Monthly Archives: December 2021

Pixel Scroll 12/28/21 Journey To The Center Of The Ringworld

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(1) LINDSAY ELLIS LEAVES TWITTER. Hugo-nominated video essayist and Astounding-nominated author Lindsay Ellis has announced her departure from Twitter as a result of dogpiling and other forms of internet abuse.

https://twitter.com/thelindsayellis/status/1475645286617735172

Newsweek connects some of the events leading up to this decision in “Lindsay Ellis ‘Omelas’ Meaning As Vlogger Quits YouTube Over ‘Raya’ Controversy”.

YouTuber Lindsay Ellis has quit social media months after she was at the center of a Twitter controversy over her criticism of the film, Raya and the Last Dragon.

On March 26 of this year, the film critic and content creator ignited a frenzy among movie fans when she compared the Pixar movie to Avatar: The Last Airbender.

A month after the controversy began Ellis discussed it in “Mask Off”.

Ellis explained her decision to leave Twitter in a post available to her Patreon subscribers. Newsweek has seen the post and says, “in it, Ellis discusses her difficult year following the Raya controversy and how she is exhausted by the barrage of criticism she faces online.”

While Ellis’ Patreon post is not for public quoting, one resource she repeatedly cites in it is Porpentine’s “Hot Allostatic Load” from 2015 at The New Inquiry, which is available online (excerpt below).

… This is in defense of the hyper-marginalized among the marginalized, the Omelas kids, the marked for death, those who came looking for safety and found something worse than anything they’d experienced before.

For years, queer/trans/feminist scenes have been processing an influx of trans fems, often impoverished, disabled, and/or from traumatic backgrounds. These scenes have been abusing them, using them as free labor, and sexually exploiting them. The leaders of these scenes exert undue influence over tastemaking, jobs, finance, access to conferences, access to spaces. If someone resists, they are disappeared, in the mundane, boring, horrible way that many trans people are susceptible to, through a trapdoor that can be activated at any time. Housing, community, reputation—gone. No one mourns them, no one asks questions. Everyone agrees that they must have been crazy and problematic and that is why they were gone.

I was one of these people….

Meredith also recommends reading Joreen’s 1976 article “Trashing: The Dark Side of Sisterhood”.

… What is “trashing,” this colloquial term that expresses so much, yet explains so little? It is not disagreement; it is not conflict; it is not opposition. These are perfectly ordinary phenomena which, when engaged in mutually, honestly, and not excessively, are necessary to keep an organism or organization healthy and active. Trashing is a particularly vicious form of character assassination which amounts to psychological rape. It is manipulative, dishonest, and excessive. It is occasionally disguised by the rhetoric of honest conflict, or covered up by denying that any disapproval exists at all. But it is not done to expose disagreements or resolve differences. It is done to disparage and destroy….

Today Kiva tweeted a thread on the theme that “social media is inherently unjust.” Thread begins here.

https://twitter.com/persenche/status/1475689875215060992
https://twitter.com/persenche/status/1475690647101206531

(2) ON THE WAY. “The Bat and The Cat Trailer” dropped yesterday. The Batman comes to theaters March 4.

Vengeance equals justice for both the Bat and the Cat.

(3) SOCKET TO ME. [Item by Andrew (not Werdna).] “How the AIpocalypse begins” or “I Always Do What Teddy Says” updated: “Alexa tells 10-year-old girl to touch live plug with penny” at BBC News.

Amazon has updated its Alexa voice assistant after it “challenged” a 10-year-old girl to touch a coin to the prongs of a half-inserted plug.

The suggestion came after the girl asked Alexa for a “challenge to do”.

“Plug in a phone charger about halfway into a wall outlet, then touch a penny to the exposed prongs,” the smart speaker said.

Amazon said it fixed the error as soon as the company became aware of it.

The girl’s mother, Kristin Livdahl, described the incident on Twitter.

She said: “We were doing some physical challenges, like laying down and rolling over holding a shoe on your foot, from a [physical education] teacher on YouTube earlier. Bad weather outside. She just wanted another one.”

That’s when the Echo speaker suggested partaking in the challenge that it had “found on the web”.

The dangerous activity, known as “the penny challenge”, began circulating on TikTok and other social media websites about a year ago….

(4) POWER POLL. Ursula Vernon polled Twitter readers about a question that may have been inspired by a discussion of editorial power making the rounds. (Or not!) There’s also plenty of comments from writers that follow this tweet.

(5) TWO-DIMENSIONAL SPACE. BoardGameGeek tells how you can “Bring Star Trek and Heroes of Might and Magic III to Your Tabletop” next year. Full game descriptions at the link.  These cards are from Missions.

U.S. publisher WizKids has been releasing Star Trek-themed games for years, and it will release two more such titles in 2022, both being themed editions of previously released games. Star Trek: Super-Skill Pinball makes that connection clear right in the title…

… Star Trek: Missions uses the same game engine as Bruce Glassco‘s Fantasy Realms, with players building a hand of cards that will score points based on the composition of that hand….

(6) TRIBUTES TO TWO SCIENTISTS. The New Yorker is “Honoring the Legacy of E. O. Wilson and Tom Lovejoy”, two scientists who died very recently.

Over the weekend, two of the country’s leading naturalists, E. O. Wilson and Tom Lovejoy, died a day apart. Wilson, who was perhaps best known for his work on ants, was a pioneer in the field of conservation biology; Lovejoy was one of the founders of the field. The two men were friends—part of an informal network that Wilson jokingly referred to as the “rain-forest mafia”—and there was something eerie about their nearly synchronous passing. “I’m trying very hard not to imagine a greater planetary message in the loss of these biodiversity pioneers right now,” Joel Clement, a senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, tweeted on Monday….

The Scientist ran this tribute to Wilson: “E.O. Wilson, Renowned Ant Researcher, Dies at 92”.

… In other work, Wilson performed a mass extinction study by removing insects from six mangrove islands in Florida via fumigation and documenting species recolonization and repopulation over two years. The observations, published in Ecology in 1970, provided insights into species extinction and conservation science.

Wilson is also credited with developing the field of sociobiology, which addresses the biological underpinnings of animal behavior, according to the Post. When he extended this thinking to humans in his 1975 book Sociobiology: The New Synthesis, which argues that people’s behavior is genetically determined, he incited much controversy, reports Reuters.

In the 1980s, Wilson pivoted his efforts to conservation biology, continuing to travel around the world and arguing that only by preserving half the Earth as wild will biodiversity be saved and mass extinction avoided, according to the Times…. 

(7) ANDREW VACHSS. The Official Website of Andrew Vachss reports he has died: “The loss cannot be measured and the debts can only be paid forward.” Vachss’ genre work includes some supernatural noir, the Cross series, and a Batman story.

Some of his most important work (non-sff) included writing about the realities about CASAs (“Court Appointed Special Advocate” volunteers), a program that wants to be “the child’s voice in court.”

Joe R. Lansdale mourned the death of Vachss, who felt like a brother to him. Lansdale linked to a published conversation they had about writing:

(8) MEDIA BIRTHDAY.

1981 — [Item by Cat Eldridge.] Forty years ago, K-9 And Company: A Girl’s Best Friend first aired. It was a pilot for a proposed spin-off of Doctor Who. It features former Who series performers Sarah Jane Smith, an investigative journalist played by Elisabeth Sladen, and K9, a robotic dog voiced by John Leeson. Both characters had been companions of the Fourth Doctor, but they had not appeared together before. 

It was broadcast by BBC1 as a Christmas special long before the traditional Doctor Who Christmas specials which didn’t start until the Tenth Doctor, and it did not become a continuing series. It was created by John Nathan-Turner as written by Terence Dudley who had the Fourth Doctor story, “Meglos” and three stories for the Fifth Doctor. 

Despite not being picked up as a series, it had very good ratings as eight point four million viewers watched it. Under a different production team some twenty-six years later, the overall concept of a Sarah Jane and K9 series did eventually come to be as The Sarah Jane Adventures which would last five seasons. Though K9 would be used sparingly in the new series.

(9) TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS.

[Compiled by Cat Eldridge.]

  • Born December 28, 1913 — Charles Maxwell. He makes the Birthday List for being Virgil Earp in the “Spectre of the Gun”, a not terribly good Trek story. (My opinion of course, yours may differ.)  He also appeared in My Favorite Martian in “An Old Friend of the Family” as the character Jakobar. His longest running genre role was as the Radio Announcer on Gilligan’s Island which he was largely uncredited for. Interestingly he had six appearances playing six different characters on the Fifties series Science Fiction Theatre. (Died 1993.)
  • Born December 28, 1922 — Stan Lee. Summarizing his career is quite beyond my abilities. He created and popularized Marvel Comics in a way that company is thought to be the creation of Stan Lee in a way that DC isn’t thought of as having a single creator.  He co-created the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, the X-Men, Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk, Daredevil, Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Scarlet Witch and Ant-Man, an impressive list by any measure. And it’s hardly the full list. I see he’s won Eisner and Kirby Awards and he won a Hugo at Anticipation for Iron Man. (Died 2018.)
  • Born December 28, 1932 — Nichelle Nichols, 89. Uhura on Trek. She reprised her character in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Other film SF roles included Ruana in Tarzan’s Deadly Silence with Ron Ely as Tarzan, High Priestess of Pangea in The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space, Oman in Surge of Power: The Stuff of Heroes and Mystic Woman in American Nightmares.  Other series appearances have been as Lieutenant Uhura and additional voices in the animated Trek, archive footage of herself in the “Trials and Tribble-ations” DS9 episode and as Captain Nyota Uhura In Star Trek: Of Gods and Men which may or may not be canon.
  • Born December 28, 1934 — Maggie Smith, 87. First genre role was as Theis in Clash of the Titans though she’s better known as Minerva McGonagall In the Harry Potter film franchise. She also played Linnet Oldknow in From Time to Time  and voiced Miss Shepherd, I kid you not, in two animated Gnomes films.
  • Born December 28, 1942 — Eleanor Arnason, 79. She won the Otherwise Award and the Mythopoeic Award for A Woman of the Iron People and also won the Gaylactic Spectrum Award for Best Short Fiction for “Dapple”.  She’s a WisCon Guest of Honor. I wholeheartedly recommend her Mammoths of the Great Plains story collection, which like almost all of her fiction, is available at the usual digital suspects. 
  • Born December 28, 1945 — George Zebrowski, 76. He won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel for Brute Forces. He’s married to Pamela Sargent with whom he has co-written a number of novels, including Trek novels. 
  • Born December 28, 1970 — Elaine Hendrix, 51. I found a Munsters film I didn’t know about (big fan I am, yes) and she’s Marilyn Munster in it: The Munsters’ Scary Little Christmas. She later is Gadget Model 2 (G2) in Inspector Gadget 2. (Anyone watch these?) And she’s Mary in the animated Kids vs Monsters. 
  • Born December 28, 1981 — Sienna Miller, 40. The Baroness in one of the endless G.I. Joe films I’ve no attention ever of seeing, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra to be precise. More interestingly, she’s Victoria in the flawed but still worth seeing Stardust. (Go listen to Gaiman reading it for the best take on it — brilliant that is!) And she’s Darcy in Kis Vuk, A Fox’s Tale, a Hungarian-British animated tale that sounds quite charming. 

