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A review by nekokat
Guided By The Beauty Of Their Weapons: Notes on Science Fiction and Culture in the Year of Angry Dogs by Elizabeth Sandifer
4.0
Some of these pieces are absolutely excellent (the summary of the Hugo controversy, the critical analysis of Janelle Monae's music and the essay about Lemmings are standouts, as is the occult history of Doctor Who written in the format of a Choose Your Own Adventure). I enjoyed most of the shorter pieces relating to things I haven't seen, though I'm a bit annoyed to unexpectedly have had The Wasp Factory spoiled for me. (I don't normally mind spoilers, but if I'd known ahead of time that it's one of the rare stories that has a pivotal twist/reveal that will change the entire way you approach the story, I would've avoided this chapter. Ah well. Note bene: If you haven't read The Wasp Factory, and intend to, don't read this chapter.)
The Last War in Albion started out quite strong, even for someone who hasn't read V for Vendetta, but seemed to kind of lose its way when it devolved from its interpretation of said comic as an act of magickal warfare and began simply recounting (at length) the mundane politics surrounding the comic's publication. That one might be more interesting to someone who has read the graphic novel, but I'm unsure.
Finally, the podcast transcriptions were remarkably dull, even the ones relating to fandoms I follow -- I didn't expect to be bored by an interview with someone who adapted one of my favorite novels for TV, as well as wrote a couple of episodes of Doctor Who, and yet I was.
I recommend picking this up, if only for the title essay, but maybe don't do like I did and try to read it all in one go.
The Last War in Albion started out quite strong, even for someone who hasn't read V for Vendetta, but seemed to kind of lose its way when it devolved from its interpretation of said comic as an act of magickal warfare and began simply recounting (at length) the mundane politics surrounding the comic's publication. That one might be more interesting to someone who has read the graphic novel, but I'm unsure.
Finally, the podcast transcriptions were remarkably dull, even the ones relating to fandoms I follow -- I didn't expect to be bored by an interview with someone who adapted one of my favorite novels for TV, as well as wrote a couple of episodes of Doctor Who, and yet I was.
I recommend picking this up, if only for the title essay, but maybe don't do like I did and try to read it all in one go.