Climbing Plot Mountain

<p class="syndicationauthor">Posted by Stefan Raets</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/excerpts-the-executioners-three-by-susan-dennard/">https://reactormag.com/excerpts-the-executioners-three-by-susan-dennard/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=819704">https://reactormag.com/?p=819704</a></p><post-hero class="wp-block-post-hero js-post-hero post-hero post-hero-vertical"> <div class="container container-desktop"> <div class="flex flex-col mx-auto post-hero-container"> <div class="post-hero-content"> <div class="post-hero-tags font-aktiv text-xs tracking-[0.5px] font-medium uppercase"> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/fictions/excerpts/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Excerpts 0"> Excerpts </a> </span> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tag/young-adult/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Young Adult 1"> Young Adult </a> </span> </div> <h2 class="post-hero-title text-h1">Read an Excerpt From <i>The Executioners Three</i> by Susan Dennard</h2> <div class="prose post-hero-description prose--post-hero">A mystery filled with rivalry, romance, best friends, and a gruesome curse that dates back centuries…</div> <div class="post-hero-wrapper"> <div class="post-hero-inner"> <p class="post-hero-author text-xs font-aktiv uppercase font-medium [&amp;_a]:link-hover">By <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/susan-dennard/" title="Posts by Susan Dennard" class="author url fn" rel="author">Susan Dennard</a></p> <span class="post-hero-symbol relative top-[-2px] hidden tablet:block">|</span> <p class="text-xs uppercase post-hero-publish font-aktiv"> Published on July 31, 2025 </p> </div> </div> <div class="quick-access post-hero-quick-access mt-[17px] tablet:hidden"> 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9.41431V6.41431C2.21205 6.41431 3.64538 6.70197 4.97871 7.27731C6.31205 7.85264 7.47471 8.63597 8.46671 9.62731C9.45805 10.6186 10.2414 11.781 10.8167 13.1143C11.392 14.4476 11.6794 15.881 11.6787 17.4143H8.67871Z" fill="currentColor" fill-opacity="0.2" /> </g> <defs> <clippath id="clip0_1051_121783"> <rect width="17" height="17" fill="white" transform="translate(0.678711 0.414307)" /> </clippath> </defs> </svg> </a> </li> </ul> </div> </details> </div> </div> </div> <div class="post-hero-media "> <figure class="w-full h-auto post-hero-image"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="407" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/excerpts-The-Executioners-Three-by-Susan-Dennard-740x407.png" class="w-full object-cover" alt="Cover of The Executioners Three by Susan Dennard." srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/excerpts-The-Executioners-Three-by-Susan-Dennard-740x407.png 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/excerpts-The-Executioners-Three-by-Susan-Dennard-1100x605.png 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/excerpts-The-Executioners-Three-by-Susan-Dennard-768x422.png 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/excerpts-The-Executioners-Three-by-Susan-Dennard.png 1400w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /> </figure> </div> </div> </div> </post-hero> <div class="wp-block-more-from-category"> <div> </div> </div> <p>We&#8217;re thrilled to share an excerpt from <em><a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250334664/theexecutionersthree/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>The Executioners Three</strong></a></em>, a new young adult horror/mystery by Susan Dennard, publishing with Tor Teen on August 26.</p> <div style="height:5px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>Freddie Gellar didn&#8217;t mean to get half the rival high school arrested. She’d simply heard shrieks coming from the woods, so she’d called the cops like any good human would do. How was she supposed to know it was just kids partying?<br><br>Except the next day, a body is found. And while the local sheriff might call it suicide, Freddie&#8217;s instincts tell her otherwise. So, like the aspiring sleuth (and true <em>X-Files</em> aficionado) she is, Freddie sets out to prove there&#8217;s a murderer at large.<br><br>But her investigation is quickly disrupted by the rivalry between her school and the school of the partying teens she got arrested. For over twenty years, the two student bodies have had an ongoing prank war, and Freddie&#8217;s failed attempt at Good Samaritanism has upped the ante. Worse, the clever—and gorgeous—leader of the rival prank squad has set his sights on Freddie.<br><br>As more pranks unfurl, more bodies also start piling up in the forest. But it&#8217;s the supernatural warning signs around town, each plucked straight from an old forgotten poem called &#8220;The Executioners Three,&#8221; that worry Freddie the most. She knows the poem and its blood curse can’t be real, but she&#8217;s quickly running out of time to prove it.<br><br>Because the murderer—or executioners?—knows she&#8217;s onto them now, and their next target just might be Freddie.</p></blockquote></figure> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <div style="height:20px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <p>Freddie Gellar hadn’t meant to get half the student body of Fortin Prep boarding school arrested. It wasn’t like she’d woken up that morning and thought, <em>You know what? I feel like ruining lives at the rival high</em> <em>school today.</em></p> <p>Not at all. She’d simply heard shrieks coming from the woods near her house, so she’d called the cops. Like any <em>normal </em>human with a <em>normal </em>conscience would do.</p> <p>Freddie stabbed her broom halfheartedly at a swarm of daddy longlegs who’d taken roost on the ladder inside the old schoolhouse. She was supposed to go into the cupola, with its broken bell, and string up fairy lights. </p> <p>But so far, all she’d managed was to open the schoolhouse door, sweep around the benches that would soon get moved outside for the Lumberjack Pageant… and then cough dramatically at the gathered dust and cobwebs on the ladder.</p> <p>The Fête du Bûcheron was in a little over two weeks, and that meant every inch of City-on-the-Berme Village Historique had to be ready for a shindig the locals took Very Seriously Indeed. Every year, the Village was open from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Then, the Village reopened its gates one extra day for the locals to celebrate Halloween.</p> <p>Not only was it a big fundraiser for the Village, but it was also <em>the </em>event of the year for a town that was as insular as it was festive.</p> <p>Which meant it was Freddie’s mom’s most important event of the year. Freddie and a handful of volunteers had already spent the last two weeks helping Mom deck everything in jack-o’-lanterns, scarecrows, and an unseemly number of hay bales. La Maison Authentique du Bûcheron (the Authentic Lumberjack Homestead, which was neither authentic nor a homestead) was now a haunted house, complete with skeletons, mirrors, and hiding places for her stepdad, Steve, in ghost makeup.</p> <p>La Taverne now housed all the necessary accoutrements to sell heaps of hot apple cider and Mrs. Ferris’s famous jams, while La Marché d’Été (the summer market) was all ready for the jack-o’-lantern contest (whoever won that got to put a banner on their house for the entire year).</p> <p>Lastly, two portable toilets had been tucked behind the tavern that didn’t actually sell alcohol. No French placards for those. (<em>Port-A-Potty, </em>it would seem, was not worth translating.)</p> <p>Freddie sighed toward her best friend, Divya, who leaned at the school’s red clapboard entrance with all the cool poise of a runway model. The fall wind had picked up outside, lifting leaves and adding a lovely autumn glow to Divya’s amber skin. It also made Divya shiver while she frantically played Snake on her Nokia.</p> <p>“It just seems,” Divya said now without looking up, “like a really hard mistake to make, Fred. I mean, surely you know what a bunch of rich kids drinking sounds like.”</p> <p>“Not really,” Freddie admitted. “It’s not like <em>I’ve </em>ever been to a party. Have you?”</p> <p>Divya flashed a laser glare—and a sound like digital snake death beeped out. “You know I haven’t. Unless you count our book club meet-ups with Abby and Tom. Those can get pretty rowdy sometimes.”</p> <p>Freddie didn’t count those at all. A drunken teenage party was not the same thing as a spirited discussion of whatever novel Divya had insisted they read. (This month’s selection had been <em>The Notebook, </em>which Freddie had found a little too light on murder for her tastes.)</p> <p>Freddie stabbed more forcefully at this nest of longlegs (or was it a <em>swarm</em>?) blocking her from the schoolhouse bell twelve feet above. She really couldn’t go up there until these were gone. With hair as wild and dark as hers, all those arachnids would get lost in a heartbeat.</p> <p>Divya, meanwhile, slunk into the shadows of the school and notably <em>didn’t </em>offer to help Freddie as she eased onto a bench. After all, it wasn’t <em>her </em>mom who was head of the City-on-the-Berme Historical Society. And no matter how many times Freddie pointed out to Mom that it was illegal to force her daughter to prepare for the fête every year, Mom just laughed and said, “Great. In that case, you can find somewhere else to live.”</p> <section class="wp-block-shop-the-book shop-the-book"> <h2 class="shop-the-book-headline">Buy the Book</h2> <div class="shop-the-book-content"> <figure class="shop-the-book-image-desktop image-cover"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="450" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/The-Executioners-Three.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full" alt="The Executioners Three" /> </figure> <div class="grow shrink basis-0"> <div class="flex items-center"> <figure class="shop-the-book-image-mobile image-cover"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="450" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/The-Executioners-Three.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full" alt="The Executioners Three" /> </figure> <div class="grow shrink basis-0"> <h3 class="shop-the-book-title text-h3">The Executioners Three</h3> <p class="shop-the-book-author">Susan Dennard</p> </div> </div> <button type="button" class="inline-block px-8 py-4 text-center btn tablet:py-3 text-h6 bg-red text-white shop-the-book-button" id="buy_book" data-trigger="modal" data-target="#modal-1753989690" aria-open="false" aria-label="Buy Book"> <span class="inline-flex items-center button-label btn-label"> Buy Book </span> </button> </div> </div> <div id="modal-1753989690" class="shop-the-book-modal"> <div class="shop-the-book-modal-inner"> <button class="js-modal-close absolute top-5 right-5 z-10" type="button" aria-label="close modal"> <svg class="w-[19px] h-[19px]" width="18" height="19" viewbox="0 0 18 19" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-label="close" role="img" aria-hidden="true"> <path d="M1 17L17 1" stroke="black" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" /> <path d="M1 17L17 1" stroke="black" stroke-opacity="0.2" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" /> <path d="M17 17.0809L1 1.08093" stroke="black" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" /> <path d="M17 17.0809L1 1.08093" stroke="black" stroke-opacity="0.2" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" /> </svg> </button> <div class="shop-the-book-modal-content"> <figure class="shop-the-book-modal-image-desktop image-cover"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="450" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/The-Executioners-Three.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full" alt="The Executioners Three" /> </figure> <div class="grow shrink basis-0"> <div class="flex items-center"> <figure class="shop-the-book-modal-image-mobile image-cover"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="450" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/The-Executioners-Three.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full" alt="The Executioners Three" /> </figure> <div class="grow shrink basis-0"> <h3 class="shop-the-book-modal-title">The Executioners Three</h3> <p class="shop-the-book-modal-author">Susan Dennard</p> </div> </div> <p class="shop-the-book-modal-label">Buy this book from:</p> <ul class="not-prose ebook-links ebook-links-shortcode"><li><a class="btn" target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0DF6BS5VX?tag=tordotcomgeneral-20" data-book-title="The Executioners Three" data-book-store="Amazon"><span class="inline-flex items-center button-label text-h6 text-white font-aktiv">Amazon</span></a></li><li><a class="btn" target="_blank" href="https://www.anrdoezrs.net/links/7992675/type/dlg/sid/tordotcomgeneral/https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/9781250334664" data-book-title="The Executioners Three" data-book-store="Barnes and Noble"><span class="inline-flex items-center button-label text-h6 text-white font-aktiv">Barnes and Noble</span></a></li><li><a class="btn" target="_blank" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/isbn9781250334671" data-book-title="The Executioners Three" data-book-store="iBooks"><span class="inline-flex items-center button-label text-h6 text-white font-aktiv">iBooks</span></a></li><li><a class="btn" target="_blank" href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781250334664" data-book-title="The Executioners Three" data-book-store="IndieBound"><span class="inline-flex items-center button-label text-h6 text-white font-aktiv">IndieBound</span></a></li><li><a class="btn" target="_blank" href="https://www.target.com/s?searchTerm=9781250334664" data-book-title="The Executioners Three" data-book-store="Target"><span class="inline-flex items-center button-label text-h6 text-white font-aktiv">Target</span></a></li></ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </section> <p>Although, for all Freddie’s vocal complaints (she was very, <em>very </em>vocal), she secretly loved volunteering here. City-on-the-Berme was her favorite place in the whole world. Part tourist attraction, with its only moderately accurate French logging settlement, and part outdoor center, with the county park trails winding through the forest next door—you couldn’t get more autumn creeptastic than this place.</p> <p>Which was likely why the fête was always the biggest event of the year for locals.</p> <p>And also why Mom always put so much pressure on Freddie to help.</p> <p>Last night, however, things had gone awry. After Freddie had finished helping Mom with the hay bales, she’d left her scarf behind. And seeing as it was her favorite scarf (and therefore crucial for the completion of any fall outfit), she’d set out for the City-on-the-Berme Village Historique on Steve’s rickety bike after dinner.