Books to Help Escape Reality, and How Do You Pick The Best Books?

A collage of book covers, including Fangirl, Wild Seed, Never Let Me Go, and Thus Was Adonis Murdered

BOOKS

Out of This World: Books to Read When You Need an Escape

JO WALTON

Sometimes you need to step away from the real world and lose yourself in fiction. Jo Walton shares the books that always help transport her to another reality for a bit. What are yours?

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A painting of someone writing in a book with a quill

BOOKS

The Comfort (and Discomfort) of Retellings

WEN-YI LEE

"As artists, what are we if not the sum of all we've seen and absorbed and alchemised into our own voice?"

Author Wen-Yi Lee (The Dark We Know) discusses the tension between Western stories and the marginalized authors who retell them in their own words.

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FEATURED ESSAY

How the Horse Girl Became Our Most Enduring (and Queerest) Archetype of Girlhood

KRISTEN PATTERSON

"The Horse Girl" is a complicated, sometimes contradictory archetype, especially when it comes to issues of class, gender, and sexuality–Kristen Patteron explores the rollicking history of Horse Girls!

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ANCIENT ROME

Five Thinly Veiled Versions of Rome in SF

JAMES DAVIS NICOLL

Some authors simply can't resist basing their settings on ancient Rome. James Davis Nicoll looks at 5 novels featuring science fictional versions of the Roman Republic or Empire...which stories come to mind?

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A stack of worn books next to an open notebook and pen

MOST ICONIC BOOKS

On Selecting the Top Ten Genre Books of the First Quarter of the Millennium

JO WALTON

We asked voracious reader Jo Walton to pick her 10 favorite SFF novels of the 21st century, and she explains her process and alternate picks in this new essay. How would you pick which books are the "best" or "most iconic"? And if you want to see the full list of "Most Iconic SFF Books of This Century" as chosen by over 50 authors, check it out here!

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AGATHA ALL ALONG

"Agatha All Along" Nailed Some Profound Truths About Witchcraft

ASA WEST

Portrayals of witches often disappoint by heading into the territories of horror and camp. But Agatha All Along approached the history and practice of witchcraft thoughtfully and with respect. An expert explains what the show got right, and why it matters.

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Screencaps of the main characters from both the 1956 and 1978 versions of Invasion of the Body Snatchers

SCIENCE FICTION FILM CLUB

"Invasion of the Body Snatchers": All Alien Stories Are Human Stories

KALI WALLACE

Invasion of the Body Snatchers was brilliant and uncomfortable in 1956, and even more so when it was remade in 1978. The Sci-Fi Film Club discusses the history and enduring legacy behind both films.

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HERETIC

"Heretic" Makes a Charming Entry in the Religious Horror Genre

LEAH SCHNELBACH

Hugh Grant's villainous performance in Heretic is even better than Paddington 2 (if you can either believe that). The movie's larger exploration of religious horror presents some interesting questions too.

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Two colorful spacesuits whirl together, surrounded by abstract plnets

ORIGINAL FICTION!

"Become of Me"

VERONICA ROTH

An android mother writes a letter to her daughter...

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Books to Help Escape Reality, and How Do You Pick "The Best" Books?

Reactor Magazine <reactormagazine@n.macmillan.com>

November 14, 5:00 pm