse.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSDolph Lundgren’s pecs, terrifying Gwildor, and strange plot devices, oh my! Shaun Duke and Daniel Haeusser join forces to discuss the 1987’s Masters of the Universe! Together, they tackle the film’s desperate attempt to adapt the source material, Dolph Lundgren’s history with language, Skeletor’s whole “deal,” the film’s aggressive connection to Friends, and so much more! Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy the episode!
Short Fiction Review: May 2024
My favorite stories from May look at loneliness and connection, greedy capitalists and social justice. In “Loneliness Universe” by Eugenia Triantafyllou (published in Uncanny Magazine), a young woman is mysteriously unable to meet up in real life with the people close to her, even if they’re both in the same place at the same time. In “Variant Cover: Pantone Sunset” by Marie Vibbert (published in Escape Pod), robot saleswomen learn that the high-end clothes they sell are unethically produced. In “Fishy” by Alice Towey (published in Clarkesworld Magazine), a woman searches for her late father’s breakthrough invention. It has tremendous potential for the public good, but she must contend with the capitalist who funded her father’s research. “Loneliness Universe” by Eugenia Triantafyllou When Nefeli plans to meet up with her old friend Cara, they both go to the same bus stop — only, it seems they have somehow ended up in different universes. Nefeli is at the bus stop, but Cara isn’t there, while at the same time Cara is at the bus stop, but Nefeli isn’t there. They can text each other, but their phone calls won’t go through. As the story progresses, Nefeli finds this happening to her with more and more people: no matter where she goes, people close to her simply aren’t there, although strangers abound like normal. She can text and email her people and interact with them on social media, but for some reason phone calls and video calls to her family and friends won’t go through. Nefeli begins to wonder if she somehow ended up in a strange, parallel universe. Some readers may find the speculative conceit at the center of this story confusing or implausible, but I found it weirdly relatable and surprisingly easy (and horrifying) to imagine. As someone who works from home, a disturbingly large amount of my interactions with other people are computer-mediated and asynchronous, which makes it easy to imagine somehow being able to communicate with people in alternate universe but being cut off from meeting up in person. You could also read this as a commentary about social media, a technology ostensibly designed to connect us that instead often generates feelings of loneliness and isolation. “Loneliness Universe” is sad, scary, and haunting, but it has warmth to it as well. Nefeli’s relationships with Cara and her family are genuine, relatable, and supportive, even though they are at a distance. In particular, I loved one scene where Nefeli and her brother play a video game together across their different universes. It’s a heartwarming moment that underscores how technology can help us meaningfully connect with others and how games can help carry us through hard times. If you want a beautiful, emotional story about connection and interdependence, this is for you. “Variant Cover: Pantone Sunset” by Marie Vibbert This story is about Stacey, Maria, and Diva, three robot saleswomen whose “existence is devoted to the proper display and peddling of women’s casual separates for the upscale consumer.” Their lives are dominated by the rules and expectations of their company, but that doesn’t totally define them. Stacey reads comic books customers leave behind, and Maria reads news on lost and found phones. When Maria learns that some of the clothes they sell are produced by child slaves, the trio begin to imagine how they can resist the injustices they are immersed in. This is another story that felt weirdly plausible to me. Technologically, I don’t think we are about to see robots replace the humans who work at malls anytime soon, but through the logic of capitalism, this is only a small step away. It is too easy to imagine profit-seeking corporations replacing humans with robots, robots who do not need to be paid a salary, who cannot unionize, who can look exactly as designed, and who (at least in theory) can be programmed to follow strict rules and avoid asking tough questions. At the same time, we have seen how recent AI models are not the same as classical computer programs that follow strict and decipherable logic. If people can already trick ChatGPT into breaking its own rules, why should we expect artificially intelligent robots to behave exactly as designed? So I found it both plausible that unscrupulous corporations would replace human employees with robots and that those robots might become disgusted with their corporate masters and try to resist, and it makes a great premise for a story. I enjoyed watching Stacey, Maria, and Diva learn to question the injustices they were made to serve, work through their differences, and work to cooperate with each other. It was satisfying and hopeful to watch them take action to resist those injustices, and it was inspiring to see them choose for themselves the wonderful perils of a free life. The story is accessible, immersive, and colorful, and its ending is particularly beautiful and moving. If you want a fun, easy read charged with some social justice energy, here’s a story for you. “Fishy” by Alice Towey “Fishy” is a short, quick, and fun story about capitalist greed, the public good, and robots. Ada’s father, Dr. Peretz, was researching water treatment, working on a method to filter out forever chemicals, and supposedly made a breakthrough before his death. Ada searches through his papers, hoping to uncover this breakthrough and share it free of charge to benefit public health. Unfortunately, Dr. Peretz’s old business partner Richard Murphy is searching for it too, and Murphy is much less interested in the public good and much more interested in how to profit off the invention. The robot in this story is Fishy, a fisherman’s buddy designed to help locate ideal fishing spots and a birthday present Ada had previously given her dad. Fishy is easily endearing, an aquatic, robotic creature with the energy levels and attention patterns of your favorite puppy. Murphy is a simplistic villain, but one that’s all too common in our world: a capitalist more concerned with their own legal rights than
774. Firefox (1983) — Torture Cinema #140
https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/sand-f-774-firefox/SandF_774_Firefox.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSInept spies, bad pilots, and Russians, oh my! Shaun Duke, Paul Weimer, and Becca Evans join forces to discuss the 1982’s Firefox! Together, they explore the film’s literary roots, why Clint Eastwood talks to chairs, what it really means to be a good pilot (bad movie), the Cold War, and much more! Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy the episode!