</p> <p>Freddie never made it to the Village—or found her scarf, for that matter. The trail had been dangerously foggy, her headlamp bouncing beams everywhere, and there’d been an awful stench like dead animals in the air. So strong, so overwhelming, that Freddie had actually thought she might gag. </p> <p>It had forced her to stop her bike just so she could cover her mouth and try to breathe. The fog definitely hadn’t helped. Freddie’d had the horrifying sense it was alive and trying to climb inside her.</p> <p>Then a bell had tolled from somewhere in the trees, even though there was only the one bell in City-on-the-Berme (currently over Freddie’s head) and it had no clapper so it <em>couldn’t </em>ring.</p> <p>Freddie had not liked that sound. Nor the way she’d suddenly felt the fog tighten as if solid around her throat.</p> <p>So the instant she had heard frantic shrieking from the woods nearby, she’d needed no urging whatsoever to turn around and pedal straight home again.</p> <p>She had seen enough <em>X-Files </em>and read enough <em>Goosebumps, </em>thank you very much, to know how this sort of story would end.</p> <p>Once home, she’d called the cops. Unfortunately, instead of finding a Person in Distress Being Slowly Dismembered in the old logging forests of City-on-the-Berme, Sheriff Bowman had found an unauthorized bonfire and a lot of underage drinking.</p> <p>Divya kicked her legs onto the bench in front of her. “Look, Fred, I’ll <em>grudgingly </em>accept that neither of us knows much about parties or partying or anything associated with the verb ‘to party,’ but surely you can tell the difference between someone screaming bloody murder and someone screaming for more beer.”</p> <p>“Can I, though?” Freddie asked. “Because it sounded like bloody murder to me. I mean, glass containers aren’t even allowed in City-on-the-Berme, Div.”</p> <p>“Pretty sure the Fortin kids don’t care about that part. They’re also under twenty-one.” Divya gave a low whistle. “Oh boy, I hope they don’t know that it was you who called the cops on them.”</p> <p>Freddie’s stomach flipped. She hadn’t thought of that. “How could they possibly know?”</p> <p>Divya shrugged. “Dunno. But it’s a small town. People talk.”</p> <p>Freddie winced. That phrase—<em>It’s a small town, people talk</em>—might as well have been the town motto for Berm, population 1,321. There were more deer here than people, and if the deer could talk, they probably would too.</p> <p>Freddie’s only possible saving grace was that almost all of the students at Fortin Prep were from out of town, and the one thing Bermians hated more than a disruption to their beloved fête was out-of-towners. They even said it that way—<em>out-of-towners</em>—like it was a dirty word, and tourists were only accepted as long as they didn’t stay for more than a long weekend during the summer.</p> <p>When at last the daddy longlegs were vanquished from the ladder, Freddie retrieved the necessary fairy lights from a box by Divya’s bench. “Thanks for the help,” Freddie said with as much sarcasm as she could muster.</p> <p>“Any time,” Divya murmured, once more playing Snake. “Can we go to the archives now?”</p> <p>“No.” Freddie sniffed. “The agreement was that you’d help me clean up the old schoolhouse, and <em>then </em>I would take you to the archives.”</p> <p>“But my paper is due Monday, Fred.” Divya finally shoved her phone into her pocket. “I can’t wait any longer.”</p> <p>“Well, maybe you should have thought of that before you spent the last ten minutes playing Snake.” Freddie notched her chin high and sashayed away from Divya, a trail of lights dragging over the wooden planks behind her.</p> <p>“I’ll help now.” Divya chased after.</p> <p>“Too late.” Freddie reached the ladder, and with one handful of lights, she lumbered up.</p> <p>“Please, Fred.” Divya hugged at the ladder below and shot dramatic puppy eyes upward. “Just tell me what to do. Pwetty pwease?” She fluttered her lashes. “I can plug in the lights… or… sweep?”</p> <p>“I already swept.” Really, had her bestie been paying any attention? “You’re going to have to get more creative, Madame Srivastava. Think <em>firstborn child </em>or <em>family inheritance. </em>Then I might reconsider.”</p> <p>Freddie reached the top of the ladder. Cold air billowed against her— and the Village Historique spanned beyond. Beautiful, vibe-y, and always right on the edge of falling apart because there never seemed to be enough funding.</p> <p>Straight ahead was the Village Square, soon to be filled with the Lumberjack Pageant stage but currently only filled with hay bales and scarecrows, one of which appeared to be waving, thanks to the wind.</p> <p>“New idea,” Divya called from below. “What if I lend you Lance?”</p> <p><em>Oh, now we’re talking. </em>“Two weeks,” Freddie replied as she unknotted fairy lights. “I want him two weeks.”</p> <p>“One.”</p> <p>“Two or I climb down and leave you stranded.” </p> <p>“Ugh, <em>fine. </em>You can have him for two weeks.”</p> <p><em>Huzzah</em>. Freddie grinned at the bronze bell before her, with its green outer patina. <em>I am so getting the better end of this bargain.</em><em></em></p> <p><em>Creak, creak, </em>the bell agreed, since it had no clapper—meaning when a wind tumbled through the cupola or Freddie wrapped lights around it, the poor thing could only give a sad squeal upon its hinge.</p> <p>Still, that didn’t mean it couldn’t be the bell she’d heard last night… And there was only one way to find out. Freddie grabbed the bell now and shook it.</p> <p><em>Creak, creak, creak, </em>it said in reply.</p> <p>She gave it one more heave, just to be sure…</p> <p><em>Creak,</em><em> creak,</em><em> </em><em>creak.</em><em></em></p> <p>Yep, okay. Freddie could now say with absolute certainty that this was <em>not </em>the bell she’d heard, and if this thing had ever tolled with any dignity, those days were long past.</p> <p>Which was fine. It didn’t need to ring. It was just a replica of the bronze bell over at the Allard Fortin mausoleum anyway. Although, to be honest, the replica was looking pretty rough this year—like maybe the guy Mom had hired to make it hadn’t done a very good job. Once she’d covered the bell in lights like a sad Christmas tree, Freddie scuttled down. She was absolutely freezing now, and truly mourning the loss of her scarf. “I’ll take Lance, please.” She thrust her hand at Divya.</p> <p>Who scowled. Then also obeyed and withdrew the sacred keychain from her pocket. A heartbeat later, the face of Lance Bass gleamed up at Freddie.</p> <p>And Freddie sighed a melty sigh as she accepted Lance’s flawless face. He fit so perfectly in her palm, a tiny slice of boy band magic. Whenever Divya (or Freddie) had it with her, good things happened. <em>Magical </em>things, like finding fifty-dollar bills in the road or repeated Good Hair Days.</p> <p>Freddie blew Lance a kiss, then slipped him into her puffer vest. “Alright,” she declared, chin rising in triumph, “follow me, Madame Srivastava. I shall lead you to the archives!”</p> <p>She marched them out of the schoolhouse. If she twisted slightly, she could see Le Moulin à Eau (the water mill) through a copse of coppery maples. Currently, no paddles spun.</p> <p>South of that was Le Forgeron (the blacksmith), which technically had a working forge… but also <em>technically </em>lacked a working blacksmith to use it. It had been modeled on a smithy that had been in the original City-on-the-Berme in the 1600s—and it was thanks to the blacksmith at the time keeping meticulous journals that Mom had been able to make the replica bell that now lived in the schoolhouse without its clapper.</p> <p>It was toward this storied blacksmith’s hut that Freddie and Divya now aimed. They reached the stream that fed its forge, glittering, burbly, and dark with cold. The sign in front that read <em>Le Forgeron </em>had a fresh streak of bird poop on it. So now it just read <em>Le Forger</em>(splat)<em>.</em></p> <p>Freddie scowled at the poop. She should probably clean it before the fête.</p> <p>She and Divya were just rounding the building so they could embark into the woods when footsteps stomped out. A figure barreled into view. “Hey,” he said.</p> <p>And Freddie’s heart lurched into her throat. Luis Mendez, star athlete and fellow senior at Berm High, had just spoken to her. Even more bizarre, he wasn’t done speaking <em>and </em>he was smiling. “Gellar,” he panted. “Nice to see you.”</p> <p>Then he was past Freddie in a gust of sweaty air.</p> <p>“Um… ” Divya wiggled a pinkie in her ear. “Did Luis Mendez just say your name?”</p> <p>“I think so.” Freddie was as fully stunned as Divya. Every day, the Berm High cross-country team ran the park’s paths. Sometimes they nodded her way, but 99.9999 percent of the time, they ignored her existence.</p> <p>“Gellar!” cried a new voice. Then another and another, and suddenly an entire swarm (or was it a <em>nest</em>?) of boys was charging past. Zach Gilroy and Darius Baker even slung out their hands for high fives.</p> <p>Freddie complied, although she wasn’t entirely sure how. Her brain had basically disconnected from her body, and she could feel her jaw dangling low. In seconds, the entirety of the boys’ team had jogged past. Which meant that any second now, the girls would—</p> <p>“Freddie!” shrieked Carly Zhang as she bounded by. “Nice job!” </p> <p>“Nice job on what?” Freddie tried to ask, but Carly was already gone, and now cheers were rising up as a second stampede of bodies rushed closer.</p> <p>“We have officially entered <em>The X-Files,</em>” Divya said as feet and ponytails thundered past, and Freddie could only nod in agreement. Even the blacksmith’s hut seemed faintly astonished, its wooden exterior creaking on the wind.</p> <p>Then, as fast as the Berm High cross-country teams had appeared, they vanished again. Which wasn’t terribly surprising, given there were only seventeen runners across both teams. Last, because he was always last (except in the jack-o’-lantern contest of ’95), came poor Todd Raskin, ever determined to dominate his asthma through sheer perserverance.</p> <p>“Do you need your inhaler?” Freddie asked as he heaved past. </p> <p>“Nah,” he wheezed. “Thanks, Gellar. And good job!”</p> <p>“I think,” Divya said, slipping her arm back through Freddie’s as they watched Todd tromp away, “that you’re <em>popular </em>now, Freddie. This is… well, monumental, certainly.”</p> <p>“Or just weird.” Despite Freddie’s greatest belief in her own fortitude, her knees were quaking inside her jeans. “Why would everyone like me all of a sudden? I don’t think Carly has talked to me since seventh grade.” </p> <p>“Erm.” Divya’s face scrunched into something almost pained. “I think this means they all know you got the Fortin kids arrested. Which means…” She paused to bite her lip. “Well, the Fortin Prep kids probably know too. After all, Fred, it’s a small town.” </p> <p>Freddie sighed. “And people talk.”</p> <p class="has-text-align-center">* * *</p> <p>Leaves rattled beneath Freddie’s boots as she trekked down one of the many sloping hills in the park that spread beyond the Village. Beneath the leaf litter, mud squicked, and every few steps, water had the audacity to splatter. Good thing Freddie always wore her duck boots in the fall.</p> <p>Divya was not as well prepared. “Are you sure this path is a shortcut?” she asked, ten paces behind Freddie and lagging farther each second. Her feet, clad only in formerly-beige-but-now-mucky-brown Birkenstock clogs, were not faring well—and Divya had made sure to point this out almost every step of the way.</p> <p>“Of course it’s a shortcut.” Freddie laughed as if to say Divya was ridiculous for suspecting otherwise. She did not mention that <em>this path </em>was really just an ephemeral stream that tended to fill with mosquitos in the summer.</p> <p>“We’ve been out here five minutes—”</p> <p>“Oh my god, <em>five minutes</em>.” Freddie made a <em>Home Alone </em>face. “Div, you’re the toughest gal I know. You can handle this trek—I promise. And if your shoes get too muddy, I’ll carry you.”</p> <p>“Oh yeah?” Divya snorted a laugh. Her face was now as rosy as the cross-country team’s. “You mean like that time you carried me to my room after I twisted my ankle? I remember how that ended.”</p> <p>Freddie flipped her hair. “I <em>meant </em>to fall down the stairs, Divya. It’s called <em>comedy</em>.”</p> <p>“And this place is called <em>horror</em>.” Divya shivered. “I mean, we could die out here and no one would know! I don’t have cell service, which is always how slasher movies start—”</p> <p>She broke off as wind burst through the trees. It carried leaves and dust. Freddie’s hair sprayed into her face.</p> <p>Then the wind settled. One breath, two, before a loud creaking split the trees.</p> <p>It was like groaning wood, but subtler. Higher pitched.</p> <p>And cold trickled down Freddie’s neck. She gulped. “Did you hear that, Div?”</p> <p>“The wind?” Divya shivered. “How could I miss it? I should’ve worn my winter coat.”</p> <p>“That’s not it.” Freddie turned toward the sound. It had come from farther down the hill.</p> <p>The creak repeated, shuddering deep into her ear. She knew that sound, and yet she couldn’t pinpoint how.</p> <p>Divya scampered in close, worry pinching her forehead. “What do you hear, Fred?”</p> <p>“Something isn’t right.” As soon as Freddie said that, she knew it was true. Deeply, terrifyingly true.</p> <p>Divya tensed beside her. “Is it your gut?” Like everyone else, she knew that Freddie’s gut was foolproof. Freddie had sensed three tornadoes <em>and </em>a kitchen fire before they’d happened. Plus, she’d known Divya’s cat was dying before anyone else had even sensed Rasputin was acting sluggish.</p> <p>She threw a hard look at Divya. Her best friend’s flush was gone; her lips were pale. “Div,” she said softly, “I think you should go back to the Village, okay? And call the sheriff. She needs to be here.”</p> <p>Somehow, Divya’s face went even whiter. “What about you?” </p> <p>“I’ve got experience with this kind of stuff.”</p> <p>“What kind of stuff? Creepy forests? I’m pretty sure a few weeks riding last summer with Sheriff Bowman does not mean you can waltz through here looking for trouble.”</p> <p>Freddie wasn’t just waltzing. She’d done two summer internships with her hero, Sheriff Rita Bowman, and even though they’d never encountered anything truly horrific, she <em>had </em>learned what to do at a crime scene. “Please, Div. Just go.”</p> <p>“Absolutely not.” Divya took Freddie’s hand in hers.</p> <p>And Freddie swallowed. She did feel safer having Divya there, and she supposed every sheriff needed a deputy. “Come on, then.”</p> <p>They resumed their march, hands held and eyes watering against the wind. The trees blurred. Freddie’s boots kicked up mud and decomposing leaves. She barely noticed. The creaking sound was getting louder. It grated against her skin.</p> <p>Then the forest opened up, and the girls skittered to a stop.</p> <p>Freddie released Divya’s hand. She knew what the sound was now: the groaning of a rope. The gritting of fibers against each other as if a body was being towed downward and swung on the wind.</p> <p>She spun and spun, but there was nothing there. Nothing but raging wind and spraying leaves—</p> <p>A crow cawed. High and just beyond the clearing.</p> <p>Freddie’s gaze lurched up, to a sycamore. To a branch so high, no human could have possibly reached it.</p> <p>Yet someone had.</p> <p>“Divya.” Freddie clutched her stomach. “Cover your eyes. We’re leaving.”</p> <div style="height:5px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <p class="has-sm-font-size">Excerpted from <em>The Executioners Three</em>, copyright © 2025 by Susan Dennard.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://reactormag.com/excerpts-the-executioners-three-by-susan-dennard/">Read an Excerpt From &lt;i&gt;The Executioners Three&lt;/i&gt; by Susan Dennard</a> appeared first on <a href="https://reactormag.com">Reactor</a>.</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/excerpts-the-executioners-three-by-susan-dennard/">https://reactormag.com/excerpts-the-executioners-three-by-susan-dennard/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=819704">https://reactormag.com/?p=819704</a></p>

