Category: Film
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That Show I Watched
This week marks the 50th anniversary of two science fiction icons. One is me, the other is Star Trek. Since we're practically twins, I feel as though I can be brutally honest about the show, the universe, and what has become of them. First of all, it always surprises me how unfamiliar people are with the…
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Congratulations Dragon Award Winners!
For several years now I've been telling everyone who'll listen that the major awards for science fiction and fantasy were in danger of becoming too obscure. The Nebulas are selected by the membership of SFWA, but don't get much publicity because (sadly) the organization isn't well-known outside the fraternity of SF professionals. The Hugo Award…
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MidAmeriCon II, Day 3!
Saturday was a light-schedule day for me. I had a swim and a reasonably-priced breakfast at the Silver Spoon Diner across the street from my hotel, then went to the convention center to do a reading. I read two stories, "Parsifal (Prix Fixe)" which ran originally in F&SF, and "A Right Jolly Old . .…
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Awarding Kipling Points
I'm a huge fan of Rudyard Kipling and his works. As I've mentioned elsewhere, I think he's one of science fiction's unacknowledged founders. So, when one member of the Crack Team asked to go see the new live-action/computer-animated Disney film of The Jungle Book, I agreed — though not without some skepticism. While there have been…
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Tales of the Dark Knight!
I don't write comic books, but I've been reading them for decades and I like speculating about the characters. The recent Batman Vs. Superman film got me thinking about how I would write Batman if DC Comics were to hire me. Bruce Wayne, Gothamite One thing which becomes obvious when you start thinking about Batman…
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Thoughts on Star Wars: The Force Awakens
I've held off commenting on the new Star Wars movie for a couple of reasons. First, there's been the huge (and somewhat pointless) push to keep people from revealing "spoilers" about the plot. And second, I wanted to give myself enough time to think about it after the glow of fannish enthusiasm and nostalgia has…
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Scenes From a Book Tour
Two of the events from the late Tor Books Big Summer Author Tour and Giant Spider Jamboree are now available on video. Everyone who missed our live appearances can experience the wonder and glory of Elizabeth Bear, Me, Max Gladstone, and Brian Staveley. The first video is our appearance at Google NYC: The second…
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Space Battle Music
When I learned that James Horner had died, I felt as sad as if it was one of my friends. Mr. Horner and I never met, but I have enjoyed his work ever since I became aware that someone had to create the music behind my favorite movies. It is literally true that on more…
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Congratulations to Nebula Winners
Congratulations to the winners of the 2015 Nebula Awards, chosen by the members of SFWA. This year's honorees are: Jeff VanderMeer, for his novel Annihilation Nancy Kress, for her novella "Yesterday's Kin" Alaya Dawn Johnson, for her novelette "A Guide to the Fruits of Hawai'i" Ursula Vernon, for her short story "Jackalope Wives." The Ray…
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Accidental Prophets and Texas Sharpshooters (Part 2 of 4)
(Note: this essay can be read in its entirety at the Hieroglyph website.) In my last post I described the history of the Hieroglyph Project, and ended by saying that it failed. How did the Hieroglyph anthology fail? It's full of great stories, it got good reviews and it sold well. By any normal definition…
