scott 
Even when it released in 1968, 2001: A Space Odyssey was a big deal. Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke envisioned a future that was wholly believeable and scientifcially accurate. Here’s a promotional documentary filmed around the time of the film’s release. OMG I LOVE that “laptop” computer. Hit the link for the video! http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2016/03/2001-space-odyssey-seen-short-documentary-1960s/
QSFer Pelaam has a new fantasy book out: When prince Adrianus accepts a quest to find the Jewel of Darkness to break a curse on king Thanos’s daughter, he takes along Fedor, a young man recently rescued from Thanos’s stables. Fedor has experienced much hardship in a short space of time. A slave in the stables of king Thanos, he’s ill-treated by a sadistic captain of the guard until rescued by a royal visitor from another kingdom. From a mix of gratitude and attraction he insists on joining Adrianus, despite the dangers involved. When he’s captured as a sacrifice, he … Read more
We’re always told not to judge a book by its cover. But is that advice really meant to be taken literally? Many sci fi covers have a very specific look – a futuristic font. Space. A cool looking ship. A man in a space suit. These visual cues help us grasp immediately that this is a sci fi book. If a book just had a photo of a pickle on it, would that make you as a sci fi reader want to pick it up? Similarly, romance books have their own look. For MM, it’s often the shirtless male torso … Read more
Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Jim Comer: Has anyone seen Geoffrey Landis’ intriguing answer to the Fermi Paradox? If even a very small fraction of the hundred billion stars in the galaxy are home to technological civilizations which colonize over interstellar distances, the entire galaxy should be completely colonized in a few million years. The absence of such extraterrestrial civilizations visiting Earth is the Fermi Paradox. You can find Landis’s arguments here. In a nutshell, though, why haven’t we found noisy galactic neighbors? Join the chat
QSFer Andrew Q. Gordon has a new fantasy book out: Dumbarten should have been the end of Farrell’s efforts to find his distant ancestor Kel, but the Six have other plans. Farrell is told to continue his search for answers in Agloth, the temple city to Seritia. Forced by the Goddess to ride across the vast continent of Lourdria, Farrell and his companion learn that Meglar’s reach extends well beyond the borders of Ardus. And Agloth, despite being dedicated to the Goddess of Love, is also home to a millennia-old curse that Farrell must end if he wants to complete … Read more
Superheroes Batman and Superman share a kiss in the video for Coheed and Cambria’s new single Island from the group’s latest album The Color Before the Sun. The video follows a bearded man who works for tips in Times Square dressed as Batman. A man offers Superman $5 to battle Batman. A victorious Superman walks away from the fight without looking back as Batman returns to his home, where he eats dinner in the dark by himself. Full Story at On Top Magazine
Sci fi, fantasy and paranormal are big moneymakers in theaters these days, but with rare exception they are very, very straight. So my question today: What LGBTIQA speculative fiction book do you want to see turned into a feature film? And who would star in it? Writers: This is a reader chat – you are welcome to join it, but please do not reference your own works directly. Thanks! Join the chat
Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Carrie Pack Chowske: I’d love to hear the perspectives of authors who write F/F or bisexual or trans stories. Do FF authors face particular challenges because the field is so M/M dominant? My new book features a bisexual character and its sequel will have a significant F/F pairing. I’d love to know what the readership in those areas are looking for and what other authors are doing. Join the chat
QSFer Matt Buscemi has a new speculative fiction anthology out: Fifteen short stories explore the formidable interstices between violent conflagration and frigid desolation. A facility generates power by obliterating aesthetic beauty from parallel universes; a “pink brick” defies the analytical capacity of a team researching an alien culture; a temple remains serene and unperturbed even as the world around it plunges into war; a young man with relationship problems is tormented by his own reflection; a deadly poisonous organism masquerades as an art show piece. Buscemi’s short stories make a hairpin turn into the violent fluctuations between fury and desolation … Read more