<p class="syndicationauthor">Posted by Sarah</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/tv-review-star-trek-strange-new-worlds-a-space-adventure-hour/">https://reactormag.com/tv-review-star-trek-strange-new-worlds-a-space-adventure-hour/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=819789">https://reactormag.com/?p=819789</a></p><post-hero class="wp-block-post-hero js-post-hero post-hero post-hero-horizontal"> <div class="container container-desktop"> <div class="flex flex-col mx-auto post-hero-container"> <div class="post-hero-content"> <div class="post-hero-tags font-aktiv text-xs tracking-[0.5px] font-medium uppercase"> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/articles/movies-tv/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Movies &amp; TV 0"> Movies &amp; TV </a> </span> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tag/star-trek-strange-new-worlds/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 1"> Star Trek: Strange New Worlds </a> </span> </div> <h2 class="post-hero-title text-h1">“To go further and bolder than anyone ever before” —  <i>Star Trek: Strange New Worlds</i>: “A Space Adventure Hour”</h2> <div class="prose post-hero-description prose--post-hero">This week’s episode is a brilliant example of what a prequel can do well.</div> <div class="post-hero-wrapper"> <div class="post-hero-inner"> <p class="post-hero-author text-xs font-aktiv uppercase font-medium [&amp;_a]:link-hover">By <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/keith-decandido/" title="Posts by Keith R.A. DeCandido" class="author url fn" rel="author">Keith R.A. DeCandido</a></p> <span class="post-hero-symbol relative top-[-2px] hidden tablet:block">|</span> <p class="text-xs uppercase post-hero-publish font-aktiv"> Published on July 31, 2025 </p> </div> </div> <div class="post-hero-caption post-hero-caption-vertical [&amp;_a]:link"><p>Credit: Marni Grossman / Paramount+</p> </div> <div class="quick-access post-hero-quick-access mt-[17px] tablet:hidden"> <div class="flex gap-[30px] tablet:gap-6"> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tv-review-star-trek-strange-new-worlds-a-space-adventure-hour/#comments" class="flex items-center text-sm font-aktiv tracking-[0.6px] font-semibold uppercase translate-x-[1px] translate-y-[1px]"> <svg class="w-[22px] h-[22px] mr-[7px] icon-hover" viewbox="0 0 18 18" aria-label="comment" role="img" aria-hidden="true" aria-labelledby="icon-comment-quick-access-"> <title id="icon-comment-quick-access-">Comment</title> <g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"> <path fill="#FFF" fill-rule="nonzero" d="M6.3 18a.9.9 0 0 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height="493" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/star-trek-snw-304-space-adventure-hour-1-740x493.jpg" class="w-full object-cover" alt="La&#39;an (Christina Chong) and Spock (Ethan Peck) in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds&#39;s &quot;Space Adventure Hour&quot;" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/star-trek-snw-304-space-adventure-hour-1-740x493.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/star-trek-snw-304-space-adventure-hour-1-1100x733.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/star-trek-snw-304-space-adventure-hour-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/star-trek-snw-304-space-adventure-hour-1.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /> </figure> <div class="post-hero-caption post-hero-caption-horizontal [&amp;_a]:link"><p>Credit: Marni Grossman / Paramount+</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </post-hero> <div class="wp-block-more-from-category"> <div> </div> </div> <p>This week’s <em>Strange New Worlds</em> is a brilliant example of what a prequel can do well.</p> <p>One of the more tiresome complaints about both <em>Discovery</em>’s first two seasons and <em>SNW</em> is that the tech doesn’t look like the tech on the original series, which these are supposed to take place prior to. The problem of course is that, if you remove the warp drive and the transporter, the <em>U.S.S. Enterprise</em> that <a href="https://reactormag.com/columns/star-trek-tos-rewatch/">we saw on TV between 1966 and 1969</a> is less technologically sophisticated than my house.</p> <p>But this is a problem that has dogged the franchise ever since it was revived as a movie series in 1979. Back then, in fanzines and at conventions, a subset of <em>Trek</em> fandom was making <em>the exact same complaints</em> about the technology in <a href="https://reactormag.com/star-trek-the-original-series-rewatch-star-trek-the-motion-picture/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>The Motion Picture</em></a> that a similar subset made in 2017 about <em>Discovery</em>, that it looked way too advanced for being only a couple of years after the five-year mission. For that matter, loud and vociferous were the complaints about the tech in <a href="https://reactormag.com/columns/star-trek-enterprise-rewatch/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Enterprise</em></a> in 2001, this time with the Internet as a bullhorn.</p> <p>And it keeps happening, because the march of technology over the past several decades has outstripped a lot of predictions. (At least part of it is because of the influence <em>Trek</em> itself has had. I mean, c’mon, why do you think most cell phones produced in the first decade of the twenty-first century looked <em>just like</em> communicators from the original series?) In 1987, it looked really futuristic for the cast of <a href="https://reactormag.com/columns/star-trek-the-next-generation-rewatch/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>The Next Generation</em></a> to be using padds, but now it looks quaint for them handing iPads to each other.</p> <p>Also in 1987, the holodeck seemed like far-future technology, but even then it seemed unlikely that it would take four hundred years to perfect that particular tech. And indeed, we seem pretty likely to have the tech for the holodeck a lot sooner than three hundred years from now…</p> <p>And so <em>SNW</em> addresses this issue, while simultaneously addressing two of the biggest holodeck-related complaints that developed over the course of the three twenty-fourth-century spinoffs from 1987-2001.</p> <p>The first of those complaints is how incredibly dangerous the holodeck has proven to be. It started with <em>TNG</em>’s first-season episode “<a href="https://reactormag.com/star-trek-the-next-generation-rewatch-qthe-big-goodbyeq/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Big Goodbye</a>,” where an intense scan by the Jarada made the holodeck go all binky-bonkers and endanger the people inside. This continued throughout <em>TNG </em>(e.g., “<a href="https://reactormag.com/star-trek-the-next-generation-qa-fistful-of-datasq/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">A Fistful of Datas</a>”), <em>DS9</em> (e.g., “<a href="https://reactormag.com/star-trek-deep-space-nine-rewatch-our-man-bashir/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Our Man Bashir</a>”), and <em>Voyager</em> (e.g., “<a href="https://reactormag.com/star-trek-voyager-rewatch-heroes-and-demons/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Heroes and Demons</a>”), and it got <em>real</em> tiresome.</p> <p>“A Space Adventure Hour” addresses this by having the holodeck be new, experimental technology. Scotty has installed it on the <em>Enterprise</em> (Pelia is apparently on shore leave, this week’s excuse for not paying for a Carol Kane guest shot) and La’an is tasked with testing it, encouraged to be aggressive and rigorous as possible to make sure that it’s a piece of technology that should be integrated onto starships. The logic is that in the not-too-distant future, starships will be on missions that last even longer than five years, and they will need more elaborate recreation options on board when being far from home for long periods. Which actually makes sense, and is why the holodeck was such a good idea when it was first introduced in the animated episode “<a href="https://reactormag.com/star-trek-the-original-series-rewatch-the-practical-joker/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Practical Joker</a>.” (You thought I was going to say <em>TNG</em>’s “<a href="https://reactormag.com/star-trek-the-next-generation-rewatch-qencounter-at-farpointq/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Encounter at Farpoint</a>,” didn’t you? But the animated series got there first…)</p> <p>And so La’an creates a holodeck adventure based on Emilia Moon, a series of Nancy Drew-esque mysteries originally published in the 1960s that she read as a child. (Though when she goes onto the holodeck in character, her outfit looks more like it was inspired by Carmen Sandiego.) She asks for a mystery that will challenge her, a slip of the tongue that astute viewers will recall also tripped up La Forge in another of <em>TNG</em>’s holodeck misadventures, “<a href="https://reactormag.com/star-trek-the-next-generation-rewatch-qelementary-dear-dataq/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Elementary, Dear Data</a>.” In that second-season episode, La Forge asked the computer for a foe that would challenge Data, rather than one that would challenge the character of Sherlock Holmes. The holodeck responded by creating a sentient holographic being in the form of Daniel Davis’ Professor Moriarty.</p> <p>Similarly, the murder mystery that the computer provides is one that challenges La’an Noonien Singh, security chief of the <em>Enterprise, </em>not Emilia Moon, fictional girl detective.</p> <p>Said murder mystery is the meat of the episode, of course, because the victim is the executive producer of a 1960s science fiction television show, <em>The Last Frontier</em>.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="733" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/star-trek-snw-304-space-adventure-hour-3-1100x733.jpg" alt="La&#39;an (Christina Chong) and Kirk (Paul Wesley) in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds&#39;s &quot;Space Adventure Hour&quot;" class="wp-image-819793" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/star-trek-snw-304-space-adventure-hour-3-1100x733.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/star-trek-snw-304-space-adventure-hour-3-740x493.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/star-trek-snw-304-space-adventure-hour-3-768x512.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/star-trek-snw-304-space-adventure-hour-3.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Marni Grossman / Paramount+</figcaption></figure> <p>Yes, I’ve buried the lede. What is glorious and wonderful about this episode is this hilarious riff on the original <em>Star Trek</em>. The teaser is, in fact, a bit from an episode of <em>The Last Frontier</em>, with Paul Wesley as actor Maxwell Saint, who plays the captain of the <em>U.S.S. Adventure</em> as an overly exaggerated William Shatner.</p> <p>One of the dings against Wesley has been that his Kirk doesn’t feel much like Shatner’s, a complaint I have never agreed with, as he’s matching the more subdued, calm version of Kirk that Shatner played in season one, not the overenuciating, overly mannered, endlessly pausing Shatner that he’d devolved into by season three, and which is what everyone remembers of Shatner’s acting. In the teaser, Wesley shows us that he very much <em>could</em> have Shatner’d the shit out of the role, as he absolutely <em>nails</em> Shatner’s excesses, as well as his head tilts and facial expressions. (This is aided by director Jonathan Frakes doing tricks with the lighting very similar to ones they pulled on the original series to emphasize particular gazes. Frakes was absolutely the perfect choice to direct this one, as he absolutely nails it.)</p> <p>After the delightfully low-budget 1960s-era confrontation between the <em>Adventure</em> and an Agonyan (Kira Guloien, who played the bartender Kelzing in “<a href="https://reactormag.com/tv-review-star-trek-strange-new-worlds-hegemony-part-ii-and-wedding-bell-blues/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wedding Bell Blues</a>”), a goofy-looking alien who wants to steal their brain cells, we cut to the opening credits of <em>The Last Frontier</em>. It starts with Wesley reading a voiceover that feels like someone translated the original series voiceover into French, then into Russian, and then back into English—or just went through and made copious use of thesaurus.com to rewrite it. Points to the show’s magnificent composer Nami Melumad for her delightful riff on the old theme music (complete with soprano voices humming).</p> <p>The reason why the various spinoffs kept going back to doing holodeck shows is because it’s a chance for the actors to play dress-up and pretend to be other people. (<a href="https://reactormag.com/star-trek-the-next-generation-rewatch-qthe-big-goodbyeq/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Crusher in a glorious pink dress from the 1940s</a>! <a href="https://reactormag.com/star-trek-the-next-generation-rewatch-qelementary-dear-dataq/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Worf in a 19th-century suit and tails</a>! <a href="https://reactormag.com/star-trek-deep-space-nine-rewatch-our-man-bashir/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">O’Brien in an eyepatch</a>! <a href="https://reactormag.com/star-trek-deep-space-nine-rewatch-the-way-of-the-warrior/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kira and Dax in Arthurian finery</a>! <a href="https://reactormag.com/star-trek-voyager-rewatch-the-killing-game-part-1/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Janeway in a white tux</a>! <a href="https://reactormag.com/star-trek-voyager-rewatch-bride-of-chaotica/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Paris and Kim in jumpsuits and carrying ray-beam guns</a>!) And, since Scotty uses existing transporter patterns for the physical forms of the characters, we get many of our regulars (and one of our recurring guest stars, since Scotty uses Jim Kirk as one of the templates for reasons the script never bothers to explain) in holo-roles.