Lynne M. Thomas's Blog, page 9
April 11, 2018
Ep 162 – Controlled Scene-Chewing from the Pit
New Verity!
Our celebration of David Fisher-penned female villains continues. Join Deb, Erika, Katrina, and Liz as we chat about Lady Adrasta and her cohort Karela. Things get a little bit Snow White and the wicked queen as far as we can tell.
What do you think of this story and these villains? Let us know in the comments!
^E
Also covered:
We are honoured to be Hugo Award finalists for 2018!
Kat adores Rachael Stott’s13th Doctor drawings!
Liz squees with delight about how Steven Moffat’s The Day of the Doctor novelisation canonizes Peter Cushing’s Doctor!
Erika defaults to Doctor Who Mad Libs again!
Deb can’t wait to read Alyssa Franke’s upcoming book from The Black Archive!
Download or listen now (runtime 1:14:32)
April 4, 2018
Ep 161 – Stones of Justice
New Verity! STONES OF BLOOD! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!
Our villains mini-arc continues with a duplicitous dame. Join Deb, Erika, Katrina, and Tansy as we dig into Viven Fay (aka Cessair of Diplos, aka the Cailleach, aka many other names). With many many many tangents to celebrate the greatness of Beatrix Lehmann as Professor Amelia Rumford.
Are you a fan of these two? Let us know in the comments!
^E
Also covered:
Kat flips over a femme Adric costume from (Re)Generation Who!
Erika also loved all the cosplay pics coming out of (Re)Gen and still gets a kick out of Mad Libs!
Tansy would love you to support her Kickstarter for The Creature Court, which has a few days left as this ep drops!
Deb also loved the tweets from (Re)Gen–in particular, a few from friend-of-the-show, Joy Piedmont!
Download or listen now (runtime 1:23:44)
March 26, 2018
Book Review: Passing Strange by Ellen Klages
Passing Strange by Ellen Klages
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Historical San Francisco. A circle of queer friends. Art and music. Nightclubs. And a tiny bit of magic.
The “proper” magic itself is … minimal. Half-remembered. Rarely used without very good reason.
Historic (WWII?) San Francisco, with a trip to Treasure Island in the middle. If you loved Amberlough, you will love this.
The real magic is in this circle of friends and lovers who take care of one another for all their days. If you are someone who loves the “found family” trope, you need to read this. I promise, it is worth your while.
Reader, I cried, and for all the best reasons.
March 19, 2018
Book Review: The Stars Are Legion by Kameron Hurley
The Stars Are Legion by Kameron Hurley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is another entertaining entry in Kameron Hurley’s body of work.
She has pitched it as “Lesbians! In! Spaaaace!” and it is that, and it is also much more. With her trademark worldbuilding that often involves things that gross me out in their absolute effectiveness, this space opera has tight pacing and emotional heft. This features a whole cast of characters where no one is a reliable narrator, no one is to be trusted, but there is much truth in the telling of the tale, even if those telling it aren’t always honest.
Themes of perseverance, betrayal, and doing your best to move forward as supports are stripped away permeate this ticking clock of a space opera.
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February 23, 2018
Book review: When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Very sweet YA romance set during the summer before college. The characters are compelling, and likeable, but still flawed in specific ways that feel real. Themes of family pressures, figuring out who you are, who you want to be, and what you want as a result of those decisions, as I would expect from a YA set during the summer before college.
I listened to this as an audiobook, and I especially liked having different narrators for the 2 POVs in the book (that of Dimple and that of Rishi).
February 20, 2018
Book review: Extreme Honor by Piper J. Drake
Extreme Honor by Piper J. Drake
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
While military romances are not typically my thing, this one does a great job of balancing the military stuff with the story in a way that is accessible and understandable to someone who doesn’t have a lot of military folks in their lives.
David Cruz and Evelyn Jones are both dog handlers (he’s ex-military, she’s a private contractor) tasked with rehabilitating Atlas, a military dog who lost his handler through “friendly fire.” (Those quotes are there for plot relevant reasons.) While they have different goals at first, they learn to trust one another through working together with Atlas, since they are both people who generally prefer dogs to other humans.
