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Hello, my little mummy sniffers! In today’s round-up of recent sci-fi and fantasy links, I have stuff to share with you about the beginnings and ends of science fiction TV shows, two exciting excerpts from upcoming fantasy books, a look at sci-fi remakes, and more!
Are These the 10 Best Sci-Fi Remakes Ever?
You know I love lists, and Yahoo recently shared a list of what they are calling the 10 best sci-fi remakes ever. I was not surprised to find any of these on the list, except for 12 Monkeys, with Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt, Madeleine Stowe, and (my fave) David Morse. It’s a 1995 film about a plague and people living underground, and was directed by Terry Gilliam. (It’s probably his most comprehensible film.) I was not aware that it even was a remake, but it turns out to have originally been a 1962 French science fiction featurette directed by Chris Marker, which is wild to think about. I would like to watch that, but definitely not while sitting in Jeffrey’s chair.
Read an Excerpt from Hellions by Julia Elliott
I am a huge fan of the small press Tin House, and a huge fan of Julia Elliott, so it’s great that the two work together! I can’t wait for Elliott’s new collection of stories, Hellions, to come out on April 15, 2025. (A tax day treat!) From Tin House: “With exuberance, ferocity, and astounding imagination, Julia Elliott’s Hellions jumps from the occult to the comic, from the horrific to the wondrous, in eleven stories of earthbound characters who long for the otherworldly.”
There are plagues, nuns, alligators, shape-shifters, supernatural happenings, mysterious twins, and more. You can check out a bit of the book early for yourself, with Reactor‘s excerpt of the story “The Maiden.” And while you’re waiting for the rest of the book, check out The Wilds and The New and Improved Romie Futch.
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Oh, Hey, It’s Time for One Piece, Volume 111!
The color scheme for One Piece, Volume 111 by Eiichiro Oda has been revealed! You are probably thinking, “What a random piece of information that is to share.” But the One Piece manga series is my new favorite recent discovery, and I cannot shut up about it. So I am taking this opportunity to bring it to your attention again, because it is the most bananapants thing I have read in a while. It has pirates, ships, and treasure, with lots and lots and lots of fight scenes, plus some characters with wacky supernatural abilities. I have read through volume 12 so far, so only 99 more to go! (99 volumes of One Piece on the shelf, 99 volumes of One Piece. Take one down, pass it around…) If you are a fan of the series, or just interested in illustration, take a peek at the new cover!
Read an Excerpt from The Memory Hunters by Mia Tsai
And another exciting excerpt! Paste has an excerpt from The Memory Hunters by Mia Tsai. I loved Tsai’s debut romantic fantasy, Bitter Medicine, so of course I was excited to hear she has a new novel coming out. And doubly excited when I read the description! From the publisher: “Inception meets Indiana Jones in this propulsive fungal science fantasy following a headstrong academic and her equally stubborn bodyguard as they unearth an ancient secret that rocks the foundations of their society—and challenges their unspoken love for one another.” The Memory Hunters is coming out July 29, 2025, from Erewhon Books.
And Let’s Finish Things Up with More Lists!
To end, I have two recent lists about sci-fi television shows! First, Collider has picked the 10 best sci-fi shows that are perfect from start to finish. I have only seen two of these series from beginning to end, one being Firefly and the other is the newer Battlestar Galactica. Firefly didn’t get a chance at an actual ending, so it almost doesn’t count, or alternately, it didn’t fail at wrapping things up because it didn’t have to do so. And I watched Battlestar Galactica in real-time, so it has been a while, and maybe I would feel differently now, buuut I don’t know about the end of that series. I didn’t like it very much.
Which is why it did not surprise me that it wasn’t included on ScreenRant‘s list of 10 sci-fi TV shows with extremely satisfying endings. Again, I have only seen the endings of two of these series, but the last line from the last episode of the original Quantum Leap still haunts my days. And everyone should watch Farscape, all day, every day. What are your favorites?
Okay, star bits, now take the knowledge you have learned here today and use it for good, not evil. If you want to know more about books, I talk about books pretty much nonstop (when I’m not reading them), and you can hear me say lots of adjectives about them on the BR podcast All the Books! and on Bluesky and Instagram.
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