Literature of Horror, Fantasy and Science Fiction

I remember watching Ridley Scott’s film, The Martian , in 2015, but I don't remember much of its contents. I decided to read The Martian (2011) written by Andy Weir for this week's reading anyway. I’m only on Log Entry Sol. 82 at the moment. It’s a nice read. A bit long for my taste. Well, not long, per say, but really ramble-y. But, given the situation, how can you not be ramble-y when you're alone... in space. I really liked how the book felt personal, much more intimate than the film in my opinion. A comparison I made between the novel and the film was the contrast between science and action. The film cares more about thrill and drama; keeping the audience on edge. However, within the novel, Weir notably cares more about the scientific factors and goes into depth about how the character is able to survive on a desolate planet. Andy Weir’s, The Martian , plays with themes relating to science and technology. We, the readers, are given the lesson that technology ca...

I attempted to read the recommended reading, Neil Gaiman’s Ananzi Boys, but I just couldn't get into it. In fact, I couldn't get into ANY of this week’s recommended readings. So, I decided to search on Goodreads for more reading options under ‘contemporary urban fantasy’ and found the books, Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale written by Holly Black and May Bird and the Ever After by Jodi Lynn Anderson. I immediately recognized them. A friend of mine owns both. So, I called them up and asked if I could borrow them and they could care less. So, this week I decided I would do a personal reading. I settled on reading May Bird and the Ever After by Jodi Lynn Anderson. May Bird and the Ever After is the first book out of the May Bird series. The May Bird series takes into account of German and Slavic folk tales of fairies and mythical beasts. I really enjoyed reading the first few chapters of May Bird,... but life had other plans. Special thanks to the Coronapocalypse for making ...

2007 was when the novel The Deathly Hallows was released, the final installment of the Harry Potter series. I was 8 and I was told that my reading level was ‘above average’ so I had my teacher, as well as, the librarians practically shoving this book series down my throat. My elementary school celebrated this event with posters, decorations, ect. Every time I was recommended to read Harry Potter I would shake my head and say that I wasn't interested in ‘witch books’. Boy, was my 8 year old self stupid, or what!?!? She only ever limited herself to reading Goosebumps. Thanksgiving Day, 2017, began a three-day Harry Potter marathon on Freeform. Every film played back-to-back in chronological order for the entire weekend. I had seen the ads run repeatedly during commercial breaks and I saw this as my chance to finally sit down and watch a piece of history I had previously ‘slept on’. Welp. What can I say? I. LOVED. IT. And it became my obsession for about a year, though my obsessi...

This week I read a short work Leaf By Niggle written by J. R. R. Tolkien. I found it incredibly endearing. It touched my heart. It felt as if I was lying in bed with my mother reading me this story; nostalgic, in a way. Popular fantasy-inspired works, such as The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings have never interested me, though I adore the detailed world building that goes behind fantasy stories. I’m not much of a fantasy loving person, although I deeply enjoyed Leaf by Niggle . It conveyed truths on perspective. Niggle, a painter, lives in a community where art isn't valued. Niggle adores nature with a passion. He loved leaves and trees so much that it was all he wished to paint. He became obsessive about finishing his masterpiece, a grand tree with each leaf being individual and unique in design within a forested background, but then there was a point where he became so annoyed at all the little inconveniences that plagued his life, inconveniences that were beyond his c...

I wouldn't say that I'm a HUGE fan of witches, but I do enjoy them within literature and television. I gravitated towards reading the WitchCraft (1994) comics this week due to the fact that the linework reminded me so much of The Dark Crystal comics. I’ve only read the first graphic novel but I plan on reading the next two. Often times, within films and readings, the archetype of a witch is an ‘ugly’ woman with a flying broomstick, pointy hat, black clothing, and the ownership of a black cat, owl, crow, toad, or other animal companion. Simply put, witches are women who participate in natural practices to achieve magic. A pattern I often see in stories centered around witches is a theme of revenge towards men who are afraid of strong women. In addition, witches almost always perceived as wicked entities; worshipers of evil. I believe this comes from a male fear of female empowerment; the escape from society’s misogynistic tendencies and the unlocking of sexuality. E...

The ‘new weird’ is a modern medium/genre within film and literature. The short reading I've chosen this week is, The Werewolf , written by Angela Carter. It was a strange, but overall, intriguing story. It was an interesting retelling of the classic fairytale of Red Riding Hood. I could see this becoming a psychological thriller if adapted into a movie. The Werewolf is a story about survival with delusions of safety. The twist had me shook. “But it was no longer a wolf's paw. It was a hand, chopped off at the wrist, a hand toughened with work and freckled with age. There was a wedding ring on the third finger and a wart on the index finger. By the wart, she knew it for her grandmother's hand.” The fact that the short story’s final words were, “, she prospered.”, after the realization that she assisted in the stoning, and overall, murder of her own grandmother, meant that she lacks remorse; she’s a psychopath. This proves true to my prior statement of ...

I’ll be honest. I had a hard time understanding Asian Horror. I don’t watch J-Horror at all. I’ve learned that religion plays an important factor within asian horror, and those religious influences derive from Japanese mythology and urban legends. Often times, there is no clear separation between cultural and religious ghost stories.These classic narratives remain prominent within asian films and novels to this day. Asian horror themes are portrayed as vengeful spirits with the intent to finish something. There is a strong subject of life vs. death. It is established within literature that there be a formation, a strong relationship between the spirit and a location, object, person, ect. This allows the soul to attach and stay present even in death. I chose to do an alternate reading of the Battle Royale manga, written by Koshun Takami, rather than the selected reading, Kwaidan written by Lafcadio Hearn. Upon reading Battle Royale, I began to notice a strong presence of go...

A few years ago, I had watched the film adaptation of Anne Rice’s, Interview with a Vampire , and had never considered reading the novel until now. I’d never gone through the Twilight phase in my teen years so I had little interest in vampires, although, as a lesbian and advocate for the LGBT+ community, I couldn’t help but be enraptured with the homoeroticism of the work. I truly appreciate how Anne Rice’s novel, Interview with a Vampire , reinvented the depiction of vampires within literature, particularly, becoming a prime figure within gothic fiction. She was brave to alter and evolve the basic expectations of a love story, a vampire love story no less. Only upon watching the screen adaptation and reading the novel was I able to recognize the drastic cinematic changes made. For instance, the toned-down queerness within the film was a bit upsetting. One moment that surprised me was when Louis is talking about his and Claudia’s move to Paris, and them trying to find the Th...