We survived another one! Another year done, with highs and lows for everyone.
Our curators look back at their 2022 in speculative fiction, by evaluating their resolutions for the year and highlighting their favourite media/reviews of the past twelve months.
How successful were you in fulfilling your 2022 resolutions? And, when it comes to speculative fiction, what were your favourites, disappointments and surprises this year?
2022 resolutions
2022 has been a tough year for me, and I’m afraid it is visible in my resolutions – I managed to live up to exactly none of them!
I wanted to watch Blade Runner, and though I’ve now read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, for some reason I haven’t gotten round to actually watching the movie(s). I’ll get round to it this year, I promise!
I wanted to get started on a Quest of the Ringbearer-campaign in the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game, and though I’ve made a number of relevant model purchases, I really haven’t gotten much closer (ahh, the classic: spending money instead of time on your hobbies…) – I’ll chalk it up to having a terrible year all round and get cracking in 2023.
And let’s not talk about The Winds of Winter…
favourite
My favourite read for this year is probably Gibson’s Neuromancer, which I finally got round to. It’s one of those foundational classics that I live for, and it did not disappoint – though it is closely followed by one of the revelations of the year.
Biggest Surprise
For my surprise of the year, I’m torn between two entries: on the one hand, we have Shelley Parker-Chan’s She Who Became the Sun, a historical fantasy that came completely out of nowhere for me and completely enthralled me – I’m looking forward to reading the second part! On the other hand, we have Luca Galante’s Vampire Survivors, an indie game developed by a single guy that costs as much as a beer on an Amsterdam terrace but kept me entertained for dozens of hours. If that’s not a surprise hit, then I don’t know what is.
Biggest Disappointment
For my disappointment of the year, the obvious answer is Amazon’s The Rings of Power. It’s one of the most-hyped pieces of entertainment of the decade in a franchise that I’m obsessed with – and I could hardly be bothered to finish the season. It’s not the worst thing I’ve spent time on this year, but it is so much worse than it could have been. (and on a side note, the author of one of my favourite blogs on the internet seems to have come to exactly the same conclusions as I did) I would add James Cameron’s Avatar II: the Way of Water, but to say that I was disappointed would suggest that I had expectations to begin with.
Peter
Jasmijn
2022 resolutions
In 2022, watching series was definitely a way to cope with the lemons life threw at us. So in 2023 I have a lot of catching up on reviews to do!
Kirby and the Forgotten Land was the perfect game for a lazy Sunday afternoon. The different powers were fun to explore and I can collect cute figurines to put on my digital mantlepiece! I haven’t finished the game yet, though. A goal for 2023 perhaps?
The Legend of Vox Machina lived up to all the expectations! We watched it all and I just want more of it. Luckily, in just a few weeks season two will release. Aaah!
As for The Umbrella Academy, I definitely needed the recaps before binging the new season. I would say this is the way to go for The Umbrella Academy because A LOT is happening ALL THE TIME. They make it a comfortable watch though, because they never lose sight of the characters. I couldn’t tell you what happened in season 3, but I enjoyed it thoroughly.
favourite
This movie may have a slight advantage because it was recently released, but Matilda the Musical did not disappoint. They made a beautiful homage to both the movie from 1996 and the stage musical by Tim Minchin. Even though it was quite dark, I really liked it.
Biggest Surprise
Wednesday was definitely a teen-drama, but relatively well executed. I didn’t have a lot of nostalgic feelings surrounding the Addams Family, and I thought it would be more horror-y than it turned out to be. So I was surprised that I was amused by this series.
Biggest Disappointment
I had been looking forward to Disenchanted for years! When it finally released, I couldn’t help but feel every part of the movie was strained. The music, although written by Alan Menken, felt like a wet copy of the first movie. The storylines for all the main characters felt very forced and mainly written to give the Big Stars enough screentime.I have to say, I was disenchanted by Disenchanted.
2022 resolutions
All in all, 2022 wasn’t the best year for me, but I managed to consume a decent amount of speculative fiction. I also succeeded in living up to my resolutions. That is, in the resolutions that the universe allowed me to be successful in.