(10) COMICS SECTION.

(11) SKY FIE. “Elon Musk sparks China fury as space station takes emergency measures to avoid collision” reports the UK publication Express.

SPACEX CEO Elon Musk faced the ire of Chinese citizens online after their space station was reportedly forced to take evasive actions to avoid collision with satellites.

Chinese citizens lashed out against the tech billionaire’s space ambitions on Monday after satellites from Starlink Internet Services, a division of Musk’s SpaceX aerospace company, had two “close encounters” with the Chinese space station. According to a document submitted by China to the UN space agency, the incidents occurred on July 1 and October 21.

In the papers, Beijing complained about how the near-miss incident “constituted dangers to the life or health of astronauts aboard the China Space Station”.

It said: “During this period, Starlink satellites launched by Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) of the United States of America have had two close encounters with the China Space Station.

 “For safety reasons, the China Space Station implemented preventive collision avoidance control on 1 July and 21 October 2021, respectively.

“For safety reasons, the China Space Station took the initiative to conduct an evasive manoeuvre in the evening of that day to avoid a potential collision between the two spacecraft.”…

(12) HE LOOKED. John Scalzi’s “Brief Review: Don’t Look Up” is at Whatever. Just quoting the first line here – don’t want my excerpt to bogart the post.

I liked it a lot, which is not surprising as it combines two of my favorite things — astronomy and satire — into one movie, and then also gives me an excellent cast and a pretty good script…. 

(13) ALTERNATE APOLLO. Jeff Foust reviews Chris Hadfield’s alternate-history novel: “Review: The Apollo Murders” at The Space Review.

… Such a book could easily go disastrously bad, but Hadfield pulls it off. He manages to find a balance between the narrative tension involved in a thriller, with multiple characters and plot lines coming together for the climax, with the technical details space enthusiasts will be looking for. Hadfield offers plenty of such details, whether it’s flying a Cessna or a high-performance jet or a lunar lander. He also mixes in actual historical figures among the fictional ones, like Gene Kranz, Alan Shepard, Sam Phillips, and Vladimir Chelomei (an author’s note at the end lists those actual figures.) Hadfield pays great attention to such details and others throughout the book; it might be overlooked or simply underappreciated by some readers, who simply want to get on to the next part of the plot, but such details never really drag the pace of the action….

(14) GILGAMESH GOES HOME. “Ancient Gilgamesh tablet returned to Iraqi National Museum” – The National News has the story.

A rare antique clay tablet that bears a portion of the Epic of Gilgamesh was returned to Iraq from the US on Tuesday in a victory for the war-torn nation in its long-running struggle to repatriate stolen artefacts.

The 127mm by 152mm fragment dates back 3,500 to 4,000 years. It was part of a group of more than 17,000 artefacts smuggled from Iraq decades ago and illegally imported to nations around the world. The tablets and other objects were seized from the Oklahoma-based Hobby Lobby company.

The chain of arts and crafts shops was forced by the US government to relinquish the items in 2017 and fined $3 million for failing to act on expert advice that the objects may have been looted or to declare their provenance to the authorities….

(15) RESISTANCE IS FUTILE. “Dave Eggers Created the Google-Amazon Mash-Up of Your Nightmares” – the New York Times’ Kara Swisher interviews the author of The Every.

… kara swisher: One thing about this book, which is — it’s a little funnier than “The Circle,” which was a slightly more malevolent and menacing, although it’s the same company. Right? You seem to have gotten a little more of a sense of humor about it. One of the quotes was, “You’re disobedient and we strive to be too. Disobedient was a recently favored word replacing mutinous, which had replaced insurgent, which had replaced disruption, disruptor, which is, of course, the one they use now.”

david eggers: Yeah, I love the language of Silicon Valley. There’s always a word that is the word of the month or the word — and I can’t believe “disruption” is still out there. It’s been there for six, seven years or something and people are still using it. And everything for that period of time is measured against that word. Is it disruptive or is it not disruptive? Is this taco that I’m ordering, is that disruptive? I don’t know. And so — I had a lot of fun trying to think of not just the words that exist now but what would they invent or use in the future. And if you’re on the bleeding edge of that next word, the next “disruption,” you are seen as, I guess, a visionary in some way. But the words are kind of, they’re always — nouns used as verbs is always an easy thing to go for. But they’re always kind of awkward words. A little bit muscular but awkward and ungainly. And so it makes conversations so clunky and strange, almost like you’re talking in a second language in translation. Because so often you’re like, well, that word doesn’t at all belong there. It never meant that before, but here we are using it….

(16) THUMBS DOWN. Of course you want to know: “5 Worst Sci-Fi Movies Of 2021 (According To Rotten Tomatoes)”.

… Looking back at the 2021 releases, there were plenty of new sci-fi features released to keep audiences entertained. While some fantastic movies were offering fresh and fun takes on robot uprisings, anti-hero carnage, and anime endings, many fell short of the mark. This list looks back at the 5 worst sci-fi releases of the year according to Rotten Tomatoes featuring lackluster demonic possessions, bored Bruce Willis, and contrived romances….

Bliss (28%)

Directed by Mike Cahill and starring Owen Wilson as Greg and Salma Hayek as Isabel, Bliss follows recently divorced, Greg who happens to meet the strange and enigmatic Isabel at a bar. Isabel seems to know Greg and believes that the world they inhabit is a simulation. What follows is a messy mix of attempted mind-bending as Greg and Isabel begin to lose sight of what is real and what is fantasy. Bliss misses the mark with both its sci-fi and romance elements, leaving viewers wishing for an escape back to reality….

(17) VIDEO OF THE DAY. [Item by Martin Morse Wooster.] In “The Matrix Resurrections Pitch Meeting” on Screen Rant, Ryan George, in a spoiler-filled episode, had the writer say that the first three Matrix movies told a story that “was over.  It was done with.”  So in the fourth film,  Keanu Reeves plays a video game developer who has told the story of the Matrix in three video games and is forced to make a fourth one.  The film basically retells the story of the first Matrix movies with additions that are so confusing that the producer asks at the end of the pitch, “What was that about?”

[Thanks to Andrew Porter, Michael Toman, Cat Eldridge, Meredith, Todd Mason, amk, Jeffrey Jones, Anne Marble, Andrew (not Werdna), Mike Kennedy, Martin Morse Wooster, JJ, and John King Tarpinian for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day Daniel Dern.]

DisCon III Daily Covid Report Has Five New Cases

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DisCon III emailed members on December 28 about five more positive test results among people who attended last week’s Worldcon. This will be the final daily report from their COVID response team tracking contacts after the convention. One more report will be sent next week. Overall, as of December 27th, 31 people have reported positive test results, one of which was a false positive.

Here are links to the earlier reports:

The report begins with a comparison of DisCon III’s Covid statistics with those of the District of Columbia generally, then follows with updated CDC and other advice about how to handle positive tests. Details of the five new cases are at the end.

DisCon III December 28 Email

As we move further in time from DisCon III, it becomes increasingly difficult to be certain that any given COVID case was contracted at the convention instead of during post-convention activities. Today is our last daily email. We will send another update one week later, but we will generally limit our reporting to tests conducted before 12/26 whose results were delayed in arriving, or to members who were symptomatic before 12/26 but had difficulty obtaining tests.

This email contains the 5 new cases at the top, followed by the text of our previous email for easy reference. If you have any questions or concerns, please email [email protected].

Overall, as of December 27th, 31 people have reported positive test results, one of which was a false positive.

To put these numbers into context, DisCon III had approximately 2,300 attendees. In the ten days between December 17th and December 26th, 26 of them—1.13%—reported positive test results.

In contrast, the District of Columbia has approximately 670,000 residents. In the ten days between December 17th and December 26th, 17,546 of them—2.62%—reported positive test results.

This is not and cannot be a perfect comparison. Among other things, we do not know what percentage of DisCon III members did not report their COVID status to DisCon III, or what percentage of DC residents’ tests have not been reported to the Department of Health. But we hope having context for DC’s overall infection rate will help explain why the number of cases reported in these emails has been so high. The fact that our apparent rate is lower than the general DC rate, we attribute it to our masking and vaccination requirements.

(We are calculating starting from December 17th because that was the first day DisCon III received a case report, and ending December 26th because DC has not yet made available data from December 27th. We are including DisCon III’s false positive in this number because DC does not extract false positives from its data.)

Please note that the CDC has updated its isolation and quarantine advice as of December 27, 2021.

  • For people who are unvaccinated or are more than six months out from their second mRNA dose (or more than 2 months after the J&J vaccine) and not yet boosted, the CDC now recommends full quarantine for 5 days followed by strict mask use for an additional 5 days after exposure
  • Individuals who have received a booster should wear a mask at all times when around others for 10 days following exposure but do not need to quarantine.
  • DisCon III encourages all attendees to act as though they were exposed, and we especially encourage this of anyone who attended a Business Meeting, as a disproportionate number of cases occurred among participants there.

What to do if you test positive for COVID-19?

  • Tell the convention at [email protected]. We will keep your name private but may share anonymized information about your activities for contract-tracing purposes. With your consent, we will also report non-anonymized data to the DC Department of Health.
  • If your positive test result was from an at-home antigen test, try to obtain a PCR test for confirmation.
  • If you are a resident of DC and used an at-home antigen test, report the result to DC. If you live in another jurisdiction, ask your doctor how to report your result.
  • Think about where you were and if you had your mask off.
  • Inform anyone you know personally and were in close contact with about your test result
  • Close contact is defined as someone who was within 6 feet for a total of 15 minutes or more within 2 days prior to illness onset, regardless of whether the contact was wearing a mask.
  • The CDC recommends an initial 5-day isolation period. If after 5 days you are asymptomatic, you no longer need to isolate but you should wear a mask when around others for 5 additional days. If you are still symptomatic after 5 days, you should continue to isolate. (This is an updated recommendation released on December 27th.) Day zero is the first day you develop symptoms or test positive.

