We Want It! - July 2013
Jul. 31st, 2013 10:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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ladybusinessBecause we haven't quite managed to work out a way for us to consume ALL the entertainment yet: to keep us from emerging haggard and zombie like after regular all night box set marathons, book splurges and music overload we've set up this monthly space where we can express our pure fannish glee at the fact that so many projects of awesome potential are continually being made. All of our past wants and desires can be found in the We Want It! tag.Unless otherwise stated any blurbs for books have come from GoodReads.
Books
Alana Quick is the best damned sky surgeon in Heliodor City, but repairing starship engines barely pays the bills. When the desperate crew of a cargo vessel stops by her shipyard looking for her spiritually advanced sister Nova, Alana stows away. Maybe her boldness will land her a long-term gig on the crew. But the Tangled Axon proves to be more than star-watching and plasma coils. The chief engineer thinks he's a wolf. The pilot fades in and out of existence. The captain is all blond hair, boots, and ego . . . and Alana can't keep her eyes off her. But there's little time for romance: Nova's in danger and someone will do anything--even destroying planets--to get their hands on her. (source)
Ascension by Jacqueline Koyanagi — This went around a few months ago (also, see Jodie's section and tell her that our next co-review is already set) and I thought it sounded awesome. Also, the cover. The cover. There's no way I'm missing this book.
On a remote, icy planet, the soldier known as Breq is drawing closer to completing her quest.
Breq is both more than she seems and less than she was. Years ago, she was the Justice of Toren—a colossal starship with an artificial intelligence linking thousands of corpse soldiers in the service of the Radch, the empire that conquered the galaxy.
An act of treachery has ripped it all away, leaving her with only one fragile human body. And only one purpose—to revenge herself on Anaander Mianaai, many-bodied, near-immortal Lord of the Radch. (source)
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie — I was casually browsing Amazon one day when I saw this pop up in the recommended section of whatever page I was on at the time. It's pretty eye-catching when stories can be about "a former solider", or "a former president", or "a former beat cop on Io", but this one is "a former STARSHIP". Sign me up, please.
Isaac Vainio is a Libriomancer, a member of the secret organization founded five centuries ago by Johannes Gutenberg. Libriomancers are gifted with the ability to magically reach into books and draw forth objects. When Isaac is attacked by vampires that leaked from the pages of books into our world, he barely manages to escape. To his horror he discovers that vampires have been attacking other magic-users as well, and Gutenberg has been kidnapped.
With the help of a motorcycle-riding dryad who packs a pair of oak cudgels, Isaac finds himself hunting the unknown dark power that has been manipulating humans and vampires alike. And his search will uncover dangerous secrets about Libriomancy, Gutenberg, and the history of magic. (source)
Libriomancer by Jim C. Hines — I've never read any of his books, and Jim Hines is sort of a important figure in SFF right now, so I examined his books to see what might appeal. I've seen this around a few times, my friends have loved it, so I guess it's about time I went and ruined the dreams of the person who has had it out for a month and two weeks at the library. NO MORE RENEWALS, PERSON.
The City is ancient, layers upon layers. Once a thriving metropolis, it has sprawled beyond its bounds, inciting endless wars with neighboring tribes and creating a barren wasteland of what was once green and productive.
In the center of the City lives the emperor. Few have ever seen him, but those who have recall a man in his prime, though he should be very old. Some grimly speculate that he is no longer human, if he ever was. A small number have come to the desperate conclusion that the only way to stop the war is to end the emperor’s unnaturally long life.
From the mazelike sewers below the City, where the poor struggle to stay alive in the dark, to the blood-soaked fields of battle, where few heroes manage to endure the never-ending siege, the rebels pin their hopes on one man—Shuskara. The emperor’s former general, he was betrayed long ago and is believed to be dead. But, under different aliases, he has survived, forsaking his City and hiding from his immortal foe. Now the time has come for him to engage in one final battle to free the City from the creature who dwells at its heart, pulling the strings that keep the land drenched in gore. (source)
The City by Stella Gemmell — Honestly, I get a sort of Final Fantasy XII vibe from this, only with more bloodshed. The baddie sounds a lot like those asshole Occuria.
A teenage cop from a high-tech future is sent back to 1986. She’s investigating the Quintum Mechanics megacorporation for crimes against time. As she pieces together the clues, she discovers that the “future”—an alternate reality version of 2013 and the place she calls home—shouldn’t exist at all. (source)
Rocket Girl by Amy Reeder & Brandon Montclare — I found out about this through, perhaps, The Mary Sue? I can't remember, but I discovered the kickstarter page, and was immediately bummed I could find the hell out of it. It sounds so awesome!
