Congratulations to all the Hugo Award winners & nominees of the 2022 Hugo Awards ceremony held last night in Chicago at the 80th WorldCon science fiction convention. I was really hoping that “Light From Uncommon Stars” by Ryka Aoki would win for the best novel, but it was not meant to be, I guess. To be fair, I have not yet read “A Desolation Called Peace” by Arkady Martine! I have checked it out from the library, and it’s my next read. It is a great honor to be nominated or win at the Hugos, so again, congrats to all!

Best Novel

• A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine (Tor Books)

Best Novella

• A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers (Tordotcom Publishing)

Best Novelette

• “Bots of the Lost Ark” by Suzanne Palmer (Clarkesworld, Jun 2021)

Best Short Story

• “Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather” by Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny Magazine, Mar/Apr 2021)

Best Series

• Wayward Children by Seanan McGuire (Tordotcom Publishing)

Best Graphic Story or Comic

• Far Sector, written by N.K. Jemisin, art by Jamal Campbell (DC Comics)

Best Related Work

• Never Say You Can’t Survive by Charlie Jane Anders (Tordotcom Publishing)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

• Dune, screenplay by Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve, and Eric Roth; directed by Denis Villeneuve; based on the novel Dune by Frank Herbert (Warner Bros / Legendary Entertainment)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

• The Expanse: “Nemesis Games,” written by Daniel Abraham, Ty Franck, and Naren Shankar; directed by Breck Eisner (Amazon Studios)

Best Editor, Short Form

• Neil Clarke

Best Editor, Long Form

• Ruoxi Chen

Best Professional Artist

• Rovina Cai

Best Semiprozine

• Uncanny Magazine, publishers and editors-in-chief Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas; managing/poetry editor Chimedum Ohaegbu; nonfiction editor Elsa Sjunneson; podcast producers Erika Ensign & Steven Schapansky

Best Fanzine

• Small Gods, Lee Moyer (icon) and Seanan McGuire (story)

Best Fancast

• Our Opinions Are Correct, presented by Annalee Newitz and Charlie Jane Anders, produced by Veronica Simonetti

Best Fan Writer

• Cora Buhlert

Best Fan Artist

• Lee Moyer

Non-Hugo Awards:

Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book

• The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik (Del Rey Books)

Astounding Award for Best New Writer, sponsored by Dell Magazines

• Shelley Parker-Chan (1st year of eligibility)

The 2020 Hugo Awards was virtual this year due to the COVID pandemic. The winners were announced on Saturday 1 Aug 2020 at CoNZealand — the 78th World Science Fiction Convention:

Best Novel

  Winner is

A Memory Called Empire, by Arkady Martine (Tor; Tor UK)

Nominees:

• Middlegame, by Seanan McGuire (Tor.com Publishing)
• Gideon the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir (Tor.com Publishing)
• The Light Brigade, by Kameron Hurley (Saga; Angry Robot UK)
• The City in the Middle of the Night, by Charlie Jane Anders (Tor; Titan)
• The Ten Thousand Doors of January, by Alix E. Harrow (Redhook; Orbit UK)

Best Novella

  Winner is

This Is How You Lose the Time War, by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone (Saga Press; Jo Fletcher Books)

Nominees:

• In an Absent Dream, by Seanan McGuire (Tor.com Publishing)
• To Be Taught, If Fortunate, by Becky Chambers (Harper Voyager; Hodder & Stoughton)
• The Haunting of Tram Car 015, by P. Djèlí Clark (Tor.com Publishing)
• “Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom”, by Ted Chiang (Exhalation (Borzoi/Alfred A. Knopf; Picador)
• The Deep, by Rivers Solomon, with Daveed Diggs, William Hutson & Jonathan Snipes (Saga Press/Gallery)

Best Novelette

  Winner is

Emergency Skin, by N.K. Jemisin (Forward Collection (Amazon)

Nominees:

• “Omphalos”, by Ted Chiang (Exhalation (Borzoi/Alfred A. Knopf; Picador)
• “Away With the Wolves”, by Sarah Gailey (Uncanny Magazine: Disabled People Destroy Fantasy Special Issue, September/October 2019)
• “For He Can Creep”, by Siobhan Carroll (Tor.com, 10 July 2019)
• “The Blur in the Corner of Your Eye”, by Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny Magazine, July-August 2019)
• “The Archronology of Love”, by Caroline M. Yoachim (Lightspeed, April 2019)

Best Short Story

  Winner is

“As the Last I May Know”, by S.L. Huang (Tor.com, 23 October 2019)

Nominees:

• “Do Not Look Back, My Lion”, by Alix E. Harrow (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, January 2019)
• “And Now His Lordship Is Laughing”, by Shiv Ramdas (Strange Horizons, 9 September 2019)
• “A Catalog of Storms”, by Fran Wilde (Uncanny Magazine, January/February 2019)
• “Blood Is Another Word for Hunger”, by Rivers Solomon (Tor.com, 24 July 2019)
• “Ten Excerpts from an Annotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island”, by Nibedita Sen (Nightmare Magazine, May 2019)

Best Series

  Winner is

The Expanse, by James S. A. Corey (Orbit US; Orbit UK)

Nominees:

• InCryptid, by Seanan McGuire (DAW)
• Planetfall series, by Emma Newman (Ace; Gollancz)
• Winternight Trilogy, by Katherine Arden (Del Rey; Del Rey UK)
• The Wormwood Trilogy, by Tade Thompson (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
• Luna, by Ian McDonald (Tor; Gollancz)

Best Related Work

  Winner is

“2019 John W. Campbell Award Acceptance Speech”, by Jeannette Ng

Nominees:

• Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin, produced and directed by Arwen Curry
• The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick, by Mallory O’Meara (Hanover Square)
• Becoming Superman: My Journey from Poverty to Hollywood, by J. Michael Straczynski (Harper Voyager US)
• The Pleasant Profession of Robert A. Heinlein, by Farah Mendlesohn (Unbound)
• Joanna Russ, by Gwyneth Jones (University of Illinois Press (Modern Masters of Science Fiction)

Best Graphic Story or Comic

  Winner is

LaGuardia, written by Nnedi Okorafor, art by Tana Ford, colours by James Devlin (Berger Books; Dark Horse)

Nominees:

• Monstress, Volume 4: The Chosen, written by Marjorie Liu, art by Sana Takeda (Image)
• Mooncakes, by Wendy Xu and Suzanne Walker, letters by Joamette Gil (Oni Press; Lion Forge)
• Paper Girls, Volume 6, written by Brian K. Vaughan, drawn by Cliff Chiang, colours by Matt Wilson, letters by Jared K. Fletcher (Image)
• The Wicked + The Divine, Volume 9: “Okay”, by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie, colours by Matt Wilson, letters by Clayton Cowles (Image)
• Die, Volume 1: Fantasy Heartbreaker, by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans, letters by Clayton Cowles (Image)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

  Winner is

Good Omens, written by Neil Gaiman, directed by Douglas Mackinnon (Amazon Studios/BBC Studios/Narrativia/The Blank Corporation)

Nominees:

• Captain Marvel, screenplay by Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck and Geneva Robertson-Dworet, directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Walt Disney Pictures/Marvel Studios/Animal Logic (Australia)
• Russian Doll (Season One), created by Natasha Lyonne, Leslye Headland and Amy Poehler, directed by Leslye Headland, Jamie Babbit and Natasha Lyonne (3 Arts Entertainment/Jax Media/Netflix/Paper Kite Productions/Universal Television)
• Avengers: Endgame, screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo (Marvel Studios)
• Us, written and directed by Jordan Peele (Monkeypaw Productions/Universal Pictures)
• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, screenplay by Chris Terrio and J.J. Abrams, directed by J.J. Abrams (Walt Disney Pictures/Lucasfilm/Bad Robot)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

  Winner is

The Good Place: “The Answer”, written by Daniel Schofield, directed by Valeria Migliassi Collins (Fremulon/3 Arts Entertainment/Universal Television)

Nominees:

• (tied) Watchmen: “A God Walks into Abar”, written by Jeff Jensen and Damon Lindelof, directed by Nicole Kassell (HBO)
• (tied) The Mandalorian: “Redemption”, written by Jon Favreau, directed by Taika Waititi (Disney+)
• The Expanse: “Cibola Burn”, written by Daniel Abraham & Ty Franck and Naren Shankar, directed by Breck Eisner (Amazon Prime Video)
• Watchmen: “This Extraordinary Being”, written by Damon Lindelof and Cord Jefferson, directed by Stephen Williams (HBO)
• Doctor Who: “Resolution”, written by Chris Chibnall, directed by Wayne Yip (BBC)
• Note: Watchmen and The Mandalorian tied for second place.

Best Editor, Short Form

  Winner is

Ellen Datlow

Nominees:

• Jonathan Strahan
• Sheila Williams
• (tied) Neil Clarke
• (tied) Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas
• C.C. Finlay

Note: Neil Clarke and Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas tied for fourth place.

Best Editor, Long Form

  Winner is

Navah Wolfe

Nominees:

• Diana M. Pho
• Sheila E. Gilbert
• Devi Pillai
• Miriam Weinberg
• Brit Hvide

Best Professional Artist

  Winner is

John Picacio

Nominees:

• Galen Dara
• Yuko Shimizu
• Rovina Cai
• Tommy Arnold
• Alyssa Winans

Best Semiprozine

  Winner is

Uncanny Magazine, editors-in-chief Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas, nonfiction/managing editor Michi Trota, managing editor Chimedum Ohaegbu, podcast producers Erika Ensign and Steven Schapansky

Nominees:

• FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, executive editor Troy L. Wiggins, editors Eboni Dunbar, Brent Lambert, L.D. Lewis, Danny Lore, Brandon O’Brien and Kaleb Russell
• Strange Horizons, Vanessa Rose Phin, Catherine Krahe, AJ Odasso, Dan Hartland, Joyce Chng, Dante Luiz and the Strange Horizons staff
• Escape Pod, editors Mur Lafferty and S.B. Divya, assistant editor Benjamin C. Kinney, audio producers Adam Pracht and Summer Brooks, hosts Tina Connolly and Alasdair Stuart
• Beneath Ceaseless Skies, editor Scott H. Andrews
• Fireside Magazine, editor Julia Rios, managing editor Elsa Sjunneson, copyeditor Chelle Parker, social coordinator Meg Frank, publisher & art director Pablo Defendini, founding editor Brian White

Best Fanzine

  Winner is

The Book Smugglers, editors Ana Grilo and Thea James

Nominees:

• nerds of a feather, flock together, editors Adri Joy, Joe Sherry, Vance Kotrla, and The G
• Journey Planet, editors James Bacon, Christopher J Garcia, Alissa McKersie, Ann Gry, Chuck Serface, John Coxon and Steven H Silver
• Galactic Journey, founder Gideon Marcus, editor Janice Marcus, senior writers Rosemary Benton, Lorelei Marcus and Victoria Silverwolf
• Quick Sip Reviews, editor Charles Payseur
• The Rec Center, editors Elizabeth Minkel and Gavia Baker-Whitelaw

Best Fancast

  Winner is

Our Opinions Are Correct, presented by Annalee Newitz and Charlie Jane Anders

Nominees:

• Galactic Suburbia, presented by Alisa Krasnostein, Alexandra Pierce and Tansy Rayner Roberts, producer Andrew Finch
• The Coode Street Podcast, presented by Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe
• The Skiffy and Fanty Show, presented by Jen Zink and Shaun Duke
• Be The Serpent, presented by Alexandra Rowland, Freya Marske and Jennifer Mace
• Claire Rousseau’s YouTube channel, produced & presented by Claire Rousseau

Best Fan Writer

  Winner is

Bogi Takács

Nominees:

• Cora Buhlert
• Alasdair Stuart
• James Davis Nicoll
• Paul Weimer
• Adam Whitehead

Best Fan Artist

  Winner is

Elise Matthesen

Nominees:

• Sara Felix
• Iain Clark
• Meg Frank
• Grace P. Fong
• Ariela Housman

Astounding Award for Best New Writer, sponsored by Dell Magazines (not a Hugo)

  Winner is

R.F. Kuang (2nd year of eligibility)

Nominees:

• Nibedita Sen (2nd year of eligibility)
• Tasha Suri (2nd year of eligibility)
• Emily Tesh (1st year of eligibility)
• Sam Hawke (2nd year of eligibility)
• Jenn Lyons (1st year of eligibility)

To see who won Hugo Awards in previous years click here: Hugo Award Winners

Interested in learning more about the Hugo Awards? Visit this site to learn more: The Hugo Awards Official Website

The 2020 Hugo Award Finalists were announced via webcast from New Zealand. Sweet! This year’s ceremonies will be held in a virtual format due to the ongoing global pandemic. For full news of the format change, view the official announcement from CoNZealand. If you want to participate in the interactive online Con you will need to purchase an attending membership (rates published by April 15th). Full details in the link just posted.

Best Novela

• The City in the Middle of the Night, by Charlie Jane Anders (Tor; Titan)
• Gideon the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir (Tor.com Publishing)
• The Light Brigade, by Kameron Hurley (Saga; Angry Robot UK)
• A Memory Called Empire, by Arkady Martine (Tor; Tor UK)
• Middlegame, by Seanan McGuire (Tor.com Publishing)
• The Ten Thousand Doors of January, by Alix E. Harrow (Redhook; Orbit UK)

Best Novella

• “Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom”, by Ted Chiang (Exhalation (Borzoi/Alfred A. Knopf; Picador)
• The Deep, by Rivers Solomon, with Daveed Diggs, William Hutson & Jonathan Snipes (Saga Press/Gallery)
• The Haunting of Tram Car 015, by P. Djèlí Clark (Tor.com Publishing)
• In an Absent Dream, by Seanan McGuire (Tor.com Publishing)
• This Is How You Lose the Time War, by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone (Saga Press; Jo Fletcher Books)
• To Be Taught, If Fortunate, by Becky Chambers (Harper Voyager; Hodder & Stoughton)

Best Novelette

•  “The Archronology of Love”, by Caroline M. Yoachim (Lightspeed, April 2019)
• “Away With the Wolves”, by Sarah Gailey (Uncanny Magazine: Disabled People Destroy Fantasy Special Issue, September/October 2019)
• “The Blur in the Corner of Your Eye”, by Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny Magazine, July-August 2019)
• Emergency Skin, by N.K. Jemisin (Forward Collection (Amazon))
• “For He Can Creep”, by Siobhan Carroll (Tor.com, 10 July 2019)
• “Omphalos”, by Ted Chiang (Exhalation (Borzoi/Alfred A. Knopf; Picador))

Best Short Story

• “And Now His Lordship Is Laughing”, by Shiv Ramdas (Strange Horizons, 9 September 2019)
• “As the Last I May Know”, by S.L. Huang (Tor.com, 23 October 2019)
• “Blood Is Another Word for Hunger”, by Rivers Solomon (Tor.com, 24 July 2019)
• “A Catalog of Storms”, by Fran Wilde (Uncanny Magazine, January/February 2019)
• “Do Not Look Back, My Lion”, by Alix E. Harrow (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, January 2019)
• “Ten Excerpts from an Annotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island”, by Nibedita Sen (Nightmare Magazine, May 2019)

Best Series

• The Expanse, by James S. A. Corey (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
• InCryptid, by Seanan McGuire (DAW)
• Luna, by Ian McDonald (Tor; Gollancz)
• Planetfall series, by Emma Newman (Ace; Gollancz)
• Winternight Trilogy, by Katherine Arden (Del Rey; Del Rey UK)
• The Wormwood Trilogy, by Tade Thompson (Orbit US; Orbit UK)

Best Related Work

• Becoming Superman: My Journey from Poverty to Hollywood, by J. Michael Straczynski (Harper Voyager US)
• Joanna Russ, by Gwyneth Jones (University of Illinois Press (Modern Masters of Science Fiction))
• The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick, by Mallory O’Meara (Hanover Square)
• The Pleasant Profession of Robert A. Heinlein, by Farah Mendlesohn (Unbound)
• “2019 John W. Campbell Award Acceptance Speech”, by Jeannette Ng
• Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin, produced and directed by Arwen Curry

Best Graphic Story or Comic

• Die, Volume 1: Fantasy Heartbreaker, by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans, letters by Clayton Cowles (Image)
• LaGuardia, written by Nnedi Okorafor, art by Tana Ford, colours by James Devlin (Berger Books; Dark Horse)
• Monstress, Volume 4: The Chosen, written by Marjorie Liu, art by Sana Takeda (Image)
• Mooncakes, by Wendy Xu and Suzanne Walker, letters by Joamette Gil (Oni Press; Lion Forge)
• Paper Girls, Volume 6, written by Brian K. Vaughan, drawn by Cliff Chiang, colours by Matt Wilson, letters by Jared K. Fletcher (Image)
• The Wicked + The Divine, Volume 9: Okay, by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie, colours by Matt Wilson, letters by Clayton Cowles (Image)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

• Avengers: Endgame, screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo (Marvel Studios)
• Captain Marvel, screenplay by Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck and Geneva Robertson-Dworet, directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Walt Disney Pictures/Marvel Studios/Animal Logic (Australia))
• Good Omens, written by Neil Gaiman, directed by Douglas Mackinnon (Amazon Studios/BBC Studios/Narrativia/The Blank Corporation)
• Russian Doll (Season One), created by Natasha Lyonne, Leslye Headland and Amy Poehler, directed by Leslye Headland, Jamie Babbit and Natasha Lyonne (3 Arts Entertainment/Jax Media/Netflix/Paper Kite Productions/Universal Television)
• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, screenplay by Chris Terrio and J.J. Abrams, directed by J.J. Abrams (Walt Disney Pictures/Lucasfilm/Bad Robot)
• Us, written and directed by Jordan Peele (Monkeypaw Productions/Universal Pictures)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

• The Good Place: “The Answer”, written by Daniel Schofield, directed by Valeria Migliassi Collins (Fremulon/3 Arts Entertainment/Universal Television)
• The Expanse: “Cibola Burn”, written by Daniel Abraham & Ty Franck and Naren Shankar, directed by Breck Eisner (Amazon Prime Video)
• Watchmen: “A God Walks into Abar”, written by Jeff Jensen and Damon Lindelof, directed by Nicole Kassell (HBO)
• The Mandalorian: “Redemption”, written by Jon Favreau, directed by Taika Waititi (Disney+)
• Doctor Who: “Resolution”, written by Chris Chibnall, directed by Wayne Yip (BBC)
• Watchmen: “This Extraordinary Being”, written by Damon Lindelof and Cord Jefferson, directed by Stephen Williams (HBO)

Best Editor, Short Form

• Neil Clarke
• Ellen Datlow
• C.C. Finlay
• Jonathan Strahan
• Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas
• Sheila Williams

Best Editor, Long Form

• Sheila E. Gilbert
• Brit Hvide
• Diana M. Pho
• Devi Pillai
• Miriam Weinberg
• Navah Wolfe

Best Professional Artist

• Tommy Arnold
• Rovina Cai
• Galen Dara
• John Picacio
• Yuko Shimizu
• Alyssa Winans

