The dinosaur movies will continue until morale improves? Wait, that's not quite how the saying goes. At any rate, the cast is beginning to form for the eventual next movie in the Jurassic World franchise, which has Rogue One’s Gareth Edwards as director and a script from original Jurassic World screenwriter David Koepp. It's not yet known what the story is about, or who the characters are (though they are expected to be all-new), but Scarlett Johansson will hopefully trade her Black Widow costumes for some practical footwear as one of the leads.
And maybe her costar will sing to the dinosaurs? Deadline reports that Jonathan Bailey—of Bridgerton and the impending Wicked—is in talks to star alongside Johansson. One hopes, for the director's sake, that they talk quickly, as these dinos are expected to hit the big screen next year, which is not really all that long from now.
Bailey is also known for the recent miniseries Fellow Travelers (pictured above) and, some years back, Broadchurch. He may not quite be as well-known as Johansson, but the two parts of Wicked may make him something more of a household name.
The as yet untitled Jurassic flick is expected to hit theaters July 5, 2025. [end-mark]
Bethamin and Renna have been tasked with the day’s inspection duty of the damane kennels in the Tarasin Palace. Bethamin reflects on how neither Renna nor Seta has been allowed to link with a damane since Falme. No one knows why except for Suroth… and Bethamin.
She and Renna visit each of the damane, and Bethamin makes notes on which damane aren’t keeping their spaces neat and gives candies to those who are doing particularly well in their training. She isn’t bothered about the anger she sees in the new Atha’an Miere damane; they think they are resisting, but Bethamin knows that they are already changing. The details of how women adjust to being damane are different on this side of the ocean, but the results are always the same.
Bethamin takes special notice of the damane she calls “Tessi,” a former Aes Sedai who appears to be putting on a show of smiling acceptance to lull the sul’dam. Bethamin expects that this means “Tessi” is plotting escape, and makes certain recommendations for breaking her.
Walking back to the inn where she is staying, Bethamin thinks about her time in Falme. Most Seanchan have bad memories of fighting ghosts or seeing horrors in the sky, but Bethamin remembers going to the kennels to check on the damane called Tuli, only to discover Seta and Renna collared by two a’dam, desperately and unsuccessfully trying to free each other. Bethamin left without being seen by the other two. Terrified that the discovery of two marath’damane among the ranks of the sul’dam would result in renewed testing of all the sul’dam, Bethamin knew in her heart that she would fail such a test, and be collared.
The shame curdled in her still. She had placed personal fears ahead of the needs of the Empire, ahead of everything she knew to be right and true and good. Battle came to Falme, and nightmare, but she had not rushed to complete herself with a damane and join the battle line. Instead, she had used the confusion to secure a horse and flee, to run as hard and as far as she could.
Bethamin has deduced that Alwhin found the pair of collared sul’dam and reported it to Suroth, and that Suroth has hidden the truth about Renna and Seta to protect the Empire. Her flight was for nothing, and if she hadn’t run, she wouldn’t have ended up in Tanchico.
Bethamin finds a man in her room, reading through her diary. She is about to attack the thief when he holds up a small plaque identifying himself as a Seeker of Truth. She is horrified that her secret might have been discovered, but when the Seeker begins to talk to her, she learns that he has only come because he found out she was asking around for the whereabouts of Egeanin. She lies and tells the man that Egeanin is an old friend, and Bethamin was trying to find out if she survived the battle at Falme. In truth, Bethamin has been worrying that Egeanin will come to regret setting Bethamin free from the a’dam, but now she is worried that the Seeker will arrest Egeanin for some other reason and that the truth about Bethamin will come out that way.
The Seeker orders Bethamin to re-establish her friendship with Egeanin, and begins to tell Bethamin about a series of incidents which, the Seeker believes, indicate that Egeanin, perhaps under Suroth’s orders, conspired to have Bayle Domon murder the High Lord Turak. He also believes that Egeanin has been conspiring with Aes Sedai, and that Suroth may have Aes Sedai working for her.
Shocked and horrified, Bethamin suggests that surely the Seeker has enough evidence to arrest and question Egeanin, and that he shouldn’t need Bethamin’s help. But the Seeker is more concerned about the Aes Sedai trying to return the Empire to the days when they still had power, and that Suroth might not even be the head of the conspiracy. He will follow Bethamin to Egeanin and Egeanin to Suroth and Suroth to the heart of worm, and Bethamin will do as he commands.
“I understand, and I will obey.” Her voice shook, but what else could she say? The Light save her, what else could she say?”
Meanwhile, Egeanin lies on the bed in her room in the Wandering Woman, listening to Bayle’s usual rant about how they could have escaped the Seanchan at Falme. She is busy thinking about her promotion to Captain of the Green, and whether or not Suroth is suspicious of her. A Seeker has been asking questions; Egeanin knows that she would already be in custody if he had any proof of wrongdoing, but suspicion is still dangerous.
When Bayle asks for her opinion, she reminds him—not for the first time—that when they were hailed by ships outside of the harbor at Falme, they would have been destroyed if they had tried to run.
“By bringing you into the wind and announcing we were on our way to Cantorin with a gift for the Empress, may she live forever, I allayed their suspicions. Anything else—anything!—and we would all have been chained in the hold and sold as soon as we reached Cantorin. I doubt we’d have been lucky enough to face the headsman instead.”
She adds that if Bayle had behaved as Egeanin instructed, he would not have been sold, and reminds him that he cost her a lot of money. Anyway, there is no harm in Suroth having the collar and bracelets, since she can’t get close enough to the Dragon Reborn to use them anyway.
Privately, Egeanin considers that it might be necessary for the Dragon Reborn to be fitted with the male a’dam, but she doesn’t bring that up with Bayle, and is aware that on this side of the ocean, none of the Prophecies mention the Dragon serving the Crystal Throne.
Egeanin had actually decided before leaving Tanchico that she wanted to marry Bayle, but hadn’t know how to ask according to his cultural customs. And now he is so’jhin, and although she’s happy to have him share her bed and even secretly rely on him for comfort, she isn’t sure she can bring herself to marry a freed slave. As Bayle holds her close and promises her that everything will be okay, Egeanin is frustrated by his inability to understand his new position and behave properly, but also finds that she just wants to stay wrapped in his arms forever, and never have to make any more decisions.
There is a knock at the door, and Bayle opens the door to Bethamin. Egeanin hasn’t seen the sul’dam since Tanchico, when she decided to remove the a’dam and set her free. Bethamin hesitates, clearly nervous, and then blurts out that a Seeker has ordered her to report on Egeanin to him. As she explains, Egeanin is shocked that the Seeker seems to have woven together a series of events into the idea of some kind of conspiracy—and a little relieved when Bayle is as shocked as she is. In her panic, Bethamin also mentions Seta and Renna.
Egeanin rubbed at her eyes wearily. Perhaps there was a conspiracy, after all. Or Suroth might be hiding what the pair were to protect the Empire. The Empire depended on sul’dam; its strength was built on them. The news that sul’dam were women who could learn to channel might shatter the Empire to its core. It had surely shaken her. Maybe shattered her. She herself had not freed Bethamin out of duty. So many things had changed in Tanchico. She no longer believed that any woman who could channel deserved to be collared. Criminals, certainly, and maybe those who refused oaths to the Crystal Throne, and… She did not know. Once, her life had been made up of rock-solid certainties, like guiding stars that never failed. She wanted her old life back. She wanted a few certainties.
She tells Bethamin to visit her every day, make the reports to the Seeker, and wait for Egeanin to tell her what to do. Bethamin is visibly relieved to have someone else taking the burden of the decision making.
When Bethamin is gone, Bayle offers to kill the Seeker, but Egeanin knows that the big man will never be able to track the Seeker down. She begins to write out a manumission for Bayle and to give him instructions on how to get out of the city, but he stops her, taking the paper and throwing it into the fire. He reminds her that she can’t give him orders if he is free, and she can’t free him without providing for his future. He tells her that she needs a crew, and explains that he recognized Mat Cauthon in the kitchens. After telling Egeanin how he first met Mat, he suggests that a man who could survive Trollocs and Myrddraal would no doubt be useful. Mat has clearly come up in the world since then, and he also has friends, including Thom Merrilin, who Egeanin has already met. Suddenly suspicious, Egeanin asks if there is indeed a plot, and Bayle reassures her that there isn’t. And if there was, he adds, he will not let that Seeker, or anyone else, harm her.
It was the sort of thing any loyal so’jhin might say. Well, no so’jhin she had ever heard of would have been so straightforward, but the sentiments were the same. ” Only, she knew he did not mean it that way, could never mean it that way.
Egeanin tells Bayle to find Mat and Thom. When he leaves, she sits and thinks. She has already decided that she will do whatever she must to avoid letting the Seeker take her. Even though it makes her no better than Bethamin.
