A banished warrior teaches her treacherous uncle that once made, some oaths cannot be broken…and some monsters cannot be chained.
The Puppetmaster
Building Our Personal Libraries, and the Books We Leave Behind
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?
All Empires Fall, But the One In Foundation Is Taking Its Sweet Time
A hundred-year time jump. That’s what we’re contending with when Foundation returns to Apple TV+ in July. The massive timeline suits the scale of the show, which stars Lee Pace (in an increasingly dramatic series of costumes) as one of a trio of clone emperors whose time has long since come.
Cosmere Cashmere: Finding the Best Fit for Sanderson’s Cosmere Planets
Sometimes, endlessly singing the praises of your favorite fictional universes can pay off. Such was the case with Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere, when a friend who doesn’t read a whole lot finally picked up one of the books. It took some coaxing—in the form of a suggested reading order, a Please Adapt column, and this Stormlight primer (spoiler-free)—but my buddy finally made the leap into Sanderson’s interconnected world.
Still very new to the whole Cosmere thing but enjoying The Way of Kings, he called me and opened with this gem of a line: “Dude…you’re right. The Cashmere is sweet.”
Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things Cannot Get Here Fast Enough
The cruelty of a thirty-second teaser for a movie that looks this fascinating! Thirty seconds is not enough to get the faintest idea of what’s going on in Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things, but it doesn’t matter that much anyway: When the director of Dogtooth and The Favourite makes a new movie, some of us will be there with bells on for opening night.
Especially when it includes a very baffled Mark Ruffalo saying, “… ow” to a slap from Emma Stone in a tone that implies that he has never before experienced the slightest discomfort in his life.
The Horror Comedy Teeth Is Getting a Stage Musical Adaptation And We Have Questions
Screenshot: Roadside Attractions
The 2007 indie film Teeth is a horror comedy whose title and story is inspired by the folk tale of vagina dentata, whose etymology confirms that its meaning is exactly what you think it is. The movie did well critically, and intrigued a lot of people—including, it seems, A Strange Loop playwright Michael R. Jackson.
A Plague of Psychic Shows: Hilary Mantel’s Beyond Black (Part 9)
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 continue Hilary Mantel’s Beyond Black with Chapter 10. The novel was first published in 2005. Spoilers ahead! CW for medical and non-medical fatphobia, and slurs related to ethnicity and sexual orientation.
Series: Reading the Weird
Animated Babylon 5 Film Has A Name And Will See the Return Of Many An Original Cast Member
Credit: Warner Bros. Animation & Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Last week, Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski revealed that an animated movie set in the original show’s universe existed and that we’d find out the title and the cast would be revealed next week. Well, it’s one week later, and as promised, both of those things have been revealed as well as a hint of what the plot of the film will be.
Read an Excerpt From Threads That Bind
Descendants of the Fates are always born in threes: one to weave, one to draw, and one to cut the threads that connect people to the things they love and to life itself…
We’re thrilled to share an excerpt from brand new young adult fantasy Threads That Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou, out from Razorbill on May 30.
A Matter of Death and Death: Jacqueline Holland’s The God of Endings
Jacqueline Holland, in her debut novel, avoids calling her blood-drinking immortals vampires. They don’t fear the sun or garlic, and no one here is turning into a bat. But when a previously dead creature rises from the earth, deathless and feeding only on blood, one might, I hope, be forgiven for using the shortcut. (Holland does, in multiple interviews; she clearly did her research.)
And what an odd vampire book this is. The story of an immortal named, over the decades, Anna or Anya or Collette, it feels at different times like a story about fear and loss; about not knowing what you want; about avoiding the world as often as engaging with it; and about ambivalence.
Good Omens 2 Will Heat Up Your Summer Starting in July
Screenshot: Amazon/BBC Studios
At long last, Good Omens 2 has a premiere date! It’s been almost two years since Amazon announced that the adaptation of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s novel would get a sequel series—two years filled with hints and extras and not-totally-clear casting announcements.
But this announcement is quite clear: Good Omens 2 arrives July 28th on Prime.
New Young Adult Science Fiction & Fantasy for May & June 2023
I hope you like fantasy, because that’s the overwhelming majority of what you’re getting this summer in the realm of young adult speculative fiction. A few horror and science fiction/dystopian novels have squeezed through, but otherwise this is a season of magic, gods, and other paranormal beasties. Here are some of the YA speculative books coming out in May and June that have peaked my interest.
Mother and the Wolf: Maternal Power in Fairy Tales
Little Red Riding Hood illustration by Elizabeth Tyler, c. 1918-20
Once upon a time, I was trying to tell a story, only I didn’t know how it went. There wasn’t a main character, there wasn’t an adventure, and when I tried to begin the story I just disappeared into one thing after another. “Happily ever after”—after what?
I was trying to tell a story about motherhood, and each time I set out from home I got lost in the woods. I was in love, and motherhood had given me a basket full of new experiences. I had a body that astonished me by growing a new person (look, I made fingers! eyeballs!). I had a heart that surprised me with its fierceness. Motherhood challenged me and revealed me to myself. Yet I lost myself, too. My creative work wasn’t getting done. I was overwhelmed and thrown off balance by my needs and desires.
Five Authors Who Wrote Sequels to Someone Else’s Work
Photo: Luke Lung [via Unsplash]
As mentioned in a previous essay, Dean Ing’s Ted Quantrill trilogy, which takes place during and after World War Four, is set in another’s author’s world. It borrows its backstory from General Sir John Hackett’s 1978 The Third World War. Where Hackett thought his conflict would lead, I cannot say. Ing used it as a springboard for an entirely more science-fiction-y scenario involving orbital weapons, biological warfare, and weaponized Canadian chocolate.
While it’s not exactly common for speculative fiction authors to write sequels to each other’s work, it is also not incredibly uncommon. I would imagine the usual process is something along the lines of an author reading someone else’s work, being inspired, and after getting permission, penning their own sequel. Do not disabuse me of this optimistic scenario.
Somebody Must Have Said His Name Too Many Times, Because Beetlejuice 2 Is Officially Happening
Screenshot: Warner Bros.
I would like to propose a new award. The Who Asked for This? trophy gets awarded to the sequel or reboot that seems the most obvious and yet the most bothersome, the greatest act of cashing-in that is also somehow, insidiously, almost appealing, except that it’s been 35 years and we all just want something new to happen.
Why do I bring this up? Well, the Tim Burton-directed Beetlejuice 2 is official, with Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder returning to their roles, and Jenna Ortega playing Ryder’s character’s daughter.
The Puppetmaster
A banished warrior teaches her treacherous uncle that once made, some oaths cannot be broken…and some monsters cannot be chained.
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