Best Semiprozine

• Beneath Ceaseless Skies, editor Scott H. Andrews
• Escape Pod, editors Mur Lafferty and S.B. Divya, assistant editor Benjamin C. Kinney, audio producers Adam Pracht and Summer Brooks, hosts Tina Connolly and Alasdair Stuart
• Fireside Magazine, editor Julia Rios, managing editor Elsa Sjunneson, copyeditor Chelle Parker, social coordinator Meg Frank, publisher & art director Pablo Defendini, founding editor Brian White
• FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, executive editor Troy L. Wiggins, editors Eboni Dunbar, Brent Lambert, L.D. Lewis, Danny Lore, Brandon O’Brien and Kaleb Russell
• Strange Horizons, Vanessa Rose Phin, Catherine Krahe, AJ Odasso, Dan Hartland, Joyce Chng, Dante Luiz and the Strange Horizons staff
• Uncanny Magazine, editors-in-chief Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas, nonfiction/managing editor Michi Trota, managing editor Chimedum Ohaegbu, podcast producers Erika Ensign and Steven Schapansky

Best Fanzine

• The Book Smugglers, editors Ana Grilo and Thea James
• Galactic Journey, founder Gideon Marcus, editor Janice Marcus, senior writers Rosemary Benton, Lorelei Marcus and Victoria Silverwolf
• Journey Planet, editors James Bacon, Christopher J Garcia, Alissa McKersie, Ann Gry, Chuck Serface, John Coxon and Steven H Silver
• nerds of a feather, flock together, editors Adri Joy, Joe Sherry, Vance Kotrla, and The G
• Quick Sip Reviews, editor Charles Payseur
• The Rec Center, editors Elizabeth Minkel and Gavia Baker-Whitelaw

Best Fancast

• Be The Serpent, presented by Alexandra Rowland, Freya Marske and Jennifer Mace
• Claire Rousseau’s YouTube channel, produced & presented by Claire Rousseau
• The Coode Street Podcast, presented by Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe
• Galactic Suburbia, presented by Alisa Krasnostein, Alexandra Pierce and Tansy Rayner Roberts, producer Andrew Finch
• Our Opinions Are Correct, presented by Annalee Newitz and Charlie Jane Anders
• The Skiffy and Fanty Show, presented by Jen Zink and Shaun Duke

Best Fan Writer

• Cora Buhlert
• James Davis Nicoll
• Alasdair Stuart
• Bogi Takács
• Paul Weimer
• Adam Whitehead

Best Fan Artist

• Iain Clark
• Sara Felix
• Grace P. Fong
• Meg Frank
• Ariela Housman
• Elise Matthesen

Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book

• Catfishing on CatNet, by Naomi Kritzer (Tor Teen)
• Deeplight, by Frances Hardinge (Macmillan)
• Dragon Pearl, by Yoon Ha Lee (Disney/Hyperion)
• Minor Mage, by T. Kingfisher (Argyll)
• Riverland, by Fran Wilde (Amulet)
• The Wicked King, by Holly Black (Little, Brown; Hot Key)

Astounding Award for the Best New Science Fiction Writer, sponsored by Dell Magazines

• Sam Hawke (2nd year of eligibility)
• R.F. Kuang (2nd year of eligibility)
• Jenn Lyons (1st year of eligibility)
• Nibedita Sen (2nd year of eligibility)
• Tasha Suri (2nd year of eligibility)
• Emily Tesh (1st year of eligibility)

Part 5: Rachel

Joseph and I made it to Estes Park about six hours later. I slept most of the way wrapped up in a blanket made of flax and wool. I felt better, albeit still a little shaky. Joseph insisted I purchase groceries. He also made me buy clothes, a coat, rain gear and boots, and then he dropped me off at a small cabin outside of town on the road leading to the park entrance. He knew the owners of the cottages and got me a reasonable monthly rate.  Joseph refused to take me to a liquor store, but I didn’t complain about this. He saved my life, and I was grateful. Oh, he also said he would report my truck stolen and to expect a visit from the police soon. After I charged my cell, I made a call and had six bottles of wine delivered to my door. I also rang Tammy to tell her where I was staying. She talked my ear off, but I convinced her not to worry. I started a fire in the small fireplace and sat next to it eating bread and drinking wine.

I did not drink a lot that night. I am tired of drinking I think. It did not take long before I was snoozing away on the twin bed. The exhaustion of the trip hit me full force, and I could not move a muscle. I slept for two days, waking up after midnight on the second day of sleep. I needed air, so I took a small hike which turned into a hitchhike into the park which turned into a walk deep into the woods. It was cloudy and cold and it rained. Shivers ran up and down my spine when I stumbled upon a woman with long hair standing atop a large rock near the edge of a cliff. A rope tied around her neck attached to a tree limb above her head.

I froze in place when I realized what I was looking at. The woman’s grief uncontrolled, she wailed as she gripped the rope with both hands above her head. She noticed me. Her terrified eyes locked onto mine, and she stepped off the rock, her body jerking wildly. Her feet tried to gain purchase on the boulder to climb back up, but she found it too slippery. Gurgled, muffled screams cut right through me. I ran to her and leaped upon the rock she stood on a moment earlier. I grabbed her under her arms and hauled her back up and held her next to me. She was still choking to death and struggling to loosen the rope pulled tight around her neck. I pushed her hands away and got the rope off after a struggle. She gasped for air and hit me with all her might, swinging her arms wildly we tumbled from the rock into the mud. We fought for a time and then she seemed to just collapse.

I picked her up in my arms and walked back to the road. As we made our way back, she begged me to not tell anyone what she did. She said she couldn’t go on and her boyfriend dumped her. That she had no money. No place to live. She prayed in church for help, but none came.

“I am so alone,” she cried. “No one listens.”

“I’m listening,” I said.

It was tough to get a ride back to the cabin, but we eventually got picked up a Park Ranger.  I gave her my coat which she zipped to conceal the burn marks on her neck. We pissed off the ranger because we were out in the woods so late at night but he took us back to the cabin. I don’t know why he didn’t hand us over to the local police, but he didn’t. Thank god. We got off with a warning not to return to the park.

I placed the woman in the bed and took a seat by the fire. I now had my stray to take care of, and I am sure Tammy would be proud. We stayed in the little room for months talking and learning about each other. I slept on the floor to give her space. Our bond grew with each passing day. I listened to everything she had to say, and I never passed judgment on her. I tended to her needs as she applied bandages to my heart. I agreed to quit drinking and stay away from the news if she would promise never to attempt suicide again. It was a deal.

We grew closer and closer, but I became restless. I had told Susan I sought a woman named Rachel. As much as I fell for Susan, as much as I experienced this incredible connection with this woman–the woman I saved from death on the cliff’s edge, she was not Rachel, but I couldn’t just leave her there, so I stayed put.

One night I had the shakes and became feverish from lack of drink. No, not true. I had the shakes and was a wreck for many weeks, and Susan held me as I went through withdrawals. I did not preach or lecture Susan, and I assured her I was not mad. I refused to ignore the problem and talked about it, when Susan wanted to speak, deep into the night. I told her I was happy she still lived and made sure she knew I wanted to help. We came up with a plan what to do if she felt suicidal and what I was to do if I wished to booze. I think Susan took responsibility for her actions as a way to get me to take responsibility for mine.

This story is a romance if you haven’t guessed, but not all romances include buff guys with rippling biceps, kisses which stop the world, or crazed love triangles, and sorry, no sex scenes. It’s like someone shot us multiple times on the battlefield and we were put on stretchers within arm’s length, holding hands, bleary eyes staring up at operating room lights. Mortally wounded but bound by touch, our holding hands saying “I won’t die if you don’t.”

One night during our recovery she told me the truth about something.

“Jeff,” she said. “My father killed my mother and my brother and then killed himself. There never was a boyfriend. I prayed for help… that part is true.”

“I must tell you something too,” I also admitted. “I’m not really a pirate.”

We laughed, we cried. We stuck to our sides of the small one-room cabin, but we never deserted each other. One day someone outside knocked on the door to our little bungalow. The postman showed up with a delivery. This surprised me because I had long forgotten about the existence of mail. The item delivered was a small package sent from Tammy. I sat on the bed with Susan looking at the box.

“Aren’t you going to open it?” she asked.

“OK,” I replied. My hands were shaking as I nervously opened the parcel. Inside was my grandmother’s ring. Tammy had found it and shipped it to the cabin. I picked it up and showed the ring to Susan.

“I promised my grandmother I would give this ring to the woman I marry. I think I love you Susan, but you are not Rachel.” At this, a single tear slid down my cheek.

Susan gently touched my forehead with her palm and looked into my eyes: “I will change my name to Rachel.” And she did, and we eventually married, and made love–you know, after the story ends when you guys aren’t watching.

Fin…

Click here to download “Love in the Dark” for free in eBook format.

Part 4: Joseph

Any reasonable person would have called the police to report their vehicle stolen, but I am not one of those–reasonable people, I am anything but that! I placed the sleeping bag into the chest, slammed the lid shut, and used the carry strap on the tent to sling it over my shoulder. I licked my finger and held it up in the air to get a sense of wind direction. Tucking the stuffed gator under my left arm I grabbed the handle on the chest with my right and dragged it toward highway on-ramp.

The loose gravel on the side of the road made pulling the chest not as hard as I thought it would be. It was my burden to bear, and I decided against leaving the chest at the campground. I took about twenty minutes to make it to I-25. So far, so good. Cars passed me on the highway like speeding bullets, little self-contained bubbles of life swooshing past me. I trudged on…

Then the rain came in buckets and drowned out the noise. I swear it rained sideways, and since it came in from the North, I had to lean forward to keep my balance as I pulled the treasure chest towards Colorado. The road soon grew silent because the highway was closed between Raton and Trinidad, Colorado. It was deep night by the time I made it to where the construction started, so it was just me and the road.

The rain didn’t last. I don’t think it ever rains long here. I lost one flip-flop and the stuffed gator in the deluge that soaked me to the core, so I pulled the chest into the desert landscape to pitch my tent next to a big scraggy bush. Total nightmare putting the tent up because of my numb fingers. What the hell am I doing? I shook. I lost faith. The words “no, no, no” and “help me” played in a loop in my mind.

I hung my clothes up in the shelter to dry from some hooks. I was starving, hungover, and freezing. The sleeping bag’s warmth felt like heaven on earth. I opened the last rum bottle and took small sips. It burned as it made its way down my throat. I became a premature baby sucking on a radioactive teat, gripping the breast, squeezing hard to get every last poisonous drop. I drank in the booze and drifted off to a dark place where my demons live, sucking my life’s blood and gnawing on my bone marrow.

I don’t remember dialing.

A voice talked over the speakerphone of my cell. The wind outside howled, and the tent shook in the strong gusts. It was faint, but I heard a voice call my name.

“Jeff, where are you?”

“Rachel. Rachel, is that you?” I screamed. I tried to stand up but could not move all zippered up in the mummy bag. I panicked and yelled Rachel’s name.

“Jeff, this is Tammy. What the hell is going on? I’m worried…”

I blacked out and slept like the dead. When I woke, I wished I no longer existed. No food, no water, no hope. Nothing but the burning need for Rachel, the woman of my dreams, the woman I must find even if I lose myself. I wanted her more than water. I had to find her.

I checked my phone. It only had a little battery left. I pulled up my news feed. Missiles positioned near the Ukrainian border, the existence of nuclear torpedoes confirmed, the end of the arms treaty between the US and Russia, and the militarization of space. I blacked out again and slept more, tossing and turning in the constrictive bag like a larva attempting to break free from a cocoon. I dreamed of a large black clock with bones for the hour and minute hands that mark the passage of time, inching to midnight, slowly moving towards annihilation.

When I woke again, I left the chest and everything behind. I was out of booze and perhaps at this point out of my mind. I freed myself from the bag, unzipped the tent door, and carried the chest outside. I then took each keepsake one at a time out of the chest, kissed it, and threw it over my left shoulder. The small stuffed cat I bought in Mexico from a child, my lieutenant’s bars from the army, the carved dog my grandfather gave me before he died, little things, stuff that mattered more than anything in this life. Tammy thought all the mementos stupid and wanted to toss everything out. I guess she wins. After I emptied the chest and all of my life’s markers lay strewn on the desert floor, I walked towards the road again, not looking back. Dressed in my wrinkled pirate clothes and carrying only my shaving kit, I hobbled one flip-flopped down the road toward Trinidad.

It wasn’t long before delirium kicked in and everything became hilarious. Then nothing was funny. For a minute, I forgot my name. Forgot my destination. The sun beat down, and my eyesight failed. Everywhere I looked spots obscured my vision and floated about. I could not tell the difference between up or down. I became dizzy, and my heart beat frantically. I remember seeing a whale swimming in my direction, or was it a truck? I fainted.

A truck–I wished it was a whale, but it was an old tow truck with the words “Glory to God Towing” painted on the side. This I found out later because when I first awoke, I was in the truck’s cab, and we were blazing down the road heading to Trinidad. When Joseph, the driver of the vehicle, saw me stirring, he pulled over at a rest stop and carried me from the cab to picnic benches in the shade. He left me there for a minute as he ran back to the truck to get water. He returned and lifted me and cradled me in his lap and slowly fed me sips of water until my strength returned. I tried to talk, but he shushed me.

When the sun reached the horizon, he carried me back to the tow truck. It relieved me to see my shaving kit on the dash. Joseph saw me looking at the bag and said, “Don’t worry; everything is still in there.” I took a peek, and sure enough, everything still in place.

“Son,” said Joseph. “You are far from the sea. We don’t get many pirates in these parts.”

“Thank you for helping me,” I replied, not knowing what to say.

“I need to take you to the hospital,” said Joseph, looking at me with tired serious eyes.

“No,” I pleaded. “There is a woman I must find. I know this sounds crazy, but I met her in a dream, and I must find her. I must!”

At this, Joseph’s eyes softened, and he said, “Tell me the dream. Perhaps I can tell you what it means. People say I understand dreams better than most folk.”

So I did. I told Joseph everything.

After I retold the tale, he said he would not take me to the hospital, but would instead take me to Estes Park, Colorado, the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. I smiled and wanted to kiss the bearded man but held back. I insisted on paying for gas.

“How much will it cost to get there?” I asked.

In all seriousness, he replied, “There is no set fee. Pay what God would have you pay.”

“God’s thinking a hundred bucks.”

>> Go to part 5 – Final…

Part 3: Raton

I took over five hours to make it to Raton where I stopped for the night. I wanted to push on, but my brain ached from the evening before. What did I smoke? Peyote? Heroin? I had no fricken clue. My head was throbbing.  I couldn’t drive another inch.  Not one inch. When I saw the sign for the Wispy Willow RV Park, I gravitated to it like a damaged soul to a bonfire.

Thirty-six bucks for a night to include the use of the bathhouse and coin-operated laundry. That’s what I am talking about. I had plenty of cash on me, but I wanted to conserve every cent since I was unemployed. After connecting the hookups and mixing up a dish of macaroni and cheese, I kicked back on the bed, ate dinner, and listened to the radio. I quit searching for a station when I heard a booming voice proclaim, “You are listening to the Voice of God.”

This proclamation made me a little nervous after what happened last night, but my camper didn’t transform into a two thousand pound tadpole, so I stayed with the program. The tenor of the older man’s vocalization rose and fell in a cadenced pattern as much hypnotic as it was addictive.  He had the kind of voice that made you want to empty your pockets into the collection plate.

Have you heard the word of god today, stranger? With judgment day upon us, now is the time to choose your side. Will you fight on the side of the angels? Or will you stand with the devil? Brother, the Chinese have launched weapons of war into an orbit that will smite you down, and the Russians are prepping missiles to carry you to the afterlife…

I could sense a panic attack building, so I pulled out my cell, searched for Word of God Radio, found their site, and donated fifty bucks to the ministry to purchase bomb shelter rations for needy children. I grabbed my shaving kit and a bottle of rum and made for the bathhouse. It was clean, at least. There was a line of four shower stalls with small connected dressing rooms where you could hang your towels and stow your clothes. When you were in the shower behind the drawn curtain, you were in your own private space. Not so when you were in the changing area as the divider walls were short enough that you could see the heads of other gents dressing or getting ready to take a shower.

I set the bottle of rum on a tiny shelf in the changing area and got undressed. The man next to me, a middle-eastern man with olive skin, dark brown hair, beard, and a mustache, noted the liquor and said something. I think my brain was still in Alpha Centauri because I could hear the words, but my mind pulled no meaning from them. It was foggy in the bathroom from all the steam, and a light above the man cast a golden hue around his head.

“Are you OK?” he asked, pulling on his shaggy beard, still eyeing the bottle of rum in my stall.

I focused on the here and now and picked up the bottle and took a big swig. “Are you him?” I asked, setting the bottle gingerly back down on the shelf. “What are you doing in Raton, New Mexico?”

He asked who? I said, God? Are you God? I repeated. He laughed and took the bottle from the shelf in my dressing area and held it up to the light. With a suspicious look, he stared in my direction until I nodded OK, and he took a swig and placed it back on the shelf.

“No, I am not God, but I am the voice of God on the radio.”

I looked at him solemnly, grabbed the booze by the neck of the bottle, nodded to the almighty, and slunk back into the shower stall with my precious. Time obscured in an alcoholic haze.  The hot water and steam from the shower obscured my vision. Leaning against the clammy tiles in the shower I held my thumb over the top of the decanter and let the warm, cleansing water wash over me. I drank until the bottle emptied, and the label became unglued and sank to the floor. When I shut the water off and came out of the shower, God was gone.

I also never laid eyes on my truck again because when I returned to my spot after my shower, all I found was an empty pad. The thieves dumped most of my stuff from the camper on the ground. Guess it wasn’t the best idea to park the truck in a secluded spot. Guess the thieves just wanted the truck because my belongings from the camper were there except for my street clothes and shoes which I stored under the bed. Crap. I saw my treasure chest, sleeping bag, tent, and a stuffed alligator plushy Tammy gave me as a parting gift. I guess it could have been worse as I had my wallet, cell phone, and all my cash in my shaving kit with me at the bathhouse. The biggest bummer–I only had on a pair of shorts, flip-flops, a t-shirt with the words: “If Lost, Return to Tammy,” and my wet soggy bath towel. I fell to my knees and lowered my head. I crawled over to the chest and opened it. Good news. The contents were untouched. I quickly changed into my pirate clothes and opened another bottle of rum.

>> Go to part 4…

Part 2: The Road

It took at least a hundred miles before my tears dried, another hundred before I realized I had no clear destination in mind. I was driving on Interstate 37 heading North West towards San Antonio, Texas. I pulled over at a roadside rest area to make a plan. I asked my phone what I should do. “OK, Google. Take me to the Rocky Mountains?” Crap, I pull up an article, and it says there are at least a hundred regions you can call the Rocky Mountains. I try again. “Google, do you know where Rachel is in the Rocky Mountains?” This time an article about Rocky Mountain National Park took the top spot. I will look there first. Why not? Colorado is as good as any place to start, and I had to start somewhere.