Case AA 

  • Received a positive PCR test result on Sunday, 26th December, for a test conducted on Thursday, 23rd December
  • Asymptomatic
  • Was at the Omni Shoreham beginning Monday, December 13
  • Visited the dealer’s room and the art show repeatedly
  • Attended program items including:
    • Almost There Filk (Tue)
    • Open Ceremonies (far back on left) (Wed)
    • Amy McNally concert (Wed)
    • Pick, Pass, or Play Filk (Wed)
    • Stroll with the Stars (unmasked) (Thur)
    • Changing Genes (far back on right) (Thur)
    • Memorial Filk Circle (Thur)
    • Chaos Filk (Thur)
    • Filk Concert (Fri)
    • What Is Filk (Fri)
    • Seanan McGuire concert (far back on left) (Fri)
    • Tiara workshop (Fri)
    • Chaos Filk (Fri)
    • Stroll with the Stars (unmasked) (Sat)
    • Culture of the Conquered (far back on left) (Sat)
    • Sara Heney (far back on left) (Sat)
    • 2020 Ruined My Book (back row against the wall) (Sat)
    • Closing Ceremonies (middle of front middle section) (Sun)
    • Dead Dog Filk (Sun, after 8 pm)
  • Attended the Masquerade (first row back from the big aisle, middle of row) and the Hugo Awards (first row back from big aisle, middle of row)
  • Dined at Lebanese Taverna (5 pm Thur), Robert’s Restaurant (evening Fri), Rajaj (5:30 pm Sat)
  • Dining companions have tested negative

Case AB

  • Received a positive PCR test result on Monday, 27th December, for a test conducted on Tuesday, 21st December.
  • Symptoms include running nose, cough, headache, and body aches
  • Partner tested negative on Tuesday, 21st December, but began experiencing symptoms on Thursday, 23rd December, and is now seeking an additional test
  • Was at the Omni from Thursday, 16th December, through Monday, 20th December
  • Dined in Robert’s Restaurant Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings. Ate dinner at Lebanese Taverna Friday and Sunday evenings
  • Visited the dealer’s room and attended the Hugo Awards reception, ceremony, and afterparty
  • Participated in Saturday evening karaoke
  • Socialized in the lobby and by the firepits outside the hotel

Case AC – Marcia Illingworth, named by request

  • Tested positive on Monday, 27th December, after difficulty obtaining a test
  • Symptomatic since Wednesday, 22nd December
  • Stayed off-site at the Days Inn
  • Worked Magpie Curios in the dealer’s room from Wednesday through Sunday
  • Dined at Thai Pad on Wednesday, 15th December
  • Roommates have tested positive, see below

Case AD – Sally Kobee, named by request

  • Tested positive on Monday, 27th December, with a home antigen test
  • Symptoms began Monday, 20th December, and include scratchy throat, nasal congestion, and cough
  • Stayed off-site at the Days Inn, roommate of case AC
  • Commuted via metro
  • Spent all five days of the convention working in the dealer’s room

Case AE – Ralph Franklin Smith, named by request

  • Tested positive on Monday, 27th December, with a home antigen test
  • Asymptomatic
  • Stayed off-site at the Days Inn, roommate of case AC

It’s Spider-Man Vs. Spider-Man As The Beyond Era Comes To A Surprising End

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The final issues of Amazing Spider-Man’s Beyond era arrive in March. Zeb Wells, Patrick Gleason, Cody Ziglar, Kelly Thompson, and Saladin Ahmed over the past few months have delivered a Spider-Man saga for the ages in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man. And the biggest surprises of the Beyond era are still yet to come. Stick around to catch more adventures of Ben Reilly as Spider-Man, discover new secrets behind the Beyond corporation, and meet terrifying additions to Spider-Man’s legendary rogues gallery like Queen Goblin. Then witness Ben Reilly and Peter Parker go web to web with the future of Spider-Man up for grabs as the Beyond era come to an end in March.

See issue covers and synopses following the jump.

Continue reading →

Pixel Scroll 12/27/21 The Force That Through The Green Pixel Drives The Scroll

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(1) NEW YEAR’S WHO. “Doctor Who’s special time loop trailer teases huge Dalek moment” – Digital Spy introduces the clip. BEWARE SPOILERS.

The New Year’s Day special ‘Eve of the Daleks’ will see Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor getting stuck in a time loop with Yasmin Khan (Mandip Gill), Dan Lewis (John Bishop) and a group of deadly Daleks.

The episode also features Aisling Bea and Adjani Salmon in the roles of Sarah and Nick as they get ready to celebrate the start of the new year….

(2) TRANSPORT OF DELIGHT. Julian Yap and Fran Wilde begin weekly publication of The Sunday Morning Transport in January, delivering speculative fiction using a newsletter platform. Subscribe for one free story a month, or become a paid subscriber and get a story every week.

Subscribing to Sunday Morning Transport means bringing a a new speculative short story connection to your inbox every week, fifty weeks a year.

Sunday Morning Transport readers are makers, thinkers, scientists, artists, authors, dreamers. With a single speculative short story each Sunday, we connect across space and time. We deliver, right to your inbox: a moment of whimsy; a deep dive into an unknown world; a single illuminating transformation; a vibrant community of readers and writers built around the best new speculative stories each week.

Free subscribers receive one story a month. Paid subscribers receive one story each week, fifty weeks a year.  For paid subscribers, there’s more: the opportunity to join in a conversation about story, to ask questions, and to help build a year’s worth of moments with authors including Max Gladstone, Karen Lord, Elwin Cotman, Kij Johnson, Kat Howard, Elsa Sjunnesson, Kathleen Jennings, Katherine Addison, Juan Martinez, E.C. Myers, Maureen McHugh, Tessa Gratton, Sarah Pinsker, Michael Swanwick, Brian Slattery, Malka Older, and many more. 

Subscribe now, and get ready for your Sunday Morning Transport starting in January 2022.

(3) BUILDING A HUGO CATEGORY. Ira Alexandre has launched a discussion on Twitter by asking: For purposes of a Game Hugo, what does it mean for a game to be “in the fields of science fiction, fantasy, or related subjects”? Thread starts here.

(4) A BAD WORD. Frell from Farscape is my favorite genre swear word, says Cat Eldridge. “Smeg and the art of sci-fi swearing” at Kerrang!

…For a long old time, the quickest way to get taken out of libraries or complained about by parents was to include swearing. This led sci-fi creators to come up with new alternatives to the usual suspects, both to evade censorship and emphasise the ‘otherness’ of the worlds in which their tales took place (if a movie was set 10,000 years in the future and started with someone calling someone else a shithead, that would just seem plain silly).

Bill The Galactic Hero by Harry Harrison is a terrific book, a laugh-out-loud funny anti-war satire with a hidden gut-punch of an ending. A bleakly hilarious look at the futility of war and the cruelty with which people can treat one another, it’s a book that should be read by as many people as possible – ideally when they are about 12. During the title character’s ascension through the ranks of the Space Troopers, there’s plenty of effing and jeffing, except Harry opts for his own coinage, ‘bowb’, instead of the curses we all know and love.

As with a lot of made-up swear words, ‘bowb’ is kind of all-purpose – the phrases “Don’t give me any of your bowb!”, “Get over here, you stupid bowb!” and “What is this, “Bowb Your Buddy Week?” suggest it can be substituted in easily enough for ‘shit’, ‘bastard’, ’asshole’ and ‘fuck’….

(5) IN TIMES TO COME NEXT WEEK. Nicholas Whyte tries the thought experiment of anticipating next year with the help of films and stories that treat 2022 as history: “2022 according to science fiction, in novels and films” at From the Heart of Europe. Some of these sources aren’t very helpful!

Time Runner (1993)

What’s it about? Mark Hamill, unsuccessfully attempting to fight off an alien invasion of Earth in 2022, somehow gets sent thirty years back in time to try and prevent it all from happening. He tangles with a corrupt politician who is destined to become the collaborationist president of the world, and ends up assisting at his own birth.

Is 2022 really going to be like that? Actually most of the film is set in 1992, apart from the very beginning and occasional flashforwards. As of now, we don’t (yet) have a President of Earth; as for the alien invasion, we will have to wait and see….

(6) FANZINES IN THE FAMILY TREE. Andrew Porter tells why the Gothamist report is sff-related: “Patti Smith Receives Key To New York City: ‘I Wish I Could Give NYC The Key To Me’”. It has to do with the photo accompanying the article.

In his last weeks as mayor, Bill de Blasio has been bestowing Keys to New York City to a number of figures, including legendary music producer Clive Davis (who helped stage the ultimately Mother Nature-interrupted “Homecoming” concert in Central Park), and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer for his indefatigable support for the city. On his last Monday in office, de Blasio honored one of his favorite artists, the “punk rock laureate,” Patti Smith….

Note Lenny Kaye in the photo behind her. Lenny was a teenage science fiction fan, active in science fiction fandom and publishing a fanzine, Here’s an article about his SF fanzine collection: “The Tattooed Dragon Meets The Wolfman: Lenny Kaye’s Science Fiction Fanzines”, a 2014 Thought Catalog post.

(7) TAKE BIXELSTRASSE TO I-95. Gwen C. Katz tweeted her interpretation of the history that shaped Worldcon’s administrative culture. Thread starts here.

(8) THE PRESTIGE. Catherine Lundoff followed-up the Katz thread with her thoughts about the Hugo Awards. Thread starts here. Lundoff evidently is focused on book-length work, since publishers of finalists like Uncanny, Clarkesworld, and Beneath Ceaseless Skies, for example, aren’t operating with “deep pockets.”

https://twitter.com/clundoff/status/1474138626976010250

(9) END OF WATCH. At Vox: “NASA will let the ISS disintegrate into the atmosphere. Here’s why”. When hasn’t been specified, but “NASA has only technically certified the station’s hardware until 2028.”

The International Space Station brings together astronauts from around the world to collaborate on cutting-edge research, and some have called it humanity’s greatest achievement. But after two decades in orbit, the ISS will shut down, and a crop of several new space stations will take its place. While these new stations will make it easier for more humans to visit space, they’re also bound to create new political and economic tensions.

NASA is scaling back its presence in low-Earth orbit as the government focuses on sending humans back to the moon and, eventually, to Mars. As part of that transition, the space agency wants to rent out facilities for its astronauts on new space stations run by private companies. When these stations are ready, NASA will guide the ISS into the atmosphere, where it will burn up and disintegrate. At that point, anyone hoping to work in space will have to choose among several different outposts. That means countries won’t just be using these new stations to strengthen their own national space programs, but as lucrative business ventures, too….

(10) MEMORY LANE.

1893 — [Item by Cat Eldridge.] One hundred twenty-eight years ago, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes was first published by G. Newnes Ltd. sometime late in 1893 with an actual publication date listed as 1894. It was the second collection following The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and like the first it was illustrated by Sidney Paget. This hardcover edition has two hundred seventy-nine pages comprising twelve stories. The stories were previously published in the Strand Magazine. 

Doyle had determined that these would be the last Holmes stories, and intended to kill off the character in “The Final Problem”, but a decade later a new series, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, would begin in the aftermath of “The Final Problem”, in which it is revealed that Holmes actually survived. 

(11) TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS.

[Compiled by Cat Eldridge.]

