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We are an opinionated group of friends reviewing all sorts of fantasy and science fiction media. Don’t forget to get to know the curators and visit our curated Collection, where we discuss the stories that never cease to transport us to another world.
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- Book written by Frank Herbert
- Published 1969
- Part two in the Dune Chronicles
Imagine having to write the sequel to Dune – if you have already written the best novel in all of science fiction, what are you ever going to add?
In Dune Messiah, Frank Herbert takes up the gauntlet and writes a fascinating sequel that shifts the style of the saga and completes many of the story arc he deliberately left unresolved at the end of Dune. And while Messiah takes away some of the mystery that made Dune unique, it is also a very satisfying continuation that gives the reader more of the worldbuilding that fans of Dune crave.
What do I mean, Dune Messiah takes away some of the mystery?
As I’ve stated before, one of the reasons Dune is so great is that Herbert feels comfortable leaving some elements of the worldbuilding un- (or: under)explained. As a result, the reader gets to guess or speculate or fill in blanks, which I think is a relatively rare experience in the speculative genre where over-analysis by fans and the fear of ‘plot holes’ causes many modern authors to feel the need to produce a ‘waterproof’ setting.
By necessity, however, Dune Messiah picks up some of the loose ends at the end of Dune which were left open to interpretation, and starts tying them up. And while I think Herbert delivered on the expectations and getting to actually read about Paul’s inevitable fate unfurling is fascinating, one could make an argument that Dune is perhaps at its best, has the most literary appeal as a standalone novel.
Having said all that, Dune Messiah is still a great read, that has almost everything that makes Dune so great: cloak and dagger, palace politics, orientalist opulence, ultra-smart characters, conversations like duels, religious frenzy, manipulation, clash of cultures, the machinations of fate and the effects of knowing the future.
The only thing missing is the focus on the planet Arrakis itself: while it still features prominently, a lot of the worldbuilding legwork has already been done by the first instalment, meaning that there is simply a little less to develop. Then again, compared to most speculative fiction that is not Dune, Herbert still shows why he is considered one of the best worldbuilders ever to build worlds.
And with such a great canvas, it really doesn’t matter that the background is somewhat familiar. The power struggles and Paul’s emotional journey are as gripping as they are in Dune. And for anyone who felt that Dune’s open end left too much of the story untold, Dune Messiah is guaranteed to deliver a fulfilling conclusion.
Although, conclusion… Perhaps it is time I start reading Children of Dune…
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- Movie directed by Gerard Johnstone
- Starring Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Amie Donald, Ronny Chieng and Jenna Davis
- Released 7 December 2022
- Runtime: 102 minutes
Don’t tell anyone, but secretly I am a scaredy-cat. When watching horror, I will startle at lame jump scares. My ultimate weakness? Body contortion and unnatural movements. If an entity twitches in an inhuman way, I will make noises and grab the nearest pillow (or human) to try and control my limbs. Usually, because I’m not the bravest when it comes to horror, I only tend to watch it with others, which doesn’t occur very often. However, for M3GAN I was willing to make an exception. I’m glad to say I didn’t come to regret this decision.
When I first saw the trailers for this movie, I was already charmed by the concept. Though I suspected the plot would eventually turn into a killer-robot story, the idea of a caretaker robot that (somewhat unhealthily?) bonds themselves to a child (and vice versa), is something I like. The classic ‘what is humanity?’ question etcetera.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that M3GAN did not only stick to the AI tropes you might expect, but actually made the effort to tackle some emotional themes. How do you move on from loss? And how healthy is our relationship with technology nowadays? This movie knows when to rely on tropes and when to do its own thing.
Of course, M3GAN is a horror movie. However, it is one even I could handle quite okay. This movie also has a lot of humour in it that helps you move on from the horrific elements. This, combined with the surprisingly deep themes and a strong soundtrack is enough for me to recommend M3GAN to anyone who wants to try their hands at a clever horror movie that isn’t too gruesome.
“You shoot me down, but I won’t fall. I am titaaaaaniiiiiuuuum…”
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- Book written by John Shirley
- Published 19 July 2011
- Prequel to the BioShock-series
Listened to the audiobook with Jeffrey Kafer. Narrator was so-so.
When I originally played BioShock, it was one of the coolest games I’d ever played – and to date, it certainly remains one of the most imaginative worlds I’ve ever had the pleasure to digitally visit. So when BioShock: Rapture popped up as a new addition in my audiobook app, I was immediately tempted.