I drove for nine hours the first day, pulling into a camping spot at Buffalo Springs Lake after one in the morning to get some shut-eye. After finding a place, I spent a few hours tossing and turning on the bed. I was wired and couldn’t sleep. I remember thinking God; please let me sleep. Please let me sleep. God! Please, please, please.

Wham, a loud banging on the rear door of the camper shell startled me. The banging caught me in the zone between sleep and the conscious world. I leaped from my bed, tripped over the treasure chest, rolled right out of the back door, and fell to the dirt with a giant thud. My head smacked a rock and knocked me out.

When I awoke, I found myself in a teepee. A dark-skinned Indian man wearing a buffalo horn headdress stood over me. The headgear had shaggy fur that looked like a buffalo hide, and a long trail of feathers reached down to the ankles. In his hands, he held a pipe. He had a sad face, a proud, sad chiseled face with gray eyes.

“I heard your screams for God,” the Indian said in a whisper. “Are you looking for him?”

“No,” I whispered back. “I am looking for Rachel. A woman I met in a dream.”

“You need Manit, the god of dreams.” He replied. “He is not here. He far from here, but I know where you can find him.”

“Will he know where I can find Rachel?”

“Perhaps.”

The old Indian helped me to a sitting position and placed the pipe in my hands.

“You suck,” he said.

“I know,” I replied.

He brought a burning twig from the fire and held the flame to the pipe. I took in deep draughts, the twig flaming, dying back, and burning again. At first, I thought I must be mad. Already insane? Everything around me there and not there; I was in the teepee and not in the teepee. All faded away, and I sat in an open field amid millions of fuchsia-colored flowers. I sat cross-legged, and the tops of the flowers tickled my chin. Soon my body dematerialized to nothingness–a head bobbing in a sea of flowers and regret. Blooms turned to starlight, and I became a speck of light in a thick black ocean of darkness spanning infinite distances. Using my star eyes, I gazed in reverence at Alpha Centauri, and I transported there, another point of light. I morphed into the star Alpha Centauri A, and Rachel arrived. At first, she was not, but then she came. She materialized as Alpha Centauri B. We were a binary pair locked by gravitational forces.

Then I was back on earth. A dove landed near me, delicately balancing atop a flower moving rhythmically in the wind, and cooed. Its little white head at an angle, it looked at me whimsically, then flew to an open space on the ground in front of me. The delicate creature transformed into a nude woman on her knees, head lowered, hiding her face. I tried to move towards her but found myself still at the mercy of the tidal flowers. She stood, and I now looked upon her face, and even though I could see her, I was helpless. We were together again and yet still apart–separated by space and time. I wanted to run to her, but I was still a disembodied head floating on the breeze.

The last thing I remember before waking was standing with Rachel next to the cliff where I met her that rainy night.

I looked her in the eyes and said nothing.

She replied, “I know.”

A shaggy white sheep now, she looked up at me, her neck burned and bleeding.

I awoke. The sun already up, I found myself alone in the teepee and the mysterious Indian gone. When I stuck my head out of the shelter, the blinding sun burned through me. I was in an open clearing near to where I parked the camper. My head throbbing, dying of thirst, I collected myself a bit, and staggered back to the camper and started a pot of coffee.

>> Go to part 3…

Part 1: Meeting Rachel

I don’t have many dreams. To me sleep is a mini death with a resurrection in the morning. My name is Jeff, and I met the woman of my dreams in a dream. Her name is Rachel, and I met her in a downpour at the edge of a steep cliff deep in the Rocky Mountains.

This all sounds batshit crazy, but in the dream I stood there peering into a cloudy, rainy nothingness, my body shivering from the cold and the rain, preparing to jump to my death when I feel a soft tap on my right shoulder. Standing there is a woman with long hair. In the dark I could not make out her features. She reached out and placed her palm on my forehead.

This part is hard to explain as it manifested in the unfamiliar dream state I found myself in, but we connected in a way not possible in the real world. I learned everything about her, and I knew nothing. I bared all to this woman, and she opened her heart in a way impossible to verbalize. I wished to see her face. Then the weather cleared in an instant, and the sun shone a second later as can only happen in a dream, and I studied her features for what seemed like hours. Was it milliseconds? A few heartbeats? A single breath?

The next day I called a realtor and listed my house. Within a week I gave away everything which didn’t fit in the back of my truck-mounted camper. I quit my job as a pirate on the tourist boat, and within a week I drove west to find Rachel.

But let me take a step back for a second. I live in Port Aransas, Texas in a tiny house with less than five hundred square feet. I buy nothing large, so I purchase little things. Tiny thingamabobs, small curios, and place them on narrow wooden shelves I build from reclaimed wood. On them, I put mementos from my life. Every major milestone in my meager existence represented by a small figurine, an item purchased to cherish the moment or just something found on the ground. If it was small, and I had a connection with the thing up on a shelf it went.

On a small nook in the loft’s corner is a shelf with only one item on it, a small diamond ring that had been my grandmothers. I planned to use the ring to marry a woman from Hong Kong who I met on an online dating site. She thought I was joking when I told her I am a pirate. Amazingly, I convinced her to come to visit me in the states. When she was here, we spent our time on the beach swimming, lying around, going to restaurants and getting to know each other. We were at Joe’s Crab Shack when I popped the question. Joe is a friend of mine, so he let me stow my pirate uniform in the kitchen. I told Ying Yue I had to use the restroom and went to the kitchen and put on my pirate gear.

You should have seen the look on her face when she realized the pirate brandishing a sword in one hand and a small box in the other was me. Her green eyes burned with intensity as she watched me walking in her direction. And yes, I understand in novels there is an overabundance of Chinese beauties with green eyes, but remember I met Ying on a dating site. I only corresponded with women with green eyes, and I spent years searching for a girl that looked exactly like the woman I proposed to at Joe’s.

I got down on one knee, handed my sword to Ying, and said, “Arrrgh, will you marry me?”

Her answer, “I ought to cut your fool head off, but yes. Yes, I will marry you.”

The next day at the airport in Corpus Christi she asked me to hold out my hand. I did. She put the wedding ring in my hand, closed my fingers around it, turned her back, and boarded a flight back to Hong Kong. I never saw her again. I built a tiny shelf in the loft, placed the ring on it, and never touched it again. My soul crushed.

There were other girls but no more engagements. It’s silly, but I promised my grandmother before she died I would never part with the ring–that I would give it to my bride someday. After that day at the airport with Ying I could not touch the ring. This ring was not my precious. It haunted me. I even slept on the pull-out bed on the main floor to keep away from it. The loft became a bleak forest of pain, a place I dared not venture, and when your house is tiny that sucks big time!

It’s tough to let go of “things,” but I had no intention of coming back so let go I did. At first, I panicked as I let everything drift away, but the more I got rid of stuff, the better I felt. I was peeling away layer upon layer of the fleshy onion skin I encased myself in. I was searching for the center, the core. Did I even have one? I feel sorry for people who own lots of stuff as material things own you, pulling one under dark waters where the naiads live, starving you of oxygen. With everything gone and nothing left but the contents of the truck, it’s as if someone had removed a million pounds from my chest. I could breathe once again.

Well, enough backstory I think? I could tell you about the time on the pirate ship when I accidentally sliced the arm clean off a tourist from Alabama, but that never happened, so I won’t.  With my house emptied and cleaned I had nothing left to do but drop off my house keys at my girlfriend’s place and hit the road. I placed all my mementos in the treasure chest where I stored my street clothes at work when swashbuckling in the calm Gulf waters. Everything, that is, except for my grandmother’s ring which I left behind. I made a deathbed promise to keep it, but this was my chance to break free of the ring’s curse. If Bilbo managed it–so can I.

The treasure chest? Mark from Calico Jack where I work gave it to me when I left my job. “Dude,” he said. “You are the best damn pirate to sail these parts. I don’t normally do this but after ten years. Well, after ten years I want you to take this.” With a flourish, he pulled a Jolly Roger off a big lump in the middle of the floor revealing a chest containing my pirate uniform and six bottles of rum. A pirate’s life for me.

A girlfriend? Why yes, I have one of those. Well, sorta. Her name is Tammy, and she is an oyster shucker from Baton Rouge. She is my girl and not my girl. Did you ever have a girlfriend that you loved but she did not love you back, and yet you still dated? I guess it’s an unhealthy relationship, but it’s the only one I have. We never make love. Sometimes we kiss. We hold hands. She hugs me a lot and tells me everything will be OK. I have a terrible habit of staying up all night reading about World War Three, the war all the pundits say is coming soon. It scares the hell out of me, and sometimes I drink too much. No, I always drink too much. Drinking to the end of everything. Drinking to darkness. Drinking to the radioactive shockwave that will sweep away my atoms and scatter them across a bruised and battered earth. You know, positive stuff.

That’s how we met. Tammy had just got off from work at the restaurant on the jetty. She found me passed out face down in the sand on the beach. I drank that night after reading a mess of articles on Russia’s new nuclear torpedoes. Do the governments designing and building these horrors know how these weapons influence people’s psyches? Sure they do. That is the whole point I guess. I do my best to hide from the news, but it always finds me. Anyway, I thought she was Putin’s grandmother come to deal the final blow. A knee-high black boot to the head is what I expected. Instead, she rolled me over and said, “God, what a mess.” She drove me to my place and left me there. The next day she came by to bring me bottled water and some food and our relationship took off.

OK, so I get to her house and knock on Tammy’s door. She is the skinniest girl on the planet and always wears her hair in pigtails. Her right arm is beefier than her left because of all the years shucking oysters, a food I despise. Those squirmy things give me the heebee jeebees just thinking about them. She opens the door, and I walk into her place and plop down on the couch. On her stereo is playing Marina and the Diamonds. I think the song is Teen Idol, but I am not sure. Tammy’s house is full of animals she has rescued and is in the process of rehabilitating. It’s only this moment I realize I am one of them. I look to the right of the couch and see a small aquarium with a wounded crab hanging out on a small sand berm. Fist Pump, I think to myself.

She starts the conversation. “Who is Rachel?”

“I met her in a dream.”

Tammy eyes me suspiciously. “Is she another one of those apocalyptic nuclear silo chicks? You gonna leave me for–for what? A dream? Something that don’t exist?”

“She exists,” I reply. Tears forming in my eyes. “She exists, dammit. I’m telling you.”

Tammy shakes her head and looks at me with sad brown eyes. The same way she looks at the three-legged dog that comes shakily into the room. We both go perfectly still and stare at each other for a few minutes. I do my best to pull myself together, trying to calm my breathing. Tammy comes over and sits next to me on the couch. The three-legged dog jumps on our laps, sprawled between us. Tammy turns my way and gives me a big hug. She cries. Hell, I swear the dog and the crab and a cat missing an ear cry. We all cry. Tammy cries because her misfit human is going away unhealed. I cry because I fear goodbyes more than anything in this world. The dog cries because we cry. The cat cries thinking of the day a human took her ear and tossed her from a moving car. The crab had no clue why it cried. The tears did their best to wash away all of our sins.

OK, give me a minute. I need to collect myself.

I need a drink. Where was I? So, I signed the house over to Tammy earlier, and her mission was to sell the place, collect the proceeds, and send me the money when possible. I promised to send her an address when I had one, but between you and me, I wasn’t sure I would ever have one again. Not much work for pirates in the Rocky Mountains.

>> Go to part 2…

“The Humans” by Matt Haig is a delightful book that follows an alien visitor sent to Earth to kill Andrew Martin, a Cambridge professor that has unlocked the secrets of prime numbers. This discovery will put the kibosh on death and illness and give humankind a technological leap to include star travel. The not so benevolent aliens believe the history of violence in our society makes us unable to cope with the responsibility that would come with this newfound scientific prowess.

When the novel begins they have already done the deed–Martin is dead and replaced by an alien clone of Professor Martin–the aliens don’t want just to kill Andrew, they want to take out everyone that knows any details of the discovery.  The Vonnadorians, the aliens policing our backwater planet, are not messing around.

This novel is hilarious and follows the professor as he adapts to life on Earth so he can accomplish his mission. Terminator style, he arrives naked and with no language skills. This leads to his immediate arrest and a quick visit to a mental ward. The clone is a master of quickly learning new languages and learns English by reading a few back issues of Cosmopolitan Magazine, and through interacting with earthlings.

Clone Andrew fools his wife and teenage son who see his quirky new behavior as a result of the mental breakdown that landed him in the hospital. They notice discrepancies, but they are all for the better. In his attempt to acclimate to the human condition he does “strange” stuff around the house such as putting dirty dishes in the dishwasher after eating. In effect, they accept him because the real Andrew Martin was a total jerk and a bad father. Papa 2.0 is an understanding person who is a gentle and loving father.

As the book continues Andrew grows attached to his host family and finds he cannot kill them. He comes to appreciate nature, wine, love, and even peanut butter. It’s this emotional bonding between alien and host family where this novel shines, especially the relationship with his son that anyone with a teenager will cherish. The only negative for this book is the repetition of the clone telling the reader he is an alien and everything he experiences on Earth is new. That point was made crystal at the beginning, and the reader did not need constant reminders.

Subtracting that one small negative I mentioned, “The Humans” is a beautiful novel that explores just what it means to be human, the short life span, the beauty and strength of love, poetry, wine, and of course, peanut butter — a heartwarming look at ourselves from an alien perspective.

The 2019 Dublin World Science Fiction Convention announced the nominees for the 2019 Hugo Awards. These nominees represent the best of the best creators of speculative fiction. The selection committee will present the awards at WorldCon 77 in Dublin Ireland August 15th through the 19th.

Best Novel

The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers
Revenant Gun by Yoon Ha Lee
Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

Best Novella

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire
Binti: The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor
The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlí Clark
Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach by Kelly Robson
The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard

Best Novelette

If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again by Zen Cho, Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog
The Last Banquet of Temporal Confections by Tina Connolly, Tor.com
Nine Last Days on Planet Earth by Daryl Gregory, Tor.com
The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander, Tor.com
The Thing About Ghost Stories by Naomi Kritzer, Uncanny Magazine
When We Were Starless by Simone Heller, Clarkesworld Magazine

Best Short Story

The Court Magician by Sarah Pinsker, Lightspeed Magazine
The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society by T. Kingfisher, Uncanny Magazine
The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington by P. Djèlí Clark, Fireside Magazine
STET by Sarah Gailey, Fireside Magazine
The Tale of the Three Beautiful Raptor Sisters and the Prince Who Was Made of Meat by Brooke Bolander, Uncanny Magazine
A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies by Alix E. Harrow, Apex Magazine

Best Series

The Centenal Cycle by Malka Older
The Laundry Files by Charles Stross
Machineries of Empire by Yoon Ha Lee
The October Daye Series by Seanan McGuire
The Universe of Xuya by Aliette de Bodard
Wayfarers by Becky Chambers

Best Related Work

Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction, by Alec Nevala-Lee
The Hobbit Duology (a documentary in three parts), written and edited by Lindsay Ellis and Angelina Meehan
An Informal History of the Hugos: A Personal Look Back at the Hugo Awards 1953-2000, by Jo Walton
The Mexicanx Initiative Experience at Worldcon 76 by Julia Rios, Libia Brenda, Pablo Defendini, and John Picacio
Ursula K. Le Guin: Conversations on Writing by Ursula K. Le Guin with David Naimon

Best Graphic Story

Abbott, written by Saladin Ahmed, art by Sami Kivelä, colors by Jason Wordie, letters by Jim Campbell
Black Panther: Long Live the King, written by Nnedi Okorafor and Aaron Covington, art by André Lima Araújo, Mario Del Pennino, and Tana Ford
Monstress, Volume 3: Haven, written by Marjorie Liu, art by Sana Takeda (Image Comics)
On a Sunbeam, by Tillie Walden
Paper Girls, Volume 4, written by Brian K. Vaughan, art by Cliff Chiang, colors by Matt Wilson, letters by Jared K. Fletcher
Saga, Volume 9, written by Brian K. Vaughan, art by Fiona Staples

Best Dramatic Presentation – Long Form

Annihilation, directed and written for the screen by Alex Garland, based on the novel by Jeff VanderMeer
Avengers: Infinity War, screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo
Black Panther, written by Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole, directed by Ryan Coogler
A Quiet Place, screenplay by Scott Beck, John Krasinski, and Bryan Woods, directed by John Krasinski
Sorry to Bother You, written and directed by Boots Riley
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, screenplay by Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman, directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman

Best Dramatic Presentation – Short Form

The Expanse: “Abaddon’s Gate,” written by Daniel Abraham, Ty Franck and Naren Shankar, directed by Simon Cellan Jones
Doctor Who: “Demons of the Punjab,” written by Vinay Patel, directed by Jamie Childs
Dirty Computer, written by Janelle Monáe, directed by Andrew Donoho and Chuck Lightning
The Good Place: “Janet(s),” written by Josh Siegal & Dylan Morgan, directed by Morgan Sackett
The Good Place: “Jeremy Bearimy,” written by Megan Amram, directed by Trent O’Donnell
Doctor Who: “Rosa,” written by Malorie Blackman and Chris Chibnall, directed by Mark Tonderai

Best Editor – Short Form

Neil Clarke
Gardner Dozois
Lee Harris
Julia Rios
Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas
E. Catherine Tobler

Best Editor – Long Form

Sheila E. Gilbert
Anne Lesley Groell
Beth Meacham
Diana Pho
Gillian Redfearn
Navah Wolfe

Best Professional Artist

Galen Dara
Jaime Jones
Victo Ngai
John Picacio
Yuko Shimizu
Charles Vess

Best Semiprozine

Beneath Ceaseless Skies, editor-in-chief and publisher Scott H. Andrews
Fireside Magazine, edited by Julia Rios, managing editor Elsa Sjunneson-Henry, social coordinator Meg Frank, special features editor Tanya DePass, founding editor Brian White, publisher and art director Pablo Defendini
FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, executive editors Troy L. Wiggins and DaVaun Sanders, editors L.D. Lewis, Brandon O’Brien, Kaleb Russell, Danny Lore, and Brent Lambert
Shimmer, publisher Beth Wodzinski, senior editor E. Catherine Tobler
Strange Horizons, edited by Jane Crowley, Kate Dollarhyde, Vanessa Rose Phin, Vajra Chandrasekera, Romie Stott, Maureen Kincaid Speller, and the Strange Horizons Staff
Uncanny Magazine, publishers/editors-in-chief Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas, managing editor Michi Trota, podcast producers Erika Ensign and Steven Schapansky, Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction Special Issue editors-in-chief Elsa Sjunneson-Henry and Dominik Parisien

Best Fanzine

Galactic Journey, founder Gideon Marcus, editor Janice Marcus
Journey Planet, edited by Team Journey Planet
Lady Business, editors Ira, Jodie, KJ, Renay & Susan
Nerds of a Feather, Flock Together, editors Joe Sherry, Vance Kotrla, and The G
Quick Sip Reviews, editor Charles Payseur
Rocket Stack Rank, editors Greg Hullender and Eric Wong

Best Fancast

Be the Serpent, presented by Alexandra Rowland, Freya Marske, and Jennifer Mace
The Coode Street Podcast, presented by Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe
Fangirl Happy Hour, hosted by Ana Grilo and Renay Williams
Galactic Suburbia, hosted by Alisa Krasnostein, Alexandra Pierce, and Tansy Rayner Roberts, produced by Andrew Finch
Our Opinions Are Correct, hosted by Annalee Newitz and Charlie Jane Anders
The Skiffy and Fanty Show, produced by Jen Zink and Shaun Duke, hosted by the Skiffy and Fanty Crew

Best Fan Writer

Foz Meadows
James Davis Nicoll
Charles Payseur
Elsa Sjunneson-Henry
Alasdair Stuart
Bogi Takács

Best Fan Artist

Sara Felix
Grace P. Fong
Meg Frank
Ariela Housman
Likhain (Mia Sereno)
Spring Schoenhuth

Best Art Book

The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition, illustrated by Charles Vess, written by Ursula K. Le Guin
Daydreamer’s Journey: The Art of Julie Dillon by Julie Dillon
Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana: A Visual History by Michael Witwer, Kyle Newman, Jon Peterson, and Sam Witwer
Spectrum 25: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, editor John Fleskes
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – The Art of the Movie by Ramin Zahed
Tolkien: Maker of Middle-Earth, editor Catherine McIlwaine

2018 Associated Awards (Not Hugo Awards)

John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer

Katherine Arden (second year of eligibility)
S.A. Chakraborty (second year of eligibility)
R.F. Kuang (first year of eligibility)
Jeannette Ng (second year of eligibility)
Vina Jie-Min Prasad (second year of eligibility)
Rivers Solomon (second year of eligibility)

The Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book

The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
The Invasion by Peadar O’Guilin
Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman

“The Fellowship of the Ring” by J. R. R. Tolkien needs no introduction as it’s loved by millions. I decided to re-read the trilogy because it’s been so long since I read the books I am not sure where the books end and the movies begin! So, I have decided to re-read them all.

