Sluice Issue #25

Sluice  | Arthur H. Manners

Latest updates & recommendations

Issue #25

This Week's Recommendations

1. TV:Slow Horses on Apple TV. Based on the book series of the same name by Mick Herron, this underdog version of the spy thriller follows the rejects of MI5, led by Gary Oldman's take on misanthrope Jackson Lamb. Consistently excellent, gloriously British in its irreverence and unpolished take on the spy's life, it's a new favourite of mine.

2. Books:A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine. I'm only just getting to this masterpiece, despite it winning the Hugo award for best novel in 2020. The world building is so clever and pervasive and understated, that I could only sit back and admire it. A space opera for linguistics nerds—have at it.

3. Films:Glass, directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The third and final instalment of the Unbreakable trilogy, this grounded take on superheroes stars Bruce Willis as unbreakable strong-man David Dunn, Samuel L. Jackson as evil super genius Elijah Price, and James McAvoy as a traumatised man with a Beast within. Some people hate this film, because of the unusual direction it takes, but the more I watch it, the more I admire it. Fair warning: this film contains gross misrepresentation of Dissociative Identity Disorder, the backlash against which is justified and hopefully will serve for better storytelling in future. 

4. Podcasts:The News Agents. Emily Maitlis, Jon Sopel and Lewis Goodall – three of the UK's top journalists – host an award-winning daily news podcast. I'm rubbish at keeping up with current affairs, and shy away from social media. This is one of the ways I manage to stay sort-of up to date. Accessible but in-depth enough to be rigorous, and covers both US and UK news.

5. Books:On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong. A long letter from a son to his mother, explaining the life's he's led—a last-ditch effort to process the trauma of being othered and queer. This was my first encounter with Ocean Vuong's work but it definitely won't be the last. Highly recommended.

Writing News

• My story "Ten Thousands Years Walking the Godsroad" is confirmed in the lineup for the December 2024 issue of Trollbreath Magazine. This totally ridiculous story is one of several following the fey antihero spin-doctor-for-the-Gods, Harnivel. It's the third I've written but it'll be the first to be published. This was a blast to write and I'm looking forward to sharing it with people.

• Another shout out for my poem "Now You Know" over at Strange Horizons. This has been my best received piece of writing yet, and I'm increasingly proud of putting something out there that's so close to my heart.

General Life Updates

The last few weeks have been filled with social plans, mostly on account of my partner turning 30. It's been great catching up with people, especially given I've been incommunicado for most of this year. My reading has taken a bit of a hit—it's a struggle to concentrate on a book after a long run of social events. My introvert brain needs a long walk, and then to crawl into a ball and vegetate with films or a video game.I'm also taking a break from writing for a couple weeks, to recharge my batteries. I have three short stories in various stages of completeness, which I'll return to when I'm feeling up to it. I'm also circling in on a new novel, which I expect I'll begin properly in November.

Where's Rolo?

Until next time, be good.

Best regards,

Art

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