David Steffen is an editor, publisher, and writer.
If you like what he does you can visit the Support page or buy him a coffee!
He is probably best known for being co-founder and administrator of The Submission Grinder, a donation-supported tool to help writers track their submissions and find publishers for their work . David is also the editor-in-chief here at Diabolical Plots. He is also the editor and publisher of The Long List Anthology: More Stories From the Hugo Award Nomination List series. David also (sometimes) writes fiction, and you can follow on BlueSky for updates on cross-stitch projects and occasionally other things.
Clay’s Ark is a 1984 science fiction novel by Octavia Butler, in her Patternmaster series. It was the last of the four of the books to be published, but is the third in the chronological storyline. It is the next book chronologically after Mind of My Mind (reviewed here).
Chronologically it is the first to introduce the clayarks, a race of mutant humans created by an infection from outer space. Between the last book and this one, an exploration spaceship was sent out called Clay’s Ark. The expedition encountered an alien infection and one survivor brought it back.
It is a few decades in the future on Earth, and conditions in America have decline enough that most people either live in gated communities or as “car families”, militant nomadic bands that prey on anyone trying to travel. Physician Blake Maslin and his twin daughters Keira and Rane are kidnapped by Eli Doyle, the survivor from Clay’s Ark. Eli is not at all what they expect, just another car family henchman looking for theft or ransom. They’re taken back to an isolated compound with a bunch of others who are all acting very strangely. The infection is isolated for the time being, but how long until it breaks out?
If you have read Patternmaster, the final book chronologically, you already know where this ends up on a macro level, and so if you read them in the order of actual publication you would have already known, but in the collection I read them in they were ordered chronologically so I did not know. I think this added to the overall tension of my reading but I did also still care how the individual characters would survive in this tense setting caught between kidnappers and an alien disease. Tense, gripping, kept me interested until the end, worth the read (though Wild Seed is still my favorite in the series).
If you have read Wild Seed and Mind of My Mind, which both focused on a group of earthlings who over generations of selective breeding have led to increasingly powerful psychic abilities, you might wonder why this book is in the same series as those, when this seems to have nothing to do with those. The storylines have some minor ties you can discern, but the major ties come within Patternmaster book.
You are a high school student, and you have been arrested on suspicion of terrorism for being near some kind of terrorist act at the the time that it happened. Your only chance at freeing yourself is to hack into the smartphone of one of your classmates to gather evidence. Replica is a puzzle game by Somi published on Steam in July 2016 where you are tasked by Homeland Security to hack into a phone and gather evidence.
Many features of the phone are locked down before its given to you (which given that they haven’t cracked the password yet, is a little inconsistent), and other features appear to be inaccessible with only a point-and-click interface–for instance, there is a Search app but you can only view the search history and search for things in the search history, not freely typing. You are given a series of tasks to prove that you’re able to figure this information out from text history, call history, phone history, cracking social media apps. You gather evidence simply by clicking on things that fit the criteria. One of your first tasks is to find the name of the owner of the phone, so you find that somewhere in the settings and click on it.
The game seemed a lot more wide open and interesting in theory than it ended up being. The point-and-click-only interface was pretty limited in that you couldn’t even bring up a touch keyboard for the Search app, and other features were locked by Homeland Security. There just ended up not being a lot of areas to explore in the phone, and so the answers sort of had to be conveniently placed in one of these few small areas. Not only that, but the owner of the phone is in the habit of deleting everything, so there are only like 5 pictures, only a few short text conversations. You could get through the game by just clicking on everything you see and it wouldn’t take that long to complete the major tasks because there just aren’t that many options. I feel like this game could’ve been really extraordinary if it had opened up more of the space and given more area to search through and more things in each area (interesting things to read, so it would have to be interesting content certainly).
Visuals
Grainy, low resolution, if it’s supposed to be smartphone era it would’ve made more sense to up the res.
Challenge Finding all of the hidden parts in the phone is somewhat of a challenge, but the main throughline of the story you can get through without too much difficulty, or if you’re hardpressed you could just click randomly.