Bethamin’s examination of the damane was a difficult read, but these chapters really get into the question that the narrative has been poking at for a while, which is how the revelation of the sul’dam’s ability to learn to channel will affect the cultural and social order of the Seanchan. Nynaeve and the other Aes Sedai in Caemlyn have been working to force the captive sul’dam to recognize their ability as channelers with the intention of releasing them back into Seanchan-controlled territory, and it’s easy to imagine that the revelation would upset the balance of power and cause confusion in the ranks of the army, and probably all of society. However, Nynaeve and the others are looking in from the outside, unable to know more than the vague shape of Seanchan prejudice against channelers, or how exactly each individual member of the Empire thinks about—or doesn’t bother thinking about—damane. Even Egwene only had a small glimpse during her own time wearing the a’dam and the few explanations Renna gave her.
Now, however, we the readers get to spend time with two different members of the Empire, both of whom were very dedicated and loyal before the revelation about the sul’dam came to rock the foundations of their world.
I’ll admit that I’m inclined to have a little more empathy for Egeanin than for Bethamin, because of how Egeanin acted towards Elayne and Nynaeve in Tanchico, and because of the way Bethamin thinks about the damane, even now that she knows she may very well end up as one. Egeanin’s attitude towards Bayle’s identity as so’jhin isn’t exactly nice, but at least she seems to be questioning her attitudes towards Seanchan slavery practices for moral reasons, not solely out of a desire to save her own skin. When Egeanin freed Bethamin, and agreed to throw the male a’dam into the sea, she did it because she has come to believe that people shouldn't be collared just because they can channel. Yes, she is still considering that there might be many circumstances in which it would be correct, and yes, she misses the solid certainty of her former beliefs. However, she is not attempting to block her mind to the changes she has been through, and when she had Bethamin collared, Egeanin chose to free her because it felt like the right thing to do, even though it put Egeanin herself in danger—as did her intention to destroy the male a’dam the way Nynaeve and Elayne asked her to.
On the other hand, Bethamin is making her choices solely from an instinct towards self-preservation. One certainly can’t blame her for being frightened, even paralyzingly so, given how horrible the fate of collared women is. But Bethamin doesn’t seem even a little conflicted when it comes to interacting with the damane in her care, even those who are recently collared and with whom she has so much in common. Even as she does everything in her power to avoid being found out as marath’damane, never once does she look at Teslyn and the Atha’an Miere captives and think about how they must feel just as she does. Never once does she seem to regret what has been done to them.
Instead, Bethamin continues to take pride in her work. She is happy to recommend a very harsh method of breaking damane to be used on Teslyn, her only regret being that it produces a meeker damane. She claims to dislike breaking a damane’s spirit, but never considers that every single woman ever collared has had her spirit broken and is forced to change from thinking of herself as a human being to thinking of herself as basically an animal with powers. She does, however, want to be the best sul’dam possible, protecting herself through abuse of others—though she does not see it that way.
When the Seeker suggests that Suroth may be uncollaring the former Aes Sedai, Bethamin’s shocked reaction shows how she still thinks of damane.
Who would uncollar a damane? A well-trained damane was a treat and a joy, but as well unleash a drunken grolm!
Does Bethamin consider herself a drunken grolm now? Or is that judgment only for women who can touch the True Source without being taught? Or is it the process of breaking and changing human women into obedient damane that makes them comparable to an intoxicated beast? It would make sense if that was the real opinion; after all, Bethamin is a sul’dam and knows exactly how the training works and what it does. We have seen how the damane who Rand attempted to free reacted. But again, there is no apparent connection with this thought and Bethamin’s awareness of her own situation. She even goes so far as to consider that “Tessi” will be happier in the end, once she is broken to the a’dam, and apparently truly believes it. If that’s true, though, then would it not follow that Bethamin, also, would be happier if she just gave into the “truth” that she is marath’damane and that she would be happier if she just turned herself in and submitted to her fate?
I’d have sympathy for Bethamin if there was some indication that Bethamin regretted Teslyn’s fate but was so certain that nothing could be done that she genuinely believed it would be better for Teslyn’s sake that she stop hoping and trying for a freedom she will never obtain. But in the absence of such an indication, the way the chapter unfolds just makes it seem like Bethamin is happy to commit what she sees as treason to save her own skin, but that she still fundamentally believes in the damane system, or at least that she really doesn’t care one way or the other about anyone who might get caught up in it, other than herself.
Both Bethamin and Egeanin assume that Suroth is hiding the truth about Renna and Seta to protect the Empire, which is a logical conclusion to make, I think. If one’s main goal is to protect the Empire, carrying on with the status quo, burying anything that doesn’t fit the social narrative and focusing on the important matter of the Return is probably the most logical course of action for someone who knows what Egeanin, Suroth, and Alwhin all know. Of course, we the readers are aware that Suroth is a darkfriend, using this knowledge about Renna and Seta for her own power and advancement—and for whatever ends her Dark superiors order her to accomplish. However, the two things don’t necessarily have to be in conflict. Suroth hopes to become Empress, after all, so she would want to protect the Empire and its power, for her own gain rather than out of loyalty to the current Empress or the people of Seanchan.
The situation with the Seeker isn’t great for Egeanin or Bethamin, but I’m really enjoying the way he’s very correctly seized on all of the extraordinary events that have occurred whenever the Seanchan came in contact with one of our protagonists as important… and then comes to a very incorrect assumption about what they all mean. Not that he could have done any differently, of course, and the conclusion he’s come to does make a certain kind of logical sense, even though it has little evidence to support it. The man has noticed the strange “coincidence” of Bayle and Egeanin and their connections to Aes Sedai, and is sharp enough to conclude that there is something more going on here than random chance. He had reason to believe that Egeanin was conspiring with Aes Sedai—after all, she was—and although there is a perfectly logical and easy explanation for Turak’s death, the Seeker can hardly be expected to guess at the truth there. And, of course, there is also Turak’s order for the Seeker to watch Suroth, and his belief that Suroth is a danger to the Empire, to guide the Seeker towards the conclusions he has come to.
One has to wonder what Turak suspected, what actions of Suroth’s made him wary of her, and whether or not he thought she might be a Darkfriend. I can’t help thinking of Elaida commanding Seaine to look for traitors in the Tower. Elaida wasn’t looking for Darkfriends, but Seaine assumed this was what was meant and that assumption led to an actual discovery of some of the Black Ajah members. It’s possible that Seaine and her allies might even discover that Alviarin is Black, which would ironically be sort of what Elaida was hoping for, though she herself isn’t smart enough to suspect Alviarin of that particular crime.
It would be amusingly ironic if Turak suspected Suroth of being a Darkfriend but didn’t specify this to the Seeker, who now suspects Suroth of being part of a “venomous worm of treachery” without realizing that the worm he suspects is one that belongs to the Dark. What will happen if Egeanin escapes with Mat and the others? Will the Seeker try to follow her, or will he stay close to Suroth? Will some other piece of evidence lead him to discover the truth about Suroth? I have a feeling that, as cunning as the Seanchan Seekers may be, getting too close to Suroth will spell death for this man.
Speaking of Mat, I am absolutely delighted that even more people are going to be seeking his help to escape Ebou Dar. I can just imagine his frustration at having to make this escape happen for himself, Thom and Juilin, three Aes Sedai, Bayle (a so’jhin) and Egeanin (a member of the Blood), and probably a few others by the time we’re through. His men not so much, I guess; they can probably depart whenever they want, and Mat can leave some money for them. Still, this is a big and amusing troupe already.
I really really hope Mat can rescue Teslyn. Bethamin’s chilling observation that Teslyn was playing nice to lull the sul’dam before an escape attempt was a stark reminder of how little time Teslyn has before she’s broken. Perhaps as stark as her words to Mat saying as much. Mat will, of course, be grousing in his own head the entire time, but I know he doesn’t want anyone to suffer the fate of being a damane, and he has an even stronger appreciation now of what it’s like to be held on a leash. Metaphorically in his case, but still.
At least Bayle doesn’t have to have that kind of experience, even if it is hard for Egeanin to understand how he feels about being made so’jhin. It seems very fair of her to be frustrated that he wouldn’t take her advice about how to behave when the Seahawk was identified by the other ships and Egeanin was forced to pretend that it was always her intention to deliver the male a’dam. Bayle doesn’t understand the Seanchan, and I believe her when she says that listening to her advice would have kept him from being made a slave. However, now that he’s in that position, Egeanin does seem baffled by his inability to just adapt, to easily accept his new situation and pick up the behavior and mannerisms of a so’jhin.
It’s clear that Bayle is treating his new position as a cover. He doesn’t consider himself to be property and doesn’t really seem to think that Egeanin considers him property either—rather, they are forced to act out the part because the alternative was Bayle being purchased by someone else who wouldn’t see him as Egeanin does. Egeanin, on the other hand, is conflicted. She certainly didn’t want Bayle to be taken as a slave, but it’s difficult for her to overcome the social conditioning, the way she thinks of him as being a so’jhin. She even is aware that, as much as she wants to marry the man, she isn’t sure she can bring herself to wed a former slave.
