This past Tuesday I started reading “The Consolation of Philosophy” by Boethius. (In English translation—it’s been a long time since I studied Latin.) In hindsight, that may have been a mistake. For those who haven’t read it, my very reductionist summary is this: Boethius, in exile and about to be executed, gaslights himself into believing … [Read more…]
International Cat Day was a few days ago. Being a fan of Robert Heinlein – who frequently included cats in his stories – I started a discussion on Facebook about which of his stories do not have cats in them. While a number of people provided feedback on stories in which they remembered (or didn’t remember) with … [Read more…]
This post is part of a series on the Virginia Edition of Robert A. Heinlein’s works. I have been excited to get to this book, not only because I have read (or rather, listened to) it before and enjoyed it, but also because it signals a run of much shorter books than the first two … [Read more…]
This post is part of a series on the Virginia Edition of Robert A. Heinlein’s works. It’s been almost a year since I reviewed the first volume of the Virgina Edition, I Will Fear No Evil. I didn’t intend for there to be such a long hiatus, but things got in the way. Also, there is the … [Read more…]
I have written before about my obsession with Benjamin De Casseres. I lay the blame for this obsession squarely at Mythgard‘s feet, as I first discovered him through a 1936 pamphlet he wrote titled “The Individual against Moloch” while researching the paper I went on to present on Moloch at Mythmoot II. And I blame the … [Read more…]
The Guardian book blog posted a piece earlier today arguing that fantasy cannot build its imaginary worlds in short fiction. The crux of the argument is that fantasy authors need not just novels, but mega-novels (single stories split into multiple volumes, like The Lord of the Rings or A Song of Ice and Fire) to build out their ideas. Rather than simply acknowledging that … [Read more…]
So, today my essay “‘I’ve Never Met Anyone I Didn’t Disappoint’: In Your Eyes‘ Flaws and Fortes” came out as part of the revised and updated edition of Joss Whedon: The Complete Companion, making this my second essay published on Whedon’s works. And of course, in a Whedonesque twist, it’s already outdated. Don’t worry, there’s nothing too … [Read more…]
On Monday, an Arizona man filed a lawsuit against Joss Whedon, Drew Goddard, Lionsgate Entertainment, and Mutant Enemy (Whedon’s production company) claiming that the movie The Cabin in the Woods infringes on his copyright. Notably, the suit was filed on April 13, 2015, three years to the day after the movie’s theatrical release, which puts it … [Read more…]
This is a roughly chronological delivery of the things that crossed my mind when I read that Bryan Singer was going to direct an adaptation of Robert Heinlein’s The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. 1. Yes! I love that book! Finally they’re gonna make it into a movie! 2. Bryan Singer – is he the guy … [Read more…]
This post is part of a series on the Virginia Edition of Robert A. Heinlein’s works. In general, people seem to choose one of two ways to handle Robert Heinlein’s I Will Fear No Evil: detest it in all its casually (and sometimes not so casually) misogynistic odiousness, or love it like an uncouth grandfather who “grew up … [Read more…]