Story Pretty slight on story. After the premise, and the tone the game is presented in, it’s pretty clear where it’s going to go.
Session Time I couldn’t find any way to save the game, so unless you want to start completely from scratch, the session time seems to be however long it takes you to reach an ending, which took me maybe a half hour through the main throughline.
Playability It seems like it should be more playable, it should be more like a phone interface, with more things to look at. But most of the programs are locked down by security and the Search program that seems like it should be the most useful is basically useless, because you can only click and there are no keyboard controls on that app.
Replayability You could get some replayability from trying to reach the different endings, though the 3 endings that I saw were all along my expectations, so I didn’t feel driven to seek out more.
Originality The premise strikes me as original, and something very timely, but I didn’t think the execution really followed through with that.
Playtime With no particular skill, I finished 3 endings in less than 2 hours.
Overall It’s an interesting idea I haven’t seen in another game, but I feel like there might be another out there that’s executed this better. $3 on Steam.
This is the third in a new series of articles wherein I examine a music video by a well-known artist as a short film, trying to identify the story arcs and the character motivations, and consider the larger implications of things that we get glimpses of in the story.
This time we are taking a look at Bad Blood by Taylor Swift, featuring Kendrick Lamar, a 2015 blockbuster action film with an all-star cast.
The film begins with an opening shot of a city skyline at night and transitions inside to an office space that appears to be empty until a man wearing a business side and a headband-style mask slams onto the top of the frontmost desk and a security alarm blares and we see a woman (Taylor Swift) attacking another suit by locking her legs around his head and throwing him before calmly applying fresh lipstick while her character name “Catastrophe” displays next to her.
She is not alone in this infiltration as Arsyn (Selena Gomez) enters the scene, disabling yet another suit. Together they make quick work of a whole squad of… enemy agents? My first thought on this scene was they were infiltrating to steal something, but it seems unlikely that security guards in an office building would wear masks as a matter of course, even if they are security guards working for a villain.
Catastrophe lays her hands on a silver briefcase that appears to be of some importance–though it’s not clear where it comes from, flying through the air in the middle of the scene, accidentally thrown by a disabled suit? If it is so important, why does the guy run toward her while carrying it, rather than running away? When Catastrophe lets her guard down Arsyn blows powder in her face from a makeup kit and kicks Catastrophe through a nearby window where she falls a great distance and smashes into a car and Arsyn leaves her for dead. (I wouldn’t want to pay the insurance on that building if they have a high-rise with floor to ceiling windows and don’t have shatter-proof glass).
Catastrophe is badly injured but not dead, and she is mended by the futuristic machines of tech expert Welvin Da Great (Kendrick Lamar) with the assistance of a trio of women (androids?) called The Trinity (Hailee Steinfeld). This high-tech, presumably high budget suite suggests that Catastrophe works for a high-budget spy organization, or mercenary I suppose since they are probably way too noticeable to be proper spies.
About three-fourths of the film from this point is an extended training montage as Catastrophe sharpens her skills in various areas with different specialists within the organization. The cast is too large to list here, but they include Mother Chucker (Carla Delevingne) a nunchuck specialist, Cutthroat (Zendaya) throwing knife specialist, Domino (Jessica Alba) motorcycle specialist, and Destructa X (Ellie Goulding) who carries a missile launcher everywhere she goes, even indoors. Each appearance is little more than a brief cameo as Catastrophe hones her skills with each of them. Lucky Fiori (Lena Dunham) seems to be the leader of the organization–at least, it’s hard to imagine she plays any other role since she is not seen doing anything but smoking a cigar.
The organization is certainly formiddable and presumably has some deep pockets considering the weaponry and facilities, and given that Catastrophe and others appear to routinely damage the architecture and no one seems to care. The fact that Destructa X carries her missile launcher around indoors does raise some questions about the organizations friendly fire record–since they appear to be some kind of mercenary or special forces group, I imagine that everyone there is accustomed to risking their lives, but still one would think they would want to avoid one of their own accidentally wiping out a dozen or more of their own agents with a slip of the finger–I would be much more worried about that than about applying so many resources to stopping Arsyn.