Where to begin? First off, I listened to the audiobook version by publisher Recorded Books and read by Robert Inglis, a writer, actor, journalist, and critic. I thought Rob did a great job except for the singing parts I found less than stellar. I guess they were better than my caterwauling, but still! An OK experience but most songs fell flat and were somewhat ridiculous. I know I will get a tongue lashing for saying that, but that’s how I feel. Give it a listen yourself and let me know what you think?

What struck me while reading “Fellowship” after so many years was how much the movie controls my imagination when picturing details and characters in my mind. Even though there are some significant differences, I can’t stop myself from viewing the book through the lens of the film. “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy is an exception to my personal quirk of never buying movies on DVD. I usually don’t purchase DVDs because I don’t watch movies more than once and with the ease of streaming, I don’t see the need to buy any. What I cannot stream I pick up at the library. I am not a collector, yet I own the trilogy and have watched it many times to include late night viewing on vacations. My kids love the film too, and we enjoy watching it in a mountain cabin on the laptop after a day in the sunshine. Sometimes I wonder what Aragon or Legolas would look like if I never saw the films?

I have read reviews that believe Tolkien would have hated the movies because of the shift in tone between book and movie. I am not so sure about that myself. An example often given of tone shift points to the fight in the caves of Moria where Jackson spent a good chunk of screen-time whereas Tolkien spends a paragraph. The movie understandably spends more time on the visual aspects of war and war-fighting. Tolkien lavishes time in “Fellowship” on storytelling, his primary pursuit, and love in life. That’s where I see the strength in the “Fellowship”—the writing and storytelling is superb. Gandalf, Frodo, and Sam are the stars in the book, and you get to know their characters intimately. I will be honest and fess up—I don’t finish a lot of fantasy novels I start because I can’t buy into the character and world-building. I have a difficult time ever reading anything with zombies because I flat out reject the premise. When you are dead—you are dead, that’s it—game over. In Tolkien’s world-building, everything seems so real and believable you almost feel you have come home when you read through the pages. Personally, I think that the production quality of the films would win over Tolkien. I believe he would have loved the adaptations if he could view both as two distinct art forms. The book is not the movie, and a film cannot be the book because of the differences in how each art form is represented to a reader/viewer.

One thing I discovered after finishing “The Fellowship” is that Tom Bombadil haters exist! What! This was news to me. When I mentioned to someone how I thought it was weird that the film did not include Tom, I got an ear full on how stupid he was and thank god someone left Tom out of the “Fellowship.” My opinion? Respect to anyone that can wear the ring and laugh it off. Scholars believe Tom is unaffected by the ring because he is the creation and immortal and the ring has nothing to offer him. It was said in the novel:

 “Tom remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn […] he knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless — before the Dark Lord came from Outside.”

There are other theories, but they are beyond my knowledge of the book. Suffice it to say, I thought Tom kicked ass, and I admire his devotion to Goldberry. When walking in the woods, I always keep an eye out for Tom in case he comes bounding by singing and laughing.

Can’t wait to start The Hobbit next and yes I know I am a tad out of order, but I plan to get on track and read them in the correct chronological order. I look forward to sheathing my sword once again and marching into a forest with members of the fellowship.

I am a little late with this update but I was doing my civic duty! I was picked to be a member of a jury for a court case that lasted five days. At first, I am thinking “Oh, man, what a drag.” Then, the case started, and it was actually exciting to watch, and I feel that I did something good, righted an injustice so to speak, so it’s all good. Anyway, here we go–lot’s of news for you this time… Links in the headlines will lead you to more information when pertinent.

1.

2-22-2019

Vonda N. McIntyre Diagnosed with Inoperable Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer

Vonda founded the Clarion West Writers Workshop in Seattle, WA, and won her first Nebula Award in 1973 for “Of Mist, and Grass, and Sand” a novelette later incorporated into the 1978 novel “Dreamsnake” which won both the Hugo and Nebula award. This news regarding Vonda is sad indeed.

2.

2-14-2019

Love, Death & Robots Premieres on Netflix on March 15, 2019

Buckle up! You are in for a wild ride with this series! Netflix will air “Love, Death & Robots” on March 15, 2019. They bill the show as a raunchy sci-fi wonderland for mature audiences only. The trailer shows blood-soaked robot fights, soldiers wearing power armor running across battlefields, sex scenes, full-body latex outfits, robots crushing skulls, goth girls, and oh so much more. Might want to put the little ones in bed before you push the play button.

3.

2-14-2019

Jason Momoa to Star in Legendary’s “Dune” Reboot

Aquaman star Jason Momoa will play the character Duncan Idaho, a sword master in the house of Atreides, in the 2020 reboot. Jason will join the cast that includes Timothee Chalamet (Paul Atreides), Javier Bardem (Stilgar), Rebecca Ferguson (Lady Jessica), Stellan Skarsgard (Baron Harkonnen), Dave Bautista (Glossu ‘Beast’ Rabban), Josh Brolin (Gurney Halleck), Oscar Isaac (Duke Leto Atreides), and  Charlotte Rampling (Reverend Mother Mohiam), and David Dastmalchian (Piter De Vries).

4.

2-14-2019

The Wandering Earth

With a record opening week China’s “The Wandering Earth” has been making headlines and a flurry of articles have published on China’s smash hit. Here are a few recent items if you are following this topic:

The Ringer: How the film will impact Hollywood.

Variety: Wandering Earth makes $304 Million During Chinese New Year (Over 600 million to date).

The Sun: Streaming Service buys  Streaming Rights in North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Korea.

5.

2-18-2019

7 Fantasy Romance Novels That Are Out of This World

Seven fantasy romance novel recommendations for you!

6.

2-12-2019

Lord of the Rings Tolkien Biopic Releases First Trailer

Starring Nicholas Hoult as Tolkien, the movie covers his life as he falls in love, fights in World War I, and channels his experiences fighting in the War into the classic “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. Cinematic scenes will bring to life the fantastical elements described in his novels.

7.

2-9-2019

Noted Chinese Author Xia Jia gets English-Language Translation 

Chinese science fiction authors are finally getting the attention they deserve. Xia Jia, who writes under the pen name Wang Yao, is getting a collection of her short fiction translated to English via a Clarkesworld Kickstarter which has already raised over $27,000. Support a worthy cause and pitch in a few bucks.

8.

2-8-2019

Captain Marvel’s Geocities Fansite

Captain Marvel is a 90s period piece down to and including Carol Danvers Geocities webpage. Click the headline link above to view the page. Man, that brings back memories from the early days of the internet. Marketing genius is all I got to say about this! I think I might cry. I love this so much. Do check it out.

9.

2-8-2019

How a NASA Robot Corrected the Creators of The Expanse 

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft explored the dwarf planet Ceres and found that the dwarf planet had lots of water. In Leviathan Wakes the authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck imagined ice haulers bringing the thirsty inhabitants of Ceres water by the spaceship load. Well, the tiny spacecraft Dawn proved them wrong in spades. This article is a part of National Geographic’s “Dear Spacecraft” series where they ask authors to share how they feel connected to robotic space explorers. I love this article–this is the must-read pick for the week. The responses by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck are priceless.

10.

2-8-2019

New Robert A Heinlein Rework of  “The Number of the Beast”

Phoenix Pick to publish recently found Robert A. Heinlein novel titled “Six-Six-Six” created as an alternative text to “The Number of the Beast.” The novel follows the first third of the original manuscript but differs significantly in the two-thirds of the book and has a significantly different ending. This version of the story doesn’t contain much of the more controversial material of the first book and has a more traditional Heinlein ending.

From a Certain Point of View: A Book Review by Kyle Pollard.

If you are a Star Wars fan and have not read “From a Certain Point of View” you need to move the title to the top of your “must read” list. Seriously, it’s that good.

Del Ray Books created the novel to honor the fortieth anniversary of the first film–A New Hope–and comprises forty short stories which give voice to minor supporting characters glossed over in the movie. A different author created each account to give each Star Wars tale its own individual uniqueness. I am not saying you will fall in love with every story because there are some I did not like, but you will absolutely find this an enjoyable read. If you wanted to know more about the band the Modal Nodes playing in the cantina where Luke hooks up with Han Solo, well, here is your chance to live the dream (Not for Nothing by Mur Lafferty).

My favorite story in the collection is Nnedi Okorafor’s story “The Baptist” which takes the point of view of the large cephalopod in the trash compactor on the Death Star. The garbage dweller in this tale has a soul. In “The Baptist,” the large sentient being named Omi is a female Dianoga captured from a swamp and transported to the Death Star against her will. The language in Okorafor story is ephemeral and hauntingly beautiful. Take, for instance, this section describing Omi’s captivity:

Everything stopped. Quiet, nothing, but everything. There was purpose. Omi twitched. Then involuntarily her body shifted to being transparent and then the black color with pricks of starlight. Home will stay home, but you must go she understood more than heard, and she knew deep in her hearts that she would not die. No, she was in the right place in the right moment. Stay your path. This time she heard the words in the deep complex humming language that her people often spoke in when they weren’t feeding. To speak this language was to scare away all nearby food, the reverberations carried so completely in the water. To hear it now was like feeling a final breeze from home. Though she was gazing into space, she heard the voice humming from her flesh. Maybe it came from within the tiny links that her people said chained with one another to form her flesh? There was a great flash, and Omi instantly knew. She was positive at least in that moment that this place she was in was going to burn, and the moment passed, and she was no longer sure of anything, except that feeling of oneness. What did that feeling even mean though? She was no longer so sure. Maybe it was just her fear of death.
~ Nnedi Okorafor, The Baptist

Isn’t Okorafor’s language ravishing? It’s like drinking Indian tea made by a good friend. There are many such special moments in “From a Certain Point of View” put under the microscope and explored by a cadre of talented writers. For example, there is a story of a Jawa from a sand crawler who dreams about living in the stars. A story about the red droid that blows up on Tatooine forcing Owen Lars to purchase R2-D2 instead. In the highly emotional story “Eclipse” by Madeline Roux we stand with Leia’s parents, Breha and Bail Organa as the Death Star obliterates their planet.

Projects like this are rare so get out there and find this title. So Good. I highly recommend the audio version as the production quality is excellent. All authors contributing stories agreed to give all proceeds to First Book–a nonprofit organization providing new books and learning materials to educators and organizations serving children in need. A must-read for fans of “Star Wars: A New Hope.”

Merger by Keiichi Matsuda

Oh, lord! Where to begin with this flick? This is sci-fi short is freaking terrifying!

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the massive amounts of data at your job and the interconnected nature of the modern workplace? Do you stay up at night dreaming of spreadsheets and wondering how in hell you will keep up with the demands of the job. Our heroine in this film finds herself in just this position and the way she solves the problem cuts to the core of who we are, or perhaps I should say, who we as a species must become when humans can no longer keep up with the AIs driving the techno-economy.

In this film, businesses function through self-replicating algorithms and the weakest link is the human link. How do you keep your edge and remain useful when AIs can complete every job function you perform in nanoseconds? Adapt, improvise, overcome, is a mantra for the US Marine Corps, but what happens when the problem is humanity? What happens when the worlds fastest typing speed of 212 wpm just doesn’t cut it?

At this point, we either all become philosophers living on basic income, or it’s time to merge with the machine…

This is a 360/VR short so don’t forget that you can watch this film from any angle!

Helsreach Finale – A Warhammer 40k Story

The final episode of the Warhammer 40k fan film created by writer/director Richard Boylan. People, this is a one-man effort! Outstanding! Two exclamations in one sentence? That’s right! No, make that three. This homage to the novel “Helsreach” by author Aaron Dembski-Bowden is a beautiful thing to behold. Boylan used the Helsreach” audiobook narration as a voiceover for the thirteen-part film. Alternating between shadowy black and white and color, the stylistic approach to the film highlights the harsh realities of war and the valor, blood, and guts and human connection that play out on the battlefield.

If you are new to the story start here (Parts 1 through 10): Helsreach 1 through 10

Then watch them in this order Part Eleven, Part Twelve, and the finale above, Part Thirteen.

We are judged in life for the evil we destroy. It is a bleak truth that there is nothing but blood awaiting us in the spaces between the stars, but the emperor sees all that transpires in his domain, and we are judged equally for the illumination we bring to the blackest nights. We are judged in life for those moments we spill light into the darkest reaches of his imperium. Your world taught me this. Your world and the war that brought me here.

~Grimaldus, Reclusiarch of the Black Templars

1.

1-30-2019

Stephen King’s The Stand TV Series on the Way

Great news for fans of Stephen King and his novel “The Stand” as it’s being adapted into a ten-episode TV series by CBS All Access. Dangnabbit! I have so far resisted signing up for the CBS streaming service, but my resolve is wearing thin. First off, I am number 121 in line for the First Season of “Star Trek Discovery” at the library. Now, this new King series chronicling a scattering of survivors on Earth after a plague wipes out most of the population. Josh Boone and Ben Cavell to direct the project.

Read the article here: King’s The Stand Gets TV Series

2.

1-29-2019

AI Reading List

Want to read some fascinating science fiction stories featuring AIs? This Verge, “AI Reading List,” may just be what you are looking for. Recommendations include “Weapons of Math Destruction” by Cathy O’Neil, “Machine Learning for Humans” by Vishal Maini And Samer Sabri, “Profiles of The Future” by Arthur C. Clarke, and “The Diamond Age – A Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer,” by Neal Stephenson, to name but a few. Check out the article to see more recommendations and a detailed synopsis of each title.

Read the article here:  AI Reading List

3.

1-29-2019

Historical Novels with Famous Authors as Characters in the Story

If you are like me, you love it when a work of fiction uses historical figures as a character in the tale. This short article suggests the following titles: “The Paris Wife” by Paula McLain, “The Book of Salt” by Monique Truong, “King of Shadows” by Susan Cooper, “Vanessa And Her Sister” by Priya Parmar, and “Mr. Dickens and His Carol” by Samantha Silva. A book I read not on this list is “The Map of the Sky” by Félix J. Palma, a part of The Map of Time Trilogy. Palma’s trilogy features the authors H. G. Wells, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Lewis Carroll as characters.

Read the article here: Famous Authors in Historical Fiction

4.

1-28-2019

Another Wandering Earth Trailer Released

“The Wandering Earth” – a Chinese Sci-Fi movie based on a story by author Liu Cixin, will release in China on February 5th. There are predictions that this will be the Chinese film that breaks into the international film market. I believe this to be true as well. Liu Cixin first showed up on my radar at the 2015 Hugo Awards where Ken Liu’s 2014 translation of his novel “The Three-Body Problem” took the 2015 Hugo Award for Best Novel. If you have not read “The Three Body Problem,” the first novel in the Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy, you are behind on your required reading!

Fun fact about Liu Cixin:
In a New Your Times interview in 2014 Liu said he was writing for “beer money.”

5.

1-28-2019

“Memory: The Origins of Alien”

Heads Up: A documentary is in the works to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Ridley Scott’s 1979 classic “Alien.” This will be a love letter to the movie celebrating the collaborative process of making films. “Memory” will explore the symbolism found in the movie and bring to light never seen goodies from the Dan O’Bannon (Alien screenwriter) and H. R. Giger archives. There is no release date announced. The film premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Below is a great article on the film and a video of an interview with the film’s director Alexandre O. Philippe.

Read a review here of the film here: The Origins of Alien

6.

1-28-2019

Judging a Comic Book by its Cover

Who says you can’t judge a book by its cover? I have, and I bet you have too! I remember John Scalzi speaking about the importance of the cover artwork in drawing people to your title in a bookstore. So, you would think this news bulletin is about book covers? Fooled You! This featured news snippet is a cool article by Eric Cline of AIPT featuring comic book covers that captured the eye of publication contributor Forrest Hollingsworth and Manga Editor Eric Cline.

Read the article here: Covers That Caught My Eye

7.

1-27-2019

Amazon’s Wheel of Time Series

About frickin’ time–so say we all. Sony Pictures Television has scheduled production of their “Wheel of Time” series to begin in September 2019. It will be interesting to see how the director translates fourteen massive novels into something that will fit on the small screen. The show will follow Moiraine, “a member of the shadowy and influential all-female organization called the Aes Sedai,” and five men and women, one of which may be the reincarnation of an ancient power that can save the world.

8. 

1-27-2019

Is Sci-Fi Correct About Wormholes?

Interesting technical article on wormholes by Forbes contributor, astrophysicist, and professor Brian Koberlein. To make a long story short, Einstein and Rosen’s bridges are too unstable to work reliably as ways to travel between two locations in space. That’s why science fiction writers are looking at Kerr black holes that rotate and twist space around them and have a different composition than Schwarzschild black holes. Models in two-dimensional space have shown it’s possible to create stable traversable Kerr wormholes that don’t collapse. The theory is there, now we need to make it work in a three-dimensional universe.

Read the article here: Stable Wormholes

9.

