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Beyond Neuromancer: Seven Works of Cyberpunk Written Before the Eighties Made It Cool

[syndicated profile] tordotcom_feed
Wednesday, January 21st, 2026 03:00 pm

Posted by Sarah

https://reactormag.com/seven-works-of-cyberpunk-written-before-the-eighties-made-it-cool/

https://reactormag.com/?p=837145

Books Cyberpunk

Beyond Neuromancer: Seven Works of Cyberpunk Written Before the Eighties Made It Cool

Before 1984, these works were at the bleeding edge of a new genre…

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Published on January 21, 2026

Credit: Yuyeung Lau [via Unsplash]

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<p class="syndicationauthor">Posted by Sarah</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/seven-works-of-cyberpunk-written-before-the-eighties-made-it-cool/">https://reactormag.com/seven-works-of-cyberpunk-written-before-the-eighties-made-it-cool/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=837145">https://reactormag.com/?p=837145</a></p><post-hero class="wp-block-post-hero js-post-hero post-hero post-hero-vertical"> <div class="container container-desktop"> <div class="flex flex-col mx-auto post-hero-container"> <div class="post-hero-content"> <div class="post-hero-tags font-aktiv text-xs tracking-[0.5px] font-medium uppercase"> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/articles/books/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Books 0"> Books </a> </span> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tag/cyberpunk/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Cyberpunk 1"> Cyberpunk </a> </span> </div> <h2 class="post-hero-title text-h1">Beyond <i>Neuromancer</i>: Seven Works of Cyberpunk Written Before the Eighties Made It Cool</h2> <div class="prose post-hero-description prose--post-hero">Before 1984, these works were at the bleeding edge of a new genre&#8230;</div> <div class="post-hero-wrapper"> <div class="post-hero-inner"> <p class="post-hero-author text-xs font-aktiv uppercase font-medium [&amp;_a]:link-hover">By <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/sam-reader/" title="Posts by Sam Reader" class="author url fn" rel="author">Sam Reader</a></p> <span class="post-hero-symbol relative top-[-2px] hidden tablet:block">|</span> <p class="text-xs uppercase post-hero-publish font-aktiv"> Published on January 21, 2026 </p> </div> </div> <div class="post-hero-caption post-hero-caption-vertical [&amp;_a]:link"><p>Credit: Yuyeung Lau [via Unsplash]</p> </div> <div class="quick-access post-hero-quick-access mt-[17px] tablet:hidden"> <div class="flex gap-[30px] tablet:gap-6"> <a href="https://reactormag.com/seven-works-of-cyberpunk-written-before-the-eighties-made-it-cool/#comments" class="flex items-center text-sm font-aktiv tracking-[0.6px] font-semibold uppercase translate-x-[1px] translate-y-[1px]"> <svg class="w-[22px] h-[22px] mr-[7px] icon-hover" viewbox="0 0 18 18" aria-label="comment" role="img" aria-hidden="true" aria-labelledby="icon-comment-quick-access-"> <title id="icon-comment-quick-access-">Comment</title> <g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"> <path fill="#FFF" fill-rule="nonzero" d="M6.3 18a.9.9 0 0 1-.9-.9v-2.7H1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 0 12.6V1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 1.8 0h14.4A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 18 1.8v10.8a1.8 1.8 0 0 1-1.8 1.8h-5.49l-3.33 3.339a.917.917 0 0 1-.63.261H6.3Z" /> <path stroke="#000" d="M5.9 14.4v-.5H1.8a1.3 1.3 0 0 1-1.3-1.3V1.8A1.3 1.3 0 0 1 1.8.5h14.4a1.3 1.3 0 0 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17.4143C8.67871 15.1976 7.89971 13.31 6.34171 11.7513C4.78371 10.1926 2.89605 9.41364 0.678713 9.41431V6.41431C2.21205 6.41431 3.64538 6.70197 4.97871 7.27731C6.31205 7.85264 7.47471 8.63597 8.46671 9.62731C9.45805 10.6186 10.2414 11.781 10.8167 13.1143C11.392 14.4476 11.6794 15.881 11.6787 17.4143H8.67871Z" fill="currentColor" fill-opacity="0.2" /> </g> <defs> <clippath id="clip0_1051_121783"> <rect width="17" height="17" fill="white" transform="translate(0.678711 0.414307)" /> </clippath> </defs> </svg> </a> </li> </ul> </div> </details> </div> </div> </div> <div class="post-hero-media "> <figure class="w-full h-auto post-hero-image"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="469" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/robot-levitate-740x469.jpg" class="w-full object-cover" alt="" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/robot-levitate-740x469.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/robot-levitate-1100x697.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/robot-levitate-768x486.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/robot-levitate.jpg 1500w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /> </figure> <div class="post-hero-caption post-hero-caption-horizontal [&amp;_a]:link"><p>Credit: Yuyeung Lau [via Unsplash]</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </post-hero> <div class="wp-block-more-from-category"> <div> </div> </div> <p>In 1984, William Gibson published <em>Neuromancer</em>, blending crime fiction, science fiction, surrealist literature, and a forward look at bleeding-edge technologies to give birth to the genre known as cyberpunk, an aesthetic movement and genre that has influenced countless books, video games, movies, music, and even clothing styles.</p> <p>Except that’s not <em>quite</em> accurate.</p> <p>While <em>Neuromancer</em> certainly mainstreamed cyberpunk, it was far from the first title to explore the moody, cynical, and noirish world that Bruce Sterling famously described as high-tech and low-life. Most of the originators of cyberpunk came well before Gibson wrote about the sky above the port and circling cranes. Far from a few scattered works of “proto-cyberpunk,” these early works prove there was a thriving genre even before it was codified as such in the 1980s. With that in mind, here’s a selection of works that were cyberpunk <em>before</em> it was cool…</p> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-stars-my-destination-alfred-bester/d9d5dc4da6717d9d?ean=9781876963460&amp;next=t" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong><em>The Stars My Destination</em></strong></a><strong> by Alfred Bester (1956)</strong></h3> <div class="wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile is-vertically-aligned-top" style="grid-template-columns:20% auto"><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="503" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/the-stars-my-destination.jpg" alt="cover of The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester" class="wp-image-837162 size-full" /></figure><div class="wp-block-media-text__content"> <p>Best described as “<em>The Count of Monte Cristo </em>meets <em>The Ascent of Man</em> meets <em>Neuromancer</em> on very strong drugs,” Bester’s 1956 novel begins with Gully Foyle, a man who’s little more than a beast, working on a ship called the <em>Nomad</em> when it gets attacked and then abandoned. Swearing revenge on those who left him for dead, Foyle duct-tapes the <em>Nomad</em> back together and launches himself into a web of intrigue involving asteroid cults, the criminal underworld, a mysterious substance, a starship-manufacturing corporation, and a radioactive corporate hitman. <em>The Stars My Destination</em> contains within it all the things we’ve come to know as cyberpunk: a morally ambiguous (at times outright monstrous) antihero, cybernetic and genetic enhancements, elements of crime novels, megacorporations, and a cynical but optimistic view of scientific progress and the effects it might have on humanity.</p> </div></div> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/simulacron-3-daniel-f-galouye/948d301e16759f48?ean=9781647100308&amp;next=t" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong><em>Simulacron-3</em></strong></a><strong> by Daniel F. Galouye (1964)</strong></h3> <div class="wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile is-vertically-aligned-top" style="grid-template-columns:20% auto"><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="491" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Simulacron-3.jpg" alt="cover of Simulacron-3 by Daniel F Galouye" class="wp-image-837161 size-full" /></figure><div class="wp-block-media-text__content"> <p>Galouye’s novel isn’t as well-known in the modern day as some of these other works, but given that it’s had two movie adaptations that made a much bigger impact in the cyberpunk canon (<a href="https://reactormag.com/world-on-a-wire-smoke-and-mirrors-in-paranoid-unreality/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>World on a Wire</em></a> in 1972 and <em>The 13<sup>th</sup> Floor</em> in 1998), it’s hard to say it’s unworthy of inclusion. The book begins when a scientist dies under mysterious circumstances and a high-ranking member of the REIN corporation, set to launch their fully simulated virtual world <em>Simulacron-3,</em> suddenly vanishes into thin air in the midst of a party, along with any trace he even existed. The cyberpunk elements are all already in place—noir elements courtesy of the detective novel plot, virtual reality, weaponized market research, highly advanced tech—but it kicks into high gear when Hall, the executive trying to unravel the mystery, discovers what was being kept secret and why, calling into question the nature of both reality and virtuality with each uncovered secret.</p> </div></div> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/do-androids-dream-of-electric-sheep-the-inspiration-for-the-films-blade-runner-and-blade-runner-2049-philip-k-dick/718ef0ab48ecf273?ean=9780345404473&amp;next=t" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong><em>Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?</em></strong></a><strong> by Philip K. Dick (1966)</strong></h3> <div class="wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile is-vertically-aligned-top" style="grid-template-columns:20% auto"><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="470" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/electric-sheep-1968.jpg" alt="cover of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K Dick" class="wp-image-837167 size-full" /></figure><div class="wp-block-media-text__content"> <p>Dick’s work practically helped invent the canon all on its own with his blending of pulp-crime plots, a cynical eye towards technological progress, hallucinatory imagery, and existentialist discussions. While some of Dick’s other books might arguably be more representative of cyberpunk (<em>The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch</em> for example), none have been as influential to the genre as <em>Electric Sheep</em>, a book that frames an argument about empathy within a detective story about a policeman named Rick Deckard sent to “retire” (kill) five highly advanced androids—almost indistinguishable from humans—who have escaped to Earth. If this sounds familiar, you’ve probably already seen the defining cyberpunk movie <em>Blade Runner</em>, where Harrison Ford plays Rick Deckard in a perpetually rainy future Los Angeles. <em>Electric Sheep</em> is more mind-bending than its movie adaptation, but also more incisive, exploring what it means to be human in a society where humanity is eroded almost entirely. You’d be hard-pressed to find something that’s more quintessentially cyberpunk.</p> </div></div> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/stand-on-zanzibar-the-hugo-award-winning-novel-john-brunner/e3302202ddb6578d?ean=9781250781222&amp;next=t" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong><em>Stand on Zanzibar</em></strong></a><strong> by John Brunner (1968)</strong></h3> <div class="wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile is-vertically-aligned-top" style="grid-template-columns:20% auto"><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="497" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/stand-on-zanzibar.jpg" alt="cover of Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner" class="wp-image-837166 size-full" /></figure><div class="wp-block-media-text__content"> <p>Brunner is a writer whose work feels like it could be contemporaneous with authors like John Shirley and William Gibson, if it weren’t for the fact that he had to wait about twenty years for the science fiction world to catch up with him. <em>Zanzibar</em> uses a documentary-style approach (complete with in-universe TV commercials, transcripts, documents, and “man on the street” profiles) to trace a series of interlocking conspiracies centered around AI, mind control, and geopolitical manipulation. It’s a book that manages to be brutally funny and straight-up brutal in equal measure; it never stops being an unnerving, thorny, timeless exploration of the clash between humans and human progress that takes no sides, but also takes no prisoners.</p> </div></div> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/nova-samuel-r-delany/f058dafd2e2a2b5a?ean=9780375706707&amp;next=t" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong><em>Nova</em></strong></a><strong> by Samuel R. Delany (1968)</strong></h3> <div class="wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile is-vertically-aligned-top" style="grid-template-columns:20% auto"><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="438" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/nova-delany.jpg" alt="cover of Nova by Samuel R Delany" class="wp-image-837165 size-full" /></figure><div class="wp-block-media-text__content"> <p>Delany is a name that continues to resonate in multiple genres and movements, as his hyper-literary style and imaginative take on science fiction and fantasy are pretty much the original brick tossed through the window of modern science fiction, fantasy, and in some cases, horror. <em>Nova</em> is a worthy addition to that literary canon, a space opera where neo-feudal corporations war over starship fuel and cybernetically enhanced spacers consult tarot cards before making risky business maneuvers. Notably, it’s a work in the genre that portrays <em>human</em> failings, not technological, drawing from the characters’ tragic flaws rather than the technological erosion of humanity. It also prefigures the use of mysticism and mythology in cyberpunk works (for example the tarot motifs in Simon Ings’ <em>Hot Heads</em>, or <em>Neuromancer</em>’s use of Zen mysticism), setting the stage for what would become genre conventions by the 1980s. If <em>The Stars My Destination</em> was the first completely realized work of cyberpunk, then novels like <em>Nova</em> were the codifying force.</p> </div></div> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong><em>The Nova Trilogy</em> by William S. Burroughs (1961 to, you guessed it, 1968)</strong></h3> <div class="wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile is-vertically-aligned-top" style="grid-template-columns:20% auto"><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="460" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/the-soft-machine.jpg" alt="cover of The Soft Machine by William S Burroughs" class="wp-image-837164 size-full" /></figure><div class="wp-block-media-text__content"> <p>A series of works Burroughs wrote and revised using a technique he’d developed in collaboration wth an artist with an interest in the occult and a computer programmer (Burroughs apparently being so cyberpunk that even his writing methods aligned with the genre’s themes): <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-soft-machine-the-restored-text-william-s-burroughs/8fd4023e7b57fe45?ean=9780802122117&amp;next=t" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>The Soft Machine</em></a>, <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-ticket-that-exploded-the-restored-text-william-s-burroughs/de751c82c787b25a?ean=9780802122094&amp;next=t" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>The Ticket That Exploded</em></a>, and <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/nova-express-the-restored-text-william-s-burroughs/19cdb4b0097b35aa?ean=9780802122087&amp;next=t" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Nova Express</em></a>. This trilogy (which is just <em>begging</em> for an omnibus edition) details in rather confusing fashion the fight between Agent Lee and the Nova Mob, a criminal syndicate dedicated to spreading chaos and violence throughout the known universe. In particular, <em>The Ticket That Exploded</em> deals with the more technological, science fictional, and psychological methods employed by the Nova Mob, using terraforming and other technological means to create chaos and drive planets into perpetual war. While admittedly <em>Naked Lunch</em> was the Burroughs book that inspired Gibson’s writing more directly, it’s the intense focus on technology and techno-mysticism as a form of societal control that earns the trilogy its status as a major influence on cyberpunk as a genre.</p> </div></div> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/her-smoke-rose-up-forever-james-tiptree/163a6a04d0124023?ean=9781892391209&amp;next=t" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong><em>The Girl Who Was Plugged In</em></strong></a><strong> by James Tiptree, Jr. (1973)</strong></h3> <div class="wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile is-vertically-aligned-top" style="grid-template-columns:20% auto"><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="464" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/her-smoke-rose-up-forever.jpg" alt="cover of Her Smoke Rose Up Forever by James Tiptree Jr" class="wp-image-837163 size-full" /></figure><div class="wp-block-media-text__content"> <p>Tiptree’s novella takes a decidedly modern and feminist approach to cyberpunk and thus holds a key place in the canon (even being featured in <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-big-book-of-cyberpunk-jared-shurin/0fde8368cfdb4d20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>The Big Book of Cyberpunk</em></a>). It follows a teenage girl press-ganged with the threat of legal action into becoming the cybernetic operator for a vat-grown Marilyn Monroe-esque influencer, created and controlled by a megacorp in order to get around anti-advertising laws. It all goes tragically wrong in a number of ways of course, but in ways that are exceptionally prescient for 1973, with its plot predicting the modern culture of internet influencers, parasocial relationships, grotesque capitalist materialism, and sinister corporate manipulation of demographics. It also spends its time issuing thunderous broadsides against feminine beauty standards and the vapid nature of celebrity culture, making this not just a quintessential work of cyberpunk, but one of the most vicious and enduring.[end-mark]</p> </div></div> <div style="height:5px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <p>The post <a href="https://reactormag.com/seven-works-of-cyberpunk-written-before-the-eighties-made-it-cool/">Beyond &lt;i&gt;Neuromancer&lt;/i&gt;: Seven Works of Cyberpunk Written Before the Eighties Made It Cool</a> appeared first on <a href="https://reactormag.com">Reactor</a>.</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/seven-works-of-cyberpunk-written-before-the-eighties-made-it-cool/">https://reactormag.com/seven-works-of-cyberpunk-written-before-the-eighties-made-it-cool/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=837145">https://reactormag.com/?p=837145</a></p>

Get Tangled in Your Next Obsession: Announcing Wildthorn, a New Imprint From Tor Publishing Group

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Wednesday, January 21st, 2026 02:15 pm

Posted by Christina Orlando

https://reactormag.com/announcing-wildthorn-a-new-imprint-from-tor-publishing-group/

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Get Tangled in Your Next Obsession: Announcing Wildthorn, a New Imprint From Tor Publishing Group

With a focus on stories that are irresistible, genre-blending, and genre-bending.

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Published on January 21, 2026

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Logo of Wildthorn, an imprint of Tor Publishing Group

Tor Publishing Group, a division of Macmillan Publishers, is thrilled to announce the launch of a new imprint: Wildthorn Books. With its first list of books set to release in Winter 2027, Wildthorn will be overseen by Devi Pillai, President and Publisher, and Monique Patterson, VP, Editorial Director, and will focus on commercial stories that are irresistible, genre-blending, and genre-bending. Wildthorn will be simultaneously launching globally with Tor UK, with the sister companies sharing lead authors while also commissioning in distinct areas.

Wildthorn’s mission is to become the destination for compulsive, page-turning reads. Categories will include commercial and upmarket women’s fiction, suspense, paranormal mystery, magical realism, speculative non-fiction, and historical fantasy. Pillai and Patterson previously teamed up to launch the Bramble imprint to much acclaim and success, focusing on romance, and publishing a unique combination of indie pub takeover and original work. In just two years, Bramble has had over 20 New York Times bestsellers including a #1 from BookTok sensation Carissa Broadbent. Wildthorn will join Bramble and the other imprints of Tor Publishing Group to continue the mission of publishing engrossing books in a variety of genres, all driven by the editorial passion that has always been Tor’s signature.

Of the new Wildthorn imprint, Pillai says, “Readers have changed—and so has the market. As commercial fiction continues to blend with genre, we realized that Tor—the largest SFF publisher in the world—was the perfect house to create Wildthorn. Wildthorn is where compulsive, genre-bending stories live. These books are commercial, addictive, and built to keep you up way past your bedtime. It will be a small but mighty list, supported by the same powerhouse team that launched Nightfire, Bramble, and Tordotcom Publishing. Welcome to Wildthorn. We’re not here just to bend genre—we’re here to break the mold.”

Patterson says, “Wildthorn is the destination for your next reading obsession. We’re building a home for books that thrill, challenge, and entertain. That’s what we love as a team, and it’s what we want every reader to feel when they pick up a Wildthorn book: that irresistible, page-turning pull that you won’t be able to put down until the last twist.”

Senior Editor Susan Barnes, who will be acquiring for Wildthorn, adds, “It’s every editor’s dream to fill their list with powerful books that have made an impact on them, no matter the genre. That’s why I’m thrilled to be acquiring for Wildthorn across the board—from zippy, commercial book club fiction, enthralling speculative reads, mysteries, thrillers, and any and everything in between.”

Wildthorn will launch with the newest novel from superstar and New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune, The Stars Look Like Home, coming January 2027. As Klune describes, “I am so thrilled to be part of the launch of the new imprint, Wildthorn. My novel, The Stars Look Like Home, is an adventure inspired by my love of animals and favorite childhood films like Homeward Bound, The Adventures of Milo and Otis, and The Incredible Journey. Wildthorn is the perfect fit for this novel, as the imprint gives me the opportunity to tell a different kind of ‘fantasy’ story. I cannot wait for readers to meet the main character, Burke, a dog who is… well. He’s a bit of a drama queen, to be honest. But he has a heart as big as the universe, and his story is one I am so honored to tell. Also, the title is from a Britney Spears song? So, like, just go with it.”

Pillai adds, “This is a book you’ll finish and then immediately buy fifteen copies to give to your friends. TJ Klune tells Burke’s story with all the heart of the classic animal adventures we loved as kids.”

Other titles on the first Wildthorn list will include New York Times bestselling author Alyssa Cole, Jenny Lundquist, Diana Peterfreund, and debut authors Carrie Kwiatkowski and June Harrington. With Wildthorn, Tor Publishing Group invites you to join us where the wild stories grow, to explore the edge of every genre, and the heart of every story. Get tangled in your next obsession.

Founded in 1980 by Tom Doherty, Tor Publishing Group has been at the forefront of the science fiction and fantasy genre for decades and has won every major award in the SFF field. In addition to the eponymous imprint Tor Books, Tor Publishing Group includes a number of specialty imprints, all driven by the editorial passion that has always been Tor’s signature. Nightfire publishes horror books across the breadth of the genre. Bramble publishes a wide array of love stories for the modern reader. Tordotcom Publishing specializes in original science fiction and fantasy novellas, collections, and anthologies.