Now, I know that video game tie-in novels have a terrible reputation (probably an even worse reputation than video game adaptations of blockbuster movies!), but given the great storytelling in BioShock, I figured I’d give it a go anyways.
BioShock: Rapture is a prequel to the BioShock video game, in which the city of Rapture has descended into chaos by the first time you visit it. The novel tells the story of Rapture’s origin, and so it gives you a peek of what the city was like before everything went to hell. A small window on the potential of Andrew Ryan (the city’s founder and main financier)’s great vision.
However, the reader never gets to spend much time in a flourishing Rapture, because extreme right-wing ideology puts the underwater city’s social structure under just as much pressure as the 6.000 feet of ocean water weighing down on its domes and pipes.
Shirley did a good job of capturing the game’s themes and political message. Unfortunately, there is just not a lot of tension in the book for anyone who played the video game: you know exactly where the story will end up; and even most of the novel’s main characters are taken directly from the video game. BioShock has phenomenal environmental storytelling, with little tid bits and audiotapes dropped everywhere to tell a story of a desperate population and a city in decay. It was one of the elements of the game I enjoyed most. As a result, the novel brought me hardly anything new. It makes me wonder whether reading it without having played the game might make for a completely different experience.
My guess is that a lot of elements in the book would be rather confusing. Video games operate under different rules than other stories: you have respawn points, mana bars for your ‘magical’ powers, teleportation and other weird abilities. In the game, there is always some level of ‘ludo-narrative disconnect’ in which the player accepts that certain elements of the world exist because of gameplay reasons and understands that they are not supposed to question them too deeply.
Shirley has made an effort (and who knows, he may have been contractually required) to include every. single. one. of the game’s outlandish ‘magical’ powers, every location and character, every weird technology. Frankly, it feels pretty forced, and makes me believe that the novel would have benefitted from a slightly more liberal interpretation of its source material.
That might also have opened up some more room for elements which I would have loved to receive more attention, such as developing the characters, exploring the day-to-day lives of Rapture’s inhabitants, and Rapture’s relations with the rest of the world.
At the end of the day, though, I think I should probably not hold BioShock: Rapture up to the same standard that I would a stand alone novel. It is intended to evoke recognition in folks who played the game, and to underline the game’s political message. It does so very well. And for a video game tie in novel, BioShock: Rapture exceeds expectations.
On a side note, Shirley is an interesting writer – I’d never heard of him before picking up Rapture, but after some googling I see that he has a long service record, including a long list of video game- and other franchise tie-in novels, screenwriting credits and praise from the likes of William Gibson and Roger Zelazny. It just seems he’s never quite managed to get his work to surface in the mainstream.
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- Movie directed by Nick Bruno and Troy Quane
- Based on the Graphic Novel by ND Stevenson
- Starring Chloë Grace Moretz, Riz Ahmed and Eugene Lee Yang
- Released 30 June 2023
- Runtime: 99 minutes
I’ve been familiar with ND Stevenson since his appearance on an episode of Critical Role campaign one. I’ve since watched his show She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, which I LOVED, so obviously I had to check out the new Netflix movie Nimona, based on his graphic novel of the same name, as well. I’m not usually one to watch something on the day it’s released, but somehow I managed this time!
I really didn’t know what to expect from this movie based on the trailer. I remember it establishing that Nimona could shapeshift, but I didn’t recall much else. To be honest, a lot about this movie took me by surprise. At the start of the movie, there are a lot of tone shifts that feel odd. I only realised later on that Nimona is based on a graphic novel, which definitely explains it. I have to admit I haven’t read the graphic novel, but often, they have a lighter tone than one would expect from a full-length movie. Nimona deals with a couple of heavy themes, so it was a little bit jarring when the character of Nimona herself was so incredibly blasée about it all.
Nimona features a really fun cast of characters. Two main characters are explicitly stated to be queer, but it’s not framed as an obstacle or as something that isn’t accepted. The voice acting is stellar, and the animation is unique and nice to look at. The story is also great, but it did leave me a bit confused for the first half of the movie.
To me, it almost felt like Nimona didn’t belong in the story she was in. She kind of reminded me of how a young fanfiction writer might rewrite their favourite book but include themselves as an important character. Her role in the story definitely becomes apparent as the movie progresses, but in the first half of the movie it feels like she is this weird supporting character and also somehow the movie is named after her?
