Nicholas King
Bio
I'm a graduate of the University of South Florida's Creative Writing program. Currently, I reside in Florida, where I've spent the majority of life. In my spare time, I write fiction and poetry.
Stories (43/0)
The Dark Future of Cyberpunk Red Part 3
In my previous two essays on The Dark Future of R. Talsorian Games’ Cyberpunk tabletop roleplaying game, I covered the fall of the United States government under the rule of the Gang of Four and the Collapse, the epic Depression event that caused America and later the world to fall into chaos. Behind the scenes of these events, though, is the part of the story that is a ubiquitous trope in the Cyberpunk genre: the Mega-Corporations. No Cyberpunk story would be complete without monolithic, gargantuan corporate entities that are basically nation/states unto themselves and Cyberpunk has some of the best depictions of these entities in the genre.
By Nicholas King6 months ago in Gamers
Exploring Humanity - "Strange New Worlds" Season 2, Episode 5
Much like the first season’s fifth episode, “Spock Amok”, the fifth episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds second season is a “hijinks” episode. “Charades” is a focus episode on Spock and Nurse Chapel, with a fair amount of comedic hijinks thrown in. Combining an accident with interdimensional aliens with a tense sit-down with your prospective in-laws is an ingenious move on the part of the writers.
By Nicholas King9 months ago in Geeks
Bittersweet Victory - "Secret Invasion"
One protagonist lives, another one dies. Going in to the fourth episode of Marvel Studios’ Secret Invasion, titled “Beloved”, I was expecting the body count to rise. And if I’m being honest, I expected a certain character to not make it to the end of the series. But the method with which the character was dispatched still kicked me in the gut. My hats off to the writers of the series for ending the fourth episode in this manner, since it sets up a harsher pair of episodes to bring the story to a close.
By Nicholas King9 months ago in Geeks
My Favorite Star Trek: The Next Generation Episodes
Recently, I went through a binge-watching spree of Star Trek: The Next Generation. For me, this was the Star Trek show that I grew up on. First-run syndication was a fairly new venture in the halcyon days before Cable television became ubiquitous across the nation. Sunday evenings from 1987 thru 1994, my family and I would gather around the television to enjoy dinner and watch The Next Generation. It is from this show that my love of science fiction was born, largely due to my mother’s influence (who is an old-school science-fiction nerd).
By Nicholas King9 months ago in Geeks
Sense of Self - "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" Season 2, Episode 4
Memories and feelings are the connective tissue to our lives. That maxim is the core of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Season Two, Episode Four “Among the Lotus Eaters”. Given the title of the episode and its allusion to the Greek myth of the Lotus, memory was going to be a focal point of the episode. The episode also asks the question if it is better to lose painful memories and live in the moment. As Spock is fond of saying, the dilemma is a fascinating one.
By Nicholas King9 months ago in Geeks
To Save a Tyrant - "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds"
The core question at the heart of “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow”, the third episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds second season, is this: What are you willing to do to set the future right? The third episode poses this question to the security chief, La’an Noonien Singh, and presents her with an opportunity to erase her own heritage but at the cost of the universe and friends she cares for. I found this episode to be one of the hardest-hitting emotional rides up to this point in the series.
By Nicholas King9 months ago in Geeks
Betrayals Everywhere - Secret Invasion
At the halfway point of Marvel Studios’ Secret Invasion, the dominoes have started to fall into place. As befitting the spy thriller genre, betrayals are occurring on all sides. Trust is a commodity that few people can trade on in this kind of story. As a viewer, you can’t help but question everyone’s loyalties, much in the same way the cast of characters are having to do. This kind of fraught atmosphere is what makes spy thrillers an engaging genre but it can potentially be overdone.
By Nicholas King9 months ago in Geeks
Broken Promises - "Secret Invasion" Episode Two
The central theme of Marvel Studio’s Secret Invasion second episode is the failure to live up to one’s promises. Behind Gravik’s attempts to overthrow the human population of Earth and make it into a new home for the Skrulls is his disillusionment with Nick Fury’s promise to find them a new homeworld. The question being posed, though, is does that justify Gravik’s actions (which I would resoundingly say it doesn’t). Episode Two of Secret Invasion, titled “Promises”, drops a number of big reveals on the audience, some of which will have big ramifications as the series progresses.
By Nicholas King9 months ago in Geeks
The Trial of Una Chin-Riley
Star Trek has always been a progressive universe. From the earliest iteration all the way up to the recent shows, Star Trek has pushed progressive ideals in many of its episodes. The latest episode for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, titled “Ad Astra Per Aspera”, joins those ranks by focusing on the trial of Commander Una Chin-Riley, the Illyrian first officer aboard the starship Enterprise. Subtlety is not the strong suit of this episode nor should it be.
By Nicholas King9 months ago in Geeks
Trust No One - "Secret Invasion" Episode One
Spy thrillers are based on paranoia. The allure of stories like Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is on never quite knowing where anyone’s loyalties truly lie. In the latest Marvel Studio’s TV series, Secret Invasion, we are introduced to a spy thriller/action series steeped in rampant paranoia. The first episode, titled “Resurrection”, sets the stage early on and ends with one of the more heartbreaking endings in the MCU up to this point.
By Nicholas King9 months ago in Geeks