She and Bethamin are in very different situations in one sense, since Egeanin’s danger comes from her choices and Bethamin’s comes from her identity, but in other ways they are in a very similar position. Bethamin hasn’t changed her view of damane despite how easy it would be for her to become one. And even though Egeanin’s conscience is starting to affect how she thinks of Seanchan order, she still views that order as important, as significant to someone’s identity. Bayle has been somehow changed in her eyes by becoming so’jhin, and although I think in time this view will fade, for the moment it is still important. And yet Egeanin herself could easily end up made da’covale, if her true intentions for the a’dam are ever found out. And so I come back to the same question. If Bethamin is made damane, will she think differently of herself without needing to be broken to the a’dam? If Egeanin were made da’covale, would her sense of identity be fundamentally changed? It’s an interesting question, and one that I think a lot of Seanchan might grapple with at one time or another in their lives. And I think it’s only going to become more common as they are exposed to other cultures and their worldview is threatened by outsider opinions and action.
And I do hope things work out for Bayle and Egeanin. I like both characters. In some ways they remind me of Lan and Nynaeve—not in personality, of course, but in the way both Egeanin and Nynaeve are women who put a great deal of importance on their own personal strength and independence, both women who have risen from a position of command (and responsibility) over a small group to command (and responsibility) over a much larger group, and at the same time have stepped into a wider world whose rules and demands are different than the ones they were used to. And beside each of them, in a strange subservient position and yet in many ways not subservient at all, are strong men with similar temperaments to the women they love, who are strong enough to help these strong women carry the heavy burdens of their position.
Before Bethamin comes in and complicates everything for Egeanin, she shares a moment with Bayle, wrapped in his arms, and wishes she could just stay there, safe and secure and free from the difficult decisions she faces, forever. Just as, not too many chapters past, Nynaeve expressed a wish for Lan to take her back to their rooms and keep her there for days.
Next week we’re catching up with Rand, among others, as we continue on to chapters 22 and 23. In the meantime, I’m left thinking about the revelation that in Seanchan, anyone who experiences male pattern baldness has to wear a wig, because being bald is reserved for the highest of the high. I don’t know why I find this so funny, but I really do. [end-mark]
“We’d like to make a film but trying to get everyone together is very difficult,” Gatiss told Deadline while he was on the green carpet at the 2024 Olivier Awards, where he was nominated for Best Actor for his role in The Motive and the Cue. He also pointed out that any Sherlock movie hinges on Freeman and Cumberbatch wanting to come back, and suggested that those who want a surer answer should ask the actors their take on the idea.
The potential for another installment in Sherlock is an enticing one, even though the final season left a sour taste in many a fan’s mouth. If Freeman and Cumberbatch were on board and if the script harkened back to the show’s earlier episodes—two very big “ifs”—the idea is one I’d be excited about. Time will tell how things play out, but I’m not going to plan on another trip to Baker Street anytime soon. [end-mark]
In this bi-weekly series reviewing classic science fiction and fantasy books, Alan Brown looks at the front lines and frontiers of the field; books about soldiers and spacers, scientists and engineers, explorers and adventurers. Stories full of what Shakespeare used to refer to as “alarums and excursions”: battles, chases, clashes, and the stuff of excitement.
Today I’ll be looking at a book that somehow eluded me for decades, Alan E. Nourse’s Star Surgeon. In my youth, I’d read every one of Nourse’s books in our local library, but Star Surgeon wasn’t one of them. And while his work was reprinted from time to time, the books could be hard to find. I figured that, as a practicing physician, Nourse could deliver an effective medical tale, and it turns out I was right. And while I was surprised to find the book was a juvenile, that didn’t bother me, as a well-written juvenile can be just as compelling as any other novel.
I finally found a copy of Star Surgeon a few weeks ago at my favorite local used book store, a paperback reprint from Ace books in 1986. It has a fine cover painting from Don Dixon, which I thought was fairly generic at first, but if you look at the spaceship closely, it does have a combination starburst/medical caduceus on the tail fin. Star Surgeon first appeared in shorter form in Amazing Stories magazine in 1959. It was published as a novel later that same year. And it was reprinted by Scholastic Books in 1964, which was my first clue that the book was a juvenile. The book is sometimes confused with a book by the same title written by James White as part of his Sector General medical science fiction series.
I’ve previously reviewed one other book in this column that dealt with a doctor in space, a collection of Murray Leinster’s Med Service stories, Med Ship, put out by Baen Books a few years ago. That series focused on public health issues, and as Leinster was not a doctor, some of the stories hinged more on action and adventure than on the medical sciences.
About the Author
Alan E. Nourse (1928-1992) was a physician who also had a long and productive writing career. He wrote science fiction, mainstream fiction, and non-fiction books on science and medical issues, and penned a column on medical issues that appeared in Good Housekeeping magazine. I previously reviewed his juvenile novel Raiders from the Ringshere, and his short story collection Tiger by the Tailhere, and there is more information on the author and his work in those columns. Like many authors of his time, some of his work is out of copyright and available for reading on the internet for free on Project Gutenberg, including Star Surgeon.
Science Fiction for Juveniles and Young Adults
Science fiction has been written for younger readers, or juveniles, as long as the genre has existed. In fact, in more serious literary circles, there are those who would argue that the genre itself is juvenile in nature. There is a long article in the online Encyclopedia of Science Fiction on Children’s SF that discusses the history of children’s fiction in general and science fiction written for children in particular. Looking back over the years, I found that I have reviewed a few books written for younger children in this column, including The Runaway Robot by Lester del Rey and Revolt on Alpha C by Robert Silverberg, and The Fabulous Flight by Robert Lawson. I’ve reviewed most of Robert Heinlein’s teen boy-oriented juvenile series (see the latest of those reviews here). I’ve looked at another juvenile by Alan E. Nourse, Raiders from the Rings. And I did an overview of a number of the Stratemeyer Syndicate’s boy’s adventure books, which my father had saved from the 1920s and 1930s and which I grew up reading, including the Great Marvel series (here), the young inventor Tom Swift series (here), and adventurer Don Sturdy series (here). In those columns, I often discussed the topic of writing for younger readers.
In the last century, books for teen readers were often referred to as “Juveniles.” Today, if you go into a bookstore, you will find those books on shelves labeled as “Young Adult.” There are no hard and fast rules that put books into these categories, but there are some common features. The books for younger readers tend to be a bit shorter, with fewer (and younger) characters, simpler plots, a narrower vocabulary, and more straightforward settings. In the old juvenile days, the books generally avoided the topics of romance and sexuality, and books written for young boys often lacked female characters altogether. That has changed, and today’s young adult novels do not shy away from those issues. And especially in the days of juveniles, other than marketing, the line between those books and adult fare was blurry. There were many writers—Andre Norton being one of the most notable—who wrote books for adults that were very young-reader friendly. And if an older reader is looking for a relatively quick, straightforward tale, a book written for a younger audience can be just the right fit.
Star Surgeon
Dal Timgar should be on top of the world. After all, he has just become the first member of an alien species to graduate from medical school on what has become known as Hospital Earth. Ever since they made contact with the star-spanning Galactic Confederation, the people of Earth, have become vital, if still provisional, members of that polity because of their advanced approach to medicine. Nourse has a lot of fun painting a picture of an Earth that has been transformed and shaped around his own medical profession. Cities are organized around their hospitals, and the society is dominated by the Black Service of Pathology, the Blue Service of Diagnosis, the Green Service of Medicine, the Red Service of Surgery, and the Auxiliary Services. Myself, I did find it a bit hard to believe that a planet cut off from the larger galactic society could develop medical capabilities that somehow eluded the efforts of hundreds of other worlds, but in the end, I was willing to accept it. There’s also the fact that, in a quirk common in adventure books written for boys in that era, while you can infer the presence of females in these societies, you will not find them mentioned.
Dal is a native of the planet Garv (a world of traders), and is small, four-fingered, and covered with fur. He and his people are paired with small creatures that give them a kind of low-level telepathy, and the ability to manipulate the emotions of others. Dal’s symbiont is Fuzzy, a ‘pleomorph’ with no fixed cellular structure. Dal’s education has been championed by Black Service Doctor Thorvald Arnquist, a kindly and open-minded physician. And during his training, Dal has befriended Frank “Tiger” Martin, a young doctor in the Green Service. The next stage in Dal’s career will be a stint on a General Practice Patrol ship, in his case, Lancet. Service on these ships as a probationer is a kind of roving internship, and a successful tour will be required for Dal to become a full-fledged Star Surgeon in the Red Service of Surgery, and wear a silver star on his collar.
But before he can report to his ship, Dal is summoned to a hearing led by Doctor Hugh Tanner, a large, red-faced, and frequently angry man in the Black Service who is concerned that the success of a doctor from another species will undercut the value of Earth to the Confederation, and hurt Earth’s chances of becoming a full member of the organization. But Tanner fails to prevent Dal’s assignment to Lancet. There, Dal is delighted to find his friend Tiger will be serving with him, but is then concerned upon finding that the third member of their team will be young Blue Doctor Jack Alvarez, who is a protégé of Doctor Tanner.
