In which we ramble on about random things we like and a few things we don’t.

NOTE: FANTASY+GIRLS stands with the HarperCollins union.

Wow! It’s been an entire year since Emma and EJ hosted their last episode of SFF Girls. Last we saw our heroes, they were in a cabin in the Georgia mountains, drinking and making s’mores.
Em plugs TikTok bc why not?
It has been a good year for speculative fiction—but especially horror. 2021 was the year for Rom-Coms—but 2022 is all about the horror (and okay—rom-coms still reign supreme…but horror is having a moment!)
Em shares how she went on sub in 2020 with a dark book, and it didn’t do well because no one was in the headspace to deal with a really dark book—but now it seems readers (and editors) have come back to the dark side.
EJ talks about films like BARBARIAN, THE MENU, and NOPE.
Female cannibal stories are also having a moment. Em talks about the cannibal to smutty smut pipeline.
Em read WE WERE EARTHLINGS. Em suggests checking the trigger warnings before beginning this book.
The second book was BONES AND ALL—the book came out in 2015, and the movie was released recently. BONES AND ALL is a warm, coming of age story—except she eats people she cares about. Again, check the trigger warnings.
Next up was TENDER IS THE FLESH. Holy crap. This book broke Em.
Em says the ending of the book is bad—but not BAD as in not good. Bad as in everything. Devastating.
Next up for Em was A CERTAIN HUNGER—but after TENDER IS THE FLESH, she had to take a break from dark books, and this is how she discovered Ruby Dixon and alien corn.
EJ read and liked the book MANHUNT by Gretchen Felker-Martin.
MANHUNT is a futuristic dystopian where there are no men.
The book centers on trans characters who are attempting to navigate this post-apocalyptic world that is being ransacked by an army of TERFs who are trying to reorganize society.
Em asked EJ what horror movies she watched in 2022 that made her stand up and take notice.
EJ segways into mentioning the amount of really good content that came out in 2022 and how it was almost too much—talk about decision paralysis.
EJ points out how she is over big franchises—simply because of the sheer amount of content. She says the exception is WANDAVISION.
Em asks if she has seen DOCTOR STRANGE and says that Marvel did Wanda very dirty in that movie.
Em asks EJ if she watched HOUSE OF DRAGONS. EJ hasn’t and Em says she believes it is worth sticking out the slow first couple of episodes because it gets good…but adds that EJ could probably just wait for next season.
Em points out that Matt Smith is in HOUSE OF DRAGONS—and Em was a huge Doctor Who fan, so it was fun to see him in this completely different role.
EJ points out that there was a big announcement in the DOCTOR WHO universe. The next Doctor was announced and will be Ncuti Gatwa—who will be the first Doctor Who of color.
EJ asked Em if she is still following Doctor Who and Em explains how she hasn’t watched as much as she usually does. She wanted to really like Jodi Whitaker—the first female Doctor Who—but felt the writers did the character dirty and couldn’t sink into any of the story lines.
Of course, we must talk about WEDNESDAY. Em is still watching—but EJ devoured the entire series. Jenna Ortega is perfect as the titular character.
EJ and Em make plans to unpack the series once Em finishes the show. EJ isn’t 100% with how the story arc wraps up.
We must talk about STRANGER THINGS. EJ points out that it ended on a cliffhanger—and Em says she didn’t remember that. Em thinks that EJ missed the release of the second half. However, since this episode wrapped—Em has concluded that EJ is correct.
Em keeps calling Vecna, Vecnal. Oops.
Em really is just inventing STRANGER THINGS facts at this point.
Here is a link to an article that summarizes what EJ and Em are discussing and gives detailed information in case, like Em, you are a bit foggy on the subject: How Many Kids Were In Hawkins Lab (& How Many Are Dead?) (screenrant.com)
STOP SAYING VECNAL. Lol.
Em brings the conversation back to horror in 2022. She follows a Big Five editor on Tik Tok who does publishing question and answers. One of the questions was, why have so many witch books come out recently.
The editor (on TikTok as @bhvide) speculates that the books that are coming out now were written by authors who got their first spark of an idea for the stories years ago during the women’s march. Witches have long been a symbol of women’s pain and rage and one of the slogans chanted during the march was something like, “We are the granddaughters of the witches you couldn’t burn.”
Em asks EJ about her witch novel. EJ worries that she is missing her moment, since her novel is not yet out. Em says that she doesn’t think EJ has anything to worry about—witches aren’t going anywhere.
EJ asks Em if she watched OUTER RANGE on Amazon.
OUTER RANGE science fiction with a Western motif.
EJ explains the general concept of the story.
Segway into WESTWORLD and then THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE.
PAPER GIRLS got an Amazon adaptation. EJ has loved the comic for a long time and says that the Amazon adaptation is spot on. Sadly, it is already cancelled.
Segway to SFF books.
EJ read BOOK OF NIGHT by Holly Black. Em is in the middle of it right now!
Speaking of Holly Black, EJ saw her and got her book signed and the National Book Festival.
WHAT BIG TEETH by Rose Szabo came out in 2022. Em points out that it has an Addam’s Family vibe.
It reminds EJ of WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE by Shirley Jackson.
Em brings up the book BUNNY—which is one of the strangest books she read in 2022. EJ says it sounds right up her alley (Em agrees).
EJ and Em talk about their TBR which includes books such as:
JUST LIKE HOME by Sarah Gailey
THE DAUGHTER OF DOCTOR MOREAU by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
EVEN THOUGH I KNEW THE END by C.L. Polk
In 2022, Sabaa Tahir, who has written in the fantasy genre, won the National Book Award for her contemporary novel, ALL MY RAGE. She is the first Muslim woman to win the award.
This episode wraps with a tangent about Book-Tok (bookish tik tok) and how authors should give it a try.
Another quick trip to movies including THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER.
A brief recap of THE BOYS.
And finally—the space opera, western noir: COWBOY BEBOP.
2022: The year of SO MUCH content.

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Stuff We (Mostly) Liked in 2022