Escapism

Picasso, Femme au béret et à la robe quadrillée

I dreamed I was being chased by Cubists. Yes, I DO in fact mean folks like Picasso, Braque, and Juan Gris. WHY were a bunch of Cubist paintings (the artwork, not the artists) running after me? Beats the fuck outta me. I’m usually able to suss out symbolism, the meaning of my dreams but this one has me thoroughly flummoxed. 

Juan Gris, Woman with Mandolin

Possibly my subconscious is just trying to insert some humor to give me a nice break from reality? I’m sure you’ve noticed, reality pretty much sucks right now.

Which brings me to escapism…

Jen, Oni, Kevin (Oni’s brother) and I watched the final episode of Murderbot, season one. It was absolutely perfect. Seamlessly awesome. The books (by Martha Wells) and show are each exquisitely done – absolutely the right blend of science, space stuff, drama, humor, humanity (good, bad, and ridiculous), and creativity. 

I don’t want to give anything away but I was thrilled to see the tech expert character, Gurathin, who’d previously been distrustful and jealous of – even jerky-boy antagonistic towards Murderbot, come around (understatement). Also, both Gurathin and Murderbot’s “favorite human,” Mensah (President of Preservation Alliance and the leader of the science team protected by Murderbot) totally understood Murderbot’s ultimate decision.

I can’t wait for season two! Sadly, it won’t be out until later in 2026. This gives me a serious sad. 

Good news though – the third season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is out now! In case you’re having trouble keeping all the Star Trek timelines straight, Strange New Worlds is the one right before James T. Kirk took over the Enterprise. Christopher Pike is the captain and he is fabulous – significantly better than that scenery molesting ham who followed him. 

In other escapist news, my latest Libby hold has finally become available. Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping [On a Dead Man] by Jesse Q. Sutanto. 

Online, Xander had it – a parade of private jets, fabulous parties with socialites, and a burgeoning career as a social media influencer. The only problem is, after his body is fished out of Mission Bay, the police can't seem to actually identify him. Who is Xander Lin? Nobody knows. Every contact is a dead end. Everybody claims not to know him, not even his parents. (source) 

Her books are definitely the sort that you take for a plane ride or to the beach or when you need to forget, if only for an hour, that your country has devolved into a lethal soup of diseased fecal fascism. Sutanto's books are murder mystery lite (fun reads/less thinking). I’m grateful for “great beach reads” – they have their place. Still, I feel a bit guilty. I mean, what’s next? Harlequin Romances and People Magazine?

Next on my Libby hold list is The Wrong Stars by Tim Pratt. Never read him before but it sounds up my alley, pretty much. 

A ragtag crew of humans and posthumans discover alien technology that could change the fate of humanity... or awaken an ancient evil and destroy all life in the galaxy. (source) 

The other thing is, I like his Bluesky bio:

Writer and editor. Loser of Nebula, World Fantasy, Dick, and Stoker Awards (won a Hugo tho). Been published in Best American Short Stories AND Best American Erotica. Genderfluid. Any pronouns

Seems he’s got a sense of humor AND he’s followed there by John Scalzi who I totally trust.

So that’s it for me today. I’m going to avoid Cubists, fascists, and escape into great beach reads,