Lancet is a fully automated ship, managed by the three young doctors by consensus. I found it hard to accept the lack of a ship’s crew, but travel times between stars are measured by hours or days, not weeks or months, so they are never too far from help, which would come in the form of larger hospital ships crewed by fully qualified doctors and staffs. I found it even harder to accept the idea that there is no one person in charge of their ship, something that doesn’t square with my own military experience. As the two humans are affected initially by space sickness, Dal runs the ship for the first two weeks, thereby gaining some respect from his teammates. Jack quickly grows to dislike Fuzzy, who he sees as an unnecessary pet. Fuzzy responds to his hostility by biting him.
The first major crisis Lancet faces is a call to assist in an experimental organ transplant gone wrong, attempted by a race, the bear-like Moruans, whose grasp exceeded their reach. Dal is unwilling to perform surgery himself, and calls for help from a hospital ship. Doctor Tanner responds instead, summoned by Jack. Tanner successfully completes the surgery, but accuses Dal of malpractice. Only an intervention by Tiger prevents Dal’s immediate disgrace.
As their voyage continues, Fuzzy gets into the medical supplies and nearly dies, and Jack’s attitude toward him softens. Then the three encounter a Garvian trading ship, and Dal saves his crewmates from being fleeced by a sharp trader—another bonding experience. Despite their differences, the three young doctors learn to work as a team. As they faced other medical challenges, I did wonder about the wisdom of letting three interns wander the stars without experienced supervision, but must admit that the structure does create some strong opportunities for drama among a small cast of characters.
The three doctors meet their biggest challenge so far when they get a call from the previously unknown occupants of planet VII of the red giant star 31 Brucker. The monkey-like Bruckians are suffering from a virulent, fatal, and incurable plague that is spreading rapidly through the population. The young doctors, eager to prove their worth by handling this crisis themselves, identify a virus they think is the culprit, but their intervention does more harm than good. They are facing a medical mystery that involves a twist I didn’t see coming, and which I found quite clever and satisfying. And there was yet another encounter with the antagonistic Doctor Tanner that they have to survive… I’ll leave the resolution of the book for everyone to read for themselves, as it is a quick and enjoyable read that I strongly recommend (and as I pointed out above, you can download and check it out for free).
Final Thoughts
Alan E. Nourse was a capable and entertaining science fiction writer who had a knack for making his tales accessible to younger readers. He is not remembered today nearly as well as he deserves to be, and his stories for the most part have held up very well over time. Star Surgeon is among the best of his works, and his medical experience gives the book a sense of energy and realism.
And now, I look forward to hearing from you, especially if you have read Star Surgeon or other works by Nourse. And if you haven’t, I’d be interested in recommendations for any other tales of medical science fiction that you’ve enjoyed.[end-mark]
James Islington’s The Will of the Many Would Be a Perfect Show for Fans of Hypercompetent Heroes
In this thrilling high fantasy, a fugitive former royal works to bring down an oppressive empire from within. Sounds like it would make an epic TV series, right?
Howdy there! It's been a while, mainly because I've been reading all sorts of books and writing all sorts of stuff, and got temporarily distracted from my quest to find great new stories that are ripe for adaptation. But then I read The Will of the Many by James Islington, an imaginative treat for any reader, and an exciting, easy-to-visualize story that practically begs for the onscreen treatment.
The Story So Far
Australian author James Islington has become a staple among many fantasy readers in the last ten years. I've heard heaps of praise showered upon the The Licanius Trilogy, and The Will of the Many kicked off a new series with plenty of style to spare.
Rumblings of adaptations reached Reddit, and in a comment during an AMA, Islington said:
You know, it's such a hard question because there's a ton of people whose work I admire greatly, and part of me thinks how amazing it would be for them to produce something off my stories—but on the flip side, the most successful ones tend to be those who have a really singular visions for what they're doing. And if there was an adaption of my work, even understanding that it's a very different medium, I'd want some level of input into how it was done too… so without sitting down and discussing specifics with them, it's actually really difficult to say who'd be a good choice!
That's a few too many ‘ifs’ and ‘woulds’ to suggest any concrete evidence of an adaptation, but it's nice to know Islington thinks about it. He goes on to say his dream collaboration would be with the team behind Netflix’s Arcane (the animated series based in Riot Games’ League of Legends universe).
You know the drill, Reactor readers: In the face of little to no evidence of planned adaptations, I will beg for one anyway! Here's why…
How often do you think about the Roman Empire? For James Islington, the answer is undoubtedly “a whole helluva lot”—the setting of The Will Of The Many is a twisted fantasy riff on the Roman Empire in which hierarchy permeates every aspect of the culture. The magic system involves individuals “ceding” a portion of their life force (called “Will”) to those above them in the system, thereby making the higher-ups stronger and more powerful.
At the top of society are three governing sectors: Military, Religion, and Government. While they ostensibly work together to oversee their various areas of expertise, they naturally quarrel and bicker, with each one seeking to garner power and influence over the other sectors.
Our protagonist is Vis, prince of Suus, one of the last kingdoms conquered by the now-ubiquitous Catenan Empire. Vis does not cede to anyone and refuses to participate in the magic system. Instead, he uses his training from the glory days of Suus to win fights in underground battles for money. He ventures from one place to the next, hiding his true identity and avoiding capture or discovery by hostile Catenans.
It's a great hook, and it could be a visual marvel on screens, using the grandeur of Ancient Rome as a stylistic foundation.
Fight The Power
I've heard The Will Of The Many referred to as a "dudebro" fantasy or a "power trip" fantasy, and I see where these criticisms come from. Vis is certainly good at everything. He wins fights with brutes far stronger than he is. He outsmarts the smartest smartypants in many rooms. He is amazing at the Catenan fantasy analog for chess. Some readers have criticized this characterization and dismissed The Will of the Many as a result. Of course, not every book will appeal to every reader, but (speaking as a dude, I supposed, but also someone who reads a ton of different kinds of fantasy) I personally thought The Will of the Many was electric. But even putting my personal preferences and biases aside, I would argue that Islington is doing something interesting with the typical hypercompetent fantasy protagonist.
Of course Vis is good at everything. He grew up in luxury. He had money and privilege. He had the best teachers. He’s learned many languages and fighting styles. But then, Islington embroils Vis in a world where he is effectively powerless despite his many skills and advantages. Vis is adopted by a magnate and tasked with discovering the secrets of the Catenan Academy, an elite school where students learn to use Will. But various influences start to tug Vis in different directions, and he has to navigate a volatile social environment on his own while seeking out dangerous secrets and figuring out who he can trust (if anyone).
In short, Vis's hypercompetencies are effectively nerfed by his circumstances. He has to use his skills as tools to navigate a completely foreign environment, keep his identity a secret, and work as an operative for people far more powerful than he is. Read this way, The Will Of The Many hurtles along with incredible momentum—we don't follow Vis as he learns how to fight, lie, or play games; instead, we pick up with him as he’s thrust into a dangerous and precarious situation, and watch as he must deploy all of those skills from his earlier life in order to stay alive. From the opening scene, an adaptation could introduce us to Vis as an adept and capable protagonist without bogging us down in his origin story.
There's also the fact that the Catenan Empire is obsessed with status and rank. Vis outright rejects this philosophy, and fights against the system even as he works to take it down from the inside. Avatar: The Last Airbender’s Prince Zuko comes to mind as a character in similar circumstances: a cast-out royal who must struggle against an oppressive empire with seemingly infinite power. In both cases, it’s a compelling premise, rife with tension and challenges every step of the way.
Too Cool For Magic School
I realize I've barely touched on the Academy, the island-based school where much of The Will To The Many takes place. I don't want to spoil any prospective readers here, but it's one of my favorite elements of the book. The Academy is a magic school without actual magic—as in, you literally cannot enter the school if you’re ceding Will to someone (or receiving power from someone else).
The school and its home island are also littered with deep history and plentiful mysteries, which Vis begins to unlock slowly but surely. Islington turns a common trope on its head and creates set pieces that would make for perfect, climactic onscreen action.
No spoilers, but before I wrap this up, please allow me just one comment about the ending of The Will Of The Many: holy shit. That is all.
Outlook: Who The Heck Knows?
It's hard to predict Hollywood these days. It's a fickle mistress. The appetite for fantasy shows ebbs and flows, but I truly think The Will Of The Many could be a prime suspect for adaptation, and a hit with audiences craving a series that does something new and different with the trappings of high fantasy and fabulous setting.[end-mark]
The SYFY series Reginald the Vampire, starring Spider-Man: No Way Home’s Jacob Batalon, is sinking its teeth into a second season, and based on the trailer released today, it looks like things are going to get biblical.
