Blog Archive
May 2019
Fri May 31
All the New Genre-Bending Books Coming Out in June!
by Tor.com
High-Octane Space Opera: A Chain Across the Dawn by Drew Williams
by Liz Bourke
Godzilla: King of the Monsters Relies On Plot-Induced Denseness and Dubious Science
by Emmet Asher-Perrin
“This rotten town…” — Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
by Keith R.A. DeCandido
Better Science Fiction Through Actual Science
by James Davis Nicoll
Thu May 30
An Altruistic Magical Heist: An Illusion of Thieves by Cate Glass
by Paul Weimer
All the New Young Adult SFF Coming Out in June!
by Tor.com
Rather Than Defeat the Enemies, You Must Change Them: Earth Logic by Laurie J. Marks
by Lee Mandelo
Watch the First Teaser for Netflix’s The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance
by Stubby the Rocket
Exploring the People of Middle-earth: Sauron—Craftsman, Ring-giver, and Dark Lord
by Megan N. Fontenot
Oathbringer Reread: Chapters Seventy-Nine and Eighty
by Alice Arneson and Lyndsey Luther
Wed May 29
Kudzu From Beyond: Lucy Snyder’s “Blossoms Blackened Like Dead Stars”
by Ruthanna Emrys and Anne M. Pillsworth
Beasts that Feed on War: The Red-Stained Wings by Elizabeth Bear
by Lee Mandelo
All the New Sci-Fi Books Coming Out in June!
by Tor.com
Read an Excerpt from Michael Swanwick’s The Iron Dragon’s Mother
by Michael Swanwick
“Not My Batman” Is No Way to Go Through Life
by Joe George
Hope Springs Eternal: Five Unfinished Series That Remain a Joy to Read
by James Davis Nicoll
Revealing The Menace from Farside, a New Novella from Ian McDonald
by Tor.com
Revealing The Good Luck Girls by Debut Author Charlotte Nicole Davis
by Tor.com
Tue May 28
All the New Fantasy Books Coming Out in June!
by Tor.com
Rereading the Vorkosigan Saga: Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen, Chapters 11-13
by Ellen Cheeseman-Meyer
Sleeps With Monsters: Kaia Sønderby’s Xandri Corelel Novels
by Liz Bourke
Damnation and Salvation: Lent by Jo Walton
by Liz Bourke
Post-Humans In Space: Michael Blumlein’s Longer
by Tobias Carroll
Must-Read Speculative Short Fiction: May 2019
by Alex Brown
Brandon Sanderson on Changes in the Wheel of Time TV Show: “Majority of These Decisions Are Excellent Choices”
by Stubby the Rocket
Five Books to Read While Staring Death in the Face
by Michael Blumlein
Fantasy Maps Don’t Belong in the Hands of Fantasy Characters
by Jonathan Crowe
Reading the Wheel of Time: Good, Evil, and the Choices We Make in Robert Jordan’s The Dragon Reborn (Part 14)
by Sylas K Barrett
Mon May 27
Walk Beneath the Canopy of These 8 Fictional Forests
by Thoraiya Dyer
SFF Horse Breeds: The Friesian Horse
by Judith Tarr
Five Ghosts You Should Definitely Invite to Your Barbecue
by Jeremy Shipp
Imagining Dinosaurs on the Battlefield
by Brian Switek
A Fairy Tale of Dubious Origin: “Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp”
by Mari Ness
Fri May 24
13 Optimistic Fantasies to Chase Away the Grimdark Blues
by Stubby the Rocket
Aladdin Updates the Original in a Meaningful Way
by Emmet Asher-Perrin
“Is that the best you can do?” — Sin City
by Keith R.A. DeCandido
Is Star Trek: Picard Basically Just seaQuest DSV For a New Generation?
by Emmet Asher-Perrin
Our 6 Favorite Stories of Being Tossed Into Space
by Stubby the Rocket
The Sad But Inevitable Trend Toward Forgotten SF
by James Davis Nicoll
Thu May 23
Read an Excerpt from Fireborne, Start of a New YA Fantasy Series
by Rosaria Munda
Heart on Fire: The Candle and the Flame by Nafiza Azad
by Alex Brown
4 Questions Raised By the New Star Trek Picard Teaser Trailer
by Stubby the Rocket
Star Trek: Picard Releases Its First Trailer!
