The Expanse: Season One

Confession: I miss Battlestar Galactica. I’m not alone in this. So when I started seeing articles around the internets comparing Syfy’s new show The Expanse to my beloved Galatica, I jumped in on watching it with some friends. Others have written about the comparison, so I won’t belabor the point. I’ll just tell you why enjoyed this new show.

For those not in the know, The Expanse is based on the book series by James S.A. Corey. Stay tuned and I’m sure you’ll see the first book Leviathan Wakes reviewed here soon. I’m the only person in my show watching group who hasn’t read the books and that’s not a position I relish. Plus the first 10-episode season certainly left me wanting more.

The Expanse tells the story of a universe where space colonization has expanded out through the universe to cover the moon, Mars, and the asteroid belt. Through time, very different cultures have grown up on Mars and in the Belt, and tensions are riding high between Earthers, Belters, and Martians. In the midst of that tension appear two mysteries – one is the disappearance of a wealthy young woman whose father pays detective Joe Miller to find her. The other is the destruction of a ship called the Canterbury by stealth ships of unknown origin. The show follows Miller’s investigation and the surviving crew of the Cant as they both plunge deeper and deeper into the same plot that appears to involve someone trying to start an intergalactic war.

At the end of season one, I’m still not sure I have a complete grasp on what the nefarious plans at work are, but I know I want to find out. The political world of The Expanse is detailed and complex as you would expect from a series that has 5 long novels and counting as source material. It’s rich and exciting, and our guide through all the political machinations is my new favorite bad-ass: Chrisjen Avasarala. She’s strong, graceful, ruthless, takes no shit, and can wear those awesome dangly earrings that look like they’d rip my ears off.  She’s basically a really good reason to watch the show all on her own.

And she’s not the only great character in the series. Miller gets more and more compelling and spooky as the show goes on. And the surviving crew of the Canterbury are pretty awesome. I’m fairly ambivalent to their reluctant leader Jim Holden but I think that’s by design. But Texan/Indian Martian pilot Alex is a joy to watch, and I also have a hero crush on mechanic Naomi Nagata. Her fascinating leader/follower relationship with the muscle Amos makes him my favorite enforcer character since Firefly’s Jayne proclaimed “This is my very favorite gun.”

Yes indeed folks, The Expanse is a detailed show full of compelling, diverse, characters you want to root for and yell at. It takes place in a gritty, well-worn, richly imagined science fiction universe, and it’s got a plot that despite all the twists and turns so far is just getting started. You’ve only missed the first season so, jump in now. So say we all.

Reading The Glamourist Histories

Earlier this week I wrote about Shades of Milk and Honey, the first book in Mary Robinette Kowal’s Glamourist Histories series. The basic premise of the books is a version of Jane Austin’s Regency England, with the addition of a decorative magic known as glamour. Shades of Milk and Honey follows Jane Ellsworth as she overcomes her own beliefs that she is accomplished but too plain to find love, saves her sister from a dubious suitor who would ruin her reputation, and (spoiler alert!) finds the love of her life in the professional glamourist Vincent.

Shades of Milk and Honey is a delightful Pride and Prejudice style romp that ends with the proposal. After that, Mary Robinette Kowal wrote four more books that chronicle the first four years or so of Jane and Vincent’s marriage. It took me about two and a half weeks to read all 5 books, so I thought I would write a sort of collective review and overview of the rest of the series. The basics are that if you loved Shades like I did, you’ll probably enjoy Glamour in Glass, Without a Summer, Valour and Vanity, and Of Noble Family.

The second book, Glamour in Glass follows Jane and Vincent on what is supposed to be a working honeymoon to Belgium. They quickly run into two big problems. The first is political as Napoleon escapes from his first exile and brings fear and danger to the continent. The second is more personal as Mrs. Kowal introduces one of the more interesting twists in her magical universe: glamour is considered a womanly art, but it’s dangerous for a woman to work glamour while in the family way, so to speak.

A book by a modern author about the Regency era with a female protagonist is automatically going to run into questions about the rights and place of women in society. One of the overarching themes of the series is Jane finding a way to work side by side with her husband in a profession they both adore at a time where the political and social norms make that very difficult. Adding in the physical manifestation of pregnancy and glamour not mixing heightens and complicates that theme in ways I found fascinating.