Not caught up on the series, which is based on the books by Johnny B. Truant? Here’s the official synopsis for the show:
Reginald Andres (Batalon) finally got his life together—when he was turned into a vampire. While he doesn’t fit into the stereotypical expectations of what a vampire looks like—he’s not chiseled or classically handsome—Reginald has found his place amongst an unlikely cohort that includes the cool vampire who sired him, the former vampire chieftain turned unexpected ally (or is she?), and his co-worker/former girlfriend. A show with a lot of heart and just enough blood, Reginald the Vampire proves the undead life is just as complicated as life itself.
The trailer for the second season tees up the stakes for the upcoming episodes: Reginald’s new vampire clan has been warned by a badass angel with a flaming sword that he’s going to slay them all in a month’s time if they don’t leave this mortal plane. Reginald, however, is ready to become a fighter as well as a lover and take the angel on. How things play out remains to be seen, but it looks like it will be a bloody time for all.
In addition to Batalon, the show stars Mandela Van Peebles as Maurice Miller, Em Haine as Sarah Kinney, Savannah Basley as Angela, Aren Buchholz as Todd, Marguerite Hanna as Ashley, and Thailey Roberge as Claire.
Season Two of Reginald the Vampire premieres on SYFY and the free SYFY app on May 8, 2024.
You know it's a Serious Television Program when it gets real philosophical about time. What is time? What is a day? What, rancher Royal Abbott (Josh Brolin) wonders, does it even mean that God created Earth in six days?
That's one question on his mind. Given that there's a weird hole in his backyard that might be a portal through time, more questions are likely to follow.
Prime Video's Outer Range returns next month for its second season of portal-induced pondering—and regular old mundane problems, like rival ranchers and mysterious drifters. Here's the synopsis:
Outer Range centers on Royal Abbott (Josh Brolin), a rancher fighting for his land and family, who discovers an unfathomable phenomenon at the edge of Wyoming's wilderness, in the form of a dark void. The mystery surrounding the enigmatic void on the west pasture of the Abbott family ranch deepens in Season Two, as Royal and his wife Cecelia (Lili Taylor) struggle to keep their family together in the aftermath of their granddaughter’s sudden disappearance. The stakes have never been higher for the Abbotts, who now face threats on multiple fronts. Outer Range’s second season propels its characters deeper into the void with profound and unforeseen circumstances that could shake the very foundations of time itself.
For its second season, Outer Range has a new showrunner, with Charles Murray taking over from creator Brian Watkins. Murray's resume includes time as a writer on Luke Cage, Sons of Anarchy, and three Star Wars shows: Rebels, The Clone Wars, and Tales of the Jedi. The rest of the show's cast includes Lili Taylor, Imogen Poots, Shawn Sipos, Tamara Podemski, Lewis Pullman, and Will Patton.
Royal Abbott's musings wind up in a promising—or at least intriguing—place, narratively speaking: "Nobody understands that in the creation of man time had to be broken and nobody knows if God fixed that break or if he wanted see what we do with that particular problem." What's he going to do with that particular problem? Odds are good you can find out when Outer Range returns on May 16th.[end-mark]
I listen to everything from Hindustani classical music to sparkly jazzhop beats, and, lost in the rhythms, the crescendos, the alaaps and the sargams, I often think about how music is the closest thing we have to magic—other than, of course, telling stories. Here’s a list of some favorites that combine both…
The young Pom and his renowned master have been invited to perform the Lay of Lilyfinger, a long and complex traditional song, at the coming-of-age ceremony of a noblewoman’s daughter. The Lay has a complicated history that’s connected directly to the people of the land, especially those who were involved in the revolution. Over time, each of the peoples who live there have interpreted the song in their own ways. When the master and apprentice have to play in a diverse group, each member insisting on their own rules for how the song should be played, can they manage to stage a performance without inviting the wrath of their hostess? A lyrical, emotional, yet optimistic read.
Jackie, Bella, and Alice were hoping to become musicians. Then they accidentally exorcised a demon—killing Bella in the process—and discovered that they had a knack for dealing with everything from the fae to malevolent spirits that feed upon humans. Tonight, they’ve got the famous rock star (and host to a supernatural entity) Slim Rick to deal with. But it’s not easy to confront a manipulative demon when you’re also star-struck, and when, deep down, you still have a profound craving to sing and make music of your own…
General Jantus has made it mandatory for everyone to serve his cause in order to expand his territory, and any activity that detracts from that goal is not only banned but also punishable by death. Eshell, Tallis, and Seric were musicians before all arts were banned and all musical instruments destroyed. As Tallis lays dying, Eshell plays the lyre for him in secret. Soon, he and Seric, with help from other underground musicians, will leave the city and find a place where their art will no longer be forbidden. Except, General Jantus isn’t so easily fooled. What would you choose—staying alive or risking death for your art? Does the choice even exist?
Not everyone can hear people’s heartsongs. Those who can either get overwhelmed by the music, or, like our narrator, can help others understand what their music means. Today, a heartsong has brought the narrator to a tavern full of adventurers. But whose song is it, and will they be willing to answer the call of their innermost truths?
Lakeishanna and her family can see spirits. They’ve always used singing to deal with them, soothing troubled shades with song. Unfortunately, when she leaves the South to spend the summer in New York, she finds that the Bronx has too many of them. Then she encounters a DJ who charms the spirits at a party using the power of hip hop. Shanna can’t handle all the spirits alone, and neither can he... But perhaps they can join forces? This is a story best enjoyed with some lo-fi in the background.
With their father’s passing, Camyron and Elina are now the only ones who know the song that will restore the Tree of Memory. The last time, the song brought with it destruction, and so every time Camyron sings it, people are filled with fear. For the Tree to be restored, he needs other people to sing it with him. Everyone thinks he should forget the past and move on—and never sing that song again. Can Camyron convince his sister to trust him and help in healing the Tree?
Previously, in Doctor Who news, it was announced that current companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) would have only one season of adventures in the TARDIS before being replaced by a new, unnamed companion played by Varada Sethu (Andor). Radio Times noted, at the time, that Gibson would still be on the show, but in a smaller role.
But maybe that's not quite the case. It turns out that Sethu is joining the show as the Doctor's second companion, with Gibson also staying on board. There's even a cute picture of the whole season-two gang, looking very happy and like they might invite you over for drinks if they like your vibe.
Showrunner Russell T. Davies said in a press release, "Right now in the studio, shooting for 2025, we've got Ncuti, Millie and Varada fighting side by side—we need all three, because the stakes are higher than ever!”
Sethu won't show up until Gatwa's second season, next year, but there is another tidbit of news floating about regarding the upcoming season. Davies told Empire the name of the character Jinkx Monsoon is playing: Maestro. Which is either a very unsubtle return of the Master, or a huge misdirect—and Davies is capable of either. Or both, somehow.
Either way, we won't have to wait too long to find out: Monsoon appears in the second episode of the upcoming season, which is called"The Devil's Chord." Doctor Who premieres May 10th on Disney+.[end-mark]
“Born to the Purple” Written by Larry DiTillio Directed by Bruce Seth Green Season 1, Episode 3 Production episode 104 Original air date: February 9, 1994
It was the dawn of the third age… Sinclair and G’Kar finally find Mollari in a strip club. He is supposed to be engaged in negotiating the Euphrates Treaty with G’Kar. However, the pair of them do join Mollari at his table for a drink and to watch the dancers. This lasts until G’Kar’s new aide, Ko D’ath, shows up. She does not approve of the establishment, and G’Kar reluctantly shows her to her quarters, thus denying himself the ability to ogle dancers. Mollari, meanwhile, is focusing most of his ogling on one Centauri dancer in particular.
That same dancer, Adira, is waiting for him in his bed when he goes back to his quarters. How she was able to break into his quarters is left as an exercise for the viewer, though Mollari certainly doesn’t give much of a shit…
The next morning, negotiations on the Euphrates Treaty are supposed to start. Sinclair is there. Vir is there. Winters is there, hired to keep the negotiators honest with her telepathy. G’Kar and Ko D’ath are there. Of Mollari, there is no sign. Vir contacts him for the eighty-fourth time (roughly), and Mollari finally answers, reluctantly leaving Adira in his bed.
Mollari shows up at the negotiations late, but quite happy. Meanwhile, Adira is contacted by her owner, Trakis. Turns out she’s his slave, and he sent her to play Mata Hari with Mollari to get his Purple Files. Those are the files containing the dirt that Mollari and his family have on other Centauri aristocrats. It’s how wealthy Centauri stay in power: blackmail. If Trakis gets his hands on Mollari’s Purple files, it’ll give him massive influence over Centauri politics.
Garibaldi has found an unauthorized use of Gold Channel. It’s a secure communications channel, one that’s far more reliable than the standard commercial ones, but it’s also only available with Sinclair’s permission, and indeed only even known to a select few on the station—the command staff and the ambassadors. He reports it to Ivanova who says she’ll look into it when she has time, and orders him to continue monitoring it.
