In this place marking our eternal return, we take respite to examine across various media the supernatural, myth, folklore, science-fiction, science-fantasy, dark fantasy, the weird tale, and much more.
Parasite is the second novel I’ve read by author Darcy Coates. With this novel (which is actually five short stories/novellas tied together by an alien invasion throughout a distant human-populated system united under an entity called Control), Coates takes on military sci-fi horror. The reader may recognize the strong influence of John Carpenter’s The Thing.… Continue reading Parasite Does Not Quite Overcome this Reader’s Immune Response
This film has an understated intensity that is a bit reminiscent of Robert Eggers’ 2015 film, The Witch. Maud is a nurse, having lately left a position at a local hospital for a role as an in-home private caregiver. Maud is a devout Christian, though we come to learn she has only recently been “re-born.”… Continue reading Saint Maud Challenges Truth of One’s Faith
J.J. Abrams-produced Fringe ran for 5 seasons, from September 2008 until January 2013. It was an attempt to bring an X-Files-esque television show into the 21st century. Though it had its problems and was uneven in its overall storytelling and driving mythology, it still holds up and stands as one of my personal favorite television… Continue reading Will Fringe Showrunner’s Debris Rise Above Disposable Television?
Stephen Baxter’s 1991 science-fiction novel, Raft, is the first in his expansive Xeelee Sequence, which spans nearly a dozen novels. In Raft, I see Baxter drawing inspiration from, specifically, two Robert Heinlein novels: Orphans of the Sky and Citizen of the Galaxy. The premise of Raft is not unusual: a spacecraft somehow finds itself being… Continue reading Baxter’s Raft Takes a Wild Ride Across the Surface of Class Differences
I’m not going to say anything here that is revolutionary or that has not been discussed ad nauseam in other forums. The Internet (more accurately, though, the World Wide Web) heralded a dumbing down of humanity. It catalyzed a change in how we consume information. In the wake of its arrival, we are losing our… Continue reading Too Much Exposition???
