Leah Wilson

Twelve YA authors write an essay on an aspect of Veronica Roth's Divergent trilogy, talking about a variety of topics such as the way in which the factions map to psychological classifications, whether honesty is truly the best policy in the world of the series, and the biology of fear.

Though this book definitely falls under the definition of "literary criticism," these are not the stuffy sort of essays you might think of when you hear the term (personally, I don't, but then I was an English show more major and classify myself as Divergent, but mostly Erudite). These authors investigate the books from all sorts of point of views, but make it accessible and interesting reading. I really enjoyed essays that looked at the science of fear or the psychology of the factions or even the one that tried to map where each of the faction headquarters are in relation to the current city of Chicago. The writers who contribute to this book clearly enjoyed the books as stories, and I never got the feeling that they were trying to hard to interpret things - they're just continuing their enjoyment through their explorations. I would easily recommend this to teens (and adults) who can't get enough of the series - and who knows, maybe they'll find a new author to try! show less

This collection of essays about the TV show Supernatural was published (or at least all of the essays were written) after season three but before season four, so it's *really* early in the show's run and thus some of the points made are laughable now (one essay makes a point about how the SPN universe contains demons but no angels. whelp.). But on the whole I really enjoyed this and found many of the essays really insightful. One on Dean as a mothering figure is great; another fascinating show more essay discusses how SPN uses "masculine characters to traverse a female landscape." A couple on the Impala as a third main character are interesting (apparently the state of the Impala (clean or dirty) usually reflects Dean's state of mind--neat). A few of the essays felt like filler, and one or two were just terrible--one, about Dean as the character we want to be and Sam as the character we really are, I think seriously misreads Dean, unless you stopped watching at about the midpoint of season one, and is written in a way that I think is supposed to be clever but which just made me cross. But generally I was thrilled to spend two afternoons with this, and it learned me a few things. show less

In the Hunt: Unauthorized Essays on Supernatural, ed. Supernatural.tv: Okay, I’m clearly more forgiving because I’m still so in love with the show, but this collection is decent, with the kind of meta that approaches the cream of what you get on LJ. You won’t find much feminism or critical race analysis or anything like that—there are nods to the show’s expressions of homophobia and some authors admit that there might be something slightly problematic about the show’s terrible show more gender issues, but this collection shies away from criticism in the name of love.

I liked the essays about objects best—one on the role of the Impala, and the other on the role of the Impala, the Colt, and Ruby’s knife. They made me think about what I see as the key Impala moment, when Dean beats the shit out of it/her. That’s such a powerful moment, and those of us who like to anthropomorphize her have a hard time with it. (Here's the best I've seen done.) Dean's attack is (a) expressing self-hatred; (b) expressing his anger at his father (who gave him the car and the hunting life); (c) expressing his resentment that all he has in life is the hunt (the car is the only stable home he has, except it only works if it’s not stable, by definition, so that doesn’t work so well); (d) expressing his misogyny (we, like Dean, generally identify the car with a woman—he is attacking an object/person who cannot fight back and, we probably think, wouldn’t if she could; and of course he’s sorry after and fixes her up nice); (e) some even more complicated combination. Dean and his car concretize Dean’s issues with his father/masculinity as well as his issues with caretaking/femininity; I think that’s why to love Dean is also to love his baby. show less

I met Anne McCaffrey in 1986 when she was guest of honour at the third KeyCon (Winnipeg's Science Fiction Convention). It is the only convention I have ever attended and the draw was the opportunity to meet McCaffrey. And I did get to meet her, twice. The first time was the opening event which was an ice cream social and when I lined up to get my ice cream who was dishing it up? None other than Anne McCaffrey. After that she read from "The Ship who Sang" and she, along with many of us in the show more audience, wept at the ending. She also did a Q and A session and when asked who she liked to read one of the people she mentioned was Ellis Peters. At the second occasion when I met Anne I was getting some books autographed and I mentioned to her that I also was a fan of Ellis Peters. Anne took some time to tell me about meeting Peters through their common publisher.

One of the many, many stories in this anthology tells about McCaffrey signing books at a convention where fans were lined up not just in the hallway outside of the signing room but out of the hotel itself. There were still many of people in line when the hour devoted to her autograph session ended but Anne kept signing as long as there were people with books.

That's just a small indication of the generous nature of Anne McCaffrey. There are many other stories in the book that showcase her generosity and kindness and human decency. If you have been enchanted by her books you will be in love with their creator by the time you finish this tribute. show less