Mollari brings Adira flowers he had specially grown for her, and also gives her a piece of jewelry that has been in his family for generations. Adira doesn’t wish to accept so lavish a gift, but Mollari insists. He further surprises her by declaring that he’s made reservations at Fresh Air, the fanciest restaurant on the station. While appearances are very important to Centauri, especially ones of Mollari’s station, he also doesn’t care about appearances when it comes to her.
Later, we see Mollari and Adira having dinner and making smoochy-faces at each other. Sinclair has also taken Winters to dinner at Fresh Air as a thank-you for the work she’s done in the Euphrates negotiations, as both the anger from the Narn at Mollari’s tardiness and the erotic thoughts that Mollari kept having during the negotiations wore her out something fierce…
Garibaldi detects another unauthorized use of Gold Channel, but his attempt to trace it is stopped by an invasive program. The best he can see is that it went to the Russian Consortium on Earth. He reports this to Ivanova, who thinks it might all just be a figment of Garibaldi’s imagination since there’s no record of it that she can find or that he can show her—maybe it’s gremlins!
Adira slips Mollari a mickey in his drink and he falls unconscious. She then uses a mind-probe to get his password and then she downloads the Purple files. (He should’ve had a two-factor authentication set up, obviously…) She then flees his quarters, leaving the brooch behind. At her quarters, Trakis contacts her, but she doesn’t want to meet in her quarters, lest Mollari come looking for her. They meet in the Zocalo, instead. But once there, Adira flees, Trakis giving chase.
Mollari wakes up with a headache and without Adira. Leaving Vir in charge of the negotiations, Mollari goes in search of Adira. G’Kar is sufficiently livid at this insult that he leaves Ko D’ath in charge of the Narn side of the negotiations and storms out in a huff.
Trakis and Mollari both go to Adira’s quarters to find it empty. Trakis tells Mollari that Adira’s his slave, but that she’s secretly a Narn agent sent to steal his Purple files. Trakis says his concern is that, as her owner, he’s liable if she’s arrested for espionage. He and Mollari go their separate ways, but not before Trakis puts a bug on Mollari’s shoulder.
Mollari confirms the copying of the Purple files. He then continues his search for Adira, but is interrupted by Sinclair, who wants to know what’s going on. Mollari begs Sinclair for help, which the commander gives on the proviso that Mollari agree to Earth’s compromise on the Euphrates Treaty. They go back to the club where Adira dances, but undercover, posing as employees of another establishment that wants to hire some of the dancers. They learn that Adira was recently in Brown Sector.
Trakis hears that and sends two thugs provided by N’Grath to delay the pair. However, before they can finish off Sinclair and Mollari, Trakis alerts them that he’s found Adira, so all is well. The two thugs bugger off.
Sinclair approaches G’Kar, saying he can give him the opportunity to purchase Mollari’s Purple files. They set up a meeting with Trakis that also includes Winters. Winters is unwilling to probe Trakis directly, as that would violate Psi Corps regulations, but she engages in some verbal trickery instead: when the meeting with G’Kar commences, and Trakis objects to her presence, she says that she can only sense surface thoughts, and it’ll be fine as long as he doesn’t think of anything specific, like where Adira’s being hidden.
That, of course, makes him think of it, and he runs off—right into Mollari’s fist. Mollari then kicks him in the ribs for good measure and takes his files back. He thanks G’Kar for helping him restore his honor, which annoys the hell out of G’Kar.
Garibaldi is able to trace the next unauthorized use of Gold Channel with an invasive program of his own, and he discovers that it’s Ivanova using it to communicate with her father, who is dying. He later tells Ivanova that he traced the transmission and yeah, it was a gremlin, and he won’t have to worry about it anymore, cough cough, ahem ahem. He also offers to buy Ivanova a drink.
Mollari sees Adira off. Trakis has granted her freedom as part of a plea deal, and Mollari gives her the brooch back, urging her to wear it as a free woman. She promises to return to him some day.
Nothing’s the same anymore. Sinclair poses as a sleazy dude quite well, having studied Garibaldi’s rather extensive files on the various lowlifes in downbelow. He also uses both Mollari and G’Kar to get Earth’s agenda on the Euphrates Treaty some traction (though given how things end up with G’Kar, it’s unlikely that G’Kar continued to agree to those concessions…).
Ivanova is God. We learn a great deal about the first officer in this episode. Ivanova’s relationship with her father has never been all that great, and got worse after her mother died. In addition, her brother died in the Earth-Minbari War. But her father is now dying, and they’re able to reconcile during Ivanova’s illicit Gold Channel conversations with him.
The household god of frustration. Garibaldi is able to penetrate Ivanova’s illicit use of the Gold Channel, because he’s just that awesome. But once he finds out why she’s doing it, he lets her off the hook. Because he’s just that awesome.
In the glorious days of the Centauri Republic… One of the sources of Mollari’s power—indeed, the source of most Centauri aristocrats’ power—is their dirt on other folks. So losing his Purple files would be very bad, both for him and the Republic.
Though it take a thousand years, we will be free. G’Kar finds his new aide annoying, since she takes him away from ogling pretty women, and he views giving her the reins in negotiating an insult to the Centauri.
The Corps is mother, the Corps is father. Winters is not willing to break Psi Corps regulations, but she is, apparently, willing to bend them a little. She gets Trakis to think about where Adira is hiding using the old pink-elephant trick.
No sex, please, we’re EarthForce. Adria’s seduction of Mollari works like a charm, but she also returns the feelings, which makes it hard for her to betray him—though not impossible…
Welcome aboard. Mary Woronov makes her one and only appearance as Ko D’ath, for which she is uncredited. Fabiana Udenio plays Adira, while the great Clive Revill plays Trakis, Jimm Gianni plays Ock, and Robert Phalen plays Ivanova’s dying Dad. Phalen will return in “TKO” later this season, while Udenio will be back in season five’s “Day of the Dead.”
Trivial matters. Mary Woronov was intended to be a series regular in the role of G’Kar’s aide. However, she could not handle the prosthetic makeup (and refused to wear the red contact lenses) and so did not remain in the role. Caitlin Brown, who will finally make her first appearance as G’Kar’s aide Na’Toth two episodes hence in “Parliament of Dreams,” has been in the opening credits all along, including this episode. (As has Bill Mumy, who will also finally debut in “Parliament…”)
While Udenio does not appear again until season five, the character is mentioned, and also seen in flashback in “Interludes and Examinations,” in which the character is killed.
This is the first appearance of the Fresh Air restaurant, which will continue to be used as the fancy-shmancy restaurant of choice for folks on B5.
The working title of this episode was “Amaranth.”
The echoes of all of our conversations.
“Don’t give away the homeworld.”
—Mollari’s instructions to Vir when putting his aide in charge of negotiations, and also G’Kar’s instructions to Ko D’ath when he does likewise.
The name of the place is Babylon 5. “What do you want, you moon-faced assassin of joy?” As is often the case with stories involving the Centauri and/or Narn ambassadors, the A-story in this episode is elevated entirely by the performances, not just of Peter Jurasik and Andreas Katsulas, but also of Fabiana Udenio, whose radiance and reluctance are both played quite well.
Which is good, because, man, this story has whiskers on it. The old man seduced by the pretty young sex worker with the heart of gold, and they fall for each other, and she still betrays him because she has to, but she doesn’t want to, and it all comes out okay in the end, and ugh!
But this one mostly works because Jurasik and Udenio make it work. So does Clive Revill, who has made a career out of playing snotty bad guys (he was the original person playing Emperor Palpatine in The Empire Strikes Back) and is snotty as all get-out here.
The B-plot is of more interest, mostly because it provides useful exposition on Ivanova and also illuminates character, both Ivanova’s and Garibaldi’s. It’s also a big honkin’ cliché, but, again, the performances elevate it, especially the pained stoicism of Claudia Christian. Her dismissal of Garibaldi’s concerns plays up as her usual I’m-too-busy-to-deal-with-your-bullshit attitude, and it modulates effectively into sad resignation, with pain eking out through the cracks when she’s talking to her father.
G’Kar is still being played annoyingly like a doofy villain, and his interactions with Ko D’ath are just painful, the straitlaced aide cramping the boss’s style. Not that Mollari’s interactions with Vir are much better. Although the “moon-faced assassin of joy” comment was magnificent, the portrayal of Vir as a dork playing videogames while waiting for Mollari to show up is also cringe-inducing.
The U.S.S. Cerritos will soon be flying off your screens. Star Trek: Lower Decks creator Mike McMahan and Alex Kurtzman, Star Trek mastermind/executive producer, announced that the upcoming fifth season will be the last go-round for the animated series, saying in a note to fans:
While five seasons of any series these days seems like a miracle, it’s no exaggeration to say that every second we've spent making this show has been a dream come true. Our incredible cast, crew and artists have given you everything they have because they love the characters they play, they love the world we've built, and more than anything we all love love love Star Trek. We’re excited for the world to see our hilarious fifth season which we're working on right now, and the good news is that all previous episodes will remain on Paramount+ so there is still so much to look forward to as we celebrate the Cerritos crew with a big send-off.
