(1) SUSANNA CLARKE ON NATIONAL BBC RADIO. [Item by SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie.] BBC Radio 4’s Book Club devoted its programme this Sunday to Susanna Clarke’s 2020 novel Piranesi. It was short-listed for the Hugo, Nebula, Kitschies, BSFA, World Fantasy, Dragon Awards, and won the Woman’s Book Prize. It also won Hungary’s Zsoldos Péter – ‘Best Translated Novel’.
Its plot concerns Piranesi, whose house is no ordinary building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls are lined with thousands upon thousands of statues, each one different from all the others. Within the labyrinth of halls, an ocean is imprisoned; waves thunder up staircases, rooms are flooded in an instant. But Piranesi is not afraid; he understands the tides as he understands the pattern of the labyrinth itself. He lives to explore the house. There is one other person in the house – a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge. But as Piranesi explores, evidence emerges of another person, and a terrible truth begins to unravel, revealing a world beyond the one Piranesi has always known…
Over four million copies have been sold worldwide. Currently, Oregon animation studio is adapting it for the big screen.
Susanna was interviewed in front of an audience who then got to ask questions.
Susanna Clarke won the Women’s Prize for Fiction with her novel Piranesi. She joins James Naughtie and a group of readers to answer their questions about this intriguing, tantalising novel.
You can download the .mp3 here: BBC Radio 4 – Bookclub, Susanna Clarke: Piranesi.
(2) ASHEVILLE: A REPORT FROM A FAN. [Item by Michael J. Walsh.] The author, Steven Vaughan-Nichols, was a member of the Washington SF Association, then years ago he moved to Asheville. “I’m a tech pro – but when a hurricane hit my mountain home, the disconnection shocked me” in ZDNET.
…We didn’t know this information then because our power had failed, the internet was down, and our phones were out. A few hours later, our water stopped, and a week later, most of these services were still out. (Cellular reception is better in some areas but still not what it was.)
Completely disconnected
After the first day, it began to sink in just how disconnected we were — not just from the world but also from friends only half a mile away. It’s horrible when you start to realize how bad things are in your community and can’t reach people to see if they’re OK.
I’d expected my power and internet to be off — an ERC Broadband 100 gigabit per second fiber backbone cable was down in my front yard. However, I didn’t expect to lose my Verizon cellular service. More fool me.
While most cellular towers were still up, 70% of western NC’s cell phone towers and equipment were out of service because their fiber connections had been cut. We had no fiber, no net, no phone, and no connection to anyone beyond our neighborhood.
Life is different without connections. I stay in touch with my friends, co-workers, and family through email, Slack, social networks, and, in a pinch, phone calls and texts. However, all of these communication methods were out. That also meant my loved ones, friends, and colleagues couldn’t reach me to ensure I was okay….
(3) HWA’S FUTURE. Mary SanGiovanni has published a wide-ranging discussion of her aspirations for the Horror Writers Association: “On the HWA” at A Writer’s Life.
So… I’d like to talk about writing organizations and the Horror Writers Association (HWA), from one professional writer to another, and to our industry at large. I have been plucking the strings of this particular harp for many years, and I think I may have, in the past, come across as critical, but that’s because I want to be proud of the HWA and see it do well. I have served as a Trustee, so I understand the inner workings to some extent. I am an Active member, and have been, on and off, for almost two decades. I see all that the organization could be and I can’t — I just can’t – give up on it without trying once more to generate some discussion about how to utilize the HWA to strengthen our position in the publishing world.
The following is what I would like the HWA or any other writing organization that I am a member of to be,- in a perfect world — or maybe just a fantasy world. If the HWA would like to use any of these ideas, please do so with my blessing and enthusiastic support. Also, please see the disclaimers which follow, as I imagine they will address any number of complaints people may have with the following essay….
Here’s an excerpt:
MISSION/FOCUS
Some years ago, the HWA opened the doors of its membership to Associate members, which, at the time, included editors, publishers, agents, booksellers, librarians, etc. Now, I absolutely think that it is crucial for writers (and for the organization as a representative of those writers) to work with people in other facets of the publishing industry. I believe the HWA should be able to facilitate such relationships through networking opportunities, introductions, directories, etc.
That being said, I also think that a writing organization should never lose sight of its primary goal, which is to protect the rights of and foster opportunities for writers. There are times (e.g. contracts) when the best interests of writers and the best interests of, say, publishers, may be at odds. It is important to have a steadfast supporter of writers to guide the business transactions and best practices whenever possible. That is harder to do if the writing organization’s loyalties are split between two factions. Maybe some rule or by-law (or general practice which governs decisions and official actions of the board) should generally reflect or default to writers’ interests. Perhaps the organization can find ways to work out compromises that all might be satisfied with, but writers’ interests should come first.