by Stubby the Rocket
Living in Hope is a Discipline: Fire Logic by Laurie J. Marks
by Lee Mandelo
John Carter and the Origins of Science Fiction Adventure: A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
by Alan Brown
Sarah Connor Did Not Come Here to Play in First Trailer for Terminator: Dark Fate
by Stubby the Rocket
Five Books with POV Characters Who Don’t See Eye-to-Eye
by Christine Lynn Herman
Oathbringer Reread: Chapter Seventy-Eight
by Lyndsey Luther and Aubree Pham
Wed May 22
This Website Compiles Every Single Wall Calendar Dedicated to Tolkien and Lord of the Rings
by Stubby the Rocket
Avoiding Angles is Still Harder Than it Sounds: Adam Gauntlett’s “New Build”
by Anne M. Pillsworth and Ruthanna Emrys
Read an Excerpt from Last Tango in Cyberspace
by Steven Kotler
8 SFF Characters that Embody the Green Man
by Stubby the Rocket
Defending Kylara: Dragonquest, Part Three
by Mari Ness
Game of Thrones Asks What Kinds of Stories Ultimately Matter
by Tyler Dean
Revealing Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather
by Tor.com
Read an Excerpt from The Sol Majestic
by Ferrett Steinmetz
Tue May 21
Catch Tor Books, Tor Teen, and Tor.com Publishing at BookExpo and BookCon 2019!
by Stubby the Rocket
QUILTBAG+ Speculative Classics: The Way of Thorn and Thunder by Daniel Heath Justice (Part 1)
by Bogi Takács
Will George R. R. Martin’s Books End Like Game of Thrones? “Yes. And No. And Yes.”
by Stubby the Rocket
Trauma and Disorientation: Her Silhouette Drawn in Water by Vylar Kaftan
by Liz Bourke
And Now Her Watch Is Ended: Writing 8 Years of Game of Thrones Reviews
by Theresa DeLucci
Netflix Reveals Black Mirror Season 5 Episode Titles and Teasers
by Natalie Zutter
Rereading The Ruin of Kings: Chapters 36 and 37
by Leigh Butler
Read the First Four Chapters of Kel Kade’s Fate of the Fallen
by Kel Kade
Read an Excerpt from Marie Brennan’s Turning Darkness Into Light
by Marie Brennan
Read Chapter One of Wayne Barlowe’s The Heart of Hell
by Wayne Barlowe
Read the First Chapter of Myke Cole’s The Killing Light
by Myke Cole
Read the First Three Chapters of L.E. Modesitt Jr.’s The Mage-Fire War
by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.
Reading the Wheel of Time: The Power of the Ta’veren in Robert Jordan’s The Dragon Reborn (Part 13)
by Sylas K Barrett
Mon May 20
A Rare Win for Wheelchairs in Game of Thrones’ Final Episode
by Mari Ness
Rereading the Vorkosigan Saga: Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen, Chapter 10
by Ellen Cheeseman-Meyer
10 Unanswered Questions From the Game of Thrones Finale
by Stubby the Rocket
Tracking Evil in Andre Norton’s The Scent of Magic
by Judith Tarr
Equal and Opposite: 9 SFF Duos That Bring Out the Best and Worst in Each Other
by Stubby the Rocket
Five Books Featuring Terrible Monsters That Tug on Our Human Heartstrings
by Kerstin Hall
The Importance of Batwoman’s Feminine Costuming Choices
by Emmet Asher-Perrin
Read Gideon the Ninth: Chapter 8
by Tamsyn Muir
Sun May 19
Game of Thrones Series Finale Discussion/Review: “The Iron Throne”
by Theresa DeLucci
Announcing the 2018 Nebula Awards Winners
by Tor.com
Fri May 17
Read an Excerpt from R.F. Kuang’s The Poppy War
by R.F. Kuang
Subliminal Visions and Secret Manuscripts: Masande Ntshanga’s Triangulum
by Tobias Carroll
Now is the Time to Choose a Side in the New His Dark Materials Trailer
by Stubby the Rocket
Blaise of No Glory — Modesty Blaise and My Name is Modesty
by Keith R.A. DeCandido
Read Tina Connolly’s “The Last Banquet of Temporal Confections”
by Tina Connolly
Robert Pattinson in Talks to Star in Matt Reeves’ The Batman
by Stubby the Rocket
Here’s What It Felt Like to See The Phantom Menace For the First Time
by Ryan Britt
Thu May 16
Read an Excerpt from P. Djèlí Clark’s The Black God’s Drums
by P. Djèlí Clark
It’s the Little Things: A Brightness Long Ago by Guy Gavriel Kay
by Niall Alexander
“I’m Not About to Let a Man Take Credit for a Woman’s Work”: Watch the First Batwoman Trailer
by Stubby the Rocket
Revealing The Shadows Between Us, a New Fantasy from Tricia Levenseller
by Tor.com
Cataracts, Blindness, and Evocations of Horror
by Elsa Sjunneson-Henry
We Finally Have a First Look at the New Star Trek Picard Show
by Stubby the Rocket
Exploring the People of Middle-earth: Haleth, Tolkien’s “Renowned Amazon”
by Megan N. Fontenot
The Luddites Were Right: SF Works That Show the Downside to New Technology
by James Davis Nicoll
Download Tor.com Publishing’s 2019 Debut Sampler for Free!
