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A tale of two Pinocchios
Pinocchio is the perfect story to illustrate this felicitous contrast between the soulless and the alive, the feigned and the sincere, the automatic and the intentionalCultural critic Walter Benjamin...
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Microreview [book]: Daughters of the Storm by Kim Wilkins
Daughters of the Storm is an epic fantasy that centres women and allows them the space to be flawed.Australia has a long history of female authors of fantasy; we've been known to look confused when...
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Maybe there's a parallel timeline where 'The Peripheral' hit the mark
It's a shame that a series with so many interesting ideas didn't try to go farther with themAmazon Studios TV series The Peripheral, an adaptation of William Gibson's 2014 novel, has come up with an...
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Microreview: Map and Territory by A.M. Tuomala
A.M. Tuomala’s picaresque Map and Territory presents a pair of mismatched protagonists, who must learn to survive together as they journey across a landscape devastated by an apocalypse.Meet Rukha....
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6 Books with Chloe N Clark
AUTHOR IMAGE CREDIT: Brian Ramos, Chloe at Giant's Causeway Chloe N. Clark is the author of Collective Gravities (and NPR and Brooklyn Rail pick for Best Books of 2020), Escaping the Body, and more....
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Avatar: the way of self-indulgence
James Cameron's new toys are pretty and shiny, but do they mean anything?Back in 2009, it seemed like the first Avatar film would set the standard for visual effects for decades to come. It was a...
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Review: Three Miles Down by Harry Turtledove
This latest novel from the master of alternate history is part amusing, part terrifying, and mostly frustratingLet's begin with the events that are part of real life:On March 8, 1968, the Soviet...
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Microreview[Novel]: The Stars Undying by Emery Robin
Billed as "queer space Cleopatra", this delivers not only on that promise, but on beautiful prose and genuinely thoughtful interstellar politics, along with the players and how they think of their own...
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Six Books with Rem Wigmore
Rem Wigmore (they/them) is a speculative fiction writer based in Aotearoa New Zealand, author of the solarpunk novels Foxhunt and Wolfpack, both from Queen of Swords Press. Rem’s other works include...
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'Puss in Boots: The Last Wish' comes to terms with death
Existential anguish has never been this funnyYour favorite fearless hero is back, and he's going through a crisis. After eight feline lifetimes cultivating fame and glory as a daring...
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Six Books with Tim Akers
Tim Akers grew up in rural North Carolina, and now lives in unrural Chicago, with his wife and about a million unwritten books in his head. He is the author of the Veridon series, Knight Watch, and...
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Review [Video Game]: God of War Ragnarök by Santa Monica Studio
Godly. What a sequel should be.As Kratos’ snow-flecked fur sways in the Midgardian Fimbulwinter winds, he holds the pouch that once held his wife's ashes. The look of loss and longing, of deep undying...
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Microreview[Novel]: Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid
A dark reimagining of a fairytale that tries to show the real impact living in a folktale might have on those who experience it.Cover illustration: Darling ClementineContent warnings: discussion of...
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Microreview: Notorious Sorcerer by Davinia Evans
Davinia Evans’ Notorious Sorcerer features a would be sorcerer caught in a city on the cusp of magical change that he inexorably becomes the center of.Siyon Velo is an alchemist. He’s not one of the...
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Six Books with M. Darusha Wehm
M. Darusha Wehm is the Nebula Award-nominated and Sir Julius Vogel Award-winning author of the interactive fiction game The Martian Job, as well as over a dozen novels including the Andersson Dexter...
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'Troll' is a battle to define Nordic identity
This movie recycles all the clichés of the kaiju genre, but the setting gives the conflict a fascinating context of interpretationNetflix film Troll can be summarized as any kaiju movie you've seen:...
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Thursday Morning Superhero: New Year's Resolutions
It is hard to believe that it is 2023 and I have another round of nerdy resolutions that I hope to keep in the new year to ensure 2023 is a good year. Improve My Spades Skills:This may seem like an...
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'Kindred' demonstrates the power of stories to generate empathy
To focus on the entertainment value of this story would be to miss the point of why it's being toldRoger Ebert famously described the audiovisual medium as an empathy machine. New Hulu series Kindred,...
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Microreview [book]: Hamlet, Prince of Robots by M. Darusha Wehm
Though this be madness, yet there is method in itNo longer the seat of Danish monarchy, Elsinore is now a corporation, a leading manufacturer of human-like robots. The murdered Hamlet senior was the...
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'M3GAN' shows the horror of letting a machine manage your feelings
We've let machines take over all our tasks. Why not the hard work of personal growth?Robot designer Gemma has a problem in her hands. Her sister has just died, leaving a small girl under her care. But...
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