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.