Another significant feature of the organization is that it appears to be women-led and almost entirely woman-staffed–Welvin Da Great appearing to be the sole exception. Some of the wardrobe choices are a little bit perplexing for a merc or special forces group–particularly platform shoes and that sort of thing that can’t be conducive to running though they certainly look nice.
In the final scene, Catastrophe and an entourage of six other agents face off against Arsyn and a matching entourage ringed by a truly apocolayptic ring of explosions that no one seems at all worried about. Arsyn’s entourage all wear full leather face-masks–is this the uniform of a rival organization, or are these moles who are still trying to conceal their identity? Despite the heavy weaponry including missile launchers and bullet-bandoliers, the two groups don’t attack from a distance or attack undercover, but instead walk up to within arm’s reach of each other before Catastrophe and Arsyn and simultaneously attack each other with their bare hands.
This action film has an all-star cast, and certainly plenty of action. Who doesn’t love a good training montage between well-matched and imposing opponents, or a big action star face-off at the end. If you’re looking for just action, there is plenty of that. Considering the short length of the film, the size of the cast leaves little room for character development as the film breathlessly runs from one character to the next. I would be interested in watching spinoff films for any number of these characters (Cutthroat and Domino in particular, because I’ve liked Zendaya’s and Alba’s previous acting work).
The one character that has significant screen-time is our protagonist Catastrophe, and I’m not sure that I ever fully understood her either. She is excellent at what she does and was only defeated in the film by a betrayal by a trusted ally at a distracted moment. It’s understandable that she would want revenge for that betrayal, and to make sure that Arsyn can never do it again. But I would have liked to know more about why the organization thought it a worthwhile use of so many resources–why is it so important for Arsyn to be killed and to risk so many agents to do it. Is it driven primarily by Catastrophe’s vendetta or does the organization have its own purpose apart from that? What was in the briefcase? Who were they stealing the briefcase from, and why weren’t they smart enough to send the briefcase away from the attackers instead of toward them? The film does not answer any of these questions, though Lucky Fiori seems generally unconcerned with anything besides smoking her cigar, so I got the impression that Catastrophe has the free reign to direct this operation at her own directive.
(Next up in the Music Drilldown series will be Run Boy Run by Woodkid)
ZOMBIES 2 is a 2020 Disney Channel original movie musical romance, a sequel to the 2018 Disney Channel original movie (reviewed here). Headlining the cast again are cheerleader Addison (Meg Donnelly) and the zombie football player Zed (Milo Manheim) after the school integrated rehabilated zombies into the human culture in the town of Seabrook, the zombies rendered mostly normal by a newer technology called “Z-bands” that use electric current to help zombies retain self-control.
Zombies are gaining wider and wider acceptance, and now they will even be allowed to attend Prawn (the school’s super-prom, renamed because of their shrimp mascot). That doesn’t mean that everyone accepts the zombies as equals, but steps are moving in the right direction. Until now that zombies have started to be acceptable as normal, the whole town is thrown into panic when a pack of werewolves comes into town, with unknown intentions.
As with the previous movie, it’s less about a sensible plot and more about setting up the musical numbers. There were more catchy songs in the first one, and in my opinion too much of the plot was spent with jealousy between the young romantic leads, particularly Zed’s jealousy when Addison starts showing more and more interest in the werewolves because she doesn’t feel like she fits in with any group.
But, not a bad teen musical movie, though the first one was catchier.
The Lightning Thief is a 2005 modern day fantasy story about modern-day children of the ancient Greek gods living in the United States, which was adapted into a 2010 feature film as well as a 2014 Broadway musical.
Percy Jackson is a well-meaning but troubled teen who has been kicked out of five schools in six years for his impulsive behavior. He’s dyslexic and has ADHD and lives with his mom alone, his father having left when he was very young.
