Reading – John A. Underwood

Finishing Vorkosigan

I recently finished my re-read of Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan Saga (which in some cases was a first read). The series is an incredible achievement – sweeping space opera, generational family saga, the occasional comedy of manners … it’s a remarkable sequence of tales. When Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen, the chronological final volumeContinue reading “Finishing Vorkosigan”

2023

Once again, we find ourselves in that special place of thinking maybe this year will be different, maybe this year will be better. I despise this manner of thinking, though I still fall prey to it somewhat. A rounded rock covered with water and air corkscrews through endless night like spiraling down a toilet’s drain,Continue reading “2023”

Rereading Vorkosigan

I’ve been re-reading the Vorkosigan Saga lately. That’s not wholly accurate. I’d read most of the books before, in ones and twos, all out of order. There are several I’d never gotten to. I happened to find one such in my possession about a month ago and figured I’d go ahead and read it —Continue reading “Rereading Vorkosigan”

My 2021 in Reading

I did something different in 2021, probably because for the first four and a half months of the year I was still on my 2020 quarantine-light. (I left the house, sure, but I limited those excursions and didn’t work at my “real” job until after my second jab) So for the first time since IContinue reading “My 2021 in Reading”

Harry Potter and the Wizarding World of Systemic Racism

Pride Month is here, which means J.K. Rowling is on the internet being a bigot. I’m only kidding. She does it year round, it’s just that more people take note during June. Once more, I see friends and acquaintances on social media debating whether or not she is, in fact, a bigoted TERF piece ofContinue reading “Harry Potter and the Wizarding World of Systemic Racism”

Why Genderswapping DUNE’s Liet-Kynes Is Actually Perfect

Let me tell you about the feminist message you absolutely missed in Dune, and why Sharon Duncan-Brewster is perfect to play Liet.