More Posts By Peter
Review: Babel, Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution – R.F. Kuang
Robin Swift is taken from his native Kanton to Oxford to study translation: the art of producing magic from the difference in meaning between translated words in different languages. He is torn by the contradiction between his love for Oxford’s translation institute Babel and the study of languages on the one hand, and his growing unease at Britain’s role in the world and Babel’s role in Britain.
Review: Hades – Supergiant Games
Zagreus, son of Hades, god of the dead, wants to escape from the underworld to see the surface, where the mortals live, and to discover his heritage. His father is dead set on preventing this from happening. In this rogue-like video game, battle through chambers filled with hordes of Hades’ minions, slain heroes, and mortals undergoing punishment as you enlist the help of the Olympian gods to fight your way to the surface.
Review: The Hobbit – J.R.R. Tolkien
The hobbit Bilbo Baggins is very content with his comfortable life, when the Wizard Gandalf and a company of thirteen dwarves invite him on a quest to travel the continent and rob a dragon of his treasures.
Review: The Rings of Power – Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime’s long-expected take on Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings based on the Appendices to the Return of the King chronicles the lives of several younger versions of characters we know from the Lord of the Rings and their attempts to prevent Sauron’s rise to power.
Review: She Who Became the Sun – Shelley Parker-Chan
She Who Became the Sun is an alternate history/historical fantasy novel set in Mongol-conquered China, following the exploits of characters on different sides of the struggle for power: peasant girl trying to take up her brother’s fate and an enslaved general struggling to reconcile the love for his master with his history of oppression.
Review: The Martian – Ridley Scott
NASA Astronaut Mark Watney was only supposed to be on Mars for 31 days. When a Dust storm almost kills him, the rest of the crew leaves – under the impression that their colleague is actually dead. In his logs, Watney keeps track of his days (or “sols” – Mars days) on the Red planet, and his efforts to survive on the supplies and equipment left behind with him. Every so often Mars tries to kill him, but Watney is resourceful and keeps his spirits up with humour.
Curator Question: What is the coolest bit of worldbuilding you’ve encountered recently?
Our curators share some awesome tidbits of worldbuilding from their recent ventures in the speculative genre!
Review: Jurassic Park – Steven Spielberg
Some rich guy with more money than sense decides to build an incredible theme park filled with actual live dinosaurs cloned from ancient DNA on an isolated island. His investors, fearing safety risks, send a team to assess the park’s security. When a tropical storm strikes the island during the very first tour, the security system is immediately subjected to a thorough stress-test…
Review: A Desolation Called Peace – Arkady Martine
Part two in the Teixcalaan Duology – after playing a pivotal role in the recent political upheaval on the Jewel of the World, Mahit Dzmare returns to her native Lsel Station to find that she cannot escape politics – nor the long arm of the Teixcalaanli Empire – even there.
Curator Question: What did you think of the first episode of The Rings of Power?
Our curators watched Amazon’s new Lord of the Rings show The Rings of Power, and share their first impressions!
Review: Oats Studios – Neill Blomkamp
This assembly of short (and some really short) films by Neill Blomkamp is not a series so much as an assemblage set of cinematographic thought experiments that gives some insights into what moves Blomkamp as an artist.
Curator Question: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi Author is most well-represented on your bookshelves, and how do you feel about that?
Our curators count the books on their shelves, and reflect on the results. What Fantasy/Sci-Fi author is most well-represented?