  • Born December 27, 1938 — Jean Hale. If you’ve watched Sixties genre television, you’ve likely seen her as she showed up on My Favorite Martian, In Like Flint (at least genre adjacent), Alfred Hitchcock Presents, My Brother the Angel, Wild, Wild West, Batman and Tarzan. (Died 2021.)
  • Born December 27, 1951 — Robbie Bourget, 70. She started out as an Ottawa-area fan, where she became involved in a local Who club and the OSFS before moving to LA and becoming deeply involved in LASFS. She’s been a key member of many a Worldcon and Who convention over the years. She was the co-DUFF winner with Marty Cantor for Aussiecon 2. She moved to London in the late Nineties.
  • Born December 27, 1960 — Maryam d’Abo, 61. She’s best known as Kara Milovy in The Living Daylights. Her first genre role was her screen debut in the very low-budget SF horror film Xtro, an Alien rip-off. She was Ta’Ra in Something Is Out There, a miniseries that was well received and but got piss poor ratings. Did you know there was a live Mowgli: The New Adventures of the Jungle Book series? I didn’t. She was Elaine Bendel, a recurring role, in it.
  • Born December 27, 1977 — Sinead Keenan, 44. She’s in the Eleventh Doctor story, “The End of Time” as Addams but her full face make-up guarantees that you won’t recognize her. If you want to see her, she’s a Who fan in The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot. Her final Who work is a Big Finish audio drama, Iterations of I, a Fifth Doctor story. And she played Nina Pickering, a werewolf, in Being Human for quite a long time.
  • Born December 27, 1987 — Lily Cole, 34. Been awhile since I found a Who performer and so let’s have another one now. She played The Siren in the Eleventh Doctor story, “The Curse of The Black Spot”. She’s also in some obscure film called Star Wars: The Last Jedi as a character named Lovey. And she shows up in the important role of Valentina in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Not mention she’s in Snow White and The  Huntsman as Greta, a great film indeed.
  • Born December 27, 1995 — Timothée Chalamet, 26. First SF role was as the young Tom Cooper in the well received Interstellar. His only other genre role was Zac in One & Two before he played Paul Atreides in Director Denis Villeneuve’s Dune.

(12) COMICS SECTION.

  • The Far Side shows something by the side of the road – a little too big for a hubcap, I’m thinking.
  • The Argyle Sweater spots the moment an undercover operator’s cover is blown.

(13) IS SF ABOUT THE PRESENT OR FUTURE? Star Trek shouldn’t be gloomy insists Reason Magazine’s Eric Studer: “Even if Modern Star Trek Doesn’t Think So, the World Is Getting Better”.

For decades, various incarnations of Star Trek have offered mostly positive visions for the future of humanity—one in which we’ve set aside petty, earthbound squabbles in favor of boldly seeking out new worlds (and, of course, finding the occasional conflict). 

But the first three seasons of Star Trek: Discovery (Paramount+), the seventh television series in the long-running franchise, have too often seemed tied down by storylines that might have more in common with real-world politics of the 21st century rather than the unbridled optimism that was such an important part of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry’s original conception for the show. Discovery is highly serialized, more focused on a single calamity than a larger sense of exploration, and with far more internally focused characters who care more about their own interests than in a larger plan for society.

As a result, Star Trek now seeks to reinforce the trepidation and existential doubt that is a hallmark of our modern culture. Instead of showing the potential of what humanity can become, Discovery seems to reflect more on what the feelings of the human condition are today…

(14) INVADER FROM MARS. Space.com celebrates an anniversary: “On This Day in Space! Dec. 27, 1984: Famed Allan Hills Mars meteorite found in Antarctica”.

On Dec. 27, 1984, one of the most famous Mars meteorites was found in Antarctica. 

…Weighing in at just over 4 lbs., this space rock is considered to be one of the oldest Martian meteorites ever found on Earth. Scientists estimate that it crystallized from molten rock more than 4 billion years ago, when Mars still had liquid water on its surface. It also has been the source of controversy about the search for life on Mars that continues to this day.

(15) NOT JUST ANY KIND OF HORROR. The new episode of the Rite Gud podcast features an interview with John Langan on cosmic horror. And also about the horror of dealing with the publishing industry.

Bram Stoker Award-winning author John Langan joins us to talk about cosmic horror, his novel The Fisherman, upstate New York, how much money writers make (none), and how hard it is to get published when you’re a little too literary for the genre crowd but a little too genre for the literary crowd. Special appearance by Langan’s wiener dog/beagle.

(16) OPENING OUT OF TOWN. “Terry Gilliam’s Disputed Sondheim Show Finds a Home” – the New York Times knows its address.

For weeks, a question hung over London theater: What would happen to Stephen Sondheim’s “Into the Woods”?

On Nov. 1, the Old Vic theater canceled a revival of the musical, co-directed by Terry Gilliam, after a dispute in which the renowned director was accused of endorsing transphobic views and playing down the MeToo movement. That left the production in limbo and London’s theater world wondering if anyone would dare to take it on.

Now, there is an answer. On Aug. 19, 2022, Gilliam’s “Into the Woods” will debut at the Theater Royal in Bath, 115 miles from London. The show will run through Sep. 10, 2022, the theater said in a statement….

(17) CRITICAL COMPONENT. DUST presents a short film about a young robot with a defective part, trying to find their way in the world.

(18) A BETTER PLAN. “Tesla agrees to stop letting drivers play video games in moving cars”  says the New York Times.

Tesla has agreed to modify software in its cars to prevent drivers and passengers from playing video games on the dashboard screens while vehicle are in motion, a federal safety regulator said on Thursday.

The agreement came a day after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a formal investigation of the game feature, which is known as Passenger Play. The investigation was announced after The New York Times reported this month on the potential safety risks the games posed….

(19) VIDEO OF THE DAY. Alasdair Beckett-King’s parodies are news to me but not to his quarter of a million YouTube subscribers. Here’s a sample.

As the first person ever to spoof Doctor Who, I decided not to bother doing an impression of 13 different actors, and just wore a jaunty hat instead.

[Thanks to John King Tarpinian, Andrew Porter, Michael Toman, N., Bill, Raquel S. Benedict, Jeffrey Smith, Nicholas Whyte, Cat Eldridge, Mike Kennedy, Martin Morse Wooster, and JJ for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day Rob Thornton.]

Uncanny Magazine Issue 44 Launches January 4

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The 44th issue of Uncanny Magazine, winner of five Hugos and a British Fantasy Award, will be available on January 4, 2022. 

Hugo Award-winning Publishers Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas are proud to present the 44th issue of their five-time Hugo Award-winning online science fiction and fantasy magazine, Uncanny Magazine. Stories from Uncanny Magazine have been finalists or winners of Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and World Fantasy Awards. As always, Uncanny features passionate SF/F fiction and poetry, gorgeous prose, provocative nonfiction, and a deep investment in the diverse SF/F culture, along with a Parsec Award-winning monthly podcast featuring a story, poem, and interview from that issue. 

All of Uncanny Magazine’s content will be available in eBook versions on the day of release from Weightless Books, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, and Kobo. Subscriptions are always available through Amazon Kindle and Weightless Books.

The free online content will be released in 2 stages — half on day of release and half on February 1. 

Follow Uncanny on their website, or on Twitter and Facebook.

Uncanny Magazine Issue 44 Table of Contents:

Cover

  • Shuffling The Cards by Galen Dara

Editorials

  • “The Uncanny Valley” by Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas
  • “The One Body Problem” by Meg Elison

Fiction

  • “The Night Dance” by Leah Cypess (1/4)
  • “The Calcified Heart of Saint Ignace Battiste” by Christopher Caldwell (1/4)
  • “Ribbons” by Natalia Theodoridou (1/4)
  • “The Haunting of Dr. Claudius Winterson” by Sarah Monette (2/1)
  • “Lily, the Immortal” by Kylie Lee Baker (2/1)
  • “Hundred-Handed One” by Wen-yi Lee (2/1)
  • “How to Safely Store Your Magical Artifacts After Saving the World” by Tina Connolly (2/1)

Reprint

  • “The Clockwork Penguin Dreamed of Stars” by Caroline M. Yoachim (1/4)

Nonfiction

  • “Midnight Mass Talks Too Much but Still Manages to Compel” by Alex Jennings (1/4)
  • “The Future in the Flesh: Why Cyberpunk Can’t Forget the Body” by Lincoln Michel (1/4)
  • “Even After Death: An Essay in Questions” by Shingai Njeri Kagunda (2/1)
  • “Gone with the Clones: How Confederate Soft Power Twisted the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy” by Louis Evans (2/1)

Poetry

  • “Crustacean on Land” by Mehnaz Sahibzada (1/4)
  • “The House Snakes” by Sonya Taaffe (1/4)
  • “a sinkhole invites a street to consider its future” by Dominik Parisien (2/1)
  • “Weaver Girl Dream” by Lisabelle Tay (2/1)

Interviews

  • Christopher Caldwell Interviewed by Caroline M. Yoachim (1/4)
  • Sarah Monette Interviewed by Caroline M. Yoachim (2/1)

Podcasts

  • Episode 44A (1/4): Editors’ Introduction, “The Night Dance” by Leah Cypess, as read by Erika Ensign, “The House Snakes” by Sonya Taaffe, as read by Matt Peters, and Lynne M. Thomas interviewing Leah Cypess.
  • Episode 44B (2/1): Editors’ Introduction, “Lily, the Immortal” by Kylie Lee Baker, as read by Matt Peters, “Weaver Girl Dream” by Lisabelle Tay, as read by Erika Ensign, and Lynne M. Thomas interviewing Kylie Lee Baker.

2021 Steam Awards Nominees

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Steam Awards logo

The 2021 Steam Awards nominees were announced December 22, 2021. Public voting to pick the winners continues through to January 3, 2022. Vote here.

GAME OF THE YEAR

VR GAME OF THE YEAR

LABOR OF LOVE

BETTER WITH FRIENDS

OUTSTANDING VISUAL STYLE

MOST INNOVATIVE GAMEPLAY

BEST GAME YOU SUCK AT

BEST SOUNDTRACK

OUTSTANDING STORY-RICH GAME

SIT BACK AND RELAX

DisCon III Adds Four Positive Covid Tests on December 26

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DisCon III emailed members on December 25 about three more positive test results among people who attended last week’s Worldcon, as their COVID response team continues to track contacts after the convention. Overall, twenty-six people have reported positive test results, one of which was a false positive.

Here are links to the earlier reports:

DisCon III’s Covid team will phase out reporting shortly:

As we move further in time from DisCon III, it becomes increasingly difficult to be certain that any given COVID case was contracted at the convention instead of during post-convention activities. Tomorrow will be our last daily email. We will send another update one week later, but we will generally limit our reporting to tests conducted before 12/26 whose results were delayed in arriving, or to members who were symptomatic before 12/26 but had difficulty obtaining tests.

