fans of sf, fantasy, horror & whimsy
Lucy Sussex will be in Adelaide for Writers’ Week, and she has kindly agreed to talk to Critical Mass. At the March 2nd meeting, she’ll be talking about The Mystery of the Hansom Cab. Or to be precise, she’ll be talking about her new book,
Blockbuster!: Fergus Hume and the Mystery of a Hansom Cab.
The Expanse is an American space opera/mystery science fiction drama television series on Syfy, based on the series of novels by James S. A. Corey [ collaborators Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck]. Set in a future where humanity has colonized the Solar System, but doesn’t have FTL spaceships, it follows police detective Miller, ship’s officer Jim Holden and his crew as they unravel a conspiracy that threatens peace across the System and the survival of humanity. The series premiered on streaming services on November 23, 2015, and on Syfy on December 14, 2015.
It’s a familiar setup: Earth has colonised Mars and the asteroids are mined for water and metals. There’s tension between the governments, and a potential revolution brewing.
The TV series looks fantastic, with an interesting Belter patois suggesting the separate development in the different environments. The story is dense, but apparently follows the source material closely.
looks like serious SF on TV again!
At present, The Expanse consists of five main novels and four shorter works (two prequel short stories, one prequel novella and one novella set between Caliban’s War and Abaddon’s Gate). Four more novels are planned, as well as three more novellas.
The series comprises
All of the novels and the novellas have been released as audiobooks, with Jefferson Mays as the narrator for all novels (except Cibola Burn) and the novella The Vital Abyss. Erik Davies is the narrator for Cibola Burn and the first two novellas that were released (Gods of Risk and The Churn).
After the nightmare that was episodes 1 — 3, the new film The Force Awakens clearly harks back to episode 4, even borrowing several scenes and set pieces from that episode.
We get a new bigger, better (eviler?) death star in the form of a sun-powered death ray, a new father/son good/evil conflict, and a quest for an old hero in the form of a map showing his (possible?) location.
The good news is we meet some old friends, the dialogue is sharp and snappy, and we’re introduced to a couple of very interesting new characters: a renegade storm-trooper, and a desert scavenger who seems powerful in the force. Perhaps, one wonders, through a family connection? There’s a cute new ‘bot, hiding a macguffin in the form of a map.
Best of all are snappy action scenes and some very fancy special effects. Newcomers to the series won’t be disappointed — old fans will flock to the episode regardless.
Interesting to note the new characters add to the diversity of key actors: a black male and a powerful woman.
It’ll be interesting to see how the tale develops.
As in previous years, Critical Mass takes a break over January; our first meeting for the new year will be on Wednesday, Feb 3rd.
For the first few months, we’ll meet upstairs at Kappy’s Cafe, 1/22 Compton St, at 7pm.
We’re still looking for a permanent venue, so let us know if you have any suggestions.
Thought Crit massers might enjoy this montage: can you identify all the films?
The Cinematheque is screening some great SF films next week at The Mercury Cinema:
Ghost Ship (1943) at 7pm Monday night the 7th of December
King Kong (1933) at 7pm Thursday night the 10th of December
Harakiri (1962) on Mon 14th december
Just so you know!
The SA Writers Centre has decided groups can’t book the venue for regular events, which means we need to look for a new venue for Critical Mass in 2016. While we have met in people’s homes before, I suspect a library or church hall may be a more convivial meeting place.
Anyone interested in helping search for a new venue? We won’t need one until February in the New Year.
December is the month in which we replace the guest speaker with a dinner outing. So, if you are free at 7:30 on Wednesday Dec 2nd, join us at Cafe Brunelli’s from7:30 onwards. Around 8pm we shall either stay there to order food, or head out elsewhere on Rundle St for food.
Hope to see a few of you there!
As mentioned in recnt meetings, we are moving off Meetup to a new system:
(i) A monthly newsletter generated by mailChimp;
(ii) A section on the adelaidefanreview.com website for critical mass news and notes: https://adelaidefanreview.com/category/critical-mass/
(iii) Events listed in The Shape of Things to Come google calendar (see RHS column of website for the next ten items)
Basically, the functionality of meetup will be handled by the google calendar and the section of the website.
The Adelaide Fan Review 
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