Randall Ritnour, Steve Rzasa Talk About the Takamo Universe RPG
By Carl Slaughter: In the 80s, Takamo was a snail mail RPG launched by a couple of college students. In the 90s, it switched to email. Now it’s browser/minion based and operates on the latest platforms. Over the decades, Takamo … Continue reading →
Marshall Ryan Maresca’s Maradaine Constabulary
By Carl Slaughter: Sheila Gilbert, editor of the distinguished DAW speculative publisher, was pretty impressed with Marshall Ryan Maresca. “Sometimes I am just stunned by the faith that Sheila Gilbert and DAW have placed in me,” Maresca said when I … Continue reading →
What Can We Say to One Another? A Review of Arrival
By PhilRM: NB: Since a film must stand on its own, I make no comparisons to Ted Chiang’s “The Story of Your Life” which was the basis for the screenplay. Also, this review contains no spoilers (I hope) beyond material … Continue reading →
Pixel Scroll 11/19/16 Don’t Pixel Me, I Didn’t Scroll!
(1) BEST OF TREK. ScreenRant ranks “The 20 Best Characters in Star Trek History”. Warning: Quark is on this list. Creating something that stands the test of time is no easy feat, let alone creating something that can stay relevant … Continue reading →
LASFS Publishes Forry Award Anthology
The Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society’s Ad Astra and Beyond: The Forry Award Anthology has been released as an Amazon Kindle ebook. The anthology features some of the top names in science fiction, all past recipients of the award: Frank Kelly … Continue reading →
Crystal Huff Resigns as Co-Chair of Worldcon 75
Crystal Huff, who spent years working to bring the Worldcon to Helsinki and, after they won the bid for 2017, became co-chair of Worldcon 75, resigned today citing the need to give family and career priority. She will continue working … Continue reading →
Adam Christopher and Raymond Electromatic
By Carl Slaughter: Robot. Detective. Noir. Hollywood. FBI. Hit man. AI. Science fiction. Alternate history. 1960s America. Adam Christopher blends it all in his tales of the world’s last robot. Brisk Money came out in 2014 and Made to Kill … Continue reading →
Pierce Brown’s Color-Coded Rebel
By Carl Slaughter: Pierce Brown’s debut novel, Red Rising, received 1,300 reviews on Amazon. The sequel, Golden Son, 1,800 reviews. The conclusion, Morning Star, released in September 2016, 1,500 reviews. These reviews were overwhelmingly 5-star. RED RISING “ I live … Continue reading →
Pixel Scroll 11/18/16 R.U.R. Or R.U.Ain’t (My Baby)
(1) PETALS TO THE METAL. At Young People Read Old SFF, curator James Davis Nicoll is a little worried: My hit rate for this series so far has been… somewhat lower than I hoped. It’s not that I am going … Continue reading →
Kenya Barris Is 2016 Serling Award Recipient
Black-ish co-creator Kenya Barris is the 2016 winner of The Rod Serling Award for Advancing Social Justice Through Popular Media, given to a “contemporary media industry professional whose work shines the light on prejudice, inequality, and evolving social norms.” Established by … Continue reading →
Latest Kong: Skull Island Trailer
New trailer for Kong: Skull Island starring Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson. Coming to theaters March 10, 2017.… Continue reading →
Pixel Scroll 11/17/16 The Pixel Opened A Blue Scroll And Winked At Him
(1) COZY HORROR? In the November 12 Financial Times, columnist Nilanjana Roy explains why she likes “Black Mirror” — “’Black Mirror’ and ghost stories of a digital dystopia”. (* Article is behind a paywall, but you can get to it … Continue reading →
Wonder and Horror at the KGB Bar With Langan and Kressel
By Mark L. Blackman: On the evening of Wednesday, November 16, 2016, the Fantastic Fiction Readings Series hosted readings by authors John Langan and Matthew Kressel, both very familiar faces, at its longtime venue, the distinctively décored 2nd-floor Red Room … Continue reading →
Worldcon 75 Posts Its Code of Conduct
Worldcon 75, the 2017 Helsinki Worldcon, now has its Code of Conduct online at https://www.worldcon.fi/coc/. This Code of Conduct applies to “any Worldcon 75 associated events or spaces, physical or virtual, up to and during Worldcon 75 itself.” The committee introduces … Continue reading →
Underground Railroad Wins National Book Award