Glamour in Glass is less of a direct Jane Austin homage and more of an adventure novel than its predecessor. Here we leave the drawing room behind and find Jane and Vincent doing more hands on work. There’s also a healthy dose of espionage and straight up action as the danger from Napoleon becomes more and more real.

The third book, Without a Summer, returns to the romantic intrigue that made the first novel so unique. This installment finds Jane and Vincent taking Jane’s sister Melody to London to help her secure a good husband. But their work becomes entangled with plots that will endanger Melody’s prospects and their lives. This book delves much more deeply into Vincent’s troubled past. He gave up a life as the son of a powerful and hyper-strict Earl to become a working artist. But family doesn’t let go that easily, and Without a Summer explores his troubling family dynamic with intrigue to spare. This book also starts a trend in the series where it seems like the author was trying out different genres. Without a Summer is a little bit of a court room drama, which is fun to read.

If the third book is a courtroom drama, the fourth, Valour and Vanity is a heist book. Here Jane and Vincent are back on the road, this time in Venice. They find themselves swindled and have to try to swindle the swindlers to get back their lives and livelihoods. This book was the weakest in the series because while it’s a little fun to stretch the characters beyond their comfort zones, without the aristocratic drama of the earlier books, a lot of what makes these books unique disappears. Sure there’s some nice character development for Jane and Vincent, but it wasn’t as compelling as the previous books.

Finally the series finishes with Of Noble Family which finds Jane and Vincent journeying to Antigua to take care of affairs on Vincent’s father’s estate. This book wraps up the series with more of Vincent’s drama with his father, as well as Jane and Vincent finally undertaking the terrifying journey of starting a family of their own. This book is also the longest and most ambitious as Mrs. Kowal tries not only to finish the series, but to take on the issue of slavery on a Caribbean plantation. That’s a lot to accomplish in one book, but it does wrap up the series nicely while continuing the trend of expanding the scope of the books.

The series has several really interesting arcs that are certainly fun to follow and explore. At its heart the series is truly about the romance of Jane and Vincent as they work together to create art and a life that makes them both happy. Tied into that is the aforementioned struggle for Jane to build a satisfying life as a smart, independent woman in a society that did not value women. It’s a delight to watch the characters learn and grow through their struggles.

It’s also interesting to see a modern take on the Regency period for other reasons. There’s more racial and socio-economic diversity that one would expect from books on the period. It helps that Mary Robinette Kowal is a self-professed nerd. She worked hard to make sure that she kept the historical detail ridiculously accurate and authentic, which also means acknowledging the many strata of society present in the time, not just the ones we’re used to hearing about. The author’s notes at the end of each book are full of fun historical tidbits. There’s also the revelation that there’s a Doctor Who Easter egg in each book. I told you the author was a nerd. Fun, easy reading adventures with a complex female lead written by a detail loving nerd. It’s no wonder I enjoyed this series so much.

Required Reading: Shades of Milk and Honey (The Glamourist Histories #1)

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a novel possessed of a good reputation must be in want of a parody. The immortal Jane Austin has proven this point by the staggering number of homages, parodies, and imitators she has accumulated since Pride and Prejudice became a classic. From the countless books that are essentially Austin fan-fiction to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Ms. Austin has no shortage of fans. Count among these fans one Mary Robinette Kowal, the author of Shades of Milk and Honey.

Shades of Milk and Honey has a pretty simple premise: it’s like a Jane Austin book but with magic. Mrs. Kowal has created a version of Regency England where a form of magic known as glamour is accounted one of the womanly arts all upper class ladies are educated in – along with needlework and music. Glamour is a mostly decorative art form used to create images along with music, life-like murals that include wind and smell, and even the occasional cooling breeze. This isn’t powerful, scary, dragon-fighting magic, but part of polite parlor conversation suitable for young ladies. It’s a delightfully different take on magic, and it fits well into a Jane Austin-esque story.

Shades of Milk and Honey follows the story of the two young Ellsworth daughters: Jane and Melody.. Melody is beautiful, charming, and will almost certainly gain a husband. Jane is her accomplished but plain older sister who has virtually resigned herself to spinsterhood at the ripe old age of 28. The story is told from Jane’s point of view as she accompanies her sister to dances and tries not to be jealous of her looks and charm. Of course that’s made difficult when Melody and Jane both have high regard for the same eligible bachelor. But the intrigue grows as two new gentlemen join the local society: a gruff and mysterious professional glamourist, and a dashing young Captain who may be up to no good.