The post Get Tangled in Your Next Obsession: Announcing Wildthorn, a New Imprint From Tor Publishing Group appeared first on Reactor.

https://reactormag.com/announcing-wildthorn-a-new-imprint-from-tor-publishing-group/

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How the Game of Thrones Song Set the Tone for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

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Tuesday, January 20th, 2026 07:40 pm

Posted by Vanessa Armstrong

https://reactormag.com/a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-song-choice-game-of-thrones/

https://reactormag.com/?p=836941

News A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

How the Game of Thrones Song Set the Tone for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

Showrunner Ira Parker and Dunk actor Peter Claffey talk about that needle drop (and what happens immediately after)

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Published on January 20, 2026

Credit: Steffan Hill/HBO

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<p class="syndicationauthor">Posted by Vanessa Armstrong</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-song-choice-game-of-thrones/">https://reactormag.com/a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-song-choice-game-of-thrones/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=836941">https://reactormag.com/?p=836941</a></p><post-hero class="wp-block-post-hero js-post-hero post-hero post-hero-horizontal"> <div class="container container-desktop"> <div class="flex flex-col mx-auto post-hero-container"> <div class="post-hero-content"> <div class="post-hero-tags font-aktiv text-xs tracking-[0.5px] font-medium uppercase"> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/articles/news/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag News 0"> News </a> </span> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tag/a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms 1"> A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms </a> </span> </div> <h2 class="post-hero-title text-h1">How the <i>Game of Thrones</i> Song Set the Tone for <i>A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms</i></h2> <div class="prose post-hero-description prose--post-hero">Showrunner Ira Parker and Dunk actor Peter Claffey talk about that needle drop (and what happens immediately after)</div> <div class="post-hero-wrapper"> <div class="post-hero-inner"> <p class="post-hero-author text-xs font-aktiv uppercase font-medium [&amp;_a]:link-hover">By <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/vanessa-armstrong/" title="Posts by Vanessa Armstrong" class="author url fn" rel="author">Vanessa Armstrong</a></p> <span class="post-hero-symbol relative top-[-2px] hidden tablet:block">|</span> <p class="text-xs uppercase post-hero-publish font-aktiv"> Published on January 20, 2026 </p> </div> </div> <div class="post-hero-caption post-hero-caption-vertical [&amp;_a]:link"><p>Credit: Steffan Hill/HBO</p> </div> <div class="quick-access post-hero-quick-access mt-[17px] tablet:hidden"> <div class="flex gap-[30px] tablet:gap-6"> <a href="https://reactormag.com/a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-song-choice-game-of-thrones/#comments" class="flex items-center text-sm font-aktiv tracking-[0.6px] font-semibold uppercase translate-x-[1px] translate-y-[1px]"> <svg class="w-[22px] h-[22px] mr-[7px] icon-hover" viewbox="0 0 18 18" aria-label="comment" role="img" aria-hidden="true" aria-labelledby="icon-comment-quick-access-"> <title id="icon-comment-quick-access-">Comment</title> <g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"> <path fill="#FFF" fill-rule="nonzero" d="M6.3 18a.9.9 0 0 1-.9-.9v-2.7H1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 0 12.6V1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 1.8 0h14.4A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 18 1.8v10.8a1.8 1.8 0 0 1-1.8 1.8h-5.49l-3.33 3.339a.917.917 0 0 1-.63.261H6.3Z" /> <path 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srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/peter-claffey-2-740x493.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/peter-claffey-2-1100x733.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/peter-claffey-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/peter-claffey-2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/peter-claffey-2.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /> </figure> <div class="post-hero-caption post-hero-caption-horizontal [&amp;_a]:link"><p>Credit: Steffan Hill/HBO</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </post-hero> <div class="wp-block-more-from-category"> <div> </div> </div> <p><strong><em>This post contains very mild spoilers from the beginning of </em>A Knight of the Seven Kingdom<em>’s first episode.</em></strong></p> <p>The series premiere of <em>A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms </em>is now available on HBO for your viewing pleasure. If you’ve watched it, you know that <a href="https://reactormag.com/a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-game-of-thrones-differences/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the tone is different from the shows in the <em>Game of Thrones </em>universe</a> that came before it. Our single point of view on the show is Dunk (Peter Claffey) a young hedge knight trying to find his way after his mentor (for lack of a better word) dies.</p> <p>A specific sequence early on in the episode makes clear that <em>Seven Kingdoms</em>, while being a story with heart, isn’t as serious as <em>Game of Thrones</em> and <em>House of the Dragon</em>. In it, Dunk decides to head a tourney and win, gaining status as a knight. The iconic theme song from <em>Game of Thrones</em> swells in the background, but then there’s a hard cut to Dunk bareass behind a tree having explosive diarrhea.</p> <p>In a press conference for the show that Reactor attended, showrunner Ira Parker explained the genesis of that sequence. “This all comes back to character. That moment for Dunk, he’s at a crossroads and he’s picking up his master’s sword, and he hears that call to greatness. He hears the hero theme in his head, and the script was [originally] written, it said, ‘Here’s [Dunk&#8217;s] hero’s theme.’</p> <p>“But when we went along through production, through post, and Dan Romer was composing Dunk’s hero theme, it was again a reflection of Dunk: So it was stripped down. It was simpler. It wasn’t that big, orchestral, wonderful heroic score. And so it didn’t feel exactly right in this moment, because this is a call to something that Dunk wants in the future. So he hears that theme, because that’s the greatest hero call that there is. And in the moment—he’s not a hero yet, he hasn’t accomplished anything—and all of a sudden, when he thinks about how daunting the task in front of him is going to be, it makes him nervous.”</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="733" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/peter-claffey-dexter-sol-ansell_0-1100x733.jpg" alt="peter-claffey-dexter-sol-ansell_hanging out in A Knight of the SEven Kingdoms" class="wp-image-836944" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/peter-claffey-dexter-sol-ansell_0-1100x733.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/peter-claffey-dexter-sol-ansell_0-740x493.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/peter-claffey-dexter-sol-ansell_0-768x512.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/peter-claffey-dexter-sol-ansell_0-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/peter-claffey-dexter-sol-ansell_0.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Steffan Hill/HBO</figcaption></figure> <p>That nervousness, Parker continued, made him queasy, so much so that “he finds himself squatting behind the tree in a very unheroic, some would say the least heroic position, because at this point, Dunk is not yet a hero.”</p> <p>Claffey added that it the scene was incredibly funny to shoot. “We closed the set and one of my really good friends in props, Gordo, was in front of me, and I’m holding a pipe in between my legs, and he’s just using it to cause this [poop] to come out. And he couldn’t look at me during the thing because he just couldn’t stop laughing.”</p> <p>Bertie Carvel, who plays Baelor Targaryen on the series, also shared what that scene—and the show—sets up: “It’s inviting us all to ask ourselves whether we can be a hero… Dunk, he, of course, dreams of as we all did as children, of doing heroic feats. And then we cut to him shitting behind a tree, and he’s reminded of his humanity, his mortality, his limitations, and so on.</p> <p>“And [later on,] he looks around him and he sees knights who seem more capable and grander. And that’s why it’s relatable. And I think that’s why it’s a heroic story, because it’s grounded in something quite humane and mortal. I think it would be good if we would all ask ourselves the question: What it would mean to be more heroic? And I think people all the time do things, ordinary things, that are deeply heroic.”</p> <p>The remaining five episodes of <em>A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms</em> will drop weekly on HBO Sundays at 10 p.m. ET/PT. A second season of the series has already been greenlit, meaning we’ll see more of Dunk and Egg sometime in the future. [end-mark]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://reactormag.com/a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-song-choice-game-of-thrones/">How the &lt;i&gt;Game of Thrones&lt;/i&gt; Song Set the Tone for &lt;i&gt;A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms&lt;/i&gt;</a> appeared first on <a href="https://reactormag.com">Reactor</a>.</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-song-choice-game-of-thrones/">https://reactormag.com/a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-song-choice-game-of-thrones/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=836941">https://reactormag.com/?p=836941</a></p>

Jo Walton’s Reading List: December 2025

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Tuesday, January 20th, 2026 07:00 pm

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Books Jo Walton Reads

Jo Walton’s Reading List: December 2025

Hooray for romantasy, new Penric, Poul Anderson, and movie reviews…

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Published on January 20, 2026

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Mosaic of 8 book covers of Jo Walton's reads in December 2025

December was spent entirely at home in Montreal, writing, and then having a migraine for a couple of weeks, and then celebrating the holidays with family and friends. I read twenty books, and have some excellent recommendations for winter reading.

Pulling the Wings Off Angels — K.J. Parker (2022)
Another Parker novella, new to me, with fascinating (if icky) metaphysics. Maybe it’s just me who finds Parker so irresistible, but I charged through this in a couple of hours. Fun, in that inimitable Parker way. I think if you don’t find the title already too off-putting, you’ll enjoy it.

Hana Khan Carries On— Uzma Jalaluddin (2021)
Another romance novel set in the Muslim community in Toronto, this one about rival restaurants. Jalaluddin is a very good writer, and I enjoyed this, but not as much as Much Ado About Nada. I have preordered her new one. This is an interesting community and she’s a very good writer.

Salon Fantastique — edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (2006)
Interesting anthology of things commissioned from writers Datlow and Windling like, without a theme beyond the idea of a fantastic salon of stories. It trended a bit too much towards horror for me, which is the editors’ taste and not mine, but there were stellar stories by Delia Sherman and Greer Gilman, among a bunch of other very good stories.

Testimony of Mute Things — Lois McMaster Bujold (2025)
A new Penric and Desdemona novella, set a long time before the leading edge of this series, when Penric is still young and not as settled into having a demon companion. I enjoyed it a lot, the mystery is good, and so are the characters. It’s odd though, reading a story from early in the series but that has just been written. You know the new characters, however fun, are not going to be recurring characters, because you haven’t seen them later/before, unless they’re going to show up much older. Bujold must like writing out of order—she does it in the Miles books too.

Three Nights in Italy — Olivia Beirne (2023)
Romance novel set in Italy—well, that’s what I thought it was, but actually it was very low on romance and mostly a novel of family reconciliation set in Cornwall and Italy. It had way too many points of view, and way too many plot-convenient travel delays, and I’m afraid I’m going to damn it with the faint praise that it was fine.

The Office of Ceremonies and Advancement in Curial Rome 1466-1528 — Jennifer Mara DeSilva (2022)
This, on the other hand, was terrific. It looks at the careers of three men who were Master of Ceremonies to the pope in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries; it looks at who they were, where they came from, how they advanced, the books they wrote, and the shape of their careers. In detail. Now you may say I only care about Johann Burchard, but in fact I also care quite a lot about Paris de Grassis, and about patronage and networking in the Renaissance in general. This book was really useful and I enjoyed it. It may be a bit too specialised, though.

Hither Page — Cat Sebastian (2019)
Mystery romance, set immediately after WWII in a village in England where two men are trying to get on with their lives and unexpectedly have to cope with a murder and with falling in love with each other. One is a doctor and one is a spy. It had some excellent minor characters, in the way of these murder-in-a-country-village books, but it had too much angst to be cosy and too much cosiness to be any other genre. I’m not sorry I read it but probably won’t seek out the sequels.

Fangirl — Rainbow Rowell (2013)
Re-read for bookclub, and the bookclub discussion on this book was very interesting, with great comparisons to Pamela Dean’s Tam Lin. This is a book about a less-outgoing twin going to college when her more-outgoing sister wants to strike out on her own. Cath’s life is largely lived through fanfic, and in the novel we get bits of the original fiction she writes in, bits of her fanfic, and her life meeting new people and making new friendships, and coping with the family situation she always had. This book is great, so well written and excellent. I’ve preordered Rowell’s next book too.

Love In a Time of Hate: Art and Passion in the Shadow of War — Florian Illies (2021), translated by Simon Pare
This is an absolutely brilliant non-fiction book that isn’t like anything else. It’s little snippets of biography of people living and falling in love and making art in France and Germany in the years leading up to WWII. So it has a few pages each about lots and lots of people, and it’s written by year, and it comes back to some people but not others, and it’s hard to describe the cumulative effect of reading it. Illies has another one about 1913 which I really want to read now. Highly recommended if you’re at all interested in inter-war Europe, though you might want to take it a bite at a time.

The Italian Daughter — Soraya Lane (2022)
A romance novel set in Italy, a story about a girl working in a vineyard in Italy while investigating the story of her grandmother’s mysterious origins. There’s also a love story set in the 1930s and 40s about her great-grandparents. In one way this book makes no sense—in the Innocenti museum in Florence there’s a very moving room that exhibits objects that people left with the babies they gave up, hoping to reclaim them. They are not the kinds of things that are left for the great-granddaughter to investigate here, and really, you could just put your name and address, it doesn’t have to be mysterious clues! But moving swiftly on, because this kind of thing totally doesn’t work when you think too much about it, I was charmed that the great-grandfather made a fortune by inventing essentially Nutella.

The Harwood Spellbook: The Complete Series — Stephanie Burgis (2025)
All right, if this is romantasy I like it. This is a series of delightful romances in a world similar to that of Randall Garrett’s Lord Darcy novels. In those books we are repeatedly told that when King Richard the Lionheart came home from Crusade he codified the laws of magic. In this world, Boudicca repelled the Romans with the help of her magic-wielding second husband, and ever since, the country has been ruled by powerful women with the help of their magic-using husbands. There are problems with elves, and fae, and sexism, and we start with a woman who wants to be a magician instead of a politician. My only objection is to the word “Angland,” the island should be called Prydain or Albion, but this is a very precise and fussy objection. There’s just enough worldbuilding to be fun, the romances work the way genre romances work—this is a good thing—there’s a female/female romance, there’s a cross-species romance, and it’s all well written and fast-moving and fun. Very much worth it if you like this genre or if you want to figure out what’s going on with it.

Domenico Ghirlandaio, Artist and Artisan — Jean K. Cadogan (2001)
Terrific biography of Ghirlandaio, my favourite Renaissance artist who isn’t a household name. Cadogan builds up his life story using family papers and commissions and apprenticeship papers, and by looking at the art. It’s a fairly short book but I loved it. I think this would be approachable by anyone, but you might want to look at the art in colour online when she discusses it because black and white doesn’t do it justice.

The Seine: The River That Made Paris — Elaine Sciolino (2019)
An American journalist who has been living in Paris for years writes the story of the river Seine. This is fine. It isn’t deep or open, so it has the wrong amount of her in it. It has some mildly interesting detail about the river and the city and the history, but too often it’s her meeting with a museum person or a firefighter or whatever and shallowly interviewing them.

The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence: A Story of Botticelli — Alyssa Palombo (2017)
Historical romance that could have done with a lot more research. First, carriages had not been invented. Second, if they had, you wouldn’t take one between Ognissanti and Palazzo Medici, I can walk it in ten minutes. And… just don’t get me started. But it was sufficiently well written to keep me reading all the way through, even when I was rolling my eyes at the errors. It’s not really about Botticelli, it’s about Simonetta, and it does her well even when it doesn’t understand social structures properly.

Carry On — Rainbow Rowell (2015)
Reread. The sequel to Fangirl; this is the book that is Rowell’s own version of the love between eighteen-year-old sworn enemies who have to fight together against the Insidious Humdrum. It’s a lot of fun, and I couldn’t resist reading it after reading Fangirl. Rowell is a very grabby writer.

A Valley in Italy — Lisa St Aubin de Terán (1994)
Reread, bath book. This is Terán’s memoir of buying a house in Umbria and living in it as it is being restored. Whether she’s writing autobiographical novels or memoir, Terán’s material is always herself, cannibalized in different ways, truth and lies, shaping and reshaping. In a lot of ways this book isn’t about anything—it’s about a year in a house with builders always there, it’s how they coped without water, without electricity, how they made friends in the village, how they got their furniture out of customs hell in Genoa. Trivia, but written about in a fascinating way that feels as if she’s being open and sharing, even oversharing, although I know (from having read other things) that she was keeping a lot back.

Swept Away — Beth O’Leary (2025)
Terrific romance novel, O’Leary’s best yet, highly recommended. This is an excellent example of a book where, if you trust me, you should just read it now, and don’t look at the blurb, because it was so delightful reading it not being spoiled for what happens at the end of chapter one. However, for the rest of you, this is a book about two people who have a one-night stand on a houseboat, and the earth moves for them, but actually that was the houseboat drifting out to sea, and when they wake up there’s nothing but sea and sky. Literally swept away. This is a funny, clever, sensitive, well-written, and well-thought-through novel about two people falling in love on a houseboat in the middle of the ocean and coping with who they are and their lives and the rest of the world. We get both of their points of view, and it really works.

All One Universe — Poul Anderson (1996)
Sometimes I have said that all of SF can be seen as variations on a theme by Poul Anderson, because he wrote so many now-standard things for the first time. Also he threw out ideas as minor pegs in stories that other people would have made into whole trilogies. This is the stuff I grew up on. This collection of stories and essays is just delightful—great thought-provoking stories, and mostly interesting essays, and I loved it. Being at NASA as the Voyager pictures came in! Uncleftish Beholding! And the stories are SF or alternate history and they’re terrific. I bought this as an ebook when it was on sale very cheaply and then looked around for a physical copy to give to a friend for Christmas and couldn’t find one at any kind of reasonable price. If you like science fiction stories, if you like Anderson or if you want to try Anderson, you can’t go wrong with this.

Roger Ebert’s Four-Star Reviews 1967-2007 — Roger Ebert (2007)
This is a very, very long book, and it took me more than a year to get through it. It contains a lot of movie reviews, covering Ebert’s whole career and forty years of films. It is arranged alphabetically by movie, which gives you the kind of whiplash the alphabet so often provides. I have seen some of these films. I now want to see some others included here. I have no desire to see many of them. But it was interesting reading Ebert’s comments, and thinking about this entire medium over time. He liked The Princess Bride. He liked Raiders of the Lost Ark and Star Wars. Ebert is an engaging companion, so even though I don’t watch a lot of movies I enjoyed going along with him on this tour of what he liked. Normal people who watch movies might wish to read his essays along with watching movies, and perhaps not read all of them. But hey.

Soldier of the Mist — Gene Wolfe (1986)
Re-read, technically. I read this when I was in college when it came out, and I hated it. I knew just the wrong amount, and I found it irritating. How interesting to re-read it now and find it the same book but now I love it. So, there’s a guy called Latro who is amnesiac in a particular way where he can remember about twelve hours, receding, as if his memory is being wiped out by a sponge. And this is the scroll he writes to remind himself of things, and without it he doesn’t know who anyone is or who he is or what’s going on. What’s going on is the Persian Wars, and he can see gods and ghosts. He translates the names of places, so Athens is Thought and Sparta is Rope (which drove me bonkers in 1986 and it still isn’t my favourite thing), which gives it a special feel. On this reading I found the way it is written very powerful and effective, and I couldn’t put it down. In 1986 I kept wanting to say “You’re very clever, now shut up!” I still have a tiny bit of that, because after all that the book doesn’t go anywhere, it isn’t for anything, but there are two sequels, and I feel hopeful that there will, in the end, be some kind of payoff. But gosh the prose is beautiful and the whole thing rings true. Excellent book for the last book of 2025. Take a deep breath and plunge in if you haven’t read it already.

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Cult Sci-Fi Series Blake’s 7 May Be Getting a Reboot

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Tuesday, January 20th, 2026 06:08 pm

Posted by Molly Templeton

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News Blake’s 7

Cult Sci-Fi Series Blake’s 7 May Be Getting a Reboot

A space opera about resisting a totalitarian empire? Sign me up!

