They might not be raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but that doesn’t mean that we love them any less. Welcome back to My Favorite Things, a weekly column where we gab about the greatest in geek. This week, we have three perfect selections for sci fi fans. A photoshoot by the great Annie Leibovitz which should appeal to any Star Wars fan, a second sci-fi novel in a series that improves upon the first by leaps and bounds, and plenty of praise for the latest Doctor Who Spin Off. Read on for more.
Shara’s Favorite Thing is… Vanity Fair‘s Star Wars Photoshoot!
I know, I know. I’m a broken record when it comes to The Last Jedi, but at the time I’m writing this, the Vanity Fair magazine covers just came out and I’m all kinds of giddy! I could go on about how awesome each cover is, but really, the stand alone cover with Leia just absolutely has me floored. It’s so stunning, so regal, that every time I look at it, I just want to sit there and stare.
But that wasn’t enough. The next day, Vanity Fair released their cover story, along with more pictures! As much of a fangirl as I am, I actually avoided the story, because frankly I like going into the movie with as clean a slate as possible, but I had to see the pictures, because the preview? Was Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill. Guys…. GUYS. I just wanted to weep, and when I clicked through, and saw the OTHER picture of Carrie Fisher with her real-life daughter, Billie Lourd, who had a guest role in The Force Awakens and apparently is also in The Last Jedi? I about started crying buckets upon buckets of tears, which would’ve been fine, if I hadn’t been at work.
Suffice it to say, Annie Leibovitz’s photoshoot of what I consider my first fandom is absolutely amazing, and her photos of Carrie Fisher as General Leia are just the most amazing of them all. I don’t know if they would be as powerful if not for the loss of our favorite princess, but powerful they are, and I dare anyone to say otherwise.
Amelia Kahaney’s The Invisible does what you hope all sequels will do: improve upon the predecessor. If The Brokenhearted is the origin story, then The Invisible is where the series-proper starts. (Unfortunately, a third novel wasn’t contracted.)
Anthem Fleet’s chimeric heart and ballet skills are well-needed to defeat The Invisible, a secret organization kidnapping children from rich families in order to raise money for the poor part of Bedlam. The wealthy side of town was built to literally raise them above the damaged side, so that flooding wouldn’t inconvenience the cashed-up.
The Invisible sees Anthem confronting her own economic privilege. The well-off have to actually lose something, such as a child, before they’ll consider donating half their fortune to aid worthy causes low down.
Amelia Kahaney writes The Invisible with stunning imagery. The scene where Anthem watches skyscrapers collapse, not knowing if her Tower will fall next, is genuinely thrilling.
I was surprised to discover that I’d rated the first book in the series only two stars. The Invisible is worth double that.
Merrin’s Favorite Things is… Class!
My favorite thing this month is another show about surly teens and aliens! While catching up on Doctor Who on the BBC America app, I was subjected to commercials I couldn’t fast forward, so I saw quite a few previews for a new show about surly teens (and two aliens) called Class. As shows about surly teens (and aliens) are my kryptonite, I decided to give it a go after I caught up on Doctor Who.
After laughing and cringing my way through the first few episodes, I tried to describe on twitter what the vibe is like. The only thing I could come up with was the funnier episodes of The X-Files in that it’s actually pretty unsettling in turns, but also very deeply funny. (Think, for instance, more of X-Files 3.20’s “Jose Chung’s From Outer Space” and less of any of the confusing mythology arc episodes.)
Anyway, the show is about a group of teenagers who are all in on this alien secret. One of them actually is an alien, the last of his race, who has a servant/protector from his world, who is also the last of her race. There’s another teenager who, due to some (spoilery) events in the first episode, now shares a heart with the leader of a hostile race of aliens. There’s also a couple of other teenagers who are just regular humans and not sharing hearts. The hostile race of aliens, by the way, are the reason the teenager alien and his protector are the last of their races.
If you didn’t follow that, it’s cool. Just get yourself to the BBC America app and catch up.
Any thoughts on the selections above? Let us know in the comments.
Note to self: must purchase that Vanity Fair issue.
Isn’t it fabulous?
Those pictures are just stunning…
[…] NOTE: I first published this on Speculative Chic. […]