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Tag Archives: Australian Speculative Fiction
Using the Gothic for good with ‘’Ghost Species’’ and ‘’Picnic at Hanging Rock’’
With my first blog post being about ‘’Ghost Species’’ and my second on ‘’Picnic at Hanging Rock’’, what better way to end the trilogy than by combining the two. For those that have not yet seen or read ‘’Picnic at … Continue reading
Thoughts on the Wordless Graphic Novel The Arrival by Shaun Tan
by Johanna E. “My picture books are essentially an attempt to subversively reimagine everyday experience,” Shaun Tan says about his own work (Haber 23). His graphic novel The Arrival (2006) is a clear example for Tan’s usage of fantastic element … Continue reading
The Mysterious Success of Australian Sci-Fi Kids Shows
Growing up watching Australian TV shows and movies, we – that is, my generation and before, who were watching a surprising amount of Australian content – unintentionally developed a picture of Australia. A lot of water, beaches and the sea, … Continue reading
The Grief Hole – A Book-Review
CONTAINS SPOILERS There are many grief holes. There’s the grief hole you fall into when a loved one dies. There’s another grief hole in all of us; small or large, it determines how much we want to live. And there … Continue reading
The challenging of typical gender tropes in Lian Hearn’s “Across the Nightingale Floor”
Across the Nightingale Floor by Gillian Rubinstein is about the story of teenagers Takeo and Kaede, set in a fictional medieval Japan-based world. Takeo, born as Tomasu, one of The Hidden, a religion based strongly on the Kakure Kirishitan, the … Continue reading
Book Review: “The Dreaming” by Queenie Chan
By Theodora Charalambous A Hong Kong-born, Australian-raised writer and illustrator, the Australian bush, Aboriginal mythology and Japanese mangas. An unusual combination that surprisingly works great. The Dreaming is a 3-book, manga (Japanese comics) inspired, supernatural mystery series written and illustrated … Continue reading
Book Review: “Captive Prince” Trilogy
CONTAINS SPOILERS ‘Love Conquers All’ I am sure most people are familiar with that expression. While it may sound cheesy and a bit worn out, in my opinion it describes the plot of Australian writer C.S. Pacat’s trilogy Captive Prince … Continue reading
Elements of Time in Joan Lindsay’s “Picnic at Hanging Rock”
this blogpost includes spoilers of the novel and its adaptations An uncanny premise Joan Lindsay’s “Picnic at Hanging Rock” (1967) is a pseudo-historical Gothic Horror novel which was followed by its famous movie adaptation “The Day of Saint Valentine” in … Continue reading
Othering and Orientalism in “A Pearling Tale” by Maxine McArthur
The short story A Pearling Tale by Maxine McArthur is about Jiro Aoyanagi, a diver who is forced to go on a boat ride with his crew at the end of the diving season. His job is to dive for … Continue reading
Cargo (2017): Australian Horror and Aboriginal Culture
by Robin Burger Cargo is a 2017 Australian Netflix original horror film based on a 2013 short film of the same name. However, it is debatable whether it really can be described as horror since while it is certainly a … Continue reading