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Quirky Sci-Fi: Space Oddity and Molli & Max in the Future

25 Sep

Space Oddity
by Catherynne M. Valente
Space Oddity is the sequel to Catherynne M. Valente’s Science Fiction love letter to the Eurovision Music Competition, Space Opera, where humanities only hope in proving their worth and escaping alien annihilation was winning an intergalactic song competition. I had previously blogged about Space Opera, which like much of Valente’s work I found highly creative and enjoyable. This even more than the previous book reminds me of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and if you are a fan of Douglas Adam’s classic hilarious work than you may want to check this out. Some of the writing can be a bit dense since Valente has packed it with clever references and jokes; this can at times slow down the pace of the book a bit, but this is definitely a novel that focuses as much on the journey as the final destination. I loved how seemingly random facts and divergent story-lines all harmonized together at the end. If you enjoyed the space/music mashup than also check out Gail Carriger’s excellent Tinkered Starsong Series.

Molli & Max in the Future
Mostly when you think Science Fiction movie you expect space opera with epic starship battles or perhaps a dystopian future where people are desperate to survive; Molli & Max in the Future on the other hand is a sci-fi romcom about two people whose paths collide and diverge over the series of 12 years across several planets and dimensions. At one point Molli joins a cult with a tentacled alien demigod where she learns to do magic. Max, who is part fish person, on the other becomes a mechapilot for giant robot battles. Mollie is played by the talented Zosia Mamet, who I had enjoyed in her role in the HBO series Girls. Max is played by a charming Aristotle Athari, who brings comedic skills as a veteran of Saturday Night Live. The effects are a fun mix of practical effects with stylized backgrounds that give the film a fun, futuristic kitschy look on a budget. This is what I imagine Futurama or the Jettisons would be like as a live action series. The film is not rated, but I would recommend it for adult audiences due to some of the dialogue.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

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Redefining Humanity: Ancillary Justice and All Systems Red

31 Jul

Ancillary Justice
by Ann Leckie
We read Ancillary Justice for July’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Discussion Group. The book has an interesting premise that Radch Space Ships have consciousness and as part of them are individual bodies that do work like assisting the officers on and off the ship. Although these bodies can walk around and interact as individual people, they also share the wider consciousness of the ship itself. In the case of this particular ship, Justice of Toren, all of it has been destroyed, but one ancillary, Breq. Breq has only one goal now to get revenge for Justice of Toren no matter what it takes. The story picks up on a remote isolated planet whose cold climate is vividly depicted by the author and gave me flash backs to my time visiting Greenland. The Radch civilization that Justice of Toren was part of did not differentiate by gender and therefor Breq often is confused with how to define those she interacts with and often guess wrong when communicating with them. This adds an interesting perspective to the story and though the ships are given emotion (to better and more quickly make decisions) there is still a disconnect between Breq and the other humans she interacts with. If like our book club, you enjoy Ancillary Justice, there are two additional novels in the Imperial Radch Trilogy, Ancillary Sword and Ancillary Mercy.

All Systems Red
by Martha Wells
We read All Systems Red for our April Book Discussion. All Systems Red is a novella so it is quick, but action packed read, which focuses on the self-identified Murderbot, a security unit who has overcome its governor module, but still mostly does its job as usual, though Murderbot secretly spends hours watching its favorite soap opera. It was interesting when reading Ancillary Justice to compare Breq with the Murderbot from the novel we had read earlier in the year. Both are aware of the separateness from humans but in neither case do they pine to be human and instead are content in their cyborg state neither fully machine nor all human. Neither feels the need to define their gender, though there are hints in both cases that they may have a “female” body. I think this moves away from older works where often robots or cyborgs longed for humanity in order to be seen as real. Now that we are more accepting of neurodiversity and more fluid gender identities, these stories seem to be transitioning to being more about acceptance. I really enjoyed the humor found through out the story and also checked out the next two in the series. Besides the standard audio recordings for the series you can also listen to them in graphic audio with a full cast recording. I really love the graphic audio versions they remind me of old fashioned radio dramas for a new generation.

If you would like to join our book club, our next meeting will be on Monday, August 26 at 6 PM at the Main Branch. We will be discussing C.L. Polk’s fantasy, Witchmark. I’ve enjoyed and blogged about Polk’s The Midnight Bargain and Even Though I Knew the End.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

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