Judge Dee returns to solve a new case involving a Parisian party gone wrong. But this time? Everyone in attendance is a suspect, including the judge himself.
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Judge Dee and the Poisoner of Montmartre
A Night in the Lonesome October Is a Perfectly Tricky Halloween Treat
A Night in the Lonesome October is Roger Zelazny’s last novel and still stands as both my favorite Zelazny and my favorite book to open when it’s time for a fall reread, leading up to Halloween. It’s broken into chapters for each day of the month of October—which not only makes it eminently rereadable, but also means it’s the perfect autumnal treat to go along with my pumpkin spice latte. In fact, I encourage everyone I know to read or reread it along with me every Halloween—won’t you join me?
The Libraries of Who We Are
From the bookplate of Charles P. Searle (Library of Congress)
The book I’ve owned the longest has zero cachet, zero cool, zero name recognition. It is not an old copy of my beloved The Castle of Llyr, or a well-worn copy of Mercer Meyer’s Herbert the Timid Dragon. It is an early reader called Tuggy, unexpectedly stamped “Bailey Hill High School” on the inside cover, in between scrawls of crayon.
Tuggy is a book meant to teach a very young reader words. I would not remember that it was part of my learning-to-read process, except that I still have it, tattered and ink-stained, on a shelf with other ancient, ragged children’s books, including Leo the Lop and Tomie dePaola’s The Cloud Book, thanks to which I once knew the names of a lot more clouds than I do now.
There’s no real reason for me to have these books. They don’t say much about me, other than that—like so many kids—I like stories about animals and the world around me. They’re bedraggled copies, not the kind of thing a person collects. I don’t have kids to pass them on to. You could say they’re sentimental, unnecessary, even clutter.
But they mean something to me. They’re part of my story. And isn’t that, when you boil it down, why we keep anything—most of all books?
Netflix’s Maya and the Three Sends Four Warriors On a Gorgeous (and Dangerous) Quest
Just a month after the teaser, we have the full trailer for Maya and the Three writer-director Jorge R. Gutiérrez’s epic, mythical series about a girl who challenges her fate—and sets out to fulfill a prophecy.
Maya, which draws from Aztec, Inca, and Maya mythology, is a nine-part Netflix series, but Gutiérrez (The Book of Life) has called it a “giant movie broken up in chunks.” The trailer leaps right into the story, introducing the Three, a trio of outcasts who join Maya on her quest to defeat the dark lords of the underworld.
FX’s Adaptation of Octavia Butler’s Kindred Adds Six to Cast
Hulu’s FX is steadily working on its upcoming adaptation of Octavia Butler’s novel Kindred, and has announced a handful of new cast members who will be joining the project: Micah Stock (The Right Stuff, Amazing Stories), Ryan Kwanten (True Blood), Gayle Rankin (Perry Mason, Glow), Austin Smith (Russian Doll), Antoinette Crowe-Legacy (WeCrashed), and David Alexander Kaplan (Embattled, Creepshow).
You Will Be Assimilated by Poop of Borg — Star Trek: Lower Decks: “I, Excretus”
Image: CBS
One of the common complaints about Lower Decks is that it sometimes overdoes the references to other Trek stories. Most of the references are either to the original series or TNG, which is understandable given that they’re the two most popular iterations of the franchise, as well as the animated series, which is the spiritual ancestor to this show. Still, DS9, Voyager, Enterprise, Discovery, and Picard have been referred to as well, though not nearly as often. Those references sometimes work, often don’t, and can be a source of tremendous frustration.
“I, Excretus,” however, takes that proclivity for references and takes it to a hilarious extreme that actually works quite well.
Rhythm of War Reread: Chapter Fifty-Two
Well, and a fine morning to you all, my Cosmere Chickens! It’s Thursday again, and time for another installment of the Rhythm of War reread. This week, we’re looking into the past again, as Venli fears for her mother and gets frustrated with her sister and the humans. Also, I don’t blame her. For once, I’m on Venli’s side.