Also, I believe that a professional writing organization should foster an environment of professionalism — should insist on it, actually, at least in the spaces where the organization holds some dominion. Many of us think of our industry as a community or even a family of sorts, where business and pleasure in a sense often mix. Of course they do. We’re colleagues and co-workers, but also close and cherished friends, even lovers and spouses. There are people in this business I would take a bullet for. Of course we care about each other. BUT…
This is first and foremost an industry, a business. We need to treat it like one, and we need an organization, if called upon, to shepherd that professionalism. We need it to make wise and shrewd business decisions concerning the well-being of the membership. We need it to arbitrate in business matters, to support efforts of writers to demand fair treatment, equal pay (or hell, payment at all), and help navigate contractual snares, and to examine ways in which it can promote fairness and equality in the professional arena for all writers….
(4) DOWN TO THE WEAR BARS. LAist warns those planning a Halloween-tribute visit to this shrubbery that it is out of order: “PSA: The ‘Halloween’ hedge in South Pasadena is under maintenance”.
Every October, scores of people flock to a classic California Craftsman in South Pasadena to pay tribute to the horror flick, Halloween.
Just like the mask-wearing Michael Myers did in that exact location, visitors would peer out from the behind the hedge in maximum creepy fashion.
The stance requires one foot to be firmly on the lawn adjacent to the hedge. Day in, day out — it has amounted to quite a bit of wear and tear.
“We’ve always had an issue with our grass in general, so it’s not just that one area, but obviously because people do stand in that section…,” said Esther Park, who lives in the South Pasadena house with her family….
… The process of reseeding and fertilizing the entire front lawn is likely to take the next few months, estimated Park.
To alert those seeking photo ops, Park’s husband first put out plant labels asking folks to not step in the section, but recently had to upgrade to planting orange flags around it.
“I don’t know how much people really pay attention to that,” she said…
Here is the relevant clip from the 1978 movie: “The Hedge Scene”.
(5) JOSHI FELLOWSHIP TAKING APPLICATIONS. [Item by Michael J. Lowrey.] The John Hay Library at Brown University invites applications for its 2025 S. T. Joshi Endowed Research Fellowship in H. P. Lovecraft. The Fellowship is provided for research relating to H.P. Lovecraft, his associates, and literary heirs. The application deadline is January 17th, 2025.
The Hay Library is home to the largest collection of H. P. Lovecraft materials in the world, and also holds the archives of Clark Ashton Smith, Karl Edward Wagner, Manly Wade Wellman, Analog magazine, Caitlín Kiernan, and others. The Joshi Fellowship, established by The Aeroflex Foundation and Hippocampus Press, is intended to promote scholarly research using the world-renowned resources on H. P. Lovecraft, science fiction, and horror at the John Hay Library (projects do not need to relate to Lovecraft). The Fellowship provides a monthly stipend of $2,500 for up to two months of research at the library. The fellowship is open to students, faculty, librarians, artists, and independent scholars. Applications are encouraged for projects that make use of material not already available digitally through the Brown digital repository.
For more information and to apply, please visit https://library.brown.edu/joshi/.
(6) HWA ANNOUNCES COMPLAINT RESOLVED. HWA’s Volunteer Coordinator Lila Denning published this statement about the resolution of complaints brought by Cynthia Pelayo and Clash Books.
In my official capacity as HWA Volunteer Coordinator, I was asked to share this information:
In response to official complaints filed by author member, Cynthia Pelayo, and publisher member, Clash Books, the HWA engaged its formal Anti-Harassment Policy and met with both parties. The HWA Board is pleased to report, that the complaint has been settled and both parties are in agreement with plans to go forward. While any terms are private between the two parties and the HWA, there are a few statements that, at the request of both parties involved, the HWA agreed to share with the larger HWA membership to eliminate confusion and/or speculation in the public sphere.
Clash would like to truly apologize for sharing untrue personal information about Pelayo, her family and representatives, while Pelayo would also like to publicly apologize for tagging authors and parties who had nothing to do with the situation on social media. Otherwise, all parties want to be clear that they are going to be at StokerCon in June 2025 and have no problem being in the same places in a professional setting. The parties involved appreciate their privacy in this matter and are ready to move on.
Finally, Pelayo, Clash Books, and the HWA Board would like to remind all members that the HWA is here to support their members. There is a formal process to deal with harassment. All parties want to encourage others in the HWA community to bring their concerns to the Board rather than taking their issues to social media.
The HWA Anti-Harassment Policy can be found here.
(7) JOKER FLINGS BOMB. NO ONE INJURED. [Item by Mike Kennedy.] Joker 2 has laid an egg at the box office, but no heads will roll. The Hollywood Reporter believes it knows why. “’Joker: Folie à Deux’ – Who Is to Blame for the DC Disaster?”
