Keith R.A. DeCandido's Blog

It has flaws, and you can see the seams of some of the rewrites/reshoots, but overall this is a very well-acted movie that didn’t deserve the lukewarm reception it got. The great superhero movie rewatch takes a gander at the first Cap movie without Chris Evans, Captain America: Brave New World.

An excerpt:

The first half of the movie is more appealing than the second half, as the plot so dominates everything in the latter portions that the charm of the early part of the movie is muted. The first half gives us Anthony Mackie at his most charismatic, continuing the work he did in his prior appearances to make Sam Wilson the best person around. Where Rogers inspired loyalty that comes from pure awe, Wilson inspires loyalty that grows out of friendship and respect. In addition, Wilson’s banter with Torres is a delight, as is their shared banter with Bradley. The friendship that has developed between Wilson and Bradley, and shown throughout the early part of the film, is the best part of it. Wilson needs Bradley’s cynicism and Bradley needs Wilson’s optimism. Plus, it’s Mackie and Carl Lumbly, and every time two actors this great are together, it’s always going to be amazing.

Delenn meets the Drakh, proving that the Shadow War isn’t as over as they thought. Franklin has sex with Number One, proving he has good taste. Sheridan wakes Ivanova from a sound sleep, proving he has a death wish. The Babylon 5 Rewatch opens some “Lines of Communication.”

An excerpt:

The actual contact with the Drakh is very well handled. Lennier realizing that the Drakh are communicating in Minbari rather than translated Interlac, meaning that they’ve had contact with a Minbari before. Both Lennier and Delenn instantly realizing what the Drakh homeworld that they lost was, but not saying anything in front of the emissary. Delenn and Lennier working out a strategy to get out before the Drakh take their revenge. It’s all expertly written and beautifully acted by Mira Furlan and Bill Mumy. Credit also to G.W. Stevens, who is just right as the naïve Religious Caste member who falls for the Drakh’s ploy.

As I have pretty much every year for the past 35 years or so, I am attending Philcon, which will be held this coming weekend, the 21st to the 23rd of November, in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

I will be doing programming, and I’ll also be sharing a table in the dealer room with one of my publishers, eSpec Books. Among the many guests are Principal Speaker Dr. Charles Gannon, Guest Artist Sara Felix, and Musical Guest Adam Stemple.

Here’s my schedule:

Friday

7-8pm: “Superman (2025),” w/Glenn Hauman, Orenthal V. Hawkins, Lawrence Kramer, and Alyce Wilson (Plaza 2)

Saturday

11am-noon: “Star Trek: Lower Decks: A Retrospective,” w/Inge Heyer, Brian T. Price, Daniel M. Kimmel, and Frank Wu (Crystal 3)

1-2pm: reading, w/Walter H. Hunt and Daniel M. Kimmel (Room 1023)

8-10pm: eSpec Books launch party, w/a cast of thousands, with my Supernatural Crimes Unit: NYPD Book 1: The Thin Blue Ley-Line being one of the books being launched (con suite)

Sunday

11am-noon: autographing, w/Harry “Jack” Heckel, Daniel M. Kimmel, and Robert J. Sawyer (autograph table in the corridor outside the dealer room and the Crystal ballrooms)

It’s a light schedule, but that just means I get to spend more time selling books and talking to people. Looking forward to seeing folks!

We’re live! The crowdfund for Thrilling Adventure Yarns 2026 is now up and running on Kickstarter! It’s already nearly halfway funded, and we haven’t even finished the opening weekend yet! Woot!

Edited by the redoubtable Robert Greenberger, this Crazy 8 Press anthology is the fifth in a series of anthos featuring all-new pulp-style stories by some wonderful storytellers.

Here’s a sample of what’ll be in the book:

a Sherlock Holmes story by Holmes & Watson scribe extraordinaire Christopher D. Abbotta story featuring Tahar Lupin, the adopted son and protege of the famous gentleman thief, by Mary Fana new Max Wiser story by Paul Kupperberga new Birr Blackjaw story by Aaron Rosenberga new Talin & Jareth story by editor Greenberger“Human Resources” by Russ Colchamiro, a sci-fi/horror tale about the HR department“Curse of the Jungle Queen” by Esther M. Friesnermy very own “The Abduction of Ticonderoga Beck!” which brings back Beck and his Stalwart Squad for a new adventureand stories by Derek Tyler Attico, Beth Cato, Russ Colchamiro, Max Allan Collins & Matthew V. Clemens, J.M. DeMatteis, Michael Jan Friedman, Steven Grant, Alisa Kwitney, Will Murray, and Hildy Silverman!

Plus, if we hit our stretch goals, we’ll have stories by Doc Savage creator Lester Dent and the mighty Adam-Troy Castro, and stories will have illustrations as well!

So please consider supporting!

It’s the lackluster latest — and apparently last, thank the heavens — of Sony’s Spider-Man Cinematic Universe Without The Actual Spider-Man. The great superhero movie rewatch is completely unimpressed with Kraven the Hunter.

An excerpt:

Aaron Taylor-Johnson throws himself into the part, at least, having apparently gone to great lengths to get in six-pack-abs shape for the role. But he doesn’t have the operatic bombast of the comics character—plus his accents are all over the place. (His American accent is very mannered, and his Russian dialogue is too heavily accented to be convincing as a native speaker.) He plays the role way too straight, too laconic, too serious. On several occasions, he’s referred to as a lunatic (particularly by Calypso), but that description doesn’t track with how Taylor-Johnson is playing the role at all.

