On Oppression and its Misrepresentation in Fantasy Fiction

Magneto hovering

The character Magneto from X-Men

I’ve been thinking about how magic is often represented in fantasy.

I’ve written previously about how many SFF stories (poorly) represent post-racial societies. My issue with magic is a close cousin to that topic.

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On the Misrepresentation of Post-Racism in SFF Shows

Charles Pike, a character from season 3 of the sci-fi show The 100.

Science fiction and fantasy are my favourite genres of movies and TV series.

This is largely because they are the genres of ideas on what another version of the world could—and in some cases should—look like.

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Another Favourite Warrior Woman Character (and an important lesson about self-discovery by disguise)

Cover painting from the book Winds of Fate by Mercedes Lackey

A couple weeks ago, I wrote about my favourite warrior women characters.

(That is, my favourites aside from the one and only Xena, who is, in my opinion, the greatest warrior woman character there is.)

But I inadvertently left someone off my list; someone who made a strong impression upon me at a specific point in her personal journey.

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My 5 Favourite Warrior Woman Characters (who aren’t named Xena)

A few weeks ago, I wrote about warrior woman characters and whether they helped or hindered the ongoing struggle for women’s equality in real life.

Having concluded that such characters do indeed benefit women and society, I can now happily share my top favourite warrior women characters who aren’t named Xena.

I have to include the stipulation of “not named Xena” because Xena is, in my opinion, the greatest warrior woman character there is.

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How to Withstand January (and the Rest of a Miserable Winter)

winter-snowJanuary, I’ve heard said, is the most depressing month of the year.

(For many, February isn’t much better.  And this January in particular brings its own unique brand of wretchedness for many.)

This despite the fact that, with the holiday season and hence the longest night now in the past, not only is a new year upon us but so too are the daylight hours progressively getting longer.

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My Deserted Island Albums for Leaving 2016 Behind

deserted-island

Some dayssome years – retreating to a deserted island sounds like a mighty fine proposition.

Of course, it would have to be a tropical island.  Being one of those people who is always cold, spending a year on an island in the Arctic – or worse, the Antarctic – would create a whole new set of problems.

I’ve been snow camping before during my great outdoorsy days, but never in -34°C (-29°F).

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