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Published on January 20, 2026

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<p class="syndicationauthor">Posted by Molly Templeton</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/blakes-7-cult-sci-fi-may-get-a-reboot/">https://reactormag.com/blakes-7-cult-sci-fi-may-get-a-reboot/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=837130">https://reactormag.com/?p=837130</a></p><post-hero class="wp-block-post-hero js-post-hero post-hero post-hero-horizontal"> <div class="container container-desktop"> <div class="flex flex-col mx-auto post-hero-container"> <div class="post-hero-content"> <div class="post-hero-tags font-aktiv text-xs tracking-[0.5px] font-medium uppercase"> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/articles/news/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag News 0"> News </a> </span> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tag/blakes-7/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Blake&#39;s 7 1"> Blake&#8217;s 7 </a> </span> </div> <h2 class="post-hero-title text-h1">Cult Sci-Fi Series <i>Blake&#8217;s 7</i> May Be Getting a Reboot</h2> <div class="prose post-hero-description prose--post-hero">A space opera about resisting a totalitarian empire? Sign me up!</div> <div class="post-hero-wrapper"> <div class="post-hero-inner"> <p class="post-hero-author text-xs font-aktiv uppercase font-medium [&amp;_a]:link-hover">By <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/molly-templeton/" title="Posts by Molly Templeton" class="author url fn" rel="author">Molly Templeton</a></p> <span class="post-hero-symbol relative top-[-2px] hidden tablet:block">|</span> <p class="text-xs uppercase post-hero-publish font-aktiv"> Published on January 20, 2026 </p> </div> </div> <div class="post-hero-caption post-hero-caption-vertical [&amp;_a]:link"><p>Image: BBC</p> </div> <div class="quick-access post-hero-quick-access mt-[17px] tablet:hidden"> <div class="flex gap-[30px] tablet:gap-6"> <a href="https://reactormag.com/blakes-7-cult-sci-fi-may-get-a-reboot/#comments" class="flex items-center text-sm font-aktiv tracking-[0.6px] font-semibold uppercase translate-x-[1px] translate-y-[1px]"> <svg class="w-[22px] h-[22px] mr-[7px] icon-hover" viewbox="0 0 18 18" 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post-hero-image"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="558" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/blakes-7-740x558.jpeg" class="w-full object-cover" alt="Gareth Thomas in Blake&#39;s 7" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/blakes-7-740x558.jpeg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/blakes-7-1100x830.jpeg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/blakes-7-140x105.jpeg 140w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/blakes-7-768x580.jpeg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/blakes-7-1536x1159.jpeg 1536w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/blakes-7.jpeg 1700w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /> </figure> <div class="post-hero-caption post-hero-caption-horizontal [&amp;_a]:link"><p>Image: BBC</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </post-hero> <div class="wp-block-more-from-category"> <div> </div> </div> <p>One is always a bit suspicious of reboot news these days; for every <sup>“</sup>No, really, a new <em>Buffy</em> is happening<sup>”</sup> there&#8217;s a <sup>“</sup>Sam Esmail&#8217;s doomed <em>Battlestar Galactica</em>.<sup>”</sup> But this is a fairly interesting prospect: Director Peter Hoar (who did beloved <em>The Last of Us</em> episode <sup>“</sup>Long, Long Time<sup>”</sup>) has teamed up with Matthew Bouch (<em>A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder</em>) and Jason Haigh-Ellery (producer of several <em>Doctor Who</em> podcasts) to open what <a href="https://deadline.com/2026/01/blakes-7-reboot-peter-hoar-matthew-bouch-multitude-productions-1236682580/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Deadline calls</a> a “genre-based” independent production company, Multitude Productions.</p> <p>Deadline says the new company has picked up <sup>“</sup>a wealth of IP<sup>”</sup> that includes <em>Blake&#8217;s 7</em>, which ran for four seasons on BBC1. Those four seasons ended in 1981, so it&#8217;s been a few years since the show&#8217;s time. The series was created by Terry Nation (who also created <em>Doctor Who</em>’s Daleks) and focused on a political dissident leading a rebellion against the Terran Federation, which dominated our planet and many colonized planets.</p> <p>Reading a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blake%27s_7" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">synopsis</a>, a person might certainly leap to some conclusions about how now would be a prime time to revisit this series. <sup>“</sup>The first episode of <em>Blake’s 7</em> was a procedural drama about a fascist state framing a political dissident for child molestation,<sup>”</sup> explains a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2018/jan/03/blakes-7-40-years-on-the-dystopian-sci-fi-drama-still-packs-a-punch" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Guardian</em> appreciation</a> of the show written for its 40th anniversary. It was, at the time, rather low-budget, in contrast with its high-minded themes. A prestige reboot could perhaps upgrade the former while sticking with the latter.</p> <p>And there have been some other feints toward new versions of the series: In 2000, a <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/705922.stm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">film reboot</a> was announced; in 2003, original star Paul Darrow <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3102295.stm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">planned to make</a> a miniseries; in 2008, a <sup>“</sup>potential event series<sup>”</sup> was in <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7364663.stm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">development</a> with the channel Sky One. In the early 2010s, the Syfy channel was <a href="https://deadline.com/2012/07/martin-campbell-and-georgeville-tv-shop-reboot-of-cult-u-k-sci-fi-series-blakes-7-305552/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">working</a> on a remake. Nothing came of any of these.</p> <p>Director Hoar told Deadline, <sup>“</sup>Those shows got into my veins. I could tell they didn’t have money but I was able to compartmentalize and enjoy the ride knowing that the sets wobbled.” He also compared <em>Blake&#8217;s 7</em> to <em>Andor</em>, saying that the Star Wars show&#8217;s success is less about its budget than about its <sup>“</sup>integrity, wit and sophistication.”</p> <p>You can get a peek at said low-budget effects in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhkHQk33YCo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">this BBC promo video</a>.</p> <p>The <em>Blake&#8217;s 7</em> reboot does not have a network attached—yet. Hoar&#8217;s colleague Matthew Bouch said he would <sup>“</sup>love it to go to the BBC.<sup>”</sup>[end-mark]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://reactormag.com/blakes-7-cult-sci-fi-may-get-a-reboot/">Cult Sci-Fi Series &lt;i&gt;Blake&#8217;s 7&lt;/i&gt; May Be Getting a Reboot</a> appeared first on <a href="https://reactormag.com">Reactor</a>.</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/blakes-7-cult-sci-fi-may-get-a-reboot/">https://reactormag.com/blakes-7-cult-sci-fi-may-get-a-reboot/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=837130">https://reactormag.com/?p=837130</a></p>

A Delightful Buddy Comedy Unfolds in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

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Tuesday, January 20th, 2026 06:00 pm

Posted by Sarah

https://reactormag.com/tv-review-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-episode-1/

https://reactormag.com/?p=837100

Movies & TV A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

A Delightful Buddy Comedy Unfolds in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

Welcome to a kindler, gentler version of Westeros, where chivalry is not entirely dead!

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Published on January 20, 2026

Credit: Steffan Hill/HBO

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<p class="syndicationauthor">Posted by Sarah</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/tv-review-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-episode-1/">https://reactormag.com/tv-review-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-episode-1/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=837100">https://reactormag.com/?p=837100</a></p><post-hero class="wp-block-post-hero js-post-hero post-hero post-hero-horizontal"> <div class="container container-desktop"> <div class="flex flex-col mx-auto post-hero-container"> <div class="post-hero-content"> <div class="post-hero-tags font-aktiv text-xs tracking-[0.5px] font-medium uppercase"> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/articles/movies-tv/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Movies &amp; TV 0"> Movies &amp; TV </a> </span> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tag/a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms 1"> A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms </a> </span> </div> <h2 class="post-hero-title text-h1">A Delightful Buddy Comedy Unfolds in <i>A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms</i></h2> <div class="prose post-hero-description prose--post-hero">Welcome to a kindler, gentler version of Westeros, where chivalry is not entirely dead!</div> <div class="post-hero-wrapper"> <div class="post-hero-inner"> <p class="post-hero-author text-xs font-aktiv uppercase font-medium [&amp;_a]:link-hover">By <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/tyler-dean/" title="Posts by Tyler Dean" class="author url fn" rel="author">Tyler Dean</a></p> <span class="post-hero-symbol relative top-[-2px] hidden tablet:block">|</span> <p class="text-xs uppercase post-hero-publish font-aktiv"> Published on January 20, 2026 </p> </div> </div> <div class="post-hero-caption post-hero-caption-vertical [&amp;_a]:link"><p>Credit: Steffan Hill/HBO </p> </div> <div class="quick-access post-hero-quick-access mt-[17px] tablet:hidden"> <div class="flex gap-[30px] tablet:gap-6"> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tv-review-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-episode-1/#comments" class="flex items-center text-sm font-aktiv tracking-[0.6px] font-semibold uppercase translate-x-[1px] translate-y-[1px]"> <svg class="w-[22px] h-[22px] mr-[7px] icon-hover" viewbox="0 0 18 18" aria-label="comment" role="img" aria-hidden="true" aria-labelledby="icon-comment-quick-access-"> <title id="icon-comment-quick-access-">Comment</title> <g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"> <path fill="#FFF" fill-rule="nonzero" d="M6.3 18a.9.9 0 0 1-.9-.9v-2.7H1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 0 12.6V1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 1.8 0h14.4A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 18 1.8v10.8a1.8 1.8 0 0 1-1.8 1.8h-5.49l-3.33 3.339a.917.917 0 0 1-.63.261H6.3Z" /> <path stroke="#000" d="M5.9 14.4v-.5H1.8a1.3 1.3 0 0 1-1.3-1.3V1.8A1.3 1.3 0 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0.678713 9.41431V6.41431C2.21205 6.41431 3.64538 6.70197 4.97871 7.27731C6.31205 7.85264 7.47471 8.63597 8.46671 9.62731C9.45805 10.6186 10.2414 11.781 10.8167 13.1143C11.392 14.4476 11.6794 15.881 11.6787 17.4143H8.67871Z" fill="currentColor" fill-opacity="0.2" /> </g> <defs> <clippath id="clip0_1051_121783"> <rect width="17" height="17" fill="white" transform="translate(0.678711 0.414307)" /> </clippath> </defs> </svg> </a> </li> </ul> </div> </details> </div> </div> </div> <div class="post-hero-media "> <figure class="w-full h-auto post-hero-image"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="493" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/knight-seven-kingdoms-peter-claffey-3-740x493.jpg" class="w-full object-cover" alt="Peter Claffey as Dunk in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/knight-seven-kingdoms-peter-claffey-3-740x493.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/knight-seven-kingdoms-peter-claffey-3-1100x733.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/knight-seven-kingdoms-peter-claffey-3-768x512.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/knight-seven-kingdoms-peter-claffey-3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/knight-seven-kingdoms-peter-claffey-3.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /> </figure> <div class="post-hero-caption post-hero-caption-horizontal [&amp;_a]:link"><p>Credit: Steffan Hill/HBO </p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </post-hero> <div class="wp-block-more-from-category"> <div> </div> </div> <p>Finally, the third HBO series inspired by George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire books is upon us! Each week, I’ll be discussing the most recent episode of <em>A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms</em>. There will be spoilers for episode below. While there may be spoilers for any and all of Martin’s Westeros books as we work our way through the series, they’ll be clearly marked in individual sections.</p> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>A Kinder, Gentler Westeros</strong></h3> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="733" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/knight-seven-kingdoms-101-dexter-sol-ansell-1100x733.jpg" alt="Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell) cooks fish over a campfire in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" class="wp-image-837118" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/knight-seven-kingdoms-101-dexter-sol-ansell-1100x733.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/knight-seven-kingdoms-101-dexter-sol-ansell-740x493.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/knight-seven-kingdoms-101-dexter-sol-ansell-768x512.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/knight-seven-kingdoms-101-dexter-sol-ansell.jpg 1500w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Steffan Hill/HBO </figcaption></figure> <p>Early on in <em>A Game of Thrones</em> (and in the first season of the eponymous show), Martin gives us a tournament celebrating the elevation of Ned Stark to the office of Hand of the King. Like most of what Martin writes about the Medieval-adjacent politics of Westeros, the tourney is a rotten thing—an obscene expenditure where pageantry plasters over a failing empire: still healing from a brutal civil war, riddled with debt, ruled by a drunken buffoon, and filled with ambitious nobles seeking to climb the political ladder by any means necessary. Among other things, it serves as a moment for Ned’s daughter, Sansa Stark, to experience the first cracks in her naive worldview—up to this point, she’s believed that knights are noble and chivalry exists. By contrast, Martin’s 1998 novella, <em>The Hedge Knight</em>, adapted here as the first season of HBO’s <em>A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms</em>, uses a tourney to restore some of the chivalric magic to the typically grim world of Westeros.&nbsp;</p> <p>Set in the year 209, approximately ninety years before the events of HBO’s <em>Game of Thrones</em> (and exactly 79 years after the most recent season of their prequel series, <em>House of the Dragon</em>), <em>A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms</em> is a window into a better time in Westeros. The kingdom is not at war, the Targaryen king is generally beloved, and the dragons—the equivalent of weapons of mass destruction in this fictional world—are extinct. For showrunner Ira Parker (who also serves as co-executive producer of <em>House of the </em><em>Dragon</em>), this all allows for a generally lighter tone; we see smash cuts for the first time in a <em>GoT</em> series, and of course the swelling waltz of Ramin Djawadi’s iconic theme is immediately undercut by its protagonist wrestling with a bout of explosive diarrhea.&nbsp;</p> <p>From a production design standpoint, it’s an interesting mix of the ground-level grittiness and filth of an ASoIaF series, as told from the perspective of the smallfolk, and the splendor of one of Westeros’ golden ages. There is exquisite detailing on Ser Arlan of Pennytree’s winged chalice shield which would feel out of place for a hedge knight in either the <em>GoT</em> or <em>HotD</em> eras, but here feels suited to a time of relative peace and prosperity. </p> <p>Even Dan Romer’s score scales back a bit, bringing folk guitar strains forward and making the whole thing sound a bit like a Western. That’s fitting, given the picaresque nature of Martin’s Dunk and Egg novellas which feel like they owe a lot to classic Westerns as well as the equally picaresque, Sergio Leone-inspired <em>Lone Wolf and Cub</em> manga from the ’70s. </p> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Panem et Circenses</strong></h3> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="733" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/knight-seven-kingdoms-101-peter-claffey-2-1100x733.jpg" alt="Dunk (Peter Claffey) speaks with Red (Rowan Robinson) and Beony (Carla Harrison-Hodge) in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" class="wp-image-837116" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/knight-seven-kingdoms-101-peter-claffey-2-1100x733.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/knight-seven-kingdoms-101-peter-claffey-2-740x493.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/knight-seven-kingdoms-101-peter-claffey-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/knight-seven-kingdoms-101-peter-claffey-2.jpg 1500w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Steffan Hill/HBO </figcaption></figure> <p>There’s a telling exchange halfway through the episode when sex worker Red (Rowan Robinson) gives our protagonist, Dunk (Peter Claffey), some advice about dealings with nobles, offered from “one whore to another.” In a world where both sex workers and knights put their bodies on the line for the pleasures and whims of the ruling class, <em><em>A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms</em></em> starts to home in on Martin’s class-conscious depictions of labor and obligation. Because the events of the Dunk and Egg novellas largely take place in times of peace, there is a special emphasis placed on knights not as weapons of war but as professional entertainers. It’s a lovely bit of understanding from a TV universe that has not always been particularly thoughtful about the ways in which sex work is legitimate work or the class solidarity that the peasants and other exploited people might feel under feudalism. </p> <p>Martin is famously a fan of American football, writing sly references to the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants into his books. In the more than quarter century since “The Hedge Knight” was published, there has been endless controversy over CTE and the ways in which professional athletes (especially football players and wrestlers) sacrifice their bodies for public entertainment at the behest of billionaire team owners. It feels like a bit of a full-circle moment that Martin’s empathy for people with disabilities gets folded back into his books in a way that he hadn’t explicitly written about.&nbsp;</p> <p>It also dovetails nicely with some of Martin’s concerns over the ways in which knighthood is a capitalist sport. Dunk agonizes endlessly in both novella and show about how, if he loses a bout in the tourney, he will have to forfeit his armor, weapons, and horses to his opponent and ransom them back. Any knight can make another knight, but one without access to these expensive accouterments can’t really fulfill his duties. It’s a rigged game that favors the nobility and punishes and impoverishes all but the most talented of lowborn aspirants.&nbsp;</p> <p>When Dunk chides the sex workers for mocking him, Red tells him “be good to your body, knight. Last one you’re like to have.” That’s an exchange added for the show and it feels like another sign that the <em>ASoIaF</em> shows have come a long way in their politics and are, only now, catching up to where Martin was back in the late ’90s.&nbsp;</p> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>The Horned Lord</strong></h3> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="733" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/knight-seven-kingdoms-101-daniel-ings-and-peter-claffey-1100x733.jpg" alt="Ser Lyonel Baratheon (Daniel Ings) and Dunk (Peter Claffey) in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" class="wp-image-837117" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/knight-seven-kingdoms-101-daniel-ings-and-peter-claffey-1100x733.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/knight-seven-kingdoms-101-daniel-ings-and-peter-claffey-740x493.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/knight-seven-kingdoms-101-daniel-ings-and-peter-claffey-768x512.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/knight-seven-kingdoms-101-daniel-ings-and-peter-claffey.jpg 1500w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Steffan Hill/HBO </figcaption></figure> <p>The first episode deviates the most significantly from “The Hedge Knight” by having Dunk and Raymun Fossoway (Shaun Thomas) visit the pavilion of Ser Lyonel Baratheon, “the Laughing Storm” (<em>Sex Education</em> and <em>The Crown</em>’s Daniel Ings). While Ser Lyonel is an important character in the novella, the show is clearly expanding his role and giving him a lot more to do. It’s a welcome relief as Ings is delightful. Clearly channeling Peter Dinklage’s performance of Tyrion Lannister, he imbues Ser Lyonel with an uneasy, off-kilter mirth, as well as a queer energy that perfectly fits the scarce descriptions we have of him from Martin’s novella (just look at all the highly bisexual ways he sits in his pavilion chair).&nbsp;</p> <p><em>Game of Thrones</em> always struggled to portray the Baratheon house spirit. Part of this lies with the source material; the jovial and dangerous King Robert (Mark Addy) is already too far gone as a hapless drunk to show his previous fighting spirit by the time we meet him in the books, and Stannis (Stephen Dillane) is meant to be a grim reactionary figure, consciously molding himself into the opposite of his family’s reputation. The show also made Renly (Gethin Anthony) into a much more timid, nervous, and retiring figure in the show than he is in the books. But, with Ser Lyonel, we finally have a representation that fits in with the tales of young Robert and book-Renly. I personally can’t wait to see what they do with him.&nbsp;</p> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Odds &amp; Ends</strong></h3> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="733" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/knight-seven-kingdoms-101-edward-ashley-and-shaun-thomas-1100x733.jpg" alt="Ser Steffon Fossoway (Edward Ashley) and his cousin Ser Raymun Fossoway (Shaun Thomas) in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" class="wp-image-837120" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/knight-seven-kingdoms-101-edward-ashley-and-shaun-thomas-1100x733.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/knight-seven-kingdoms-101-edward-ashley-and-shaun-thomas-740x493.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/knight-seven-kingdoms-101-edward-ashley-and-shaun-thomas-768x512.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/knight-seven-kingdoms-101-edward-ashley-and-shaun-thomas.jpg 1500w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Steffan Hill/HBO </figcaption></figure> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>The episode is titled “The Hedge Knight” which, obviously, refers both to Dunk himself and the title of the first novella in the series. I’m sure there is some market-tested reason for this, but I do find it a little odd that the entire series is not called “The Hedge Knight.” Yes, it is specific to the first novella but <em>Game of Thrones</em> took its name from the first book in the Song of Ice and Fire series and, man, is “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” a cumbersome title. I expect that there will be episodes named for the second and third novellas—<em>The Sworn Sword</em> and <em>The Mystery Knight</em>—in seasons two and three.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>To explain a bit more fully, a “hedge knight” is Martin’s term for the Westerosi equivalent of a ronin: an itinerant knight with no sworn fealty to any particular lord, so named because they sleep not under a castle roof but among the hedges. Martin probably takes the term from the historical concept of a “hedge witch” who practices without a coven, and he uses the terms “hedge witch” and “hedge wizard” in his books to refer to equally itinerant (and often disreputable) spellcasters and herbalists who operate outside of any official feudal capacity.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>The first twenty minutes take all dialogue almost word for word from <em>The Hedge Knight</em>. Even some of Dunk’s added lines are taken verbatim from his internal monologue. It’s a testament to how well <em>GoT</em> has accustomed folks to Martin’s particular brand of faux-Medieval speech patterns and worldbuilding that casual viewers hardly notice how stylized the dialogue can be. </li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>In this lighter and more lyrical age of Westeros, we get some of Martin’s playful punnery about heraldic devices back. In lines cribbed directly from <em>The Hedge Knight</em>, the Fossoway cousins refer to one another in terms of the apples on their banners (Raymun is unripe, Steffon is rotten, etc). Martin seeds these sorts of fun, slightly cringe-y exchanges constantly throughout his books and while they were largely cut from both previous shows, <em>A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms</em> feels like it has the right tone to bring them back. </li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>The Dunk and Egg novellas are fairly cagey about whether or not Ser Arlan actually knighted Dunk. There are certainly clues in the original text—when Plummer (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor), Lord Ashford’s steward asks him if he was knighted, Dunk wonders if his ears are turning red. The show leans all the way in, making it all but text that Arlan never performed the ceremony. On the one hand, this clearly adds fuel to Dunk’s anxiety about being discovered as a fraud. On the other hand, because it’s well established, both in the books and shows, that any knight can bestow knighthood, the process is already murky and hard to prove. I’m not sure that the focus on Dunk’s definitive dishonesty about his status necessarily adds a lot to his character.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Ser Arlan’s sword doesn’t have a penny embedded in the hilt in the books. In fact, the only understanding of “Pennytree” we get is a largely abandoned village that Jaime Lannister passes through in <em>A Dance with Dragons</em>, where he sees a dead tree with pennies nailed into the trunk. In general, both the mainline ASoIaF books and the original HBO series pay winking homage to Ser Duncan the Tall (with references to him going all the way back to the second episode of <em>Game of Thrones</em>). If you’re planning a <em>GoT</em> rewatch or reread at any point, there will be an extra layer of delight after this series is done. </li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>This is a minor gripe, but Tanselle (Tanzyn Crawford), the Dornishwoman that Dunk goes misty-eyed for at the puppet show, is portrayed in the show as the emcee of the affair, narrating the story of Ser Serwyn of the Mirror Shield (an ancient Westerosi legend that might have a parallel in an upcoming season of <em>House of the Dragon</em>) while a gigantic and impressive dragon puppet breathes fire on stage. In the novella, her show is a much smaller affair, and she is a puppeteer rather than an actor. It feels like a change made exclusively to show off a much larger and more impressive dragon puppet. Obviously, with six hours to adapt 30,000 or so words, there is plenty of time to flesh out Tanselle as a character beyond the version we meet in the original story, but I do worry that the show is missing out on giving her a very specific and interesting technical skill. I always liked that part of Dunk’s infatuation with Tanselle is that they are both skilled, physical performers who rely on expert coordination in their respective trades. </li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Ser Manfred Dondarrion (Daniel Monks), the rakish lord who can’t be bothered to vouch for Dunk, is an ancestor of Beric Dondarrion (Richard Dormer), the Lightning Lord who leads the Brotherhood Without Banners in the original <em>Game of Thrones</em> series (and who gives up his life in the books <a href="https://reactormag.com/exhuming-lady-stoneheart-what-we-lost-in-game-of-thrones-biggest-cut/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">to bring Catelyn Stark back from the dead</a>). Additionally, there is a bit of fun worldbuilding in the exchange where Daisy says that Manfred claims he’s “hung like a Dornishman,” to which he responds that what he said was that he’s “hung Dornishmen.” The Dondarrions are what Martin deems “Marcher Lords”—that is, noble families from the border between the Reach and Dorne who are ever-bellicose when it comes to their neighbors to the South. Given that Daeron II, the current King of Westeros (who we almost assuredly won’t see in this series) only brought Dorne into the rest of the Westerosi Empire twenty-two years before the start of the show, people like Ser Manfred still remember Dorne as an enemy nation with whom Westeros was perpetually at war.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>The “Vulture King” that Dunk mentions to Ser Manfred is at least the fourth person to use that title. It is typically used by a self-styled king who rebels against the Targaryen crown from a stronghold in the mountains along the Dornish marches. Not only are vultures prevalent in the Red Mountains of Dorne but House Blackmont, one of the Dornish vassal houses, takes the scavenger bird as their sigil. The raids that killed the Vulture King referenced in <em>AKot7K</em> took place about three years before the start of the show. </li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>One of the friends at my watch party (who has not read the novellas) noted that the show has real <em>A Knight’s Tale</em> vibes. And, yes. It really does. Given that <em>A Knight’s Tale</em> came out in 2001—a scant three years after <em>The Hedge Knight</em> was published—it wouldn’t be surprising to learn that writer/director Brian Helgeland had been at least partially inspired by Martin’s original text, along with its more obvious connection to the work of Geoffrey Chaucer.</li> </ul> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>In Conclusion</strong></h3> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="733" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/knight-seven-kingdoms-101-bamber-todd-and-danny-webb-1100x733.jpg" alt="Young Dunk (Bamber Todd) and Sir Arlan of Pennytree (Danny Webb) travel on horseback in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" class="wp-image-837115" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/knight-seven-kingdoms-101-bamber-todd-and-danny-webb-1100x733.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/knight-seven-kingdoms-101-bamber-todd-and-danny-webb-740x493.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/knight-seven-kingdoms-101-bamber-todd-and-danny-webb-768x512.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/knight-seven-kingdoms-101-bamber-todd-and-danny-webb.jpg 1500w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Steffan Hill/HBO </figcaption></figure> <p>I loved it. It’s a strong start to adapting what is probably the most fiercely adored entry in Martin’s Westeros books. Both Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell, who plays Egg (and was only nine at the time of filming) are fantastic, with an easy chemistry that perfectly replicates the sweet, buddy comedy vibes of the books. It also bodes well that the show is doing such a good job of striking a tone that balances humor and sincerity (two elements often missing from the original HBO show and <em>House of the Dragon</em>). The preview for the rest of the season looks like it will delve a bit deeper into Dunk’s backstory than the novellas do, and I have high hopes that the writers will take Martin’s text and run with it. <em>Game of Thrones</em> could never quite keep up with the amount of detail in Martin’s famously long and intricate novels, and <em>House of the Dragon</em> is always at its best when it is finding new angles to explore and more to say than Martin did in his bird’s-eye, historian’s view of the story in <em>Fire and Blood</em>.</p> <p>Speaking of Martin’s involvement, it’s good to see that he approves of this adaptation (if only because it’s of one of his best novellas), even if it is somewhat dismaying that he seems to be on the outs with Ryan Condal, the <em>HotD</em> showrunner (who I personally think is doing a fantastic job). But, whatever behind-the-scenes drama exists (and, of course, where Martin is involved, there will always be some amount of drama, given that it’s been fifteen years since the last <em>ASoIaF</em> novel), it’s wonderful to see another tale of Westeros being adapted with deep love for the original text and the enthusiasm to expand and deepen the on-screen world. There might come a day when I start to suffer from <em>Game of Thrones</em> fatigue (after all, there are so, so many spinoffs in the works), but it hasn’t arrived yet. <em>House of the Dragon</em> has been a resounding success and, if this first episode is to be taken as a sign of the rest of the season, <em>A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms</em> is going to be equally great. </p> <p>But what do you think? If you haven’t read the Dunk and Egg novellas, are you excited for future episodes based on what you’ve seen so far? If you are a fan of <em>The Hedge Knight</em> and the other stories, do you think Parker and his team are doing justice to the source material? Can you believe that we haven’t even met the full roster of Targaryen princes yet? Let me know in the comments![end-mark]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://reactormag.com/tv-review-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-episode-1/">A Delightful Buddy Comedy Unfolds in &lt;i&gt;A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms&lt;/i&gt;</a> appeared first on <a href="https://reactormag.com">Reactor</a>.</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/tv-review-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-episode-1/">https://reactormag.com/tv-review-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-episode-1/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=837100">https://reactormag.com/?p=837100</a></p>

