Who doesn’t love a good time-traveling adventure? Although more serious time-travel stories — 12 Monkeys [the film], Ray Bradbury’s classic short story “A Sound of Thunder” (1952), the TV series Continuum (discussed in a prior post) or the film Primer — can break your brain (especially Primer!), time travel has enchanted audiences since H.G. Wells published […]

They might not be raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but that doesn’t mean that we love them any less. Welcome back to My Favorite Things, a weekly column where we gab about the greatest in geek. This week, we’re all about fairy tale-inspired fashion, the latest season of a seriously good sci-fi show, […]

Borderline (2016) Written by: Mishell Baker Genre: Urban Fantasy Pages: 400 (Hardcover) Publisher: Saga Press Why I Chose It: We’re reading the Nebula Awards here at Speculative Chic! Out of the nominees for best novel that I had not already read, Borderline is the one that intrigued me the most. The premise: A year ago, Millie lost […]

Historical fiction is almost always fascinating to me. If that fiction also happens to have a touch of magic to it, even better. That’s exactly what I got when I decided to pick up Ellen Klages’ Passing Strange. Passing Strange (2017) Written by: Ellen Klages Genre: Historical Fantasy Pages: 215 (Trade paperback) Publisher: Tor.com/Tom Doherty […]

Welcome to Coach’s Corner, where I offer some thoughts on the creative process and breaking through moments of self-doubt. In Part 1 of this series on when life sucks you back in, I talked about freeing ourselves when family and friends pull us away from our writing. There is a greater force that life uses to […]

A world where guns have been banished and the Badlands are controlled by Barons and their armies known as Clippers. A diverse group of characters, including an Asian male lead and a complex female villain that I love. Kick-ass fighting scenes that include martial arts and swords. These are just a few reasons why you […]

Welcome back to Sound Off!, a semi-regular column where members of Speculative Chic gather together to chat about the latest BIG THING in entertainment. This time, we’ve escaped typical horror movie tropes to discuss Get Out, which premiered in the United States on Friday, February 24, 2017. Sound Off! is meant to be a reaction, but […]

I’m a sucker for series that only get short runs. I like ruminating about untapped potential, I suppose; the what-ifs and what-could-have-beens make great daydreaming material (and story fodder). Every so often there’s talk of reviving Firefly, Joss Whedon’s beloved 2002 space western series, whose fans often feel was given short shrift by FOX. Firefly’s […]

They might not be raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but that doesn’t mean that we love them any less. Welcome back to My Favorite Things, a weekly column where we gab about the greatest in geek. This week, we’ve spotlighted several exciting new, and upcoming releases. This includes a fantastic horror comedy series, […]

This Month On Changing the Map It’s not often that you pick up a nearly fifty-year-old novel only to find that it mirrors your current political climate with uncanny precision. It’s a bit like hearing a sermon at the precise moment you need it. You’re grateful for the enlightenment, but vaguely unsettled that the good […]

They might not be raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but that doesn’t mean that we love them any less. Welcome back to My Favorite Things, a weekly column where we gab about the greatest in geek. This week, we have two fabulous books for you to check out. One is a brand new […]

Ah, love is in the air! Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and you don’t need to be in a relationship, nor do you need to read romance, to really appreciate a good love story. They’re everywhere, especially in speculative fiction. From Han and Leia’s “I love you”/”I know” in Star Wars to Westley’s […]

I decided to do something different for this month’s column. I’ve put together a video review of The SyFy show The Magicians! There are a couple spoilers for Season One, but nothing that would ruin your enjoyment of the show. Just be advised 🙂 A note on tech: Your best experience with this video may be […]

So I had a weird Tina Turner fixation as a child, and it’s all George Miller’s fault. Thirty years before his magnum opus of post-apocalyptic tribalism, feminism and practical effects, 2015’s Mad Mad: Fury Road, George Miller directed and co-wrote  another transformative work of cinematic genius featuring post-apocalyptic tribalism, feminism and practical effects. I am speaking, […]