The book is an obvious and lovely homage to Jane Austin’s most famous work. Jane and Melody have many things in common with Jane and Elizabeth Bennet of Pride and Prejudice fame. Their restrictive world of high stakes courtship will be familiar to anyone familiar with the period. Their family situation also feels similar to the Bennet’s. They live on a similarly sized estate in a similarly small town. They have a doting and wise father, although they lack the gaggle of other sisters and instead have a hypochondriac mother. And the intrigue of trying to establish emotional connections and find a husband is much the same. Clearly Mary Robinette Kowal is a studied fan of Jane Austin and she does her source material proud.

Now don’t get me wrong. Shades of Milk and Honey is not high art on a level with Pride and Prejudice. It relies on a few more cliches, but it does so as a literary short hand so it can get to the point it wants to make, which is the magic. Magic and romance are the names of the game and the book delivers both. The details of glamour are specific enough to keep world-building fans happy, but not so detailed that they bog down the book with too much minutia. And the descriptions of finished glamour pieces are gorgeous and make me want to live in a world where such a thing is possible.

I’ll also note that this book has a bit more action in it that its predecessor. Jane has a certain modern spunk that leads her to take action when her family is threatened and makes the book’s 300 or so pages flash by too soon. I devoured the book in three days myself. Basically if the premise “Jane Austin with magic” appeals to you, know that Shades of Milk and Honey delivers.

Prerequisites: Superman

While there are many actors that become identified with a character, perhaps the most iconic pair is Christopher Reeve and Superman. For years I had heard that Mr. Reeve was the definitive Superman, and now I know why. Watching him in the 1978 Superman, you can see this was the role he was born to play. From his incredible chin to his ability to make cheesy lines sound sincere, Christopher Reeve IS Superman.

Now that I’ve stated the obvious, this movie was a lot of fun. I sat down to watch it with several good friends and would highly recommend that method. Frankly, I went into this movie expecting some serious 70s cheese. I was not disappointed, but I also found that several parts of the movie rose above kitsch and were truly endearing.

The movie begins on Superman’s home planet Krypton with his father Jor-El fighting to stop the planet’s destruction. The entire sequence is bizarre. First there’s the very existence of Marlon Brando as Jor-El, which is one of those truly strange and magical casting choices that keeps on giving. Then there’s the questionable decision to spend the first few moments of the movie setting up the exile of General Zod, a plot point that does not feature into the movie at all. (I’ve been told it’s setup for the sequel). Then there’s the whole sending Superman to earth in a giant ice crystal spaceship while his planet dies around him sequence which is delightfully cheesy and strange.

From there the movie becomes less WTF and more charming. Superman’s upbringing as Clark Kent is adorable. Then he goes to Metropolis and meets Lois Lane, who is THE BEST. I loved Margot Kidder as Lois Lane pretty hard. I expected a fair amount of old-fashioned sexism, but this Lois Lane is smart, intense, and dedicated to her job. She can’t spell worth a damn, but she’s still determined to get the scoop and be the best journalist in Manhattan. I mean Metropolis.

Of course, her interactions with Superman are still frequently cringe worthy. The Peter Pan-esque scene where he takes her flying is truly ridiculous. But I also found a lot that was endearing about their relationship and Lois’s attempt to keep everything as professional as she can. Frankly, I found Kidder’s Lois Lane more fun and just as empowered or evolved as the Lois Amy Adams is playing in the current franchise.

As much as I was surprised by how impressed I was by Lois Lane, I was equally surprised at how lame Gene Hackman was as Lex Luthor. In modern superhero movies there seems to be a deep distrust of the heroes themselves, so the emphasis has shifted to creating more and more intense and interesting villains. This is not that. Gene Hackman is from the cartoonishly incompetent school of villain. He makes Jack Nicholson in Batman look scary.

There were moments of the movie I loved. Some, like Lois interviewing Superman, I loved for what they were. Some I loved because I watched this movie with friends and could laugh at the inconsistencies and ridiculousness. My favorite moment? When Superman delivers a boat full of villains to the police station, one friend said “Wait, that boat is named Serenidy. With a d.” Another friend quipped “Lois Lane named that boat.”

My recommendation? Get some friends and some pizza and enjoy this movie for the cheesy, iconic, super-fun, kitschy mess that it is.