I got caught up at my panels at virtual Gen Con, and forgot this was also the WorldCon weekend, and the Hugos went out. Big winners include the Expanse, Good Omens, and city planner/historian turned writer Arkady Martine, whose debut took Best Novel. See the full results below.
Author Archives: JD DeLuzio
Novel Review: The Light Brigade
War was all about the annihilation of truth. Every good dictator and CEO knows that.
“Good find, Dietz,” Jones said.
It didn’t feel like a good find. It felt like I’d made everything more complicated (255).
Kameron Hurley has developed a considerable following over the last decade. Previously, she has been awarded two Hugos and a Sydney J. Bounds Award, and she has been a finalist for the Nebula Award, the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the British Science Fiction and Fantasy Award, and the Locus Award. Her most recent work, The Light Brigade has landed her a 2020 Hugo nomination for best novel.
The winner of that award will be announced this coming weekend.
Summer Reading: The Glass Hotel
The horizon flipping once, twice, camera flying from my hand.
It felt like plunging into shards of ice (294).
Emily St. John Mandel skips like a stone across genres. Last Night in Montreal (2009) begins as a detective story, but its mystery takes the tale into something else entirely. The brilliant Station Eleven (2014), a literary SF novel about a pandemic starts in the near future, jumps across twenty years into a tale of post-apocalyptic actors and a meditation on what makes us human. It brought her both SF and literary accolades, international fame, and an HBO mini-series deal.
So, naturally, her next novel, published earlier this year, concerns economics, a luxury hotel, and a Ponzi scheme.
However, it brushes against SF and Fantasy/Fabulism, and even features a couple of minor characters from Station Eleven.
Shameless Promotion: The Light Between Stars
The Light Between Stars, an anthology released today, showcases a range of SF and Fantasy stories, from adult SF to YA dystopia and sub/urban fantasy.
I don’t know if any other Bureau-cats will review it. I have to recuse myself, as my short story, “The Rapture of Baatoon Hayes” appears in the anthology, alongside such exceptional work as Stephen B. Pearl’s post-apocalyptic adventure, “Tinker’s Toxin” (which led me to immediately order a novel by Pearl set in the same fictional universe), Hugh A.D. Spencer’s cryptic and literary “Nowhere to Nowhere.” and Simon A.G. Spencer’s excellent space-going “Awakening,” among others.
If you’d like to order a copy (paperback or e-book) or read a few reviews from elsewhere, please continue:
The Doom Patrol Review: Season Two, Episodes Four-Six
“I should have seen the signs. Hacking secret documents. Poking around dark corners of the military. It’s young love!”
–Dr. Silas Stone
Doom Patrol’s second season continues with a wild party, a burgeoning relationship, a dysfunctional family reunion, 1950s space explorers, a production of Our Town,1, and some unanswered questions.
Anthology Review: 20,000 Leagues Remembered
He heard the slap of waves against barnacle-encrusted wood and the rush of the ship’s keel through choppy seas. Around the vessel smaller hollow casings floated, logboats dropped like calves….
–Michael D. Winkle, “Leviathan”.
One-hundred-and-fifty years after the publication of one of the original SF novels, Pole-to-Pole publishing has produced this collection of sixteen stories riffing on the world of Captain Nemo and the Nautilus.
Review: Doom Patrol, Season Two, First Three Episodes
“You can do whatever the [spoiler]fuck[/spoiler] you want. Birthday party entertainer. Trash compactor. Your options are endless, but also less than five.”
–Crazy Jane, to Robotman.
Doom Patrol returned at the end of June. We’ve got reviews of the first three episodes to review and discuss: “Fun-Size Patrol, “Tyme Patrol,” and “Pain Patrol.”
Fanzines remain a thing…
Even in the era of the World Wide Web, traditional fanzines still exist. Of course, they’ve gone online.
Fandom, too, survives, even if the pandemic keeps people apart. An SF Club geographically local to me released their latest issue (#62) of their fanzine, SideTrekked, which…
Dame Vera Lynn, R.I.P.
Vera Lynn died today at the age of 103. She remained active and inspirational until the end, and, against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic, her Greatest Hits compilation entered Britain’s top 30, making her the oldest artist to chart.
Weekend Review: The Vast of Night
After bouncing around the festival circuit, winning several awards, and playing a few theaters, The Vast of Night finally landed itself on Amazon Prime. With new releases on hold, this 2019 release might be just the film for those seeking a taste of retro-SF.