I finally got connected to the local library here in Washington and have started checking out audiobooks, which is fun because I get a lot of stuff that is just recommended and I try on a lark without really knowing what it is, which leads me to read stuff that I’d otherwise never pick up.
There’s also a lot of cool (and some not so cool) sci fi stuff to stream right now. It’s amazing how far the genre has pushed into the mainstream. When I was coming up, sci fi people were still nerds, and now it’s the most popular stuff in the world!
And so, the drumbeat of my recommending marches on:
MARVEL’S ETERNALS (Streaming on Disney+) - I didn’t love this movie, because it’s an origin story, and I usually find those a little boring. This was no exception and the first 45 minutes crawled for me. However, before watching I’d heard so much hate that I just want to push back against that and say my goodness, it’s not that bad! The last hour is really cool. There are some really memorable “movie moments”. And, the whole “we’re really diverse” thing just isn’t played up at all. I’d heard it was preachy and cloying, and I didn’t find it to be that at all. Quite the opposite, it took its diversity for granted and just got on with it. Not my favorite Marvel because it’s not that funny, but definitely worth a watch if you enjoy Marvel stuff in general, and it really starts to give shape to the multiverse concept they’re starting to develop in that world.
SEE (Streaming on Apple+) - In the far future, a virus has left all of humanity blind, and society has restarted. Jason Momoa (Aquaman, Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones) plays the leader of a tribe, and the adoptive father of two young sons who have the gift of sight… which is now thought of as a curse! It’s pretty harrowing, like you gotta not get freaked out too easily, but if you like pulse-pounding, brutal action stuff, this premise rocks. The fight scenes are totally different than normal because nobody can see, and they really go for it with the premise, it keeps unfolding in new and interesting ways.
NEON GODS, by Katee Robert (borrowed from Library) - So I got this book from the library because I liked the title, not realizing that it was…smutty! It’s like “50 Shades of Grey” except written with a great fantasy premise—Olympian Gods as hereditary titles in a secret kingdom, with Persephone as the flighty ingenue and Hades as the smoking hot Dom-with-a-heart-of-gold—and written by a writer with real chops. It’s VERY fun, sexy but not X-rated by any means, and if you like that sort of thing, I couldn’t recommend it enough. I don’t even usually like this sort of thing, and I’ll be reading the whole series.
MIRACLE AND WONDER, an audiobook by Malcolm Gladwell (borrowed from library but also available at Pushkin.com) - This has nothing to do with sci fi, but I loved it so much that I’m recommending it anyway. This book is based on 30 hours of interviews with Paul Simon, going in depth about his life in music and his songcraft and process. Simon is generous and relaxed, and the interview is great, but what really makes it is the way Gladwell weaves songs, archival footage, live performances, and interviews with contemporaries into the material, truly taking advantage of the audiobook medium in a way I haven’t quite seen before. Like a really great season of SLOW BURN but focused on one of the great geniuses in music history. For anyone who likes Paul Simon, it’s required listening.
Hope one of those catches your fancy, have a great week, and I will be back next Sunday with another original story!