On a field trip to the Smithsonian the substitute teacher Mrs. Dodds draws him away from the group and transforms into a monster and tries to attack him. Percy manages to kill the monster with the help of a pen that magically and unexpectedly turns into a sword.
Soon he’s drawn into a hidden world of demigods, children of the ancient Greek gods, who have some of the powers of their godly parents but are still mortal and attract the attention of every monster in the area.
The book is a fun update to the old mythology, bringing it into the modern world and adding new layers of mythology on the old. It’s fun, appealing for kids, and gives representation for kids with dyslexia and/or ADHD, these being traits common to the children of the gods in this world. It’s a fun book, and the start of a series if you like it there are more where that came from.
This is the second in a new series that I’m very excited about wherein I examine a music video by a well-known artist as a short film, trying to identify the story arcs and the character motivations, and consider the larger implications of things that we get glimpses of in the story.
This time I will be discussing the 2019 fantasy film Never Really Over by Katy Perry about extreme measures taken to recover from depression after a breakup.
The film begins as a woman (Katy Perry) approaches a well-maintained bus stop on a country road marked with a modified yin-yang symbol that incorporates (cartoon-style) hearts in it. The heart sigil is a recurring motif throughout the film, visible from almost the first frame. She presses the call button at the stop and we get our first hint of the supernatural as the button exudes more heart-shapes into the air and in the space of another breath a VW Bus van arrives with another of the modified heart yin-yang on it. The van itself, besides its instant arrival, is notable in that it seems to run completely silently and its exhaust seems to be comprised of stylized sparkles–presumably this van runs very cleanly.
The van and its passenger are welcomed into a gated compound by people in loose, brightly colored clothing into a beautiful, grassy, tree-lined property, which appears to be a retreat or a commune. Alone in her spacious quarters, our protagonist laments “losing my self control, you’re starting to trickle back in” as she remembers the man from which she had a traumatic breakup from two years ago still isn’t over him. She is here for that express purpose, to recover from this traumatic event, but in these early moments she appears to be held prisoner by her longing for what was, gazing at a sketch of their matching tattooed hands and at the words “LET IT GO” etched in glass by her window as the other residents of the commune practice Tai chi outside on the lawn. “Cross my heart” she promises to herself that she won’t “fall down the rabbit hole”.
Their tattoos are a central and vital image in the story. His tattoo is in the palm of his left hand, and has a half-heart with a jagged boundary with the word “MISS”, and hers is the other matching half of the heart on her right hand with the word “YOU”. This seems an odd choice to me for a couple in love, since the entire message “MISS YOU” is only readable when their hands are together and the heart is complete, and when they are apart the half-heart is apparent but the words inside don’t form a complete thought alone. Even when they were together in the throes of love and at the tattoo parlor getting inked, were they even in that moment anticipating their breakup that they choose such melancholy sentiments that constantly remind them of their longing for each other and even more so when they are together and have no reason for such longing? Is this a hint at why they end up breaking up, that they are more in love with the idea of being together than they are each actually in love with , so that even when they are together their longing is still unfulfilled?
Soon she escapes from the isolation of her room and finds some solace in the social activities. Some of them are what you might expect at such a retreat (such as tai chi and dancing) while others appear somewhat baffling apart from being heart-laden metaphors for romantic struggle, such as tug-of-war with a heart-shaped hoops on either end of a chain. She also tries facial acupuncture and cupping therapy (with heart-shaped cups, natch).
But the most speculative of the therapies is the heart grove. Those participating in the heart grove wear devices around their eyes that look like eyeglasses but which harvest their anguished tears. These tears are then used to water the heart-fruits which are not only shaped like stylized hearts but actually throb with a “lub-dub” rhythm like actual hearts (but otherwise resemble apples). The heart-fruits have battles tied to the branches around them so that the fruit grows inside the bottles.
The next section is two scenes interspersed at intervals, though the ordering of the two is not clear. One shows our protagonist at a solemn campfire gathering, where a liquor has been made from the heart-fruits. One might expect that each person would drink from the bottle that they have personally tended, but before drinking they pass the bottles around, perhaps at random. Perhaps the best medicine for heartbreak is empathy, and drinking this liquor allows them to feel what the one who tended that fruit feels. After drinking their backs arch and they look up to the sky in what appears to be a spiritual epiphany.
