Black History of the Future: Reading Delany, Mosley, and Butler

 

While you should read Black science fiction authors during all months, I figured Black History Month 2021 was a good chance to read books on my list by Black authors. Besides, I did another Black History Month post back in 2016, so I was overdue for another one. 

Please enjoy these reviews of Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany, Futureland by Walter Mosley, and Mind of My Mind by Octavia E. Butler!

(Note: the title of this post is inspired by another book you should read: How Long 'Til Black Future Month? by N. K. Jemisin.)

Review of Reviews: Recent Science Fiction TV

 

Have I been watching more TV during the pandemic? Maybe. I've never been good at binge watching, though. I'm re-watching Star Trek: The Next Generation, but a lot more slowly than the first time I watched it in syndication in the early 90's (every night at 9pm!). Disney+ has 31 seasons of The Simpsons, which makes for a nice thing to watch while eating lunch or when I don't know what else to watch (a conundrum: they have an option to "skip intro"... what kind of monster would skip the intro to The Simpsons?). I've also been enjoying WandaVision lately, and I just started Truth Seekers.

I might say more about those shows another time. But I thought it might be good to do a review of reviews of recent science fiction TV! So here are a few thoughts about recent seasons of The Mandalorian, Star Trek: Discovery, and The Expanse and two other shows: Raised by Wolves and the new adaptation of The Stand.

Review of Reviews: Some Books of Jan/Feb 2021

Here are a few reviews of books I've read in the last several weeks. After reading a lot of horror and fantasy in the last year, I've been feeling more of a return to good old science fiction lately. See if you can guess which review I wrote before I broke my arm and it became difficult to type!

Pandemic Journal, Part 18: Not the January I Had in Mind

 

We made it to the end of January 2021 ... and well, shit. Right after I posted my last batch of pandemic journal entries, a bunch of terrorists/insurgents/whatever attacked the US Capitol. A week later Trump was impeached (again) and another week after that he actually left office.

But the worst part of the month for me: I broke my arm and dislocated my shoulder on Jan. 15. It could be worse. But it's no picnic. Not what I needed for the beginning of this new semester.

But I did get to go to online Chattacon, so that was... honestly kinda weird, but fun.

Pandemic Journal, Part 17: Memes for the Holidays

2020 brought us many things: a pandemic, elections, upheavals, and... my pandemic journal, which continues here with my entries from December 2020 (and one from January 2021). I have also been collecting memes that amused me for the last month or so. Maybe some of them will amuse you, too. In any case, let's hope 2021 will be a better year!

2020 in Hindsight

                      

What a fucking year. At the beginning of 2020 I was looking forward to a year of tenure and travel. Here, at the end, I’m looking back on a year of turmoil.

Sequels of McDune: Hunters of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

                                             

All of these things are true in my opinion: 

• People are too hard on the Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson Dune books (aka, "McDune").
• The books are nowhere near as good as Frank Herbert's originals.
• I enjoy the McDune books the same way that I sometimes enjoy McDonald's (or really Taco Bell for me) even though I know it's not good.
• It's fun to learn what happened immediately after the last Frank Herbert book even if I know it's neither the same nor as good as what Frank would have written.