</p> <p>Part of the fun here is people either putting on or taking off accents. When portraying actor Adelaide Shaw, Jess Bush uses her natural Australian accent while Babs Olusanmokun, portraying Shaw’s boyfriend, puts on a British accent, and Christina Chong puts on an American accent when she’s acting as Moon.</p> <p>And the murder mystery itself revolves around the cast and crew of <em>The Last Frontier</em>, including Anson Mount as the show’s creator T.K. Bellows; Melissa Navia as another actor, Lee Woods; Rebecca Romijn as a studio head who championed the show (an obvious riff on Lucille Ball’s huge role in putting <em>Star Trek</em> on the air back in the day); and Celia Rose Gooding as the agent who happens to represent all three actors.</p> <p>For all that the episode makes fun of a lot of the original series’ goofier aspects, it’s an affectionate satire, emphasized in particular by a speech Gooding gives as the agent talking about how important this show could be for children who want to grow up and go to space and hope for a better future, which is exactly what <em>Star Trek</em> did.</p> <p>In the end, the holodeck winds up drawing too much power away from the ship, plus a coronal mass ejection from the neutron star the <em>Enterprise</em> is studying messes with the holodeck systems, keeping them from communicating with the holodeck or shutting down the program. (The transporter is never mentioned as an option for some reason.) La’an has to finish the mystery and end the program in order for her and Spock to get out—</p> <p>—except the Spock that’s been helping her in this scenario isn’t actually Spock. It’s another holographic character that looks and talks like Spock, and <em>it</em> is responsible for the subsequent murders that have happened since the scenario started.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="733" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/star-trek-snw-304-space-adventure-hour-2-1100x733.jpg" alt="Una (Rebecca Romijn) and Pike (Anson Mount) in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds&#39;s &quot;Space Adventure Hour&quot;" class="wp-image-819792" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/star-trek-snw-304-space-adventure-hour-2-1100x733.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/star-trek-snw-304-space-adventure-hour-2-740x493.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/star-trek-snw-304-space-adventure-hour-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/star-trek-snw-304-space-adventure-hour-2.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Marni Grossman / Paramount+</figcaption></figure> <p>In the end, La’an’s recommendation is that they <em>don’t</em> install holodecks on starships because <em>holy crap</em> are they dangerous. Pike agrees wholeheartedly, given that they almost got eaten by a neutron star because of this malfunction. Scotty points out that they could make the holodeck power systems separate from ship’s systems to avoid some of those problems, which Pike says to put in a footnote in small print in the recommendation.</p> <p>This hits on the second complaint about the holodecks: the ridiculous notion posited in <em>Voyager</em>’s “<a href="https://reactormag.com/star-trek-voyager-rewatch-caretaker/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Caretaker</a>” that holodeck systems are independent of ship’s systems. That was a writer’s trick to enable <em>Voyager</em> to still do holodeck dress-up episodes despite the ship needing to ration power due to being 70,000 light-years from home. And here’s Scotty providing a rationale for it!</p> <p>Best of all, they address these two long-time complaints head-on, establish why holodecks didn’t become ubiquitous until a century later in story time, <em>and</em> still enable them to do an actual holodeck dress-up episode!</p> <p>I really admire the chutzpah and the cleverness of pulling this all off. Plus it’s funny as hell, which is what you want in your comedy episode…</p> <p>There are two other plot points that shouldn’t get lost in the foofuraw of holodecks and <em>Trek</em> parodies and Wesley channeling Shatner, one good, one not so much.</p> <p>The not-so-much one is the final shot. Spock and La’an are continuing their dance lessons, originally begun in “Wedding Bell Blues” to prepare for the upcoming festivities, but which they have been continuing. There has been a certain sparkage between Ethan Peck’s Spock and Chong’s La’an, and that sparkage explodes into a kiss to close the episode.</p> <p><a href="https://reactormag.com/tv-review-star-trek-strange-new-worlds-shuttle-to-kenfori/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Just last week</a> I talked about how much I appreciate that they’re showing us younger versions of the characters we know and love, in particular showing Spock’s evolution from someone who smiled at the musical flowers in “<a href="https://reactormag.com/star-trek-the-original-series-rewatch-qthe-cageq/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Cage</a>”/“<a href="https://reactormag.com/star-trek-the-original-series-the-menagerie-parts-1-2/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Menagerie</a>” to the guy who fully suppressed all emotions by the time the original series rolled around a dozen years of story time later. The trauma of his breakup with Chapel seemed to be setting the stage for that—plus we’re getting very close to the point in the timeline where he would first meet Leila Kalomi from “<a href="https://reactormag.com/star-trek-the-original-series-rewatch-this-side-of-paradise/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">This Side of Paradise</a>.” So adding a thing with La’an just feels like piling on a bit too much. On the other hand, the complications of feelings for three different women (or four, if you toss in T’Pring) might also lead to explaining why Spock went full Vulcan by the time Kirk took over the <em>Enterprise</em>’s center seat. We shall see.</p> <p>Much more interesting is Number One’s conversation at the end with Scotty. First of all, I love that <em>finally</em> this season we’re seeing Commander Chin-Riley actually being the first officer of the ship. Unlike Pike and Spock, we have no idea of what Number One’s future is, and that gives them room to play with the character. We keep being <em>told</em> she’s the best first officer in the fleet (most notably in the episode that highlighted her, “<a href="https://reactormag.com/blinded-by-fear-star-trek-strange-new-worlds-ad-astra-per-aspera/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ad Astra per Aspera</a>,” also perhaps not coincidentally <em>SNW</em>’s best episode to date), so it’s nice to see her actually <em>being</em> that. In this case, she reminds Scotty—who has spent the entire episode trying to fix everything all by himself, aside from a clandestine plea for assistance from Uhura—that he’s part of a <em>team</em>. The reason why the <em>Enterprise</em> functions is because they all work together. Scotty’s own recent history as chronicled in “<a href="https://reactormag.com/here-today-gorn-tomorrow-star-trek-strange-new-worlds-hegemony/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hegemony</a>” when he was the only survivor of a Gorn attack on a ship that was much smaller than <em>Enterprise</em> comes into play here. He was more autonomous there out of necessity, but that’s not the case here, and Number One has to remind him of that. It’s a fantastic scene, one that shows off Number One’s talents as first officer and Romijn’s talents as an actor, both of which have been criminally underused prior to this season.</p> <p>One last thing, regarding last week’s episode: I totally missed that the name of the planet (and the title of the episode) was a pun. One of the lead actors in George Romero’s <em>Dawn of the Dead</em> (one of the great zombie movies) was named <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0286010/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_6_nm_2_in_0_q_ken%2520foree" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ken Foree</a>, which is where they got the name Kenfori. Bravo, folks.[end-mark]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://reactormag.com/tv-review-star-trek-strange-new-worlds-a-space-adventure-hour/">“To go further and bolder than anyone ever before” —  &lt;i&gt;Star Trek: Strange New Worlds&lt;/i&gt;: “A Space Adventure Hour”</a> appeared first on <a href="https://reactormag.com">Reactor</a>.</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/tv-review-star-trek-strange-new-worlds-a-space-adventure-hour/">https://reactormag.com/tv-review-star-trek-strange-new-worlds-a-space-adventure-hour/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=819789">https://reactormag.com/?p=819789</a></p>

<p class="syndicationauthor">Posted by Leah Schnelbach</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/the-joys-of-murderbot-and-sanctuary-moon/">https://reactormag.com/the-joys-of-murderbot-and-sanctuary-moon/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=819491">https://reactormag.com/?p=819491</a></p><post-hero class="wp-block-post-hero js-post-hero post-hero post-hero-horizontal"> <div class="container container-desktop"> <div class="flex flex-col mx-auto post-hero-container"> <div class="post-hero-content"> <div class="post-hero-tags font-aktiv text-xs tracking-[0.5px] font-medium uppercase"> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/articles/featured-essays/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Featured Essays 0"> Featured Essays </a> </span> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tag/murderbot/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Murderbot 1"> Murderbot </a> </span> </div> <h2 class="post-hero-title text-h1">Premium Quality Entertainment: The Joys of <i>Murderbot</i> and <i>Sanctuary Moon</i></h2> <div class="prose post-hero-description prose--post-hero">You can only find Murderbot by looking for what it loves.</div> <div class="post-hero-wrapper"> <div class="post-hero-inner"> <p class="post-hero-author text-xs font-aktiv uppercase font-medium [&amp;_a]:link-hover">By <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/leah-schnelbach/" title="Posts by Leah Schnelbach" class="author url fn" rel="author">Leah Schnelbach</a></p> <span class="post-hero-symbol relative top-[-2px] hidden tablet:block">|</span> <p class="text-xs uppercase post-hero-publish font-aktiv"> Published on July 31, 2025 </p> </div> </div> <div class="quick-access post-hero-quick-access mt-[17px] tablet:hidden"> <div class="flex 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11.7513C4.78371 10.1926 2.89605 9.41364 0.678713 9.41431V6.41431C2.21205 6.41431 3.64538 6.70197 4.97871 7.27731C6.31205 7.85264 7.47471 8.63597 8.46671 9.62731C9.45805 10.6186 10.2414 11.781 10.8167 13.1143C11.392 14.4476 11.6794 15.881 11.6787 17.4143H8.67871Z" fill="currentColor" fill-opacity="0.2" /> </g> <defs> <clippath id="clip0_1051_121783"> <rect width="17" height="17" fill="white" transform="translate(0.678711 0.414307)" /> </clippath> </defs> </svg> </a> </li> </ul> </div> </details> </div> </div> </div> <div class="post-hero-media "> <figure class="w-full h-auto post-hero-image"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="309" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Murderbot_Photo_010110-740x309.jpeg" class="w-full object-cover" alt="The incredible title screen of The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon." srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Murderbot_Photo_010110-740x309.jpeg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Murderbot_Photo_010110-1100x460.jpeg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Murderbot_Photo_010110-768x321.jpeg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Murderbot_Photo_010110-1536x642.jpeg 1536w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Murderbot_Photo_010110.jpeg 2000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /> </figure> </div> </div> </div> </post-hero> <div class="wp-block-more-from-category"> <div> </div> </div> <p>I’m about to get serious and annoying about Murderbot and its love of media again. I’ve talked about this before, right after I read <em>Network Effect </em>and had so many pesky emotions that I essayed about it. You <a href="https://reactormag.com/hugo-spotlight-network-effect-by-martha-wells/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">can read that here</a>, but warning that it covers the first four books in Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries series, so it’s got more spoilers than <em>Sanctuary Moon </em>has unrealistic plot twists.</p> <p>But, look. I <em>love</em> these books, and I <em>love</em> this show, and I want to dig into how the show has chosen to use Murderbot’s serial watching habits. And I’m going to be serious and annoying about it. So first I want to give myself, and you, person who’s reading this (thank you, by the way), space to yell about <em>how freaking fun Sanctuary Moon is</em>.</p> <p>IT’S SO FUN. </p> <p>From the books, I imagined <em>Sanctuary Moon</em> as kind of <em>Star Trek</em>-meets-<em>Law &amp; Order</em>, with utilitarian lighting, over-the-top music cues, and questionable acting. I love how series creators Paul and Chris Weitz transformed it into a candy-colored fantasia—and the acting <em>is</em> questionable, but in the best way possible. I haven’t had a custom ringtone for a very long time (to give you an idea, the last one I had was <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZSOTXCMq1c" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">this <em>Mighty Boosh </em>song</a>) but if I could hear Jack McBrayer say “<em>Stars</em>, Captain!” every time my phone rings, I might leave the sound on. </p> <p>I need to take a second to meditate upon the charisma of John Cho. There’s scene where his Captain Hossein and DeWanda Wise’s NavBot are stranded together, and he flirts with her, and by the end of their scene I wanted an entire romcom with these two. I love it when people commit to the bit, and goddamn did everyone commit here. (For more John Cho, watch <em>Columbus</em>. It’s one of the best movies of the decade, and I think it’s on Tubi right now.)</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="460" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/murderbot-commandfeed2-1100x460.jpeg" alt="The opening scene of an episode of The Rise and Fall of Santuary Moon in Murderbot&#39;s &quot;Command Feed&quot;" class="wp-image-816280" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/murderbot-commandfeed2-1100x460.jpeg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/murderbot-commandfeed2-740x310.jpeg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/murderbot-commandfeed2-768x321.jpeg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/murderbot-commandfeed2-1536x643.jpeg 1536w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/murderbot-commandfeed2-2048x857.