Do we Do we need a remake of Forbidden Planet?? Doesn’t matter—we’re getting one.
BBC released a trailer of the Doctor Who Christmas special. Reactor doesn’t have it, but they saw it.
This is a plug for a local southeastern anthology. The proceeds go to families in Appalachia who lost businesses and homes during the recent hurricanes. I may or may not have a story in it. I’m not being coy; I sent in a story but I haven’t seen the complete TOC yet.
In the weeks following the election,
November 20th, 2024. Marion Deeds | Giveaway!, World Wide Wednesday | no comments |
Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig
2023’s Two Twisted Crowns completes Rachel Gillig’s romantasy duology, THE SHEPHERD KING. Along the way, lovers are parted, bonds are broken, justice is meted out and centuries-old secrets are revealed.
This review may contain spoilers for One Dark Window, the first book of the series.
At the end of the first book, Elspeth revealed that Nightmare, the magical entity she hosts, knew the location of the final Providence card,
November 7th, 2024. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3.5 | Rachel Gillig | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Reactor has an interview with Anna de Marcken, who won the Ursula K. LeGuin award with her novella It Lasts Forever and Then It’s Over, described as “not your usual zombie story.” She states she’s uncomfortable with metaphors.
Judith Tarr sometimes reviews older movies, especially ones with a speculative story element. Here she reviews 1996’s Loch Ness.
Readers won a victory against book-banning in Alaska.
In her newsletter, Charlie Jane Anders talks about first-draft revisions and making words count.
Films that flopped and then became classics: the Guardian has a list.
November 6th, 2024. Marion Deeds | World Wide Wednesday | no comments |
Abeni’s Song by P. Djèlí Clark
P. Djèlí Clark’s 2023 middle-grade adventure novel, Abeni’s Song, kicks off a new series with an engaging heroine, wonderful magic and thrilling adventures. Set in an African forest during the 18th or 19th century, Abeni’s Song follows Abeni as she tries to recover her friends and family from an enemy who calls himself the Witch Priest. The Witch Priest has given the adults of Abeni’s village to the “ghost ships.” It is up to her,
November 4th, 2024. Marion Deeds´s rating: 4.5 | P. Djèlí Clark | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The 2024 World Fantasy Convention, held in Niagara Falls, NY, was a lot of fun. The World Fantasy Con on Sunday, October 20. They included The Reformatory by Tananarive Due for Best Novel, Half The House is Haunted by Josh Malerman for Best Novella, and “Silk and Cotton Awards were announced and Linen and Blood” by Nghi Vo for Best Short Fiction.
I am posting a picture of a black squirrel I saw at Niagara Falls park, because I had never seen that color variation before, and a picture of the waterfalls veiled in mist,
October 30th, 2024. Marion Deeds | World Wide Wednesday | 1 comment |
One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
If I’d checked Amazon, probably I would have learned everything I needed to know about Rachel Gillig’s 2022 fantasy novel One Dark Window. It was a BookTok sensation. I can probably stop there.
One Dark Window is the first of a Duology, the SHEPHERD KING series, a second-world fantasy, or romantasy, actually, since much of our protagonist Elspeth’s time is spent wondering if Ravyn, the grouchy nephew of the king, really likes her,
October 17th, 2024. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3.5 | Rachel Gillig | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Yesterday, the second Tuesday of October, was officially Ada Lovelace Day, in honor of the mathematician who wrote formulae with Babbage, intended for use with his Analytical Engine.
World Fantasy Con starts next week, in Niagara Falls, NY. I’ll be there.
Freya Marske has Book One of a new series coming out, and Reactor has an excerpt.
Nerds of a Feather provides a review of The Principle of Moments. Clara Cohen’s review is harsh, but probably accurate.
File 770 offers a link to this radio interview with Susannah Clarke,
October 9th, 2024. Marion Deeds | World Wide Wednesday | no comments |
In Reactor, Molly Templeton stops to praise things that aren’t brilliant, awesome, amazing, or setting the genre on fire—they’re just good.
I loved The Fall when I first saw it, and then it disappeared. Nerds of a Feather rediscovered it and reviews it here.
Baen’s short story contest is open for submission until February 1, 2025. As I read the summarized guidelines, it looks like they want science fiction.
Here is a list of local agencies providing relief in North Carolina after Hurricane Helene,
October 2nd, 2024. Marion Deeds | World Wide Wednesday | no comments |
Per Locus, it’s official that F&SF has gone quarterly. I don’t know what this means for the magazine, but I don’t think it’s good.
Locus also reviewed Abigail Nussbaum’s new collection of reviews.
One of the smartest and most thoughtful writers in the SF field is Ted Chiang, and in the New Yorker he writes with intelligence and thought about AI as a maker of art.
Continuing with the intelligent and thoughtful writer theme, here’s Richard Powers being interviewed by the U.K.
September 25th, 2024. Marion Deeds | World Wide Wednesday | 1 comment |
Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott
2023’s Thistlefoot, by GennaRose Nethercott, is one of my favorite reads of 2024. This literary fantasy draws from Jewish and Eastern European folktales, with a concretely modern setting, a gloss of mythic American West (hobos and tumbleweeds), and sentences that sing with poetry.
Isaac Yaga is a street performer and a con artist. He can impersonate almost anyone, and he is always on the run, either from the people whose pockets he’s picked, or from his own guilty memories, accompanied only by a small black cat named Hubcap.
September 13th, 2024. Marion Deeds´s rating: 5 | GennaRose Nethercott | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Troy, 100% agreed. Sadly the BBC adaptation is also confused about this. They seem to think Orciny is some kind…
Hey Marion! The weather is the *same* in Ul Qoma and Beszel in the novel. They even have a recurring…
Narrated by Samuel L. Jackson....
On a more serious note, well, shoot. I was torn between reading James by Percival Everett, or rereading Hard-Boiled Universe…
"Goodnight F***ing Moon?" Hahahahahahahaha!