Episodic Adventures Through Time and Space: Time Tunnel and Timeslip! by Murray Leinster

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Tuesday, January 20th, 2026 06:00 pm

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Episodic Adventures Through Time and Space: Time Tunnel and Timeslip! by Murray Leinster

The timey-wimey tale of a classic ’60s sci-fi series and three different novels…

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<p class="syndicationauthor">Posted by Sarah</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/episodic-adventures-through-time-and-space-time-tunnel-and-timeslip-by-murray-leinster/">https://reactormag.com/episodic-adventures-through-time-and-space-time-tunnel-and-timeslip-by-murray-leinster/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=836869">https://reactormag.com/?p=836869</a></p><post-hero class="wp-block-post-hero js-post-hero post-hero post-hero-vertical"> <div class="container container-desktop"> <div class="flex flex-col mx-auto post-hero-container"> <div class="post-hero-content"> <div class="post-hero-tags font-aktiv text-xs tracking-[0.5px] font-medium uppercase"> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/articles/books/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Books 0"> Books </a> </span> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tag/front-lines-and-frontiers/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Front Lines and Frontiers 1"> Front Lines and Frontiers </a> </span> </div> <h2 class="post-hero-title text-h1">Episodic Adventures Through Time and Space: <i>Time Tunnel</i> and <i>Timeslip!</i> by Murray Leinster</h2> <div class="prose post-hero-description prose--post-hero">The timey-wimey tale of a classic ’60s sci-fi series and three different novels&#8230;</div> <div class="post-hero-wrapper"> <div class="post-hero-inner"> <p class="post-hero-author text-xs font-aktiv uppercase font-medium [&amp;_a]:link-hover">By <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/alan-brown/" title="Posts by Alan Brown" class="author url fn" rel="author">Alan Brown</a></p> <span class="post-hero-symbol relative top-[-2px] hidden tablet:block">|</span> <p class="text-xs uppercase post-hero-publish font-aktiv"> Published on January 20, 2026 </p> </div> </div> <div class="quick-access post-hero-quick-access mt-[17px] tablet:hidden"> <div class="flex gap-[30px] tablet:gap-6"> <a href="https://reactormag.com/episodic-adventures-through-time-and-space-time-tunnel-and-timeslip-by-murray-leinster/#comments" class="flex items-center text-sm font-aktiv tracking-[0.6px] font-semibold uppercase translate-x-[1px] translate-y-[1px]"> <svg class="w-[22px] h-[22px] mr-[7px] icon-hover" viewbox="0 0 18 18" aria-label="comment" role="img" aria-hidden="true" aria-labelledby="icon-comment-quick-access-"> <title id="icon-comment-quick-access-">Comment</title> <g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"> <path fill="#FFF" fill-rule="nonzero" d="M6.3 18a.9.9 0 0 1-.9-.9v-2.7H1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 0 12.6V1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 1.8 0h14.4A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 18 1.8v10.8a1.8 1.8 0 0 1-1.8 1.8h-5.49l-3.33 3.339a.917.917 0 0 1-.63.261H6.3Z" /> <path stroke="#000" d="M5.9 14.4v-.5H1.8a1.3 1.3 0 0 1-1.3-1.3V1.8A1.3 1.3 0 0 1 1.8.5h14.4a1.3 1.3 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8.72264 16.3417 10.7893C17.2337 12.856 17.6794 15.0643 17.6787 17.4143H14.6787ZM8.67871 17.4143C8.67871 15.1976 7.89971 13.31 6.34171 11.7513C4.78371 10.1926 2.89605 9.41364 0.678713 9.41431V6.41431C2.21205 6.41431 3.64538 6.70197 4.97871 7.27731C6.31205 7.85264 7.47471 8.63597 8.46671 9.62731C9.45805 10.6186 10.2414 11.781 10.8167 13.1143C11.392 14.4476 11.6794 15.881 11.6787 17.4143H8.67871Z" fill="currentColor" fill-opacity="0.2" /> </g> <defs> <clippath id="clip0_1051_121783"> <rect width="17" height="17" fill="white" transform="translate(0.678711 0.414307)" /> </clippath> </defs> </svg> </a> </li> </ul> </div> </details> </div> </div> </div> <div class="post-hero-media "> <figure class="w-full h-auto post-hero-image"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="407" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/time-tunnel-header-740x407.png" class="w-full object-cover" alt="cover of Time Tunnel by Murray Leinster" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/time-tunnel-header-740x407.png 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/time-tunnel-header-1100x605.png 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/time-tunnel-header-768x422.png 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/time-tunnel-header.png 1400w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /> </figure> </div> </div> </div> </post-hero> <div class="wp-block-more-from-category"> <div> </div> </div> <p>In this <a href="https://reactormag.com/tag/front-lines-and-frontiers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bi-weekly series</a> reviewing classic science fiction and fantasy books, Alan Brown looks at the front lines and frontiers of the field; books about soldiers and spacers, scientists and engineers, explorers and adventurers. Stories full of what Shakespeare used to refer to as “alarums and excursions”: battles, chases, clashes, and the stuff of excitement.</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <p>Last year, I discovered that there were two tie-in novels written for one of the favorite TV science fiction shows from my youth, <em>The Time Tunnel</em>, written by one of my favorite science fiction authors from that era, the venerable Murray Leinster. Because <em>The Time Tunnel</em> is also a favorite of my wife’s, we rewatch it every few years on discs (or more recently by recording it from MeTV).</p> <p>I found the two books listed online, and ordered the first. When it arrived, however, I discovered that while the title is <em>Time Tunnel</em>, and the author was indeed Murray Leinster, it was written when the TV series was still in development, and not related to the show at all. So, there are three <em>Time Tunnel</em> books written by Leinster: the one I had received, and the two later novels tied to the TV show—<em>The Time Tunnel</em>, and <em>Time Tunnel Adventure #2: Timeslip!</em> All three were published by Pyramid Books, and they had confused things further by using the same cover for the first tie-in book that appeared on the earlier novel.</p> <p>I attempted some research to find out if there was a connection between the show and the earlier book, but accounts on different websites disagreed. I was intrigued enough to order a reference book on the show, <em>The Time Tunnel: A History of the Television Program</em>, by Martin Grams, Jr. (which was great, and offered a fun trip down memory lane). It made it clear the original book was created simultaneously and separately from development of the TV show. Grams’ book suggests that Leinster might have then been hired to write tie-in books to prevent any claims he might have brought against the show for using the title of his original book. Since receiving that first book, I was able to track down the second tie-in novel but not the first. So, for this column, I will be contrasting the earlier, separate novel by Leinster with his second book written for the TV show. I guess this goes to show that, even behind the scenes, time travel can be tricky business!</p> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>About the Author</strong></h3> <p>Murray Leinster was the pen name of William Fitzgerald Jenkins (1896-1975), a leading American science fiction writer from right after World War I into the 1960s, who wrote groundbreaking stories covering a wide range of subgenres and themes, including first contact, time travel, alternate history, and futuristic medicine. I previously reviewed the collection <em>First Contacts: The Essential Murray Leinster </em>(you can find that review <a href="https://www.tor.com/2018/08/30/trailblazing-through-time-and-space-the-essential-murray-leinster/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>), the collection <em>Med Ship</em> (find the review <a href="https://www.tor.com/2020/05/21/physician-as-paladin-facing-plague-and-pandemic-med-ship-by-murray-leinster/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>), and three books on humanity’s initial steps into space: <em>Space Platform</em> and <em>Space Tug</em> (find the review <a href="https://reactormag.com/how-the-space-race-might-have-happened-space-platform-and-space-tug-by-murray-leinster/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>), and <em>City on the Moon</em> (find the review <a href="https://reactormag.com/exploring-our-nearest-neighbor-in-space/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>). And you can find some of Leinster’s works to read for free on <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=murray+leinster" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Project Gutenberg</a>.</p> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>About the TV Producer</strong></h3> <p><strong>Irwin Allen </strong>(1916-1991) was an American producer and director of films and television shows. He got his start on radio, and as an agent in Hollywood. His film career began in the 1950s, and his output included both fictional stories and documentaries. In the early 1960s, he produced three films of interest to science fiction fans: an adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s dinosaur adventure <em>The Lost World</em>, the original story <em>Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea</em>, and an adaptation of Jules Verne’s <em>Five Weeks in a Balloon</em>. In the 1960s, he was perhaps the most prolific purveyor of science fiction on television, creating shows like <em>Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea </em>(a series that picked up the story from the feature film), <em>Lost in Space</em>, <em>The Time Tunnel</em>, and <em>Land of the Giants</em>. In the 1970s, he produced two successful disaster films, the works he is probably best known for: <em>The Poseidon Adventure</em> and <em>The Towering Inferno</em>. Allen’s output didn’t always have a reputation for being of the highest quality, but he was adept at producing shows with a limited budget, often by weaving stock footage into newer material, and by making the most of primitive practical effects.</p> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong><em>The Time Tunnel</em>: The TV Show</strong></h3> <p><em>The Time Tunnel</em> was an episodic show built on a simple premise, which is best summed up by the narration that began each episode: “Two American scientists are lost in the swirling maze of past and future ages, during the first experiments on America’s greatest and most secret project: The Time Tunnel. Tony Newman and Doug Phillips now tumble helplessly toward a new fantastic adventure, somewhere along the infinite corridors of time…”</p> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <site-embed id="18082"/> </div></figure> <p>Each week, Tony and Doug would find themselves in a different time and place in either the past or future. Their home base was an improbably gigantic secret underground military installation where the titular time travel device was located. That device, a tunnel of black and white ovals surrounded by banks of blinking computers, was operated by a small and dedicated team led by General Kirk, chief scientist Doctor Swain, and electrobiologist Doctor Ann MacGregor. Despite efforts to bring them home, the best the team can do is pluck them from one dangerous situation only to drop them into another. And inexplicably (or rather, for the very practical reason of allowing viewers to watch episodes in no particular order), Tony and Doug always reverted to the same clothing they started with at the beginning of each episode.</p> <p>The central cast was led by teen heartthrob actor and singer James Darren as Tony, and included Robert Colbert as Doug, Lee Meriwether as Ann, John Zaremba as Doctor Swain, and Whit Bissell as General Kirk. Tony was headstrong, Doug stoic and practical, General Kirk and Doctor Swain were dedicated and creative, and Ann was (notably for a female character in that era) an intelligent and competent scientist. While it was never explicitly addressed, it appeared Doug and Ann were attracted to each other, if not a romantic couple.</p> <p>Earlier episodes generally feature famous events from the past, although later episodes include more lurid science fictional scenarios like alien invaders. The historical adventures relied heavily on stock footage from old movies, especially for large battle scenes. The show also made use of the various sets and costumes available to them from other productions underway on the 20<sup>th</sup> Century Fox backlot. Doug and Tony were fortunately adept at martial arts, although the fight scenes generally felt over-the-top. The show also followed a format much beloved by pulp adventure writers like Edgar Rice Burroughs, in which the characters are constantly being captured, only to escape (until the next time they’re captured).</p> <p>The theme song for the show, a jazzy number built around a clock-like rhythm, deserves special mention. It was one of the first compositions by a young musician new to Hollywood, Johnny Williams. He later went on to drop the “ny” from the end of his first name, becoming one of the most respected composers in the history of film, scoring movies like <em>Jaws</em>, <em>Star Wars</em>, and <em>Raiders of the Lost Ark</em>.</p> <p>Unfortunately, <em>Time Tunnel</em> only lasted for one long season of thirty episodes. The ratings were good, but the show was expensive to produce, and the ABC network decided to fill its time slot with another show. Ten episodes were later spliced together to make five made-for-TV movies. There were attempts to reboot the show, but the two efforts that resulted in pilot episodes never went into production. Big Finish, the British audio company, later produced two boxed sets of radio dramas that continued the story of the show.</p> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong><em>Time Tunnel</em>: Leinster’s Original Novel</strong></h3> <p>The book begins with a paragraph that neatly sets up all that follows: “The affair of the time-tunnel began, so far as Harrison was concerned, with a series of events so improbable as to seem lunacy, but which appear to have been inevitable. In a cosmos designed to have human beings live in it, though, there would have to be some sort of safeguards against the consequences of their idiocy. The time-tunnel may have been such a safeguard. To some people, that seems a reasonable guess.”</p> <p>Harrison is in Paris to do historical research when he runs into an old college classmate, Pepe Ybarra. Harrison’s PhD research is based on a concept propounded by one of their teachers, Professor Carroll, but he’s discovered something odd in the history books. In 1804, a man named de Bassompierre had shown up, befriended the politician Talleyrand, and began introducing scientists of the day to theories that were decades in advance of the time. Harrison and Ybarra discuss history, and both experience the odd feeling that their memories of the events have somehow changed recently. Then Ybarra mentions that he’d come across a shop that bore the name Carroll, and wondered if it might be related to their professor. The shop is quite strange, filled with items that look new, but are purported to come from 1804. The two joke that the shop, and the mysterious de Bassompierre’s knowledge, might be explained by time travel, not realizing they have stumbled on the truth. When they visit the mysterious shop, they find it staffed by a childhood friend of Harrison’s—the beautiful Valerie, who, in another in a series of improbable coincidences, turns out to be the ward of the wife of their old teacher, Professor Carroll.</p> <p>They discover that their teacher has discovered a way to create a tunnel through time by inducing an electrical current in a cast metal relic. He has bought a house on the site of an old foundry, and using an old cannon barrel in the basement, created a connection with the year it was cast: 1804. The contents of the mysterious shop are items purchased by Professor Carroll’s brother-in-law, M. Dubois, in the Paris of 1804. Harrison finds himself falling in love again with Valerie, an affection complicated by the fact that Carroll’s wife is a most unpleasant woman.</p> <p>When Carroll hears about the mysterious de Bassompierre, he fears that someone else has also developed a time-tunnel—someone who could possibly harm the world by meddling with time itself (as evidenced by the sharing of advanced knowledge). With the planet seemingly teetering on the brink of a world-destroying atomic war, the effect of changes to the established timeline of history could be catastrophic. Thus, they have period-appropriate costumes made up, and head into the past. Leinster has done his homework, and does an excellent job of evoking the world of Napoleonic France. The men have all sorts of adventures in the past, both helping M. Dubois in gathering products for sale in their shop, and in tracking down the mysterious de Bassompierre. Along the way, there are entertaining encounters with bandits and famous historical figures.</p> <p>At the same time, the political situation in the present is becoming dire. Communist China has developed nuclear weapons, and is threatening to invade Formosa (the former Western name for what we now call Taiwan). Harrison considers fleeing into the past with Valerie to escape what looks like an inevitable war, and the friends begin to debate whether, like de Bassompierre, they should use their future knowledge to deliberately change the future. There follow some twists and turns, some of which are a bit too obvious to the reader, but the story eventually comes to a satisfying and rather witty ending, which echoes the suggestion in the first paragraph that perhaps the cosmos is predisposed to be kind to humanity. The book is not Leinster’s best work, and tends to meander at times, but it is entertaining, and moves right along, so it was a pleasant read.</p> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong><em>Time Tunnel Adventure #2: Timeslip!</em></strong></h3> <p>It becomes immediately apparent when reading this book that Leinster had his own ideas about how the TV show’s Time Tunnel should work. Modern fans, who become enraged by the slightest deviation from established canon, would likely be appalled by liberties like this. In his telling, the time tunnel is an unauthorized effort, built in secret without oversight from the government. Contact with the travelers is maintained through radio-equipped harnesses, and views of the worlds they visit are provided by drones disguised as buzzards (which is an improvement over the unexplained way the TV show linked with travelers and were suddenly able to magically observe their environment through a variety of viewpoints).</p> <p>And this story apparently takes place after the TV show is over. Tony and Doug have returned from their uncontrolled trip through time, General Kirk is now retired, Doug and Ann are now explicitly a couple, and control of the time tunnel is being turned over to the military. Before that turnover, however, a new member of the time tunnel team, Sam Creighton, wants to see scenes from the Mexican-American War, where one of his ancestors died as a hero.</p> <p>A skeptical general arrives to oversee one more test of the time tunnel, the clandestine transport of a nuclear weapon to McMurdo Station in Antarctica. The military is not as interested in time travel as it is in transporting items through space. If this works, it would allow the US to dominate the world by seeding weapons in the cities of their adversaries (the story, like many from this era, is dripping with Cold War paranoia, and this sounds like a horrible idea to me). But the general meddles with the tunnel, disrupts the test, the weapon ends up in a pond in Mexico City during the Mexican-American War. The team then finds that in the present, the still undiscovered bomb is about to be uncovered by a construction project, which might detonate the warhead, and its time harness has been compromised.</p> <p>Tony goes back into the past with Sam to put a new time harness on the weapon so that it can be retrieved. They encounter Sam’s ancestor, who is killed before he can perform the heroic acts recorded in history, and throughout the rest of the story, Sam is obsessed with performing those acts himself. Tony is also caught up in the battles. <em>Timeslip!</em> is an entertaining tale, although the feel of the story is very pulpy, and I will not spoil the ending, here—if you are a fan of the TV show, and won’t be offended by the changes to the established canon of the TV adventures, the book is worth seeking out.</p> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Final Thoughts</strong></h3> <p>While I was frustrated by not being able to track down the first TV show tie-in book, the two books I could find were entertaining, and it is always fun to discover further adventures in a series you thought was over. Plus, even the lesser works of Murray Leinster are still enjoyable to read. I was also delighted with the reference book I discovered during my research, <em>The Time Tunnel: A History of the Television Program</em>, by Martin Grams, Jr., which is worth reading by any fan of the TV show.</p> <p>The floor is now yours: I would enjoy any thoughts you all might share on the <em>Time Tunnel</em> books or the show itself, or if you are so moved, your thoughts on similar time travel stories.[end-mark]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://reactormag.com/episodic-adventures-through-time-and-space-time-tunnel-and-timeslip-by-murray-leinster/">Episodic Adventures Through Time and Space: &lt;i&gt;Time Tunnel&lt;/i&gt; and &lt;i&gt;Timeslip!&lt;/i&gt; by Murray Leinster</a> appeared first on <a href="https://reactormag.com">Reactor</a>.</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/episodic-adventures-through-time-and-space-time-tunnel-and-timeslip-by-murray-leinster/">https://reactormag.com/episodic-adventures-through-time-and-space-time-tunnel-and-timeslip-by-murray-leinster/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=836869">https://reactormag.com/?p=836869</a></p>

Laika’s Stop-Motion Wildwood Adaptation Finally Has a Release Date

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Tuesday, January 20th, 2026 05:16 pm

Posted by Molly Templeton

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Laika’s Stop-Motion Wildwood Adaptation Finally Has a Release Date

Colin Meloy’s novel comes to the screen in October!

