Today, I'm recommending four essential works by SFWA Grand Master and multiple Hugo Award winner C.J. Cherryh.
Cyteen (1988): On the planet Cyteen, a murdered scientific genius is recreated as a cloned successor who must grow into, and ultimately define herself, against her predecessor's identity and legacy. A profound exploration of identity, memory, power, and psychological manipulation.
Downbelow Station (1981): An epic tale set aboard Pell Station during the final days of an interstellar war between the Earth Company and the breakaway Union colonies, focusing on refugees, shifting alliances, and the birth of a new merchant order. A reinvention of space opera that eschews traditional tropes in favor of a grounded, realistic portrayal of survival and politics in deep space.
The Pride of Chanur (1981): Cherryh upends the traditional first-contact narrative by making a human the mute, strange, and menacing alien rescued by a crew of matriarchal, lion-like hani merchants. A landmark of science fiction told almost entirely from a non-human perspective.
Foreigner (1994): This anthropological SF novel follows human diplomat, Bren Cameron, as he struggles to prevent a war while navigating the subtle and often dangerous politics of a species whose psychology differs profoundly from humanity's. The opening novel of Cherryh's acclaimed long-running series.
Check out the quoted thread for the recommended works of Theodore Sturgeon, Alfred Bester, Bob Shaw, Clifford D. Simak, Algis Budrys, A.E. van Vogt, C.L. Moore, Cordwainer Smith, C.M. Kornbluth, D.G. Compton, Thomas M. Disch, Alice Bradley Sheldon (James Tiptree, Jr.), John Brunner, Judith Merril, Hal Clement, James Blish, Jack Williamson, Katherine MacLean, Fred Saberhagen, Jack Vance, Leigh Brackett, Edgar Pangborn, R.A. Lafferty, William Tenn, Kate Wilhelm, Avram Davidson, James H. Schmitz, Eric Frank Russell, Brian W. Aldiss, Carol Emshwiller, Wilson Tucker, Chad Oliver, Zenna Henderson, Pauline Ashwell, Frederik Pohl, Henry Kuttner, Barrington J. Bayley, and James P. Hogan.
Grand Theft Auto VI may be abandoning physical media, but Uwe Boll isn’t! You can catch the upcoming slate of Boll releases from Yippee Ki Yay Mother Video on region-free Blu-Ray HERE https://t.co/EmSPilLhLs
StudioCanal titles getting erased from Sony PlayStation libraries; we’re reminded we don’t own digital content we buy: https://t.co/ibHOgzOMKR by @ScharHar for @arstechnica
Citizen Vigilante has now SURPASSED the ‘Michael’ movie and is #2 on Apple TV
Germany banned it and now the richest person in the world shared it and it’s shattering records
The greatest Streisand Effect
CITIZEN VIGILANTE is a small film I paid to get made. If you want a sequel, another Rampage film or anything else quite like this that takes chances topically you must put your money on it or I can’t afford to keep making them. If you support the film, actually support it by making a purchase. Not piracy.
Banned Film About Vigilante Hunting Down Migrant Rape Gang Released for Free Online.
The German-produced action-thriller Citizen Vigilante, starring Armie Hammer, has been released for free online, after the German government effectively banned it for portraying a man hunting down a migrant rape gang and other criminals.
PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Citizen Vigilante, a German-produced action-thriller starring Armie Hammer, has been made available for free on the social media platform X for 48 hours, racking up millions of views. This follows its effective banning in Germany, due to its focus on a white vigilante hunting down a migrant rape gang and similar, mostly foreign criminals.
📺 DETAIL: Directed by Uwe Boll, it follows Hammer as an American businessman who becomes a vigilante targeting violent criminals, rapists, and corrupt judges. Germany refused to grant the film a rating due to its anti-mass migration theme—the movie is “dedicated to the thousands of rape and murder victims in Europe who were betrayed by our legal system”—effectively preventing its release. Boll has described this as deliberate censorship, advertising it on social media as representing people who believe current migration policies in Europe and the United States have failed, and “the movie Hollywood doesn’t want you to see.” Boll also said he cast Hammer, best known for his roles in Call Me By Your Name and The Social Network, because the actor had been “canceled and wanted to work” following sexual misconduct allegations made against him in 2021. Prosecutors in Los Angeles, California, declined to file charges against the actor in 2023. Hammer said earlier this month that he had received no acting offers for five years.
💬 KEY QUOTE: “Citizen Vigilante represents 50 percent of the population who believe we cannot continue with these unbelievable, wrong migration policies in Europe and America.” – Uwe Boll
🎯 IMPACT: The film’s release has reignited debates over free speech, censorship, and immigration. Boll based it in part on a notorious case in Hamburg, Germany, in which a 15-year-old girl was gang raped by migrants in a public park, with eight out of nine of the rapists being allowed to walk free with suspended sentences in 2023. Hammer’s character in Citizen Vigilante tracks down a gang involved in a similar attack at the film’s conclusion.