Looking back, I don’t mind the fact that Nimona’s inclusion in Ballister’s story feels strange at first. Whenever a piece of media has LGBTQIA+ representation, there will be people complaining that the queer characters are “shoehorned” in, and that there’s no narrative reason why a character would be queer. The truth is, of course, that queer people have always existed, and don’t need a “reason” to be included in a story. Sometimes things just happen to queer people – I know, crazy!
With its many references to changing one’s shape and being accepted for being different, the movie is a clear Transgender allegory. The metaphor is very hard to miss (at least for those familiar with LGBTQIA+ issues), yet it’s still dealt with in an incredibly subtle and elegant way. Children might miss this part of the story entirely, but no one could fail to see the moral of the story: that we should accept people for who they are. That we shouldn’t let others tell us who should be treated fairly and who should be kept behind a wall.
Also, did I mention that I love stories that are both Sci-Fi and Fantasy simultaneously? That stuff’s rad as hell.
I’ll let you in on one of my reviewer secrets today. The difference between 4 stars and a higher amount is mostly dependent on if a story was able to make me cry or not. Now on to the actual review of Nimona…
All I knew of Nimona was that it was originally a graphic novel by ND Stevenson, and that this graphic novel was well-loved and – very likely – queer. Of course, this was enough for me to be interested in the adaptation. When the trailer launched, I didn’t learn much of what I could expect, but I was ready to go with whatever flow would present itself.
In total, I believe this film broke my heart approximately ten times, mainly in the first fifteen minutes and the last fifteen minutes of the story. It seems the emotional themes hit close to home. Nimona is a story about wanting to belong. Wanting to be seen for who you are, unhindered by the (pre)conceptions of others. It’s also a story about the dangers of blindly holding unto black and white thinking and the desire to put people into categories, even if these categories aren’t sufficient.
The cute and likeable characters help explore these themes in an elegant way. Poor Ballister from humble origins, who’s been trying to prove his worth since his youth. The titular Nimona, who’s simply ‘Nimona’ and longs for some connection with the world around her. And of course Ambrosius Goldenloin, who just has an amazing name that I wanted to point out.
The plot of this film is high-tempo with at times an episodic feel because of the intermediate climaxes. It has a weird pacing at times, however, one that fits Nimona’s chaos. As such, I wasn’t too bothered by it. I would have liked the movie to be a little longer, but on the whole it’s very efficient in its storytelling.
Despite its heavy themes, the flashy and colourful animation of Nimona is a joy to look at. Additionally, there were multiple times the humour had me laugh out loud. The ‘freestyle jazz’ was a winner for me.
Living can feel very lonely at times. The news is often grim nowadays, especially when you belong to a minority, such as the LGBTQIA+ community. Nimona is a reminder that you matter, and that you should not give up hope for a better tomorrow.
- Book written by Kim Stanley Robinson
- Published September 1992
- Part 1 of the Mars Trilogy
Listened to the audiobook with Richard Ferrone – fit the book’s style very well, and managed to really capture some of the characters.
Now that I’ve finally read one of Kim Stanley Robinson’s books, I’m confused as to why I haven’t read him before. Especially the Mars-trilogy has been showered in all of the important prizes science fiction can win: the Hugo, the Nebula, the Locus, etc. And though the book is nearing its 30th birthday, it feels like it could have been written last year. The Mars-trilogy is not obscure among enthousiasts, but it doesn’t get the mainstream love it deserves – so this is me heartily recommending Red Mars to you!
Red Mars is perhaps best described as a mix between the hard sci-fi and refined technological descriptions of The Martian on the one hand, and a political thriller like a Ludlum or a Baldacci on the other (though I would like to note an important difference between Red Mars and The Martian, which is that, unlike Weir, Robinson gets the international space law right! Hurray!).
Red Mars describes the colonisation of Mars from the first 100 colonists all the way up to the existence of cities with factions and political struggles. It jumps forward in time several times to cover the next phase in the colonisation process, and every time it does so it shifts perspective from one of the first 100 to the next, exploring their motivations, relationships, and politics. In this way, each of the time jumps adds another layer of depth to the story’s main throughlines.
In particular, the interpersonal relationships between the leaders of the first 100 colonists and their disagreements over the terraforming process are built up masterfully over the book in this way. Similarly, the time jumps allow Robinson to weave new technological and environmental concepts into the narrative and focus on new themes.