One of the things I particularly liked about this is the careful way that it handles PTSD for several characters–including Atlas the dog– without becoming a Problem Novel Romance (TM). I’m always here for romances that acknowledge that people can be complicated and difficult, but that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve love.
Strong, page turning action, and a great discussion of the challenges of moving between military and civilian life.
Also, Atlas is the :best: dog.
February 14, 2018
Verity Ep 158 – Competent Women
New Verity!
It’s time to wrap up our first mini-arc of 2018! Join Deb, Erika, Liz, and Liz as we talk about the history of competent women in Doctor Who. We discuss some favorites, some common threads, and have a jolly good time doing it!
There’s no way we could cover them all, so let us know who you think of when you think of competent women in our favorite show–the comments are open!
^E
Also covered:
Erika got Doctor Who Mad Libs for Christmas!
Lynne has Doctor Who Fluxx!
Liz loves Alyssa’s (@WhovianFeminism’s) Gally ribbons!
Deb is thrilled that Joy Piedmont is the new co-producer of Reality Bomb !
Download or listen now (runtime 1:26:26)
February 12, 2018
Book review: Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw
Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a lovely, snarkily-toned romp wherein a descendent of Van Helsing, Greta Helsing, is a doctor who treats the monstrous (vampires, vampyres, ghouls, demons, etc.) residents of London.
A religious cult begins a serial-killer spree of killing Greta’s patients, and she and dear family friends and colleagues work together to put a stop to it.
If you love references to Old Timey Monsters (yes, there is a difference between a vampire and a vampyre in this universe, quite a few, actually), and groups of people who become found family because of shared adventures and affection, and a narratorial voice that is wry enough to make you laugh out loud occasionally, this is a novel for you.
January 31, 2018
Book review: Amberlough by Lara Elena Donnelly
Amberlough by Lara Elena Donnelly
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Setting: fantastical version of Weimar (pre-WWII) Germany, roughly. Amberlough is a Big City in Gedda, full of Big City Dwellers who love their city life. There is beauty, art, and political struggles. There is graft, there is solidarity, there is a major spy agency.
Cyril DePaul is a spy for the agency, whose last mission went really sideways. So now it’s desk duty, mostly. He’s sleeping with his current target, burlesque performer/smuggler Aristide Makricosta, but they are :really: good at compartmentalizing. Which works well until DePaul’s next assignment, which involves working to infiltrate the Ospies, a “nation first” political party that is trying to unify Gedda into some sort of magical place where people who don’t fit their traditional notions of life … disappear. Aristide convinces his coworker at the Bee (the Burlesque club), Cordelia, to serve as a visible companion to Cyril, bolstering his case as an Ospie convert.
That’s when things get interesting.
This is a pretty good queer spy thriller. Cyril and Aristide plot and counter-plot, trying to save each other and, incidentally themselves, with … varying results. Cordelia is also a survivor, and she makes her own choices, which intersect with Cyril and Aristide’s plans in interesting ways.
Because plans don’t always work. Yet the way that these multiple different attempts to solve the problem at hand–and guarantee the survival of the folks in the middle of it– intersect in ways that make perfect, believable, messy human sense.
It’s an even better meditation on constructed selves, and the things that we do and the choices that we make to survive. At what point does our need for survival overrule our need for community? Is it worth surviving individually when your community doesn’t? When does the constructed version of ourselves become the “real” us? Can we go back to the people that we once were? Would we WANT to? What is the value of art and performance? Can art be an act of resistance? Is art political?
These are all important questions, and Amberlough gives us its own answers, wrapped in a tale of desperation, affection, defiance, and love among some truly spectacular, well crafted characters.
I loved this novel, and I can’t wait to read book 2, to see what happened to Cyril, Aristide, and Cordelia.
Extra! – Chicago TARDIS Feminism Panel
Extra! Featuring a feminism panel I did at Chicago TARDIS!
Schedule confusion means this week you get a pre-banked emergency Extra! Join Lynne, on stage at Chicago TARDIS, leading a panel of guests as they discuss feminism and Doctor Who!
^E
Download or listen now (runtime 51:34)