The other scene interspersed with that shows our protagonist and her fellow residents dancing in a grassy field. She, for the first time in the film, appears to be genuinely happy and the entire dance centers completely around her (at turns joyous and sometimes boisterously grim as the dancers seem to mime self-harm in the form of stabbing themselves in the abdomen). It is never explained why she seems to suddenly be the center of all of the attention after having been a member of the crowd for the rest of the film proceeding this, but this question too may be answered by the epilogue where she is exiting the retreat compound alone on foot. Presumably she is believed to have been cured of her mental malady by the treatments she has received therein, and the gathering in the grass is meant to celebrate this and give her a joyous sendoff. Whether she has decided she is cured on her own or through consensus of others or some kind of authority at the compound is unclear, the question of who has organized this place and keeps it running is entirely unanswered.
In that final scene as she is walking along the road, the sparkle van passes by headed into the compound. She turns to glance back at it and she sees a tattoo hand with a fractured half-heart and the word “MISS” inside it. Her cured state appears to have been illusory in the face of seeing her beloved again, because she rushes to follow the van as the scene ends. This, combined with the title Never Really Over seems to imply that she will never be free of her heartache, that relapse is at any moment only one decision away, which in some ways mirrors twelve-step program philosophy such as AA–alcoholics never stop being alcoholics, the best they can hope for is to be “recovering alcoholics” who know that they can never allow themselves to drink again.
But the message of the end is overturned once again when you consider the image of the hand. The man’s tattoo shown in her flashbacks at the beginning is on his left hand, while this tattoo is on his right. One might wonder if perhaps this was merely an error in the film, that they showed a mirror image of the hand by accident or convenience. But, no, even this theory does not prove out, because the word “MISS” is not reversed, but the heart fragment itself is reversed.
Given these details it seems unlikely to be a mistake by the filmmakers, but then what is the meaning of this. It seems to be unclear and left up to the interpretation of the viewer.
Is it possible that the man has a tattoo on BOTH hands? Did he always have the second tattoo, or did he add that tattoo after the breakup? Is the purpose of the second tattoo to fit with the first one, to form the phrase “MISS MISS” in a complete heart? Has he since had a relationship with someone else whom he the “___ MISS” tattoo forms a complete thought? What thought would that be? “YOU MISS” perhaps? Or was this tattoo simply meant as a commentary on the meaningless of love and its sentiments in general, or an attempt to since his transporation into the commune suggests that’s not the case?
Or, is it possible that this isn’t him? Maybe there is some kind of social movement of the time that involves tattooing non-sequitor words-in-hearts on one’s hands? Or perhaps someone who knows about their relationship is sending in someone to trick her–but to what end? To lure her back into the commune and keep her there? To test her resolve and prove that she is not cured? I am curious what others think about the meaning of this because I am honestly not sure!
(Next up in the Music Video Drilldown series will be Bad Blood by Taylor Swift)
This is the first in a new series that I’m very excited about wherein I examine a music video by a well-known artist as a short film, trying to identify the story arcs and the character motivations, and consider the larger implications of things that we get glimpses of in the story. My favorite art (whether music, painting, writing, crafting) has always been art that I can find a story in, so in this series of articles I aim to celebrate the story in music. If there are any any speculative fiction music videos that you would like to suggest for a future review, leave a link in the comments! Keep in mind the “speculative fiction” part, there should be something science fictional or fantastical happening, and it can’t just be people on a stage singing and dancing only or I can’t find a plot in that.
For this inaugural review I will be discussing the 2010 fantasy dystopia film Tightrope by Janelle Monáe featuring Leftfoot (aka Big Boi*), that takes place in the an asylum called The Palace of the Dogs. As the prologue says “Dancing has long been forbidden for its subversive effects on the residents and its tendency to lead to illegal magical practices.”. It’s not clear whether these things are forbidden in the asylum specifically or in the world in general, but the fact that magic is “illegal” seems to imply that there is enough evidence of it to necessitate legal structures that forbid it.