In this future, some people need no sleep at all. Leisha Camden was genetically modified at birth to require no sleep, and her normal twin Alice is the control. Problems and envy between the sisters mirror those in the larger world, as society struggles to adjust to a growing pool of people who not only have 30 percent more time to work and study than normal humans, but are also highly intelligent and in perfect health.
The Sleepless gradually outgrow their welcome on Earth, and their children escape to an orbiting space station to set up their own society. But Leisha and a few others remain behind, preaching acceptance for all humans, Sleepless and Sleeper alike. With the conspiracy and revenge that unwinds, the world needs a little preaching on tolerance. (source)
Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress — I've heard about this book (and series) but before After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall, I was uncertain. After it, I'm not convinced, and am prepared to make serious eyes/bribes at my local librarian.
On their way to start a new life, Tula and her family travel on the Prairie Rose, a colony ship headed to a planet in the outer reaches of the galaxy. All is going well until the ship makes a stop at a remote space station, the Yertina Feray, and the colonist's leader, Brother Blue, beats Tula within an inch of her life. An alien, Heckleck, saves her and teaches her the ways of life on the space station.
When three humans crash land onto the station, Tula's desire for escape becomes irresistible, and her desire for companionship becomes unavoidable. But just as Tula begins to concoct a plan to get off the space station and kill Brother Blue, everything goes awry, and suddenly romance is the farthest thing from her mind. (source)
Tin Star by Cecil Castellucci — I am both excited and dubious about this book, which seems promising, but I'm pretty tired of this construction in blurbs: "romance is suddenly off the table!" LISTEN. There is always time for some romance and hot make outs and hot sex, publishers -- it's sort of what we do, make terrible decisions about affection and sex in dramatic, life-altering, dangerous situations. So can we find a way to communicate ~tension~ without brushing off romance in this way? THANKS BUNCHES.
Film
In a future where a failed global-warming experiment kills off most life on the planet, a class system evolves aboard the Snowpiercer, a train that travels around the globe via a perpetual-motion engine. (source)
Snowpiercer — Look, this has a) Tilda Swinton, who I would pay to watch monologue a Reader's Digest from 1987, and b) Chris Evans, who continues to do interesting genre work outside MCU.
An international crew of astronauts undertakes a privately funded mission to search for life on Jupiter's fourth largest moon. (source)
Europa Report — This looks awesome, but I was really more pulled in by the awesome score which I heard a preview of via a featurette.
Television
A streetwise hustler witnesses the suicide of a girl who looks just like her and falls headlong into a deadly mystery. (source)
Orphan Black — OKAY, INTERNET AND FRIENDS. I have accepted that I sort of want to see this show. I am looking forward to acquiring some episodes once my life has chilled out a little and there is possibly a sale on the Blu-ray. I've seen some clips and I'm really impressed with them. As long as there are subtitles. Accents, man. They're hard. AGAIN -- Ana and Jodie, we've got to talk reviews, roundtables — something!
Books
The Jet Sex by Victoria Vantoch: Renay brought this to my attention the other day and I was all grabby hands. Here's the Goodreads description:
In the years after World War II, the airline stewardess became one of the most celebrated symbols of American womanhood. Stewardesses appeared on magazine covers, on lecture circuits, and in ad campaigns for everything from milk to cigarettes. Airlines enlisted them to pose for publicity shots, mingle with international dignitaries, and even serve (in sequined minidresses) as the official hostesses at Nixon's inaugural ball. Embodying mainstream America's perfect woman, the stewardess was an ambassador of femininity and the American way both at home and abroad. Young, beautiful, unmarried, intelligent, charming, and nurturing, she inspired young girls everywhere to set their sights on the sky.In "The Jet Sex," Victoria Vantoch explores in rich detail how multiple forces--business strategy, advertising, race, sexuality, and Cold War politics--cultivated an image of the stewardess that reflected America's vision of itself, from the wholesome girl-next-door of the 1940s to the cosmopolitan glamour girl of the Jet Age to the sexy playmate of the 1960s. Though airlines marketed her as the consummate hostess--an expert at pampering her mostly male passengers, while mixing martinis and allaying their fears of flying--she bridged the gap between the idealized 1950s housewife and the emerging "working woman." On the international stage, this select cadre of women served as ambassadors of their nations in the propaganda clashes of the Cold War. The stylish Pucci-clad American stewardess represented the United States as middle-class and consumer-oriented--hallmarks of capitalism's success and a stark contrast to her counterpart at Aeroflot, the Soviet national airline. As the apotheosis of feminine charm and American careerism, the stewardess subtly bucked traditional gender roles and paved the way for the women's movement. Drawing on industry archives and hundreds of interviews, this vibrant cultural history offers a fresh perspective on the sweeping changes in twentieth-century American life.
