Hey folks,
I stayed up a little too late into the nights and watched Amazon's Invincible. A bit late to the game, I know, but my desire to watch things is at an all time low. The culprit for me is the sheer number of shows and movies on the sheer number of streaming services - it's all too much. That along with my preference sleepier shows like Foyle's War and Bosch and Rubicon (does anyone remember that one?): more talk, musing/brooding and less boom.
That all said, I liked Invincible quite a bit. It's edgy, a somewhat fresher take compared to all the superhero shows that are coming out, and I like the animated format. The one criticism I have has to do with the villain. His full purpose is revealed at the end, but it feels incongruous to all of his actions through all the episodes leading up to the end. In particular, the vehemence with which he believes in his purpose feels like overkill...(no pun intended). I'll leave it there. Don't watch it around kids.
On to our round up: a cover reveal, lizards, and DisCon III news (with drama).
Cheers!
Chi
Scalzi's The Kaiju Preservation Society
This is the first standalone from Scalzi after his Interdependency Trilogy. The title itself fills me with questions and expectations, none of which I expect to be answered or lived up to. Point is, this is on my reading list.
When Jaime, joins an "animal rights organization" to escape the monotony of being driver for food delivery apps, little did he know he wasn't going to stick around...in this dimension that is. And the animals whose rights the society preserves are massive.
Tell you more? I can't; but the book will be out March 22, 2022. So bookmark this, create an event in your calendar, a recurring task reminder, or scratch the days into your prison (living room, den, bedroom) walls.
Lizard Economy
I enjoy reading Sarah Gailey's Building Beyond series, all around how fun worldbuilding can be. Their June 23rd entry, Cold Hard Geckos was a thought-provoking read. Julian Stuart and Tim Minneci contributed to this exercise where one had to think of lizards as currency.
I found Julian Stuarts concept particularly good especially in the way that they created a very holistic model for a lizard wealth:
"...lizards are worth most if they are alive, and in their historical natural habitat, and healthy..."
To me that's something of a blueprint.
Take a read and leave comments for me, or for all authors involved. I'm sure they'll appreciate the engagement!
New Chair at DisCon III
There has been much hubbub surrounding the Hugo Awards and DisCon III this year, and it seems, unfortunately, that the Hugo Awards in general have been plagued with issues for the past couple of years. You can read more about the drama over at Jason Sanford's site.
The latest is that Mary Robinette Kowal is the new chair of DisCon III. Considering her experience as the former President of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, an award winner herself, and having run programming for the Nebula Conference for several years, I have more confidence that the conference and the awards will have less drama going forward.
Who's attending this year from this audience?
That's all for this round! Next week, look out for the biweekly newsletter with book recommendations, releases, etc. Have a great weekend!
Chi