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Image: Apple TV+</figcaption></figure> <p>The Weitzes gave <em>Sanctuary Moon</em> a theme song that’s both a ridiculous standalone and an important plot point. They give us just enough of this show that we can enter into the silliness of it, and then use it as a counterpoint, a commentary, and at times, almost a sacred artifact. Likewise, the brief scenes of <em>STRIFE IN THE GALAXY</em>, which I can only write in CAPSLOCK, act as a hilarious window into Murderbot’s life. If this is the only exposure most humans get to SecUnits, no wonder their interactions are tense. I do also love the implication that humans are making melodramas about SecUnit autonomy and rights, where they’re literally monologuing while torn in half, but then still treating them like shit in real life.</p> <p>The adaptation balances the humor perfectly. While <em>The Rise &amp; Fall of Sanctuary Moon </em>seems kind of silly, and Murderbot’s obsessive love of the show is gently teased occasionally, the <em>Murderbot</em> series itself never mocks that love. The writers balance the fact that Murderbot is maybe a little too obsessed with a strong argument that the SecUnit is correct to love <em>Sanctuary Moon</em>—often in the same scene.</p> <p><em>Sanctuary Moon </em>itself is used as a litmus test—most characters who mention it think it’s garbage, but Ratthi, Pin-Lee, and one of the GrayCris team have all clearly watched a <em>lot</em> of it, whether they want to admit that or not. Meanwhile Mensah, the GrayCris leader, and Gurathin (<em>obviously</em>), react to it like it’s radioactive. This makes for the fun running gag of Murderbot defending it as “premium quality entertainment”—it’s <em>really</em> not—but also for a few really touching moments that I’ll dig into below. As in the book, when the PresAux team finds out that Murderbot is a free agent, they’re freaked the hell out. Murderbot refers to this as an “oh shit” moment—a term its gotten from its media habit—but even as it’s processing this moment, the team’s sudden fear of their SecUnit is undercut with confusion because of its love of serials. Ratthi (<em>obviously</em>) is the one who steps up to test Murderbot’s knowledge; the <em><em>Sanctuary Moon</em> </em>plot point he mentions is even more convoluted than the one in Wells’ book, and both Ratthi and Pin-Lee are excited that Murderbot recognizes such a deep cut from the show.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="530" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/MB-and-Media-6-1100x530.jpg" alt="Ratthie (Akshay Khanna) quizzes Murderbot on its knowledge of The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon." class="wp-image-819570" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/MB-and-Media-6-1100x530.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/MB-and-Media-6-740x356.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/MB-and-Media-6-768x370.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/MB-and-Media-6-1536x740.jpg 1536w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/MB-and-Media-6.jpg 1973w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Apple TV+</figcaption></figure> <p>Murderbot uses <em>Sanctuary Moon</em> repeatedly in its job, in a way that landed harder for me in the show than it even did in the books. When it quotes lines from the show to calm Arada during the Tooth-Monster attack, we also get to see two absurdly costumed actors over-emote their way through a scene. (“What planet are you from???” “A little place&#8230; called&#8230; Sanctuary&#8230; Moon&#8230;”) The fact that Murderbot took this cheeseball dialogue and used it unironically to coax Arada through her shock is, honestly, moving. I find it all the more touching because sweet, pure, serious-minded Arada probably hasn’t watched the show. (I get clear “I don’t even own a TV” vibes from her.) For her, these were sincere questions coming from a kind person during a crisis. For Murderbot, it was a useful example of how humans talk to each other when one of them might be bleeding to death.</p> <p>After the success with Arada, Murderbot goes back to the <em><em>Sanctuary Moon</em> </em>well several times. It borrows two different plot points from a character named Lieutenant Kogi, first as it tries to deal with the tragedy at DeltFall, and later when it confronts GrayCris. Neither of these plot points work perfectly, but they’re better than nothing.</p> <p>When a rogue SecUnit tries to implant an override in Murderbot’s governor module it sings the <em>Sanctuary Moon </em>theme song as a distraction, which actually buys it a few precious seconds of reboot time. (And how sweet is it that even when most of its systems are offline, it can still remember that theme song?)</p> <p>And most directly, when Murderbot finds itself outmatched during a battle, it downloads its entire media library into another Unit’s mind, until its enemy’s head explodes. Which gives you some idea of how many seasons our perfect Murderbot is lugging around with it—but I mean you never know when you’ll need to marathon something.</p> <p>But unsurprisingly, my favorite examples are far more emotional than utilitarian.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="487" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/MB-and-Media-4-1100x487.jpg" alt="Murderbot (Alexander Skarsgård) and Dr. Mensah (Noma Dumezwani) watch a soothing episode of Sanctuary Moon together." class="wp-image-819569" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/MB-and-Media-4-1100x487.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/MB-and-Media-4-740x328.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/MB-and-Media-4-768x340.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/MB-and-Media-4-1536x680.jpg 1536w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/MB-and-Media-4.jpg 2000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Apple TV+</figcaption></figure> <p>When Murderbot begins to actually like Dr. Mensah, it expresses this to itself by imagining her as the captain of the ship on <em><em>Sanctuary Moon</em></em>, casting itself as a loyal-but-bumbling crewmember. And when it saves Gurathin and the team by shooting Leebeebee, it’s shocked to find that the pacifists of PresAux are horrified—but it expresses this shock not by dismissing them as overemotional humans, but by being hurt and confused because characters on serials are always grateful when villains are dispatched. </p> <p>In <em>All Systems Red</em>, Dr. Mensah is shown to be an extremely competent, thoughtful leader, constantly breaking off into backchannel strategy sessions with SecUnit. As the books go on and Murderbot gets to know her better, the character gains more layers, but it takes a while to get there. Here, the show dives in and gives us a Mensah who is blisteringly intelligent and competent, yes, but who is a real person dealing with terrible pressure. Back home, some members of Preservation Alliance are flirting with the idea of joining Corporation Rim, and the only way to ensure their autonomy, and make enough money to stay competitive, is to deal with the capitalistic nightmare that is Corporation Rim. So it isn’t even just the basic stress of Mensah having to put her Presidency on pause to stay up-to-date in her academic work (it’s a very cool rule)—she also has to prove herself as a world leader in a precarious moment.</p> <p>(I’m assuming the pro-Corporation Rim factions will become more of a plot point if the show gets enough seasons.)</p> <p>(Please get enough seasons, show. I need 2,797 episodes of this.)</p> <p>Mensah occasionally messes up, and she has overwhelming panic attacks that she secretly fears are heart attacks. Initially, Murderbot notes these attacks and dismisses them as not its problem. But when the two are stranded together with a damaged hopper because of a GrayCris assassination attempt, Murderbot’s media obsession becomes the crux of an episode in a fascinating way.  </p> <p>First, the bad: Murderbot deleted its copy of the hopper manual, thus stranding itself and Mensah with no way to repair the only transportation they have. This is made worse when they realize that GrayCris is trying to kill them all, and the team back at the habitat are also in mortal danger—and there’s no way to even warn them, let alone get back to them. And this is made <em>even worse </em>when Murderbot admits it deleted the manual from its data banks to make room for more seasons of <em>Sanctuary Moon</em>. But the good is soon revealed as well. Mensah has another panic attack.</p> <p>Rather than ignoring her condition, Murderbot sits with her, and helps her in a way that would only occur to it: it hits play on <em>Sanctuary Moon</em>. At first, Mensah’s pissed and frustrated, but as Murderbot explains the episode, she’s distracted enough that her symptoms get a little better almost immediately. Again we get to hear Murderbot sing the theme song, but not in a tactical way. It sings the song—quietly, to itself—because the song makes it happy.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="587" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/MB-and-Media-1-1100x587.jpg" alt="Dr. Mensah (Noma Dumezwani) watches Murderbot (Alexander Skarsgård) sing along with the Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon theme song." class="wp-image-819567" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/MB-and-Media-1-1100x587.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/MB-and-Media-1-740x395.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/MB-and-Media-1-768x410.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/MB-and-Media-1-1536x819.jpg 1536w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/MB-and-Media-1.jpg 1800w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Apple TV+</figcaption></figure> <p>If I had to pick one favorite moment from the entire season—well, it would probably be one of Murderbot’s micro-expressions or Gurathin smiling, but way up in the Top Five is Mensah’s expression as she turns and watches Murderbot sing. The show has only existed for a few months and I don’t <em>know</em> how many times I’ve replayed that moment in my head. I know it’s a large number. We soon learn that this episode of <em>Sanctuary Moon </em>features a pivotal meditative breathing exercise, and we watch Murderbot “breathe” along with the characters on the screen, even though it doesn’t need to breathe at all. Mensah, also seeing this, joins in. After a moment, her heart rate has slowed and her panic has ebbed.</p> <p>Even though Mensah thinks the show is terrible, she acknowledges that the premise of the episode (a character&#8217;s adoptive parents are from a species with a shorter life cycle than their own, and they&#8217;re dying now—which is admittedly a <em>great</em> premise) is sad, prompting Murderbot to agree. Even though she doesn’t value this thing as art, it still helps her to sit with her friend and breathe—and her friend is only able to do this through the format of the show. Murderbot wouldn’t know to use this technique for her without its favorite show. And Mensah most likely wouldn’t have listened to Murderbot if it had simply told her to breathe—she needed to witness the SecUnit empathizing with characters on its show. The balm of <em>Sanctuary Moon</em> gives Mensah enough mental space to help when Murderbot collapses from a loss of fluids, which in turn gives the SecUnit an idea to fix the hopper and get them back to the habitat in time to save the team.</p> <p>In the very next episode, we come to an astonishing scene where Gurathin refuses painkillers during an operation. The others protest, but he knows that this might trigger a relapse into his old addictions, and he can’t risk that. Murderbot and Gurathin have the same thought at the same moment: if it links to Gurathin’s data port, it can block the pain from his central nervous system. But where Gura’s thinking of this because he’s good at problem-solving (and also maybe he sees a chance to root around in SecUnit’s mind) Murderbot gets the idea from a show. When Mensah asks if it saw this on <em>Sanctuary Moon </em>it huffily says no&#8230; only to reveal in its inner monologue that it got the idea from a different show, <em>MedCenter Argala</em>. (But they’re known for their accuracy!)</p> <p>This scene is one of those precise, razor’s edge moments in art that makes my brain sing. First of all, Gurathin’s insistence on not using <em>any</em> drugs, even in this situation, is heartbreaking. (There’s a similar scene in David Foster Wallace’s <em>Infinite Jest</em>, and just <em>thinking</em> about that makes me cry, so this, uhhhh, <em>did stuff to me</em>.) But the scene only starts there. It flashes to a surprising moment of communication between Murderbot and Gurathin, and rests there only a moment before veering into comedy with the <em>MedCenter Argala </em>reveal (Maybe the hardest I laughed all season? Why the hell isn’t Skarsgard up for an Emmy?) only to then crater into Murderbot inadvertently revealing Gurathin’s unrequited love for Mensah, and THEN Gurathin not only dredging up Murderbot’s rawest memory, but <em>also</em> telling everyone its private name for itself.</p> <p>Was that Gurathin’s plan from the start, even through the haze of pain? Or did he understand what Murderbot just revealed to everyone, and lashed out in retaliation? &nbsp;</p> <p>This scene that starts as this achingly sweet moment of the whole team coming together to help Gurathin, and of Murderbot helping in a way only it can, becomes instead a scene where the two most vulnerable members of the team have their deepest secrets put on display, against their wills.</p> <p>And it all hinges on <em>MedCenter Argala</em>—the only reason Murderbot has the idea for the neural block in the first place.</p> <p>And finally, and maybe most important, Murderbot’s media is revealed to be the core of its selfhood in a scene that riffs on events from the fifth book in the series, <em>Network Effect</em>.</p> <p>When Murderbot’s memories are wiped, it loses all of its experiences with PresAux, along with its media library. It’s returned to factory settings. Now, in a different kind of show, it would be a memory of Mensah, or Ratthi saying “Seccy!” or even of Gurathin being a dick that would bring its personality back. But <em>Murderbot</em> isn’t going to hold our hands like that.</p> <p>When Gurathin blackmails his old dealer into giving him access to the Company’s data, he does a search for recently wiped SecUnits, and he searches for the words “Preservation Alliance”. Those searches yield nothing, and for a second he sits thinking while his dealer insists his attempts are futile anyway. He’s more aware than any of his friends of the hopelessness their situation. And then he realizes what he should try. &nbsp;</p> <p>Typing in “The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon” gives him a whole screen of files, plus the image of their beloved Murderbot. And what does GuGu do? He downloads <em>all of it</em>, even the show he hates, to make sure they’re able to reconstruct their friend.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="508" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/MB-and-Media-8-1100x508.jpg" alt="Dr. Gurathin (David Dastmalchian) searches for Murderbot in a Corporation Rim database." class="wp-image-819571" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/MB-and-Media-8-1100x508.