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Published on January 20, 2026

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<p class="syndicationauthor">Posted by Molly Templeton</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/laika-wildwood-release-date/">https://reactormag.com/laika-wildwood-release-date/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=837103">https://reactormag.com/?p=837103</a></p><post-hero class="wp-block-post-hero js-post-hero post-hero post-hero-horizontal"> <div class="container container-desktop"> <div class="flex flex-col mx-auto post-hero-container"> <div class="post-hero-content"> <div class="post-hero-tags font-aktiv text-xs tracking-[0.5px] font-medium uppercase"> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/articles/news/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag News 0"> News </a> </span> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tag/wildwood/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Wildwood 1"> Wildwood </a> </span> </div> <h2 class="post-hero-title text-h1">Laika&#8217;s Stop-Motion <i>Wildwood</i> Adaptation Finally Has a Release Date</h2> <div class="prose post-hero-description prose--post-hero">Colin Meloy&#8217;s novel comes to the screen in October!</div> <div class="post-hero-wrapper"> <div class="post-hero-inner"> <p class="post-hero-author text-xs font-aktiv uppercase font-medium [&amp;_a]:link-hover">By <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/molly-templeton/" title="Posts by Molly Templeton" class="author url fn" rel="author">Molly Templeton</a></p> <span class="post-hero-symbol relative top-[-2px] hidden tablet:block">|</span> <p class="text-xs uppercase post-hero-publish font-aktiv"> Published on January 20, 2026 </p> </div> </div> <div class="quick-access post-hero-quick-access mt-[17px] tablet:hidden"> <div class="flex gap-[30px] tablet:gap-6"> <a 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2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /> </figure> </div> </div> </div> </post-hero> <div class="wp-block-more-from-category"> <div> <p></p> </div> </div> <p>In just a few more months, we can finally visit <em>Wildwood</em>. The next feature from the animation studio Laika (<em>Coraline</em>, <em>Kubo and the Two Strings</em>) is based on the middle-grade novel by Colin Meloy (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJpfK7l404I" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">of The Decemberists fame</a>), which follows young Prue McKeel as she chases after her baby brother when he&#8217;s stolen by crows.</p> <p><em>Wildwood</em> is a very Portland story, which means I could not be more excited about it. (Do you know about our <a href="https://pdxcrowroost.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">crows</a>? They&#8217;re <em>amazing</em>.) The book takes its name from the Wildwood Trail, a 30-mile trail that you can hike in more reasonably sized sections. It takes hikers through the lush greenery of Forest Park, one of the largest urban forests in the country. Go for a walk in it, and you&#8217;ll absolutely believe it could be home to all kinds of magic. Which is essentially what Prue discovers when she goes after her brother. As an <a href="https://reactormag.com/laikas-next-stop-motion-film-is-based-on-a-fantasy-novel-by-the-lead-singer-of-the-decemberists/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">early synopsis</a> for the movie said:</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>Beyond Portland’s city limits lies Wildwood. You’re not supposed to go there. You’re not even supposed to know it exists. But Prue McKeel is about to enter this enchanted wonderland. Her baby brother Mac has been taken by a murder of crows into the forest’s depths, and she—along with her hapless classmate Curtis—is going to get him back. Prue might think she’s too old for fairy tales, but she’s just found herself at the center of one … filled with strange talking animals, roguish bandits, and powerful figures with the darkest intentions.</p></blockquote></figure> <p><em>Wildwood</em> has been in the works for over a decade. Laika has released a couple of little <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HQ-HrwIgOc">featurettes</a> about the film, but no full trailer yet; the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hysh_G5ZFM0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">most recent video</a> focuses on Pittock Mansion, another real Portland place, which animators have re-imagined and recreated in incredible detail.</p> <p>The video feels a bit like a pitch for tourists to visit Pittock (which has incredible views, and which you can hike to on the Wildwood Trail), but it&#8217;s still a nifty behind-the-scenes look at a long-awaited film with an outstanding voice cast: Carey Mulligan, Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Jacob Tremblay, Mahershala Ali, Angela Bassett, Awkwafina, Jake Johnson, Charlie Day, Amandla Stenberg, Jemaine Clement, Maya Erskine, Tantoo Cardinal, Tom Waits, and Richard E. Grant. It&#8217;s directed by Travis Knight (<em>Bumblebee</em>) from a screenplay by Chris Butler (<em>Kubo and the Two Strings</em>).</p> <p>That wait is finally <em>almost</em> over. <a href="https://variety.com/2026/film/news/wildwood-laika-release-date-1236634881/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Variety</em> has the news</a> that Laika has partnered with Fathom Entertainment to release the movie, which will be in theaters October 23rd. That is still so far away—but the spooky season release date is just right. Trailer? Soon? How about now?[end-mark]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://reactormag.com/laika-wildwood-release-date/">Laika&#8217;s Stop-Motion &lt;i&gt;Wildwood&lt;/i&gt; Adaptation Finally Has a Release Date</a> appeared first on <a href="https://reactormag.com">Reactor</a>.</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/laika-wildwood-release-date/">https://reactormag.com/laika-wildwood-release-date/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=837103">https://reactormag.com/?p=837103</a></p>

Mind Games — Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’s “Beta Test”

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Tuesday, January 20th, 2026 04:30 pm

Posted by Sarah

https://reactormag.com/tv-review-star-trek-starfleet-academy-beta-test/

https://reactormag.com/?p=837074

Movies & TV Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

Mind Games — Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’s “Beta Test”

The Athena returns to earth, where Admiral Vance negotiates with the president of Betazed…

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Published on January 20, 2026

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<p class="syndicationauthor">Posted by Sarah</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/tv-review-star-trek-starfleet-academy-beta-test/">https://reactormag.com/tv-review-star-trek-starfleet-academy-beta-test/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=837074">https://reactormag.com/?p=837074</a></p><post-hero class="wp-block-post-hero js-post-hero post-hero post-hero-horizontal"> <div class="container container-desktop"> <div class="flex flex-col mx-auto post-hero-container"> <div class="post-hero-content"> <div class="post-hero-tags font-aktiv text-xs tracking-[0.5px] font-medium uppercase"> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/articles/movies-tv/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Movies &amp; TV 0"> Movies &amp; TV </a> </span> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tag/star-trek-starfleet-academy/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Star Trek: Starfleet Academy 1"> Star Trek: Starfleet Academy </a> </span> </div> <h2 class="post-hero-title text-h1">Mind Games — <i>Star Trek: Starfleet Academy</i>’s “Beta Test”</h2> <div class="prose post-hero-description prose--post-hero">The Athena returns to earth, where Admiral Vance negotiates with the president of Betazed&#8230;</div> <div class="post-hero-wrapper"> <div class="post-hero-inner"> <p class="post-hero-author text-xs font-aktiv uppercase font-medium [&amp;_a]:link-hover">By <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/keith-decandido/" title="Posts by Keith R.A. DeCandido" class="author url fn" rel="author">Keith R.A. DeCandido</a></p> <span class="post-hero-symbol relative top-[-2px] hidden tablet:block">|</span> <p class="text-xs uppercase post-hero-publish font-aktiv"> Published on January 20, 2026 </p> </div> </div> <div class="quick-access post-hero-quick-access mt-[17px] tablet:hidden"> <div class="flex gap-[30px] tablet:gap-6"> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tv-review-star-trek-starfleet-academy-beta-test/#comments" class="flex items-center text-sm font-aktiv tracking-[0.6px] font-semibold uppercase translate-x-[1px] translate-y-[1px]"> <svg class="w-[22px] h-[22px] mr-[7px] icon-hover" viewbox="0 0 18 18" aria-label="comment" role="img" aria-hidden="true" aria-labelledby="icon-comment-quick-access-"> <title id="icon-comment-quick-access-">Comment</title> <g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"> <path fill="#FFF" fill-rule="nonzero" d="M6.3 18a.9.9 0 0 1-.9-.9v-2.7H1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 0 12.6V1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 1.8 0h14.4A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 18 1.8v10.8a1.8 1.8 0 0 1-1.8 1.8h-5.49l-3.33 3.339a.917.917 0 0 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srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/starfleet-academy-beta-test-03-740x493.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/starfleet-academy-beta-test-03-1100x733.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/starfleet-academy-beta-test-03-768x512.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/starfleet-academy-beta-test-03.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /> </figure> </div> </div> </div> </post-hero> <div class="wp-block-more-from-category"> <div> </div> </div> <p>One of my favorite episodes of <em>Discovery</em> is “<a href="https://reactormag.com/yippee-ki-yay-michael-burnham-star-trek-discoverys-there-is-a-tide/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">There is a Tide…</a>” which has several scenes of Oded Fehr’s Admiral Vance negotiating with Janet Kidder’s Osyraa, the head of the criminal organization the Emerald Chain. The scenes between the two of them were brilliantly written and just as brilliantly performed, and established that Vance is an intelligent, canny negotiator.</p> <p>The plot of “Beta Test” involves Vance leading negotiations with President Sadal of Betazed for them to rejoin the Federation. After the Burn, Betazed—like Trill, Earth, and other worlds, as established on <em>Discovery</em>—isolated itself from the Federation. We learn here that Betazed put up a psionic wall, which was to defend themselves against the Venari Ral (the pirate gang that Paul Giamatti’s Nus Braka is part of).</p> <p>The push to rejoin the Federation has come from a coalition of young Betazoids, who are tired of being isolationist. The group is led by Sadal’s children, Tarima (Zoë Steiner, the one person in <em>Academy</em>’s promotional poster we hadn’t seen in <a href="https://reactormag.com/tv-review-star-trek-starfleet-academy-kids-these-days/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the premiere</a>) and Ocam (Romeo Carere), and the fact that it’s kids pushing this is why the negotiations are being held at the Academy.</p> <p>My only issue with this end of the plotline is that these negotiations shouldn’t be led by Vance, aided by Ake, they should be led by President Rillak. Rillak should at least have been <em>mentioned</em> at some point, but the best we get is Vance mentioning bringing Sadal’s negotiating points to the Federation Council.</p> <p><em>Trek</em> has had this problem before, most notably on <em>DS9</em>, with Starfleet taking the lead on things that should be the purview of the civilian government. Still, the basics are good, and I particularly like the end result, which is that the seat of the Federation government will be on Betazed.</p> <p>I was surprised and disappointed early on in the episode when Ake and Lura were talking about where they were going to put the Federation’s seat of government, with Namibia mentioned as one possibility, and then later establishing that they’d decided on Paris, which is where it was in the past (as established in <a href="http://reactormag.com/star-trek-the-original-series-rewatch-star-trek-vi-the-undiscovered-country" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>The Undiscovered Country</em></a> and <em>DS9</em>’s “<a href="https://reactormag.com/star-trek-deep-space-nine-rewatch-homefront/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Homefront</a>”/“<a href="https://reactormag.com/star-trek-deep-space-nine-rewatch-paradise-lost/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Paradise Lost</a>” two parter, and which your humble reviewer made copious use of in the novels <a href="https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Articles_of_the_Federation_(novel)" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Articles of the Federation</em></a> and <a href="https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/A_Singular_Destiny" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>A Singular Destiny</em></a>). My thought was, why? Earth only just recently rejoined the Federation (at the <a href="https://reactormag.com/first-contact-revisited-star-trek-discoverys-coming-home/">end of <em>Discovery</em>’s fourth season</a>), why is it automatically being made the capital again?</p> <p>And then the episode pays it off with the revelation that it <em>won’t</em> be on Earth. And it shouldn’t be. Moving it to Betazed is a good gesture, if a bit excessive, but one that moves the Federation past the human-centric entity it’s often portrayed as, which is at odds with the large membership.</p> <p>In a nice touch, Anthony Natale, who is Deaf, plays Sadal. Betazoids are telepathic and if they’ve been isolated for a century, then it makes sense that they don’t use verbal communication much, so casting an actor who doesn’t speak verbally symbolizes that nicely. The kids with him do speak verbally, but that serves to symbolize the generational divide. For the negotiations, Sadal wears a device on his neck that interprets his words into English (voiced by Piotr Michael, who also has provided computer voices).</p> <p>Previously, I complained that Caleb Mir was my least favorite character on the show and that he was the one I was least interested in learning more about, so it was rather disappointing to find that he was the primary focus of episode two. He’s barely paying attention in class, he’s still trying to escape, and he’s generally being an insubordinate snot. Now <em>Star Trek</em> has a long tradition of characters being insubordinate and not suffering consequences, which goes all the way back to the first season of the original series (Spock committing <em>multiple</em> crimes in “<a href="https://reactormag.com/star-trek-the-original-series-the-menagerie-parts-1-2/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Menagerie</a>,” and only being explicitly exonerated for one of them, thus showing that he got away with kidnapping, assault, impersonating a senior officer, and theft; Data taking over the ship in “<a href="https://reactormag.com/star-trek-the-next-generation-rewatch-brothers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Brothers</a>”; the entire DS9 senior staff disobeying orders in “<a href="https://reactormag.com/star-trek-deep-space-nine-rewatch-the-die-is-cast/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Die is Cast</a>”; and so on). But still, Caleb pulls all kinds of shit here, and not only does he suffer minimal consequences for it, he gets to flirt with a pretty president’s daughter and actually gets to negotiate what he gets in exchange for being her tour guide! (That whole scene is absurd—Ake should just order him to do it, and that should be the end of it.)</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="733" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/starfleet-academy-beta-test-02-1100x733.jpg" alt="Caleb (Sandro Rosta)and Tarima (Zoë Steiner) in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy" class="wp-image-836963" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/starfleet-academy-beta-test-02-1100x733.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/starfleet-academy-beta-test-02-740x493.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/starfleet-academy-beta-test-02-768x512.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/starfleet-academy-beta-test-02.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Paramount+</figcaption></figure> <p>To be fair, Caleb’s bad behavior does cause him problems. They don’t get him kicked out of the Academy and sent back to the Torothan prison where he was going to get his hands cut off (something SAM reminds him of at the top of the episode), but he does get covered in mucus, get saddled with a roommate he hates (yes, he has to room with Darem, which you just knew was going to happen precisely because they don’t get along), and get publicly humiliated in class by Jett Reno.</p> <p>Yes, Tig Notaro is back! She’s teaching a temporal mechanics class—fitting for someone who was born a thousand years previous and leapfrogged forward in time—and when she discovers that Caleb isn’t paying attention in class, she makes sure to stand him up and embarrass him repeatedly. It’s a joy to behold, mostly because Notaro remains fabulous and because Caleb really deserves it.</p> <p>Still, this episode does nothing to make me like Caleb more, and a lot to make me like him less. Part of it is that Sandro Rosta is playing him way too much like a whiny teenager. There’s only one scene that works, and that’s when Tarima confronts him about why he didn’t tell her that he was trying to find his mother. (Caleb has been having a hard time finding the planet Braka said his mother was at, and Tarima gives him access to Betazoid star charts, which does have it.) At that point, Rosta’s face hardens and he points out that he’s known her for all of five minutes and wasn’t about to let his trauma out for her to see. It’s a well-constructed scene because Tarima is from a culture where it all hangs out, as it were, and Caleb is someone who has suffered horrendous trauma and has a hard time trusting people. That scene also proves that Rosta <em>can</em> play the traumatized person when called upon to do so, but he’s being written and directed to be the whiny teenager <em>way</em> too often.</p> <p>The episode sets things up nicely. We got the <em>Athena</em> as a ship last time, and now we get the <em>Athena</em> as earthbound campus. The teaser gives us the EMH’s xenobiology class, with the kids being given a jar of alien mucus to care for (the thirty-second-century equivalent of giving them an egg to care for, I guess?), Lura’s tactics and defense class (in which Gina Yashere channels <a href="https://youtu.be/E3-GT_0eWP0?si=55zTR8PL-zzR3nHR" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">R. Lee Ermey</a>), a comparative xenomythology class taught by an appropriately sassy Vulcan (played just right by Scott Yamamura, and I hope we see more of him), and Reno’s temporal mechanics class.</p> <p>In addition to teaching xenobiology, the EMH provides entertainment during a reception, singing opera with an alien played by Jamie Groote (in a nice touch, there are subtitles providing translation of the lyrics in both English and what is presumably the Betazoid written language).</p> <p>My favorite two things about the entire episode, however, are the presence of both a Brikar—who looks very much like <em>Prodigy</em>’s Rohk-Tak—and an Exocomp named Almond Basket who—like another Starfleet Exocomp (who went rogue) named Peanut Hamper from <em>Lower Decks</em>—is voiced by Kether Donohue. Good for them using stuff from the animated series! (This also happened last week when SAM was talking about the EMH’s career and she mentioned the crew of the <em>Protostar</em> from <em>Prodigy</em>.)[end-mark]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://reactormag.com/tv-review-star-trek-starfleet-academy-beta-test/">Mind Games — &lt;i&gt;Star Trek: Starfleet Academy&lt;/i&gt;’s “Beta Test”</a> appeared first on <a href="https://reactormag.com">Reactor</a>.</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/tv-review-star-trek-starfleet-academy-beta-test/">https://reactormag.com/tv-review-star-trek-starfleet-academy-beta-test/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=837074">https://reactormag.com/?p=837074</a></p>

Space Lions With Cattitude: C.J. Cherryh’s The Pride of Chanur

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Tuesday, January 20th, 2026 04:30 pm

Posted by Sarah

https://reactormag.com/space-lions-with-cattitude-c-j-cherryhs-the-pride-of-chanur/

https://reactormag.com/?p=837066

Books SFF Bestiary

Space Lions With Cattitude: C.J. Cherryh’s The Pride of Chanur

A classic work of science fiction, told from the viewpoint of spacefaring hunters and explorers — who just happen to be lions.

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Published on January 20, 2026

