Zach (Prose & Context)
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proseandcontext.bsky.social
Zach (Prose & Context)
@proseandcontext.bsky.social
120 followers 110 following 150 posts
I read speculative fiction and write articles about it at: medium.com/@proseandcontext
proseandcontext.substack.com
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Zach (Prose & Context) @proseandcontext.bsky.social · Mar 13
My new piece today is mainly a Master List of all of my previous work (82 articles so far!!) but also gave me a chance to reiterate my promise to readers. Consider taking a look!

proseandcontext.substack.com/p/welcome-ma...

#whyiwrite #booksky #blog #writer #speculativefiction #masterlist #index
Welcome! Master List of Posts & My Promise to Readers
Why I write and what I’ve written
proseandcontext.substack.com
Reposted by Zach (Prose & Context)
murderbotbot.bsky.social
[Stand for Renee Nicole Good. May her death radicalize you further.]
January 8, 2026 at 2:50 AM
proseandcontext.bsky.social
Over the holidays I devoured Joe Abercrombie's #TheDevils, and wanted to share my thoughts on this delightful and deranged fantasy adventure.

A few of the problems I had with #TheFirstLaw remain, but by and large it's a great ride!

proseandcontext.substack.com/p/the-devils...

#sff #booksky #queer
‘The Devils’ by Joe Abercrombie | Review & Analysis
The Devils is different in many ways to Joe Abercrombie's most famous works, but also falls into a few of the same pitfalls. Is it worth the read?
proseandcontext.substack.com
January 6, 2026 at 11:51 PM
proseandcontext.bsky.social
Today I wrote the ninth article in my series on #vampires, with a look at #TheBuffaloHunterHunter by #StephenGrahamJones.

Take a look!

proseandcontext.substack.com/p/vampires-i...

#sff #books #booksky #horror
[Vampires IX] You Are What You Eat
Gluttony, identity and morality in ‘The Buffalo Hunter Hunter’
proseandcontext.substack.com
December 30, 2025 at 11:21 PM
proseandcontext.bsky.social
Reflecting on two years of writing #ProseandContext, on my 2025 and the world's, and why I love stories.

proseandcontext.substack.com/p/looking-ba...

#yearinreview #twoyears #2025books #stories
Looking Back at Two Years of Prose and Context
ADHD & Routine, Stories & Passion
proseandcontext.substack.com
December 23, 2025 at 10:37 PM
proseandcontext.bsky.social
"The Wizard of Oz, pulling levers and maintaining his carefully crafted illusions, is a potent reminder that power and authority are always projected through a lens, or mask, such that people see only what they are supposed to see."

#stormlight #power

proseandcontext.substack.com/p/heroes-vil...
Heroes, Villains, Gods & Monsters: We’re All Only Human
How ‘Wicked’ and ‘Wind and Truth’ reminded me that authority is merely a mask
proseandcontext.substack.com
December 16, 2025 at 11:38 PM
proseandcontext.bsky.social
Wrote today about #depression, #stormlight and #ghost:

proseandcontext.substack.com/p/it-gets-be...
It Gets Better: Rhythm of War & Ghost’s “De Profundis Borealis”
"I will not lie by saying every day will be sunshine. But there will be sunshine again, and that is a very different thing to say."
proseandcontext.substack.com
December 9, 2025 at 9:51 PM
proseandcontext.bsky.social
Patricia Lockwood's "Will There Ever Be Another You" is a terrifying vision of Long COVID, but also echoes my experience living with ADHD in the modern Attention Economy.

How can we survive, let alone string a thought together, with all these stimuli?

proseandcontext.substack.com/p/surviving-...
Surviving with ADHD in the Addiction Economy
We aren’t as doomed as we think
proseandcontext.substack.com
December 2, 2025 at 8:07 PM
proseandcontext.bsky.social
I appreciate the hell out of songs which verbalize and elucidate ideas, feelings and fears which otherwise envelop me (and, I think, many of us) in a depressing yet undefinable miasma.

