Sci-Fi Messiahs, Queer Longing, and Angry Heroines

To view this email as a web page, go [here.]( [Tor.com Newsletter]( [Forward to a Friend]( [A photo of someone in a ghost costume, waving to the camera]( SPOOKY SEASON [Five Books Featuring an Unlikely Alliance With Ghosts]( There’s something fascinating about ghosts being formerly-human apex predators with very specific grievances, their powerful energies focused on the darkest of emotions and motivations. But what of the ghosts who are friendly? The ghosts who remember humanity? Author Courtney Smyth shares five books where humans and ghosts work towards a common goal—and maybe even become friends. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( [a screencap of Ripley from the Alien films]( DISABILITY RIGHTS [“Not Much Choice”: Disability and Monstrosity in the Alien Franchise]( By becoming a chimera of Xenomorph and human in Alien Resurrection, Ellen Ripley experiences unimaginable loss, but she uses that pain to travel from self-discovery to acceptance. Many disabled people follow this same path, and it doesn’t stretch credibility that audiences would recognize those parallels and feel kinship with the character. Jay Kang Romanus explores Ripley’s change over the course of the Alien film series, and how her journey of self-acceptance mirrors the journey disabled people must take in order to learn to live in a world that wants to push them out of view. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( [a collection of book covers]( BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS [Five Novels Featuring Science-Fictional Messiahs]( We’re all familiar with the chosen one trope—some average young thing is plucked out of obscurity and tasked with saving the realm, usually due to a prophecy or unavoidable destiny. But what if the chosen one is more than human, what if they’re god-like figures tasked with reforming society (for better or worse)? James Davis Nicoll highlights five SF novels featuring fictional messiahs. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( [A photo of a quill and ink on a desk]( BOOKS & MAGIC [Six Dark Academia Books With Angry Heroines]( Right now we’re in a golden age of dark academia—books usually set in an idealized world of higher education with old libraries, tweed blazers, and pretentious professors. But another key feature of dark academia over the years has been young women exploring their rage. Laura Steven recommends six dark academia novels with angry heroines. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( [a collection of screencaps]( WHAT TO WATCH [Literary Lives: Nine Movies About Real-Life Writers]( A working writer’s life doesn’t seem like it would make for compelling cinema. All that typing! Editing! Staring out a window blankly, trying to get the gears to turn! But that hasn’t stopped Hollywood from dramatizing the lives of authors. After all, who among us lives a life that couldn’t do with a little… revision? Randee Dawn discusses nine films about the fictionalized lives of real-life writers. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( [a screenshot from Ahsoka]( AHSOKA FOREVER [Ahsoka Winds Up Exactly Where She Needs to Be in “The Jedi, the Witch, and the Warlord”]( The finale of Disney+’s Ahsoka is now live, and it absolutely sticks the landing terms of Ahsoka’s character arc and what she’s learned in all this. Emmet Asher-Perrin reviews the episode here. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( [A screencap from Good Omens]( INEFFABLE [Smited, Smote, Smitten: A Reading on Queer Longing in Good Omens]( After a lifetime of having to survive just on subtext, there is now a plethora of queer content on television. But where previously mainstream queer content tended towards sanitized, hetero-adjacent depictions of relationships, shows like Good Omens are starting to tell stories that are queer on every level—because we deserve to see queer characters who are messy, who hurt each other, because sometimes, love isn’t enough. In this essay, Maya Gittelman looks at the complex relationship between Crowley and Aziraphale in Good Omens season 2 and the politics of pining, hunger, and heartbreak. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( [a screencap of a man holding a camera from Wes Anderson's Asteroid City]( HORROR LOVERS [Let No One Will Save You Invade Your Horror-Loving Heart]( The new sci-fi horror film No One Will Save You is a breath of fresh air. Or maybe more accurately: a blast of light from an alien ship, shining right in your face at 3:00 in the morning. Leah Schnelbach reviews the movie here. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( ORIGINAL FICTION [“Jack O’Dander” by Priya Sharma]( The sister of an abducted child is haunted by a sinister figure who may or may not be real. . . [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( Follow Tor.com to get updates on all of our original fiction. FOLLOW US: [Follow Us on Facebook]( [Follow Us on Twitter]( [Follow Us on Tumblr]( [Follow Us on Pinterest]( This email was sent by: Macmillan 120 Broadway New York, NY, 10271, US We respect your right to privacy - [view our policy]( Macmillan believes piracy hurts writers, readers and everyone who loves books. Learn more and report suspicious activity [here.]( To subscribe to this or other email communications from Macmillan, please click [here](. Visit our [profile center]( to update your email address and/or other information. If you no longer wish to receive this email communication, click [here]( to unsubscribe.