December 26th Update

Case W

  • Received positive PCR test results on Sunday, 26th December, from a test conducted on Wednesday, 22nd December
  • Has congestion and coughing which began worsening on Tuesday, 21st December
  • Stayed at the Days Inn
  • Was at DisCon III Wednesday through Saturday
  • Visited the dealer’s room and art show
  • Was at both the Masquerade and the Hugo Awards
  • Attended program items including:
    • What Makes a Classic a Classic?
    • Changing Genes, Can We Should We?
    • But I Don’t Want To Be A Hero
    • The Work of Nancy Kress
    • The Fallout of Being the Chosen One
    • Nancy Kress in Conversation
    • Science Talk 4: Climate Change
    • The Future of Work: Post Pandemic Edition
    • Science Talk 12: The James Webb Space Telescope
    • The Softer Side of Science Fiction
    • The Never-Ending Story: Series Fiction
    • Gary K. Wolfe Interviews Nancy Kress
    • They Flubbed the Landing: Disappointing Finales
    • Is The Genre Too Big for Meaningful Hugos?
    • The Magnificent Novella
    • 2020 Ruined My Novel!
    • Science Talk 10: Telescopes and Radio Waves
    • Why Won’t You Stay Dead?
  • Unmasked to eat lunch in the hall on December 16th, in the Blue Room Prefunction on December 17th, and in the Ambassador Ballroom on December 18th, generally around 12:30 pm
  • Ate dinner at Gormand Grill on December 15th (6:30 pm), Rajaji December 16th (6:30 pm), Mayhuel December 17th (5 pm), and Naanwise December 18th (6:30 pm)

Case X

  • Received positive results with a home antigen test kit on Friday, December 24, after testing negative on Wednesday, December 22
  • Stayed at the Churchill as part of a group of four; all other group members have tested negative
  • Attended DisCon III all five days
  • Ate in the Ambassador Room
  • Visited the dealer’s room
  • Attended Opening Ceremonies and the Masquerade
  • Participated in Pick, Pass, Play Filk on Friday night and in the Open Mic Poetry Reading

Cases Y and Z – Russ Kinnard and Deb Kinnard, named with permission

  • Tested positive on an antigen test on Sunday, December 26th, after testing negative on a PCR test conducted on Wednesday, December 22nd
  • Symptomatic since Tuesday, December 21st
  • Stayed on-site
  • Visited the dealer’s room repeatedly
  • Attended Opening Ceremonies, the Hugo Awards (Russ only), Wednesday night Open Filk, and several panels in the Calvert Room
  • Attended the Heinlein Society party Thursday night and Jon Brazee’s signing
  • Ate dinner at Robert’s Restaurant, Open City, Afghan Grill, the bistro that serves crepes, and MacIntyre’s

What to do if you test positive for COVID-19?

  • Tell the convention at [email protected]. We will keep your name private but may share anonymized information about your activities for contract-tracing purposes.
  • If your positive test result was from an at-home antigen test, try to obtain a PCR test for confirmation.
  • Think about where you were and if you had your mask off.
  • Inform anyone you know personally and were in close contact with about your test result
  • Close contact is defined as someone who was within 6 feet for a total of 15 minutes or more within 2 days prior to illness onset, regardless of whether the contact was wearing a mask.
  • The CDC recommends a 10-day isolation period. Day zero is the first day you develop symptoms or test positive.

Pixel Scroll 12/26/21 Recycled Like A Deposit Glass Goblin

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(1) EXTRA EXPANSE. The Verge warns, “PSA: You’ll miss 25 minutes of The Expanse’s final season if you don’t pause it”, and tells you where to find it.

If you’re a fan of The Expanse, like me, you’re probably wondering whether its final six episodes — currently airing each Friday through January 14th — are enough to wrap up its epic story. What you’re probably not wondering: whether Amazon has buried nearly one-tenth of the show’s final season in a place you might not think to look, and can’t even find on your TV.

But it’s true. The Expanse’s production company filmed an additional 25 minutes of story across five vignettes, which you can only access through Amazon’s X-Ray service by pausing the show and scrolling through otherwise hidden menus. (They’re under Bonus Content.) But I couldn’t find them on Apple TV or Google TV, and the showrunners have confirmed that’s because Amazon hasn’t made them available there yet. They’re only on phones, tablets, and computers for now….

(2) WEBB TELESCOPE ON ITS WAY. The James Webb Space Telescope was successfully launched on December 25.

Before the JWST left the pad, the New York Times looked back on “How NASA’s Biggest Telescope Beat Loose Screws, Loose Budgets and Loose Clamps”.

… The Webb telescope is the biggest observatory built for launch into space. Its 18 gold-plated mirrors make for a system that is far more sensitive than the Hubble Space Telescope, which it will succeed as humanity’s most powerful scientific instrument for studying the formation of our universe and distant worlds in our galaxy.

But the Webb, with a price tag of some $10 billion, has trudged through one of the most fraught development timelines of any space program, lasting over two decades and costing billions more than its original estimate.

“The stuff they faced was what a lot of space programs face, because everything has to be perfect on a spacecraft like that — you can’t go fix it after launch,” said Cristina Chaplain, who for roughly a decade led audits of the James Webb Space Telescope at the Government Accountability Office, Congress’ watchdog agency….

(3) JRR AND JK GO TO THE MOVIES. The Guardian’s Guy Lodge doesn’t really long for the old days, but it would never do to be too pleased with the present: “Fellowship of the Ring at 20: the film that revitalised and ruined Hollywood”.

…It might be unfair to draw a straight causal line between Jackson’s project and the glumly corporatised franchise culture that overwhelms Hollywood cinema culture today. For one thing, it shares either the credit or the blame with Christmas 2001’s other colossal fantasy-film event: Chris Columbus’ pedestrian but immediately obsession-inspiring Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the first move in a more conservative strategy – only one film made at a time, at least to begin with – that nonetheless worked like gangbusters. Columbus’ film might not have had its follow-ups ready to go the way Jackson’s did, but its scene-setting narrative and ellipsis of an ending as good as promised them, pending the audience’s thumbs-up….

(4) EATING THE FANTASTIC. Scott Edelman invites listeners to nibble Neapolitan pizza with José Pablo Iriarte in Episode 161 of his Eating the Fantastic podcast.

José Pablo Iriarte

My dinner companion the first night of the D.C. Worldcon was José Pablo Iriarte, a Cuban American author of science fiction, fantasy, and children’s fiction. Their novelette, “The Substance of My Lives, the Accidents of Our Births,” was a finalist for the Nebula Award and was long-listed for the James Tiptree, Jr. Literary Award. Their short fiction has appeared in Lightspeed, Strange Horizons, Fireside Fiction, Daily Science Fiction, Escape Pod, and many other venues, stories which have then been spotlighted on best-of lists assembled by Tangent Online, iO9, and others.

When Jose told me one of his favorite foods was pizza, I knew I had to feed them D.C.’s best, leading me to 2Amys, which Thrillist says prepares “near-perfect, delicate pies with bubbly crusts, fresh mozzarella, and fragrant basil. The Margherita is the baseline against which all Neapolitan pies in DC are judged.”

We discussed their go-to karaoke song, why being a math teacher makes it even harder to write about math, what they learned from Speaker for the Dead, how their feelings about Orson Scott Card help them empathize with those struggling over J.K. Rowling today, why they trunked their favorite story until a friend convinced them to send it out, their method for writing successful flash fiction, why they had no problem keeping their Nebula nomination a secret, how to create a good elevator pitch, and much more.

(5) DORIS PISERCHIA (1928-2021.) Author of thirteen science fiction novels and multiple short stories, Doris Piserchia died September 15 at the age of 92. The family obituary is here.

She published her first short story, the humorous “Rocket to Gehenna,” in 1966. In Orbit 12, in which her story “Half the Kingdom” was reprinted, she wrote, “I live in a madhouse and my nerves are shot. Perhaps this is the reason why I rarely attempt a serious story. Such an attempt would be very easy for me, but I’m afraid to tap the vein right now.” An unpublished story of hers was acquired for Last Dangerous Visions.

(6) MARK TAYLOR OBIT. Toy designer Mark Taylor died December 24 reports Bleeding Cool: “Legendary Toy Designer Mark Taylor Passes Away at Age 80”.

…Mark Taylor was one of the biggest reasons that Masters of the Universe has become what it is, with his incredible designs that came to life right off the paper. Even in 2021, Mattel is still dishing out some absolutely fantastic Masters of the Universe collectibles, including their highly recommended Origins line. He-Man has only expanded his reach outside of Eternia, and it was Mark who helped him get there, and we will continue to admire all the work he has done. Be sure to keep your eyes out for the Lord of Power lines coming from Formo Toys that will give us some original MOTU designs that Mark Taylor has created….

(7) MEDIA BIRTHDAY.

2001 — [Item by Cat Eldridge.] Twenty years ago, Gosford Park premiered. It was directed by Robert Altman from the script by Julian Fellowes, who went on to be the driving force behind the Downton Abbey series. It came together when Director Balaban suggested an Agatha Christie-style whodunit to Altman and introduced him to Julian Fellowes, with whom Balaban had been working on a different project. It is a country manor house mystery in the style that Hercule Poirot’s Christmas was, and in keeping with that kind of mystery had a very large ensemble case: Eileen Atkins, Bob Balaban, Alan Bates, Charles Dance, Stephen Fry, Michael Gambon, Richard E. Grant, Derek Jacobi, Kelly Macdonald, Helen Mirren, Jeremy Northam, Clive Owen, Ryan Phillippe, Maggie Smith, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Emily Watson. 

It was filmed mostly on location using three different manor houses, though sound stages were built to film the scenes of the manor’s downstairs area. Apparently it was also filmed in three different countries — the United Kingdom, the United States and Italy with production costs of nearly twenty million in total. It did very well at the box office with it bringing in nearly ninety million. It was Altman’s second most successful film after M*A*S*H. 

Critics truly loved it with Roger Ebert wringing for the Chicago Sun-Times said it was “such a joyous and audacious achievement it deserves comparison with his very best movies.” And Nell Murray at the Verge summed it up perfectly noting that “For a film about homicide and class conflict, Gosford Park is surprisingly congenial.” Audience reviewers at Rotten Tomatoes currently give it a most excellent rating of eighty-eight percent.

(8) TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS.

[Compiled by Cat Eldridge.]

  • Born December 26, 1903 — Elisha Cook Jr. On the Trek side, he shows up as playing lawyer Samuel T. Cogley in the “Court Martial” episode. Elsewhere he had long association with the genre starting with Voodoo Island and including House on a Haunted Hill, Rosemary’s Baby, Wild Wild West, The Night Stalker and Twilight Zone. (Died 1995.) 
  • Born December 26, 1911 — Milton Luros. Illustrator during the Golden Age of pulp magazines from 1942 to 1954 (yes I’m expansive on what I consider to be to the Golden Age). His work graced Science Fiction Quarterly, Astounding Stories, Future Combined with Science Fiction Stories, Future Science Fiction Stories, Dynamic Science Fiction and Science Fiction Quarterly. He had an amazing ability to illustrate women in outfits in hostile environments that simply were impractical such as one for Science Fiction Quarterly (UK), October 1952 cover had a cut out in her spacesuit so her décolletage was bare.  (Died 1999.)
  • Born December 26, 1951 — Priscilla Olson, 70. She and her husband have been involved with NESFA Press’s efforts to put neglected SF writers back into print and has edited myriad writers such by Chad Oliver and Charles Harness, plus better known ones like Jane Yolen.  She’s chaired a number of Boskones, and created the term “prosucker” which I must admit is both elegant and really ugly at the same time.
  • Born December 26, 1953 — Clayton Emery, 68. Somewhere there’s a bookstore that exist of nothing but the franchise novels and collections that exist within a given franchise. No original fiction whatsoever. This author has novels in the Forgotten Realms, Shadow World, The Burning Goddess, City of Assassins, The Secret World of Alex Mack, Magic: The Gathering and Runesworld franchises, plus several genre works including surprisingly Tales of Robin Hood on Baen Books. Must not be your granddaddy’s Hood. 
  • Born December 26, 1960 — Temuera Morrison, 61. Ahhhh clones.  In Attack of the Clones, he plays Jango Fett and a whole bunch of his clone troopers, and in Revenge of the Sith, he came back in the guise of Commander Cody. He goes on to play him in the second season of The Mandalorian.  Crossing over, he plays Arthur Curry’s father Thomas in Aquaman.
  • Born December 26, 1961 — Tahnee Welch, 60. Yes, the daughter of that actress. She’s in both Cocoon films, as well in Sleeping Beauty which was filmed at the same time. Black Light and Johnny 2.0 in which she’s in might qualify as genre in the way some horror does. She stopped acting twenty years ago. 
  • Born December 26, 1970 — Danielle Cormack, 51. If it’s fantasy and it was produced in New Zealand, she’s might have been in it. She was in Xena and Hercules as Ephiny on a recurring role, Hercules again as Lady Marie DeValle, in Jack of All Trades, one of Kage Baker’s favorite series because, well, Bruce Campbell was the lead. She was Raina in a recurring role, and Samsara on Xena in another one-off and Margaret Sparrow in Perfect Creature, an alternate universe horror film. 

