Lena’s Comments (group member since Nov 17, 2014)

Lena’s comments from the Spells, Space & Screams: Collections & Anthologies in Fantasy, Science Fiction, & Horror group.

Infinities by Vandana Singh ★★★☆☆
The musings of a Muslim mathematician in India. It recounts his life and studies during times of religion induced violence.

Last Drinks at Bondi Beach by Garth Nix ★★★★☆
Tasty little vampire origin story.

Return to Bear Creek Lodge by Tananarive Due ★★★½☆
One of the first black Hollywood starlets runs away for years to the woods to recover from the price of fame. But it’s the price of the woods that wrecks her family. I’m not clear if this was a really a werewolf story or a golem/ghost story, but it was interesting.

The popularity of Modern Art Explained with Uma Thermon and Samuel L. Jackson: https://youtu.be/Urs2NSkxvEc?si=DSZm7...

Three.

I had to Google Michael Burnham. “Oooh, that show I loathed with the animal torture and despicable reinvention of Klingons.”
Your list looks good to me. I didn’t watch much of the Janeway reboot - the female captain thing was exciting for a minute but that show had no eye candy until 7of9. The Bakula (and I like him too) reboot was just missing something. Excitement/drama, something.

There were times he channeled Kirk and it fit awkwardly.

Excellent scene. I rewatched the first six seasons awhile back and decided DS9 was the best trek series. It’s not something you can spin-off into movies, so it will never be as well known, but it was the best.

Dry and Ready by Glen Hirshberg ★★★½☆
I felt all the rage and frustration in that story, the generational angst. The magical part was weak, the horror was the family.

No, it’s not new ground script wise, but I still want to see it.

Andy MacDowell is the bad guy! I feel like I’ve been waiting for her step up to this for years: https://youtu.be/3Gep1bjzlgE?si=dPQZ3...

The Blessing of the Waters by Nick Mamatas ★★★☆☆
When a priest declines to bless the waters, the faithful take drastic action.

Sweet. I have a copy I need to find. I recently had the floors redone which is basically moving only without going anywhere. Everything is still in boxes driving me crazy.

The Mawkin Field by Terry Dowling ★★☆☆☆
I fell asleep twice trying to start this story. I wax lost from the beginning and never found my way to what was going on.

His Castle by Alma Katsu ★★★½☆
A social justice story told with cheerful holiday violence.

The Importance of a Tidy Home by Christopher Golden ★★★★☆
I had never heard of the Schnabelperchten but now I can’t stop thinking about these spooky medieval-looking bladed New Years clean freaks.

The Ones He Takes by Benjamin Percy ★★★½☆
“He needs us. He uses us. We build for him. Somebody has to do all the building.”
Bad Santa the white slaver.

R. F. Kuang, New York Times bestselling author of the Poppy War trilogy and Babel, selects twenty pieces that represent the best examples of the form published the previous year and explores the ever-expanding and changing world of science fiction and fantasy today.

*I already purchased the audiobook!

Finished! https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Woohoo! Now I will take a lap around the neighborhood to celebrate and then try and finish something else, lol.

The Pall by Aristo Couvaras DNF
This was just nonsense.

A Small Hand-Built House by Ali Seay ★★★½☆
It could have been a good episode of Criminal Minds. It’s a dead serial killer treasure hunt to mess with his wife.

This Video is Unavailable by Robert Levy ★★★★☆
Oh that was dark! Obsessed YouTube fans kill the object of their affection when he decides to change his life. They get off on mass hysteria. Dark.

(I had thought the kids would run in and then be turned or sucked dry by a monster. The fact that it was just humans psychotically pack hunting was a surprise. That they got away with it reminded me of A Murder of Crows 🐦‍⬛ with Cuba Gooding Jr & Mark Pellegrino - an overlooked gem of a legal murder mystery.)

Dear Penny by Jeremy Hepler ★★★★½
An abusive Christian helicopter-mother learns just what she has raised. A dark and tasty treat of a story.

That’s odd. Thanks for sharing incase other have the same issue. Glad I put the link in the email. I have this on hold from the library, but if it’s taking too long I’ll just buy it.