Michal Wojcik's Blog, page 3
April 18, 2022
Into the deep, dark woods
The stories in Charles R. Saunders’s Dossouye have more in common than the title character; each returns to a central theme that weaves the six pieces together. Each short story confronts an oppressive cultural practice and the structures of power that perpetuate them, and while Dossouye treks further away from civilization as she knows it, she find people act in similar fashion no matter how different their societies might appear on the surface.
Dossouye herself is a remarkable character...
February 23, 2022
Warrior at the world’s end
Imaro: The Naama War is an unexpected novel, for two reasons:
While the third Imaro novel, Imaro III: The Trail of Bohu was first published in the 1980s, The Naama War didn’t see the light of day until 2009, though not through any fault by the author.The Naama War has a different structure and tone from where the series began. I never would have predicted it would end quite like this.I can’t really go into The Naama War without turning to The Trail of Bohu first, since the two books a...
January 8, 2022
At rest in Cush
When Charles R. Saunders passed away in 2020, I didn’t have the heart to write about it here. I’ve been thinking about this CBC piece about his life ever since then and its implications. Saunders was a pioneering African-Canadian fantasy author who deserves recognition for his contributions to the field, but that recognition largely eluded him in his lifetime. He wrote African-inspired fantasy from the 1970s on, but time and time again people who declared they sought broader cultural setting...
December 18, 2021
Farewell to 2021
December already. As I predicted in my 2020 year-end roundup, this blog has been very quiet this year, seeing just a few podcast episodes and a lukewarm book review. That’s not to say the year hasn’t been eventful for me, just not in a way that made me run to posting things here.
Within the world of science fiction and fantasy, I was surprised (very pleasantly, mind) but the appearance of khōréō magazine, dedicated to stories from an immigrant perspective. Their about page mission stateme...
October 6, 2021
Episode 46 – Book People
Sting. In Dune.Despite the title, we are in fact talking about movies. But also books. Because this episode is all about adaptations!
Download the Podcast (archive.org page)
June 25, 2021
It’s Axiomatic
Science fiction publishing, for all its dedication to bringing you futures, was slow to recognize the massive audience that potential authors have garnered on YouTube. Lindsay Ellis commands a huge viewership on that platform and her novel was very likely to end up a bestseller as a result. Yet, as one of her videos detailed with refreshing honesty, the road to publication was still a 10-year process. That doesn’t change that, in the end, the final push that got her noticed by an agent was s...
April 29, 2021
Episode 45.5 – Dealing with Disney
A short discussion about Raya and the Last Dragon (2021).
Part of this episode references the YouTube video “Raya’s Moral ISN’T A Good Lesson to Learn” by La’Ron Readus.
Download the Podcast (archive.org page)
December 31, 2020
Good riddance 2020
The title of this post refers to global events, not personal ones, though the ripple effects have definitely not helped the isolation I’ve felt steadily increasing these past few years. Many plans lay discarded because of the pandemic, but I still managed to finish building a cabin after two years of work, and my friends have been tremendously kind this year, for which I am absurdly grateful.
Books
Launching into 2021, I’m painfully realizing the lack of any kind of tracking for books I’ve...
November 25, 2020
Episode 45 – Eat, Pray, Live Deliciously
After 5 years of people yelling at me to see this film, we finally watch The Witch (2015).
Books mentioned:
Witches and Neighbours: The Social and Cultural Context of European Witchcraft by Robin Briggs (1998).
Download the Podcast (archive.org page)
August 23, 2020
Episode 44 – Toss a Coin To Your Wiedźmin
Geralt’s butt.Marie watched the Netflix adaptation of The Witcher! Michal indulges in his teenage obsessions. We end up comparing The Witcher to Dealing with Dragons.
Correction: At one point, we make it sound like Dandelion is the English translation of Jaskier. This is incorrect. Jaskier in fact means Buttercup.
The books.Download the Podcast (archive.org page)
My blog post about the Polish television series from 2002