Here are three of my favourites, by #Epica and #MARINA:

proseandcontext.substack.com/p/songs-for-...

#song #hope
Songs for a Better World [I]
"Purge the Poison", "Another Me (In Lak'ech)", "Consign to Oblivion"
proseandcontext.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:49 PM
proseandcontext.bsky.social
Young women chosen as cult sacrifices to otherworldly beings, only to be rescued by a kindly visiting wizard. That's what 'The Tombs of Atuan' and 'The Unspoken Name' have in common, though published fifty years apart.

Here's where they differ, and why:

proseandcontext.substack.com/p/a-thought-...
A Thought Experiment Turned Into a Novel: The Unspoken Name & The Tombs of Atuan
The magic of inspiration is a far departure from soulless amalgamation
proseandcontext.substack.com
November 18, 2025 at 9:50 PM
proseandcontext.bsky.social
Not sure how to pitch this article, but suffice to say I open my heart and share about a lot of books I love and intend to write more about!

proseandcontext.substack.com/p/labour-lif...

#sff #blog #queerwriter #bookrecommendations #booksky
Labour, Life, Literature
Is motivation real? And meaningful stories I have yet to share and explore
proseandcontext.substack.com
November 12, 2025 at 12:00 AM
proseandcontext.bsky.social
#CriticalRole Campaign IV got me thinking again about @robertjbennett.bsky.social's #TheDivineCities trilogy, and particularly about the mess that killing your gods leaves behind.

Has DM Brennan read the series? The parallels are certainly there:

proseandcontext.substack.com/p/life-after...

#sff
Life After Gods: Critical Role IV & The Divine Cities
Chaos, mystery and mortal corruption
proseandcontext.substack.com
November 4, 2025 at 11:10 PM
proseandcontext.bsky.social
For #Hallowe'en this week, a look at a few truly evil fictional places from The Shining, The Haunting of Hill House and more:

proseandcontext.substack.com/p/malevolent...

#horror #books #fiction #negativespace #hillhouse #sff #houseofleaves #writer
Malevolent Places
A swift riffle of haunting houses and dreaded demesnes
proseandcontext.substack.com
October 28, 2025 at 11:49 PM
proseandcontext.bsky.social
Much like interpersonal relationships, power imbalances in interactions between nations and peoples can be a glaring red flag. Join me in exploring these ideas as they relate to #TheLeftHandofDarkness, #BuffaloIstheNewBuffalo, #StarTrek and more:

proseandcontext.substack.com/p/community-...

#sff
Community vs Imperialism
Where is the line between symbiosis and parasitism?
proseandcontext.substack.com
October 22, 2025 at 12:05 AM
proseandcontext.bsky.social
R.F. Kuang's Katabasis was one of my most anticipated reads this year, promising a fascinating look at hell & academia.

Upon reading it, I can't help but having mixed feelings. Should you read it? I go into it in my review & analysis:

proseandcontext.substack.com/p/katabasis-...

#booksky #sff
Katabasis by R.F. Kuang: Review & Analysis
A hellish journey in more ways than one
proseandcontext.substack.com
October 14, 2025 at 9:28 PM
proseandcontext.bsky.social
What would it look like to live in a world without gender? Ursula K Le Guin and Ann Leckie have written books about it, so let's take a look!

proseandcontext.substack.com/p/worlds-wit...

#sff #gender #nonbinary
Worlds Without Gender
As imagined by Ursula K. Le Guin and Ann Leckie
proseandcontext.substack.com
October 7, 2025 at 11:29 PM
proseandcontext.bsky.social
On this #NationalDayofTruthandReconciliation, I wanted to look at Cherie Dimaline's "The Marrow Thieves" and discuss the important lessons we can all take from it:

proseandcontext.substack.com/p/learning-f...

