Lists and articles
We are experiencing a list and award drought. Book buying sales might suffer, and the quality of the Websday post might decline, but we persevere! First, here’s a single, lonely list to tide you over: The zaniest alternate histories ever published, compiled by iO9. They’ll always make a list in our hour of need.
We’re also a little lite on articles, but here’s a really juicy one from SF Signal asking the provocative question: What’s wrong with epic fantasy? Other than, I assume, racial exclusion, problematic gender portrayals, obsessive Tolkein-ism, and an infestation of dragons.
At the opposite end of high fantasy, we’ve got high space. NASA is apparently partnering with Tor to produce fact-based science fiction. Which sounds a tad dull, but apparently it involves real live novelists getting to talk to real live scientists and brainstorm. I am reader of science fiction, and I support this message.
Flavorwire also offers us a look at the experience of Tweeting while literary—or, the unfortunate effects of seeing every single one of Stephen King’s first reactions to world news. I sometimes suspect we need that curtain between us and the Wizard.
Writing and publishing news
So much juicy news stuff! A surprising amount of it is about television (the live-action book), so bear with me:
- G. Willow Wilson’s Ms. Marvel is available for the buying and has gone into a second printing. Three cheers for the sale-ability of diversity.
- The lovably creepy 1990s comic book Preacher will be adapted for TV by AMC. It involves Seth Rogen, apparently.
- Scalzi’s Redshirts is also being adapted for the great silver screen.
- And there’s a trailer for a new science fiction movie involving—wait for it—artificial intelligence that turns against its masters to take over the world. Except I kind of want to see it.
- If you’re not a comic book writer or a screenplay-maker, Jim C. Hines offers his advice on the great traditional versus self-publishing divide.
Pretty things
Also limited in the pretty stuff category.
- Here’s all of special effects Oscar history in five minutes. It’s basically a short love letter from science fiction to the rest of the media industry, which says: “You’re welcome.”
- Harry Potter is getting a whole new set of covers, and I might love them.
- I can also offer these adorable books acting out their own stories.
Alix, thank goodness that in this period of shortages you did not choose the “We will serve World Wide Wednesday only upon request” stratagem! Thank you!
In companionship with Jim Hines’ post, here is a fun one from Dave Freer http://madgeniusclub.com/2014/02/11/the-gates-have-been-opened-and-the-walls-are-crumbling/
Fun article on ‘what is wrong with epic fantasy’.
I approve of the new HP covers too.
The HP covers borrow heavily from the movies, I think. They have very much the feel of “Amulet” and I love them for that. (I don’t mind that they evoke the movies, either.)
Just popping in to announce that the new Harry Potter covers you mention here are now for sale over at Nucleus Gallery…http://www.gallerynucleus.com/
And no, I don’t work there. I cruise through there at least once a month because they have some seriously awesome sff art to drool over.