by Tor.com
Oathbringer Reread: Chapter Seventy-Seven
by Alice Arneson, Lyndsey Luther and Aubree Pham
Wed May 15
The Secret Lives of Serpents: Priya Sharma’s “Fabulous Beasts”
by Ruthanna Emrys and Anne M. Pillsworth
Permeable Borders: Tears of the Trufflepig by Fernando A. Flores
by Leah Schnelbach
Fire, Phantoms, and Other Details that Didn’t Make it into The Only Harmless Great Thing
by Brooke Bolander
We’re Giving Away 50 Copies of Jin Yong’s Wuxia Classic A Hero Born!
by Stubby the Rocket
Finding Yourself Through Fantasy and Culture
by Hafsah Faizal
Download a Free Ebook of Annalee Newitz’s Autonomous Before May 18, 2019!
by Tor.com
How Tea, History, and a Simulated Papal Election Inspired Lent
by Jo Walton
Tor.com Publishing is Seeking a Part Time Short Fiction Coordinator (Contract)
by Tor.com
Tor.com is Seeking a Part-Time Book Entertainment News Writer (Contract)
by Tor.com
Read an Excerpt from Silver in the Wood
by Emily Tesh
The Nommo Awards Announce 2019 Shortlists
by Tor.com
Netflix Releases Trailer and Premiere Date for Black Mirror Season 5
by Natalie Zutter
War Crimes on Westeros and Daenerys’ Missing Character Arc
by Michael Livingston
Long is the Way
by Carrie Vaughn and Sage Walker
Download the March-April 2019 Tor.com Short Fiction Newsletter
by Tor.com
Tue May 14
Sleeps With Monsters: Forthcoming (Queer) Novels Starring (Queer) Women
by Liz Bourke
Longing and Loneliness in Amy Rose Capetta’s The Lost Coast
by Alex Brown
Get Amazing SFF Reads (for Free!) with the Tor.com Short Fiction Newsletter!
by Tor.com
Getting the Research Right: Author Michael Blumlein on the Medical Sources Behind Longer
by Michael Blumlein
Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Easter Egg Could Suggest the Future Federation Is Evil
by Ryan Britt
Is “Only Death Can Pay for Life” Game of Thrones’ Ultimate Lesson?
by Tyler Dean
Disney Confirms the Next Star Wars Movie Will Come from Game of Thrones Creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss
by Stubby the Rocket
Watch the First Trailer for Hereditary Director Ari Aster’s Midsommar
by Stubby the Rocket
Building (and Breaking) the Myth of the American Astronaut
by Leah Schnelbach
The Redemption of Time and How Fanfiction Led to a Fourth Book in the Three-Body Problem Trilogy
by Baoshu
First Trailer for Maleficent: Mistress of Evil Sees Our Favorite Sorceress Up to No Good
by Stubby the Rocket
Reading the Wheel of Time: The Amyrlin’s Plots Backfire in Robert Jordan’s The Dragon Reborn (Part 12)
by Sylas K Barrett
Mon May 13
Rereading the Vorkosigan Saga: Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen, Chapters 8 and 9
by Ellen Cheeseman-Meyer
Read the First Two Chapters from Kate Heartfield’s Alice Payne Arrives
by Kate Heartfield
SFF Horse Breeds: The Andalusian
by Judith Tarr
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season Six Premiere: But He Looks Just Like Coulson!