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<p class="syndicationauthor">Posted by Sarah</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/space-lions-with-cattitude-c-j-cherryhs-the-pride-of-chanur/">https://reactormag.com/space-lions-with-cattitude-c-j-cherryhs-the-pride-of-chanur/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=837066">https://reactormag.com/?p=837066</a></p><post-hero class="wp-block-post-hero js-post-hero post-hero post-hero-vertical"> <div class="container container-desktop"> <div class="flex flex-col mx-auto post-hero-container"> <div class="post-hero-content"> <div class="post-hero-tags font-aktiv text-xs tracking-[0.5px] font-medium uppercase"> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/articles/books/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Books 0"> Books </a> </span> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tag/sff-bestiary/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag SFF Bestiary 1"> SFF Bestiary </a> </span> </div> <h2 class="post-hero-title text-h1">Space Lions With Cattitude: C.J. Cherryh’s <i>The Pride of Chanur</i></h2> <div class="prose post-hero-description prose--post-hero">A classic work of science fiction, told from the viewpoint of spacefaring hunters and explorers — who just happen to be lions.</div> <div class="post-hero-wrapper"> <div class="post-hero-inner"> <p class="post-hero-author text-xs font-aktiv uppercase font-medium [&amp;_a]:link-hover">By <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/judith-tarr/" title="Posts by Judith Tarr" class="author url fn" rel="author">Judith Tarr</a></p> <span class="post-hero-symbol relative top-[-2px] hidden tablet:block">|</span> <p class="text-xs uppercase post-hero-publish font-aktiv"> Published on January 20, 2026 </p> </div> </div> <div class="quick-access post-hero-quick-access mt-[17px] tablet:hidden"> <div class="flex gap-[30px] tablet:gap-6"> <a href="https://reactormag.com/space-lions-with-cattitude-c-j-cherryhs-the-pride-of-chanur/#comments" class="flex items-center text-sm font-aktiv tracking-[0.6px] font-semibold uppercase translate-x-[1px] translate-y-[1px]"> <svg class="w-[22px] h-[22px] mr-[7px] icon-hover" viewbox="0 0 18 18" aria-label="comment" role="img" aria-hidden="true" aria-labelledby="icon-comment-quick-access-"> <title id="icon-comment-quick-access-">Comment</title> <g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"> <path fill="#FFF" fill-rule="nonzero" d="M6.3 18a.9.9 0 0 1-.9-.9v-2.7H1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 0 12.6V1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 1.8 0h14.4A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 18 1.8v10.8a1.8 1.8 0 0 1-1.8 1.8h-5.49l-3.33 3.339a.917.917 0 0 1-.63.261H6.3Z" /> <path stroke="#000" d="M5.9 14.4v-.5H1.8a1.3 1.3 0 0 1-1.3-1.3V1.8A1.3 1.3 0 0 1 1.8.5h14.4a1.3 1.3 0 0 1 1.3 1.3v10.8a1.3 1.3 0 0 1-1.3 1.3h-5.698l-.146.147-3.324 3.333a.417.417 0 0 1-.282.12H6.3a.4.4 0 0 1-.4-.4v-2.7Z" /> </g> </svg> 4 </a> <details class="relative quick-access-details"> <summary class="quick-access-share flex items-center text-sm font-aktiv tracking-[0.6px] font-semibold uppercase"> <svg class="w-[22px] h-[22px] mr-[7px] icon-hover" viewbox="0 0 22 22" aria-label="share" role="img" aria-hidden="true" aria-labelledby="icon-share-new-quick-access-"> <title id="icon-share-new-quick-access-">Share New</title> <g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"> <circle cx="11" cy="11" r="11" fill="#FFF" fill-rule="nonzero" /> <circle cx="11" cy="11" r="10.5" stroke="#000" /> <path fill="#FFF" d="M5.993 13.464c.675 0 1.323-.266 1.806-.743l4.11 2.396a2.639 2.639 0 0 0 .368 2.451 2.583 2.583 0 0 0 2.227 1.043 2.59 2.59 0 0 0 2.09-1.3 2.64 2.64 0 0 0 .08-2.477 2.58 2.58 0 0 0-4.292-.54L8.344 11.94c.28-.616.31-1.319.086-1.958l3.952-2.303a2.564 2.564 0 0 0 4.263-.537 2.623 2.623 0 0 0-.078-2.46 2.573 2.573 0 0 0-2.075-1.293 2.566 2.566 0 0 0-2.213 1.033 2.622 2.622 0 0 0-.37 2.433L7.96 9.158a2.573 2.573 0 0 0-4.316.603 2.632 2.632 0 0 0 .172 2.501 2.58 2.58 0 0 0 2.178 1.202Z" /> <path fill="#000" d="M6.936 9.577c.322 0 .631.137.859.383.228.245.355.577.355.924 0 .347-.127.68-.355.925a1.172 1.172 0 0 1-.859.383c-.322 0-.63-.138-.858-.383a1.36 1.36 0 0 1-.356-.925c0-.347.129-.679.356-.924.228-.245.536-.383.858-.383Zm6.17-3.837c.323 0 .631.138.86.383.227.245.355.578.355.924 0 .347-.128.68-.356.925a1.172 1.172 0 0 1-.858.383c-.322 0-.631-.138-.859-.383a1.36 1.36 0 0 1-.355-.925c0-.346.128-.678.356-.924.227-.245.536-.383.858-.383Zm0 7.883c.323 0 .631.138.86.383.227.245.355.578.355.925 0 .346-.128.679-.356.924a1.171 1.171 0 0 1-.858.383c-.322 0-.631-.138-.859-.383a1.36 1.36 0 0 1-.355-.925c0-.346.128-.678.356-.923.227-.245.536-.383.858-.384Zm-6.17-.681c.499 0 .978-.21 1.334-.586l3.036 1.888a2.194 2.194 0 0 0 .272 1.93c.385.555 1.003.863 1.645.822.641-.04 1.221-.425 1.544-1.024a2.203 2.203 0 0 0 .059-1.952c-.286-.62-.841-1.044-1.48-1.13-.637-.085-1.272.18-1.69.705l-2.984-1.854c.207-.486.23-1.04.064-1.543l2.92-1.815c.415.522 1.046.784 1.68.7.633-.086 1.184-.507 1.468-1.123a2.188 2.188 0 0 0-.058-1.938c-.32-.595-.895-.977-1.532-1.018-.638-.041-1.251.264-1.635.813a2.179 2.179 0 0 0-.273 1.917L8.389 9.55c-.423-.534-1.07-.798-1.715-.702-.645.096-1.2.54-1.472 1.177a2.194 2.194 0 0 0 .126 1.97c.352.59.958.948 1.61.947Z" /> </g> </svg> Share </summary> <div class="quick-access-bubble"> <ul class="flex gap-6 text-black list-none"> <li class="flex"> <a class="flex items-center hover:text-red" href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Space Lions With Cattitude: C.J. 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15.881 11.6787 17.4143H8.67871Z" fill="currentColor" fill-opacity="0.2" /> </g> <defs> <clippath id="clip0_1051_121783"> <rect width="17" height="17" fill="white" transform="translate(0.678711 0.414307)" /> </clippath> </defs> </svg> </a> </li> </ul> </div> </details> </div> </div> </div> <div class="post-hero-media "> <figure class="w-full h-auto post-hero-image"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="407" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/pride-of-chanur-cover-header-740x407.png" class="w-full object-cover" alt="cover of The Pride of Chanur by CJ Cherryh" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/pride-of-chanur-cover-header-740x407.png 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/pride-of-chanur-cover-header-1100x605.png 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/pride-of-chanur-cover-header-768x422.png 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/pride-of-chanur-cover-header.png 1400w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /> </figure> </div> </div> </div> </post-hero> <div class="wp-block-more-from-category"> <div> </div> </div> <p>C.J. Cherryh has been one of my favorite authors for a long time. She writes beautifully, her characters are always memorable, and she is a master of intricate plots that grab you and pull you along to the very end. She’s particularly fond of writing from alien viewpoints, and she loves to throw a lone human in among the aliens. Often the aliens are female or female-ruled, and the human is male and very much out of his comfort zone—literally and figuratively.</p> <p><em>The Pride of Chanur</em> is a classic example. The title is the name of the spaceship captained and crewed by felinoid aliens called hani, but it also points to their terrestrial model: a pride of lions. As with lions, hani females (she calls them women, and so going forward will I) are hunters and explorers. They’re the starfarers, while the males stay at home on their native planet.</p> <p>Captain and protagonist Pyanfar Chanur is the captain of the ship. She’s a woman of a certain age and a considerable degree of confidence. Her crew of six includes her adolescent niece, Hilfy, who happens to be her brother’s favorite child. Hilfy has to grow up hard and fast as the story progresses, and Pyanfar has her own escalating series of obstacles to overcome and personal and professional crises to deal with.</p> <p>It&#8217;s all very relatable to this human female of a certain age—even more so now than in 1982 when I first read the book. The universe they live in is an interstellar version of our hypercapitalist present. Multiple species claim different sectors of space; the Compact unites them, to a certain degree, and regulates them, also to a degree.</p> <p>From Pyanfar’s viewpoint, the Compact adds up to a set of trade agreements. She’s a successful trader; she runs cargo around various stations. She’s comfortable with her place in the universe—until a being of an unknown species tries to stow away on her ship and throws her into a set of conflicts that could break the Compact wide open.</p> <p>The hani are not a highly technological species. They were discovered by the large, dark-furred mahendo’sat and introduced to space travel. The only species in fact that propelled itself into space, as far as we know in this first volume of the series, is the kif: tall, grey-skinned, long-snouted, black-robed persons with a distinctly villainous vibe and a tradition of intractable blood feud. Everyone else seems to have taken the same trajectory as the hani.</p> <p>That’s as much as we, through Pyanfar, can know. Pyanfar’s assumptions drive her actions through the novel, and they’re not always correct. One thing she persistently does is focus on the oxygen breathers and treat the methane-breathing species, particularly the many-legged, incomprehensibly singing/screaming knnn, as an ongoing nuisance. Knnn ships are always around whenever things get complicated, getting in everybody’s way and singing incessantly on the com channels.</p> <p>Nobody can control them. They don’t follow traffic laws. Everybody else keeps an eye out for them and tries to stay out of their way. They’re like a form of sentient space debris: you can’t do anything about them, and you have to hope you don’t crash into them, or they don’t crash into you.</p> <p>Pyanfar is not interested in understanding them. She doesn’t care what they may be doing or saying, until she has no choice but to try. I had figured long before she did that there was more going on with them than Pyanfar takes time to notice. Part of the fun of the latter part of the book is waiting for her to figure it out, and then find out what it all means.</p> <p>Pyanfar’s priority throughout the book is the protection of her pride—both the crew of her ship and her family back home on Anuurn. Everything she does revolves around that. She is herself a matriarch, the leader of her family, in conjunction with her brother who, like all hani males up to this point, has never traveled offworld.</p> <p>Male hani are considerably larger than their sisters and daughters and wives. They’re regarded as far too emotionally volatile to trust outside of a very narrow sphere. Their function is to prove themselves in single combat (which can be to the death), and once they’ve done that, to make babies. They’re heavily protected and much indulged.</p> <p>One of Pyanfar’s late realizations is that her cultural conditioning might be wrong about male incapacity; that it might be nurture more than nature. It’s part of her ongoing development as a character, though it doesn’t feature prominently in this first volume of the series. There’s too much else to worry about before she gets to that.</p> <p>As for what hani look like, <a href="https://www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/pride-of-chanur/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Michael Whelan’s beautiful cover</a> (along with the covers of the sequels) gives us a good idea. They’re bipedal, humanoid-shaped, browny-bronze, short-furred except for their manes and beards, with strongly leonine facial features and mobile, expressive ears. <a href="https://biologyinsights.com/do-lions-have-retractable-claws-how-do-they-work/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Both hands and feet have retractable claws</a>, though they also seem to have opposable thumbs: they easily manipulate various tools, weapons, and tech, including the charmingly Eighties-vintage pagers that they carry at their belts. They have color vision—they love to dress in bright colors, with plenty of jewelry, notably earrings that signal a hani woman’s achievements and status.</p> <p>It&#8217;s not clear in this volume if they’re mammalian, though their resemblance to lions and their affinity with the mammalian mahendo’sat (and for that matter the humans) indicates they probably are. They seem to produce single offspring or maybe twins rather than multiples, though again, that’s not addressed in this particular story. We know Pyanfar has a son, and Hilfy is one of her brother’s (apparently multiple) daughters; some of her crew are sisters, but whether they’re twins or born separately, we aren’t told.</p> <p>Part of the fun of the book is that because we’re living in Pyanfar’s head, we’re getting information as she would perceive it. She doesn’t give us chunks of exposition. She assumes we know because she does—and the same for what she doesn’t know. When she meets the all but hairless biped with the weird pale coloring, who doesn’t speak any language she or anyone on the crew knows, we pick up from context what he is, but we learn the why and how along with her.</p> <p>We never get the human viewpoint. That’s clearly a deliberate choice, and it works for me. Pyanfar makes sense as a person, and also as a cat.</p> <p>Her concerns are very human in some ways and catlike in others. It’s especially evident in her interactions with the men in her life. She cares deeply for her husband and her brother, but she’s much less emotionally involved with her son who challenges the latter for supremacy. She is prepared for one or both of them to be defeated in combat and probably killed. It may cause her grief, but it’s the reality of life in a hani family.</p> <p>She’s tough with her crew, too, and with her niece. Hilfy is a future matriarch, but she has a long way to go, and a lot of growing up to do. Part of that education involves being literally smacked upside the head. It’s cat discipline, with claws out if and as needed. We don’t even need to visit a safari park to see it: it happens right here at home, with our own small feline housemates.[end-mark]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://reactormag.com/space-lions-with-cattitude-c-j-cherryhs-the-pride-of-chanur/">Space Lions With Cattitude: C.J. Cherryh’s &lt;i&gt;The Pride of Chanur&lt;/i&gt;</a> appeared first on <a href="https://reactormag.com">Reactor</a>.</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/space-lions-with-cattitude-c-j-cherryhs-the-pride-of-chanur/">https://reactormag.com/space-lions-with-cattitude-c-j-cherryhs-the-pride-of-chanur/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=837066">https://reactormag.com/?p=837066</a></p>

Reading The Wheel of Time: Tuon Listens to her Truthspeaker and Tries New Tactics in The Gathering S

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Tuesday, January 20th, 2026 04:00 pm

Posted by Stefan Raets

https://reactormag.com/reading-the-wheel-of-time-tuon-listens-to-her-truthspeaker-and-tries-new-tactics-in-the-gathering-storm-part-13/

https://reactormag.com/?p=837032

Books The Wheel of Time

Reading The Wheel of Time: Tuon Listens to her Truthspeaker and Tries New Tactics in The Gathering Storm (Part 13)

A look at the Seanchan concept of bringing order to conquered lands and how it may be affected by the Last Battle’s approach.

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Published on January 20, 2026

