Science Fiction

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Book Review: Ninth Step Station

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Ninth Step Station is an excellent collaborative effort which entertains and asks hard questions about crime, investigation, surveillance, and the future of technology in a well imagined near future setting. The locale is Tokyo in the 2030s. After an attack by China on Japan, much of Japan is under Chinese occupation, and half of Tokyo is held by them as well, with a border zone between occupied Japan and free Japan managed by ASEAN, led by the United States. Tensions are high in this divided Tokyo of the future. The peace seems fragile and ready to erupt at any moment, forces scheme to survive and thrive, and the day to day life of people on both sides of the divide is under constant stress.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

Signal Boost #50 – T. Frohock (Where Oblivion Lives) and Alex Harrow (Empire of Light)

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https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFSignalBoost50FrohockAndHarrow/SandF–Signal_Boost_50–Frohock_and_Harrow.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSS In today’s episode of Signal Boost, Paul talks to T. Frohock about her new Los Nefilim series novella, Where Oblivion Lives. T. treats us to a glimpse of what life was like just prior to the Spanish Civil War, how she deals with the trauma of World War I, the queer relationship between Diego and Miguel, the villainy of humanity, and more! T. is a long time friend of the show, and we’re so glad she finally got to join us! Then Jen interviews Alex Harrow about their new science fiction novel, Empire of Light! Alex tells us about the complicated relationships between the characters, the importance of queer representation and how they specifically try to combat many of the negative queer tropes, why the super powers that they created for Empire of Light (the Voyance) comes with consequences, the importance of finding community, and more! We hope you enjoy the episode!

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

At the Movies #73: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

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https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFAtTheMovies73SpidermanIntoTheSpiderverse/SandF–At_the_Movies_73–Spiderman_Into_the_Spiderverse.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSFamily, bagels, and toe-shoes, oh my! Our first 2019 episode of At the Movies is basically Becca, Alex, Julia, and Stephen doing a lot of squeeing, shedding a few tears, but mostly just the squealing. I’m pretty sure Alex actually squeaks with joy at one point. That’s how much they loved Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. And despite trying really hard to get Stephen to play the villain, he just can’t get into destroying the multi-verse. Just trust us when we say that this is just under an hour of pure love and happiness, and we hope you enjoy it.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

Screen Scouts #17: Babylon 5 (Season 3; Episodes 1-4)

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https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFScreenScouts11Babylon5S3E14/SandF–ScreenScouts_11–Babylon5_S3E1-4.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSAngry unions, shifty colonialism, and Vorlon jokes, oh my! The Babylon 5 re-watch finally returns with Season 3! Shaun, Mike, and Paul talk about the first four episodes of the season, tackling the way this new season brings back to familiar ground, the continuing mysteries and unveiling of the Shadows, the strangeness of Vorlons, the delightfulness of Marcus, the development of our favorite characters, and so much more! So climb on board the the White Star and join us on our adventures in the B5 universe! We hope you enjoy the episode!

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

356. Looking Back, Moving Forward: The 2019 Edition

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https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode356LookingBackMovingForwardThe2019Edition/Sandf-Episode356-LookingBackMovingForward-The2019Edition.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSWell, folks. It’s 2019 and time for our first episode of the year! Shaun, Paul, Julia, and Stephen get down to business with all their faves from last year and what will probably be faves this year! Then Cam, Kerry, Elizabeth, David, Trish, and Jen throw their hats into the ring, so make sure you stay until the end! 2018 might not have been a great year for the world, but it was a great year in speculative fiction, which is why there’s still plenty for us to talk about as we look back on everything we did. Who knows what 2019 will bring? It seems as if speculative fiction is at least one area that definitely won’t disappoint us. For the last month we’ve been sharing our joys through our #MonthofJoy posts and BookTube videos, and we refuse to lose sight of those joys as we plow headlong into an amazing year of podcasts, blog posts, videos, newsletters, Patreon exclusives, merchandise, and more! So to quote Paul:  keep your eyes on the skies and your ears to the ground, because we’re coming for all the specfic! We hope you enjoy the episode!

Blog Posts

Book Review: The Disasters by M. K. England

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The Disasters is an enthusiastic exploration of teenage underdogs trying to find their place in a universe that is intent on discarding the rejects. Add a diverse cast of characters, tense action scenes, high stakes, and the complicated mess of emotions that are teenage hormones, and you’ve got a perfect young adult sci-fi adventure. M. K. England sets up a unique and brilliant world of Earth and space in the year 2194. Space travel is a constant, there are hundreds of fully-functioning colonies, and Earth has a strict no-return policy. Hotshot Earth boy, Nax Hall, has a history of poor life choices and a shoddy criminal record, but he’s ready to rule the school—until he’s rejected from the Academy in less than 24 hours. But when his one-way trip back to Earth is cut short by a surprise terrorist attack on the Academy, Nax must get the word out about the biggest crime in the universe—alongside three other washouts. This ramshackle team are the only witnesses to wholesale slaughter—and the perfect troublemakers to pin the whole thing on. On the run from the government, Nax and the rest of his unfortunate crew must stay alive long enough to get the word out to the rest of the universe, and it’ll take the biggest heist any of them have ever pulled to get through it.

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