The result of the time jumps is also that the sections of the book feel a little like separate short stories, with a relatively minimal overarching plot. Similarly, while there are a few tense moments in the book, it you are not reading it for its action scenes or its edge-of-your-seat suspense.
This is not meant as a criticism, since the calm style fit the long timeline, the plots of the individual sections are engaging and the character-driven developments made me feel emotionally engaged without the plot needing to constantly deliver mortal danger to the heroes. The mix of (political) character drama and hard sci-fi is unusual, however, and makes for a surprisingly literary read.
All in all, Red Mars was a pleasant surprise to me and comes highly recommended. I’m sure to be listening to the next parts in the trilogy in the coming months!
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- Movie directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
- Starring Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, Jenny Slate, Harry Shum Jr., James Hong and Jamie Lee Curtis
- Released 11 March 2022
- Runtime: 139 minutes
Robin recommended this movie even before it was winning all the Oscars (giving credit where it is due). I did not know what to expect, and I’ll admit that even know I’m struggling with how to appraise it. A part of me is surprised it has won so many Oscars, even more than The Return of the King, a movie I love with all of my heart. On the other hand, it makes little sense to compare two movies that are so different from eachother, using something as arbitrary as the amount of awards they’ve won. As it happens, simply looking at the production value and the performance of the actors of Everything Everywhere All At Once, I completely understand why it has done so well.
Lotte is right in saying that this movie is silly. There is a lot of whimsy going around, practically in every scene. Things that made me laugh out loud (such as Raccacoonie and the scene in which two characters are rocks), but also things that I personally experienced as body horror (sausage fingers…). The characters (and actors) manage to tread a fine line by delivering and reacting to this silliness while at the same time telling a story with heartfelt themes.
In a setting in which literally everything is possible and multiple universes exist at the same time, keeping track of subplots (and different versions of the same characters) is quite a feat. However, Everything Everywhere All At Once did this really well. I certainly respect the amount of puzzling the writers must have done to make that possible.
Three stars might seem a somewhat meager amount with the mostly positive attitude I’ve shown this far. I can simply explain this by saying that, despite the overall quality, there were also a few things that would prevent me from rewatching this movie. The sausage fingers are certainly a factor in this, but also the various action scenes that failed to keep my attention. Additionally, not all of the earlier mentioned themes of the story hit their emotional mark for me. The value of kindness in the face of nihilism (as demonstrated through the character of Waymond Wang) is certainly a winner, and a much needed lesson in these dark times we are currently living in. The subject of generational trauma, however, has been handled better by other stories I’ve recently consumed.
Should you watch this movie? I think you should, simply because it is one-of-a-kind. But I’ll understand if you’re left with difficult emotions afterwards.
I’d heard a lot about this movie and finally sat down to watch it after Jasmijn told me it was on Amazon Prime. I went in relatively blind. I’d heard it was great and that it was strange. I also knew it was about parallel universes.
The absolute first thing I thought when watching this movie is that Deidre reminded me SO much of Chris Fleming’s Sick Jan. So much so that I felt the instant need to google if anyone else had seen the similarity. They had.
I found the start of the movie relatively hard to get through, mostly because it was bilingual and Prime Video only offers Dutch or French subtitles. It’s very confusing when you understand half of the spoken text but have to look at the subtitles anyway, because you need them for the sentences that you don’t understand. English subtitles would have made it easier, but that’s an Amazon issue because Amazon is the worst.
As far as the plot was concerned, I really enjoyed it. I love movies that take themselves seriously and not seriously at the same time. You can do something worthy of recognition and respect that is simultaneously silly, and I love that Everything Everywhere All at Once proved that. It’s a very action/adventure-based movie, but in the end, it’s all about the heart of the characters. I am not joking when I say I would take a bullet for Waymond Wang.
You should watch this movie! Unless you’re the kind of person who doesn’t like things that are a little silly, because this movie is very silly.
Robin recommended this movie before it was cool to recommend it, but then I didn’t watch it until way after it became cool to recommend it – and so we’re posting this review way too late because I’m a slow dumb-dumb. We could’ve totally pre-empted the hype or jumped on the bandwagon, and now we’ve done neither. The algorithm will undoubtedly punish us for my tardiness.
So, with that out of the way, what did I think?