(9) LEGO BEATS INFLATION. “Those Legos under the tree might be worth more than gold one day” – so long as you don’t take them out and play with them. NPR tells why.

Researchers from the Higher School of Economics in Moscow found that select unopened Lego sets on the secondary market saw an average annual return of 11% — that’s higher than gold and shares of some large companies….

(10) HAPPY BOXING DAY. This gift was under somebody’s tree in the Sixties.

(11) NOW YOU KNOW. There are some interesting background stories to seasonal music: “How a French Atheist and an American Abolitionist Ended Up Creating a Christmas Classic” at Yahoo!

…For example, did you know the guy who wrote 1857’s “Jingle Bells,” James Pierpont, despite being from a well-known family of Boston-based Unitarian abolitionists, grew up to become an ardent secessionist and Confederate soldier—and that the first live performance of “Jingle Bells” may have been by a white performer in blackface? (Also, Pierpont’s nephew was J.P. Morgan, so he’s also kinda-sorta to blame for your checking late fees.) Contrast that guy with Ohio’s Benjamin Hanby, also the offspring of abolitionists, who was active alongside his family in the Underground Railroad, and who penned “Up on the Housetop” in 1864….

(12)  DEATH AND TAXIDERMY. Somewhere here in Los Angeles County is Bigfoot Lodge.

Bigfoot Lodge Billows With Mountainous Roadhouse Comforts That Remind You Of A Simpler Time And Place. Truly, A Retreat Chock-Full Of Fireside Pleasures Like Heavy Drinking, Bingo, Trivia, Live Music, And More. Bigfoot Lodge Has Poured For Its Community And Partied Like It’s 1999 Since 1999. It Invites City-Dwellers To Snuggle Up Next To Bigfoot, Smokey The Bear, Other Charming, Yet Sometimes Frightening Taxidermy, And Of Course, Their Favorite Bartender. Bigfoot Lodge Is Always Smiling.

[Thanks to JJ, John King Tarpinian, Andrew Porter, Olav Rokne, Steven H Silver, Rich Lynch, Michael Toman, Cat Eldridge, Mike Kennedy, and Martin Morse Wooster for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day Daniel Dern.]

The Twenty Percent Solution: A Self-Published Science Fiction Competition Judge’s Upvotes

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By Mike Glyer: The Self-Published Science Fiction Competition, created by Hugh Howey and Duncan Swan, is modeled after Mark Lawrence’s Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off.

Ten teams of book bloggers – including Team File 770 – will soon finish winnowing through our share of the 300 entries to decide which ones should make it to the next stage.

Team members are reading the first 20% of each of their 30 books, and recommending the 10 we think the team should read in full. The 10 books that collectively get the most “yes” votes advance to a second stage where they will be read in full by the team and scored.  

Based on reading 20% of Team File 770’s assigned books, I found there are actually 12 I’d say yes to – so I am going to need to cut two more before I finalize this list.

For purposes of this article, I have organized some books with common characteristics into categories – the contest itself doesn’t do so. And my comments are preceded by a condensed version of the book’s self-description, so you can see what the author is trying to do.  

INSIDE THE VIDEO GAME

Alterlife by Matt Moss
Condition Evolution by Kevin Sinclair
The Dark Realm by Anthea Sharp

I tend not to like stories about people being put inside a computer game, so I was pleasantly surprised that I really liked one of the team’s three books with that premise.  In these kinds of stories, unlike actual games, a lot of info has to be dropped in the lap of the point-of-view character so the story doesn’t stall. Therefore, the game play doesn’t feel genuine. (As a game player I may endure being repeatedly killed and starting over as I learn a game, but I don’t want to read that.)

  • Alterlife by Matt Moss (N) No, that’s enough for me

John Crussel hears of how he can make money in a virtual reality video game called Alterlife. But being a hotshot new guy that seems to have all the luck draws the attention of some dangerous people in Alterlife. Through a series of unfortunate events, John becomes the first to contract a deadly virus – in real life. The virus was designed to kill players outside of the game. And John was targeted to be a carrier. Can he rid himself of the virus before time runs out? All John Crussel wanted was to make some easy money. He thought Alterlife was just a game…

This story progresses both inside and outside the game. The prose is well-enough written, but after 20% I wasn’t engaged by a character who was willing to do anything and repeatedly deceives people he is supposed to care about.

  • Condition Evolution by Kevin Sinclair (Y) Yes, I want to read more

When Shaun’s life continues to go from bad to worse, he is offered the chance to escape into an epic game world. One with the power to repair his mind and body while he lives out his wildest dreams. What could possibly go wrong? It turns out fighting monsters and obesity is tough wherever you are! Then there’s the unrequited love. Weren’t the women supposed to fall head over heels with the hero? Not in Anatoli, a brutal and unforgiving land on the brink of apocalypse. If Shaun can survive this very real experience, he might just get to be a hero back in the real world!

Despite being an adventure inside a computer game the author hooked me – I had to learn the fates of his two main characters. Never mind 20% — I read the whole novel right away. It was pretty entertaining.

  • The Dark Realm by Anthea Sharp (N) No, that’s enough for me

What if an immersive game was a gateway to the treacherous Faerie Realm? Feyland is the most immersive sim-game ever designed, and Jennet Carter is the first to play the prototype. But she doesn’t suspect the virtual world is close enough to touch — or that she’ll be battling for her life against the Dark Queen of the faeries. …Together, Jennet and Tam enter the Dark Realm of Feyland, only to discover that the entire human world is in danger. Pushed to the limit of their abilities, they must defeat the Dark Queen… before it’s too late.

Another inside-the-computer-game story, but with two intriguing characters. This feels like a YA novel, and while there are some YA series I thoroughly enjoy, I decided this one wasn’t compelling enough to make the cut for the contest.

FUTURE INFORMATION SYSTEM CONSPIRACIES (POST-INTERNET)

Grandfather Anonymous by Anthony W. Eichenlaub
In My Memory Locked by Jim Nelson
Into Neon: A Cyberpunk Saga by Matthew A. Goodwin
Harvested by Anthony O’Brien

Four of the team’s books revolve around information technology of the not-too-distant future.

  • Grandfather Anonymous by Anthony Eichenlaub (Y) Yes, I want to read more

Elderly, unarmed, and extremely dangerous. Ajay Andersen was the best hacker the NSA had ever hired. Retirement hasn’t slowed him down one bit, thank you very much. When his estranged daughter shows up on his doorstep with his two granddaughters, Ajay will do anything to keep them safe. He’ll hack biotech corporations and criminal enterprises alike. He’ll brave the woods of Minnesota. Nobody after his girls will be safe, but the more he digs, the more he dredges up the shadows of his own dangerous past. He only needs to know one thing: What makes his granddaughters so darn dangerous?

This is a well-written page-turner. The way the story opens made me think of some John Sandford and Lee Child thrillers that begin from the villain’s POV – except this “villain” is the protagonist. At least we know he’s a very ruthless fellow!

  • In My Memory Locked by Jim Nelson (Y) Yes, I want to read more

They hired a cyberpunk detective to recover their stolen memories. They didn’t know his twisted past is the key to the crime. Security expert C.F. Naroy’s investigation across a desolate San Francisco uncovers blackmail, political intrigue, family secrets, and a few dead bodies. Meanwhile, he has to keep tabs on a beautiful young programmer addicted to Blue Pharje, a substance used to forget your past in a world where nothing is forgotten. He also learns the hard way that the stolen data is so explosive, people are willing to kill for it. Then Naroy discovers his own painful past is the key to the entire affair. He must choose between solving the crime…or burying it for good.

This noir-style mystery is set in climate-changed San Francisco of near-future. I didn’t mind the indulgent descriptions of the vegetation-choked cityscape. It’s a murder mystery with cryptic, Hammett-esque clients.

  • Into Neon: A Cyberpunk Saga by Matthew A. Goodwin (N) No, that’s enough for me

Orphaned and alone, Moss is happy to have found a place in the world. But his humdrum working routines take a terrifying turn when a mysterious woman breaks into his apartment and hands him a data chip from his dead parents. Suddenly hearing messages revealing his benevolent employer has a far darker side, he braves the dangerous megacity streets in search of the truth. Surrounded by outcasts and criminals and running on instinct, Moss stumbles onto a rebel group intent on exposing their corrupt oppressors. And though he fears for his life when his old boss has put a price on his head, the naïve man believes the key to taking down the enemy may lie inside the high-tech device… and his own cerebral cortex. Will Moss’s attempt to fight the power cause him to terminally short circuit?

Like The Matrix or Keith Laumer’s short story “Cocoon,” a character finds out his cocooned life isn’t “real”. But 20% into the book he’s only just starting to break out. I was willing to stop reading.

  • Harvested by Anthony O’Brien (N) No, that’s enough for me

The year is 3716. Earth’s resources are depleted. Humanity has been forced into a 21st century computer simulation, controlled by Ikelos, AI at its most terrifying. A seedbank lost to time in the frozen wastelands of a Norwegian island is mankind’s last hope for survival. Jon Stone, a New York physicist, has been extracted out of the simulation by another scientist, Tori. With no memory of Tori or his past life, Jon must trust her as they re-enter the simulation to locate, somewhere in this dangerous, illusionary world, the island’s co-ordinates. Can they avoid the traps in the matrix, find what they seek, and return to the 38th century in time to save humanity before the final extinction?

After an initial flurry of action, the rest of the opening 20% consists of info dumps. Not enough reason to recommend it.

REBELLING AGAINST THE REPRESSIVE REGIME

A Touch of Death by Rebecca Crunden
Aurora Ascending by Dennis Ideue
Cranax Outbreak by Candice Lim
Don’t Speak by Vanessa Heath

The world has no shortage of oppressive governments, and there are many successful sf stories about getting rid of them (The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress) or failing to (1984). Unfortunately, I couldn’t upvote any of the four examples assigned to our team.  

