Really good short stories, or at least the ones I like the most, hold up a mirror to something going on now, and either act as a cautionary tale, or an inspirational one. This year’s Hugo-nominated short stories cover the range from dystopian, to near-dystopian, to utterly weird futuristic situations that everyone except the protagonist
Directed by Craig Gillespie, Supergirl follows Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock), aka Supergirl, who reluctantly joins forces with an unlikely companion on an interstellar journey of vengeance and justice when an unexpected adversary strikes too close to home. Supergirl is a character that has had quite a wild journey when it comes to comics and adaptations,
…arguing over what could be causing such irregular, constant, chaotic transmissions. All of us dancing about the question of Life, could it be life? A whole civilization with their radios turned up to top volume, down there in the dark… Like Tchaikovsky’s book Alien Clay, the main character of Shroud and all her colleagues are
…It was January 8, 2064. His last recorded memory was from July 31st, 2063.. Waking up from a deep sleep to find yourself in a restaurant that’s about to be flooded by an apocalyptic storm is disorienting enough. Much worse when you and your coworkers are robots, your employers have left town ahead of their
Directed by Steven Spielberg, Disclosure Day follows a targeted whistleblower, Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor), who possesses drives containing classified files proving the government and a shadowy corporation called Wardex have covered up extraterrestrial contact for decades. Teaming up with rogue operatives and a television meteorologist with mysterious abilities, Daniel races against time to bring about
Fans of Travis Baldree’s Legends & Lattes (deliciously cozy fantasy) and Bookshops & Bonedust (also cozy fantasy, but with more zombies) will find a lot to like about Brigands & Breadknives, even though it’s the least cozy of the trilogy. On purpose! Setting up a coffee shop or rescuing a struggling bookstore were fun ideas
Two of the remaining three novelettes this year could be considered dystopian (depending on how negatively you view the universe of Martha Wells’s Murderbot series), and the third takes place in America in what could be called the Golden Age, just not for everyone. “Never Eaten Vegetables” – H.H. Pak She glides through the night
Created by Oren Uziel and Steve Lightfoot, Spider-Noir follows Ben Reilly (Nicolas “Fucking” Cage), an aging, down-on-his-luck private investigator, who grapples with his past life as the only superhero in 1930s New York City, the Spider. When an exceptional case comes his way, Ben must become the Spider once more. Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse and
How does a house, lacking flesh, feel fury? I went into Freya Marske’s novella completely cold, and I thought maybe this was going to be a humorous retelling of Cinderella. Ha ha, a poor house that has to slave away for its evil stepmother and two evil stepsisters, how droll. Nope. This particular retelling is