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<p class="syndicationauthor">Posted by Stefan Raets</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/reading-the-wheel-of-time-tuon-listens-to-her-truthspeaker-and-tries-new-tactics-in-the-gathering-storm-part-13/">https://reactormag.com/reading-the-wheel-of-time-tuon-listens-to-her-truthspeaker-and-tries-new-tactics-in-the-gathering-storm-part-13/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=837032">https://reactormag.com/?p=837032</a></p><post-hero class="wp-block-post-hero js-post-hero post-hero post-hero-horizontal"> <div class="container container-desktop"> <div class="flex flex-col mx-auto post-hero-container"> <div class="post-hero-content"> <div class="post-hero-tags font-aktiv text-xs tracking-[0.5px] font-medium uppercase"> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/articles/books/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Books 0"> Books </a> </span> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tag/the-wheel-of-time/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag The Wheel of Time 1"> The Wheel of Time </a> </span> </div> <h2 class="post-hero-title text-h1">Reading The Wheel of Time: Tuon Listens to her Truthspeaker and Tries New Tactics in <i>The Gathering Storm</i> (Part 13)</h2> <div class="prose post-hero-description prose--post-hero">A look at the Seanchan concept of bringing order to conquered lands and how it may be affected by the Last Battle&#8217;s approach.</div> <div class="post-hero-wrapper"> <div class="post-hero-inner"> <p class="post-hero-author text-xs font-aktiv uppercase font-medium [&amp;_a]:link-hover">By <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/kjbarrett/" title="Posts by Sylas K Barrett" class="author url fn" rel="author">Sylas K Barrett</a></p> <span class="post-hero-symbol relative top-[-2px] hidden tablet:block">|</span> <p class="text-xs uppercase post-hero-publish font-aktiv"> Published on January 20, 2026 </p> </div> </div> <div class="quick-access post-hero-quick-access mt-[17px] tablet:hidden"> <div class="flex gap-[30px] tablet:gap-6"> <a href="https://reactormag.com/reading-the-wheel-of-time-tuon-listens-to-her-truthspeaker-and-tries-new-tactics-in-the-gathering-storm-part-13/#comments" class="flex items-center text-sm font-aktiv tracking-[0.6px] font-semibold uppercase translate-x-[1px] translate-y-[1px]"> <svg class="w-[22px] h-[22px] mr-[7px] icon-hover" viewbox="0 0 18 18" aria-label="comment" role="img" aria-hidden="true" aria-labelledby="icon-comment-quick-access-"> <title id="icon-comment-quick-access-">Comment</title> <g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"> <path fill="#FFF" fill-rule="nonzero" d="M6.3 18a.9.9 0 0 1-.9-.9v-2.7H1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 0 12.6V1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 1.8 0h14.4A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 18 1.8v10.8a1.8 1.8 0 0 1-1.8 1.8h-5.49l-3.33 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<figure class="w-full h-auto post-hero-image"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="407" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ReadingWOT_TGSbook12-740x407.png" class="w-full object-cover" alt="Reading The Wheel of Time on Tor.com: The Gathering Storm" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ReadingWOT_TGSbook12-740x407.png 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ReadingWOT_TGSbook12-768x422.png 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ReadingWOT_TGSbook12.png 951w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /> </figure> </div> </div> </div> </post-hero> <div class="wp-block-more-from-category"> <div> </div> </div> <p><br>Hello friends! Sorry for disappearing on you last week, but we are back now with chapter 19 of <em>The Gathering Storm</em>, in which Tuon makes a foray into leading Ebou Dar from a new strategy, receives the Dragon Reborn’s request for a meeting, and considers an attack on Tar Valon. Also, Tylee arrives to prove that Shadowspawn are real, and Sylas muses on the Seanchan need to have order at all costs. The title of the chapter, “Gambits,” initially feels more appropriate to Tuon’s new husband than to her, but the stoic future Empress has some surprises in store for us. Let’s get to recapping!</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots" /> <p>Standing on the balcony of the palace audience hall in Ebou Dar, mourning ashes on her cheeks,&nbsp;Tuon considers the orderly nature of the city around her and how it is a small speck in a sea of chaos. Suroth’s betrayal is particularly difficult to metabolize, and Tuon is aware of how very difficult the task of bringing order to this world, and then to the Seanchan she left behind, will be.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>Tuon straightened her back. She had not thought to become Empress for many years yet. But she would do her duty.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>Inside the audience chamber, members of the Blood and the military are waiting for her, along with <em>da’covale</em> to serve them and a group of <em>sul’dam</em> and <em>damane</em>. Everyone falls into the level of prostration appropriate to their rank and class when they see her. Selucia is there as well, taking her place beside Tuon’s chair, with Tuon’s secretary (and secret Hand) on the other side. Surrounded by her loyal subjects and Deathwatch Guards, Tuon considers that she feels no safer now than she did with Matrim Cauthon, and finds the fact very strange.</p> <p>Her first move is to name Selucia as her Truthspeaker, a position she knows Selucia does not want but for which she is the perfect choice. Selucia also serves as Tuon’s Voice.</p> <p>Beslan is shown in, and Tuon considers that he is a fine actor as he shows deference to her, bowing and answering respectfully, even more subserviently than Seanchan custom demands. She informs Beslan that she knows about his attempts to sow rebellion, about all his secret meetings and the words he has whispered to others. She informs him that in times such as these, with Seanchan in upheaval, rebellion cannot be tolerated. However, since his actions began before the news about the civil war in Seanchan was announced, when his mother was still Queen of Altara and, most significantly, while Suroth, revealed a traitor, was leading in Ebou Dar, Beslan’s fate is not yet sealed.</p> <p>Tuon admits that Suroth’s actions might have contributed to Beslan’s decisions, and admits, too, that she doesn’t know who killed his mother. Shocking the assembled Blood, she even promises that, if it turns out that Suroth or her agents were responsible for Tylin’s murder, Beslan and Altara will have an apology from the Throne itself. </p> <p>She informs Beslan that he is still alive because his actions were motivated by his love for his people, not a lust for power. She tells him that the people of Altara will be more free, more protected, and more powerful under the Seanchan rules, and offers him documents and reports showing the state of the people of Ebou Dar both before and after the Seanchan Return. She suggests he already knows that he will find their lives improved.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“I offer you a choice, Beslan,” Tuon said. “You may choose execution, if you wish. I will not make you <em>da’covale</em>. I will let you die with honor, and it will be published that you died because you rejected the oaths and chose not to accept the Seanchan. If you wish it, I will allow it. Your people will know that you died in defiance.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>The other choice Tuon offers is to raise Beslan to the High Blood, and that she will not interfere in his rule, other than to demand resources and men for her armies. Beslan’s word cannot countermand Tuon’s, but aside from that, his power in Altara will be absolute. She will accept and review a list of noble families Beslan would like to be raised to the Low Blood, and Altara will be the permanent seat of the Empress on this side of the Ocean, making it more powerful than any other of the conquered nations.</p> <p>She offers him one day to make his decision and gives him permission to withdraw, but after a little hesitation, Beslan drops to his knees and swears fealty to her. One of the Generals moves to admonish him, for not swearing in the Seanchan way, but Tuon cuts the action off, declaring that Beslan’s oath pleases her, and that it is fitting that they accept a few of the ways of these people, as they ask them to accept Seanchan ways.</p> <p>After she speaks the words to make her offer official, Beslan asks her if she is certain she is not <em>ta’veren</em>. Privately, Tuon is dismissive of such a foolish superstition, but she tells Beslan that she is pleased with him, and that she found his mother to also be a wise ruler. Beslan is informed that it is his right to stay and listen to the rest of Tuon’s meetings.</p> <p>Next, General Galgan presents Tuon with the banner of the Dragon Reborn, who is still asking for a meeting. Tuon tells the assembled of an omen she saw that morning which indicates that a difficult choice must be made and boldness will be needed. She also assures everyone that this man is the true Dragon Reborn, not an imposter, and that she knows that the Seanchan were meant to come back to his land when they did and that they are needed here.</p> <p>Lieutenant-General Yulan is brought forth to bring Tuon up to date on the state of her army and the current conquest. He also presents Tuon with a bold plan to strike against the White Tower using <em>raken</em> and <em>to’raken</em>. The existence of so many <em>marath’damane</em> in one place is tempting to the Seanchan; they are also concerned about the weapon used in the north of Ebou Dar and eager to learn how these <em>marath’damane</em> use the One Power to travel great distances.</p> <p>Tuon realizes that a successful strike against the White Tower would be a blow to the strength of the Dragon Reborn, who is connected to it in some way, though no one in Seanchan has been able to determine exactly how and whether they serve him or vice versa. It is a bold plan, not without risk, but one both Yuan and Galgan deem worth the attempt.</p> <p>Tuon is ready to set the plan in motion, but she finds herself hesitating, without knowing why. Suddenly a messenger comes in to announce that Lieutenant-General Tylee Khirgan is requesting an audience. Galgan is surprised to learn that she has returned, and advises Tuon to receive Khirgan, who is one of his best officers.</p> <p>Tylee and a few other soldiers are shown into the room, having clearly only just returned to Ebou Dar. They look exhausted and dirty. Tylee presents Tuon with the severed head of several Trollocs. She explains how she and her company were attacked only ten leagues from Ebou Dar, and took heavy casualties. She believes that the Trollocs are on their way to Ebou Dar.</p> <p>There is much consternation among the Blood and officers present, while the <em>sul’dam</em> are eager to examine the Trolloc heads. Tuon and Selucia communicate about how Mat was right after all, and Tuon expresses a desire to have him back, surprising herself with the admission. Then she orders everyone to silence.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“This news changes little,” Selucia Voiced. “We were already aware that the Last Battle approaches. We appreciate Lieutenant-General Tylee’s revelations. She is to be commended. But this only makes it more urgent that we subdue the Dragon Reborn.”</p></blockquote></figure> <p>But Tuon is in for yet another surprise, as Tylee asks for permission to speak. She is certain that the Highest Daughter, in her wisdom, sees more than Tylee can, but she herself believes that their conquests in this land so far have been easy, and will not always be so. She suggests that “the Dragon Reborn and those associated with him may make better allies than enemies.”</p> <p>Tuon is shocked to hear someone of the Low Blood, and only recently raised, speak so frankly, and in a way that goes against Tuon’s published will. But Selucia, her Truthspeaker now, suddenly suggests that a difficult decision, in this case, might be one that is correct, but that also accepts an implication of fault.</p> <p>Tuon knows she needs to bring the Dragon Reborn to heel, and to do that she must control the circumstances, and meet him from a position of power. And yet she is aware of the chaos in Seanchan and the tenuousness of her own position on this side of the ocean, and considers that perhaps some time to think and shore up her strength might be in order. She decides to postpone the attack on the White Tower, and gives orders to accept the Dragon’s request for a meeting.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>Order must be brought to the world. If she had to do that by lowering her eyes slightly and meeting with the Dragon Reborn, then so be it.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>She finds herself wishing Mat were with her. His knowledge of the Dragon Reborn would be useful. She hopes that, wherever he is, he is staying safe, and behaving as the Prince of Ravens should.</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots" /> <p>I really had assumed that Falendre was going to wait a long time to deliver the message from Rand, and that this was going to cause some important problems, plot-wise. This assumption was mostly based on a single line from her at the end of her section in chapter 27 of <em>Knife of Dreams</em>, in which she muses that she could wait to deliver the message until it could be turned to some advantage, and the fact that we then saw the Seanchan ignoring Rand for a while. But when I think about it now, the assumption that Falendre could have covered up the disappearance of Anath and the death of some of the <em>damane</em>, including her own, was perhaps a bit silly of me.</p> <p>The fact that the Seanchan might be ignoring Rand because they did not believe that he was who he claims and also to make sure that they had the proper tactical advantage before they met with him is a much simpler, and more importantly <em>because the Daughter of the Nine Moons was missing this whole time</em>. So, good job Sylas, getting lost down a false trail on that one.</p> <p>I suppose I am used to hunting for clues in the smallest of places, when it comes to this story.</p> <p>Tuon doesn&#8217;t directly think to herself that she is factoring Mat’s knowledge of the Dragon Reborn into her decision to accept the meeting. I can’t help but wonder if it is affecting her decision. She is clearly not always aware of, or quite ready to be honest with herself, about her feelings for Mat, if her accidental admission to Selucia is anything to go by. Not to mention her own confusion about her feelings regarding him. And yet we can see his influence on her.</p> <p>It is interesting to consider, now that we see Tuon in her element, how strange of a pair they really are. Mat: <em>ta’veren</em>, agent of change and altered chance. Tuon: soon-to-be Empress of Seanchan, an Empire that runs on hierarchy and order, that values stability over all else. They are an inherent contradiction, and for much more deep reasons than either of them yet realizes.</p> <p>Throughout chapter 19, Tuon’s constant refrain is the need to establish order over the chaos of the world, both the one she has arrived into and, eventually, the now civil war-torn Seanchan she has left behind. Even the proof of the existence of Shadowspawn is received into the same refrain, like a mantra: The world is chaos, order must be restored at any cost.</p> <p>There is much to be said for the efficacy of the Seanchan system. Several characters, Tuon included, have observed the fact that the poverty and deprivation experienced by the lowest class of people in many countries would never be allowed to exist in Seanchan. Many of the governors of the lands on this side of the Aryth Ocean <em>do</em> believe that their responsibility as the ruling class is to protect, guide, and secure the lives of their people, with Elayne and Morgase perhaps the most notable example of such rulers; however, the systems to hold leaders to account in this responsibility are not always in place. The attitudes towards the lower class also vary wildly between nations (compare Tear to Andor, for example), and even among the nobility within a single nation; Elenia clearly wouldn’t have ruled with the concerns of peasants and farmers ever entering her mind.</p> <p>For the Seanchan, however, allowing any member of the Empire to languish in poverty or squalor, or to be subject to crimes committed by those in poverty, is anathema. Even if one doesn’t care about such things on the level of personal morality, it would lower their eyes, as the Seanchan say, if a member of the Blood allowed such conditions to exist anywhere they control. Both social pressure and the harsh penalties imposed on those who fail in their duties keep people’s personal moralities in check and keep them dedicated to the order of Seanchan society.</p> <p>Security is the reward for participating in the Seanchan system, both in the sense of being safe from crimes and abuses as well as being safe from extreme deprivation. The Seanchan system demands that those in power provide this security for those below them, and holds its leaders and nobility to account on this, in contrast to the nobles and rulers of the lands they have come to conquer. However, we also see how the “security” of the Seanchan culture comes with its own cost. Slavery is built into the system, and the price of not adhering to the system—be it by choice or by an unavoidable failure—is often extreme. Torture, rape, and enslavement are all codified into the system as acceptable and expected punishments for failing one’s duty to the greater good. People are classed by <em>what</em> they are, not <em>who</em> they are, and one is expected to find joy and pleasure in being nothing more than an object to serve the Empire (see: the <em>damane</em>, but also other classes of people who are considered “property,” especially those who are defined by the expectation that they exist to fight and die, such as the Imperial Guard or the Bloodknives.)</p> <p>Order vs. chaos is the only thing the Seanchan care about. It isn’t so much that they care more about order than they do about morality as that their very concept of morality <em>is</em> order and structure. Reward and punishment revolve around an individual’s ability or failure to uphold and protect that structure, even to the point of being raised to nobility or sold into slavery. Actions many might consider immoral are not deemed as such unless and until they upset the status quo—hence the reason that assassination is somewhat common among the Blood and expected among the royal family, but the idea of someone reaching outside of one’s own social class to do such a thing is almost inconceivable.</p> <p>Tuon, who will be the Empress as soon as the mourning period for her mother is over, is both the literal and figurative representative of this status quo, this sacred system of structure and stability. However, she has not yet realized that she does not live in the world her mother lived in, and that the coming of the Last Battle means that the old systems will no longer function as they once did. The breaking of all ties may very well include the ones that hold the Seanchan Empire together. (Though of course, this bit of Prophecy isn’t in the Seanchan version of the Karaethon Cycle.)</p> <p>She is, however, learning something.</p> <p>She credits Mistress Anan for this lesson. Mistress Anan’s careful conversations, conducted with respect and out of a desire for mutual understanding, rather than the dominance of one perspective over another, have helped deprogram Tuon a little. Mistress Anan has shown Tuon that her steadfast belief in the Seanchan way of life does not necessarily mean that there is no value to be found in the ways of others, and that making one culture part of your own does not necessarily mean you have to erase every bit of the culture you are absorbing.</p> <p>But Tuon has also learned a lesson from Mat, one that is equally if not more important to her development as a person and as a leader. Tuon doesn’t credit him as a teacher, exactly, but her thoughts on the matter clearly show us how much Mat’s example has shaped her opinions.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>The Seanchan had, perhaps, made a mistake with this people in making them swear Seanchan oaths of obedience. Matrim had sworn those oaths, but ignored them handily when the time came—yet he had been certain to keep his word to her, and his men had assured her he was a man of honor.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>Tuon goes on to muse on the strangeness of elevating one oath over another, not seeming to consider that she herself would probably not feel a particular pull to an oath sworn in the wording of a culture not her own. Regardless of this, she is pleased to accept Beslan’s oath on its own terms, and accepts without rancor that its meaning is truer for him than an oath sworn in Seanchan wording under the duress of being invaded.</p> <p>Mat has shown her that honor exists in places other than Seanchan duty and order.</p> <p>Beslan has shown her this, as well. Tuon is willing to spare him the fate he would ordinarily have received for his rebellion because, as she puts it, he did not understand the truth of his situation, or the situation of his people. She offers him an explanation, clearer than any he has received so far, as to what his rule and his people’s lives truly look like under the auspices of the Empire, and perhaps even more significantly, she offers him a choice: an honorable execution, or to accept the kingship under the terms she has offered. Thus, not only is Beslan’s love for his people centered in his decision, but he is also given a sense of agency in his and his country’s fate. In choosing to swear his fealty to Tuon, he not only has an opportunity to speak an oath that has personal meaning to him rather than one that comes from the very forces that have conquered his lands, he also moves forward in his new position knowing that it was a choice he made, not quite freely, perhaps, but under much less duress than he felt before.</p> <p>After all, who would feel loyalty to a promise they made when they felt they had no other choice?</p> <p>Tuon has accepted that flexibility is needed when dealing with the people of these lands, a people she knows she does not understand. Her time traveling with Mat and the Band has given her a new perspective, new ideas, and I think we will see this state of affairs serving her well, going forward.</p> <p>Not that I think the meeting between her and Rand is going to go well. Tuon isn’t discarding the idea of forcing Rand to yield and submit to her throne and her control; she is merely considering that she may need to start the process differently. They will be coming to the negotiation table with very different designs, and it will be interesting to see how Tuon’s strong will holds up under such proximity to Rand’s <em>ta’veren</em> power.</p> <p>She is ultimately outmatched, of course, though not necessarily on a personal level. We know that the Dragon Reborn is an agent (nay, the Lord) of Chaos and that he is prophesied to bring upheaval and disorder wherever he goes, and eventually to Break the World again. Even Tuon and the might of the Seanchan Empire won’t be able to stand against that. Not in the long term, anyway.</p> <p>The theme of order vs. chaos and whether or not it is the same as good vs. evil is ever present in The Wheel of Time. Although the Seanchan are the most egregious example of those who believe order and good are the same (and therefore that chaos is evil or at least very bad), they are far from the only ones to believe so. The Aes Sedai are also very guilty of this perspective, and for similar reasons. Their organization was founded during a time of great chaos, when the world was especially and incredibly violent and unpredictable. The memory, however distant and vague, of what the Aes Sedai were before the Breaking was almost certainly a guide to help the new world find stability and structure again, and the Aes Sedai were probably very instrumental in helping fledgling nations and rulers find their feet, so to speak, as post-Breaking society began to form.</p> <p>This guidance and reassurance was not absolute, of course. There was much suspicion towards female channelers because of what the men had done, and we can imagine that the view that the Aes Sedai were manipulators began fairly early on, though I don’t believe we have an exact timeline for that or know when the Three Oaths became part of the life of the Aes Sedai. Still, the power and knowledge of the Aes Sedai has always been a stabilizing force for the world, and we know that the Aes Sedai of this Age had more power in previous generations than they do currently, as the number of initiates has declined and the Dark has worked to destabilize the world and reduce faith in its channelers.&nbsp;</p> <p>The history of the Seanchan is similar. Luthair Paendrag and his forces arrived in a land torn by war, including war between channelers. Over time they conquered all the nations of that continent and subdued the Aes Sedai there into slavery, establishing order and control over a land that had been disordered and violent. Luthair’s forces were already accustomed to Hawkwing’s version of peace, which included a very harsh justice towards any who broke it, but which also resulted in comfort and security, particularly for the lower class and vulnerable people like children. It’s easy to see how that cultural mindset coupled with the extreme violence and danger of the natives of the continent led to the evolution of the Seanchan culture we see in Rand’s time.</p> <p>Both the Seanchan and the Aes Sedai’s belief in order and law—specifically <em>their</em> order and <em>their</em> law—makes sense in the historical context, but what both mindsets fail to recognize is the importance of change. Human beings are not meant to be the same; new generations are not meant to copy the lives and roles of those who came before. If those in power cannot recognize the need for culture to evolve and continue to foster human progress (I use the word progress in a general sense, not merely in a capitalistic or technological one), the culture will stagnate. Eventually, even if it takes a very long time, it will fall.</p> <p>The Dragon is an element of change. As the ultimate <em>ta’veren</em>, he brings change wherever he goes, whether by affecting the pattern, or conquering a nation, or demanding that the structures and habits of those around him be altered in other ways. He has demanded subservience from Aes Sedai, taken the Aiel from the Three-Fold land and made them a policing power as well as a conquering force. He has made himself king of several lands, and decided who will rule in others.</p> <p>The Dragon&#8217;s very existence brings chaos and change, and it is easy, for those living through it, to see only the bad side of that chaos. Rand himself struggles to see this: He believes that the ill fates he brings erases the good, while Min, the fledgling philosopher, argues the opposite. The world in general, however, sees Rand closer to how he sees himself: It sees the stagnant, maladaptive order that it has managed to maintain as preferential to the change that follows the disruption of that order. And one can understand this, of course. If you are a ruler who loses power, if you are someone who is faced with the terror of the Last Battle occurring during your lifetime, or someone who dies mysteriously just because the Dragon Reborn passed through your village, the thought that all this chaos may eventually result in something new and better than what came before would be no comfort.</p> <p>However, from a broad point of view, the change Rand brings is good—or at least, it has the potential to be. After all, despite the taint that has only recently been cleansed from <em>saidin</em>, the Dragon is not an agent of the Dark One. He is an agent of the Pattern, and the change he brings is that of the Wheel’s design. In that sense, one might term it Good. In the same sense, one might call the effect Rand brings Order. It only looks chaotic to those viewing it from inside the Pattern.</p> <p>Tuon craves order in her world, and in the Empire she governs, but she is becoming Empress in the days leading up to the Last Battle, a time when chaos is unavoidable. Necessary. Prophesied. Even her might will not be able to stop it.</p> <p>It will be fascinating to see what her encounter with Rand looks like when it comes.</p> <p>It also occurs to me, while considering all of this, that the Seanchan reliance on omens does recognize the order of the Pattern in a way that the rest of the nations do not. Because our main heroes, and those we have known the longest, are not Seanchan, and because the Seanchan are quick to dismiss truths we the readers are familiar with, such as the existence of Shadowspawn and <em>ta’veren</em>, it was easy for me to dismiss the Seanchan use of omens to interpret the Pattern’s will for them as being the actual “silly superstition”—but this may have been a premature assumption. Given how everything is part of the Pattern, from the greatest leader of the world to the smallest insect or blade of grass, perhaps there is something to be said for seeing omens in the movement of certain animals and weather patterns. Maybe the Seanchan take things a bit too far, assuming that the Pattern would be sending them specific messages all the time, but interpreting signs in how the Pattern is woven doesn’t sound any more outlandish than the idea of experiencing Foretelling. It isn’t, in fact, all that different from what Min does. Her version is more metaphysical, but ultimately she sees signs around people and interprets them, just as the Seanchan interpret the movement of hawks and hooting of owls. It’s almost as if Min’s power is halfway between the Seanchan way and the way of channelers who experience Foretellings (or tell fortunes, in the case of the <em>damane</em>.)</p> <p>Similarly, the Seanchan prophecies regarding the Dragon Reborn might not be all nonsense the way I originally assumed them to be. Of course the idea that Rand will be made subservient to the Throne and that the Empress will be the ultimate leader in the Last Battle is nonsense, but just because the Seanchan interpretation of the prophecy that the Dragon kneels before the Crystal Throne is incorrect doesn’t mean that there might be a version of events that fits this prediction. If Tuon and Rand are able to come to some kind of agreement, Rand might kneel briefly as a sign of respect to an ally. It will be difficult for him to win the support of the Seanchan no matter what, but if Rand approaches these meetings with his usual arrogance and short temper, he won’t stand a chance.</p> <p>Both Tuon and Rand will have to modify their approaches and adjust what it means to be proud, and what it means to be in control, if they are going to come to any kind of agreement. However, Tuon seems to realize, as Rand does, that the Last Battle is coming and that all other considerations, including custom and even pride, come second to the goal of leading the unified world against the forces of Darkness. The only question is, can either relinquish enough control to bring about that unification?</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots" /> <p>Next week we’ll be covering chapters 20 and 21, first following Mat and watching him spiral about being married, then visiting Perrin, who is undergoing yet another crisis of identity. So that’s fun. In the meantime, my apologies to Lieutenant-General Tylee Khirgan, as I completely forgot about the Trolloc attack and whether she survived it. But I am glad she did.<br><br>See you next week![end-mark]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://reactormag.com/reading-the-wheel-of-time-tuon-listens-to-her-truthspeaker-and-tries-new-tactics-in-the-gathering-storm-part-13/">Reading The Wheel of Time: Tuon Listens to her Truthspeaker and Tries New Tactics in &lt;i&gt;The Gathering Storm&lt;/i&gt; (Part 13)</a> appeared first on <a href="https://reactormag.com">Reactor</a>.</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/reading-the-wheel-of-time-tuon-listens-to-her-truthspeaker-and-tries-new-tactics-in-the-gathering-storm-part-13/">https://reactormag.com/reading-the-wheel-of-time-tuon-listens-to-her-truthspeaker-and-tries-new-tactics-in-the-gathering-storm-part-13/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=837032">https://reactormag.com/?p=837032</a></p>

For the Love of Cinnamon Rolls: Five Romantasy Books With Sweet Love Interests

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Tuesday, January 20th, 2026 03:00 pm

Posted by Christina Orlando

https://reactormag.com/for-the-love-of-cinnamon-rolls-five-romantasy-books-with-sweet-love-interests/

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Books Romantasy

For the Love of Cinnamon Rolls: Five Romantasy Books With Sweet Love Interests

There are anti-heroes and golden retrievers, stoic protectors and forbidden lovers. But we’re not here to talk about any of them…

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Published on January 20, 2026

A Cruel Thirst cover art by Eevien Tan

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Detail from the cover of A Cruel Thirst

A Cruel Thirst cover art by Eevien Tan

If you’re a voracious romantasy reader like me, you’re probably familiar with the various categories our beloved MMCs (male main characters) fall into. Of course, there’s the ever-popular shadow daddies who may or may not have shadow magic but are certainly dark, mysterious, and morally gray (I’m looking at you, Rhysand). Then we have the charming rogue, a character who uses his wit to protect a secretly vulnerable heart. These guys are clever, funny, and always down for a verbal sparring match (think Rory from The Knight and the Moth, or, a lesser-known favorite of mine, Alarian from A Nameless Curse). There’s anti-heroes and golden retrievers, stoic protectors and forbidden lovers. But we’re not here to talk about any of them.

No. We’re here to talk about the cinnamon rolls. 

My personal favorite MMC, these guys are soft, gooey, sensitive. While there may be some wit and verbal sparring, it doesn’t detract from their sweet demeanor, and over the course of their story, there may be times you want nothing more than to give them a big hug. These guys are where toxic masculinity goes to die. Think Peeta, from The Hunger Games (and yes, I am staunchly team Peeta). 

They’re my kryptonite, but they can be hard to find. So, if you love them too, fear not! I’ve got your back. I’ve read the books, done the research, and I’m here to present five romantasy stories with cinnamon roll MMCs, six if you include my own novel, An Embroidery of Souls. In it, Lukas contains everything I love most about cinnamon rolls. He cries. He’s soft. He really needs a hug, and he’s always there for Jade. Whether it’s guiding her through a panic attack or helping her catch the soul-stealing murderer they’re investigating, he never fails to supply a kind word or sturdy embrace. Even his soul has cinnamon roll qualities, which Jade can see (and embroider) with her magic. He’s just so damn sweet, and tender, and he’s not alone either! So, without further ado, here’s some others:

Behooved by M. Stevenson

cover of Behooved by M Stevenson

Firstly, allow me to share the premise of Behooved: Boy (impending king) threatens girl’s country. Girl agrees to a marriage alliance. Assassin tries to kill boy. Girl saves boy, but accidentally turns him into a horse by day. Hijinks ensue as they race to discover who’s behind the assassin plot, get boy crowned king, and fall in love as they go.

Now, I’ll admit, I was skeptical about whether Aric (the aforementioned boy) was a true cinnamon roll. A friend recommended Behooved based on my search for sweet and gooey MMCs, so when I picked it up, I was a tad confused, because when you first meet Aric, he’s cold. Not overly kind. Definitely not sweet.

But oh, is he worth the wait.

I’ll avoid spoilers here, but let’s just say that Aric had *reasons* for his cool demeanor in the first act. But like ogres and onions, Aric has layers, and you only have to peel back one to find the warm, gooey cinnamon roll beneath. He’s shy. He likes loves books. On the “desperately needs a hug” scale, I’d put him at a ten. Really, he’s just a sweet guy with self-esteem issues who adores Bianca, the FMC. What more can you want?

So, if you’re looking for cinnamon rolls, don’t sleep on Behooved! There’s a lot to love about it—from a hooky premise to impactful disability representation. Aric’s fabulous, but I promise, he’s only one part of this story’s charm.

A Cruel Thirst by Angela Montoya

Cover of A Cruel Thirst by Angela Montoya

I have three words for you: Cinnamon. Roll. Vampire.

Would you care for a few more words? Cinnamon roll vampire sets off on a quest to end all vampires, during which he promptly meets a very stabby vampire hunter, with whom he forms a reluctant partnership.

Are you sold yet? Because that was all it took for me. But in case you need more, please allow me to introduce you to Lalo, the softest, sweetest vampire who hates sucking blood. He’s terrible at hunting, fighting, and generally anything you’d expect vampires to be good at, but he makes up for it with his soft heart, introverted tendencies, and killer fashion sense. And honestly, with lines like these, how can you not Love Lalo:

“Soon, he’d have to endure yet another social gathering.”  (Relatable)

“Stealing the whole book would’ve been easier, but he had standards of decorum to uphold. A library was a sacred place, after all.” (We stan a respectful book lover)

Lalo is perfect, and made even more-so by his love-interest, Carolina. If Lalo is soft and sweet, Carolina is spiky and irritable, but in the best way. Watching them fall in love is such a joy, and doing so in a Latine setting is even better. I highly recommend this to all lovers of vampires who are ready for a twist on the trope!

A Werewolf’s Guide to Seducing a Vampire by Sarah Hawley

cover of A Werewolf's Guide to Seducing a Vampire

Ok, picture this: a socially awkward werewolf (Ben) drunkenly purchases a crystal online without realizing it contains a 600-year-old vampire succubus with little knowledge of modern times (Eleonore). What ensues is a hilarious rom-com in which they try to figure out how to free Eleonore from the crystal for good, and perhaps fall in love in the process.