Everything Everywhere All At Once is a tough movie to review because it is such an idiosyncratic experience that it is difficult to find parallels with other media. I feel something like The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy probably comes closest if you look at it from the perspective of plot and style of storytelling (and of course, the similar concept of the infinite improbability drive). At the same time, though, Everything Everywhere All At Once has a level of depth and emotional maturity beneath the surface of surreal comedy that you wouldn’t normally associate with this type of story. ****Wait. Is there even a ‘this type of story’?
I really enjoyed Everything Everywhere All At Once. I think the movie’s most remarkable feat is its ability to relatively seamlessly switch back and forth between, and even mix, family drama moments, absolutely bonkers sci-fi comedy, and eastern martial arts. The juxtaposition and intermingling of these styles is in no way as jarring as you would expect. Instead, I felt pulled in further every time the story tilted, and as if by miracle, my suspension of disbelief never broke – not even when two stones with googly eyes held a serious emotional conversation or characters attempted to do the weirdest thing imaginable in the middle of an overwhelming action sequence in order to trigger a dimensional jump (Yes. Don’t ask).
I love that the movie received recognition from serious critics, who might have easily run roughshod over an over-the-top silly fest such as this. It shows Hollywood is perhaps more open-minded than I thought, and hopefully it will encourage others to try something out of the box.
If you go in with an open mind, can stand an overdose of the surreal, and won’t worry about it all making sense too much, I think Everything Everywhere All At Once is a brilliant way to spend an evening!
Review: Dune Messiah – Frank Herbert
Part two of the Dune Chronicles – his entire life, Paul “Muad’dib” Atreides has struggled against his fate. Now that he has attained it, what is left for him is to safeguard his family and his legacy against enemies within and without of the palace, some as far away as the edge of the universe, and some as near as the inner circle of the emperor himself.
Review: M3GAN – Gerard Johnstone
Review of M3GAN; Cady, a little girl of nine years old, is forced to live with her aunt Gemma after her parents are killed in a car accident. Gemma, an ambitious roboticist at a high-tech toy company, quickly discovers she is way out of her depth when it comes to caring after a child. To help both herself and Cady, Gemma constructs M3GAN, a robot doll companion for her niece to bond with.
M3GAN quickly proves to be a work of genius, exceeding everyone’s expectations. However, the question arises: are there limits to what technology can and should do instead of humans?
Review: BioShock: Rapture – John Shirley
In this prequel to the BioShock video game series, ultra-wealthy tycoon and passionate libertarian Andrew Ryan sets out to build a city at the bottom of the sea, to escape the looming threat of atomic war and the constant interference of parasitic governments and petty morality. As the project advances, however, others try to take advantage of Rapture’s ‘freedom’. As art, scientific experimentation and exploitation of the working classes run rampant and the city itself starts to spring its first leaks, will Ryan and those loyal to him be able to maintain their ideological positions?
Review: Nimona – Netflix
“Nimona” is an animated movie based on the graphic novel of the same name by N.D. Stevenson. The story revolves around a knight who has fallen from grace, Sir Ballister Blackheart. He is joined by a young shapeshifter named Nimona, as they try to uncover the truth of who is really responsible for the crime Ballister has been framed for.
Nimona, with her whimsical and unpredictable nature, brings a lot of chaos to Ballister’s earnest attempt to find out who was truly responsible for his own banishment. But who, really, is she even?
With its witty dialogue, vibrant animation, and engaging storyline, “Nimona” explores what it’s like to be an outsider in a world that likes to keep outsiders firmly behind a wall.
Review: Red Mars – Kim Stanley Robinson
In the near future, mankind sets out to colonise Mars. But as tensions within even the first 100 colonists starts to rise and the first cracks begin to show, the question rises whether mankind will ever come to an agreement on what life on Mars means for the shared future of humanity.
As the colonisation progresses and man’s impact on the planet keeps growing, the disagreements between the first 100 turn into full blown gloves off interplanetary politics. Still, the personal relationships between those first settlers may prove pivotal in preventing worse.
Review: Everything Everywhere All at Once – Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert
Evelyn Quan Wang is a tired Chinese American trying to run a shabby laundromat with her husband Waymond. Nothing is easy: Evelyn’s marriage is in shambles, and so is her relationship with her daughter.
When the business is audited by the IRS, Evelyn is suddenly thrust into an adventure beyond her wildest imagination.