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/MB-and-Media-8-740x342.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/MB-and-Media-8-768x355.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/MB-and-Media-8-1536x709.jpg 1536w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/MB-and-Media-8-2048x945.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Apple TV+</figcaption></figure> <p>This is what makes the ending land so hard for me. Murderbot and Gurathin have been inside each others’ minds, multiple times, for multiple reasons. They both betrayed each other terribly. Murderbot saved Gura from Leebeebee, and, later, from horrific pain during surgery. Gurathin held all of Murderbot inside of his own mind, at great physical risk, in order to rescue it. The two of them now know each other better than anyone else knows them. And it’s Gurathin, the one who initially thought that Murderbot couldn’t <em>possibly</em> be watching all those shows, who understands that the way to rescue it from the Corporation is to search for what it loves. </p> <p>In the end, he&#8217;s also the one who understands better than anyone why Murderbot needs to leave at the end, because despite what the PresAux team believes, sometimes you <em>can’t</em> always talk about your trauma. At least, not right away.</p> <p>Sometimes you need to sit with premium quality entertainment for a while.</p> <p>In the very last moments of the show, Murderbot plays a role it&#8217;s seen many times in its media, pretending to be a “happy servant bot” like one from a serial to hitch a ride with a transport. It uses its media files to barter for a ride, because with the right person/bot, that show you love can be currency. And assuming that season two follows the plot of Martha Wells&#8217; books, we have a lot more media, and ART, to look forward to.[end-mark]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://reactormag.com/the-joys-of-murderbot-and-sanctuary-moon/">Premium Quality Entertainment: The Joys of &lt;i&gt;Murderbot&lt;/i&gt; and &lt;i&gt;Sanctuary Moon&lt;/i&gt;</a> appeared first on <a href="https://reactormag.com">Reactor</a>.</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/the-joys-of-murderbot-and-sanctuary-moon/">https://reactormag.com/the-joys-of-murderbot-and-sanctuary-moon/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=819491">https://reactormag.com/?p=819491</a></p>

<p class="syndicationauthor">Posted by Molly Templeton</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-revival-slayer-details/">https://reactormag.com/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-revival-slayer-details/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=819782">https://reactormag.com/?p=819782</a></p><post-hero class="wp-block-post-hero js-post-hero post-hero post-hero-horizontal"> <div class="container container-desktop"> <div class="flex flex-col mx-auto post-hero-container"> <div class="post-hero-content"> <div class="post-hero-tags font-aktiv text-xs tracking-[0.5px] font-medium uppercase"> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/articles/news/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag News 0"> News </a> </span> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tag/buffy-the-vampire-slayer/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Buffy the Vampire Slayer 1"> Buffy the Vampire Slayer </a> </span> </div> <h2 class="post-hero-title text-h1"><i>Buffy</i> Revival Reveals New Slayer’s Name and Love Interest</h2> <div class="prose post-hero-description prose--post-hero">But will she go to Buffy for advice? Is that a good idea?</div> <div class="post-hero-wrapper"> <div class="post-hero-inner"> <p class="post-hero-author text-xs font-aktiv uppercase font-medium [&amp;_a]:link-hover">By <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/molly-templeton/" title="Posts by Molly Templeton" class="author url fn" rel="author">Molly Templeton</a></p> <span class="post-hero-symbol relative top-[-2px] hidden tablet:block">|</span> <p class="text-xs uppercase post-hero-publish font-aktiv"> Published on July 31, 2025 </p> </div> </div> <div class="post-hero-caption post-hero-caption-vertical [&amp;_a]:link"><p>Screenshot: Lucasfilm</p> </div> <div class="quick-access post-hero-quick-access mt-[17px] tablet:hidden"> <div class="flex gap-[30px] tablet:gap-6"> <a href="https://reactormag.com/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-revival-slayer-details/#comments" class="flex items-center text-sm font-aktiv tracking-[0.6px] font-semibold uppercase translate-x-[1px] translate-y-[1px]"> <svg class="w-[22px] h-[22px] mr-[7px] 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class="wp-block-more-from-category"> <div> </div> </div> <p>Details about the <em>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</em> revival series are about as rare as a vampire with a soul, but a few more kernels of intel just came through in a new casting announcement. The new slayer, played by Ryan Kiera Armstrong (<em>Skeleton Crew</em>, pictured above), is described in a single phrase—but it&#8217;s enough to tell us she&#8217;s quite different from Buffy.</p> <p>Armstrong plays &#8220;an introverted high-school student named Nova,&#8221; <a href="https://deadline.com/2025/07/buffy-reboot-kingston-vernes-cast-hulu-pilot-1236474553/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to Deadline</a>. Her crush (probably unworthy, if slayer taste is passed down along with fighting skill) is a fellow names Carson, who will be played by Kingston Vernes. He&#8217;s &#8220;a Junior Olympian and popular student at New Sunnydale Academy&#8221; who notices Nova &#8220;after a life-changing event.&#8221;</p> <p>A jock? Our girl has a crush on a <em>jock</em>? My commentary about slayer taste in boys stands. </p> <p>The words &#8220;New Sunnydale Academy&#8221; raise more some questions. Sunnydale <em>fell into the earth</em>. Did they just rebuild the whole town on so much demonic landfill? That would explain a certain amount of supernatural activity, I suppose. But also: Academy? Is it a private school? Does it have enough books? I mean, of the right sort?</p> <p>Anyway. Vernes has had a few roles in film and TV, including in <em>The Survivor</em> and <em>So Cold the River</em>. He joins <a href="https://reactormag.com/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-revival-cast/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">previously announced series regulars</a> Faly Rakotohavana, Ava Jean, Sarah Bock, Daniel Di Tomasso, and Jack Cutmore-Scott. Notably, no details about their characters have been forthcoming. Sarah Michelle Gellar is a producer on the series and will appear as Buffy.</p> <p>Chloé Zhao (<em>Nomadland</em>) is directing the pilot episode, which is written by showrunners Nora and Lilla Zuckerman. Hulu has so far only ordered a pilot, but Deadline notes that &#8220;a writers room is opening to work on additional scripts, with a March start eyed if the pilot is picked up to series.&#8221;</p> <p>Cross your fingers and toes, and give Mr. Pointy a kiss for good luck.[end-mark]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://reactormag.com/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-revival-slayer-details/">&lt;i&gt;Buffy&lt;/i&gt; Revival Reveals New Slayer’s Name and Love Interest</a> appeared first on <a href="https://reactormag.com">Reactor</a>.</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-revival-slayer-details/">https://reactormag.com/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-revival-slayer-details/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=819782">https://reactormag.com/?p=819782</a></p>

<p class="syndicationauthor">Posted by Vanessa Armstrong</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/fantastic-four-post-credits-scene-explain-thunderbolts/">https://reactormag.com/fantastic-four-post-credits-scene-explain-thunderbolts/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=819751">https://reactormag.com/?p=819751</a></p><post-hero class="wp-block-post-hero js-post-hero post-hero post-hero-horizontal"> <div class="container container-desktop"> <div class="flex flex-col mx-auto post-hero-container"> <div class="post-hero-content"> <div class="post-hero-tags font-aktiv text-xs tracking-[0.5px] font-medium uppercase"> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/articles/news/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag News 0"> News </a> </span> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tag/the-fantastic-four-first-steps/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag The Fantastic Four: First Steps 1"> The Fantastic Four: First Steps </a> </span> </div> <h2 class="post-hero-title text-h1">Why <i>Fantastic Four</i>’s Post-Credits Scene Doesn’t Explain that <i>Thunderbolts*</i> Tease</h2> <div class="prose post-hero-description prose--post-hero">It turns out the post-credits scenes in The Fantastic Four and Thunderbolts* came from the same directors.</div> <div class="post-hero-wrapper"> <div class="post-hero-inner"> <p class="post-hero-author text-xs font-aktiv uppercase font-medium [&amp;_a]:link-hover">By <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/vanessa-armstrong/" title="Posts by Vanessa Armstrong" class="author url fn" rel="author">Vanessa Armstrong</a></p> <span class="post-hero-symbol relative top-[-2px] hidden tablet:block">|</span> <p class="text-xs uppercase post-hero-publish font-aktiv"> Published on July 30, 2025 </p> </div> </div> <div class="post-hero-caption post-hero-caption-vertical [&amp;_a]:link"><p>Screenshot: Marvel Studios</p> </div> <div class="quick-access post-hero-quick-access mt-[17px] tablet:hidden"> <div class="flex gap-[30px] tablet:gap-6"> <a href="https://reactormag.com/fantastic-four-post-credits-scene-explain-thunderbolts/#comments" class="flex items-center text-sm font-aktiv tracking-[0.6px] font-semibold uppercase translate-x-[1px] translate-y-[1px]"> <svg class="w-[22px] h-[22px] mr-[7px] icon-hover" viewbox="0 0 18 18" aria-label="comment" role="img" aria-hidden="true" aria-labelledby="icon-comment-quick-access-"> <title id="icon-comment-quick-access-">Comment</title> <g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"> <path fill="#FFF" fill-rule="nonzero" d="M6.3 18a.9.9 0 0 1-.9-.9v-2.7H1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 0 12.6V1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 1.8 0h14.4A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 18 1.8v10.8a1.8 1.8 0 0 1-1.8 1.8h-5.49l-3.33 3.339a.917.917 0 0 1-.63.261H6.3Z" /> <path stroke="#000" d="M5.9 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srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/pedro-pascal-first-steps-740x493.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/pedro-pascal-first-steps-1100x733.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/pedro-pascal-first-steps-768x512.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/pedro-pascal-first-steps.jpg 1500w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /> </figure> <div class="post-hero-caption post-hero-caption-horizontal [&amp;_a]:link"><p>Screenshot: Marvel Studios</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </post-hero> <div class="wp-block-more-from-category"> <div> </div> </div> <p><strong><em>Warning: This post contains spoilers for Fantastic Four: First Steps and </em>Thunderbolts*.</strong></p> <p><em><a href="https://reactormag.com/are-the-fantastic-four-leading-a-planet-wide-cult-in-their-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Fantastic Four: First Steps</a></em> takes place in a different version of Earth in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, specifically Earth-828 rather than the Earth-616 we’ve come to know and maybe love from the several dozen MCU films that came before it. That’s why <a href="https://reactormag.com/thunderbolts-marvel-movie-review/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the post-credits scene from <em>Thunderbolts*</em></a> , where we see The Fantastic Four land on Earth-616, stirred up excitement for many a Marvel fan. Sue Storm, Reed Richards, Ben Grimm, and Johnny Storm will officially interact with other MCU characters!</p> <p>That post-credits scene, however, confused those who were expecting to see The Fantastic Four jump Earths in the post-credits scene for <em>First Steps</em>. Instead of some multiverse hopping, we see the back of Robert Downey Jr.’s head, mask in hand, as he bends over a four-year-old Franklin Richards, Sue and Reed’s son. Intriguing scene? Yes. But not something that really ties in well with what we saw in <em>Thunderbolts*</em>.</p> <p>So is the <em>Thunderbolts*</em> post-credits scene a hint at what&#8217;s to come in <em>Avengers: Doomsday</em> or another MCU film? Perhaps, but the behind-the-scenes situation sounds a bit more complicated. In an interview with <em><a href="https://www.cinemablend.com/interviews/why-thunderbolts-end-credits-scene-doesnt-line-up-end-fantastic-four-first-steps" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cinemablend</a></em>, <em>Fantastic Four</em> director Matt Shakman explained why his film didn’t line up with the post-credit scene that came before it.</p> <p>“The <em>Thunderbolts*</em> end credit scene was also created, you know, relatively late in my process too, so that was not something that I was familiar with because it hadn’t been created at the time that I was working on my script,” he said, adding that the creation of the MCU is like a relay race, where directors pass the baton.</p> <p>In this case, it turns out the post-credits scenes for both <em>Thunderbolts*</em> and <em>The Fantastic Four</em> were <a href="https://ew.com/the-fantastic-four-first-steps-post-credits-scene-explained-11778070" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">directed by the Russo Brothers</a>, who are helming <em>Avengers: Doomsday</em>. How those two scenes connect to <em>Doomsday</em>, it seems, is a question for the Russo Brothers. Unsurprisingly, they’re being tight-lipped about the whole thing, though they did confirm in an interview on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Umsyc7SWdVE&amp;feature=youtu.be" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Phase Hero</em> podcast</a> that that was, indeed, the back of Downey’s head and not a stand-in.</p> <p>We’ll get to see Downey’s face (presumably) <a href="https://reactormag.com/marvel-is-announcing-the-cast-of-avengers-doomsday-in-the-most-annoying-way-possible/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">and lots and lots of other MCU actors</a> when <em>Avengers: Doomsday </em>hits theaters on December 18, 2026. [end-mark]</p> <p></p> <p>The post <a href="https://reactormag.com/fantastic-four-post-credits-scene-explain-thunderbolts/">Why &lt;i&gt;Fantastic Four&lt;/i&gt;’s Post-Credits Scene Doesn’t Explain that &lt;i&gt;Thunderbolts*&lt;/i&gt; Tease</a> appeared first on <a href="https://reactormag.com">Reactor</a>.</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/fantastic-four-post-credits-scene-explain-thunderbolts/">https://reactormag.com/fantastic-four-post-credits-scene-explain-thunderbolts/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=819751">https://reactormag.com/?p=819751</a></p>