It is unfortunate that we now live in a world where creators have to reassure audiences that their shows will remain on streaming, not get pulled and stuffed in a vault, but good on Paramount for keeping all its Star Trek series available. (Aside from Prodigy, which has now been shuffled over to Netflix.)
Also on the plus side: Strange New Worlds has been renewed for a fourth season. Captain Haircut (Anson Mount) and his extremely likable crew have yet to even take off on their third season adventures; that season is currently filming, and expected to premiere in 2025.
No premiere date more specific than "fall" has been announced for Lower Decks’ final season, which will have season four's cliffhanger to resolve (for more on that, see Keith R.A. DeCandido's overview of last season).[end-mark]
There’s something about Sasquatches and Yetis that makes certain authors and auteurs want to turn them into Giant Furry Friends. Maybe it’s the inherent coolness of the beast. He is usually huge, and he’s canonically stinky, and he’s extremely hairy. And yet, cleaned up and set in a fantasy world, he is just about irresistible.
Robinson’s almost-but-not-quite-real Nepal of the late Eighties would not be half as cool a place without its population of yeti. The collection of novellas published as a novel under the title of its first section, Escape from Kathmandu, is a lighthearted but subversively serious look at the community of Western expats on the roof of the world. Protagonists George and Freds join a shifting (and sometimes shifty) cast of characters to explore wonders both real and mythical, from the true nature of Shambhala to the real-life weirdness of the Nepali government. In among all the adventures and the capers, they contend with real-world problems: poverty, politics, exploitation of land and people and resources, ecological destruction.
They first meet through a slight criminal act on George’s part. George owns a company that runs treks into the mountains, including Everest. At one point, when he’s in between gigs in Kathmandu, he raids the dead-mail rack at the Hotel Star, and appropriates an unusually thick packet. It’s addressed to a person whose nickname is Freds, from a zoologist turned trekker guide named Nathan. Nathan helped organize a scientific expedition into the Himalayas, officially to set up camp along the treeline and study the wildlife, from insects and birds on up. But as he quickly reveals in his long letter, there’s another mission, and Nathan just happens to have fulfilled it.
Inadvertently and accidentally, and incredibly, Nathan has met a yeti. He can’t tell anybody about this, but he’s just about to explode with the strain of keeping the secret. Therefore he’s sharing it with his old college roommate Freds.
Nathan had been helping ornithologist Sarah with her research on the honey warbler. Nathan has a terrible crush on Sarah, but Sarah’s boyfriend Phil is the expedition leader. Also, an asshole, but Nathan is honorable and tries not to poach.
One day when Nathan is sitting alone at the pool where they found the warblers, he finds that he’s being watched by a pair of human-like eyes in a bearded face. It’s about to become clear that mammalogist Phil is searching for the yeti—and Nathan has found him. Or he’s found Nathan. It’s not completely clear which.
That night in camp, the members of the expedition start talking about the yeti. They’re all speculating about what would happen if they found actual physical evidence. And better yet, says Phil, finally showing his hand, if they captured a live one.
Nathan can’t help himself. He declares that if they did find one, they should let it go and never tell anyone about it. If the world knew that this creature exists, this part of it would be inundated with hunters and tourists and scientists. The ecology would be ruined. The yeti would become a scientific specimen, a zoo animal. He needs to stay unknown and officially undiscovered, for his own sake and for the sake of his habitat.
The other scientists beg to differ. Except Sarah: she gets it. The rest are all about sharing scientific knowledge with humanity. It won’t do any harm to the animal. Or not much. And think of the value to Science!
Science wins out. They set up a blind and lie in wait for the yeti. The creature is nocturnal, supposedly; therefore they watch by night as well as by day. And one night, when Nathan is on duty, the yeti reappears.
He’s human-sized, which is an important detail for this particular plot. His head is oddly shaped, with a tall crest, but it’s almost human. He’s covered in dark hair, except for his face, with a protruding nose and a strong jaw. There’s a stick in his long, skinny hand, and he’s wearing a necklace of fossilized shells.
He is, Nathan concludes, some form of hominid. He carries a tool, he decorates his body. And he speaks a humming language punctuated with whistles, looking Nathan in the eye and showing clear intelligence.
Phil comes crashing in, and Nathan and the yeti flee together. When they’ve shaken off pursuit, the yeti makes Nathan a gift of his necklace, and heads back into the wilderness. Nathan is left stunned and deeply thrilled, and more determined than ever not help Phil collect this prime zoological specimen. He sabotages the camp’s access to the yeti’s range, and makes sure the expedition has to shut down.
He does it for the best of reasons. “There’s a creature up there, intelligent and full of peace. Civilization would destroy it. And that yeti who hid [from Phil] with me—somehow he knew I was on their side.”
That’s it for the letter, but not for Nathan or Freds or, as it turns out, George. Nathan shows up in the Hotel Star, looking for his letter. He can’t find it because George stole it, but George never actually confesses. What he does instead is help Nathan find Freds, and end up joining them in a rescue mission.
Phil and Sarah and company came back with a rich American, a big-game hunter, who bankrolled a new expedition. The expedition has returned from the mountains to Kathmandu, and they’re holding something or someone prisoner at the Sheraton. Nathan and Freds, not to mention George, can well imagine what it is. Phil has captured a yeti.
Their response is immediate and inevitable. They mount an expedition of their own to rescue the yeti and return him to his home. It’s as wacky a caper as you might imagine, complete with wild disguises, clever subterfuges, a bicycle chase (with echoes of the iconic chase in ET), and a Famous Celebrity Walk-On: none other than Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter.
The yeti turns out to be the one Nathan met by the pool on the earlier expedition. He’s small enough and intelligent enough to wear human clothes and impersonate a hirsute, mostly inarticulate person with the monumental calm of an enlightened sage. For this, George et al. (including Sarah, who finally dumps Phil and hooks up with Nathan) call him Buddha.
George isn’t sure if Buddha is typical of his species, or if he’s possibly mentally ill. These days George might wonder if Buddha is, by yeti standards, neurodivergent. He doesn’t appear to have resisted capture, and he’s content to be rescued. He’s a deeply mellow, calm, unflappable person who goes where he’s directed and does what he’s asked to do.
When he’s finally home, George makes him a gift of the Dodgers cap that concealed his oddly shaped head. In return, he breaks up the necklace he gave Nathan, that Nathan tries to give back to him, and gives each of his rescuers one of the shells that had been strung on it. He even offers a human word: “Namaste.”
That’s the end of Buddha’s arc in the novel/story collection, but he has a cameo later, in The True Nature of Shangri-La. Freds pulls George back into his chaotic life, in an attempt to keep the government from building a road to the hidden village of Shambhala. This is the true Shangri-La, the mystical monastery ruled by an ancient reincarnated lama. It lies deep in the mountains, in the land of the yeti.
When it comes time to defend the town, the human forces are joined by a contingent of yeti. Among them, George sees one in a Dodgers cap. It’s a nice moment, and a good feeling, to know that Buddha still cherishes the gift George gave him.
The yeti of Robinson’s Nepal is an enlightened being, a creature of peace. He’s an image of humanity before the Fall, and he lives in a pristine part of the world. He’s an ally of the monks and the people of Shambhala; in many ways he’s the embodiment of the Buddhist ideal.
I find myself wondering if the monks learned at least some of their practices from the yeti. If he’s a hominid, after all, it's likely he comes from a very old lineage, even if he isn’t an actual human ancestor. The necklace he shares with Nathan and George and Sarah seems to represent his own antiquity as a subspecies: he’s as much a fossil as the shells he wears.[end-mark]
Isabel J. Kim’s debut novel, Sublimation, has been picked up by Universal International Studios for a potential television adaptation. The book has yet to be released, though Tor Publishing Group has acquired the novel as part of a three-book deal with Kim.
Sublimation is her first novel, and here is the official synopsis for it:
Sublimation is a literary science fiction novel and speculative thriller set in a version of our world where a process called "instancing" splits a person into two distinct copies when they cross a country’s border. The story unfolds when a woman who instanced returns to Seoul and must face her other self, while her childhood best friend's New York self draws her into a conspiracy to control the future of instancing, bringing both versions of him back into her life with global repercussions.
In a statement, Kim described her book as “originally based on one of my 20 short stories. Steven Salpeter, my manager, had originally reached out to me because he had read the short story Sublimation is based on—Homecoming is Just Another Word for the Sublimation of the Self—because there was a visual quality to the narrative and concept he thought would translate to TV. Our discussion led to my expanding the original short story into a novel, and we’re also hearing from studios about my stories for features.”
“From the very first page, you feel drawn to these characters and this world that explores such rich themes through this paradoxical existence that Isabel has captured so sublimely,” Kelsey Balance, SVP, Global Scripted Series, Universal International Studios told Deadline. “It’s staggering that this is her first novel as it’s so compelling but also so fresh and creative. We can’t wait to bring her vision to audiences around the globe.”
