There Is No Antimemetics Division. Anymore?
Today I gave a review & analysis to one of my favourite reads of the year so far, a book that takes science fiction in fascinating new directions!
proseandcontext.substack.com/p/there-is-n...
#sff #booksky #qntm #scp #bookreview
Anyone else feeling numb lately?
proseandcontext.substack.com/p/postcoloni...
Representation is more important – and more interesting – than a checkbox. In today's article, I explore what queerness means and how we can learn from it:
proseandcontext.substack.com/p/what-is-qu...
#sff #booksky #tvsky #representation
Sometimes you just want to sit back and enjoy some sword-lasers and undead unicorns, and that genre of pulp SFF has found a perfect home in modern power metal:
proseandcontext.substack.com/p/the-perfec...
#gloryhammer #devintownsendproject #sff #pulp #storytelling
Wrote about Solvej Balle's #OntheCalculationofVolume, one of my favourite new series I've read this year. A woman in a time loop, exploring her new world. But also so much more?
proseandcontext.substack.com/p/on-the-cal...
#sff #books #lifelessons #life #booksky
Following up on my piece about catharsis from apocalypses, today I wrote about catharsis from death – this time wholly focused on #Ghost
proseandcontext.substack.com/p/the-cathar...
Songs from bands like #Ghost, #LordoftheLost and #Avatar have a way of reminding me of the big picture with images of the end of the world. They inspire solace and clarity, and they inspire rage at how we got there.
Read here: proseandcontext.substack.com/p/the-cathar...
#metalmusic #mindfulness
With "Thou shalt not make a machine in then likeness of a human mind," Frank Herbert's Dune (1965) feels more and more prophetic every day.
Do we need a Butlerian Jihad of our own? When?
proseandcontext.substack.com/p/dunes-war-...
#sff #dune #ai #artificialintelligence #humanity #booksky
[Stand for Renee Nicole Good. May her death radicalize you further.]
Over the holidays I devoured Joe Abercrombie's #TheDevils, and wanted to share my thoughts on this delightful and deranged fantasy adventure.
A few of the problems I had with #TheFirstLaw remain, but by and large it's a great ride!
proseandcontext.substack.com/p/the-devils...
#sff #booksky #queer
Today I wrote the ninth article in my series on #vampires, with a look at #TheBuffaloHunterHunter by #StephenGrahamJones.
Take a look!
proseandcontext.substack.com/p/vampires-i...
#sff #books #booksky #horror
Reflecting on two years of writing #ProseandContext, on my 2025 and the world's, and why I love stories.
proseandcontext.substack.com/p/looking-ba...
#yearinreview #twoyears #2025books #stories
"The Wizard of Oz, pulling levers and maintaining his carefully crafted illusions, is a potent reminder that power and authority are always projected through a lens, or mask, such that people see only what they are supposed to see."
#stormlight #power
proseandcontext.substack.com/p/heroes-vil...
Wrote today about #depression, #stormlight and #ghost:
proseandcontext.substack.com/p/it-gets-be...
Patricia Lockwood's "Will There Ever Be Another You" is a terrifying vision of Long COVID, but also echoes my experience living with ADHD in the modern Attention Economy.
How can we survive, let alone string a thought together, with all these stimuli?
proseandcontext.substack.com/p/surviving-...
I appreciate the hell out of songs which verbalize and elucidate ideas, feelings and fears which otherwise envelop me (and, I think, many of us) in a depressing yet undefinable miasma.
Here are three of my favourites, by #Epica and #MARINA:
proseandcontext.substack.com/p/songs-for-...
#song #hope
Young women chosen as cult sacrifices to otherworldly beings, only to be rescued by a kindly visiting wizard. That's what 'The Tombs of Atuan' and 'The Unspoken Name' have in common, though published fifty years apart.
Here's where they differ, and why:
proseandcontext.substack.com/p/a-thought-...
Not sure how to pitch this article, but suffice to say I open my heart and share about a lot of books I love and intend to write more about!
proseandcontext.substack.com/p/labour-lif...
#sff #blog #queerwriter #bookrecommendations #booksky
#CriticalRole Campaign IV got me thinking again about @robertjbennett.bsky.social's #TheDivineCities trilogy, and particularly about the mess that killing your gods leaves behind.
Has DM Brennan read the series? The parallels are certainly there:
proseandcontext.substack.com/p/life-after...
#sff
For #Hallowe'en this week, a look at a few truly evil fictional places from The Shining, The Haunting of Hill House and more:
proseandcontext.substack.com/p/malevolent...
#horror #books #fiction #negativespace #hillhouse #sff #houseofleaves #writer
Much like interpersonal relationships, power imbalances in interactions between nations and peoples can be a glaring red flag. Join me in exploring these ideas as they relate to #TheLeftHandofDarkness, #BuffaloIstheNewBuffalo, #StarTrek and more:
proseandcontext.substack.com/p/community-...
#sff
R.F. Kuang's Katabasis was one of my most anticipated reads this year, promising a fascinating look at hell & academia.
Upon reading it, I can't help but having mixed feelings. Should you read it? I go into it in my review & analysis:
proseandcontext.substack.com/p/katabasis-...
#booksky #sff
What would it look like to live in a world without gender? Ursula K Le Guin and Ann Leckie have written books about it, so let's take a look!
proseandcontext.substack.com/p/worlds-wit...
#sff #gender #nonbinary
On this #NationalDayofTruthandReconciliation, I wanted to look at Cherie Dimaline's "The Marrow Thieves" and discuss the important lessons we can all take from it:
proseandcontext.substack.com/p/learning-f...
#books #sff #NDTR #Canada
Oooh can't wait!
The Salmon Run is happening now in Toronto, which made me want to write about the lifecycle of serpents in Robin Hobb's wonderful Realm of the Elderlings series.
Join me in taking my mind off of <everything> for a few moments?
proseandcontext.substack.com/p/the-salmon...
#books #ecology #sff
Why in the name of god did i read this as good looking canines
Hi Ella, I just wanted to check in as to whether this process is still ongoing, as I haven't heard back about my submission yet. Thanks and all the best!
A horror novel about society's willingness to discard women after menopause? Written by a cis man of all things?
Mary: An Awakening of Terror is pretty great! I review and discuss here:
proseandcontext.substack.com/p/mary-an-aw...
#horror #bookreview #storytelling #phobias
It's sometimes hard to remember that before the multi-billion dollar franchise, A Song of Ice and Fire was just a series of books exploring the human condition.
In this week's post, I return to the source to find and share what insights I may:
proseandcontext.substack.com/p/the-value-...