… But over the Oct. 4-6 weekend, everyone at Warners, including the executive duo, were left reeling as Folie à Deux collapsed in its box office debut with a $37.8 million domestic opening after becoming the first comic book movie in history to receive a D CinemaScore. Phillips, according to one source, spent the weekend in seclusion on a ranch property he owns.
Domestically, Folie à Deux opened well behind DC’s 2023 The Flash ($55 million) and Marvel Studios’ The Marvels’ ($46.1 million), both of which were major bombs. It also came in behind Sony’s relatively inexpensive Morbius ($39 million).
“It is complete audience rejection,” says one source close to the film.
Overseas, Folie à Deux came in at an estimated $81 million, in line with expectations but still notably behind the first film.
While it is not the lowest North American opening for a pic based on a DC character, Joker: Folie à Deux is major stumble. Yet numerous sources tell THR that there’s no studio head in Hollywood — save perhaps for Sony Pictures’ Tom Rothman — who would have turned down making a sequel to a film that was both a commercial and critical hit. To boot, Abdy and De Luca were under orders by Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav to fill a bare cupboard after the studio’s Project Popcorn disaster, which alienated talent by sending its entire 2021 slate day-and-date to streaming service Max. Zaslav also is keen to exploit the company’s IP more fully.
“It is a collective failure, but it was right to make this movie,” says one top veteran producer and financier, who points out that Phillips is a brilliant directorwho has made Warners billions between the first Joker and The Hangover movies.
Still, observers wonder how De Luca and Abdy could have presided over a film that veered so far off course from what audiences wanted or expected.
One answer, perhaps: Phillips was given an extraordinary level of autonomy and final cut. There was no test screening, though insiders say this was a mutual decision between the filmmaker and Warners in order to preserve spoilers. That decision does stretch credulity, as the film does not have a particularly spoiler-heavy plot, and even spoilerific movies like Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Engdame had multiple test screenings…
(8) ROBERT J. COOVER (1932-2024). Author Robert J. Coover died October 5 at the age of 92. Honestly, to me, his most interesting book was The Universal Baseball Association, J. Henry Waugh, Prop. (1968) about a fantasy baseball league, however, the Associated Press didn’t even mention it in their obituary:
…His notable works included “The Babysitter,” in which a night out for the parents multiplies into a funhouse of alternative realities; “You Must Remember This,” an X-rated imagining of the leads in “Casablanca,” and the novel “Huck Out West,” in which Coover continued the adventures of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn.
“A lesson I learned from reading (Thomas Pynchon’s) ‘V’ has stuck with me all my life: All my work is basically comic,” he told the Boston Globe in 2014. “That’s the only thing I have ever written. Even though they’re not always viewed as such, the books are all meant as comic works.”…
The New York Times admired those books and some others, including The Public Burning.
…Political myths came into Mr. Coover’s cross hairs in “The Public Burning” (1977), a novel that reimagined the case of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, the married couple who were convicted of conspiring to steal atomic bomb secrets for the Soviets and executed in 1953.
The novel featured the Rosenbergs and other historical figures, like Richard M. Nixon and J. Edgar Hoover, as well as two mythic characters, Uncle Sam and the Phantom, who represented the overheated rhetoric of Cold War antagonism.
…Mr. Coover was an aggressive purveyor of puns and other willfully playful devices (he once named a detective Philip M. Noir), a tendency that some critics found both energizing and exhausting….
(9) COMICS SECTION.
- Carpe Diem claims it’s all in the timing.
- Rubes has another take on that asteriod.
- Spectickles announces a landing.
- Crankshaft says Bradbury predicted our future.
- Tom Gauld knows some people can’t stand winning.
(10) ‘ARCS’ BOARD GAME REVIEW. [Item by N.] A little late, but it seems that there was a delay on retail sales because of the East Coast port strike. Now that the strike is concluded, expect copies to show up at your local tabletop game store over the course of this month. “Arcs, from Leder Games, turns a folk card game into a space opera” at Polygon.
…Arcs: Conflict and Collapse in the Reach is yet another radical attempt at tabletop innovation. The end result, available at retail beginning Oct. 1, is a unique approach to single-session strategy wargaming that evokes classics like Risk and Twilight Imperium. But when paired with a massive day-one expansion, Arcs morphs into a mind-blowing three-session campaign game with evolving rules and curious in-fiction discoveries. It’s completely over the top in all the best ways, and there’s nothing yet released quite like it….
(11) IT’S NOT PRINCE ALBERT IN THESE CANS. “Thunderbirds: Berkshire unseen film cans found in garden shed” – BBC has the story.
Film cans containing unseen footage of the Thunderbirds TV show have been found in a garden shed.
