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Mar. 15th, 2024 07:28 amBooks
I read Translation State by Ann Leckie, but tbh, I should probably have DNF'd it. I kept pushing on because I've loved Leckie's other work so much - the Imperial Radch trilogy is up there with my absolute favourites of all time - but I really was not the target audience for this book, which was basically just a heavy-handed YA simplification of themes (gender diversity, consent, autonomy) that Imperial Radch handled with far more nuance. It had three protagonists, but they were all kind of samey, despite the fact that one of them was a Translator and should have been utterly unhinged by human standards. All three were underqualified nobodies thrust unwittingly into an adventure of galactic proportions, for reasons just a bit too contrived for my taste, and the ultimate outcome was telegraphed so far in advance that the tension just wasn't there for me. I'm disappointed because I was really motivated to like this book, but I think I'm probably just going to discard it from my personal Radch canon.
I'm currently about halfway through A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine, which I'm enjoying much better, though still not quite as much as I wish I was. I picked it up because I was desperate for more space lesbians after finishing the Locked Tomb books, but I think it suffers unfairly for that - my space lesbian expectations are just too sky high at the moment. But the worldbuilding is really fun, with lots of linguistics details and tidbits of in-universe meta at the start of each chapter.
TV
I've been seeing a lot of hype about Deadloch on my flist -![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
fiachairecht and delphi, looking at you - and holy shit you guys were right, this show is brilliant. It’s an eight-part Aussie crime drama/black comedy about a buttoned-up lesbian cop and a crass, douchey, delightfully gender nonconforming detective who team up to solve a series of grisly murders in a small Tasmanian town. The cast is chock full of complicated women, the humour is dry and daggy in a quintessentially Australian way, the atmosphere is tense and spooky, and the feminism pulls no punches. I talked my sister into watching it as well and we both went absolutely feral for it. 10/10 would recommend to everyone.
Music
I’ve been seeking out new music for a playlist I’m calling ‘metallic goth’. If gothic metal is metal that draws inspiration from goth, this is the opposite: a true goth rock sound, with heavy metal influences. Some faves so far:
I read Translation State by Ann Leckie, but tbh, I should probably have DNF'd it. I kept pushing on because I've loved Leckie's other work so much - the Imperial Radch trilogy is up there with my absolute favourites of all time - but I really was not the target audience for this book, which was basically just a heavy-handed YA simplification of themes (gender diversity, consent, autonomy) that Imperial Radch handled with far more nuance. It had three protagonists, but they were all kind of samey, despite the fact that one of them was a Translator and should have been utterly unhinged by human standards. All three were underqualified nobodies thrust unwittingly into an adventure of galactic proportions, for reasons just a bit too contrived for my taste, and the ultimate outcome was telegraphed so far in advance that the tension just wasn't there for me. I'm disappointed because I was really motivated to like this book, but I think I'm probably just going to discard it from my personal Radch canon.
I'm currently about halfway through A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine, which I'm enjoying much better, though still not quite as much as I wish I was. I picked it up because I was desperate for more space lesbians after finishing the Locked Tomb books, but I think it suffers unfairly for that - my space lesbian expectations are just too sky high at the moment. But the worldbuilding is really fun, with lots of linguistics details and tidbits of in-universe meta at the start of each chapter.
TV
I've been seeing a lot of hype about Deadloch on my flist -
fiachairecht and delphi, looking at you - and holy shit you guys were right, this show is brilliant. It’s an eight-part Aussie crime drama/black comedy about a buttoned-up lesbian cop and a crass, douchey, delightfully gender nonconforming detective who team up to solve a series of grisly murders in a small Tasmanian town. The cast is chock full of complicated women, the humour is dry and daggy in a quintessentially Australian way, the atmosphere is tense and spooky, and the feminism pulls no punches. I talked my sister into watching it as well and we both went absolutely feral for it. 10/10 would recommend to everyone.Music
I’ve been seeking out new music for a playlist I’m calling ‘metallic goth’. If gothic metal is metal that draws inspiration from goth, this is the opposite: a true goth rock sound, with heavy metal influences. Some faves so far:
- Cemetery Echo - I've been loving their EP, Come Share My Shroud, which uses a really compelling range of vocals: heartfelrt cleans, blackened screams, and gravelly spoken word.
- Babylon Whores - Sol Niger has made it onto the very short list of songs that Mini willingly lets me play in the car! Variety! Yay!
- Horror Vacui - atmospheric deathrock with heavy, driving rhythms. Mini does not let me play In Darkness You Will Feel Alright in the car even though it has everything in common with some of his favourite music, but I sneak it into rotation sometimes when he's asleep in the back.