Speaking of awesome-sounding cultural histories, here's one I'm pretty sure Clare recommended:
American Sweethearts: Teenage Girls in Twentieth-Century Popular Cultureby Ilana Nash: According to the publisher's blurb, this book "shows how popular culture has shaped our view of the adolescent girl as an individual who is simultaneously sexualized and infantilized." Sounds pretty interesting.
The Economics Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained by Niall Kishtainy and George Abbot: This graphic introduction to economics sounds like a good companion book to Economix, which I have on my TBR. And both sound like books that would help me make better sense of some of the things I've been interested in reading lately.
Lastly, I really want to get my hands on Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives: Stories from the Trailblazers of Domestic Suspense edited by Sarah Weinman. This anthology collects "fourteen hair-raising tales by women who—from the 1940s through the mid-1970s—took a scalpel to contemporary society and sliced away to reveal its dark essence". The blurb also suggests that "lovers of crime fiction from any era will welcome this deliciously dark tribute to a largely forgotten generation of women writers". YES please.
Television
I was going to include Orphan Black here (Ana has been very persuasive), but I see Jodie already has, so I'll just point you to her section and go "what she said".
Books
"Ascension" — Jacqueline Koyanagi
'Alana Quick is the best damned sky surgeon in Heliodor City, but repairing starship engines barely pays the bills. When the desperate crew of a cargo vessel stops by her shipyard looking for her spiritually advanced sister Nova, Alana stows away. Maybe her boldness will land her a long-term gig on the crew. But the Tangled Axon proves to be more than star-watching and plasma coils. The chief engineer thinks he's a wolf. The pilot fades in and out of existence. The captain is all blond hair, boots, and ego...and Alana can't keep her eyes off her. But there's little time for romance: Nova's in danger and someone will do anything--even destroying planets—to get their hands on her.'
I can't even deal with how good this looks. Space adventures and shape shifting and attractive female pilots! Oh, look it's publication date is close my birthday *hints wildly*.
Film
"Violet and Daisy"
'Two teenage assassins accept what they think will be a quick-and-easy job, until an unexpected target throws them off their plan.'
"Violet and Daisy" looks like one of those pieces of media that cuts its killing with a little comedy and makes everything much sharper with a little laughter. Plus I really want to see Alexis Bledel shoot a gun - that probably makes me a bad person.
Television
"Orphan Black"
'A streetwise hustler witnesses the suicide of a girl who looks just like her and falls headlong into a deadly mystery.'
And here we have a new female fronted SF program featuring cloooooonnnes! I love when one actress is called on to play different characters in the same program; it shows up the range of their skills so well. Amy has been posting some great gifs of the program that convince me I must see it but although the BBC has acquired the UK rights to "Orphan Black" there's still no news on an air date :( Don't make me wait too long TV.
"Merlin" (Series 1 - 5)
I made the mistake of watching a "Merlin" episode the other day and now I'm the kind of nostalgic that makes me want to own things. I can't find anywhere in the UK where I can get all of the series bundled together in a boxset collection though. Does anyone know of a good source?
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Date: 2013-08-01 12:52 pm (UTC)I'm excited to see so many people wanting to watch Orphan Black, it's such an interesting show.
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Date: 2013-08-01 04:19 pm (UTC)I am really excited about Orphan Black. I'm seriously hoping Ana and Jodie can watch it and we can do some kind of roundtable about it. Dreamwidth has a high character limit. TOTALLY DOABLE.
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Date: 2013-08-02 04:24 am (UTC)And yes, I did highlight America's Sweethearts! In the context of that AWFUL GQ article about One Direction's fans, it seems more pertinent than ever.
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Date: 2013-08-02 07:14 am (UTC)I can't wait to read Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives!
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Date: 2013-08-02 02:47 pm (UTC)And I hope we all get to watch Orphan Black too. Come on BBC UK!
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Date: 2013-08-02 02:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-08-02 09:15 pm (UTC)/useless comment
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Date: 2013-08-02 09:24 pm (UTC)I KNOW WHO I'M INVITING TO BE PART OF OUR ROUNDTABLE.
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Date: 2013-08-03 07:54 am (UTC)Meghan (Medieval Bookworm)
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Date: 2013-08-04 04:44 pm (UTC)