Review

Review: FIRST DATES, LAST CALLS by Alexandra Erin

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Every SFF enthusiast should be reading Alexandra Erin (be it the abundant work offered on her website and news letter, her eclectic musings and commentary on Twitter, or in this book of excellent short stories). Erin's writing is incisive, fun, and empathetic. And more often than not, profound.

FIST DATES, LAST CALLS feels different from a lot of SFF fiction I've read. Not because it focuses less on life-and-limb danger, and deeds of daring do (though it does for the most part), but because its stories feel more like exploration than narrative. Traditionally, Speculative Fiction applies a 'what if' to reality, creating spaces for characters to have meaningful experiences. FDLC, however, skips the mediator and applies its 'what if's directly to the characters themselves. The experiences are no less meaningful, but they are drawn in terms of theme and emotion rather than setting or plot.

All good SFF fiction should make you think. And FDLC absolutely does. It also makes you care.

Book Review: The Revisionaries by A.R. Moxon

Book Review: The Revisionaries by A.R. Moxon

I don’t do a lot of reviews on this blog, but as I occasionally do my utmost to bore you with my thoughts on the craft of writing, and as this book is something of a masterclass in certain facets of that craft, I thought I’d offer my two pennies on how it struck me. So that being said…

Oh, man. What do I even say about this book? Whoof. How do I describe it?

…A.R. Moxon’s debut novel, The Revisionaries isn’t a time travel story, yet reading it is undoubtedly what it feels like to get hopelessly lost while travelling through time.

…A.R. Moxon’s debut novel, The Revisionaries is Infinite Jest, if Infinite Jest were actually good and had a compelling story.

…A.R. Moxon’s debut novel…

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD: As Brilliant as it is Shitty

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD:  As Brilliant as it is Shitty

TRIGGER WARNING: This post discusses both extreme physical and sexual violence.

SPOILER WARNING: Spoilers for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Inglorious Bastards and The Hateful Eight can be found below.

STORY: A one-time-big-time TV star finds his career in slow decline. He makes efforts to revitalize it, but obscurity’s momentum is strong. Then one day, him and his friend fight off and kill some random home-invaders. This catches the attention of a currently-big-time director who might just give our actor his second chance. THE END.

Art doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Romeo and Juliette only makes sense if you understand both internal family politics, and inter-tribal conflicts. Avengers Endgame only makes sense if you have an intricate understanding of the 10,000 interwoven MCU narratives that came before.

Context matters. Quintin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood knows this. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood takes it a step further. Its story is that of the failing actor, the one I described a couple paragraphs back. Not much of a story at all. Not without context.

Shazam!: A Case for Kindess

Shazam!: A Case for Kindess

Shazam! is good and fun and kind, and not lazy, and you should probably go watch it.

Die-hard Adam Wing fans will recall I used to run a different blog in which I pretty much only wrote long-winded and overly-wordy (and at times, rather shallow) movie reviews. Since starting this site, I’ve let that fall away, but I just came back from watching Shazam! and I wanted to write a few short words about it.