literature
Geek literature from the New York Times or the recesses of online. Our favorite stories showcase geeks.
Book Review: "The Night Wire" ed. by Aaron Worth
Full Title: The Night Wire and Other Tales of Weird Media edited by Aaron Worth New technology has always been scary at first. My personal favourite aspect of scary new technology is when I was in high school and the first person to have an iPhone was treated like an outcast because back then, touching your screen with your finger seemed like a pretty demonic thing to do. But, at the turn of the 20th century, more than one hundred years before my own anecdote would occur, technology and science were spinning out from the industrial revolution and into a whole new age of things. Factories, machinery, communication by telephone and so much more - possibilities during the Victorian Era seemed endless. Just think of what those people who had grown up in the Victorian Era felt when they saw the kinds of technology being used in World War One. It must have been confounding.
By Annie Kapur2 years ago in Geeks
How “Harry Potter” Became the Gold Standard of Film Series Adaptations
It’s hard not to be a little biased when the first Harry Potter film came out not long after your fifth birthday, but there’s a magic to these films that extends well beyond the wizardry. I can think of no film that’s done more justice to the fantastical world of its source material than the colossal Hogwarts castle and the hallowed grounds around it.
By Ben Ulansey2 years ago in Geeks
Michael Gambon's Most Unforgettable Role
For those who grew up with the Harry Potter movies, they likely see Michael Gambon's face as the apotheosis of warmth and wisdom. Taking over the role of Professor Albus Dumbledore upon the death of the beloved Richard Harris, though, it was no easy task he had before him trying to fill those shoes. Famously, though, Gambon didn't even attempt to. He didn't read the books, and he didn't allow his approach to the character to be tainted by Harris's prior portrayal.
By Ben Ulansey2 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: "The Horned God" ed. by Michael Wheatley
Full Title = The Horned God: Weird Tales of the Great God Pan edited by Michael Wheatley “Though horror and revolting nausea rose up within me, and an odour of corruption choked my breath, I remained firm. I was then privileged or accursed, I dare not say which, to see that which was on the bed, lying there black like ink, transformed before my eyes.” "The Great God Pan" by Arthur Machen
By Annie Kapur2 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Minor Hauntings" ed. by Jen Baker
Full Title: Minor Hauntings: Chilling Tales of Spectral Youth edited by Jen Baker When I first read this title I did not mind that it probably was not going to be as haunting as it claimed as it was a compilation by the British Library Tales of the Weird. With these, I am more interested in whether the stories have managed to capture my imagination and stay true to their theme whilst also being compiled as to not be overly similar so that I cannot tell them apart. Yes, it is a strange set of criteria but I think that this book really did the trick. I was also shocked at how haunting spectral youth can actually be. I never knew that ghostly children could scare anyone - it was more or less hauntings happening to children like The Turn of the Screw that I found terrifying. This book really opened my eyes to more possibilities for ghost stories.
By Annie Kapur2 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Looking Glass Sound" by Catriona Ward
"The leaves of the sugar maple whisper—under it, there’s a high-pitched whine, a long shrill note like bad singing…it sounds like all the things you’re not supposed to believe in—mermaids, selkies, sirens…’What’s that sound?’ It seems like it’s coming from inside of me, somehow. Dad pauses in the act of unlocking the door. ‘It’s the stones on the beach. High tide has eaten away at them, making little holes—kind of like finger stops on a flute—and when the wind is in the east, coming over the ocean, it whistles through."
By Annie Kapur2 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Sheep's Clothing" by Celia Dale
I read a Celia Dale book before and I have to admit I did not quite like it as much as I thought I would. It was on a recommended list after I had finished reading Mrs March. The book was called A Helping Hand and it was sub-par in comparison to Mrs March. I had therefore put Celia Dale off for a while until I ran into Sheep's Clothing which sounded quite interesting from the storyline but failed to impress when it came to writing style.
By Annie Kapur2 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: "The Dark Half" by Stephen King
I have read an awful lot of Stephen King over the years and to this day, I have never gotten over the reading experience of Salem's Lot when I was a teenager. It was basically being viscerally frightened by something I knew could not be true - but I was scared anyway. It set me up for life when it came to my horror addiction, it also made me wonder about what actually made people scared. It got me interested in othering and that is what I find The Dark Half is mostly about in some weird way. Othering and pain. I ended up basing a lot of the work I did on my degrees on these ideas and in a way, it was mostly thanks to the experience of reading Salem's Lot. As I read The Dark Half recently, I am reminded of those times in my life where I came to those conclusions about myself.
By Annie Kapur2 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: "The Burnings" by Naomi Kelsey
"If a rich man said so, she was a witch." The concept for this book is brilliant: the witch trials and the quintessential era of uncertainty for women. The storyline is just this: it's the 1570s and there are two settings, one is Denmark and one is Scotland. We have two separate narrators who seem at first to have very little in common with each other until their political worlds start to intertwine. From graphic depictions of horrendous violence against women to the political atmosphere of the day that keeps everyone in their told place, this book has some brilliantly explored themes and ideas.
By Annie Kapur2 years ago in Geeks
