A. P. HowellThings I enjoyed in 2025 (Part 2)
Short Stories
“Black Matter” by Vivian Shaw (2019): Necromancy at the NTSB. I am a sucker for stories about the practical applications of supernatural powers.
“Echo Syndrome” by Jennifer Hudak (2025): An excellent (and terrifying) story about being a parent.
“Cliff’s Notes for Surviving a Blockbuster Disaster Film” by Gretchen Tessmer (2025): What it says on the tin.
“Everyone Keeps Saying Probably” by Premee Mohamed (2025): Almost, but not quite, the end of the world.
Novella
Countess by Suzan Palumbo (2024): Anti-colonialism in space. I particularly appreciated the connection to actual historical realities; centuries of oppression don’t disappear once you’re out of the gravity well. I think it starts stronger than it ends (but there’s an argument for the reverse opinion) but the narrative shift away from the soap operatic revenge of The Count of Monte Cristo is intentional and I respect the decision. I also got hungry reading (even if my palate begins registering “spicy” as painful rather than simply flavorful much earlier than I’d like).
Novels
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (1959): It occurred to me this year that I had not actually read any Shirley Jackson and I decided that could not stand. Hill House is excellent, and the second stolen reference to a cup full of stars gave me more of a frisson than any banging on doors.
Blackheart Man by Nalo Hopkinson (2024): I began filling my long form Hopkinson lacuna. This book works as anti-colonialist literature and bildungsroman of a flawed manchild, but I found it most enjoyable as a languid (not the same as slow) exploration of the Caribbean-esque island Chynchin and its creole culture.
Ammonite by Nicola Griffith (1993): More lacuna-filling. The distance between this solid anthropological SF novel and the Hild books is not so very wide.
Point of Hearts by Melissa Scott (2025): I like the Astreiant books mostly for the worldbuilding; the city feels very lived in. And since it’s a secondary world fantasy, I can get a police procedural fix without feeling dirty. The description “incorrect fantasy writing” (complimentary) really does nail the vibe.
Media
The Wild Robot (2024): I read books one and two to Kid # 2 and we both enjoyed them. The movie has definitely been rejiggered in the course of its adaptation and some nuance stripped away; but the core of parenting, community, and self-definition remain. I liked the quiet evidence of a climate apocalypse, but based on a survey of my household a drowned Golden Gate Bridge may not register with younger viewers.
The Gorge (2025): This is not a good movie, but it has some good bits: the romance, the competence porn, and the weird horror landscape are fun, embedded in a movie firmament of general action film mediocrity.
Paradise (2025): A post-apocalyptic political thriller, making profuse use of flashbacks. (I am a sucker for shows that use interlaced timelines to good effect.)
Severence (season 2, 2025): The second season did a good job of maintaining the inherent creepiness of Lumon while also implicating characters we care about and confronting the complexity of two people in one body, and the basic question of who gets to be a person. Tramell Tillman and Gwendoline Christie are particular delights, with appearances that are weirdly grounded and entirely surreal, respectively.
Flow (2024): This is a very pretty movie. It definitely feels like watching someone else play a video game, but that’s okay, I was happy to go along for the ride and explore the environment.
Heretic (2024): This is worth watching if you want to see Hugh Grant continue to delight in his career’s second act heel-turn. (I remain charmed; he’s clearly having a blast. This is a better vehicle than Honor Among Thieves, but not a better movie.) Otherwise, meh; I’m not entirely sure the screenwriters avoid the villain’s error of assuming he’s the smartest person in the room.
Companion (2025): Ex Machina, but make it trashy. Gotta love a criminal conspiracy involving Bradford Boimler, Aneesa Qureshi, and Guillermo de la Cruz. (Though those three characters would be significantly more competent in their conspiring.)
