Mothra! Why did you say that name?
–Internet meme that proves 100% accurate, despite the absence of the giant Lepidoptera
The big ape dukes it out with the lizard king, and humanity gets caught in the middle.
Author Archives: JD DeLuzio
Novel Review: A Desolation Called Peace
Arkady Martine’s debut novel A Memory Called Empire received multiple award nominations and won the Hugo for best novel. The first in a series, it was followed in March of 2021 with this novel, with more of the conflicts and intrigue involving the future Teixcalaanli Empire, the “barbarian” human settlements in its environs, and some very interesting extraterrestrials.
The more you explore your reality, internal and external….
Hugo Nominees Announced
The 79th World Science Fiction Convention has been delayed until December 15-19, 2021, when it is hoped more real-world event can take place. DisCon III will be held in Washington, DC, and the Hugo nominees for this year include:
Best Novel
Black Sun, Rebecca Roanhorse (Gallery / Saga Press)
The City We Became, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit)
Harrow the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir (Tordotcom)
Network Effect, Martha Wells (Tordotcom)
Piranesi, Susanna Clarke (Bloomsbury)
The Relentless Moon, Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor Books)
Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
Birds of Prey, written by Christina Hodson, directed by Cathy Yan (Warner Bros.)
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, written by Will Ferrell, Andrew Steele, directed by David Dobkin (European Broadcasting Union/Netflix)
The Old Guard, written by Greg Rucka, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood (Netflix / Skydance Media)
Palm Springs, written by Andy Siara, directed by Max Barbakow (Limelight / Sun Entertainment Culture / The Lonely Island / Culmination Productions / Neon / Hulu / Amazon Prime)
Soul, screenplay by Pete Docter, Mike Jones and Kemp Powers, directed by Pete Docter, co-directed by Kemp Powers, produced by Dana Murray (Pixar Animation Studios/ Walt Disney Pictures)
Tenet, written and directed by Christopher Nolan (Warner Bros./Syncopy)
Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
Doctor Who: “Fugitive of the Judoon”, written by Vinay Patel and Chris Chibnall, directed by Nida Manzoor (BBC)
The Expanse: “Gaugamela”, written by Dan Nowak, directed by Nick Gomez (Alcon Entertainment / Alcon Television Group / Amazon Studios / Hivemind / Just So)
The Good Place: “Whenever You’re Ready”, written and directed by Michael Schur (Fremulon / 3 Arts Entertainment / Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group)
The Mandalorian: “Chapter 13: The Jedi,” written and directed by Dave Filoni (Golem Creations / Lucasfilm / Disney+)
The Mandalorian: “Chapter 16: The Rescue”, written by Jon Favreau, directed by Peyton Reed (Golem Creations / Lucasfilm / Disney+)
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: “Heart (parts 1 and 2)”, written by Josie Campbell and Noelle Stevenson, directed by Jen Bennett and Kiki Manrique (DreamWorks Animation Television / Netflix)
Review: Them: Covenant: Episodes 1-2
Amazon released its latest genre show on April 9. In the fashion of American Horror Story, each season will tell a different horror tale. Viewers will likely be reminded of other series as well, and not always to the show’s benefit. We’re reviewing the first two episodes and seeing if there’s interest in future reviews.
Despite the title, don’t expect giant ants (or the camp villains from Wonder Woman’s past). In the postwar era, an African-American veteran, his traumatized wife, and their children1 flee horrific racism in the south and settle in Los Angeles, where they discover horrific racism. You can move into a new suburban house, but old ghosts may still haunt it.
They’ve taken the Hobbits to Leningrad!
The Soviets beat Peter Jackson (though not Ralph Bakshi) to Lord of the Rings by many years. The forgotten, late-Soviet-era adaptation of The Fellowship of the Rings aired once on Russian television, and resurfaced last week.
It’s… interesting.
Newspace
SpaceX’s current (or replayed, depending on when you watch) activity:
SpaceX has has announced the full (hypothetical) crew of the first “all-civilian” space mission, scheduled to launch next September. Hopefully the launch will occur without too many complications and prove an Inspiration for future space exploration.
Meanwhile….
Black Widow…. At Last?
This new trailer, released this weekend, indicates we may finally see the long-awaited Black Widow film and the return of the MCU to the big screen.
Superman & Lois Review: “The Perks of Not Being a Wallflower,” “Haywire,” “The Best of Smallville”
We have here review and discussion of the most recent three episodes of the series. Life in Smallville fails to settle, while global challenges continue to daunt the Man of Steel.
The show goes on hiatus for about a month, rerunning the early episodes before returning to newer ones in (it appears) early May.
Novel Review: A History of What Comes Next
Breathe. None of it is real (39)
Released last month, Sylvain Neuvel’s novel blends original characterization, an SF thriller plot, and historical detail to tell the story of the uncertain aliens behind the hidden history of the modern world.
Newspace: An invitation to travel in space, and cephalopods pass the Marshmallow Test
Eccentric Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa plans to travel on Elon Musk’s SpaceX ’round the moon, and he’s seeking eight artistic and creative types to join him. Will you go to the moon?
Meanwhile, here on earth, a cuttlefish has passed a delayed-gratification cognitive test designed for human children. “Iä! Iä!