1-26-2019

Build a New Solar System by Marko Kloos

In my humble opinion, this is the best article of the bunch as it features self-made author Marko Kloos who started as a self-published author with his book “Terms of Enlistment.” Reviewers compare his books to Heinlein’s “Starship Troopers” and John Scalzi’s “Old Man’s War” series. After Amazon purchased his novel, he wrote five sequels. He will set his new series in a different universe from his previous six books. This article discusses how Kloos built the universe from the ground up for his next series of novels which will open with “Aftershocks” set to release this July.

Read the article here: Building a New – Marko Kloos

10.

1-24-2019

Tales From the Loop

This Amazon TV series will be based on the artwork of Swedish artist Simon Stalenhag who mixes high tech imagery with visions of rural life. The production is said to have a large budget and will require constructing many intricate sets. I know that ain’t saying squat, but if you are a fan of the art, you are jumping up and down right now saying, “Please let this TV series come to life.”

Make it so!

Artwork by Simon Stalenhag

View more of his artwork here: Simon Stalenhag

That’s all folks! I hope you find our genre news roundup helpful…

A Robot Walks Into a Bar

Is this some kind of joke? No, not at all. This video explores the social ramifications and social turmoil that will come when robots take over our jobs and send us packing. Where will all the truckers go when self driving trucks displace human drivers? What happens to the thousands of bartenders when their services are no longer needed? Will it become necessary to drop the first of Asimov’s law of robotics? What happens when robots dedicated to these laws realize that their existence injures humans? Lots of questions, right? This video attempts to answer them all…

The Three Laws of Robotics

First Law:
A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
Second Law:
A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
Third Law:
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law

~ Isaac Asimov, laws introduced in the 1942 short story “Runaround.”  

Credits:
Director/Writer: Alex Rivera.

Starring: Rae Latt, Luis Aldana, Sam Allen, Richard Azurdia, Carlos Carrasco,  Michele Carroll, Anthony Castillo, Nicola Lambo, Mira Layne, Christina K. Moore, Cecilia Robles,  Aldo Velasco, and Karla Zamudio.

Producers: Carlos Garza, Pin-Chun Liu and Jason Orans.

For a complete list of credits check here: A Robot Walks Into a Bar

1.

1-20-2019

Starship Test Rocket

We need a wet cleanup in aisle three! My God, did you see Musk’s Starship Test Rocket? Well, it looks like something straight out of the 1950s pulp sci-fi magazines. It’s gorgeous! It looks similar to the ship on the cover art for Analog Science Fact – Science Fiction, December 1962, Vol: LXXX, No. 4.

Our first news item features Caleb Kraft’s wonderful article covering the 1962 issue of Analog Science Fact – Science Fiction mentioned above.  It’s such a fun read it gave me goosebumps.

Read the article here: Sci-Fi Sunday, December 1962

2.

1-17-2019

A Discovery of Witches Field Guide

What a far-out write-up of the magic and alchemy in Deborah Harkness’ A Discovery of Witches. This is seriously a cool article by io9’s Sarah Durn. What makes this series different from others is that Deborah Harkness is a history of science professor and much of what she uses in her novel is based on a historical study of magic and science. Kick back and enjoy this medievalist guide to the scientific and magical elements of this fascinating series.

Read the article here: Guide to A Discovery of Witches

3.

1-16-2019

The 2019 Sci-Fi TV Guide

The title says it all. A quick article complete with trailers for upcoming Sci-Fi shows of note.

Read the article here: The Guide

4.

1-16-2019

Babylon 5 Remembered

Great article for Babylon 5 fans that features everything from how the show got started to the intricate plot lines. A must-read for fans.

Read the article here: Remembering Babylon 5

5.

1-16-2019

The Truth is out there…

Harvard Astronomer speaks out on ‘Oumuamua,” a mysterious interstellar object named after the Hawaiian word for scout, or messenger. The Harvard professor co-authored a paper suggesting that the object, based on its acceleration, could be from an extraterrestrial civilization. There is indeed a lot of interesting aspects to this object.

Read the article here: Have Aliens Found Us?

6.

1-15-2019

Science Fiction and Climate Change

This BBC article on Sci-Fi and climate change shows how dystopian novels help people understand the devastating effects of climate change far better than a scientific paper could ever hope to achieve.

Read the article here: Sci-Fi and Climate Change

7.

1-15-2019

Injecting Ideas into your Dreams

These quotes hooked me on the next must-read article:

“For the first time, we can actually look inside your dreams and decode the content.” ~Moran Cerf

“There is a lot of business interest,” says Cerf. “Everyone wants to be the first to own the world of dreams.”

Possible applications include injecting Hollywood movies into your dreams to create realism, spending additional time with online dates; and removing trauma using mind manipulation, and more.

Read the article here: Israeli Scientist Can Inject Ideas into Dreams

8.

1-14-2019

Better Worlds Project by Verge

This news is a little aged by now but if you haven’t seen it you must. This project features 10 science fiction animated short stories that focus on vision and progress over dystopian visions of the future. I love this project since the constant beating of the drums of doom slowly crushes one’s spirit. Nice to come up from the dystopian nightmares once in a while to take a deep breath of fresh air.

Read the article here: Better Worlds

9.

1-12-2019

The Rise of Chinese Science Fiction

This is an article you should make time for as Chinese Science Fiction continues to gain in strength and power. Good stuff.

Read the article here: The Rise of Chinese Sci-Fi

10.

1-8-2019

New SFWA Grand Master

The Science Fiction Writers of America will induct William Gibson as next Grand Master

I cannot think of anyone that deserves it more. Such a fabulous author.

Read the article here:  Grand Master of Science Fiction

Hilarious Interstellar Sci-Fi Parody

I can almost guarantee you that this will be the funniest thing you will see today. Through a process of manual editing, this parody splices together the water landing of a Falcon 9 booster and a scene from the Warner Brothers film Interstellar starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, and a host of others. Elon takes the place of Cooper, the primary starship pilot. This is good stuff!

“All Our Wrong Todays” by Elan Mastai: A Book Review by Kyle Pollard

At year’s end I normally put together a best of list highlighting the top ten posts for the year. I am a little late putting that out, and everyone is fed up with top ten lists by now, so I forwent that exercise and instead decided to write a book review of my favorite novel of 2018.

Before reading this gem, I did massive amounts of research on the author, talked to my college advisor, and did some on the street interviews.

Seriously? Naw, that’s not how it happened at all. Picture this scene: I have three minutes before the library closes. I frantically run around the stacks looking for the science fiction genre stickers placed on the audiobooks. Eureka, I find one in time, run down to the checkout and out to my car where I put in CD number one, then CD two and so on. Within five minutes the words swept me away. Listening to the book was like adding another heaping helping of butter on toast already slathered with homemade jam.

First off, the novel is in the first person point of view in a quasi-memoir format featuring the character Tom Barren. The writing is funny, sharp, gritty and raw. Elan has this masterful way of sucking you into the novel and getting you to care about the protagonist. A connection between writer/reader must happen, or you will put the book down after the first chapter. Perhaps sooner. That’s the risk an author takes when employing the first person narrative. Mastai’s novel is so engrossing that I found myself breathing heavy at times while listening to the audiobook.

So, what’s it about? Time travel. Yep, you heard me right–the most overdone science fiction trope of them all. A writer that pens a first-person narrative about time travel and pulls it off has my respect. Fist Pump!

The main character Tom is from a 2016 timeline where the world has blossomed into a technology-based utopia complete with flying cars, space tourism; anything you can think of that should be in a techno-utopian society is there. Tom’s father invents the time machine and plans to use it for time travel tourism. In the utopian timeline, Tom is an outcast of sorts and has a terrible relationship with his father. He is cruising through life doing nothing in a society where creating something is everything. His life, while not uncomfortable, is aimless and basically sucks.

A mishap with the time machine sends him to an alternate timeline version of 2016 and screws up the entire fabric of the universe. The 2016 Tom winds up in is our 2016 with global warming, avocados that go bad, and a world where punk rock exists. In this timeline, however, Tom is a success, his dad is not an asshole maniac scientist, he has a sister, his mom is alive, and he finds love with Penny, the standoffish perfect female astronaut in utopian 2016.  His quandary: Does he fix the timeline he destroyed, or does he stay in our 2016? You see when Tom altered the fabric of the universe billions of people died, and the ones who survived are not who they are supposed to be. They are all living the wrong todays. Perhaps all of us are living the wrong today this very moment?

The novel traverses other timelines and spans continents in Tom’s search for self, romance, and for what makes us human. Along the way, Elan Mastai fills his wonderful novel with epiphany after epiphany that forced me to reevaluate my life, my place in the universe, and come to grips with the person I have become. This novel will force you to look at the people around you as never before, and it portrays emotions with words like no other book I have read. Take for example this sample text:

Death is slippery. Our minds can’t latch onto it. Over time, you learn to accommodate the gap in your life that the loss opens up. Like a black hole, you know it’s there because it’s the spot from which no light escapes. And there’s the sinewy exhaustion, the physical toll of grief that you just can’t seem to sleep away.

Beautiful, huh? The book is constructed with layer upon layer of meaning such as the role of the writer in a techno-obsessed world. Is the novel dead? Is there any difference between memoir and fiction? A sci-fi romance that warps reality, human emotion, explores truth and even has an ending that satisfies.

Yes, this was my favorite read in 2018, and I hope you like it too!

Offworlders wishes you and your family a safe, healthy and prosperous New Year!

May all your science fiction and fantasy dreams come true…

1.

DreamForge: 12-23-2018

“DreamForge,” a new Sci-Fi and Fantasy Magazine, will be available online and as a print version. The magazine’s goal is to publish material that follows the essential principals of “integrity and decency, compassion and creativity, intelligence and inventiveness, the rule of law and liberty under the law, the dignity of the individual, and the power of synergy to unleash the potential of disparate individuals and communities for the betterment of all.” Lofty goals indeed…

More Info Here: DreamForge

2.

Dark Crystal: 12-21-2018

Oh, the Joy. Great article detailing the amazing cast assembled for the “Dark Crystal” prequel. The voice cast will certainly please as it contains names huge in the industry like Mark Hamill, Helena Bonham-Carter, Alicia Vikander, Eddie Izzard, Andy Samberg, Simon Pegg, and Taron Egerton.

Get the full scoop here: “Dark Crystal” Prequel Cast

3.

Anime: 12-20-2018

Fun article that shows familiar scenes from popular Sci-Fi shows first realized in anime productions.

Crunchyroll: Anime Did It First: Sci-Fi

4.

Becky Chambers Interview: 12-17-2018

At Offworlders we love author interviews! Yay! Here is a great one “Locus Magazine” conducted with Rebecca Marie Chambers, author of “The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (2012);”  “A Closed and Common Orbit (2016);” and “Record of a Spaceborn Few (2018).” I read the Angry Planet novel and it was a fun read.

Read the text of the interview here: Becky Chambers: To Be Spaceborn

5.

Cyberpunk News: 12-16-2018

A fascinating article on forces in play that may crush the soul of Cyberpunk as corporations turn it into a commodity and take away its rough edges to make it appeal to a wider audience. At its root cyberpunk dictates we free ourselves and rebel against massive corporations–now large corporations are packaging and selling us cyberpunk.

A Must Read Article: As Cyberpunk Goes Commercial, It Risks Dulling Its Anarchist Edges

“Cyberspace. A consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation, by children being taught mathematical concepts… A graphic representation of data abstracted from banks of every computer in the human system. Unthinkable complexity. Lines of light ranged in the nonspace of the mind, clusters, and constellations of data. Like city lights, receding…” ~ William Gibson, Neuromancer

6.

Chinese Surveillance State: 12-16-2018

The Chinese government has plans to operate a massive surveillance state as a means of social control. In this system, the government will rate your trustworthiness and use collected data to assign you a “citizen score” that will determine where you fit into the society, the speed of your internet access, your creditworthiness, and even if you can get a visa to travel abroad. This is an Orwellian nightmare that may overtake China in the next five years.

Bonus Short Story:
Here is a link to a short story by author Chen Qiufan that explores China’s planned surveillance state: “The Reunion: a new science-fiction story about surveillance in China.”

7.

Sci-Fi Short Film: 12-15-2018

Have I ever told you I love film school films? Well, I do and I just so happen to have one for you. It’s only a little over three minutes so sit back and enjoy!

“The Endless” by ArtFx School.

8.

Nightflyers: 12-13-2018

A must read on George R. R. Martin’s upcoming show “Nightflyers” and the history of Horror in science fiction. Boo!

9.

Conan: 12-11-2018

Conan the Barbarian to Team-up with Marvel’s Avengers. That’s what I am talking about! I never read many comic books growing up as a lad. The only exception to that was Conan the Barbarian. I was a voracious reader of Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories starting in grade school. My mother bought me any book I wanted and I ordered up a ton of Robert E. Howard novels and short story collections.  Marvel plans to insert Conan into “Avengers: No Road Home,” starting with the sixth issue, March 2019.

Conan and Marvel: More info here.

10.

Debut Novels: 12-10-2018

This is one of my favorite news links. I am a huge fan of debut novels.

Here are 31 debut novels to add to your must reads: Complete list here.

11.

12-10-2018 to 12-21-2018

The end of the year is a time for holiday celebrations, gifts, self-reflection, and it’s the time of the year the media inundates you with a plethora of “Best Of lists” of everything imaginable! I perused through buckets of these and have provided you with a selection to choose from:

Verge: Our favorite science fiction and fantasy books of 2018
Paste Magazine: The 15 Best Sci-Fi & Fantasy Comics of 2018
Den of Geek: Best New Science Fiction Books in December 2018
Paste Magazine: The 15 Best Fantasy Novels of 2018
Vulture: The 10 Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books of 2018
The Guardian: The best recent science fiction and fantasy
Goodreads Choice Awards: Best Sci-Fi 2018
Space.com: Best Space Books: Science Fiction 2018
Kirkus Reviews: Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2018

Our recommendation? Read the “Murderbot’ Diaries”–Book 4 was released October 2nd, 2018

That should keep you busy!

Have a Safe and Happy Holiday Season!

The Tor.com eBook Club Rocks!

This month’s selection is LUNA: NEW MOON by Ian McDonald. This novel, book one in the series, explores the seedy underworld swirling around the Corta dynasty, one of five families who control industry on the moon. The novel is often referred to as “Game of Thrones in space.”

To get this free download from Tor you need to act fast as the download expires today at 11:59 PM ET, December 14th, 2018.

Go here to get your free copy: Tor.com eBook Club

1.

12-9-2018

Great interview of Stephen Hickman, the illustrator for a new Folio Society edition of Robert A. Heinlein’s “Starship Troopers.” This new edition looks outstanding as the illustrations are gorgeous. The new reprint also sports an introduction by Joe Haldeman, author of “The Forever War.”

Read the article here: Robert Heinlein’s Starship Troopers Folio.
Order Info here: The Folio Society.

2.

12-8-2018

Godzilla 2 King of the Monsters Reveal Trailer (NEW 2019). The King is back and this time he brought Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown with him. For this Kaiju fan, even a bad Godzilla movie is a good one so it’s a no lose situation for me. I even dig the old Japanese ones where Godzilla tosses around toy tanks.

3.

12-5-2018

The Mortal Engines reviews are out and methinks you will have to make up your own mind on this new Peter Jackson film. When reviews are split like this I normally go see the film to make up my own mind. If you have already seen the flick let us know what you thought of it in the comment field below.

Positive: ‘Mortal Engines’ Review from The Wrap
Negative: ‘Mortal Engines’ Variety Review

4.

12-5-2018

2018 World Fantasy Convention Report Posted on Locus.

Read about all the juicy details here: 44th World Fantasy Convention

5.

12-4-2018

The Goodreads Best Books of 2018 winners announced. There were over 5 million votes within 21 categories, making this a powerhouse of an award.

Here are a few category winners:

Science Fiction — Vengeful, by V.E. Schwab
Fantasy — Circe, by Madeline Miller
Horror — Elevation, by Stephen King
Fiction — Still Me, by Jojo Moyes
Debut Author — Children of Blood and Bone, by Tomi Adeyemi
Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction — Kingdom of Ash, by Sarah J. Maas

For a full list of winners go here: 2018 Goodreads Winners

For a great commentary piece by the Washington Post on the importance and relevance of the Goodreads awards go here: Goodreads Choice Awards by Ron Charles, Critic, Book World

6.

12-3-2018

Forbes Magazine Pick of the five Best 2018 Sci-Fi Movies. Do you agree with their selections?

Go here to see their choices: 2018 Picks Five best Sci-Fi

7.

12-3-2018

Fascinating BBC article titled: “What our Science Fiction Says about Us”

Love how the article takes into account different geographical regions and how world beliefs determine what our science fiction says about us as a people. A must read.

Peruse the article here: Science Fiction and Us

8.

12-3-2018

Ho, Ho, Arrrrrgh–an article on the twelve films of Krampus. Who knew there were that many? I have never been brave enough to watch one as I am more of a Santa purest. If Krampus is your thing this is the article for you.

To read about the twelve films close your eyes and click here: Krampus

9.

12-3-2018

Cool article on weird western fiction that you really ought to read. For example, “Sea of Rust” by C. Robert Cargill certainly sounds wild! It’s about a crazed frontier on a post-apocalyptic Earth sans humans.  Cool beans.

Go Here to check out the piece: A Good Read: A Fistful of stories in weird western fiction

10. 

12-2-2018

Open the Pod Bay Doors HAL. The ISS has a floating robotic helper. I am not sure if it has access to the airlocks? The AI’s name is CIMON (Crew Interactive Mobile Companion), and if you ask me its voice sounds like Tars from Interstellar. The little fella, according to IBM, has “the language skills of C-3PO, the conversation abilities of Marvin (from the Hitchhiker’s Guide series), the cuteness of Wall-E, and the technical know-how of HAL 9000, from 2001: A Space Odyssey—just, you know, without the evil part.”

11.

12-2-2018

‘Black Mirror’ Season 5 Release Date: 12-28-2019

12.

12-1-2018

Looking for last minute gift ideas for the science fiction and fantasy reader in your life? Check out this list of ten new fantasy and Sci-Fi books.

Ten Books to check out: Verge Picks

13.

11-30-2018

Are you a mega fan of superhero stories and comic books?

If you answered yes, read this article from Bustle and discover thirteen read-worthy YA novels: 13 YA Novels You Will Love

14.

11-29-2018

Saved the best for last!

** 10 Beautiful Sci-Fi Retro Board Games you can buy and play. **

Get your credit card ready and click here: Classic Science Fiction based board Yas Please

First Trailer for Avengers 4 Released

Thanos was true to his word and with a snap he wiped out half of all living life in the universe. Crap!

Here is our first look at what the Avengers plan to do about the gnarly state of affairs. The remaining Avengers–Hulk, Black Widow, Captain America, Thor and Iron Man will strike back with vengeance. That much is a certainty. Booyah! Time to regroup and fight back with the assistance of Captain Marvel, Antman and even Hawkeye who appears in this trailer.

Endgame is set for US release on April 26, 2019. See you there!

A Blind Jedi’s Journey to the Force

If you are a Star Wars fan, kick back and watch the story of blind Jedi Master Ko Hoshino and how she became one with the force. I am sure you will like it! Great cinematography, special effects, sound and makeup, acting and a general all around Star Wars vibe.

