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It's that time again, when I ask you all for your recommendations on media I should be checking out. I'm a picky reader/viewer, but I owe a lot of stuff I've come to adore to recs from folks in fandom: Trigun, Acid Town, New Who actually (back in the day). I want to see Star Trek Discovery--and will when it's available off CBS, and am glad I saw much of Hannibal, though I never became super fannish. These and others are due to you, so please help me out again.
Things I Am Looking For:
* A good redemption story, something that's not maudlin but really looks at how we grow through experience, guilt, attempts at atonement, etc.
* A good, nuanced story about a "saint," by which I mean one of those people who rises to live a life of great service and self-reflection. I'd include in this category figures like Alyosha in The Brothers Karamazov, Vash and Rem in Trigun, Yudhishthira in the Mahabharata.
* As ever, stories with strong co-protagonists or multiple main characters who are all well developed and in interesting, personally charged relationships with each other. In this category, I would include some of my longtime favorites like Trigun, Blake's 7, Gungrave, Mirage of Blaze, X-Men at its best, even Star Wars. (I generally favor m/m, but this is not a must.)
* Stories that investigate the human condition by showing cultural or biological/psychological traits that are different from our norm. Good vampire lit does this, as do Le Guin's Hainish books. In terms of cultural otherness, I'd loosely include Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism.
* In general, I'm interested in fantasy, sci-fi, and increasingly biography. I like reincarnation stories if they do not reduce to "Now that you are at peace with your present life, forget all about your past life."
* Media: novel, manga, anime, live action show.
Generally (and with Possible Exceptions) Not Looking For:
* Stuff set in the contemporary real world. I get enough of that (even if it's not my own culture).
* Female protagonists. (In truth, I love to find a good one, but it is so rare I view the endeavor with suspicion. I do love Lal in The Innkeeper's Song, Zhaan--though she's not a protagonist--in Farscape, for example.)
* Strong single protagonist/single main character works. They can be fun but are generally not moving for me.
* Comedy (though I love humor in my drama). Exception: I would be glad of recs for half-hourish quirky, probably British, comedy TV or web series.
* Conventional romance tropes (with some exception for well-done BL).
* Video games, short stories.
That's about it. I welcome your insights!
Things I Am Looking For:
* A good redemption story, something that's not maudlin but really looks at how we grow through experience, guilt, attempts at atonement, etc.
* A good, nuanced story about a "saint," by which I mean one of those people who rises to live a life of great service and self-reflection. I'd include in this category figures like Alyosha in The Brothers Karamazov, Vash and Rem in Trigun, Yudhishthira in the Mahabharata.
* As ever, stories with strong co-protagonists or multiple main characters who are all well developed and in interesting, personally charged relationships with each other. In this category, I would include some of my longtime favorites like Trigun, Blake's 7, Gungrave, Mirage of Blaze, X-Men at its best, even Star Wars. (I generally favor m/m, but this is not a must.)
* Stories that investigate the human condition by showing cultural or biological/psychological traits that are different from our norm. Good vampire lit does this, as do Le Guin's Hainish books. In terms of cultural otherness, I'd loosely include Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism.
* In general, I'm interested in fantasy, sci-fi, and increasingly biography. I like reincarnation stories if they do not reduce to "Now that you are at peace with your present life, forget all about your past life."
* Media: novel, manga, anime, live action show.
Generally (and with Possible Exceptions) Not Looking For:
* Stuff set in the contemporary real world. I get enough of that (even if it's not my own culture).
* Female protagonists. (In truth, I love to find a good one, but it is so rare I view the endeavor with suspicion. I do love Lal in The Innkeeper's Song, Zhaan--though she's not a protagonist--in Farscape, for example.)
* Strong single protagonist/single main character works. They can be fun but are generally not moving for me.
* Comedy (though I love humor in my drama). Exception: I would be glad of recs for half-hourish quirky, probably British, comedy TV or web series.
* Conventional romance tropes (with some exception for well-done BL).
* Video games, short stories.
That's about it. I welcome your insights!
