Speculating Canada: Canadian Horror, Science Fiction, and Fantasy

October 24, 2012

Medical Myths and Werewolf What-ifs

A Review of Sparkle Hayter’s Naked Brunch (No Exit Press, 2002) By Derek Newman-Stille The real monster in Sparkle Hayter’s Naked Brunch is the medical world that portrays certain bodies as unacceptable and in need of being fixed. Hayter’s werewolf begins as a regular woman, Annie Engel, who is tightly controlled and subjugated – bullied by a boss who uses...

Fiction Book Reviews Comments: 2

October 23, 2012

Upcoming Interview with Karen Dudley on October 26, 2012.

Chef and author with an interest in Classical Studies, Archaeology, and Biology: Karen Dudley is an exciting read. In our upcoming interview, you will have a chance to hear about her upcoming novel Food For The Gods and get some insights into her thought processes, and the role of the past for the present world. Here are a few highlights...

Interviews/News Comments: 2

October 22, 2012

Chadwick Ginther Interview

An Interview of Chadwick Ginther by Derek Newman-Stille After reading Thunder Road, I knew I had to interview Chadwick Ginther. I had a great opportunity to talk to him earlier this week and get some of his insights about the role of mythology in modern Canada, regionality in Canadian SF, the significance of tattoos, and the future of Canadian mythic...

Interviews Comments: 3

October 21, 2012

Quote – Canadian Tropes – Privileging Community Over Individual Heroics

“By now, many of us could recite the list of tropes that we’ve decided make us us: stories that privilege the community over individual heroics; stories about open space(s), alienation, isolation; about the rare and precious coming together of isolated bodies to comfort each other in the dark and cold before separating once more…” -Nalo Hopkinson – Final Thoughts (in...

Quotes Comments: 0

October 21, 2012

Horrify Your Halloween

From now until Halloween pay special attention to the book reviews I post. I have some suggestions for you on how to Horrify Your Halloween and increase your level of terror for the holiday (my favorite holiday, by the way). I will be reviewing several books that have monstrous content in them, and, fortunately, the Werewolf Wednesdays theme fits in...

News Comment: 1

October 20, 2012

Patient Zero and the Post-Human

A review of Nina Munteanu’s Darwin’s Paradox (Dragon Moon Press, 2007) By Derek Newman-Stille In Darwin’s Paradox Nina Munteanu displays her awareness of scientific discourse: focussing on areas like chaos theory, biological theories of co-evolution, symbiosis and virology, and ecological theories. Her protagonist, Julie, is patient zero in a spreading epidemic that has infected most of modern civilisation. Munteanu creates...

Fiction Book Reviews Comments: 2

October 19, 2012

Quote – Never Prepare For Bizarreness of Reality

“She’d learned from her experience… that she could never prepare for the bizarreness of reality.” -Nina Munteanu – Darwin’s Paradox

Quotes Comments: 0

October 19, 2012

Upcoming Interview with Chadwick Ginther On Monday, October 22, 2012

I did a review of Chadwick Ginther’s Thunder Road on September 21st, and after reading it, I knew that I should talk to Mr. Ginther about his vision of Norse mythology and its role in Canadian SF, the social significance of tattoos, and regionalism in Canadian SF. I hope that you enjoy reading the Interview with Chadwick Ginther on Monday, October...

Interviews/News Comments: 2

October 18, 2012

Quote – Prejudice About What One Could Do Instead Of What They Are Doing

“How can you hate a whole group of people without knowing the individuals? That’s stupid prejudice. It isn’t fair or realistic. Each of them is different and you’re lumping them all into one bad group based on what they could do as opposed to what they are doing or willing to do.” -Nina Munteanu – Darwin’s Paradox

Quotes Comment: 1

October 17, 2012

Interview with Kelley Armstrong

An Interview with Kelley Armstrong by Derek Newman-Stille Kelley Armstrong was the first Canadian author of the fantastic that I found and enjoyed. A few years ago, I was able to have Ms. Armstrong visit Trent University to be an author in residence for Trent’s Champlain College and Gzowski College. It was an incredible experience for our students and an amazing...

Interviews Comments: 5