<p class="syndicationauthor">Posted by Sarah</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/excerpts-house-of-the-beast-by-michelle-wong/">https://reactormag.com/excerpts-house-of-the-beast-by-michelle-wong/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=819603">https://reactormag.com/?p=819603</a></p><post-hero class="wp-block-post-hero js-post-hero post-hero post-hero-vertical"> <div class="container container-desktop"> <div class="flex flex-col mx-auto post-hero-container"> <div class="post-hero-content"> <div class="post-hero-tags font-aktiv text-xs tracking-[0.5px] font-medium uppercase"> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/fictions/excerpts/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Excerpts 0"> Excerpts </a> </span> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tag/dark-fantasy/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Dark Fantasy 1"> Dark Fantasy </a> </span> </div> <h2 class="post-hero-title text-h1">Read an Excerpt From <i>House of the Beast</i> by Michelle Wong</h2> <div class="prose post-hero-description prose--post-hero">An epic dark fantasy of revenge, forbidden magic, and a twisted romance with a mysterious god&#8230;</div> <div class="post-hero-wrapper"> <div class="post-hero-inner"> <p class="post-hero-author text-xs font-aktiv uppercase font-medium [&amp;_a]:link-hover">By <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/michelle-wong/" title="Posts by Michelle Wong" class="author url fn" rel="author">Michelle Wong</a></p> <span class="post-hero-symbol relative top-[-2px] hidden tablet:block">|</span> <p class="text-xs uppercase post-hero-publish font-aktiv"> Published on July 30, 2025 </p> </div> </div> <div class="quick-access post-hero-quick-access mt-[17px] tablet:hidden"> <div 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https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/house-of-the-beast-header-768x422.png 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/house-of-the-beast-header.png 1400w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /> </figure> </div> </div> </div> </post-hero> <div class="wp-block-more-from-category"> <div> </div> </div> <p><em><strong>A young woman strikes a deal with a mischievous and alluring god to seek revenge on her aristocratic family&#8230;</strong></em></p> <p>We&#8217;re thrilled to preview an excerpt from <em><a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/house-of-the-beast-michelle-wong?variant=43441122672674" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">House of the Beast</a></em>, the dark epic fantasy debut <em>The Legend of Korra&nbsp;</em>graphic novel illustrator Michelle Wong—available August 5th from Harper Voyager.</p> <div style="height:5px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>Born out of wedlock and shunned by society, Alma learned to make her peace with solitude, so long as she had her mother by her side. When her mother becomes gravely ill, Alma discovers a clue about her estranged father and writes a message begging for help. Little does she know that she is a bastard of House Avera, one of the four noble families that serve the gods and are imbued with their powers—and her father is a vessel of the Dread Beast, the most frightening god of all, a harbinger of death.<br><br>In a desperate exchange for her mother’s medicine, Alma agrees to sacrifice her left arm to the Beast in a ceremony that will bind her forever to the House and its deity. Regardless, her mother soon passes, leaving Alma trapped inside the Avera’s grand estate, despised by her relatives and nothing but a pawn in her father’s schemes.<br><br>Now vengeance is the only thing that keeps Alma going. That, and the strange connection she has with her god—a monster who is constantly by her side, an eldritch being taking the form of a beautiful prince with starlit hair that only she can see. He tells Alma that she has been chosen to bring change upon their world, and with his help, Alma plots a perilous journey to destroy the House that stole everything from her.<br><br>A gripping coming-of-age fantasy novel marked by divine rituals, intense combat, and twisted relationships,&nbsp;<em>House of the Beast</em>&nbsp;is a tale of revenge, resilience, and the power of love to see us through the darkness.&nbsp;</p></blockquote></figure> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center"><strong>Chapter 1</strong></h3> <div style="height:5px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <p>My father’s sword of cold black steel, the finest in all of Kugara, hovered over the tender flesh of my left elbow. A sick tempest of uncertainty churned in my stomach, threatening to send the first full meal I’d eaten in weeks all over the temple floor. I had asked for this, but I was beginning to wonder if I had made a mistake.</p> <p>I mustered up the courage to croak, “Wait.”</p> <p>My father, who I had met for the first time two days ago, frowned at me.</p> <p>“What is it?” His voice echoed through the dark hall, low and sharp. “The Beast does not appreciate delays.”</p> <p>He was a tall man with an angled face and an air of importance in the way he held himself. He was unlike any of the scruffy uncles and potbellied sailors I grew up around in the slums of Merey. Beneath the left sleeve of his tailored jacket, his hand was made of polished black metal. When he’d come to collect me, I’d watched the neighbors look at it and then step back quickly in fearful reverence.</p> <p>I’d been apprehensive too, yet I couldn’t help sneaking in my own share of glances throughout the day. After all, I had never expected to see an elder god’s vessel up close. I’d spent my whole life believing these things were far beyond my station.</p> <p>Now here I was, whisked away to the mountainous province of House Avera, one of the Four High Houses of Kugara, kneeling in their private temple, ready to be offered up to a god. The stone floor tiles were cold and hard against my knees. The worn clothes I’d traveled here in did little to protect me against the chilly air. I shivered like a leaf in the wind before the centerpiece of the altar: a monstrous sculpture of the Dread Beast’s head, constructed from smooth, dark metal. The sculptor had decided on a lupine form for this depiction, and the Beast&#8217;s three eyes were each inlaid with mirrors that reflected the temple braziers. If I looked closely, I could see my own eyes mirrored back at me. Inside the sculpture’s maw was a shallow basin that held water. My left arm had been placed inside of it, a cuff locking my wrist into place at the bottom. My submerged skin prickled from the cold. The water was pitch-black, like the abyss itself was lapping at my fingers.</p> <p>“Is there another way?” I stammered.</p> <p>My father, Lord Zander Avera, Second Hand of the Dread Beast, scoffed at me. “Lest you forget, you were the one who sought a deal with me. Or will you go back on your word and leave your mother to suffer?”</p> <p>If this were a heroic sort of tale, then this would have been where I steeled myself for the sacrifice. I’d grit my teeth against his blade and honor the deal, so that my mother could have the medicine she needed. I’d been so full of bravado back in Merey, even when she begged me not to go. I’d thought I could sustain that flimsy courage through all that came next.</p> <p>Instead, I began to cry.</p> <p>The temple doors slammed open. In stormed a woman with dark hair coiled into an intricate bun and fury twisting her finely painted eyes and lips. Two attendants dressed in black followed at her heels. She pointed a shaking finger at my father.</p> <p>“How dare you,” she growled. “You would sully House Avera’s name by bringing your mongrel to our most sacred temple? Is there no end to your ambition, Zander? Put the sword down at once!”</p> <p>I wanted nothing more than for my father to obey her—to put down the sword and send me far away. “I want to go home,” I sniveled, hoping it would help my cause.</p> <p>My father looked at me with an eyebrow raised. “Home?” he repeated. “This is your home now, Alma.”</p> <p>He brought the blade down.</p> <div style="height:5px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <section class="wp-block-shop-the-book shop-the-book"> <h2 class="shop-the-book-headline">Buy the Book</h2> <div class="shop-the-book-content"> <figure class="shop-the-book-image-desktop image-cover"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="450" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/house-of-the-beast-1.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full" alt="House of the Beast" /> </figure> <div class="grow shrink basis-0"> <div class="flex items-center"> <figure class="shop-the-book-image-mobile image-cover"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="450" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/house-of-the-beast-1.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full" alt="House of the Beast" /> </figure> <div class="grow shrink basis-0"> <h3 class="shop-the-book-title text-h3">House of the Beast</h3> <p class="shop-the-book-author">Michelle wong</p> </div> </div> <button type="button" class="inline-block px-8 py-4 text-center btn tablet:py-3 text-h6 bg-red text-white shop-the-book-button" id="buy_book" data-trigger="modal" data-target="#modal-1753989690" aria-open="false" aria-label="Buy Book"> <span class="inline-flex items-center button-label btn-label"> Buy Book </span> </button> </div> </div> <div id="modal-1753989690" class="shop-the-book-modal"> <div class="shop-the-book-modal-inner"> <button class="js-modal-close absolute top-5 right-5 z-10" type="button" aria-label="close modal"> <svg class="w-[19px] h-[19px]" width="18" height="19" viewbox="0 0 18 19" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-label="close" role="img" aria-hidden="true"> <path d="M1 17L17 1" stroke="black" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" /> <path d="M1 17L17 1" stroke="black" stroke-opacity="0.2" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" /> <path d="M17 17.0809L1 1.08093" stroke="black" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" /> <path d="M17 17.0809L1 1.08093" stroke="black" stroke-opacity="0.2" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" /> </svg> </button> <div class="shop-the-book-modal-content"> <figure class="shop-the-book-modal-image-desktop image-cover"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="450" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/house-of-the-beast-1.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full" alt="House of the Beast" /> </figure> <div class="grow shrink basis-0"> <div class="flex items-center"> <figure class="shop-the-book-modal-image-mobile image-cover"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="450" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/house-of-the-beast-1.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full" alt="House of the Beast" /> </figure> <div class="grow shrink basis-0"> <h3 class="shop-the-book-modal-title">House of the Beast</h3> <p class="shop-the-book-modal-author">Michelle wong</p> </div> </div> <p class="shop-the-book-modal-label">Buy this book from:</p> <ul class="not-prose ebook-links ebook-links-shortcode"><li><a class="btn" target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0CYT63Y5B?tag=tordotcomgeneral-20" data-book-title="House of the Beast" data-book-store="Amazon"><span class="inline-flex items-center button-label text-h6 text-white font-aktiv">Amazon</span></a></li><li><a class="btn" target="_blank" href="https://www.anrdoezrs.net/links/7992675/type/dlg/sid/tordotcomgeneral/https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/9780063391345" data-book-title="House of the Beast" data-book-store="Barnes and Noble"><span class="inline-flex items-center button-label text-h6 text-white font-aktiv">Barnes and Noble</span></a></li><li><a class="btn" target="_blank" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/isbn9780063391352" data-book-title="House of the Beast" data-book-store="iBooks"><span class="inline-flex items-center button-label text-h6 text-white font-aktiv">iBooks</span></a></li><li><a class="btn" target="_blank" href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780063391345" data-book-title="House of the Beast" data-book-store="IndieBound"><span class="inline-flex items-center button-label text-h6 text-white font-aktiv">IndieBound</span></a></li><li><a class="btn" target="_blank" href="https://www.target.com/s?searchTerm=9780063391345" data-book-title="House of the Beast" data-book-store="Target"><span class="inline-flex items-center button-label text-h6 text-white font-aktiv">Target</span></a></li></ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </section> <p class="has-sm-font-size">Excerpted from&nbsp;<em>House of the Beast&nbsp;</em>by Michelle Wong. Copyright © 2025 by Michelle Wong. Reprinted courtesy of Harper Voyager, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://reactormag.com/excerpts-house-of-the-beast-by-michelle-wong/">Read an Excerpt From &lt;i&gt;House of the Beast&lt;/i&gt; by Michelle Wong</a> appeared first on <a href="https://reactormag.com">Reactor</a>.</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/excerpts-house-of-the-beast-by-michelle-wong/">https://reactormag.com/excerpts-house-of-the-beast-by-michelle-wong/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=819603">https://reactormag.com/?p=819603</a></p>