The project is still in its early days, so no news on if/when the adaptation will make its way to the small screen. [end-mark]
One of last year's best new SFF series is not over yet. Apple TV+ has renewed Monarch: Legacy of Monsters for a second season—and what's more, it's adding an unspecified number of spinoff series to the Monsterverse's small-screen lineup.
That's very vague, right? But the press release literally says "multiple spinoffs," with no further details. Vagueness aside, the return of Monarch is very good news. Even if you have not been keeping up with the various Godzilla-related films of the last decade (I certainly have not), the series is a fascinating, character-driven drama with an appealing cast of both established actors and new faces.
The Russells elder and younger—Kurt and Wyatt—play the same character, Lee Shaw, in two time periods. In the 1950s, Shaw is part of a team that discovers titans. (Said team includes Mari Yamamoto as brilliant scientist Keiko Miura and Anders Holm as Bill Randa). Decades later, in the wake of the Titans’ battle in San Francisco, an older Shaw joins up with a younger generation of characters who have their own reasons to be invested in the secrets of the Titans and Monarch, the mysterious agency that has a connection to the giant creatures.
Monarch was co-created by Chris Black (Severance) and comics writer Matt Fraction, who also serve as co-showrunners. It is—and I cannot stress this enough—very good. It also stars Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, Ren Watabe, Joe Tippett, and Takehiro Hira, all of whom I hope to keep watching for many seasons to come.
No production schedule has been announced for season two of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters or any of its mysterious spinoffs, but in the meantime, you can catch up on the first season on Apple TV+. [end-mark]
Who’s up for practice? Who wants Rincewind on their team? (Me, I do.)
Summary
Glenda and Juliet head back to the university to give themselves an alibi for not being at the match. Ottimony comes in to tell them all about it after leading the wizards there, and he swears that Juliet looks like the girl at the match. Glenda is summoned to the Stollops because Juliet’s dad got a letter from Vetinari, asking him to attend a dinner with the wizards to talk about the future of football. Trev finds Nutt asleep at the university, having eaten a large quotient of Glenda’s pies. He tells Glenda and Juliet what happened, and when Nutt comes to, he start up his work again. But he says a few things about how Trev really feels about his late father that sends Trev catatonic. Glenda asks Nutt how he knows all these things, how he managed not to die, and where he comes from. Nutt isn’t entirely sure; he only knows how he came to be in Ladyship’s castle and that there’s a door in his mind that he can’t access. Nutt thinks about writing love poetry for Trev to give Juliet, and Juliet bothers Glenda the next day about going to a fashion show, which has an ad in the paper next to an article about the origins of football going back a millennia. Glenda agrees to the show, but only after she gets a chance to listen in on the University Council meeting.
The wizards are putting together thoughts for what they need as a team, including the pies, the uniforms, and the fans. Glenda is bemused by the whole conversation and accidentally interjects herself, letting them know that they’ve got it largely wrong—they won’t be able to change much about how football functions, and they won’t be able to dictate how people enjoy it. She also tells them not to make their uniforms sport a UU across the front, or it’ll make the team look like they have bosoms. Ridcully asks what she does, and they all learn that she runs the Night Kitchen and makes the incredible pies they’re all so fond of. After she leaves, Ponder notes that Glenda’s talk of football invoked memories in the group, whether or not they had them; it was a kind of religious experience. Glenda goes with Juliet to a dwarf chainmail fashion show run by Madame Sharon, who has her assistant Pepe measure Juliet and asks them to help her because her model dropped a pickaxe on her foot. Glenda negotiates a hefty sum for Juliet to model the new cloth-like micromail. The wizards begin their first practice round of football, which they don’t rightly understand.
Glenda sees Juliet through her first fashion show. She’s very drunk and stumbles into the next room after it’s over, having a talking with Pepe, who turns out to have converted to being a dwarf with Madame Sharon’s help. They want Juliet to keep working for them, planning to pay her lots of money travel her around the Disc. They know Glenda is the key to her cooperation, so they ask her to consider it, and Glenda decides they’re going home for the night first. Despite the fact that Ridcully promised never to use it for these sorts of purposes, he demands that Ponder let them in to the Cabinet of Curiosity so that it can make them a proper football—because they don’t have one. They can only keep the ball outside the cabinet for about fourteen hours before causing trouble, so Ridcully stops Trev and Nutt in the hall and asks them if they know where to have the ball replicated. He gives them money for the job and they set off. Glenda tells Juliet that they’ll open up a bank account for her so that her father can’t get at her money. Trev and Nutt run into Andy again, and when he threatens Trev, Nutt threatens to break his hand. They make it to a dwarf shop, and ask him to replicate the ball in exchange for money and a university license to make more of them.
Juliet decides she agrees with Glenda about staying in her job at the university, which makes Glenda feel wretched; the next day her picture is in the paper. Trev goes to pee out back while Nutt and the dwarf artisan are working and sees two vampire women outside, which Butt later tells him are protection for Ladyship. Nutt delivers the love poem he wrote for Trev to Glenda, so she can give it to Juliet. Glenda reads the letter for Juliet and knows that Trev didn’t write it, but doesn’t tell her. Pepe wakes to Times reporters in their store and everyone asking about Juliet. King Rhys has the paper sent via clacks, and the grags are in a tizzy about Juliet’s appearance, deeming it undwarfish. Ponder returns the Cabinet’s ball to the Cabinet and they begin creating teams again. (Rincewind tries to get out of this to no avail.) The (former) Dean has arrived at the university, but the game is interrupted by Nutt, who means to tell Ridcully that they’re playing the game all wrong, and more strategy is needed and, indeed, more theater. Trev comes to Nutt’s defense to make sure no one gets upset with him for speaking out of turn, but Ridcully is amenable to the idea. Glenda sells a lot more for Stronginthearm and gives him ideas for whole new troll fashion lines.
Commentary
There are several overlays going on with the Juliet and Trev story, one of them obviously being the Romeo and Juliet angle that you get from her name and the “two houses” being their two football teams. This is mostly funny to me because I saw some Tumblr post just a few days ago that was pointing out that the Montagues and Capulets being “both alike in dignity” as houses did not preclude any level of poshness—they just needed to be the same. Hence, footballer families.
But the more intriguing slice here is the Cyrano parody, at least to me. Nutt is effectively playing the Cyrano part, writing letters on Trev’s behalf, who’s in the Christian role. But the intention isn’t to make a direct parallel, of course, because Nutt clearly isn’t interested in Juliet—he likes Glenda. And I appreciate the lack of conflict, but moreso, I find myself appreciating the fact that someone who’s as bright as Nutt isn’t really interested in someone who’s pretty if they’re not particularly thoughtful? Juliet’s not his type, so no issue there.
And conversely, Juliet’s route to becoming a fashion model for micromail is endearing too, namely due to Glenda learning some things for herself about snuffing out the desire to dream a little bigger. Do I like that it’s helped along by too much sherry? Yes, I do. I wish sherry talked to me like that. Tequila does, though, so I can't complain too much.
We’re getting more clues on Nutt’s true identity as we go, but I do appreciate that the mystery is drawn out and viewed from multiple character perspectives, making it that much harder to guess point blank.
The bits where the wizards are practicing football are favorites for me because it reads like it’s written by someone who feels exactly the same way about sports that I do. There’s no sense, no real interest in the game itself, nor any inclination toward athleticism (aside from Ridcully’s own personal interest and physical prowess). The only time things make sense is when everyone is thinking about how exciting the game should be, how to generate narrative around it, how to make it a spectacle. I get that part. The rest is just window dressing.
Asides and little thoughts
Of Vetinari being the wrong sort for Juliet despite being the only available “prince” around, Glenda thinks: Besides, no one was sure which side of the bed he got out of, or even if he went to bed at all. Meaning: We’re honestly not sure if the man is gay, straight, or ace.
“By his own admission, he would rather run ten miles, leap a five-bar gate and climb a big hill than engage in any athletic activity.” Me too, Ponder.
Ridcully’s entire response to the concept of possible gayness—that could really just be some wizard having an affair with a married woman and he’s not getting it—being that there’s not enough love in the world and also “Well done, that man!” (which is, itself, actually in response to people playing football and grabbing his attention) is pretty perfect, all things considered.
Pratchettisms
It has been said that crowds are stupid, but mostly they are simply confused, since as an eyewitness the average person is as reliable as a meringue lifejacket.
Ponder had found a gray hair on his comb that morning and was not in the mood to take this standing up.
The city’s walls corseted it like a fetishist’s happiest dream.
“Thank you for you input, Mister Stibbons, but may I gently remind you who is the guv around here?”
But authority must back up authority, in public at least, otherwise there is no authority, and therefore the senior authority is forced to back up the junior authority, even if he, the senior authority, believes that the junior authority is a tiresome little tit.
Next week we’ll read up to:
“I know how to do that,” said Nutt. “Mister Trev, I would be glad if you would come and help me with the bellows.”
