Mars Dave's Literature of Horror, Fantasy, and Science Fiction Blog

 In all I have 43 points, doubled, it would equal 86 Week 1: 6 Frankenstein Week 2: 6 Interview With A Vampire Week 3: 6 A Wild Sheep Chase  Week 4: 6  Annihilation Week 5: 10 Aunt Maria Redlands 1-5 Week 6: 4 Equal Rites Week 7: 5  In Other Lands

    The thought I had when beginning Sarah Rees Brennan’s In Other Lands , with its common premise, its whiny obsessive protagonist, and its seeming lack of substance, was oh god, I should probably pick another book . I was so sure that I wasn’t going to enjoy it, especially after witnessing its John Hughes movie views of popularity and an arrogant elf that I thought was going to end up being a villain because that’s just what pretty, kind of mean girls end up doing in high school stories. I initially thought that this book was going to be a sexually frustrated teen, l after a distant girl and then ultimately earning her affection, only to realize that what he really wanted was self-actualization. Snooze. Oh, how first impressions mislead. In Other Lands has made its way onto the list of my all time favorite books. Brennan takes the time to build Elliot Schafer into a flawed, smart, idealistic nerd and acknowledges the fact that a lot of the time, people don’t hate nerds because they

 

  Women in horror and fantasy stories have always had slim pickings. They could either be virginal objects, made to be prizes or devices with which an author can emphasize the horror they’re describing, or, be overtly sexual and demonized for having power and agency, The portrayal of women in modern media is an oft-discussed topic. I think for a long time people thought the problem was the low quantity of female-driven stories, and while this was definitely a problem, addressing it only led to more stories about perfect, wholesome women, or women being demonized for their agency. The bigger underlying issue is the quality of female portrayal in the media. The attitude we have begun to arrive at is one of “it doesn’t matter that the main characters are women, they are allowed to falter, they are allowed to be immoral, and the story is still allowed to be about them.”  The conversation has begun to come full-circle in Jordie Bellaire’s Redlands. Make no mistake, the witches of Redlands

 

  Condemnation of Humanity In Jeff Vandermeer’s Annihilation In Jeff Vandermeer’s Annihilation, none of the characters have names, instead they are referred to by their professions: the biologist, the anthropologist, the surveyor, the psychologist. Instead of having names and identities, the characters are reduced to their utility. This reduction served to both diminish and highlight the humanity of these characters. Later, when the biologist begins to talk about her husband, the job description names have the added effect of making “husband” feel like yet another occupation.  In contrast to this natural landscape, based on Vandermeer’s own time living on a Floridian wildlife refuge (as shown in the provided infographic from Vandermeer’s website), the relatively industrial scientists with their tents and cigarettes and guns are beacons of man made invention and destruction. Almost robotic or machine-like when placed in this rugged, almost aggressively natural environment. Elements asso