<p class="syndicationauthor">Posted by Sarah</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/the-fantastic-four-first-steps-nod-to-jack-kirby-is-an-empty-gesture-until-creators-get-paid/">https://reactormag.com/the-fantastic-four-first-steps-nod-to-jack-kirby-is-an-empty-gesture-until-creators-get-paid/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=819521">https://reactormag.com/?p=819521</a></p><post-hero class="wp-block-post-hero js-post-hero post-hero post-hero-horizontal"> <div class="container container-desktop"> <div class="flex flex-col mx-auto post-hero-container"> <div class="post-hero-content"> <div class="post-hero-tags font-aktiv text-xs tracking-[0.5px] font-medium uppercase"> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/articles/featured-essays/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Featured Essays 0"> Featured Essays </a> </span> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tag/fantastic-four/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Fantastic Four 1"> Fantastic Four </a> </span> </div> <h2 class="post-hero-title text-h1"><i>The Fantastic Four: First Steps</i>’s Nod to Jack Kirby Is an Empty Gesture Until Creators Get Paid</h2> <div class="prose post-hero-description prose--post-hero">It&#8217;s too little, too late when it comes to recognizing comics creators&#8230;</div> <div class="post-hero-wrapper"> <div class="post-hero-inner"> <p class="post-hero-author text-xs font-aktiv uppercase font-medium [&amp;_a]:link-hover">By <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/joe-george/" title="Posts by Joe George" class="author url fn" rel="author">Joe George</a></p> <span class="post-hero-symbol relative top-[-2px] hidden tablet:block">|</span> <p class="text-xs uppercase post-hero-publish font-aktiv"> Published on July 30, 2025 </p> </div> </div> <div class="quick-access post-hero-quick-access mt-[17px] tablet:hidden"> <div class="flex gap-[30px] tablet:gap-6"> <a href="https://reactormag.com/the-fantastic-four-first-steps-nod-to-jack-kirby-is-an-empty-gesture-until-creators-get-paid/#comments" class="flex items-center text-sm font-aktiv tracking-[0.6px] font-semibold uppercase translate-x-[1px] translate-y-[1px]"> <svg class="w-[22px] h-[22px] mr-[7px] icon-hover" viewbox="0 0 18 18" aria-label="comment" role="img" aria-hidden="true" aria-labelledby="icon-comment-quick-access-"> <title id="icon-comment-quick-access-">Comment</title> <g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"> <path fill="#FFF" fill-rule="nonzero" d="M6.3 18a.9.9 0 0 1-.9-.9v-2.7H1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 0 12.6V1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 1.8 0h14.4A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 18 1.8v10.8a1.8 1.8 0 0 1-1.8 1.8h-5.49l-3.33 3.339a.917.917 0 0 1-.63.261H6.3Z" /> <path stroke="#000" d="M5.9 14.4v-.5H1.8a1.3 1.3 0 0 1-1.3-1.3V1.8A1.3 1.3 0 0 1 1.8.5h14.4a1.3 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role="img" aria-hidden="true"> <g clip-path="url(#clip0_1051_121783)"> <path d="M2.67871 17.4143C2.12871 17.4143 1.65771 17.2183 1.26571 16.8263C0.873713 16.4343 0.678046 15.9636 0.678713 15.4143C0.678713 14.8643 0.874713 14.3933 1.26671 14.0013C1.65871 13.6093 2.12938 13.4136 2.67871 13.4143C3.22871 13.4143 3.69971 13.6103 4.09171 14.0023C4.48371 14.3943 4.67938 14.865 4.67871 15.4143C4.67871 15.9643 4.48271 16.4353 4.09071 16.8273C3.69871 17.2193 3.22805 17.415 2.67871 17.4143ZM14.6787 17.4143C14.6787 15.481 14.312 13.6683 13.5787 11.9763C12.8454 10.2843 11.841 8.80097 10.5657 7.52631C9.29171 6.25164 7.80871 5.24764 6.11671 4.51431C4.42471 3.78097 2.61205 3.41431 0.678713 3.41431V0.414307C3.02871 0.414307 5.23705 0.860306 7.30371 1.75231C9.37038 2.64431 11.1704 3.85664 12.7037 5.38931C14.237 6.92264 15.4497 8.72264 16.3417 10.7893C17.2337 12.856 17.6794 15.0643 17.6787 17.4143H14.6787ZM8.67871 17.4143C8.67871 15.1976 7.89971 13.31 6.34171 11.7513C4.78371 10.1926 2.89605 9.41364 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8.72264 16.3417 10.7893C17.2337 12.856 17.6794 15.0643 17.6787 17.4143H14.6787ZM8.67871 17.4143C8.67871 15.1976 7.89971 13.31 6.34171 11.7513C4.78371 10.1926 2.89605 9.41364 0.678713 9.41431V6.41431C2.21205 6.41431 3.64538 6.70197 4.97871 7.27731C6.31205 7.85264 7.47471 8.63597 8.46671 9.62731C9.45805 10.6186 10.2414 11.781 10.8167 13.1143C11.392 14.4476 11.6794 15.881 11.6787 17.4143H8.67871Z" fill="currentColor" fill-opacity="0.2" /> </g> <defs> <clippath id="clip0_1051_121783"> <rect width="17" height="17" fill="white" transform="translate(0.678711 0.414307)" /> </clippath> </defs> </svg> </a> </li> </ul> </div> </details> </div> </div> </div> <div class="post-hero-media "> <figure class="w-full h-auto post-hero-image"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="298" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Marvel-Logo-comics-header-740x298.png" class="w-full object-cover" alt="Marvel Studios logo, overlaid with images from Marvel&#39;s classic comics" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Marvel-Logo-comics-header-740x298.png 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Marvel-Logo-comics-header-1100x443.png 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Marvel-Logo-comics-header-768x309.png 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Marvel-Logo-comics-header.png 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /> </figure> </div> </div> </div> </post-hero> <div class="wp-block-more-from-category"> <div> </div> </div> <p>Ever since the franchise launched with <em>Iron Man</em> in 2008, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has taught its fans to stick around through the credits for an extra scene or two. Even though it takes place on Earth-828, separate from the mainline Earth-616 continuity, <em>The Fantastic Four: First Steps</em> is no different… mostly. After the credits finish and just before one last post-credit teaser, a title card comes up with the following quote: “If you look at my characters, you will find me. No matter what kind of character you create or assume, a little of yourself must remain there.” The quote comes from Jack Kirby, whose August 28th birthday inspired the designation for Earth-828.</p> <p>Of course, <em>First Steps</em> should pay respects to Kirby. Not only did he pencil the first 102 issues of <em>Fantastic Four</em>, but he crafted many of their best storylines and created or co-created many of the series’ most popular characters.</p> <p>Which raises a question. Why pay homage to him now, thirty-seven films into the MCU? Why not in a Hulk or Thor or Eternals movie, all featuring characters he created? Why not in any of the Spider-Man movies, whose iconic webbed suit he designed? Why not in any of the four movies about Captain America, a character he created with Joe Simon in 1940, long before he started working with Lee?</p> <p><em>First Steps</em> may have intended the closing quote to pay fitting tribute to Jack “The King” Kirby, but instead, it serves to highlight how little Marvel and Disney respect creators—a problem that continues today, more than three decades after his death.</p> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>The Undisputed King</strong></h3> <p>No one person did more for the superhero genre than Jack Kirby.</p> <p>It’s not just that he created or co-created some of the most famous characters in comics, including not just the backbone of Marvel, but also Darkseid and the New Gods for DC. It’s that he was the first to embrace superhero comics’ real potential as a medium to tell high-concept fantasy and science fiction. Dynamic as his fight scenes were, they were also philosophical debates, clashes between primordial forces of the universe. Kirby constantly pushed the limits of the medium, establishing and then breaking the standard page and panel layout. He made the Galactus trilogy in <em>Fantastic Four</em> #48-50 feel so otherworldly by mixing media, combining illustrations with photographs to uncanny effect.</p> <p>Thanks to the “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Script_(comics)" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Marvel Method</a>” adopted by the publisher beginning in the early 1960s, Kirby didn’t just illustrate the first adventures of the Avengers, X-Men, and Fantastic Four, he effectively wrote them too: He and Lee would talk through the plots in person or on the phone, and then it was up to him to go back and draw the pages. Only when Lee saw Kirby’s drawings would he add in dialogue.</p> <p>Of course, the Marvel Method also gave room for Lee, ever the grandstanding entertainer, to take far more credit that was due him. Owing partially to the different personalities of the two men—Lee an extrovert who courted fame and attention, Kirby a quiet thinker who just wanted to do his work—Lee was always more willing to talk about the characters. In the process, Lee continuously overstated his contributions and even took credit for characters he did not create, most famously Captain America. (See <a href="https://www.seanhowe.com/books" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Marvel Comics: The Untold Story</em></a> by Sean Howe and Josephine Riesman’s Stan Lee biography <a href="https://josie.zone/true-believer" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>True Believer</em></a> for more on their relationship).</p> <p>In 1970, Kirby was <a href="https://kirbymuseum.org/blogs/effect/2019/12/04/looking-for-the-awesome-23/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hired by DC editor and longtime friend Carmine Infantino</a>, who promised to give him greater creative freedom. Kirby used that freedom to tell some of his most bold stories, creating the New Gods and characters such as Darkseid and Mister Miracle. Those books didn’t meet expected sales numbers, and so Kirby was shunted over to more commercial titles before he finally left of his own accord. And yet, DC was happy to keep the characters he created, turning Darkseid into the universe’s big bad.</p> <p>To be clear, Kirby’s feelings about the industry and its treatment of him were complex and shifted throughout the course of his career, as his dealings with the company grew more fraught—he continued to spar with Marvel’s leadership over copyright and royalties up until his death in 1994. One gets the sense that he would have preferred to just keep telling stories and not have to deal with all the business and politicking around him. Marvel’s mistreatment of Kirby is egregious, but it was by no means unique.</p> <p>That’s precisely why empty praise like the homage in <em>First Steps</em> feels so galling—because the wrangling over creators’ rights and unfair treatment of artists that plagued Kirby’s career is a pattern that keeps repeating, again and again.</p> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>A Legacy of Exploitation</strong></h3> <p>On May 24th, 2025, Peter David died at the age of 68. David had been suffering from various illnesses for several years, including kidney failure and a heart attack. When his insurance ran out, he had to set up a GoFundMe campaign, asking people to provide money for the medical treatment needed to save his life.</p> <p>Two years earlier, on June 2, 2023, <em>Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse</em> hit theaters, earning more than $690.8&nbsp;million. The central antagonist of <em>Across the Spider-Verse</em> was Miguel O’Hara, Spider-Man of the year 2099, voiced by Oscar Isaac. Miguel O’Hara was created by David and Rick Leonardi in 1992.</p> <p>Four years before that, on April&nbsp;26,&nbsp;2019, <em>Avengers: Endgame</em> opened in theaters and went onto make $2.799&nbsp;billion, becoming one of the top-grossing movies of all time. That film featured an intelligent version of the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), based on Professor Hulk, who David and artist Dale Keown introduced in 1990.</p> <p>Those movies made millions for Sony and Marvel. Yet David, without whom those movies would not exist, died begging for money.</p> <p>This is not unusual. According to a 2021 article in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/aug/09/marvel-and-dc-face-backlash-over-pay-they-sent-a-thank-you-note-and-5000-the-movie-made-1bn" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>The Guardian</em></a>, Marvel gives creators it deems significant to a particular movie a one-time payment of $5000. To others, it will merely say, “Thanks.” Recently, artist Bryan Hitch—whose work on the series <em>The Ultimates</em> was a clear inspiration for the MCU interpretation of the Avengers—<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/bryanhitch.bsky.social/post/3lu6slanyps2h" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">posted on Bluesky</a>, “I have been thanked in many, many Marvel movies and now <em>Superman</em>. Haven&#8217;t seen a single cent from any display of gratitude yet.” While Hitch was quick to assure readers that he does “just fine” and isn’t “looking for anyone’s sympathy,” he also argued that “many of those thanked [in <em>Avengers: Endgame</em>] were retired or unwell and they could have been given a million each without it ever touching the first afternoon&#8217;s box.”</p> <p>Worse yet, these comments come amidst reports of studios mistreating the artists actually working on superhero movies. After <em>Thor: Love &amp; Thunder</em> was released in 2022, <a href="https://www.cnet.com/culture/entertainment/marvels-vfx-artists-are-suffering-now-theyre-speaking-out/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">anonymous VFX artists reported</a> unrealistic expectations and unfair conditions placed upon those asked to bring the movie’s fantastic visuals to life. A year later, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/23/23771199/across-the-spider-verse-working-conditions-phil-lord" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">similar reports</a> came from the animators working on <em>Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse </em>(2023). When that movie hit theaters, the sequel was slated for a March 2024 release. Now, Sony is planning to release <em>Beyond the Spider-Verse</em> in June 2027, suggesting that Sony Animation intended to continue overworking its team right up until it got caught and called out.</p> <p>Clearly, it’s not just the legacy of Jack Kirby that lives on. The legacy of exploitation and underpayment of creatives continues today.</p> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Time to Pay Up</strong></h3> <p>Early on in <em>Fantastic Four: First Steps</em>, when the Silver Surfer first arrives in New York City, the camera cuts to inside the Timely Comics building, where two people—actors Martin Dickinson and Greg Haiste, each credited as “Timely Employee,” look out their window in awe. The two are clear stand-ins for Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and the moment feels like a nod to Marvel’s longstanding slogan referencing “the world outside your window.”</p> <p>It’s a neat moment, and a necessary acknowledgement of Kirby’s contributions to Marvel. Even if he didn’t crave the spotlight as much as Lee did, and even if the movie’s closing quotation suggests that he would rather we focus on his characters than on him, Jack Kirby still deserves recognition, if only because all creators deserve proper recognition and fair compensation for their work. And even though organizations such as <a href="https://www.heroinitiative.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the Hero Initiative</a> and the availability of creator-owned comics means that conditions are better than they were for Kirby, it’s clear that exploitation of artists continues today.</p> <p>In short, the Kirby nod in <em>The Fantastic Four: First Steps</em> is very much too little, too late, especially since Marvel and other major studios are making more money than ever before, but remain steadfast in denying creators and artists the respect and acknowledgement they deserve.[end-mark]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://reactormag.com/the-fantastic-four-first-steps-nod-to-jack-kirby-is-an-empty-gesture-until-creators-get-paid/">&lt;i&gt;The Fantastic Four: First Steps&lt;/i&gt;’s Nod to Jack Kirby Is an Empty Gesture Until Creators Get Paid</a> appeared first on <a href="https://reactormag.com">Reactor</a>.</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/the-fantastic-four-first-steps-nod-to-jack-kirby-is-an-empty-gesture-until-creators-get-paid/">https://reactormag.com/the-fantastic-four-first-steps-nod-to-jack-kirby-is-an-empty-gesture-until-creators-get-paid/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=819521">https://reactormag.com/?p=819521</a></p>