Colson Whitehead won the 2016 National Book Award for fiction for Underground Railroad, the story of Cora, a young slave who escapes captivity in the South. In Whitehead’s novel the historical Underground Railroad is a literal rail network. “Two steel … Continue reading →
SFPA Announces 2016 Poetry Contest Winners
The winners of the Science Fiction Poetry Association’s 2016 Poetry Contest are posted. Prizes were offered in three divisions: Dwarf (10 lines or less), Short, and Long (50+ lines). The winners were selected by Michael Kriesel. Contest chair F.J. Bergmann … Continue reading →
Pixel Scroll 11/16/16 I’ve Filed Through The Desert On A Scroll With No Name
(1) THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD. Professor Hawking did not say it’s time for us to start looking for the next planet to ruin, but that would be one way of looking at his prediction – “Stephen Hawking Puts An Expiry … Continue reading →
Poetry and Prose at NYRSF Readings With Kij Johnson and Sonya Taaffe
By Mark L. Blackman: On the evening of Tuesday, November 15, 2016 – an otherwise dreary day – the New York Review of Science Fiction Readings Series presented Kij Johnson and Sonya Taaffe at its venue, the Brooklyn Commons Café … Continue reading →
Curtis Chen’s Kangaroo Espionage Series
By Carl Slaughter: Debut author Curtis Chen is a Clarion graduate and has studied under Ursula Le Guin, James Patrick Kelly, John Crowley, and John Scalzi. His 2016 short stories have been published in Andromeda Spaceways Magazine and Daily Science … Continue reading →
Pixel Scroll 11/15/16 The Manhunt Extended Across More Than One Hundred Pixels And Eight Box Tick Scrolls
(1) NAMING CALLS. Katie Rask announced that the YA Award Survey has had over 1,200 entries so far. (2) THE SHIRT OFF YOUR BACK. The gift-giving season approaches, so it’s time to pay another visit to the Litographs store, where … Continue reading →
Premios Ignotus 2016
The winners of the Premios Ignotus 2016 (2016 Ignotus Awards) were announced November 5 at BCon-Hispacon. The awards are administered by Spain’s Asociación Española de Fantasía, Ciencia Ficción y Terror. In the Foreign Novel (Novel Extranjera) category, Claire North’s The Fifteen Lives of … Continue reading →
2016 Goodreads Choice Awards Finalists
The 2016 Goodreads Choice Awards finalists are posted. The second round of voting just concluded eliminated five semifinalists, leaving 10 nominees to choose among in the last round of voting, which is open from November 15-27. Here are the finalists … Continue reading →
Worldcon 75 Membership Figures
Worldcon 75, the 2017 Worldcon in Helsinki, has released their latest membership numbers. 3,182 Attending 1,818 Supporting 5,000 Total That’s a good size compared against other Worldcons held outside North America (provided you set aside the record-setting LonCon 3 in 2014). Outtakes … Continue reading →
Pixel Scroll 11/14/16 The Fen From S.C.R.O.L.L. And P.I.X.E.L.
(1) TRUTH IS STRANGER. Norman Spinrad has posted on Facebook the original English version of the afterward commissioned by the French publisher for the special 40th anniversary edition of the first French edition of Bug Jack Barron. That anniversary is now … Continue reading →
Smofcon 34 Program Released
Smofcon 34 has posted a draft of its program [PDF file]. The con for conrunners takes place December 2-4 in Chicago. Its theme is “Opening Conventions to Everyone.”… Continue reading →
San Jose Ready To Process Presupporter Conversions… Continue reading →
Worldcon 76 chair Kevin Roche told Facebook readers they have squared away online registration: Registration is open again! Apparently switching to “radio buttons” on the first page of the form was the problem, so we’ve gone back to the drop-down … Continue reading →
Beauty and the Beast First US Official Trailer
Here’s the first U.S. trailer for Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast. (Well, Emma Watson is live anyway.) Due in theaters March 17, 2017.… Continue reading →
A. G. Riddle Begins with a Crash
By Carl Slaughter: Departure. A time travel mystery thriller romance. Out last July in paperback from A.G. Riddle, author of the Origin/Atlantis trilogy. Described as Quantum Leap meets Bridget Jones’ Diary. En route to London… Continue reading →
