Silkpunk. Short. A land of elemental magic, twin children born to a cruel empress and given to a monastery, and an uprising in which the intertwining of magic and new technologies is becoming ever more destructive. Really like the world building, and the writing is effective, but the story felt like it wasn’t enough. On …
Month: September 2019
A short, thoughtful, and somewhat meandering book about the politics of memory and legacy and, specifically, archives. The author was part of the New Left in the UK – he went by “Dr. John” in those years and was a central figure in the London Street Commune – and went on to become “a cultural …
Maia Wikler lives in Vancouver and works as the Digital Communications Coordinator for Raven Trust, an organization whose mission is to fundraise to support First Nations in legal battles. Scott Neigh interviews her about the Pull Together campaign, a collaboration between Raven and the Sierra Club BC to raise money for the litigation by First …
Sci-fi. Two agents on opposing sides of a time war, skipping up and down different versions of history and covertly intervening, trying to ensure that their side wins the future. Except, this is not the sort of massive, ponderous tome that would result from trying (and inevitably failing) to capture that whole massive story in …
Thank-you to Karen from the Migrant Rights Network for the interview just now for Talking Radical Radio! In a couple of weeks, you can tune in to hear us talk about the network’s efforts to fight racism and xenophobia in general and in the context of the federal election. Originally posted to Scott’s author page on Facebook.
Literary fiction. The story of a young man buffeted by the winds of the social world into not-belonging of many different forms, and then navigating that towards a clearer sense of self. Woven together with a storyline drawn from Hindu mythology and with black/green/grey illustrations. Simple, lyrical, and emotionally compelling. Originally posted by Scott on Goodreads.
Mediocre fantasy, but make it queer. Princess from one kingdom makes the long journey to marry her childhood betrothed in another, to form an alliance and to bring her people’s magic to this land that is increasingly plagued by dragons. He dies before she gets there, and in this non-heterosexist world it is perfectly normal …
A solid first book for white people to read to begin learning about racism. The hook and focus indicated by the title points towards how unprepared we generally are in multiple senses for conversations about race and racism. In particular, most of us never learn to handle “the smallest amount of racial stress” and so …
Alvin Finkel is a history professor at Athabasca University and the author of thirteen books, most recently Compassion: A Global History of Social Policy (Red Globe Press, 2019). He is also the president of the Alberta Labour History Institute (ALHI), a grassroots organization devoted to preserving and sharing the stories of Alberta’s working people and …
Ramona Neckoway is a professor at the University College of the North in Thompson Manitoba. She is also a member of Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation, a hydro-impacted community. Stephane McLachlan is a professor at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. Both do research studying the impacts and implications of hydroelectricity projects on the environment and on …