  • A Touch of Death by Rebecca Crunden (N) No, that’s enough for me

The last of humanity live inside the walls of the totalitarian Kingdom of Cutta. The rich live in Anais, the capital city of Cutta, sheltered from the famine and disease which ravage the rest of the Kingdom. It is only by the will of the King that Nate Anteros, son of the King’s favourite, is spared from the gallows after openly dissenting. But when he’s released from prison, Nate disappears. Catherine Taenia has spent her entire life comfortable and content. The daughter of the King’s Hangman and in love with Thom, Nate’s younger brother, her life has always been easy, ordered and comfortable. Two years pass without a word, and then one night Nate returns. But things with Nate are never simple, and when one wrong move turns their lives upside down, the only thing left to do is run where the King’s guards cannot find them – the Outlands. Those wild, untamed lands which stretch around the great walls of the Kingdom, filled with mutants and rabids.

The first 20% seems to dwell a lot on descriptions of the physical injuries sustained by the characters in their flight, which puts the brakes on an already slow-moving story. Didn’t make my cut.

  • Aurora Ascending: Armageddon is only the Beginning by Dennis Ideue (N) No, that’s enough for me

Follow Elliot Greyjoy’s adventures he gathers a force to challenge the invincible fleet surrounding Aether. Vowing to destroy the Emperor that shattered his homeworld, he’s joined by a beautiful telepath, a smartass computer, and an elite team of Terran military forces. First contact, planetary occupation, and evacuation are merely the first trials he must overcome before his quest even begins. Armageddon is only the beginning of the adventure.

This story is about freedom fighters who oppose an alien empire that wants to overwhelm Earth. Although the blurb names a particular protagonist, it takes awhile to get to him. First come a series of scenes each featuring a different male character who emphasizes strict military discipline — except when it might keep him from doing whatever he wants — on a team with a woman who wants to sleep with the commander (him), and does. Although there can be successful stories about a hero who is a puritan, or is a hypocrite, or is simply amoral, I wasn’t able to enjoy a story where nobody around these characters noticed the inconsistency.  

  • Cranax Outbreak by Candice Lim (N) No, that’s enough for me

You can run from the zombies but you can’t run from fate. In the alternate 2020, Asia Nova is governed by a group of elite scientists called the Community. The wrestle for power in the Community thrusts Roxy in the path of the covert party who has unleashed the deadly Cranax virus and abducted her high-profile mentor, Dr. Jane Hershey, who has the only known cure. The Infecteds aren’t the only thing Roxy has to run from. With the masterminds behind Project Cranax hot on her heels, Roxy finds herself in an accidental quest to rescue Hershey.

I found the book plagued by two-dimensional, unbelievable characters in an absurd predicament that didn’t make nearly as much sense as the blurb. Not recommended.

  • Don’t Speak by Vanessa Heath (N) No, that’s enough for me

Speech is illegal. Punishable by death. The doctor took your voice away mere minutes after you were born. Now, over two hundred years after the “Silent Night” bill, people go about their lives, flicking and tapping away at their communication pads while carefully choosing each word so they don’t end up like the ones with missing fingers or entire hands. For years, Rose was the same as everyone around her – nervous when Civility Agents requested a meeting or terrified when Voice Agents rounded people up for interrogation. But, when everything she holds dear is ripped away from her, she has no choice but to run and join the one group she was taught to fear… the Rebellion.

The major premise of why voice speech is surgically prevented from birth is completely undermined by a world of characters who find ways to communicate their words, emotions, and values without it. Therefore, the story is nonsensical.

MILITARY SF

Godeena by Stjepan Varesevac Cobets
Where Weavers Daire by R. K. Bentley
  • Godeena by Stjepan Varesevac Cobets (Y) Yes, I want to read more

Henry Broncon is a Cyber, a type of soldier modified with cybernetics, built to fight in treacherous terrains on far-flung planets and battling alien monsters for their resources. As the only survivor of a brutal war against rebellions Ansker soldier on the planet Morad, the winning terrestrial colonies receive ownership of a system called Naude, comprised of various planets including Godeena. Scientists sent to research the huge, completely preserved but uninhabited city disappear and Special Forces sent to recover them also come up missing. It’s up to Broncon to gather a unit tough enough to withstand the harsh conditions. He takes the worst inmates from an inescapable prison on a poisonous planet Had, to investigate what is happening on Godeena. The unusual team of criminals, led by Broncon, discover what terrors await them there.

It’s not as close to The Dirty Dozen as the blurb might lead you to believe. However, up to the 20% mark it’s a well-written military sf story, and I’d be willing to read more. 

  • Where Weavers Daire by R. K. Bentley (Y) Yes, I want to read more

Ten years after the last war, on the desert world of Stuk’s Hollow, the New Year celebrations are in full swing with gatherings of Houses; the technological, the magical and the mortal. Invisible fingers pull the living, the dead and the banished towards the festivities. It’s just a question of who’s going to reach the festivities first and what secrets they will uncover. The Fallen Techno Mage. The Forgotten Weaver. The Lost Leader. The bloodthirsty evil.

This story is set in a universe where technology and magic are somehow integrated. As we know, it’s not just having that idea, it’s what you do with it. Here’s a fast-paced space adventure, people to rescue, a mystery to unravel, and plenty of interesting characters at work – possibly too many. They come in a flood, and it’s a challenge to keep track of their allegiances. But then, the characters themselves have trouble keeping track, so why should the reader have it any easier? 20% is just an appetizer. I’m ready to ride along for awhile.

COLONY SHIPS

The Voyage of the White Cloud by M. Darusha Wehm
Dusk by Ashanti Luke
  • The Voyage of the White Cloud by M. Darusha Wehm (N) No, that’s enough for me

The White Cloud is the most audacious experiment the human species has ever undertaken—to search for a new Earth. The ship and its crew exist for a solitary purpose—to reach a distant planet and establish a colony. However, the vast majority of people undertaking this journey will not live to see its result, nor were they part of the decision-making process to leave. A novel-in-stories, following the many generations who make the journey, The Voyage of the White Cloud asks how you can find meaning as a slave to destiny, a mere stepping-stone in history. These are the stories of the most ordinary people on a most extraordinary journey.

A series of scenes play out aboard a generation ship that will take many lifetimes to arrive. They amount to character sketches, and I found I didn’t get invested in the characters like I do with a Becky Chambers book. So for me, this book didn’t make the cut.

  • Dusk by Ashanti Luke (N) No, that’s enough for me

With the Earth overpopulated and polluted, a group of twenty premier scientists must depart on a mission to explore Asha, a distant, uninhabited planet that may offer solutions to humanity’s burgeoning problems.But when they arrive at Asha, the scientists are brusquely greeted by a mysterious human military force that imprisons them with no explanation. They find that during their journey, a faster ship not only delivered humans to Asha, but those humans defeated Earth in an interplanetary civil war. With this war and the discovery of an inexplicable link to mankind’s past, the team finds Asha holds more mysteries than answers. Astrophysicist Cyrus Chamberlain is among those who left behind their old lives and risked everything on this journey. Unfortunately for Dr. Chamberlain, he finds that even if he survives the many challenges this new world holds for him, he may have already lost more than he ever imagined.

Scientists on their way to study an alien world have time for many long, deep and real conversations, and to form cliques. But 20% of the way into the book, talking is all that’s happened. The major crisis disclosed in the blurb is still offstage. The highlight has been flashbacks to one scientist’s talks with his young son – though even these are just one more technique to deliver another infodump info to the reader. An infodump which the reader had nowhere to apply, suggesting the story hasn’t started in the right place. Not recommended.

SPACE OPERA

Homecoming by R. D. Meyer
No Easy Road by Greg Camp
Shakedowners by Justin Woolley
The StarMaster’s Son by Gibson Morales
Piercing The Celestial Ocean by Kip Koelsch
  • Homecoming by Russell D. Meyer (N) No, that’s enough for me

Earth. The mere name has had an almost talisman-like pull on the human race since we were driven from our homeworld over 6,000 years ago. Mankind’s ancestors ran from the genocidal threat engulfing them, fleeing like intergalactic refugees towards a new home that would allow us to flourish once again. And flourish we did. From a ragtag group of just over 12,000 survivors, humanity has grown to create a proper empire of nearly 900 billion spanning two galaxies. But we never forgot our home, so we waited and we planned. Now the time was finally right to return to Earth and take back what we once had no choice but to abandon. Our legends had defined us, but could those legends withstand scrutiny? What if everything we’d come to believe about ourselves and our world had been carefully crafted to cocoon us for our own good?

This is a complacently genocidal space opera with scenes of fleet-level conflict and violence. The unexamined racial bloody-mindedness would have fit in well with Fifties sf. As a reader I need more nuance than when this kind of story was the genre’s state-of-the-art. So I haven’t picked it to advance.

  • No Easy Road by Greg Camp (Y) Yes, I want to read more

Five years in the Centauri Royal Navy has earned Lieutenant Thomas Cochrane the disapproval of his superiors. And when his captain dies in an accident that Tom is unable to prevent, the young officer finds himself without a posting and without a future. Unless he can make a destiny of his own. Bertrand Lile spends his days in the shadows, obeying the orders of a clandestine society while harboring his own secret, his belief that a distant enemy is weaving its tentacles into the heart of the Centauri Empire. But his time to prove this is running short. Caught between pirates who want to kill them and their supposed comrades who could end their careers, Tom and Bertrand seek to save their worlds that do not yet know of the looming dangers.

This is a literal Aubrey/Maturin-in-space novel. I didn’t expect to like it precisely because I like Patrick O’Brien’s stories so much. But after 20% the homage was not wearing thin. I’d like to keep going.

  • Shakedowners by Justin Woolley (N) No, that’s enough for me

After graduating bottom of his class at Space Command Academy Iridius Franklin hasn’t had the glamorous career he envisioned, instead he hauls cargo ships full of mining waste, alien land whale dung, and artificially intelligent toy dogs across the stars. Iridius does have talent though – he is exceptionally good at breaking starships. So, when not hauling freight, he is captain of a shakedown crew, a skeleton crew used to test newly constructed ships for faults before the real crew takes over.

A humorous novel. There are some laughs. There are also stressful, supposed-to-be-funny bits. This includes the usual collection of alien crew from races with bodies and other characteristics designed to be mockable by humans. It’s hard to write a funny book, and the author does all right. Others may be ready to go deeper into this story than I am.

  • The Starmaster’s Son by David Morales (N) No, that’s enough for me

When Felik Ullon inherits the StarMaster’s prized ship, what seems like a blessing launches him into a universe of schemers, dark dealings, and truths too uncomfortable for even a black hole to swallow. If Felik is going to survive, he’ll have to discover how his father died, uncover an alien conspiracy, and prevent his brothers from plunging the galaxy into civil war. Meanwhile, across space and time, the bold and cocky inquisitor Kai tracks the biggest bounty of her life, hoping to restore her family’s reputation. Yet killing her target may require unleashing an ancient threat that could dissolve the fabric of the cosmos.

David Morales’ space opera features colorful and inventive military, communication, and space traveling tech. Sometimes it’s over-the-top, like the silly-sounding names of some of the alien races that reminded me of a scene in the Fifties EC Mad Magazine satire of Flash Gordon. Other readers may enjoy following along just to see what he thinks up next. But I didn’t vote for this one to move on in the competition.