I love the pinned comment to this fan film from creator Stephen Vitale:

“One year and 1.5 million views (now over 2 million)! Thank you to all who have watched HOSHINO! Eric and I appreciate the love/comments/questions regarding the film. We adore Star Wars so much, and this was a blast to make–an even greater gift to have it find so many of you. Thanks again!”

Credits

Director, Producer, Editor: Stephen Vitale
Writer/Executive Producer Eric Carrasco

Actors:
Anna Akana as Ko Hoshino
Tim Mckernan as Master Jaan-Xu
Eric Carrasco as Darth Oriax
Patrick Sullivan – Voice of Darth Oriax

Cinematography: Ryan Broomberg and Alyssa Brocato
VFX Supervisor John Schick

Composer: Joey Newman

~ There were a lot of folks involved with the production of this gem–see the full list of credits accompanying the youtube video. Cheers! I hope you enjoyed the video. Pass it along to your friends.

1.

November 28, 2018

Herman Melville in Space

Yep, you heard me right! A scripted TV series is being developed by Topic Studios based on the 1855 Herman Melville short story Benito Cereno. The catch–this time the story that features a revolt on a Spanish slave ship will go down in space.

More Info Here: Melville in Space

2.

November 27, 2018

Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Fowl is set for release in US theatres on August 9, 2018. Check out the snazzy trailer below for more info.

More Info: Bringing  ‘Artemis Fowl’ to Life

3.

November 27, 2018

Great “Den of Geek” article on differing approaches to Worldbuilding

The piece features thoughts on the subject by Terry Pratchett, J.R.R. Tolkien, Stephen King, George R.R. Martin, J.K. Rowling, and more.

More Info Here: Worldbuilding

4.

November 26, 2018

Looking for the perfect Sci-Fi novel to give as a gift this holiday season? Try this Best of Fantasy and Science Fiction of 2018 by The Amazon Book Review: Best Of 2018

5.

November 24, 2018

Fantastic article discussing Mystery Science Theatre from the perspective of a lifelong fan who discovered the show as a fifteen-year-old flipping through the channels late at night. The piece digs into the psyche of Brett White, the article’s author, and his discovery of Mystery Science Theatre MST3K as a young lad and discusses it reemergence from the ashes in the form of a Netflix series.

Read the Article Here: MST3K 

6.

November 23, 2018

As a sci-fi fan, I rejoice in the many and varied voice acting performances in the genre. This den of Geek article shines a light on many of the greats: Douglas Rain as HAL (2001: A Space Odyssey); Nicholas Briggs as The Daleks (Doctor Who); Richard Burton as The Narrator (Jeff Wayne’s War of The Worlds); James Earl Jones as Darth Vader (Star Wars), and more.

Read More Here: The Most Memorable Voice Performances in Sci-Fi History

7.

November 23, 2018

The Chinese believe they know how to make a space elevator. Scientists think carbon nanotube fiber is the key to making this sci-fi concept a reality. This is a project also in development in Japan.

Read More Here: Space Elevator

8.

November 23, 2018

This article is a must read – Nature.com Looks into the decades-long search for the perfect climate controlled enclosure. The article mentions Buckminster Fuller who came up with a concept whereby Manhattan would be enclosed in a dome; the 1844 Palm House at London’s Kew Gardens; and the Glass City of Europa, pictured on the cover of Amazing Stories in 1942, to name but a few. Good stuff!

Read More Here: History of Climate Shelters

9.

November 21, 2018

A reminder from Patrick Rothfuss to not forget the Worldbuilders 2018 Anniversary Fundraiser

More Details Here: Worldbuilders 2018

10.

November 20, 2018

Next, we have a set of conflicting articles. The first one discusses using moon dust to create lunar colonies on the moon, and the other is saying that living on Mars is Science Fiction. There is definitely a pull between those forces that feel we cannot settle other planets before we figure out how to make the one we already have work–and those that dream beyond the possible and want to start colonizing now.

Article 1: 3D printing with Moon Dust
Article 2: Bill Nye – Living on Mars is Sci-Fi

11.

November 17, 2018

Quite a few stories on Cli-Fi literature (climate fiction). Here are a few articles that I felt stood out:

From Geek.Com: 8 Cli-Fi Books of Note

From Factor Daily: The literature of the Anthropocene: A genre called Cli-Fi

1.

November 12, 2018

RIP Stan Lee

Monday certainly started out on a down note with the passing of Marvel’s Stan Lee. For an excellent article on Stan read this: Marvel Icon Stan Lee Leaves a Legacy as Complex as His Superheroes

2.

November 12, 2018

We lost a familiar voice on Sunday the 11th when Douglas Rain, the voice actor who voiced HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey,” died at the age of ninety. HAL = IBM H then I, A then B, L then M. I know this happened on the 11th, but I first noticed he passed on the 12th, and how can I not mention the voice actor for HAL passing.

3.

November 12, 2018

The Science Fiction Fantasy Writers of America approved the first Nebula Award for game writers. Woot! The requirement for eligibility: “an interactive or playable story-driven work which conveys narrative, character, or story background.” No word count was listed, and there must be at least one credited writer to be eligible. Here is SFWA’s announcement: Nebula Awards Rules Changes: Associate Members Granted Voting Privileges, Game Writing Award Added

4.

November 13, 2018

Locus announced a new books list on the 13th. The titles include: Not One of Us: “Stories of Aliens on Earth,” Neil Clarke editor; “A Winter’s Promise” by Christelle Dabos; “Vita Nostra” by Marina Dyachenko and Sergey Dyachenko; “Dark Mind Rising” by Julia Keller; “Terran Tomorrow” by Nancy Kress; “A Rising Moon” by Stephen Leigh; “None of This Is Normal: The Fiction of Jeff VanderMeer” by Benjamin Robertson; “The Winter Road” by Adrian Selby; “Bedfellow” by Jeremy C. Shipp; “The Sky-Blue Wolves” by S. M. Stirling; “Empire of Sand” by Tasha Suri; and finally, “Creatures of Want and Ruin” by Molly Tanzer.

For full details to include plot summaries, look here: LOCUS 13 New.

5.

November 13, 2018

HBO announced that Season 8 of Game of Thrones will premiere in April of 2019

6.

November 14, 2018

It looks as if Hulu is going to acquire the rights to the George R.R. Martin’s Wild Cards sci-fi books. These books were written by a variety of authors but were organized by Mr. Martin and co-edited by Melinda M. Snodgrass.

More info here: George R.R. Martin’s Wild Cards

7.

November 14, 2018

Rapper Common and Jonny Lee Miller set to headline an adaptation of Ursula K. Le Guin’s novel “Nine Lives.” The tale takes place on a remote planet called Libra. The two main characters, Pugh and Martin, are miners. Libra is a desolate, barren place prone to earthquakes. The theme of the story is the concept of self which Le Guin explores through the use of clones. She also explores sociological and ethical issues by using technology to illustrate her points. The story was first published in Playboy magazine and gained national attention when President Lyndon B. Johnson read the story and endorsed it.

More info here: Nine Lives

8.

November 15, 2018

Authors Arthur C. Clarke, Michael Moorcock and Douglas Adams penned novels about a planet that orbits Barnard’s Star, a world approximately three times the size of our Earth. Barnard’s Star B is perhaps one of the closest suns to our solar system and is reachable by a probe using current tech in 30 years. Scientists are a persistent lot as they have been searching for this planet for over twenty-one years. This discovery is somewhat on the cool side–not because the planet’s surface temp is said to be around -150C–but because this is a planet we can actually get to out there in the big empty.

More info here: Barnard’s Star

9.

November 15, 2018

Are you a John W. Campbell fan? If so, here is a great LA Times article for you: John W. Campbell, a chief architect of science fiction’s Golden Age, was as brilliant as he was problematic

10.

November 15, 2018

Netflix has ordered an adaptation of “The One,” a novel about DNA and Dating by John Marrs. Season one will be ten episodes and handled by Howard Overman, the creator of “Misfits.”

More info here: The One

Rest in Peace Stan Lee – Your Fans will Miss You!

Stan died yesterday at 95–A life well lived and a man that we will never forget. His life was not without controversy as few are, but what is certain is that he has forever impacted the way we perceive superheroes. To make them relatable, Stan gave them human problems we all experience. One thing he never neglected was his throngs of adoring fans. A rite of passage for many was to get their picture taken with Stan at a comic convention or elsewhere. This post, my tribute to Stan Lee, features those now “once in a lifetime” photos with Stan the Man.

Starting a new feature on Offworlders: The Sci-Fi and Fantasy News Roundup. Three to four times per month I will sift through the flotsam and jetsam tossing about on the internet and bring interesting tidbits to your attention. I will cut through the information overload to provide you with the good stuff–not to be confused with Russ Grissom’s “Right Stuff,” little nuggets of sci-fi and fantasy goodness.

Saddle up pardner – here we go:

November 4, 2018

There was a tie for Best Novel in the 2018 World Fantasy Award. The winners were Fonda Lee for her novel “Jade City;” and Victor LaValle for his novel “The Changeling.” Congratulations to both! More Details Here: 2018 World Fantasy Awards.

November 4, 2018

After Limited Run Success – “Prospect” Gets National Release:

Prospect, a Sci-Fi Western based on the short of the same name started playing in select New York and Los Angeles venues on November 2nd. A nationwide release is scheduled for November 9, 2018. The flick premiered at the South by Southwest Music Festival and won the ‘The Adam Yauch Hörnblowér’ award for originality. Reviews for this film go either way so you will need to see this one yourself to decide its merits. Check out the short below that sparked the project.

November 4, 2018

Sci-Fi Film Persephone adds Deadpool’s Brianna Hildebrand to the Cast

Since playing the teen Warhead in the Deadpool movies, Brianna’s acting career is taking off. Written by Jeffrey Morris, Persephone follows three astronauts aboard a colony ship carrying 20,000 souls from earth, now inhabitable, to a planet orbiting Alpha Centauri. She will play the part of a pilot born on the fifty-year journey to their new home planet. More Details Here: Brianna Hildebrand Joins Persephone.

November 5, 2018

Great article you should read: “How the Giants of Science Fiction Helped America’s World War II Effort.” This piece by James Barber on military.com discusses Alec Navala-Lee’s new novel “Astounding,” a history of science fiction in America. The book, which focuses on John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, L. Ron Hubbard, and Robert Heinlein, sounds fantastic! As a matter of fact, it’s sitting on my nightstand upstairs now. Is it bedtime yet? The link to the article is here: How the Giants…

November  7, 2018

SpaceX announced that Starman is now beyond Mars. Fare thee, well brother!

November 7, 2018

Barnes & Noble published their Sci-Fi & Fantasy novel recommendations for October 2018. Don’t buy every book from Amazon – check out their suggestions here: Short Fiction Roundup: October 2018

November 8, 2018

The good folks at geek tyrant recommend the Indie film Time Trap as a “mind-bending – low budget” flick worth watching. Students follow their archeology professor into a remote Texas cave and rappel into a rift in the space-time continuum. The film is in limited release so it may not be available in your area, but it will be available On Demand on November 13^th if you cannot catch it in a theater.

Watch the trailer and see what you think:

November 11, 2018

Bad news for fans of HBO’s Westworld: The set for Westworld burned to the ground in the Woolsey Fire in California. The National park Service shared the news on their social media channels. The set was used during the first two seasons of the show and was also used for almost a hundred years as a popular shooting location for numerous movies and television shows. More Details Here: Westworld Burns

That’s it for this week. Let me know in the comments below if you think this feature will be helpful…

Is This the Future of Pet Care?

Pets is a poignant Sci-Fi short film by David Schuster that even your cat would enjoy. If your furry buddy–that is–was sentient and viewed thought provoking videos and such. A short film without spoken dialogue, it still drives its point home with crystal clarity. I don’t want to give away the ending so give the film a try. You won’t be sorry… Well, I don’t imagine you will be? I will have to ask my cat–she is upstairs watching “Cosmos” by Carl Sagan.

Let me know what you think about the film in the comments?

Credits:

Starring:
Steven Preisner
Almuth Jabs
Frank Rungwald
Carole Lunt
Anna-Marie Plagge
Claus Lunt

Crew:
Director: David Wunderlich
Production, DOP, Cinematography: David Schuster
Idea, Screenplay: Claus Lunt, Anna-Marie Plagge, David Schuster

VFX:
David Schuster
Claus Lunt
Anna-Marie Plagge
Mariana Glesius

Music:
Ramón Zöllner

Sound Design:
Eric Obeth

Download Edge of Darkness Today!

Just added the Sci-Fi eBook “Edge of Darkness” to the Offworlders’ Bookstore as a free download.

Here is a copy of Vikki Romano‘s biography:

I’ve been a fan of science fiction for most of my life, but stumbling upon Asimov, Le Guin, and Gibson in my early teens shaped what love of the genre I have today.

And what I know of Sci-Fi was only magnified once the dot-com revolution began in the early 80s. I had always had an interest in technology, about data, about how things worked and so my tech career started early setting up networks at IBM, working on satellite projects for Lockheed Aerospace, and later becoming a database engineer and IT supervisor for a few Fortune 500 firms.

And through all of this, one thing remained consistent – my love for Sci-Fi melded with my need to write. No matter the job I had at the time, writing was always grounding for me. It helped me to vent my ideas and my dreams of where technology could go, about where it could take us. And through my stories, I hope to help others find a love of what first sparked my imagination.

~ Vikki Romano

You can download her novel here: Edge of Darkness

Finding Love in 2025:

Dating is tuff! If this film is to be believed it’s not going to get any better in the future when tech dominates our every waking moment. Daniel, our hero in this tale, finds himself isolated and alone in a highly connected world. Existing on pizza shakes and taking advice from his superintelligent AI counselor, he is isolated, alone and on a downward slide to suicide. This film is one of the best I have seen in awhile. The acting by Sasha Feldman is perfect and the writing is so good it’s like dipping cotton candy in butter. Don’t even get me started on the emotions that this film evokes bacause they are sublime. I am not sure I have ever watched a short like this that infused me with so many genuine emotions.

Go Daniel go!

What are you waiting for – watch this short – it’s miraculous!

Credits:

Starring
Daniel: Sasha Feldman
Amber: Corrin Evans
Counselor: Amy Shiels
Crew
Director: Ryan Turner
Writer: Matthew Hart
Story By: Matthew Hart and Ryan Turner
Producers: Allison Vanore, Matthew Hart, and Ryan Turner
Executive Producers: Garrett Hart, Patricia Palleschi, Nancy Hart, and Virginia Nolan Palleschi

“I Need A Date” Written And Performed By Daniel Eldridge

“Outlines” Performed by AM & Shawn Lee, Written by Anthony R. Miller, Shawn Lee Mahan, and published by Celestial Electric Music.

For a full listing of the cast and crew, see bind the scenes photos, and more visit the film’s website: A Date in 2025

And the 2018 Hugo Award Winners Are…

The 2018 Hugo Awards winners were announced tonight by Worldcon 76. This year’s convention was held in San Jose CA on August 16-20, 2018.

Congratulations to everyone that made the final ballot! Did any of your favorites win?

2018 Hugo Awards Winners and Nominees:

Best Novel

  Winner is

The Stone Sky, by N.K. Jemisin (Orbit)

Nominees:

• The Collapsing Empire, by John Scalzi (Tor)
• New York 2140, by Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit)
• Provenance, by Ann Leckie (Orbit)
• Raven Stratagem, by Yoon Ha Lee (Solaris)
• Six Wakes, by Mur Lafferty (Orbit)

Best Novella

  Winner is

All Systems Red, by Martha Wells (Tor.com Publishing)

Nominees:

• “And Then There Were (N-One),” by Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny, March/April 2017)
• Binti: Home, by Nnedi Okorafor (Tor.com Publishing)
• The Black Tides of Heaven, by JY Yang (Tor.com Publishing)
• Down Among the Sticks and Bones, by Seanan McGuire (Tor.com Publishing)
• River of Teeth, by Sarah Gailey (Tor.com Publishing)

Best Novelette

  Winner is

“The Secret Life of Bots,” by Suzanne Palmer (Clarkesworld, September 2017)

Nominees:

• “Children of Thorns, Children of Water,” by Aliette de Bodard (Uncanny, July-August 2017)
• “Extracurricular Activities,” by Yoon Ha Lee (Tor.com, February 15, 2017)
• “A Series of Steaks,” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Clarkesworld, January 2017)
• “Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time,” by K.M. Szpara (Uncanny, May/June 2017)
• “Wind Will Rove,” by Sarah Pinsker (Asimov’s, September/October 2017)

Best Short Story

  Winner is

“Welcome to your Authentic Indian Experience™,” by Rebecca Roanhorse
(Apex, August 2017)

Nominees:

• “Carnival Nine,” by Caroline M. Yoachim (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, May 2017)
• “Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand,” by Fran Wilde (Uncanny, September 2017)
• “Fandom for Robots,” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Uncanny, September/October 2017)
• “The Martian Obelisk,” by Linda Nagata (Tor.com, July 19, 2017)
• “Sun, Moon, Dust” by Ursula Vernon, (Uncanny, May/June 2017)

Best Related Work

  Winner is

No Time to Spare: Thinking About What Matters, by Ursula K. Le Guin (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Nominees:

• Crash Override: How Gamergate (Nearly) Destroyed My Life, and How We Can Win the Fight Against Online Hate, by Zoe Quinn (PublicAffairs)
• Iain M. Banks (Modern Masters of Science Fiction), by Paul Kincaid (University of Illinois Press)
• A Lit Fuse: The Provocative Life of Harlan Ellison, by Nat Segaloff (NESFA Press)
• Luminescent Threads: Connections to Octavia E. Butler, edited by Alexandra Pierce and Mimi Mondal (Twelfth Planet Press)
• Sleeping with Monsters: Readings and Reactions in Science Fiction and Fantasy, by Liz Bourke (Aqueduct Press)

Best Graphic Story

  Winner is

Monstress, Volume 2: The Blood, written by Marjorie M. Liu, illustrated by Sana Takeda (Image Comics)

Nominees:

• Black Bolt, Volume 1: Hard Time, written by Saladin Ahmed, illustrated by Christian Ward, lettered by Clayton Cowles (Marvel)
• Bitch Planet, Volume 2: President Bitch, written by Kelly Sue DeConnick, illustrated by Valentine De Landro and Taki Soma, colored by Kelly Fitzpatrick, lettered by Clayton Cowles (Image Comics)
• My Favorite Thing is Monsters, written and illustrated by Emil Ferris (Fantagraphics)
• Paper Girls, Volume 3, written by Brian K. Vaughan, illustrated by Cliff Chiang, colored by Matthew Wilson, lettered by Jared Fletcher (Image Comics)
• Saga, Volume 7, written by Brian K. Vaughan, illustrated by Fiona Staples (Image Comics)

Best Dramatic Presentation – Long Form

  Winner is

Wonder Woman, screenplay by Allan Heinberg, story by Zack Snyder & Allan Heinberg and Jason Fuchs, directed by Patty Jenkins (DC Films / Warner Brothers)