That’s right. I haven’t simply delivered a cinnamon roll vampire in this article, but a cinnamon role werewolf too. Ben. Oh, Ben. Where do I even start? If cinnamon rolls are where toxic masculinity goes to die, then Ben is single-handedly taking down the entire corrupt social construct armed with nothing but his knitting needles and perhaps a spiky succulent. Truly, this man is to die for. I mean, who wouldn’t want their next book boyfriend to be described as: “the body of a berserker, the glasses and general demeanor of a librarian.”  

Honestly, Ben’s perfect. He loves sweater vests (which he knits himself), his plant nursery, and he’s rather, well, generous (if I may supply an obvious innuendo). He hates socializing, a lack of control, and accidentally killing innocent rabbits while in his werewolf form. This poor man is so soft, and so anxious, which makes his love interest, Eleonore—a blunt, violent, star-trek loving vampire succubus—his perfect match. And while this article is about Ben, please allow me to say I adored Eleonore. Her fiery demeanor was incredible, and I can’t remember the last character who made me laugh so hard.

So, if you’re eager for some laughter too, check this one out! It’s the third in a series, but stands alone without issue.

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

Cover of The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst, showing stone steps leading up to a sunlit cottage surrounded by trees and flowers. A winged cat lies on the steps.

This book, y’all. There’s so much to love about it! It follows Kiela, a librarian fleeing the capitol when a revolution sends her library up in flames. She finds sanctuary on her childhood island home, but she’s a little broken inside, and the island has its cracks too. Over the course of the story, there’s plenty of healing to be had through mutual connection and Kiela’s forbidden spells.

From sentient plants to a wholesome setting to a character arc that’s incredibly resonant, I couldn’t put this one down. But we’re not here to talk about any of that—we’re here to talk about cinnamon rolls, which brings me to another reason to love The Spellshop: Larran. 

Let me tell you, this man is adorably awkward, wholly sweet, and he takes acts of service to an entirely different level. Because don’t we all want a tall, handsome, awkward man to do our chores for us? On top of all that, he owns a herd of merhorses, which he adores, so you can add “animal lover” to his list of attributes. 

In the acknowledgements, Sarah Beth Durst talks about how she wanted to write a book that felt like drinking hot chocolate, and not only did she 100% succeed, but Larran is a part of that. So, if you enjoy big, helpful, cinnamon roll (hot chocolate???) men, add The Spellshop to your TBR!

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

Cover of Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

I have a confession to make: I avoided Divine Rivals for a long time because I wasn’t a fan of the cover. Yes, I am one of those people who judges a book by its cover, but when it comes to this particular book, I can admit that judgment was misplaced. This story is incredible. In a setting reminiscent of the early 1900’s, it follows two rival journalists turned war correspondents as they discover the truth behind the gods and the war, all while remaining connected through their magical typewriters. There’s honestly so much to love about this book, and one of its biggest attributes? That would be Roman Kitt.

If you google “romantasy cinnamon roll MMC,” I guarantee you Roman’s name is going to pop up more than any other, and I get it. Roman isn’t an in-your-face cinnamon roll. He doesn’t knit like Ben, doesn’t possess Lalo’s standards of decorum, nor is he adorably awkward like Larran. But there’s something about Roman, a soft, tender quality, especially in the way he cares for Iris, that’s pure and beautiful. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s a wizard with a pen (or, rather, a typewriter), so when he writes to Iris, whether it’s of fantastical myths or finally confessing his love, the reader can feel that tenderness soaked into every word.

And on that note, I’ll end with something Roman wrote for Iris, that I think defines the heart of a cinnamon roll well:

Sometimes strength isn’t swords and steel and fire, as we are so often made to believe. Sometimes it’s found in quiet, gentle places. The way you hold someone’s hand as they grieve. The way you listen to others. The way you show up, day after day, even when you are weary or afraid or simply uncertain.

So, here’s to Roman and all the cinnamon rolls out there! I adore their gentle strength, and I can’t wait to read—and write—more of them.[end-mark]

Buy the Book

cover of An Embroidering of Souls by Ruby Martinez
cover of An Embroidering of Souls by Ruby Martinez

An Embroidery of Souls

Ruby Martinez

A romantic, heart-pounding mystery set against the backdrop of Mexican and German lore.
An Embroidery of Souls
An Embroidery of Souls

An Embroidery of Souls

Ruby Martinez

A romantic, heart-pounding mystery set against the backdrop of Mexican and German lore.
A romantic, heart-pounding mystery set against the backdrop of Mexican and German lore.

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Babylon 5 Rewatch: “Intersections in Real Time”

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Tuesday, January 20th, 2026 06:30 am

Posted by Sarah

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Column Babylon 5 Rewatch

Babylon 5 Rewatch: “Intersections in Real Time”

An interrogator works to get a confession out of Sheridan…

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Published on January 20, 2026

Credit: Warner Bros. Television

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<p class="syndicationauthor">Posted by Sarah</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-intersections-in-real-time/">https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-intersections-in-real-time/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=836879">https://reactormag.com/?p=836879</a></p><post-hero class="wp-block-post-hero js-post-hero post-hero post-hero-horizontal"> <div class="container container-desktop"> <div class="flex flex-col mx-auto post-hero-container"> <div class="post-hero-content"> <div class="post-hero-tags font-aktiv text-xs tracking-[0.5px] font-medium uppercase"> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/articles/column/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Column 0"> Column </a> </span> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tag/babylon-5-rewatch/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Babylon 5 Rewatch 1"> Babylon 5 Rewatch </a> </span> </div> <h2 class="post-hero-title text-h1"><i>Babylon 5</i> Rewatch: “Intersections in Real Time”</h2> <div class="prose post-hero-description prose--post-hero">An interrogator works to get a confession out of Sheridan&#8230;</div> <div class="post-hero-wrapper"> <div class="post-hero-inner"> <p class="post-hero-author text-xs font-aktiv uppercase font-medium [&amp;_a]:link-hover">By <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/keith-decandido/" title="Posts by Keith R.A. 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9.41431V6.41431C2.21205 6.41431 3.64538 6.70197 4.97871 7.27731C6.31205 7.85264 7.47471 8.63597 8.46671 9.62731C9.45805 10.6186 10.2414 11.781 10.8167 13.1143C11.392 14.4476 11.6794 15.881 11.6787 17.4143H8.67871Z" fill="currentColor" fill-opacity="0.2" /> </g> <defs> <clippath id="clip0_1051_121783"> <rect width="17" height="17" fill="white" transform="translate(0.678711 0.414307)" /> </clippath> </defs> </svg> </a> </li> </ul> </div> </details> </div> </div> </div> <div class="post-hero-media "> <figure class="w-full h-auto post-hero-image"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="493" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/babylon-5-intersections-in-real-time-01-740x493.jpg" class="w-full object-cover" alt="Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner) under interrogation in Babylon 5 &quot;Intersections in Real Time&quot;" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/babylon-5-intersections-in-real-time-01-740x493.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/babylon-5-intersections-in-real-time-01-1100x733.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/babylon-5-intersections-in-real-time-01-768x512.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/babylon-5-intersections-in-real-time-01.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /> </figure> <div class="post-hero-caption post-hero-caption-horizontal [&amp;_a]:link"><p>Credit: Warner Bros. Television</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </post-hero> <div class="wp-block-more-from-category"> <div> </div> </div> <p><strong>“Intersections in Real Time”</strong><br>Written by J. Michael Straczynski<br>Directed by John Lafia<br>Season 4, Episode 18<br>Production episode 418<br>Original air date: June 16, 1997</p> <p><strong>It was the dawn of the third age…</strong> We open with Sheridan in a featureless cell. He’s unshaven and injured. Flashbacks remind us of how he got captured <a href="https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-the-face-of-the-enemy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">last time</a>. Some uniformed personnel enter and set up a desk and two chairs, then an interrogator—he’s never named in dialogue, but his guest credit says he’s named William, so we’ll go with that—enters and puts a briefcase down on the desk. He asks Sheridan if he has any allergies or illnesses, if he’s taking any medications, and if there are any issues with his heart. They go back and forth a bit, with Sheridan trying to attack William, but they’ve put a shock collar on him. If he gets within three feet of William, he’ll get a nasty shock. If he gets within two feet of him, he’ll be shocked much more intensely, enough to render him unconscious.</p> <p>Eventually, Sheridan answers in the negative to the health questions. He sits in the chair opposite William, and then finds himself bound by his wrists and ankles, which William says is for his own protection.</p> <p>After the credits roll, we come back to see Sheridan sitting in the chair with lights on each armrest shining in his face. William comes in and removes the lights, and says, “Good morning.” Sheridan says it’s dark out, and it was light out when William was there earlier, so it can’t be morning. But then William touches a control, and the light in the corridor changes. William also shocks Sheridan, admonishing the captain to never contradict him.</p> <p>William also explains that he’s got no personal animus against Sheridan, he’s just doing his job. He expresses surprise at Sheridan’s recent actions, as he’d never shown any interest in politics before. He asks if there have been any outside influences on him. Sheridan says no, which William records as a lie. There are, he says, <em>always</em> outside influences in one’s life.</p> <p>Suddenly, William announces that it’s lunchtime, which is at odds with his earlier insistence that it was morning. Since Sheridan hasn’t eaten in two days, he offers him half the corned beef sandwich with mustard—but only if he admits that it’s lunchtime, despite being explicitly told that it was morning only a few minutes ago. Sheridan says it’s lunchtime <em>somewhere</em>, and that gets William to share the sandwich.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="825" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/babylon-5-intersections-in-real-time-02-1100x825.jpg" alt="Sheridan and his interrogator in Babylon 5 &quot;Intersections in Real Time&quot;" class="wp-image-836933" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/babylon-5-intersections-in-real-time-02-1100x825.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/babylon-5-intersections-in-real-time-02-740x555.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/babylon-5-intersections-in-real-time-02-140x105.jpg 140w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/babylon-5-intersections-in-real-time-02-768x576.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/babylon-5-intersections-in-real-time-02.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Warner Bros. Television</figcaption></figure> <p>Truth, William explains while Sheridan chows down, is mutable. When Sheridan fought in the Minbari War, the Minbari were the enemy. Now there is peace between Earth Alliance and the Minbari Federation, so the Minbari aren’t the enemy, and Sheridan has gone so far as to take a Minbari as a lover.</p> <p>Then he says that it’s suppertime, and prepares to leave. On his way out the door, he announces that the sandwich is poisoned. Nothing fatal, just a bunch of toxins that William himself has built up an immunity to.</p> <p>After the commercial break, we come back with Sheridan writhing on the floor of the cell, having apparently spent the night puking. &nbsp;</p> <p>After explaining that they have to break his body before breaking his mind, he invites Sheridan to sit in the chair. To Sheridan’s surprise, he’s once again bound to it. William asks if Susan Ivanova is still his first officer. Sheridan refuses to answer, saying that Earth has their records, but Williams points out that it’s only accurate up until B5’s secession. William’s bosses want up-to-date, accurate information. (Tellingly, Sheridan never does provide it.)</p> <p>William also offhandedly mentions that his father is doing okay. He’s also being interrogated by one of William’s colleagues. William bumped into that colleague in the corridor and asked to pass on to Sheridan that his father sent his warm wishes. William then all but bullies Sheridan into thanking him for this. After prying that gratitude out, William then holds up a confession they expect Sheridan to sign. Sheridan not only refuses to sign it, but demands an attorney and a military tribunal. William’s response is that he will get none of those things as he has no rights anymore—and is surprisingly emotional for someone who says he’s just doing a job and has no animus toward Sheridan.</p> <p>William also says that, if Sheridan signs the confession, he’ll be free to go—and so will his father. So the fact that David Sheridan is still imprisoned is entirely Sheridan’s fault.</p> <p>During their next session, William brings in a Drazi prisoner, who appears to have been pretty thoroughly tortured. He confesses to being part of Sheridan’s conspiracy to overthrow EarthGov, and names Sheridan as a co-conspirator—as well as a senator that Clark doesn’t like, who’s just been added to the whole thing for convenience. Sheridan tries to convince the Drazi not to go along with this, and the Drazi decides to stop confessing. The Drazi is then strapped to a gurney and sent to Room 17. William then continues his interrogation, asking about Ivanova and who his contacts in the Resistance are. While he does so, the lights dim, and the Drazi’s screams can be heard.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="825" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/babylon-5-intersections-in-real-time-06-1100x825.jpg" alt="Sheridan&#39;s interrogator and a Drazi prisoner in Babylon 5 &quot;Intersections in Real Time&quot;" class="wp-image-836934" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/babylon-5-intersections-in-real-time-06-1100x825.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/babylon-5-intersections-in-real-time-06-740x555.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/babylon-5-intersections-in-real-time-06-140x105.jpg 140w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/babylon-5-intersections-in-real-time-06-768x576.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/babylon-5-intersections-in-real-time-06.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Warner Bros. Television</figcaption></figure> <p>William turns on a very loud recording on a loop telling Sheridan that he must confess and leaves the room.</p> <p>The next day, William turns off the recording and checks Sheridan’s IV, which is how they’re feeding him now. William says that the IV will be discontinued if he doesn’t cooperate soon. All he has to do is sign the confession. Sheridan points out that, once he signs it, they’ll kill him. William says that isn’t true, they’ll keep him alive as a symbol that you can’t beat the system, which William declares as an absolute truth of our time. No, they’ll wait until he’s forgotten and then kill him quietly, not kill him soon after the confession, as that will make a martyr of him. No, they’ll let him live a happy life for some time.</p> <p>Sheridan is unimpressed and spits on the confession.</p> <p>The next day, William urges Sheridan to sign the confession. They’d prefer Sheridan alive and reading the confession in front of a live audience, as that will have more power than a recorded message, which can be accused of being faked. But William’s bosses are running out of time and patience, and they’ll settle for a faked video recording if they have to.</p> <p>Sheridan, however, refuses to give in. William said that the absolute truth of our time is that you can’t beat the system, but he also said that the truth is mutable, and that means that there is no absolute truth. And the system can be beaten as long as at least one person refuses to be broken. William scoffs at the notion that he can win, and Sheridan replies that he wins every time he says “no.”</p> <p>One last time, William asks if Sheridan will sign the confession. Sheridan says “no.”</p> <p>He’s then put on a gurney, and sent to Room 17, the same place the Drazi was sent. As he goes, a priest accompanies him down the corridor, reading last rites. He’s wheeled into a room with a person in an executioner’s robe and hood.</p> <p>After several seconds, more people come into the room with a chair and put Sheridan in it, putting another chair behind the gurney. They fold the gurney up into a desk. A completely different interrogator comes in to sit at the desk, and starts asking Sheridan if he’s has any allergies or illnesses, if he’s taking any medications, or if he has any heart issues.</p> <p><strong>Get the hell out of our galaxy!</strong> Sheridan remains defiant to the end. In fact, he’s more defiant at the end than he is at the beginning, which is the opposite effect intended. The only times he gives in are when he accepts half a sandwich and when he thanks William for the best wishes from his father. But those serve to put him more on his guard, not break him as expected.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="825" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/babylon-5-intersections-in-real-time-03-1100x825.jpg" alt="A hallucination of Delenn appears behind Sheridan&#39;s interrogator in Babylon 5 &quot;Intersections in Real Time&quot;" class="wp-image-836930" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/babylon-5-intersections-in-real-time-03-1100x825.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/babylon-5-intersections-in-real-time-03-740x555.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/babylon-5-intersections-in-real-time-03-140x105.jpg 140w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/babylon-5-intersections-in-real-time-03-768x576.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/babylon-5-intersections-in-real-time-03.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Warner Bros. Television</figcaption></figure> <p><strong>If you value your lives, be somewhere else.</strong> Twice Sheridan sees a hallucination of Delenn, which obviously gives Sheridan strength.</p> <p><strong>Welcome aboard. </strong>Raye Birk plays William while Bruce Gray plays his replacement interrogator. Wayne Alexander plays the Drazi, having previously played Sebastian in “Comes the Inquisitor,” G’Dan in “And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place,” and had the recurring role of Lorien at the top of this season.</p> <p>Gray will return next time in “Between the Darkness and the Light.” Alexander will next be seen as a Drakh in “Movements of Fire and Shadow.”</p> <p><strong>Trivial matters. </strong>Bruce Boxleitner is, for all intents and purposes, the only regular in this episode. Mira Furlan appears briefly as a hallucination of Sheridan’s, but has no dialogue, and footage from “<a href="https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-the-face-of-the-enemy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Face of the Enemy</a>” is used with Jerry Doyle and Claudia Christian as, respectively, Garibaldi and Ivanova.</p> <p>The title, according to scripter J. Michael Straczynski, is a literal description of the episode’s structure. Each act is in real time, broken by the intersections of commercial breaks.</p> <p>Straczynski credits his support of PEN International, which monitors the treatment of writers who are prisoners of conscience around the world, as well as the experiences of family members who have been victims of Nazi concentration camps and Soviet gulags as the primary inspirations for how this story developed. While there are definite echoes of similar works of fiction—<em>1984 </em>by George Orwell, the TV show <em>The Prisoner</em>, the movie <em>Closet Land</em>—that, according to Straczynski, is coincidental because they are all drawing on real-world instances of government-driven torture of prisoners.</p> <p>In Straczynski’s original plan for the series, this was to be either the end of season four or the beginning of season five, depending on which source you read. However, during the third season it was obvious that the Prime Time Entertainment Network that distributed <em>B5</em> to syndicated markets was crumbling around them, so Straczynski tightened up the storytelling for season four making sure that it ended with closure on the President Clark plotline, in case the show ended after four seasons. However, to allow for some suspense, this was the last new episode for some time, airing in June, with the final four episodes held to October, as had become traditional.</p> <p><strong>The echoes of all of our conversations.</strong></p> <p>“Do you have any allergies or illnesses that I should know about? Are you currently taking any medication? Had any trouble with your heart? You&#8217;ll answer my questions when they are asked. Resistance will be punished. Cooperation will be rewarded.”</p> <p>—The start of each of Sheridan’s interrogations.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="825" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/babylon-5-intersections-in-real-time-04-1100x825.jpg" alt="Sheridan&#39;s interrogator in Babylon 5 &quot;Intersections in Real Time&quot;" class="wp-image-836932" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/babylon-5-intersections-in-real-time-04-1100x825.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/babylon-5-intersections-in-real-time-04-740x555.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/babylon-5-intersections-in-real-time-04-140x105.jpg 140w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/babylon-5-intersections-in-real-time-04-768x576.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/babylon-5-intersections-in-real-time-04.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Warner Bros. Television</figcaption></figure> <p><strong>The name of the place is Babylon 5.</strong> “You just have to say ‘no, I won’t’ one more time than they can say ‘yes, you will’.” &nbsp;It would’ve been very easy for this to slip into being a gimmick episode, but thanks to a great script by J. Michael Straczynski and a couple of magnificent performances by Bruce Boxleitner and Raye Birk, it very much isn’t.</p> <p>Some great works of dramatic screen fiction have been done with just a couple people in an interrogation room. There’s the movie <em>Closet Land </em>(with Alan Rickman and Madeleine Stowe), there’s the <em>Homicide: Life on the Street</em> episode “Three Men and Adena” (with Moses Gunn, Kyle Secor, and Andre Braugher), and there’s <em>Star Trek: The Next Generation</em>’s “<a href="https://reactormag.com/star-trek-the-next-generation-chain-of-command-part-2/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chain of Command, Part 2</a>” (with Sir Patrick Stewart and David Warner). What made all three of them work was a superlative combination of writing and acting—you’ll note that the seven actors listed in this paragraph are among the finest.</p> <p>It’s to the immense credit of Straczynski, Boxleitner, and Birk that this episode deserves to be mentioned in same breath as the other three I cited. Credit also to director John Lafia, who gives the whole thing a very theatrical feel befitting the story, which could easily be done as a stage play.</p> <p>What I especially like is that William’s techniques are all good ones for breaking a subject, with the misdirections, the attempts at mitigation (“I’m just doing my job”), the velvet glove covering an iron fist (giving him half the sandwich only to reveal that it’s poisoned), mixing friendliness (“I’m the only ally you have here” and conveying his father’s good wishes) with brutality (shocking him for disagreeing, bellowing that he has no rights).</p> <p>But while Sheridan does bend a few times, he never breaks. In fact, he’s more defiant at the end of the episode than he is at the beginning, which is probably at least one reason for William being replaced as Sheridan’s interrogator. Sheridan’s made a lot of speeches on this show, and he’ll make more, but for my money, the most effective thing he’s ever said was his response to William’s query of “But can you win?” with “Every time I say ‘no’.”</p> <p>Birk’s performance is what really makes it, though. He doesn’t have Secor’s or Braugher’s intensity or Warner’s or Rickman’s charisma, he really is just a guy doing a job. The biggest truism about fascistic regimes is that they start with a charismatic leader, but they’re maintained by a whole lot of people who are just following orders, just doing a job, just doing what they’re trained to do. While Straczynski has issues with the first part of that (which we’ll talk about a couple of episodes hence), he’s absolutely got the banality of evil part down pat, from Alex Hyde-White making NightWatch sound so <em>reasonable</em> in “<a href="https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-in-the-shadow-of-zhadum/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">In the Shadow of Z’ha’dum</a>” to Roy Dotrice’s well-meaning stooge in “<a href="https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-the-fall-of-night/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Fall of Night</a>” to here.</p> <p><strong>Next week:</strong> “Between the Darkness and the Light.”[end-mark]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-intersections-in-real-time/">&lt;i&gt;Babylon 5&lt;/i&gt; Rewatch: “Intersections in Real Time”</a> appeared first on <a href="https://reactormag.com">Reactor</a>.</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-intersections-in-real-time/">https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-intersections-in-real-time/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=836879">https://reactormag.com/?p=836879</a></p>

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