773. Joma West (a.k.a. The Fusion Straddler) — Face and Twice Lived
https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/sand-f-773-joma-west/SandF_773_JomaWest.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSJumping worlds, snarky teens, and human nature, oh my! Shaun Duke and Daniel Haeusser are joined by Joma West to discuss her novels Face and Twice Lived, out now where book objects can be found. Together, they tackle West’s approach to narrative, writing perspectives different from our own, the complexities of parenthood, straddling genres, and much more. Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy the episode!
Into the Wardrobe: READY FOR BLASTOFF! (1990) by Rick North
Ready for Blastoff! is the second entry in “The Young Astronauts” series, a collection of six middle-grade books published in 1990–1991 and “presented by Jack Anderson,” a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist and investigative reporter who passed away in 2005. The series is linked to the Young Astronaut Council, Inc., which still exists, providing school enrichment through a “STEM-based space-themed, pre-afterschool television show.” The origin of the Young Astronaut program lies in an oval office meeting between Anderson and then President Reagan in 1984. Anderson noted: “I’ve noticed two things about my grandchildren. They love space. They were excited about space. They hated school.” With a view on declining US student math and science scores, Reagan quickly adapted the idea into a political reality that developed into an international program of conferences, school chapter activities, and this series of stories published by Zebra books. I only found this second volume in the thrift shop, so I haven’t read the first book, but that didn’t really create any difficulty with getting into this one. It begins with a prologue where a UN/NASA international team of seven sixteen-year-old astronauts blasts off from Earth: destination Mars. The prologue introduces each of the team members, their personalities, and the struggles that they have gotten through to reach this momentous occasion. The team consists of Nathan Long (team leader), Karl Muller, Sergei Chuvakin, Alice Thorne, Noemi Velazquez, Genshiro Akamasu, and Lanie Rizzo, who harbors a secret. The prologue also sets up one of the novel’s antagonists, Suki, the leader of another team that will soon follow Long’s team to Mars. The twenty-one short chapters of the novel then flashback in time to show the challenges the team successfully faces leading up to their departure from Earth. These include both physical and mental obstacles, from nausea in zero-G simulations to imposter syndrome. As the characters rise to meet these challenges and trust one another to come together, the story demonstrates to readers qualities of perseverance and teamwork. The diversity of the characters is both a strength and weakness in terms of how well issues are handled, particularly from a present-day perspective. One thing covered well is the issue of socioeconomic privilege, though it’s not of course directly called that in a book from the 1990s. What the novel does less well from a perspective of today is the racial, ethnic, or gender diversity, which definitely comes across as being presented in typical fashion for the era: the diversity is there, but it’s still rather stereotypical and limited. For instance, the Japanese teen loves Godzilla, and the affluent girl loves fashion and shopping. While Nathan Long exists as a typical clean-cut, male leader, he demonstrates support and care, without domineering, bias, or aggressiveness. The name “Rick North” is a house pseudonym used for the Young Astronaut series, and this particular novel is written by John Peel, a prolific author of SF media tie-in franchise novels (from Star Trek to Dr. Who) who might be familiar to many readers out there. In all, Peel does a great job with Ready for Blastoff!, balancing plot and character development well within the book’s short length. He also includes several situations that show the characters using their minds and compassion to overcome mishaps or dangers. Aside from the competitive antagonism the team receives from Suki, most of the story deals with the team members having to deal with training while under the scrutiny of a hostile media writer and her photographer/cameraman. From this one volume of the series, at least, I’m reminded of Mary Robinette Kowal’s recent “Lady Astronaut” series. The two series share a lot in common in terms of themes, albeit Kowal’s for a more adult audience (while still readable by YA). I imagine that the “Young Astronaut” series would have been effective for getting young readers at the time more interested in STEM and space, at least those with nerd proclivities. I’m not sure it would have the same effect on middle grade readers today, though I could see this series being modernized and brought back, for instance through the involvement of an Abigail Harrison (Astronaut Abby) type STEM communication personality.
