Skip to main content

Bloodchild

  1. I feel dirty after reading Bloodchild. Like I need a cold shower. I was almost relieved when they started explaining the meaning for the giant bug people and their fondness for plump humans, even if the truth was disturbing. The fact that the strange scenario wasn’t addressed until a few pages in is probably the most unsettling thing about this story. There’s something inherently creepy about a giant bug lady essentially molesting young children with her many legs, grabbing them and hugging them like pets whilst feeding them drugged eggs.  

  1. So what I gather from the story is this: Humans or “Terrans” now live on an alien world inhabited by strange centipede monsters. These centipedes allow humans to live with them, but the price is that humans become vessels for centipede eggs. On top of that, humans are treated like lesser beings. Not like slaves, but very similar to symbiotic pets. The centipede we encounter in the story is “kind” all things considered, but if they are like any other intelligent species, many of them could be cruel. There is an unseen possibility of homes ran by aggressive and cruel centipedes. So the relationship with these aliens can range anywhere from strange grandma to evil slave owner.

  1. For this story to work in another medium, there would need to be a proper introduction. The written story drops the reader in the middle of this strange plot with little explanation until much much later. If this were to be a film, for example, there would need to be an easing period before showing humans bleeding out on the ground, riddled with worm larvae. One major nitpick I had was with the mother. She’s featured prominently in the beginning of the story and then all but vanishes after things start to happen. Where did she go? She would most likely take part in all of the important scenes or at least have an explanation for her absence.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly Mary Shelly is responsible for creating one of the most recognizable horror stories of all time and for that, I highly respect her as an author. However, I'm not the biggest fan of her original writing of Frankenstein.  My opinions on Frankenstein are completely the result of me growing up in a time where this story has been re-told and parodied countless times. I enjoy the tale of Frankenstein in its extremes; whether incredibly dark or a lighthearted parody, doesn’t matter. Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, though the original tale, simply felt boring to me. I read it before in high school and hardly remembered a thing about it. I figured I would have come around since then but nothing’s changed. I just thought it was rather boring, plain and simple. There were two moments in particular in the writing that frustrated me. The first was a potential plot hole; when Frankenstein’s Monster is giving exposition to Frankenstein he describes his life t...

Science Fiction Parody

I’ve read some of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and listened to the original radio show. I have to say, what an entertaining story. Something about it is so clever and cheeky. The humor constantly gives me Monty Python vibes and I could easily see the Monty Python troupe acting in a sort of Hitchhiker’s Guide film, which sadly can’t happen and instead we have a shitty 2005 movie in it’s place.  I’ve found lighthearted and imaginative space stories to be the most entertaining. With space, there are infinite possibilities for story telling and the imagination can go wild. With that said, I’m a little bothered when space stories take themselves too seriously or try to be realistic. Hitchhiker’s Guide is incredibly refreshing after growing up watching space films that try so hard to out-perform each other with bigger “better” stories and visual effects.  An admittedly strange thing to bring up would be the Marvel Universe, in particular Guardians of the Galaxy and Tho...

The New Weird

Well this is definitely weird. Railsea by China Mieville is essentially a modern-fantasy take on Moby Dick, with trains and giant moles instead of ships and giant whales. But that’s not all, this Earth exists in a world where aliens visited many years ago and now the world is polluted beyond repair, haunted by gargantuan beasts. The setting is very interesting, but I’m not super fond of all of the characters aside from Sirocco, which made Railsea very difficult to read for very long.