David Lynch holding infant son Austin during filming of Dune

David Lynch’s Infant Son and Other Personal Stressors in the Making of Dune the Film

Criticism

Director David Lynch’s infant son wasn’t mentioned in any of the dozens of sources for the chapter I wrote on his fateful Dune (1984) film. I only stumbled across this info in one of the last sources I looked at for a quick cross-check of a different fact. This source was Lynch’s autobiography, Room to Dream (2018), coauthored with Kristine McKenna and full of interviews with people in Lynch’s life (read more about it in Vice‘s article Women Are the Most Surprising Part of David Lynch’s New Memoir). It was here that I read about his then-spouse Mary Fisk giving birth

Read more
Na Viro science fiction book by Gina Cole

Review of Gina Cole’s Na Viro – Pasifika science fiction

Criticism

I’ve been waiting for a science fiction novel like Na Viro (2022) by New Zealand author Gina Cole. Threaded with Pacific and Māori imagery, terms, and worldviews, it clearly represents Pasifika science fiction and showcases what Cole has termed ‘Pasifikafuturism’ in a beautiful and engaging way. It also centers on women’s experiences—grandmother, mother, sister—and takes their strength and capability in the face of personal and technical challenges as a given. Though great at what she does, the main character, Tia, has doubts and family troubles like all of us. She has to find ways to overcome her fear of deep

Read more
Women's Agency in the Dune Universe book cover

Book Release

Criticism

My book on women in Frank Herbert’s Dune series has been published! Women’s Agency in the Dune Universe: Tracing Women’s Liberation through Science Fiction is the first major study of the female characters of the Bene Gesserit. Check out the press release and the virtual book launch (recording). Please visit the Publications page to find links to purchase (and the latest coupon codes) that support me as the author.

Read more
book cover launch

Virtual Book Launch

Community

Please join me in celebrating my soon-to-be-released book by Palgrave titled Women’s Agency in the Dune Universe: Tracing Women’s Liberation through Science Fiction at a virtual book launch on Monday, December 20 at 1pm PST / 4pm EST / 6pm BRT / 9pm GMT / 10pm CET. I will be joined in conversation with co-host Dr. Russ Sloan from Doc Sloan’s Science Fiction Station. Register on the event page or click below! This book is the first major study of female characters in Frank Herbert’s original Dune series and takes a historical approach to exploring the representation of the women of the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood. More information will

Read more