by Alan Brown
Detective Pikachu is This Generation’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit
by Emmet Asher-Perrin
11 of Our Favorite Fantasy Pirates
by Stubby the Rocket
Revealing K. M. Szpara’s Docile
by Tor.com
Exploring Queer Friendship in Martha Wells’ Artificial Condition
by Anya Johanna DeNiro
Read Gideon the Ninth: Chapter 7
by Tamsyn Muir
Read the First Three Chapters of Max Gladstone’s Empress of Forever
by Max Gladstone
Sun May 12
Game of Thrones Season 8, Episode 5 Discussion Thread: “The Bells”
by Theresa DeLucci
Fri May 10
Read a Selection from Naomi Novik’s Spinning Silver
by Naomi Novik
The City of Bicycles: Get to Know the World of Witchmark
by C.L. Polk
“Contact Dick Tracy at once” — RKO’s Dick Tracy Features
by Keith R.A. DeCandido
Love, Fellowship, and Stories: The Tolkien Biopic Informs and Inspires
by Jeff LaSala
Continue Jin Yong’s Kung Fu Wuxia Epic A Hero Born: “Suddenly A Snow Storm” (Part 5)
by Jin Yong
Eurovision 2019 Is Here: Science Fiction Fans, Rejoice!
by James Davis Nicoll
Thu May 9
Announcing the 2019 Arthur C. Clarke Award Shortlist
by Tor.com
Read a Deleted Scene From Sam J. Miller’s Blackfish City
by Sam J. Miller
Trouble on Silicon Isle: Waste Tide by Chen Qiufan
by Liz Bourke
On the Origins of Modern Biology and the Fantastic : Part 11 — J.G. Ballard and the Birth of Biotech
by Kelly Lagor
Neukom Institute Literary Arts Awards Announces 2019 Book Shortlist
by Stubby the Rocket
After the Endgame, Marvel Movies Adopt One of the Comics Industry’s Biggest Problems
by Emmet Asher-Perrin
Watch the First Trailer for It: Chapter Two
by Stubby the Rocket
Arise, A Knight: Why We Need Brienne’s Unique Journey on Game of Thrones
by Amy Imhoff
Fafhrd Meets the Gray Mouser: Swords and Deviltry by Fritz Leiber
by Alan Brown
Continue Jin Yong’s Kung Fu Wuxia Epic A Hero Born: “Suddenly A Snow Storm” (Part 4)
by Jin Yong
Hooray for Licensed Fiction! Part Deux — Yet Still More Star Trek Discovery Stories to Tide You Over until Season 3
by Keith R.A. DeCandido
Oathbringer Reread: Chapter Seventy-Six
by Alice Arneson, Lyndsey Luther and Aubree Pham
Wed May 8
The Amphibious Weird: Mercè Rodoreda’s “The Salamander”
by Anne M. Pillsworth and Ruthanna Emrys
“Sit down, write, keep writing” — Seanan McGuire on the Daily Process of Writing a Novel Like Middlegame
by Seanan McGuire
Tick-Tock: Watch the First Teaser for HBO’s Watchmen
by Stubby the Rocket
Read the First Chapter of Nathan Makaryk’s Nottingham
by Nathan Makaryk
Checking the Math: The Big Event From Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 4 is Just as Impossible as You Think
by Michael Livingston
Introducing Fire-Lizards: Dragonquest, Part Two
by Mari Ness
Continue Jin Yong’s Kung Fu Wuxia Epic A Hero Born: “Suddenly A Snow Storm” (Part 3)
by Jin Yong
Announcing Nghi Vo’s Debut Novella The Empress of Salt and Fortune
by Tor.com
The Gothic and Game of Thrones, Part II: Theon, Sansa, and Shared Trauma
by Tyler Dean
Tue May 7
Trail of Lightning Author Rebecca Roanhorse on Addressing Violence by “Telling Our Stories”
by Stubby the Rocket
The People Could Fly: Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
by Nisi Shawl
Announcing the 2019 Locus Awards Finalists
by Tor.com
Disney Reveals Release Dates for Next Star Wars Movies (Update)
