Comic by Dami Lee.
Welcome, friends! This week we bade farewell to September and started October off with a bang! It’s officially the spooky season and we’ve got some extra things on our plate to celebrate. Didn’t you know? There’s 31 days of Halloween! And we’ve got more than just tricks and treats; we’re talking flicks and drinks, with a special daily guest column running all month from Sandra Kasturi and Gemma Files! On top of that, we’ve got more goodies from our special guests and stalwart Speculative Chic crew in what’s looking to be a jam-packed, fun-filled month. So what did we do this week? A LOT. Let’s get caught up with the Weekly Roundup!
Monday
D.N. Bryn is our special guest in the house of My Favorite Things this week, and we’re honoring their latest novel, Our Bloody Pearl, now available from Avos Publishing! What are the speculative things that make Bryn’s heart sing? How about fiction that redefines SF, a tabletop RPG podcast that showcases the art of improvised storytelling, and beautiful, shy creatures from nature that have mastered the subtleties of shape and form! Come take a look!
Tuesday
Michelle reviews Julie C. Day’s newest YA fantasy-horror concoction, The Rampant. With an end-of-the-world scenario right out of Babylon and Sumer, a demigod-commissioned journey to the Netherworld, and two female leads helming the adventure, this book packs a lot into 138 pages! Is the story as promising as it sounds? Michelle provides answers here!
Wednesday
Lane reviews horror author Paul Tremblay’s story collection, Growing Things. This book contains brand-new self-contained stories as well as tales that serve as throwbacks to his earlier works (like A Head Full of Ghosts). There’s a wide variety here, but also a theme uniting the collection: ambiguity. Is ambiguity a writer’s friend? Read on for Lane’s awesome analysis!
We’ve also got even more Julie C. Day coming your way! She’s our special guest for You’re My Inspiration, which ventures beyond the realm of Favorite Things into something more substantial — the creative muses that influence an author’s work. We’re excited to get a glimpse of what inspired Day’s newest YA novel, The Rampant. From Sumerian and Babylonian end-of-the-world myths to strange flora and fauna IRL, fall down the research rabbit hole with us to explore some of the fascinating things that figured in Day’s unique novella, now available from Aqueduct Press!
Thursday
Batten down the hatches; we’re full steam ahead with Nicole! She’s revisiting games that have been collecting dust in her library (along with another contributor, Erin!) and finally crawling through those dungeons. This time Nicole’s wandering through LIMBO, the acclaimed side-scrolling puzzle-platformer game filled with haunting black-and-white images, loathsome creatures, and the biggest puzzle of them all: what is Limbo? Solve the mystery here.
Friday
Sherry continues working through her Resolution Project by rewatching the Star Wars franchise in its entirety! This time, she’s up to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which is a side-story/prequel offshoot that focuses on how the Rebel Alliance got their hands on the plans to construct the Death Star (setting the stage for events in Star Wars: A New Hope). How does Rogue One contribute to the Star Wars Universe? How does it work as a story on its own? Read about Sherry’s experience here.
The Kasturi/Files
And now, introducing our special column for October, featuring special guests Sandra Kasturi and Gemma Files! This is a daily event in which they celebrate the 31 days of Halloween by “watching horror movies, arguing about them, and sipping a nice beverage.” We’ve got breakdowns and debates on classics old and new, book recommendations based on the films, and a holiday-friendly cocktail recipe paired with each for you to join in on the fun! Here are this week’s episodes and yummy cocktails:
- Oct. 1: Episode 1: A Tale of Too Many Hauntings, featuring all three adaptations of Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House + The Filmographic Cocktail
- Oct. 2: Episode 2: Thing & Tonic, featuring John Carpenter’s The Thing and its related works + Gin and Tonic
- Oct. 3 : Episode 3: Midsommar Madness, featuring Ari Aster’s Midsommar + Swedish Strawberry Punch
- Oct. 4: Episode 4: The Worst Kind of Wolves, featuring The Company of Wolves and Dog Soldiers + Bloody Mary & Red Riding Hood
- Oct. 5: Episode 5: Midnight Sessions, featuring Session 9 + Midnight Madness
We’re so excited to have them here at Speculative Chic in this delicious and devilishly fun column. Turn on the TV and raise your glass for a rollicking good time!
Guys, seriously — did you know that anything can happen on Halloween? Sure, it’s October 31st on the calendar, but the pop culture gods and festivity fae have determined that Halloween isn’t just a day, but a month-long celebration, and a state of mind, too! It’s the perfect time of year to question your mortality, slip into someone else’s skin, commune with the dead, test your courage, dance the macabre, and delight in the joys of being both scared and scary. We’re looking forward to seeing you again next week. In the meantime — has anybody seen my tambourine?
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