Series: Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson
Room Service for the Squamous: Sarah Peploe’s “UNDR”
Welcome back to Reading the Weird, in which we get girl cooties all over weird fiction, cosmic horror, and Lovecraftiana—from its historical roots through its most recent branches.
This week, we cover Sarah Peploe’s “UNDR,” first published in Scott R. Jones’s 2018 anthology, Chthonic: Weird Tales of Inner Earth. Spoilers ahead.
Series: Reading the Weird
Read an Excerpt From Greta Kelly’s The Seventh Queen
Askia—a warrior, witch, and queen-to-be—confronts the monster that stole her throne…
We’re thrilled to share an excerpt from Greta Kelly’s The Seventh Queen, the exciting conclusion to The Frozen Crown—publishing November 2nd with Harper Voyager.
Prelude to a Coda — What You Need to Know Ahead of Star Trek’s Most Epic Novel Trilogy
This week officially kicked off what promises to be the most epic literary trilogy in all the decades of Star Trek’s publishing history…
Let’s take that in for a moment. With an estimated 700 franchise novels, the next three months will give us a series crossover trilogy to rival fifty-plus years of printed Trek stories.
Balanced Between Worlds: Revealing Rovina Cai’s Illustrations for Nicola Griffith’s Spear
For Spear, Rovina Cai has created five interior illustrations, all emotionally evocative: immanence, despair, loss, reaching out, and belonging. They complement the text beautifully. I can’t wait for you to experience them. Below, I have written about two of my favourites.
What If… “Ultron Won”? Gives Us Peace in Our Time
Screenshot: Marvel Studios
When an episode of What If…? opens with The Watcher saying “This one breaks my heart” you know you’re in for a ride.
This week’s What If…? is the first half of a two-part finale—it’s a stew of ridiculously dark events and Marvel snark, and it completely worked for me.
The Book of Boba Fett Has a Release Date!
Screenshot: Lucasfilm
Well, HELLO. Ever since the end of The Mandalorian‘s season two finale, we’ve known two things about The Book of Boba Fett: that it exists, and that it would premiere in December 2021. As of this morning, we know a tiny bit more—Boba Fett arrives on Disney+ on December 29th, just squeaking in to this year.
After the Fall: The Long Tomorrow by Leigh Brackett
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.
Over the past year or so, I have been delving into the works of Leigh Brackett, a science fiction pioneer best known for her swashbuckling tales of planetary adventure. As I researched her career, a book came up that I’d not heard of before—The Long Tomorrow, the tale of a young man coming of age in a United States struggling to survive the aftermath of an atomic war. So I tracked the novel down, ordered a copy online, and am glad I did. The book ranks not only among Brackett’s best work, but also among the best science fiction of that era. It describes a fantastic journey, yet remains utterly believable and deeply rooted in the real world.
Visit One Very Magical House in the Trailer for Encanto
Fair warning: The song in this trailer is an earworm. If you can get through the rest of your day without it stuck in your head, I envy you and would like to understand your powers.
But there are worse things to be humming! Encanto, Disney’s upcoming animated feature, has songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a very sweet story about the Madrigals, a family who live magical lives in their magical home. Everyone has a special magical gift—except Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz). But she might be the only one who can save the day when something goes terribly wrong.
Celebrating the Librarians of SFF
Across fantasy and science fiction (with the occasional stop in horror), there are any number of amazing fictional libraries we’d love to visit—especially to meet up with the guardians of the stacks! After all, what’s a fantasy story without an awe-inspiring tower full of potentially curséd books? Or a sci-fi adventure without the cumulative knowledge of civilization stored somewhere to guide our heroes on their quest?
We decided it was time for an overdue celebration of the keepers of knowledge, from experts in Egyptology to far-future book-lovers fighting tyrannical governments to sword-wielding barbarians, we have a librarian for every occasion.
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