I’ve finally read The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin and was very pleased by the unique setting and story. One of my resolutions for 2023 would be to also write a review for it. I’m planning to ask Lotte if I can borrow her physical copy of the sequel, The Obelisk Gate, but maybe I should first return the first instalment to her…
I also watched the second season of The Witcher! Though, honestly, I was a little disappointed with it. I felt the quality of the writing took quite a dip compared to the first season, losing much of his focus and unsuccessfully diverting from the other Witcher media (poor Eskel, for example). I’ll have to review this one also…
As for the sequel to The Legend of Zelda – Breath of the Wild, I fear I dreamt too big. It should be arriving this year though! It even has a name: The Legend of Zelda – Tears of the Kingdom, cleverly foreshadowing the despair of my foes when I’m going to swoop down from the heavens to vanquish them! Mwhuahahahaha!
favourite
My favourite piece of media in 2022 might actually be the same as Jasmijn’s: the very recently released Matilda the Musical on Netflix. I already had a weak spot for the musical, but this adaptation succeeded in making me weep multiple times. Lashana Lynch was sublime as Miss Honey, and the children’s performance of the choreography… just wow.
Biggest Surprise
The biggest surprise of 2022 for me was certainly Dragon Age: Absolution. Did I expect an animated series set in Thedas? Certainly not. Was I entertained, even though it was flawed? Yes. Did it revive my overwhelming hype for the upcoming Dragon Age: Dreadwolf game? Absolutely…
Biggest Disappointment
I already spoiled my disappointment of the year, earlier in this post: the second season of The Witcher. It just didn’t scratch my Witcher itch, I’m afraid. A honourable mention would probably be The Rings of Power, though I handled my expectation management so well in that regard, that I wasn’t terribly let down by what we got.
Jop
Lotte
2022 resolutions
2022 was quite a busy year for me, more so in creating than it was in consuming content. I’ll be mentioning a couple of things I haven’t written about yet, so you can expect reviews coming your way in the near future!
I started the year by watching Pacific Rim: Uprising, which was, as expected, not good. This year I also wanted to finally play The Witcher 3. I did not. Will I play it next year? I can’t honestly guarantee it.
Peter ended up getting Amazon Prime Video, so I could finally watch the Legend of Vox Machina. Though to be fully honest I haven’t quite finished it yet. I’m enjoying it, but it’s definitely not as good as the experience of watching the cast play D&D in real time.
favourite
I absolutely loved Dimension 20’s A Court of Fey and Flowers, this year. This Bridgerton & A Court of Thorns and Roses inspired campaign was ALL about the drama. Shenanigans only, and I loved it.
Biggest Surprise
My biggest surprise of the year was probably the couple of Korean dramas I watched. I watched Memories of the Alhambra (Sci-Fi) and The King: Eternal Monarch (Fantasy), and I really, really enjoyed them. You can expect reviews of those soon as well!
Biggest Disappointment
My biggest disappointment was probably The Rings of Power. Mostly because it was hugely hyped up. It might have been Disenchanted if only for the fact that I was saved from watching it thanks to the scathing reviews of others. I’ll still watch it eventually, though.
2022 resolutions
I didn’t remember what I put on my list for this year, but looking at it now, I did pretty well. I finished both Exhalation and the first Sandman season, and enjoyed both. The final His Dark Materials season was released a couple of months later than anticipated so I have not finished the season yet, but I have no major complaints about it so far.
favourite
Overall I would say 2022 was an okay reading/watching year. It’s always hard to pick a favourite, especially across different genres, but since I have to choose I think I will say Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. The book takes the concept ‘atmospheric’ to a whole new level, and every time I think about it part of me wants to return to that world.
Biggest Surprise
A real surprise for me this year was the Murderbot series. As I said in my review, the cover very much gave me the wrong impression, but after I was persuaded to start the series I went through all six in very quick succession.
Biggest Disappointment
And as for biggest disappointment… there are a couple that come to mind (looking at you, The Rings of Power), but the biggest let down compared to how much I was expecting from it was probably the TV adaptation of Station Eleven. I loved that book so much, and I truly believe that a more faithful adaption would have done it far more justice.
Robin
Happy New Year, folks!
