The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America awarded the Nebula Awards in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania this weekend. Charlie Jane Anders’ All the Birds in the Sky (Tor; Titan) took Best Novel (we’ll be reviewing that one shortly– we’re a bit behind), while Arrival received the Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation. The other awards are listed below:
Author Archives: JD DeLuzio
Novel Review: The Wonder
Irish/Canadian author Emma Donoghue is best-known for her complex, character-driven psychological thriller Room (adapted as both film and play) and her unusual historical novel Frog Music. She would seem an odd match for this site, but her 2016 novel, The Wonder, raises questions about science, the supernatural, and the lenses through which we observe the world.
In 1859, a Nightingale nurse accepts a job in a remote Irish village, for a patient who appears to defy the known laws of nature.
CW DCU Discussion: Supergirl and Arrow
Supergirl, “Resist:” The Daxamites take over National City, as much an alien-magnet as Doctor Who‘s London. Cat Grant makes a guest appearance.
Arrow, “Missing:” Adrian Chase’s people capture most of Ollie’s allies, requiring him to turn to other associates, not all of whom have been friends.
Season Finales await.
The Flash Review: “Infantino Street”
This episode brings us to the point we feared, and it’s great to see the excellent chemistry between Barry and Snart again. If the entire episode had been about the Flash and Captain Cold pulling off a robbery, I would have enjoyed it, thoroughly.
As it stands, I have, alas, very little else positive to say about “Infantino Street.”
I do note a caveat under “Story.”
Other CW DCU Shows will receive a discussion tomorrow.
The Handmaid’s Tale: “Nolite Te Bastardes Carborundorum”
Whereas the previous episode departed from and expanded upon the content of the source material, this week is based almost entirely on events from the novel, reconceptualised, adapted, and rearranged into another gripping hour of television.
Doctor Who Review: “Oxygen”
“Space: the final frontier…”
After the cheeky opening, the heaviest episode of the new season (thus far) takes the Doctor, Bill, and Nardole to a station under attack and a shocking twist.
Doctor Who Review: “Knock Knock”
We’re catching up on this season’s Doctor Who.
This season continues to find a Whovian sweet spot, its premises outlandish, but not so outlandish as to be in a completely foreign country from its audience.
This week finds the Doctor, Bill, and a bunch of millennials in a house of horrors. Dark doings and terrifying tropes are afoot—and (of course) the cell phones won’t work.
Doctor Who Review: “Thin Ice”
We’ve fallen behind with Doctor Who, so we’re going to attempt three reviews in three days, getting us up-to-date by Sunday. We’ll start with the third episode of the current season, which sees the Doctor and Bill at the 1814 Frost Fair—the last time the Thames froze solid enough to have one.
There really was an elephant.
The Doctor and his companion find something else, something history doesn’t record.
CW DCU Discussion
Supergirl, “City of Lost Children:” This week features alien refugees, problematic portals, and another direction for James Olsen.
The episode also teases the possible existence of Batman in Supergirl’s universe (indirectly referenced at least once before), which keeps very much with DC history. In their early comics, Batman and Superman crossed over, but rarely interacted with other superheroes, who, in turn, often interacted with each other. The CW’s two superhero TV-verses seem to function in much the same way.
The Flash, “Cause and Effect”: Barry is beside himself over recent developments, but the Team has a plan, the dangers of which initially get played for laughs. Indeed, at one point, the episode seems to acknowledge the desirability of having a lighter, non-mopey Barry. Alas, that won’t happen just yet.
The episode reveals that Killer Frost has her own motives, though it does not reveal what they might be, and includes dazzling if artificial visual effects.
The conclusion gives us a weapon that could take down Savitar—but there’s a glitch not even Doc Brown could solve.
Arrow, “Honor Thy Fathers:” This familiarly-titled episode brings Ollie back to the mayor’s office, criminals back to Star City, and a mystery corpse to the mix.
The Handmaid’s Tale: “Late”
The third episode of Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale includes significant material not found in the novel, and features flashbacks to the early days of the Gileadian Revolution.