A family found the cans – light-tight containers used to enclose film – in a Buckinghamshire shed belonging to their father, who was an editor on the show and died recently.
Stephen La Rivière, from Century 21 Films which received the 22 old cans, said they mainly contained Thunderbirds material from the 1960s, including an alternative version of an episode that was never broadcast.
It is hoped the footage – filmed on the Slough Trading Estate in Berkshire – can be shown to the public as part of the series’ 60th anniversary next year….
(12) CAROL ANN FORD WANTS BACK IN. “Original Doctor Who star ponders ’emotional’ return” she tells the BBC.
… Carole Ann Ford, from Ilford, played Susan, granddaughter of the Doctor played by William Hartnell when the BBC show started in 1963. The character has been frequently mentioned in the recent series with Ncuti Gatwa.
During an appearance at Luton Comic Con, the actress said she wanted to return although she admitted it “would be very emotional.. very emotional”.
“I don’t know if I could survive the excitement actually, it would be intense beyond all intensity,” she said.
Carole Ann Ford, far right, says a return to Doctor Who will be emotional 60 years on
The 84-year-old is the last member of the original cast following the death of William Russell in June.
She said: “It’s not just returning, it would bring back all the memories of William Russell and Jackie and Bill [William Hartnell] and various other people who aren’t with us anymore.
“I might be a little bit overcome and start blubbing.
“I keep being reminded I’m the last one standing and it’s not something I’m happy to hear.”…
… Last year the character returned to screens in a newly colourised version of the 1963 episode, The Daleks, which was broadcast on BBC Four to mark the show’s 60th anniversary.
The actress encouraged fans to be vocal in their support of her return if there was any chance of her returning.
In an interview on BBC Three Counties Radio, she hinted that she had had “one or two” conversations about returning in the past.
“I’ve had many conversations about going back, maybe not with the right people, I don’t know,” she added.
When it was suggested her character could be recast, she joked: “They better not, I’d burn the studio down.”…
(13) PUMPKIN SPICE MIL-SF. Military.com says these are “The 10 Best Military Horror Movies for the Halloween Spooky Season”.
It’s difficult to make a decent military horror movie. If we want the audience to be scared, the good guys need to be scared, too — but the scariest things about life in the U.S. military are black mold in the barracks and jet fuel in the drinking water. Frightening? Yes, absolutely, but not in a Hollywood “scream queen” kind of way.
Still, a good military horror movie isn’t impossible. The stakes just need to be a bit higher, the monsters a bit bigger and the heroes a bit harder. And the terror most often isn’t from the supernatural: The biggest bogeyman for the military in horror movies is usually the government, just like in real life….
1. “Aliens” (1986)
“Alien” is probably the greatest sci-fi horror movie ever made, so it only stands to reason that a sequel that employs space Marines to fight the aliens is going to make for the best military horror movie ever. Indeed, “Aliens” has everything the original has: a scary monster (the Xenomorphs), a great hero (Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley) and a lot of people to shockingly kill off one by one. It’s even scarier because the audience knows exactly that, aside from the threat of getting ripped in half, what makes “Aliens” so frightening is being hunted and overrun by a swarming enemy — an enemy you know is going to impregnate you orally and stick you to a wall for the baby to exit via your chest. It doesn’t get much better (or worse, depending on who you ask) than that….
(14) TALL WALL. “Huge LEGO ‘Game of Thrones’ The Wall Has 200,000 Pieces – Is Very, Very Cool” reports the Bell of Lost Souls.
The Wall is maybe the most iconic setting in Game of Thrones. Constructed by Bran the Builder in the Age of Heroes, it marks the northern border of the Seven Kingdoms. Some three hundred miles long and several hundred feet high in most places, it is one of the wonders of the world. Of course, the wall is no normal wall; it is built of ice and carries potent magical protections.
Originally meant to keep the Others out of the Realms of Men, for most of its history, it instead kept the Wildlings of the North out of the Seven Kingdoms. The Wall is home to The Night’s Watch. This order of men sworn to defend the Wall and the Realms of Men has built a number of castles into the Wall. Along with the Red Keep, it is one of the major setting locations of the story.
The Wall has now been rendered in stunning detail in LEGO. Done by the talented Anuradha Pehrson (you can find their Flickr here), this immersive build has over 200,000 pieces. It’s a truly massive build and includes several sections of The Wall and vignettes combined into one. The model takes up a full 5 ft x 5 ft square and is about 4.5 ft tall. Due to having several elements and scenes, it is not consistent on one scale.
[Thanks to Andrew Porter, John King Tarpinian, Chris Barkley, N., Michael J. Walsh, Michael J. Lowrey, Cat Eldridge, SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie, Steven French, Kathy Sullivan, Teddy Harvia, and Mike Kennedy for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day Daniel Dern.]