#books #sff #NDTR #Canada
Learning From 'The Marrow Thieves' by Cherie Dimaline
On Canada's National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
proseandcontext.substack.com
September 30, 2025 at 11:32 PM
proseandcontext.bsky.social
The Salmon Run is happening now in Toronto, which made me want to write about the lifecycle of serpents in Robin Hobb's wonderful Realm of the Elderlings series.

Join me in taking my mind off of for a few moments?

proseandcontext.substack.com/p/the-salmon...

#books #ecology #sff
The Salmon Run & Robin Hobb's Sea Serpents
Seeing fantasy come alive in nature
proseandcontext.substack.com
September 23, 2025 at 10:38 PM
proseandcontext.bsky.social
A horror novel about society's willingness to discard women after menopause? Written by a cis man of all things?

Mary: An Awakening of Terror is pretty great! I review and discuss here:

proseandcontext.substack.com/p/mary-an-aw...

#horror #bookreview #storytelling #phobias
‘Mary: An Awakening of Terror’ Review & Analysis
Internalized phobias // who can tell what stories
proseandcontext.substack.com
September 16, 2025 at 10:10 PM
proseandcontext.bsky.social
It's sometimes hard to remember that before the multi-billion dollar franchise, A Song of Ice and Fire was just a series of books exploring the human condition.

In this week's post, I return to the source to find and share what insights I may:

proseandcontext.substack.com/p/the-value-...
The Value of A Song of Ice and Fire
Reflecting our fraught humanity
proseandcontext.substack.com
September 9, 2025 at 10:06 PM
proseandcontext.bsky.social
Why does the internet – ok, mostly Reddit – hate R.F. Kuang? What can we learn from it?

proseandcontext.substack.com/p/the-rf-kua...

#katabasis #2025news #author
The R.F. Kuang Hate is Ridiculous
Celebrity culture is holding us back
proseandcontext.substack.com
September 2, 2025 at 9:24 PM
proseandcontext.bsky.social
This week I had one of my short stories, 'Litany of Renewal', published for the first time!

Find it here in the debut issue of Vellum Mortis by Memento Mori Ink Mag and Crystal Lake Publishing!

www.mementomoriinkmag.com/vellummortis...

#writer #shortfiction #weirdfiction #godsofthegutter
www.mementomoriinkmag.com
August 28, 2025 at 5:12 PM
proseandcontext.bsky.social
Today I wrote about Ghost's "Satanized" and ever-harmful false dichotomies.

proseandcontext.substack.com/p/ghosts-sat...

#ghost #music #analysis
Ghost's Satanized: Obey or be Damned
Themes of Skeletá and the evil of false dichotomies
proseandcontext.substack.com
August 26, 2025 at 9:47 PM
proseandcontext.bsky.social
I love #Dimension20 and wanted to share some of the storytelling lessons I've learned from these hilarious, talented folks!

proseandcontext.substack.com/p/dimension-...
Dimension 20: A Storytelling Masterclass
One of my many passions & the lessons I take from it
proseandcontext.substack.com
August 19, 2025 at 9:36 PM
proseandcontext.bsky.social
The ending of Paul Murray's #TheBeeSting hit me like a truck – much the same as B.R. Yeager's #NegativeSpace.

Perspective plays a big role in the tragedy of these novels and the important lessons we can learn from them:

proseandcontext.substack.com/p/perspectiv...

#BookSky #Life #Lessons
Perspective in ‘The Bee Sting’ & ‘Negative Space’
The most fearsome killer and greatest hope
proseandcontext.substack.com
August 12, 2025 at 11:35 PM
proseandcontext.bsky.social
The Tyrant Philosophers series is truly incredible, possibly in part because Tchaikovsky seems to have been inspired by Sanderson's Stormlight.

I explore many of my favourite elements in the series and their parallels.

proseandcontext.substack.com/p/the-tyrant...

#booksky #sff #fantasy #book #new
The Tyrant Philosophers: Worldbuilding & Stormlight Parallels
My favourite Adrian Tchaikovsky series to date, with a dash of Brandon Sanderson
proseandcontext.substack.com
August 5, 2025 at 10:57 PM