Russell Crowe’s accent is more consistent, but isn’t actually good. The comedy accent he put on to play Zeus in Thor: Love and Thunder worked for that part in that movie; the comedy accent he uses in this film, not so much.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

—Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, Canadian Expeditionary Force, 1915

Garibaldi and Sheridan have two arguments, Sheridan and Delenn have a very public night of passion, and Cole and Franklin have a hard time dealing with the Mars Resistance. The Babylon 5 Rewatch stars “Racing Mars.”

An excerpt:

I find myself wondering what the plan was for Garibaldi’s betrayal before Michael O’Hare had to leave the show. The Sinclair-Garibaldi friendship was a cornerstone of the first season—indeed, Garibaldi only had his job because the commander was his drinking buddy—and having Garibaldi betray the station would have had much more weight if it was Sinclair he was betraying. But the advantage of it being Sheridan is that the relationship between the two of them was never particularly strong. Yes, they worked together, and generally trusted each other, but the closeness that Garibaldi had with Sinclair has never been there with Sheridan. And so Garibaldi’s turning on him actually has a certain sincerity to it that it wouldn’t have had with Sinclair.

Of course, it’s a bit spoiled by the fact that we know that Garibaldi’s being controlled by something or someone. It might have been more effective if we didn’t know that about him, and thought this might be a legitimate character choice.

Coming later this month is the 372nd issue of Weird Tales, which will include a new Kolchak the Night Stalker story by James Aquilone and a new Superantural Crimes Unit: NYPD story by me! That’s right, I’ve written a story that serves as a prequel to my new SCU:NYPD novel The Thin Blue Ley-Line. (And just by the way, the audio for my story will be read by Patricia Santomasso, who also read the audio for the novel….) In general, the theme of this issue is cryptids and urban legends, and we’ve got several different cryptids showing up in my story for the SCU to deal with…..

The print edition of the magazine is available for preorder right now, as is the eBook edition from Blackstone Publishing! The audio isn’t up for preorder yet, but it should be soon — I’ll update this post when it is.

Here’s the full table of contents:

“Cry of the Yeti” by Brian Asman“An Introduction to Cryptozoology” by Matt Bille“The Exact Nature of Our Wrongs” by Keith R.A. DeCandido“Mixed Tape” by Bryan Young“Meet-Up” by Scott Sigler“Kolchak Meets the Jersey Devil” by James Aquilone“Our Mothers’ Arms” by Lee Murray“The Grave Marker” by Cavan Scott“Crimson Eyes” by Samantha Underhill“Spider McGee and the Nidus” by Marie Whittaker“The Translator” by Preston Grassmann“Buford and the Swamp Ape” by James Jensen“Concerning Cryptids” by Henry L. Herz“Whistlin’ Through the Door” by Gretchen McNeil“My Tears Shall Drown the World” by Bev Vincent“Ol’ Nal” by Dana Fredsti“Mokele-Mbembe Explains Only Once” by Anne C. Walsh Miller

Coming soon to the Starter that Kicks are two nifty new anthologies that I will have stories in! Both have pre-launch pages up, so please check them out!

First is Thrilling Adventure Yarns 2026, the fifth in Robert Greenberger’s series of pulp-style anthologies from Crazy 8 Press. For this one I’ll be doing a new story featuring Ticonderoga Beck and the Stalwart Squad, previously seen in Thrilling Adventure Yarns 2022. That crowdfund will be launching this month.

Next up is A Curiosity of Cats, the fourth in the “Forgotten Lore” series of steampunk anthologies edited by Danielle Ackley-McPhail, published by eSpec Books, and done in conjunction with the Tell-Tale Steampunk Festival. Each anthology has stories inspired by the festival’s featured author, and in 2026 it’s gonna be Lewis Carroll! I’ll be doing a story featuring Signora Spada, an Italian swordswoman-for-hire from the turn of the twentieth century, who will encounter a rather bizarre tea party. It’s my second Signora Spada story — the first will be in an upcoming issue of Weird Tales. This crowdfund will launch in the new year.

In addition to yours truly, and the respective editors, these anthologies will feature stories by:

Christopher D. AbbottDerek Tyler AtticoAdam-Troy CastroBeth CatoJames ChambersDoc ColemanRuss ColchamiroMax Allan CollinsEf DealJ.M. DeMatteisMary FanDana FraedrichJohn L. FrenchMichael Jan FriedmanEsther FriesnerSteven GrantPaul KupperbergAlisa KwitneyJessica LucciBernie MojzesWill MurrayChristine NorrisAaron RosenbergHildy SilvermanMichelle D. SonnierDavid Lee Summers

Both these anthologies are going to be faboo, so you should seriously consider supporting them. At the very least, hit the button that will alert you to when it goes live!

Thanks!

(I want to add that it’s the absolute fucking thrill of my career to be in an anthology with J.M. DeMatteis, who has been one of my literary heroes since I was a teenager……)

I do a review of the entire nine-episode season of the Star Trek: Khan audio drama starring Naveen Andrews in the role made famous by the late great Ricardo Montalban, and found it to be quite good!

Here’s an excerpt:

Probably the most effective is the death of Marla McGivers, another death we know is coming from Wrath of Khan. McGivers’ journey is the most interesting, mostly because the biggest challenge faced by [writers Nicholas] Meyer, [Kirsten] Beyer, and [David] Mack in this audio is to elevate the character of McGivers from the horrifically sexist portrayal of her by Carey Wilbur and Gene L. Coon 58 years ago. The script and Wrenn Schmidt’s performance do excellent work to accomplish that goal, giving us more of a reason than “Space Seed” did for why McGivers fell for Khan so hard that she committed mutiny, and why Khan thought a non-Augment woman would even be worth his time.