The opening shot shows two men sitting on a bench–one reading a book and the other tossing a ball in the air, and we witness the first magic of the film when the ball refuses to come down. Shortly after this we meet our protagonist, the young and dapper revolutionary Janelle Monáe (played by themself) confined to their room and avoiding the baleful scrutiny of the nurse distributing medications in the hallway (given the rest of the film, these are presumably sedatives to keep the residents under control), followed at a distance by a pair of ominous mirror-faced cloaked figures. Monáe quickly reveals themself to be a rebel in the eyes of the viewer because they are already dancing in the confines of their room, and we see images of other residents tapping their feet and hands in other rooms. Clearly our protagonist has a powerful influence on the other residents and the power to be a revolutionary in even such a confining environment. They are also clearly not just any resident, given that they have a copy of the blueprints of the asylum in their room–were they one of the architects of this place and allowed to keep the blueprints as a reminder of their debt to the other residents? Or perhaps the asylum’s power to confine them is limited enough that they can’t stop our protagonist from showing some degree of freedom as shown in the blueprints and their unlocked door.
Monáe gives themself a pep talk in the mirror before donning their tuxedo jacket (one can say any number of things about this asylum but its residents are certainly well-dressed and well-groomed!) and heading out into the hallway to wage war against the authority figures. They begin dancing in the hallway where anyone could see them, singing about the tightrope that they walk on every day, and their singing draws four more well-dressed revolutionaries from their rooms who are presumably her generals in this war. Despite flaunting their dance in the hallways they still show some measure of caution at this stage, as they pause their musical revolution when the mirror-faced figures pass by.
The action rises when the leader and their generals reach the large gathering space where the rest of the revolution has been waiting for them under the leadership of another leader (Leftfoot), and together they increase both their violations of the law and also their power generated from their illegal magical practices. The crowd seems to draw power from this illicit action.
Unfortunately, the crowd’s revelry draws the attention of the nurse who reports to the mirror-faced figures. Monáe, still calm, escapes them by walking through a solid wall (an ability which, while powerful, leaves an easy trail to follow in the form of an extra tuxedo plastered to the wall) and out into the surrounding woods and the mirror-faced figures follow them and back into the asylum.
The mirror-faced figures escort Monáe back to their room where the blueprints are now laid on the table instead of hung on the wall, and show Monáe’s name labeled in one of the rooms and with a note that says “Walls (…) finish FR. RES ROOM #1, WERE NEVER COMPLETED — NOT NEEDED”. This may explain why the asylum seems to be lacking architectural security features–it seems (to me) that this facility may have been built specifically with the goal of confining Monáe and, given their ability to walk through walls, the walls (and locking doors) provide no security at all, and so the mirror-faced figures themselves may be the only thing standing between Monáe and the outside world.
I get the impression that Monáe could leave, on their own, any time they wish, but they clearly have great affection for the other residents, and they do not want to leave their compatriots. The mirror-faced figures are there to keep Monáe in check and to remind Monáe of their responsibility, and to keep Monáe from simply leading a crowd out the front door, but in return Monáe also shows their own display of power to show them that the asylum’s control over them is shaky at best.
Even as Monáe is again confined to their room, the revelry continues in the gathering place, and Monáe is also there with them. Even physical isolation from the group cannot take away their power. As the film ends, Monáe’s generals dance openly in the hallway (the large gathering having apparently finally dispersed) and Monáe gives a long look at the camera as if to say “this isn’t over”.
I very much look forward to the sequel!
(Next up in the Music Video Drilldown series will be “Never Really Over” by Katy Perry)
*-In the original posting of this story I hadn’t realized Leftfoot was an alias of Big Boi, this is correct now–thank you for pointing that out in the comments Kurt!