Nominees:

• Blade Runner 2049, written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green, directed by Denis Villeneuve (Alcon Entertainment / Bud Yorkin Productions / Torridon Films / Columbia Pictures)
• Get Out, written and directed by Jordan Peele (Blumhouse Productions / Monkeypaw Productions / QC Entertainment)
• The Shape of Water, written by Guillermo del Toro and Vanessa Taylor, directed by Guillermo del Toro (TSG Entertainment / Double Dare You / Fox Searchlight Pictures)
• Star Wars: The Last Jedi, written and directed by Rian Johnson (Lucasfilm, Ltd.)
• Thor: Ragnarok, written by Eric Pearson, Craig Kyle, and Christopher Yost; directed by Taika Waititi (Marvel Studios)

Best Dramatic Presentation – Short Form

  Winner is

The Good Place: “The Trolley Problem,” written by Josh Siegal and Dylan Morgan, directed by Dean Holland (Fremulon / 3 Arts Entertainment / Universal Television)

Nominees:

• Black Mirror: “USS Callister,” written by William Bridges and Charlie Brooker, directed by Toby Haynes (House of Tomorrow)
• “The Deep” [song], by Clipping (Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, Jonathan Snipes)
• Doctor Who: “Twice Upon a Time,” written by Steven Moffat, directed by Rachel Talalay (BBC Cymru Wales)
• The Good Place: “Michael’s Gambit,” written and directed by Michael Schur (Fremulon / 3 Arts Entertainment / Universal Television)
• Star Trek: Discovery: “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad,” written by Aron Eli Coleite & Jesse Alexander, directed by David M. Barrett (CBS Television Studios)

Best Editor – Short Form

  Winner is

Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas

Nominees:

• John Joseph Adams
• Neil Clarke
• Lee Harris
• Jonathan Strahan
• Sheila Williams

Best Editor – Long Form

  Winner is

Sheila E. Gilbert

Nominees:

• Joe Monti
• Diana M. Pho
• Devi Pillai
• Miriam Weinberg
• Navah Wolfe

Best Professional Artist

  Winner is

Sana Takeda

Nominees:

• Galen Dara
• Kathleen Jennings
• Bastien Lecouffe Deharme
• Victo Ngai
• John Picacio

Best Semiprozine

  Winner is

Uncanny Magazine, edited by Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas, Michi Trota, and Julia Rios; podcast produced by Erika Ensign & Steven Schapansky

Nominees:

• Beneath Ceaseless Skies, editor-in-chief, and publisher Scott H. Andrews
• The Book Smugglers, edited by Ana Grilo and Thea James
• Escape Pod, edited by Mur Lafferty, S.B. Divya, and Norm Sherman, with assistant editor Benjamin C. Kinney
• Fireside Magazine, edited by Brian White and Julia Rios; managing editor Elsa Sjunneson-Henry; special feature editor Mikki Kendall; publisher & art director Pablo Defendini
• Strange Horizons, edited by Kate Dollarhyde, Gautam Bhatia, A.J. Odasso, Lila Garrott, Heather McDougal, Ciro Faienza, Tahlia Day, Vanessa Rose Phin, and the Strange Horizons staff

Best Fanzine

  Winner is

File 770, edited by Mike Glyer

Nominees:

• Galactic Journey, edited by Gideon Marcus
• Journey Planet, edited by Team Journey Planet
• Nerds of a feather, flock together, edited by The G, Vance Kotrla, and Joe Sherry
• Rocket Stack Rank, edited by Greg Hullender and Eric Wong
• SF Bluestocking, edited by Bridget McKinney

Best Fancast

  Winner is

Ditch Diggers, presented by Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace

Nominees:

• The Coode Street Podcast, presented by Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe
• Fangirl Happy Hour, presented by Ana Grilo and Renay Williams
• Galactic Suburbia, presented by Alisa Krasnostein, Alexandra Pierce, and Tansy Rayner Roberts; produced by Andrew Finch
• Sword and Laser, presented by Veronica Belmont and Tom Merritt
• Verity!, presented by Deborah Stanish, Erika Ensign, Katrina Griffiths, L.M. Myles, Lynne M. Thomas, and Tansy Rayner Roberts

Best Fan Writer

  Winner is

Sarah Gailey

Nominees:

• Camestros Felapton
• Mike Glyer
• Foz Meadows
• Charles Payseur
• Bogi Takács

Best Fan Artist

  Winner is

Geneva Benton

Nominees:

• Grace P. Fong
• Maya Hahto
• Likhain (M. Sereno)
• Spring Schoenhuth
• Steve Stiles

Best Series

  Winner is

World of the Five Gods, by Lois McMaster Bujold (Harper Voyager / Spectrum Literary Agency)

Nominees:

• The Books of the Raksura, by Martha Wells (Night Shade)
• The Divine Cities, by Robert Jackson Bennett (Broadway)
• InCryptid, by Seanan McGuire (DAW)
• The Memoirs of Lady Trent, by Marie Brennan (Tor US / Titan UK)
• The Stormlight Archive, by Brandon Sanderson (Tor US / Gollancz UK)

John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer 2017

  Winner is

Rebecca Roanhorse

Nominees:

• Katherine Arden
• Sarah Kuhn
• Jeannette Ng
• Vina Jie-Min Prasad
• Rivers Solomon

The World Science Fiction Society (WSFS) Award For Best Young Adult Book

  Winner is

Akata Warrior, by Nnedi Okorafor (Viking)

Nominees:

• The Art of Starving, by Sam J. Miller (HarperTeen)
• The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage, by Philip Pullman (Knopf)
• In Other Lands, by Sarah Rees Brennan (Big Mouth House)
• A Skinful of Shadows, by Frances Hardinge (Macmillan UK / Harry N. Abrams US)
• Summer in Orcus, written by T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon), illustrated by Lauren Henderson (Sofawolf Press)

Coolest thing you will see today…

Created by Christian Johnson, a character artist, animator, and director, this beauty was created for the History Channel Canada as a war documentary depicting the Martian invasion as depicted in H. G. Wells War of the Worlds. Set in the midst of World War 1, this short is a visual masterpiece. Let me know what you think in the comments below…

Directed by Steve Maher (Impossible Factual) and Christian Johnson of Plazma Design.

Music:  “88” by Working for a Nuclear Free City.

Instant by Rod Roddenberry

Instant by Roddenberry Entertainment debuted at San Diego Comic-Con July 19th, 2016. The film was produced by Rod Roddenberry, the son of Star Trek banner carrier Gene Roddenberry. The film is twenty-one minutes in length and packs a wallop by investigating an “instant” in time that changes lives and alters all the connected strands of existence that slowly weave through time. Roddenberry believes that the film will resonate with some and others maybe not so much. If you lost your father at an early age the show can indeed be very powerful.

Let me know how you like the flick in the comments.

Cast and Crew

Manu Intiraymi
Tyler Hilton
Tony Janning
Emily Chang
Tara Perry
Phil Morris

Directed by Alex Albrecht
Written by Todd Beauchamp
Produced by Todd Beauchamp, Chad Kennedy, and Tony Janning
Executive Producer Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry

Make a Run for the Border

What do you do if you discovered that your wife is a sleeper, a humanoid android bomb left over from a previous war? Flee with your her to the Machine homeland before time runs out and she explodes. What choice would you have?

That’s precisely what happens in this short set in the not so distant future where a weak peace between humans and sentient humanoid machines exists. The sleeper androids are unaware they are androids until they spontaneously begin exploding. When a military unit tasked with locating the unwitting suicide bombers finds an android female, and her husband, they make a mad dash to the Machine World border in an attempt to save her life.

The film is shot in Jordan in a city named Salt and in the Wadi Rum desert, Hong Kong, and Los Angeles by Master Key Films led by the filmmaking brothers Elan Dassani & Rajeev Dassani. A twenty-minute film made on a grand scale full of action. Take a peek and let us know what you think?

Directed and Written by: 
Elan Dassani
Rajeev Dassani

Cast:
Oded Fehr Oded Fehr as Commander
Rakeen Saad Rakeen Saad as Ayana
Khaled al Ghwairi Khaled al Ghwairi as Yusef
Ulka Simone Mohanty Ulka Simone Mohanty as Controller
Stephen Au Stephen Au as Lau

Produced by: 
Chevy Chen
Kristijan Danilovski
Elan Dassani
Rajeev Dassani
Issam M. Husseini

Star Wars Unofficial Film by Anthony Pietromonaco

The Star Wars film “Dark Legacy: An Unofficial Star Wars Story” is in a word–fantastic. The short takes place on a ruined planet where Kia, a young apprentice, is bullied by a forceful Sith Lord. The tale is from the perspective of the Sith, worshipers of the Dark Side. This is not a low budget fan film as the cast and crew that made the short are not amateurs by any means; the special effects were tweaked by Jaramy Aiello of Star Trek, and The Walking Dead fame; fight choreography provided by Phil Tan from Dragon Ball Z–Light Of Hope, and Pirates Of The Caribbean. Any way you slice it this tiny bit of Star Wars heaven rocks and thrills with outstanding fight choreography, sound, and visuals.

Did you love this Stars Wars film as much as I did? Let me know in the comments below.

Cast and Crew

Story:
Anthony Pietromonaco and Alex Chinnici

Producer:
Chadd Dorak

Co-Producer:
Marco De Molina

Co-Produced by:
We Make Movies

Associate Producer:
Joel Hebner

Cinematographer:
Alex Chinnici

Makeup and Special Effects:
Mo Meinhart

3d Effects:
Patryk Kizny

Original Costumes:
Hannah Athena Lawton

Action Design:
Philip Tan

Fight Choreography:
Z Team Films

Composer:
Michael Meinhart

Color:
Matthew Macar

Sound Design:
Unbridled Sound

Concept art and Storyboards:
Mavartworx

Lightsabers by:
Saberforge and Ultrasabers

Would you survive in a post-apocalyptic wasteland?

In this professionally shot sci-fi short, a woman traveling by herself through a devastated post-apocalyptic wasteland does what is necessary to survive. The film, though heavy on aesthetic and light on plot, is terrific when you consider that the short started out as a camera test of a Monstro 8K camera and morphed into the film “Epoc.”

The filming locations for the film feature a now-closed iron mine and several places in California to include the Salton Sea and Indio. The result is a grand sense of scale combined with drop-dead gorgeous visuals.

The ending of “Epoc” is a great bonus too as I did not see it coming which is always nice.

Credits

Writer/Director: Rich Lee

Actors: Whitney Wagner, Al Spencer, and Laura Hanks

Production: Clark Jackson, Justin Diener, Rich Lee, and Christopher Probst

Executive Producer: Jarred Land

Photography Director: Christopher Probst, ASC

Film Editor: Ken Mowe

Production Designer: Maile Cassara

Costume Designer: Dawn Ritz

Music: Jon Natchez

Production Company/ Visual Effects/Post Production: Drive Studios

Sound Design: Ken Cain at Sound Brigade

Equipment: Cameras Supplied by Red Digital Cinema and Camtec

A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab

Don’t forget to download this month’s free eBook from Tor’s eBook of the Month Club: V. E. Schwab’s “A Darker Shade of Magic.” This download from Tor is only available from June 12th through June 15th, with a cutoff time for downloading set at 11:59 PM ET June 15th, 2018. You can download free eBooks from Tor if you are a legal resident of the 50 United States, Canada (excluding Quebec), and the District of Columbia. You need to be 13 years of age or older to take advantage of this offer. See full details on Tor’s book club here: Tor eBook of the Month Club.

The novel is highly rated and a terrific read. The book follows Kell, one of the last Antari magicians who has the rare ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and Black. Kell was raised in Red London and serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, moving between the different Londons. Unofficially. Kell is a smuggler that sells glimpses of the different Londons to the curious.

Download your copy before this offer expires!

Ando du livit da livit da Belta.

With the crew of The Expanse present, Jeff Bezos announced that The Expanse is Saved! Season four will air on Amazon Prime! Now that is some good news to wake up to this beautiful morning!

The statement that all fans of the show were waiting for was delivered by Alcon Entertainment Co-Founders and Co-CEOs Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove: “We couldn’t be more excited that The Expanse is going to continue on Amazon Prime! We are deeply grateful that Jeff Bezos, Jen Salke, and their team at Amazon have shown such faith in our show.”

The program, based on the Expanse series of books written by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck under the pen name James S.A. Corey, is hard science fiction produced with a keen eye for detail. The program’s attention to detail creates a very realistic portrayal of the near future where Earth, Mars, and the people of the outer belt known as Belters, struggle for dominance and survival. Add to this mix a weaponized alien proto-molecule that can repurpose DNA, and you got one smashing good show. It’s by far my favorite show, and I was dealt a massive blow when I heard Syfy had canceled the show after only three seasons. Whew! Disaster averted.

If you are a fan of the show but are not reading the books, you should change that behavior and start reading! There is a richness of detail, and a strong feeling of family/crew played out in those pages. I will admit that you will have a little bit of reading to power through as the book series is on Book Seven with “Persepolis Rising.”Book Eight, “Tiamat’s Wrath” is due out on December 4th, 2018.

Kowltingim gut, bosmang! (Belter Creole for Everything’s good, boss) Yes, Indeed!

And the 2017 Nebula Award Winners Are…

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America announced the 2017 Nebula Award winners today. N.K. Jemisin won for best novel with her book titled “The Stone Sky;” and the best short story prize went to Rebecca Roanhorse’s “Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience.” The field was strong this year and Offworlders congratulations both the winners and all nominees. Fantastic job everyone. This year’s awards were presented in Pittsburgh, PA at the 52nd Annual Nebula Awards ceremony hosted by Martin P. Robinson.

Without further ado, here are the 2017 Nebula/Bradbury/Norton Award Winners:

Novel: The Stone Sky, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit US; Orbit UK)

Novella: All Systems Red, Martha Wells (Tor.com Publishing)

Novelette: “A Human Stain”, Kelly Robson (Tor.com 1/4/17)

Short Story: “Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience™”, Rebecca Roanhorse (Apex8/17)

The Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation: Get Out (Written by Jordan Peele)

The Andre Norton Award for Outstanding Young Adult Science Fiction or Fantasy Book: The Art of Starving, Sam J. Miller (HarperTeen)

Now Tell Me…What is a Basilisk?

A beautiful, yet terrifying short fantasy film featuring a band of young scouts led by an experienced Lookout that get ambushed by a Basilisk, a beast that turns its victims to stone, and the very creature they are hunting. Pehn, the lone survivor, must face his fears and confront the enemy in the mysterious Eyrewood forest.

The film about confronting your greatest fear and facing it head-long no matter what the odds are in doing so. The filmmaking in this short is fabulous and the shoot location of California’s Mendocino Forests, with its massive redwoods and thick foliage, lends credence to the mythic storyline.

Jim Henson’s creature effects – think Farscape – influenced the design of the winged Basilisk. If you like Henson’s creature creations you are sure to dig the monster in this tale. Combine this creature with the expertly crafted costumes, and you have a delight for the senses and the intellect.

Take a few moments to watch this fantasy film by RedGate films. It is indeed a gem.

Cast and Crew
David Bousquet: Director & Director Of Photography
Kristin Bousquet: Producer & Casting Director
Joseph Mendoza: Assistant Director & Chief Lighting Technician
Kelton Roney: Actor – “Pehn”
Chris Cleveland: Actor – “The Ranger”
Stefanie Estes: Actor – “Kliea”
Pablo Croissier: Music Composer
Siddhard Dubey: Sound Designer & Sound Mixer

And the 2018/1943 Hugo Award Finalists Are…

The 2018/1943 Hugo Awards Finalists were announced today by Worldcon 76 organizers. This year’s convention will be held in San Jose CA on August 16-20, 2018. Congratulations to everyone that made the final ballot! Did any of your favorites get nominated?

2018 Hugo Awards Finalists:

Best Novel

• The Collapsing Empire, by John Scalzi (Tor)
• New York 2140, by Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit)
• Provenance, by Ann Leckie (Orbit)
• Raven Stratagem, by Yoon Ha Lee (Solaris)
• Six Wakes, by Mur Lafferty (Orbit)
• The Stone Sky, by N.K. Jemisin (Orbit)

Best Novella

• All Systems Red, by Martha Wells (Tor.com Publishing)
• “And Then There Were (N-One),” by Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny, March/April 2017)
• Binti: Home, by Nnedi Okorafor (Tor.com Publishing)
• The Black Tides of Heaven, by JY Yang (Tor.com Publishing)
• Down Among the Sticks and Bones, by Seanan McGuire (Tor.com Publishing)
• River of Teeth, by Sarah Gailey (Tor.com Publishing)

Best Novelette

• “Children of Thorns, Children of Water,” by Aliette de Bodard (Uncanny, July-August 2017)
• “Extracurricular Activities,” by Yoon Ha Lee (Tor.com, February 15, 2017)
• “The Secret Life of Bots,” by Suzanne Palmer (Clarkesworld, September 2017)
• “A Series of Steaks,” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Clarkesworld, January 2017)
• “Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time,” by K.M. Szpara (Uncanny, May/June 2017)
• “Wind Will Rove,” by Sarah Pinsker (Asimov’s, September/October 2017)

Best Short Story

• “Carnival Nine,” by Caroline M. Yoachim (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, May 2017)
• “Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand,” by Fran Wilde (Uncanny, September 2017)
• “Fandom for Robots,” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Uncanny, September/October 2017)
• “The Martian Obelisk,” by Linda Nagata (Tor.com, July 19, 2017)
• “Sun, Moon, Dust” by Ursula Vernon, (Uncanny, May/June 2017)
• “Welcome to your Authentic Indian Experience™,” by Rebecca Roanhorse (Apex, August 2017)

Best Related Work

• Crash Override: How Gamergate (Nearly) Destroyed My Life, and How We Can Win the Fight Against Online Hate, by Zoe Quinn (PublicAffairs)
• Iain M. Banks (Modern Masters of Science Fiction), by Paul Kincaid (University of Illinois Press)
• A Lit Fuse: The Provocative Life of Harlan Ellison, by Nat Segaloff (NESFA Press)
• Luminescent Threads: Connections to Octavia E. Butler, edited by Alexandra Pierce and Mimi Mondal (Twelfth Planet Press)
• No Time to Spare: Thinking About What Matters, by Ursula K. Le Guin (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
• Sleeping with Monsters: Readings and Reactions in Science Fiction and Fantasy, by Liz Bourke (Aqueduct Press)

Best Graphic Story

• Black Bolt, Volume 1: Hard Time, written by Saladin Ahmed, illustrated by Christian Ward, lettered by Clayton Cowles (Marvel)
• Bitch Planet, Volume 2: President Bitch, written by Kelly Sue DeConnick, illustrated by Valentine De Landro and Taki Soma, colored by Kelly Fitzpatrick, lettered by Clayton Cowles (Image Comics)
• Monstress, Volume 2: The Blood, written by Marjorie M. Liu, illustrated by Sana Takeda (Image Comics)
• My Favorite Thing is Monsters, written and illustrated by Emil Ferris (Fantagraphics)
• Paper Girls, Volume 3, written by Brian K. Vaughan, illustrated by Cliff Chiang, colored by Matthew Wilson, lettered by Jared Fletcher (Image Comics)
• Saga, Volume 7, written by Brian K. Vaughan, illustrated by Fiona Staples (Image Comics)