by Stubby the Rocket
Rewriting History Can’t Change the Past as Game of Thrones Reaches Its Endgame
by Tyler Dean
Listen to Seanan McGuire’s Middlegame
by Tor.com
Rereading The Ruin of Kings: Chapters 34 and 35
by Leigh Butler
Continue Jin Yong’s Kung Fu Wuxia Epic A Hero Born: “Suddenly A Snow Storm” (Part 2)
by Jin Yong
The Daring Alchemy of Seanan McGuire’s Middlegame
by Shauna Morgan
Read Chapters 1-3 of Duncan M. Hamilton’s Dragonslayer
by Duncan M. Hamilton
Reading the Wheel of Time: Farmer’s Weapons and Library Secrets in Robert Jordan’s The Dragon Reborn (Part 11)
by Sylas K Barrett
Mon May 6
Rereading the Vorkosigan Saga: Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen, Chapter 7
by Ellen Cheeseman-Meyer
Reflections on Andre Norton’s Mirror of Destiny
by Judith Tarr
Let Me Tell You About the Granddaddy of Bewildering New Zealand Kids’ Fantasy: The Halfmen of O
by Tamsyn Muir
Jo Walton’s Reading List: April 2019
by Jo Walton
The Future We Imagine Is the Future We Get
by Kelly Robson
The Tao of Sir Terry: Pratchett vs. Logic
by J.R.H. Lawless
Watch the New Super-Spoilery Spider-Man: Far From Home Trailer
by Stubby the Rocket
Read Gideon the Ninth: Chapter 6
by Tamsyn Muir
Read Jin Yong’s Kung Fu Wuxia Epic A Hero Born: “Suddenly A Snow Storm” (Part 1)
by Jin Yong
Sun May 5
Game of Thrones Season 8, Episode 4 Discussion/Review: “The Last of the Starks”
by Theresa DeLucci
Fri May 3
9 Star Wars Books to Fulfill Your Very Specific Fandom Needs
by Stubby the Rocket
A Most Subtle Counterfactual: Paul Kerschen’s The Warm South
by Tobias Carroll
Barnes & Noble Bookseller’s Picks for May
by Tor.com
“I came to save my home” — Aquaman
by Keith R.A. DeCandido
Avengers: Endgame Is Filled with References to Every Previous MCU Film: Let’s Find Them All
by Keith R.A. DeCandido
Peter Mayhew: 1944-2019
by Tor.com
What Reward Do Superheroes Deserve?
by Natalie Zutter
Thu May 2
All the New Genre-Bending Books Coming Out in May
by Tor.com
2018 Shirley Jackson Award Nominees Announced
by Tor.com
The Black Company TV Series Can’t Come Soon Enough
by Drew McCaffrey
Beyond Cinderella: Exploring Agency Through Domestic Fantasy
by Marissa K. Lingen
Avengers: Endgame Is a Secular Meditation on Death, Resurrection, and a Cathartic Afterlife
by Leah Schnelbach
Exploring the People of Middle-earth: Melian, Divine Enchantress and Deathless Queen
by Megan N. Fontenot
Read an Excerpt from Rudy Rucker’s Million Mile Road Trip
by Rudy Rucker
Oathbringer Reread: Chapter Seventy-Five
by Alice Arneson and Aubree Pham
Tor to Launch The Unspoken Name — The Start of an Epic New Fantasy Adventure from A. K. Larkwood
by Tor.com
Wed May 1
Ikea in the Fourth Dimension: Jorge Luis Borges’ “There Are More Things”
by Ruthanna Emrys and Anne M. Pillsworth
All the New Young Adult SFF Books Coming Out in May!
by Tor.com
More Trouble to Come: Storm of Locusts by Rebecca Roanhorse
by Liz Bourke
I Identify Deeply With Thor. I Wish Avengers: Endgame Hadn’t Used His Mental Health For Jokes
by Sylas K Barrett
8 Instances of SFF Hyper-Worldbuilding That Truly Go Above and Beyond
by Natalie Zutter
Pretty Woman: On the Allure of Androids
by Tochi Onyebuchi
Revealing Sarah Gailey’s Upright Women Wanted
by Tor.com
Murder in the Spook House
by Michael Swanwick