Abigail Horne
Abigail Horne, an English PhD and postdoctoral fellow at Washington University in St. Louis, teaches film, writing and Southern American and African-American literatures of the 19th and 20th centuries at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia.
By Abigail Horne
The Ten Most Notable Science-Fiction Novels of the Past Ten Years
Given how busy we all are, particularly as the pandemic recedes, perhaps we should thank these lists (and their makers) for not wasting our time or abusing our goodwill, but instead helping us hack our way through that ever-growing thicket of anime, books, films, podcasts, manga, radio shows, stage plays, television series, video games, and the endless number of other cultural productions we feel honor-bound to track despite this impulse being a forever-frustrated wish that, to switch metaphors, cultural capital’s always-hungry maw ensures will never be satisfied.
Amplifying History
Sound, like a bullet, travels, and at sufficiently high decibels can penetrate the flesh of its target. The damage inflicted by sonic weaponry such as the Long-Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) is real and measurable, both physically and psychically, and its racialized genealogy can be traced back to anti-Black White mobs of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and in particular the World War I era.
Pharewell, Phil: Philip K. Dick (1928-1982)
On this day, the fortieth anniversary of his untimely death, I come to praise Philip K. Dick, not to bury him.
Ringmaster: Peter Jackson’s Hits and Misses and Hits
My esteem for Peter Jackson has limits even if, in my judgment, he remains a remarkable poet-director. Commemorating his birthday calls forth warm feelings and happy memories, but, to understand his artistic strengths, we must also acknowledge his weaknesses.
The Re-Possessed
Ursula K. Le Guin storms the Library of America.
Now Appearing, the Great Cicely Tyson
The woman who began her career as a fashion model for Ebony and Jet magazines, who married (and divorced) jazz trumpeter Miles Davis, and whose love of Black people, especially Black women, made her into an activist for most of her long, long life developed her craft so exactingly that she reigns as one of the greatest artists America has ever produced (or ever will produce).
Remembering Octavia E. Butler
Make no mistake, Octavia E. Butler was among the greatest American authors of the twentieth century. The intervening years have seen Butler’s work reclaimed by literary critics, scholars, and the reading public at large, but the fact remains: She was always terrific, even when too few people affirmed this judgment in the public square.
The New Who: Best of Enemies
Doctor Who, “Resolution” New Year’s Special 2019 Written by Chris Chibnall Directed by Wayne Yip Starring Jodie Whittaker, Tosin Cole, Mandip Gill, and Bradley Walsh Guest Starring Daniel Adegboyega, Nicholas Briggs, Nikesh Patel, and Charlotte Ritchie Original Broadcast 1 January 2019 (60 minutes) Doctor Thirteen faces her oldest…
The New Who: The Last Battle
Doctor Who, “The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos” Series 11, Episode 10 Written by Chris Chibnall Directed by Jamie Childs Starring Jodie Whittaker, Tosin Cole, Mandip Gill, and Bradley Walsh Guest Starring Mark Addy, Percelle Ascott, Phyllis Logan, and Samuel Oatley Original Broadcast 9 December 2018 (49 minutes) …