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is the 9th and final movie in the “main” numbered episodes of the Star Wars Franchise that largely centers around the rebels vs the Empire. Between this and the last movie a strange message has been broadcast which has the appearance of being Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDirmid), the leader of the Empire in the original trilogy. Is this a hoax or has Palpatine actually survived somehow? It all appears to be part of a plan to take the First Order revival of the empire to again make it a galaxy-spanning dictatorship. Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), the leader of the First Order rises to take his place at the helm of this new Empire.
Rey (Daisy Ridley), the last Jedi after the death of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in the previous film, is trying to complete her Jedi training under the tutelage of General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher, who had passed away before filming but is present in the film through repurposed footage from The Force Awakens). Rey and her fellow soldiers in the war seek out an Imperial Wayfinder, the only way they know to find the stronghold where Palpatine has supposedly been revived.
While the previous movie Episode 8, The Last Jedi, was directed by Rian Johnson, this one returned to being directed by J.J. Abrams (who directed Episode 7, The Force Awakens). The contrast is stark. Although there was a lot to love about The Force Awakens (primarily the more diverse cast) the plot had been very rehashed, almost an exact copy of A New Hope with different characters swapped in. The Last Jedi was probably my favorite in the series because I felt like it took more risks, told new angles on stories that weren’t just exactly what any fan could have guessed–it was clearly aware of the history of the movies and it played with those expectations by setting something up that you think you know where it’s going, and then going a different way instead. The Rise of Skywalker, you could tell it was back in Abrams hands primarily because it again did not take any risks, and largely did pretty much what any fan could have guessed. It had its moments, there were big epic battles with flashy special effects and some solid character moments, but overall it ended up leaving me feeling unaffected rather than moved. It felt like Abrams was trying to undo some of the amazing work from the last movie by suddenly downplaying characters that had played a huge role in the last one, retconning moments from the last one that were big character developments and trying to turn them into something trivial. I was hoping for something much more moving for the final installment of the main series.
If you’re a Star Wars fan I would certainly not try to talk you out of seeing it! It is the final installment after all! But, for myself, I might never rewatch this one, while I would happily rewatch The Last Jedi every week.
What We Do in the Shadows is an original TV series, a spinoff of the 2014 movie of the same title (reviewed here). Season one aired on FX between March 2019 and May 2019, and it has been renewed for a second season, airing soon.
Similar to the movie, the format of the TV series is a comedy/horror mockumentary following vampire flatmates, in this case in Staten Island in New York City, rather than Wellington, New Zealand.
Nandor the Relentless (Kayvan Novak) considers himself the leader of the group, originally a solder of the Ottoman Empire. Nadja (Natasia Demitriou) is the woman of the group, often more practical than the others (my favorite of the group). Laszlo (Matt Berry) was originally an English nobleman, turned to a vampire by Nadja. Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch) is an energy vampire that drains people’s life essences by boring or enraging them, and his abilities even work on vampires. Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) is Nandor’s human familiar, who runs daytime errands for his master in return for the promise of being turned into a vampire.
The TV series has a very similar sense of humor to the movie, while expanding the worldbuilding and premise, such as the adding the existence of energy vampires, and more about the vampire social hierarchy when a high-ranking vampire comes to visit. The cast and the writing are fabulous and I will be very happy to watch more of this show as it airs.
For most of its existence, Diabolical Plots has had one person, me, behind the curtain, with the occasional nonfiction contributor and of course the fiction writers. In the last couple of years we have started to shift that policy and have taken on first readers (aka slushreaders) who help out during the submission window to help narrow down the huge submission queue (1400 submissions in our 2019 window) to something more manageable to find the final 24 selections.
One of the first readers this year was Ziv Wities, who was a very prolific reader of the stories and who had a good eye for a story (in my opinion, of course). Since then, he has volunteered to take on extra work at Diabolical Plots as well, including helping edit the individual Year Six stories, helping find a new artist for the cover of this year’s Long List Anthology, and other things along those lines. We are currently talking about other things he could do, which we will surely announce in due time. You can take a moment to congratulate Ziv on Twitter at his handle @QuiteVague or anywhere else you see him online!