  • Piercing the Celestial Ocean by Kip Koelsch (N) No, that’s enough for me

Disgraced scientist, Captain Anton Ekels, seizes the opportunity for redemption he recognizes in the Endeavor’s near-collision with an alien stasis pod. Expelled from the mouth of a remote wormhole, the capsule—once taken onboard the deep space research vessel–reveals clues that the captain believes may link its female humanoid occupant to an alternate reality. Six-hundred years earlier on the other side of the wormhole, Grand Master G’lea and her assistant, Master T’reau, aim their innovative celestiscope skyward and make a heretical discovery. Suppressed and warped by influential P’nesian Clerics, this startling revelation further secures the dominance of the Grand Conclave, enhances the mystery of the Heavenly Visitors and seals the fate of G’lea and T’reau. Hundreds of years later, on this oft-denigrated island, unique circumstances unite a sea captain raised on those whispered tall tales with the estranged son of the powerful P’nesian Archcleric. Aboard the Vagus, A’zra and G’regor begin an adventure that not only challenges entrenched religious beliefs, but eventually inspires a much greater scientific leap—towards the Celestial Ocean and beyond.

In the first 20%, a wormhole explodes, alien technology is explored at university; then we jump to a historical flashback to an islander culture with Stone Age level astronomical lore that ties in somehow. These intriguing beginnings make it a close decision, but I downchecked this book from my recommendation list.

GENERAL SCIENCE FICTION

Lost Solace by Karl Drinkwater
Mantivore Dreams by S. J. Higbee
Numanity by Alexander Lucas
Retrieval by Regina Clarke
Sidnye (Queen of the Universe) by Scott Fitzgerald Gray
Fanatic’s Bane by Edmund de Wight
Gods of the Black Gate by Joseph Sale
Sped-Bot: DroidMesh Trilogy Book 1 by Billy DeCarlo
The Prometheus Effect by David Fleming
The Hammond Conjecture by M. B. Reed
  • Lost Solace by Karl Drinkwater (Y) Yes, I want to read more

Sometimes spaceships disappear with everyone on board – the Lost Ships. But sometimes they come back, strangely altered, derelict, and rumoured to be full of horrors.  Opal has stolen Clarissa, an experimental AI-controlled spaceship, from the military. Together they have tracked down a Lost Ship, in a lonely nebula far from colonized space. The Lost Ship is falling into the gravity well of a neutron star, and will soon be truly lost … forever. Legends say the ships harbor death, but there’s no time for indecision. Opal gears up to board it. She’s just one woman, entering an alien and lethal environment. But perhaps with the aid of Clarissa’s intelligence – and an armoured spacesuit – Opal may stand a chance.

The protagonist finds and boards a seemingly deserted spaceship — but it’s trying to kill her. She’s helped by a companion AI, who she isn’t telling everything. The way the story builds discovery-by-discovery reminds me of what I liked about Rendezvous with Rama, except the lethal threats have more in common with Rusch’s Diving Universe. However, the story moves at an even more dynamic and compelling pace than either of them. I want to read more.

  • Mantivore Dreams by S. J. Higbee (Y) Yes, I want to read more

On a colony planet, in a hot, dusty village where no one wants to live, is someone who was exiled there a long time ago. Someone who stole something so precious, others are prepared to lie, kidnap and murder to get it back. Drawn into this web of deceit is Kyrillia, a teenager who dreams of running the village’s branch of the Node, the planetwide organic information system, but instead drudges for her mother… Seth, member of the disgraced Priest family who toils as a day labourer on the smelliest, most thankless jobs in the village… And Vrox, an ancient, sentient alien who lives only in Kyrillia’s imagination, or so she thinks… When Kyrillia sneaks into the Node and opens up a forbidden site, she triggers a chain of events that not only rips through her own life, but affects those living thousands of miles away in the capital. For when something so precious goes missing, others will stop at nothing to get it back.

The novel starts out as a story of village life, with a young protagonist who is abused, and seems to share her consciousness with an alien, or else is simply a child with an “invisible friend.” She hasn’t been told some important bit of her background. Neither has the reader by the 20% mark, but at least it all moves along at a good pace.  I think it’s a yes on my list.

  • Numanity by Alexander Lucas (Y) Yes, I want to read more

In a future beset with rising seas, and darkened skies, technology stays the tide and tries to plug the holes that humanity creates. Hubris sees two technological powerhouses with different philosophies at odds with each other. A son tries to figure his place in the world while two youths try to survive in theirs and unwittingly set into play a series of events that threaten to change the status quo of humanity.

In the future we see the development of a reality entertainment game from both the contestant and evil corporation’s sides. And on both sides there are rivalries between convincing characters – both the sympathetic ones, and the nasty ambitious ones.  It’s an engaging tale, and I think it should advance to the next phase.

  • Retrieval by Regina Clarke (Y) Yes, I want to read more

For Gillian Hall running her diner in the Mojave Desert is the good life, until a man calling himself Gabriel arrives as her enigmatic and unpredictable new short-order cook. On the same day fiery explosions streak across the sky. Everyone in town assumes their presence must be part of a military operation from the nearby base. What do the blasts really signal? Gillian’s quiet world shifts into an unknown reality when seven starbreakers—alien ships—enter Earth’s atmosphere. One of them is destroyed, scattering valuable and dangerous technology into the desert in its wake. Five ships depart. The last starbreaker, the Menocai, stays to retrieve the lost debris before the military can find it, but its self-absorbed commander, Malakai, has an additional need. He wants Gillian as well. He has sent his brother Inac, in the guise of Gabriel, to retrieve her.

In the American desert, aliens return to recover tech lost in a prior mission. Human locals, sympathetically and interestingly drawn, are unaware of what is happening around them but trying to figure it out. I want to know what happens to these people, so I’d like to read more. 

  • Sidnye (Queen of the Universe) by Scott Fitzgerald Gray (N) No, that’s enough for me

Life is complicated enough when you live full-time at boarding school because your parents are dead, and when the other students around you are mostly idiots, and when you’re doomed to spend the rest of your existence in cafeteria detention because you just can’t stop annoying the people in charge of your life. But that’s when you discover the headaches you’ve been having aren’t just a part of being thirteen and feeling the weight of the world hammering down on you. That’s when you realize the dreams you’ve been having are more than dreams, and the people you thought you were closest to are less concerned with caring about you than with keeping you from knowing the things they don’t want you to know…

First 20% is YA high school drama. Clearly some more complex story is being set up, but it hasn’t started by the 20%-mark, and I don’t feel a need to find out what it might be.

  • Spacefarer: Fanatic’s Bane by Edmund Walker (N) No, that’s enough for me

When Free Agent Malbane of the Interstellar Trade Commonwealth is summoned to the galaxy’s largest space station to quell racial strife she encounters sinister forces willing to destroy civilization to fight forces they believe to be from Hell itself.

A Lensman-like super-agent engages in posturing with other Important Officials, with a (literal) break for masturbation. Not meant as a joke and impossible to take seriously. Not for me.

  • Gods of the Black Gate by Joseph Sale (Y) Yes, I want to read more

“There are those who bow to darkness. And there are others to whom darkness bows.” In 2060 Caleb Rogers and his partner Tom Marvin put away one of the most dangerous serial killers Texas has ever known: Craig Smiley, an ex-infantry mental patient who believes he can summon seven gods through a series of disturbing rituals. Caleb and Tom secured him a life sentence in Mars’s toughest prison. They thought the whole thing was finished. But when Smiley escapes the prison seven years later and sets out once again on his insane mission, Caleb and Tom are sent to Mars to track him down. Both cop and criminal are determined to finish what they started.

It may be set in the future and on Mars, but through the first 20% it’s a crime novel. The story moves at a compelling pace.  A close call, but I am leaning towards a yes.

  • Sped-Bot by Billy DeCarlo (N) No, that’s enough for me

The remnants of human civilization create their own utopia on an alien planet. A brilliant robotic scientist breaks the rules in an attempt to make his impaired son whole. Meshing android and human minds is considered impossible, a societal taboo, and illegal. Can the sorrow of a father, the challenge of a feat never accomplished, and the promise of normalcy for a son who has never known it motivate a man beyond his ethical boundaries?

A robot-creating scientist with a handicapped son, after 20% of the book, appears ready to violate ethical standards and do hugely manipulative and untrustworthy things so the son can have a body that will let him play soccer. His antagonists are a piece of work, too. It’s unpleasant to keep reading how they treat one another. I’m out.

  • The Prometheus Effect by David Fleming (N) No, that’s enough for me

Would Jack’s technology save humankind? It started with Jack’s discovery, but he feared it was a power too great. All around the globe, energy reserves are dangerously low. Superpowers brace for battle over what remains. Should Jack share his energy solution? He thinks it’s too dangerous. The power potential is as important as Prometheus discovering fire and giving it to man. There must be a way to use what he knows, but he’s conflicted. Maybe the brilliant mind of Mykl can solve the puzzle? Mykl is five. Is the answer worth the cost?

The opening part of this novel unveils a dystopian conspiracy theory. There’s too much of what strikes me as child abuse for it to be entertaining. I’ll pass.

  • The Hammond Conjecture by Martin Reed (Y) Yes, I want to read more

Are you sure you know who you are? If your memories disappeared and were replaced with someone else’s, would you still be you? And what if those memories were not just from another person – but of a different world? London 1982 – perhaps. Regaining consciousness in an isolation ward of catatonic patients, glimpsing the outside world only through a television news bulletin, that is the dilemma facing Hugh Hammond. Gradually Hugh’s memories return – of his life as an MI6 officer a decade earlier. But in a world where Britain has been locked in a lonely Cold War against a Fascist-dominated Europe but is now being wooed by the Third Reich to join its European Community. Are his memories false: delusions, or implanted as part of a mind-control experiment? Or was the television news fake – and if so, why? And what is the role of Carlton, the shadowy Intelligence officer who delivered him there?

In this alternate history tale, the protagonist seems to have been swapped to another timeline, circa 1969 Britain. Or else he’s insane. He’s trying to figure it out. Oliver Sacks of Awakenings is a relevant part of the background. What I’ve read so far is very interesting.

SPSFC art by Tithi Luadthong. Logos designed by Scott (@book_invasion)

2021 Dream Foundry Writing Contest Winners

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Dream Foundry announced the winners of its 2021 Writing Contest on December 23. 

The contest was open to relatively new writers.

 WRITING CONTEST

  • First Place: “Cooking: A Science” by Shinjini Dey
  • Second Place: “Amadi on the Concrete” by Jarred Thompson
  • Third Place: “Clear As Water, Red As Ruin” by Sigrid Marianne Gayangosm

The first place winner receives $1000; second place, $500; and third place, $200.

Other Finalists

  • Kay Orchison
  • Kellye McBride
  • C. Bradley White
  • Amy Johnson
  • Brienne D. Hayes
  • Robin Sebolino
  • Cat T.

The writing judges were Premee Mohamed and Vajra Chandrasekera and contest coordinators were Vajra Chandrasekera and Jade Doumani.