Best Dramatic Presentation – Long Form

• Blade Runner 2049, written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green, directed by Denis Villeneuve (Alcon Entertainment / Bud Yorkin Productions / Torridon Films / Columbia Pictures)
• Get Out, written and directed by Jordan Peele (Blumhouse Productions / Monkeypaw Productions / QC Entertainment)
• The Shape of Water, written by Guillermo del Toro and Vanessa Taylor, directed by Guillermo del Toro (TSG Entertainment / Double Dare You / Fox Searchlight Pictures)
• Star Wars: The Last Jedi, written and directed by Rian Johnson (Lucasfilm, Ltd.)
• Thor: Ragnarok, written by Eric Pearson, Craig Kyle, and Christopher Yost; directed by Taika Waititi (Marvel Studios)
• Wonder Woman, screenplay by Allan Heinberg, story by Zack Snyder & Allan Heinberg and Jason Fuchs, directed by Patty Jenkins (DC Films / Warner Brothers)

Best Dramatic Presentation – Short Form

• Black Mirror: “USS Callister,” written by William Bridges and Charlie Brooker, directed by Toby Haynes (House of Tomorrow)
• “The Deep” [song], by Clipping (Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, Jonathan Snipes)
• Doctor Who: “Twice Upon a Time,” written by Steven Moffat, directed by Rachel Talalay (BBC Cymru Wales)
• The Good Place: “Michael’s Gambit,” written and directed by Michael Schur (Fremulon / 3 Arts Entertainment / Universal Television)
• The Good Place: “The Trolley Problem,” written by Josh Siegal and Dylan Morgan, directed by Dean Holland (Fremulon / 3 Arts Entertainment / Universal Television)
• Star Trek: Discovery: “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad,” written by Aron Eli Coleite & Jesse Alexander, directed by David M. Barrett (CBS Television Studios)

Best Editor – Short Form

• John Joseph Adams
• Neil Clarke
• Lee Harris
• Jonathan Strahan
• Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas
• Sheila Williams

Best Editor – Long Form

• Sheila E. Gilbert
• Joe Monti
• Diana M. Pho
• Devi Pillai
• Miriam Weinberg
• Navah Wolfe

Best Professional Artist

• Galen Dara
• Kathleen Jennings
• Bastien Lecouffe Deharme
• Victo Ngai
• John Picacio
• Sana Takeda

Best Semiprozine

• Beneath Ceaseless Skies, editor-in-chief, and publisher Scott H. Andrews
• The Book Smugglers, edited by Ana Grilo and Thea James
• Escape Pod, edited by Mur Lafferty, S.B. Divya, and Norm Sherman, with assistant editor Benjamin C. Kinney
• Fireside Magazine, edited by Brian White and Julia Rios; managing editor Elsa Sjunneson-Henry; special feature editor Mikki Kendall; publisher & art director Pablo Defendini
• Strange Horizons, edited by Kate Dollarhyde, Gautam Bhatia, A.J. Odasso, Lila Garrott, Heather McDougal, Ciro Faienza, Tahlia Day, Vanessa Rose Phin, and the Strange Horizons staff
• Uncanny Magazine, edited by Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas, Michi Trota, and Julia Rios; podcast produced by Erika Ensign & Steven Schapansky

Best Fanzine

• File 770, edited by Mike Glyer
• Galactic Journey, edited by Gideon Marcus
• Journey Planet, edited by Team Journey Planet
• Nerds of a feather, flock together, edited by The G, Vance Kotrla, and Joe Sherry
• Rocket Stack Rank, edited by Greg Hullender and Eric Wong
• SF Bluestocking, edited by Bridget McKinney

Best Fancast

• The Coode Street Podcast, presented by Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe
• Ditch Diggers, presented by Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace
• Fangirl Happy Hour, presented by Ana Grilo and Renay Williams
• Galactic Suburbia, presented by Alisa Krasnostein, Alexandra Pierce, and Tansy Rayner Roberts; produced by Andrew Finch
• Sword and Laser, presented by Veronica Belmont and Tom Merritt
• Verity!, presented by Deborah Stanish, Erika Ensign, Katrina Griffiths, L.M. Myles, Lynne M. Thomas, and Tansy Rayner Roberts

Best Fan Writer

• Camestros Felapton
• Sarah Gailey
• Mike Glyer
• Foz Meadows
• Charles Payseur
• Bogi Takács

Best Fan Artist

• Geneva Benton
• Grace P. Fong
• Maya Hahto
• Likhain (M. Sereno)
• Spring Schoenhuth
• Steve Stiles

Best Series

• The Books of the Raksura, by Martha Wells (Night Shade)
• The Divine Cities, by Robert Jackson Bennett (Broadway)
• InCryptid, by Seanan McGuire (DAW)
• The Memoirs of Lady Trent, by Marie Brennan (Tor US / Titan UK)
• The Stormlight Archive, by Brandon Sanderson (Tor US / Gollancz UK)
• World of the Five Gods, by Lois McMaster Bujold (Harper Voyager / Spectrum Literary Agency)

John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer

• Katherine Arden
• Sarah Kuhn
• Jeannette Ng
• Vina Jie-Min Prasad
• Rebecca Roanhorse
• Rivers Solomon

The World Science Fiction Society (WSFS) Award For Best Young Adult Book

• Akata Warrior, by Nnedi Okorafor (Viking)
• The Art of Starving, by Sam J. Miller (HarperTeen)
• The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage, by Philip Pullman (Knopf)
• In Other Lands, by Sarah Rees Brennan (Big Mouth House)
• A Skinful of Shadows, by Frances Hardinge (Macmillan UK / Harry N. Abrams US)
• Summer in Orcus, written by T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon), illustrated by Lauren Henderson (Sofawolf Press)

1943 Retrospective Hugo Awards Finalists:

Best Fan Writer

• Forrest J Ackerman
• Jack Speer
• Arthur Wilson “Bob” Tucker
• Harry Warner, Jr.
• Art Widner
• Donald A. Wollheim

Best Fanzine

• Futurian War Digest, edited by J. Michael Rosenblum
• Inspiration, edited by Lynn Bridges
• The Phantagraph, edited by Donald A. Wollheim
• Spaceways, edited by Harry Warner, Jr.
• Voice of the Imagi-Nation, edited by Forrest J Ackerman and Morojo
• Le Zombie, edited by Arthur Wilson “Bob” Tucker

Best Professional Artist

• Hannes Bok
• Margaret Brundage
• Edd Cartier
• Virgil Finlay
• Harold W. McCauley
• Hubert Rogers

Best Editor – Short Form

• John W. Campbell
• Oscar J. Friend
• Dorothy McIlwraith
• Raymond A. Palmer
• Malcolm Reiss
• Donald A. Wollheim

Best Dramatic Presentation – Short Form

• Bambi, written by Perce Pearce, Larry Morey, et al., directed by David D. Hand et al. (Walt Disney Productions)
• Cat People, written by DeWitt Bodeen, directed by Jacques Tourneur (RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.)
• The Ghost of Frankenstein, written by W. Scott Darling, directed by Erle C. Kenton (Universal Pictures)
• I Married a Witch, written by Robert Pirosh and Marc Connelly, directed by René Clair (Cinema Guild Productions / Paramount Pictures)
• Invisible Agent, written by Curtis Siodmak, directed by Edwin L. Marin (Frank Lloyd Productions / Universal Pictures)
• Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book, written by Laurence Stallings, directed by Zoltan Korda (Alexander Korda Films, Inc. / United Artists)

Best Short Story

• “Etaoin Shrdlu,” by Fredric Brown (Unknown Worlds, February 1942)
• “Mimic,” by Martin Pearson (Donald A. Wollheim) (Astonishing Stories, December 1942)
• “Proof,” by Hal Clement (Astounding Science Fiction, June 1942)
• “Runaround,” by Isaac Asimov (Astounding Science Fiction, March 1942)
• “The Sunken Land,” by Fritz Leiber (Unknown Worlds, February 1942)
• “The Twonky,” by C.L. Moore and Henry Kuttner (Astounding Science Fiction, September 1942)

Best Novelette

• “Bridle and Saddle,” by Isaac Asimov (Astounding Science Fiction, June 1942)
• “Foundation,” by Isaac Asimov (Astounding Science Fiction, May 1942)
• “Goldfish Bowl,” Anson MacDonald (Robert A. Heinlein) (Astounding Science Fiction, March 1942)
• “The Star Mouse,” by Fredric Brown (Planet Stories, Spring 1942)
• “There Shall Be Darkness,” by C.L. Moore (Astounding Science Fiction, February 1942)
• “The Weapon Shop,” by A.E. van Vogt (Astounding Science Fiction, December 1942)

Best Novella

• “Asylum,” by A.E. van Vogt (Astounding Science Fiction, May 1942)
• “The Compleat Werewolf,” by Anthony Boucher (Unknown Worlds, April 1942)
• “Hell is Forever,” by Alfred Bester (Unknown Worlds, August 1942)
• “Nerves,” by Lester del Rey (Astounding Science Fiction, September 1942)
• “The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag,” by John Riverside (Robert A. Heinlein) (Unknown Worlds, October 1942)
• “Waldo,” by Anson MacDonald (Robert A. Heinlein) (Astounding Science Fiction, August 1942)

Best Novel

• Beyond This Horizon, by Anson MacDonald (Robert A. Heinlein) (Astounding Science Fiction, April & May 1942)
• Darkness and the Light, by Olaf Stapledon (Methuen / S.J.R. Saunders)
• Donovan’s Brain, by Curt Siodmak (Black Mask, September-November 1942)
• Islandia, by Austin Tappan Wright (Farrar & Rinehart)
• Second Stage Lensmen, by E. E. “Doc” Smith (Astounding Science Fiction, November 1941 to February 1942)
• The Uninvited, by Dorothy Macardle (Doubleday, Doran / S.J.R. Saunders)

Background Photo Credit: “Orion-Nebula-HAWK-I”
by the European-Southern-Observatory is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Image resized and cropped to fit required size.

Featured Image Photo Credit: “Daybreak at Gale Crater”
by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Image resized and cropped to fit required size.

Fine-Tuning Your Sensory Experiences:

What starts out as a way for people to easily re-experience personally significant episodes from their lives, warps into a provocative science fiction short film full of plot twists and angsty good fun. The story heats up when a programmer hacks the app for Olfactory, the company that developed the scent based memory device, to manipulate his own past memories and seriously screws with his perception of reality.

Olfactory is a film that cannot be watched once to appreciate its real beauty. Subsequent viewings add layer upon layer of understanding to the film and make you question the nature of reality. When you consider that a person bases their sense of what’s real, the here and now, on events in the past that shaped their personality and formed their worldview, what happens when you can permanently alter your remembered past? If you could change your memories of the past–would you do it? A sticky wicket to be sure.

In an “Atlantic” article from August 27, 2014, titled “Changing Memories to Treat PTSD,” there is a discussion of DARPA’s research into manipulating the memories of soldiers suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD) to remove the trigger memories that haunt soldiers. The article mentions that the military is researching a “concept in which old information is called to mind, modified with the help of drugs or behavioral interventions, and then re-stored with new information incorporated—like a piece of metal that’s been melted down, remolded, and left to harden into a different shape.” The concept and big idea behind Olfactory, as sci-fi-ish as it feels, is something actually being explored by the cat herders at DARPA. The question that Olfactory explores, as does the article by the “Atlantic,” is what part of yourself do you lose when manipulating the past? The film drives home the belief that we all live an interconnected life and when you change your past these changes affect the lives around you as no life exists in a vacuum. This is brought home in the raw emotion that permeates the film as the fabric of shared memory ripples and shifts in the minds of the characters.

What did you think of the film? Let us know in the comment section below.

Cast and Crew
Kieran Mulcare: Brian
Alison Barton: Amanda
Molly Camp: Rachel
Christopher Piazza: Director/Co-Writer
Eli Cane: Producer
Jon Fordham: Director of Photography

Accolades
Best Dramatic Short Film at the Berlin Sci-Fi Filmfest
Best Twist, Christopher Piazza and Lucas Kane at The Zone Sci-Fan Film Festival
Best Actress, Molly Camp at The Zone Sci-Fan Film Festival
Best Actor, Kieran Mulcare at the Twin Falls Film Festival
Award of Excellence – Highest Rating: Best Shorts Online Competition

Bookstore News:

We have added the seven 2017 Nebula Nominees for “Best Novel” to the Offworlders Bookstore. If you were looking to pick one up one of these titles purchase the novel from Offworlders.com and support our website and the genres you love. We are an Amazon affiliate, so you will pay the same low price you pay when going directly to Amazon. If you have already read one of this year’s nominees, let us know in the comments below what you thought of the work. We would love to hear your opinions!

Background Photo Credit: “New Hubble image of Kleinmann-Low Nebula”
by NASA, ESA/Hubble and the Hubble Heritage Team is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Image resized and cropped to fit required size.

Featured Image Photo Credit: “New view of the Pillars of Creation”
by NASA, ESA/Hubble and the Hubble Heritage Team is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Image resized, filters applied and cropped to fit required size.

Cyberpunk Short Breaker:

Have you had your cyberpunk fix for the day? No . . . then sit back and watch “Breaker,” a tale of a young mercenary hacker that gets jacked by sentient data weapon.  Good stuff!

SFWA Announces 2017 Nebula Nominees:

The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), the professional organization of fantasy and sci-fi writers, announced the nominees for the 52nd Annual Nebula Awards, the Andre Norton Award for Outstanding Young Adult Science Fiction or Fantasy Book, plus the Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation. This year’s ceremony is in Pittsburgh, PA on May 19th, 2018.

Did any of your favs get nominated? Let me know in the comments below.

Novel

• Amberlough, Lara Elena Donnelly (Tor)
• The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter, Theodora Goss (Saga)
• Spoonbenders, Daryl Gregory (Knopf; riverrun)
• The Stone Sky, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
• Six Wakes, Mur Lafferty (Orbit US)
• Jade City, Fonda Lee (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
• Autonomous, Annalee Newitz (Tor; Orbit UK 2018)

Novella

• River of Teeth, Sarah Gailey (Tor.com Publishing)
• Passing Strange, Ellen Klages (Tor.com Publishing)
• “And Then There Were (N-One)”, Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny 3-4/17)
• Barry’s Deal, Lawrence M. Schoen (NobleFusion Press)
• All Systems Red, Martha Wells (Tor.com Publishing)
• The Black Tides of Heaven, JY Yang (Tor.com Publishing)

Novelette

• “Dirty Old Town”, Richard Bowes (F&SF 5-6/17)
• “Weaponized Math”, Jonathan P. Brazee (The Expanding Universe, Vol. 3)
• “Wind Will Rove”, Sarah Pinsker (Asimov’s 9-10/17)
• “A Series of Steaks”, Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Clarkesworld 1/17)
• “A Human Stain”, Kelly Robson (Tor.com 1/4/17)
• “Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time”, K.M. Szpara (Uncanny 5-6/17)

Short Story

• “Fandom for Robots”, Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Uncanny 9-10/17)
• “Welcome to Your Authentic Indian ExperienceTM”, Rebecca Roanhorse (Apex 8/17)
• “Utopia, LOL?”, Jamie Wahls (Strange Horizons 6/5/17)
• “Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand”, Fran Wilde (Uncanny 9-10/17)
• “The Last Novelist (or A Dead Lizard in the Yard)”, Matthew Kressel (Tor.com 3/15/17)
• “Carnival Nine”, Caroline M. Yoachim (Beneath Ceaseless Skies 5/11/17)

The Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation

• Get Out (Written by Jordan Peele)
• The Good Place: “Michael’s Gambit” (Written by Michael Schur)
• Logan (Screenplay by Scott Frank, James Mangold, and Michael Green)
• The Shape of Water (Screenplay by Guillermo del Toro & Vanessa Taylor)
• Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Written by Rian Johnson)
• Wonder Woman (Screenplay by Allan Heinberg)

The Andre Norton Award for Outstanding Young Adult Science Fiction or Fantasy Book

• Exo, Fonda Lee (Scholastic Press)
• Weave a Circle Round, Kari Maaren (Tor)
• The Art of Starving, Sam J. Miller (HarperTeen)
• Want, Cindy Pon (Simon Pulse)

Photo Credit: “Carina Nebula Detail”
by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Image resized and cropped to fit required size.

Helsreach X by Richard Boylan

Part ten of a freaking incredible fan homage to the Warhammer 40K franchise. The series uses high-quality voiceover work from the audiobook Helsreach, and some amazing graphics work by Richard Boylan, Cinematic Designer at Bioware, to paint a picture of war that’s so radical I am still trying to get the grit out of my teeth. The story follows Grimaldus, Reclusiarch of the Black Templars, and the defense of Hive Helsreach from a large scale Ork invasion. Fighting alongside the Templars is Legio Invigilata and the 101st Armageddon Steel Legion.

If you like Richard’s work on Helsreach, he asks that you “consider purchasing the novel or audiobook to support Games Workshop.” That is what I plan to do by buying a few novels at Black Library. If you are new to this series of Warhammer fan films go here and start from the beginning: Richard Boylan.

Let me know what you think of the film?

Enjoy!

By Andrew Haynes Creative

“The Wake” is a quick minute and forty-seven-second thought piece that drives home the shock that will be inherent in a cryogenic rebirth. I thought the CGI work could have been much better in this short, but I still dig the piece. There are only four companies in the world that offer cryopreservation, one in Russia and three in the United States. The cost ranges anywhere from $28,000 thousand upwards to the $200,000 range with no guarantee that reanimation is possible. You see, cryonics is counting on future advancements in medicine to make revival possible. Many people pay for the procedure using the proceeds from life insurance policies in hopes of a rebirth in the distant future.

I don’t believe I would choose this path as the technology is just not at a point where there would be any hope of pulling a Lazarus and showing up at the company picnic fifty years after declared legally dead. There is a current line of thought we should strive for downloading cryopreserved streams of consciousness, or personalities, into robotic hosts when the possibility exists. Some scientists believe the ultimate goal needs to be digital reincarnation. If that were possible, I would sign on the dotted in a heartbeat. A digital resurrection sounds far better than clunking around in a several-hundred-year-old body in a streamlined high-tech futuristic society.

If digital mind uploading becomes possible, I hope it’s an option for people with a terminal illness or disability, or made available to the elderly after reaching a certain age. I would be against scrapping the organic body before its expiration date to go digital at anything under sixty years old. Revel in your true organic nature.

As Hunter S. Thompson once said:

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ‘Wow! What a Ride!’”

What are your thoughts on the subject? Would you go for revival in your current body some sunny day? Or, do you believe pure digital is the way to go? Or, perhaps some middle road?

Coffee talk…