Julie Capell > Recent Status Updates

2nd story - Model Minority narrated by Stephan Rudnitzki. Love the idea of asking why superheroes don't try to eliminate racism. You could also call this "Even superheroes suffer from white privilege."

1st story "Unauthorized Bread." Very plausible near future: refugees allowed into US after long waits. They get access to hi-rise apts, segregated onto certain floors. Their apts are equipped w smart appliances that restrict use, for instance dishwasher will only accept a certain brand of dishes and toaster will only accept a certain brand of bread. Great example of scifi stretching current DRM into new realms.

1st story "Unauthorized Bread." Very plausible near future: refugees allowed into US after long waits. They get access to hi-rise apts, segregated onto certain floors. Their apts are equipped w smart appliances that restrict use, for instance dishwasher will only accept a certain brand of dishes and toaster will only accept a certain brand of bread. Great example of scifi stretching current DRM into new realms.

1st story "Unauthorized Bread." Very plausible near future: refugees allowed into US after long waits. They get access to hi-rise apts, segregated onto certain floors. Their apts are equipped w smart appliances that restrict use, for instance dishwasher will only accept a certain brand of dishes and toaster will only accept a certain brand of bread. Great example of scifi stretching current DRM into new realms.

Of the excerpts, "The Evening and the Morning and the Night" by Octavia Butler was the clear standout. I've read this one before and found it a stunningly well-written story. "Delhi" by Vandana Singh was also good. The protagonist doesn't know what is going on, and neither does the reader, but by the end possibilities begin to resolve themselves.

The flash fiction story "A Handful of Dal" by Naru Dames Sundar is possibly my favorite in the whole book so far, intergenerational ship travel told via a recipe for dal.

Breathe Deep, Breathe Free by Jennifer Marie Brissett - spot on, this captures experience of people of color today, with a slight scifi twist

"As long as it takes to make the world" by Gabriela Santiago. Loved the writing, was hoping for more of an explanation of what was going on??

Finished "Firebird" by Isha Karki and wish there were more! Great set up, interesting characters, fascinating world. There should be a book to follow up!

Omoshango by Dayo Ntwari. I would call this more of a fantasy than a scifi tale--the situation was magical rather than technological--and the story felt a bit like it was written in short hand, like the author had a lot more he could have said about the politics of the situation, and about the characters. I don't normally believe longer is better but in this case I think this would have made more sense as a novel.

Fifty Shades of Grays by Steven Barnes. First contact, porn, and how to use marketing and de-inhibition theory to bring the two together. Very unique tale, I enjoyed it.

Wilson's Singularity by Terence Taylor - what if every Liberal's wet dream actually came to pass? I liked the initial conceit of the story, that when the first AI woke up, it listened to and learned from a person of color how the world was full of injustice. The rest of the tale kind of petered out.

The Red Thread by Sofia Samatar, very bare bones but incredibly powerful. Loved it!

Digital Medicine by Brian K Hudson was another winner, a very sweet tale of reaching across the digital divide that separates the generations with jut the right amount of Native American cultural touchpoints to really make the characters unique and interesting.

Finished Salto Mortal by Nick T. Chan. Another excellent story, this one taking place in the near-future at the Tex-Mex border. There's a wall to keep aliens out, but not the wall or the aliens you're thinking of. I'm going to call it a "second contact" tale from the p-o-v of a woman who has been regularly abused by her husband.

Just finished the first story, A Good Home by Karin Lowachee and what a great story it was! Incredible how much emotion the author projects in a story about two vets who cannot express emotions! I loved this story so much I am putting some of her other books on my "to read" list right now.

Have read everything in the book except the last story, which has spoilers for Words of Radiance, which I haven't read yet. Here are the stories I've liked the most so far:

The Emperor's Soul
The Eleventh Metal
White Sand (great graphics, cool magic system, excellent worldbuilding)
Shadows for Silence
Sixth of the Dusk

I am also enjoying Sanderson's explanations about why he wrote each piece.

Loving this book. (in chapter 14) George Lucas understood that a huge part of the power of film resided in its audio track. I didn't realize that before Star Wars, movies were created with mono sound. Also didn't know to what extent the film used sound to manipulate audience reactions. Just one of the many ways George Lucas changed filmmaking forever.

I am really loving this book!!

On chapter 9 (audio book) and am LOVING this, it's Pride and Prejudice with dragons. The reader, John Lee, is fantastic.

Partway through and I am really enjoying this extremely funny tale of interdimensional travel.

Just started reading this last night and already love it. So funny! Sop unusual! Magical realism! First two sentences were stupendous: "I am the ill-starred fruit of a hysterical pregnancy,k and suprisingly,k odd though I might be, I am not hysterical myself. I'm rather calm, in fact'; some might say waveless." FANTASTIC

So far this first contact novel has the requisite humorous alien-human misunderstandings and government ineptitude. What is unique is the focus on cosmology and the question of whether science proves, or disproves, the existence of God. Anyone with even a smattering of theological studies (fellow Marquette grads, I'm talking to you) will enjoy the arguments pro and con...is it turtles all the way down?

Just finished the first chapter, and am very pleased that I decided to re-read this book.

I am LOVING this as an audio book!! Strongly reminds me of Apollo, a great book about the technical staff behind the Apollo missions. There is a lot of technical stuff here but it is not too much, and there is plenty of character development, emotion and adventure. And the adventure is realistic, not ridiculous. The narrator is fantastic.

This book is amazing!! In just the first 50 pages: women abducted, a bard saved by a dolphin, the explanation of happiness, the Olympics, cannabalism, an eclipse, a society where ALL the female children work as prostitutes to earn their dowries (but, hey, they then got to choose their own husbands), and the invention of 6- and 4-sided dice.

I am LOVING this as an audio book!! Strongly reminds me of Apollo, a great book about the technical staff behind the Apollo missions. There is a lot of technical stuff here but it is not too much, and there is plenty of character development, emotion and adventure. And the adventure is realistic, not ridiculous. The narrator is fantastic.

Another book that has been on my "currently reading" list for about 2 years. Reason for that is because I am listening to it with my husband & we only listen when we are in the car on long trips. I have liked the second half a bit more than the middle part. I like the parts that discuss the larger political context of the war.