December 2019

Tue Dec 31

All the New Science Fiction Books Coming out in January! by Tor.com

Read Chapter Three of A.K. Larkwood’s The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood

Tim Burton Hides Stories of Powerful Women in Plain Sight by Emmet Asher-Perrin

Tor.com Reviewers Pick the Best Books of 2019 by Tor.com

Reading the Wheel of Time: Rand Calls the Shots and Moiraine Hates It in Robert Jordan’s The Shadow Rising (Part 16) by Sylas K Barrett

Mon Dec 30

Five Eye-Catching ’70s SF Covers That Actually Represent the Story by James Davis Nicoll

All The New Fantasy Books Coming Out in January! by Tor.com

Lost in Space Continues to Evolve in Season 2, Questioning a Future That Isn’t Built For Everyone by Emmet Asher-Perrin

What Kinds of Stories Ultimately Matter? by Tyler Dean

A History of Dragons Throughout Western Literature by Yvonne Shiau

Our Favorite Television Episodes of 2019 by Stubby the Rocket

Fri Dec 27

The Mandalorian Season 2 is Coming Fall 2020 by Andrew Liptak

Inventing Folklore: The Origins of the Green Man by Emily Tesh

The Mandalorian Earns His Signet and So Much More in Chapter 8, “Redemption” by Emmet Asher-Perrin

More, Please! Five Authors We Wish Would Publish More Often by James Davis Nicoll

The Love Story of R2-D2 and C-3P0 Comes to a Beautiful Close in The Rise of Skywalker by Sylas K Barrett

How Should Superheroes Be Rewarded? by Natalie Zutter

Ten WTF-Did-I-Just-Watch? Episodes of SFF Television by Dan Persons

Some of Our Favorite Movies of 2019 by Stubby the Rocket

Thu Dec 26

Exploring Lost Civilizations in Science Fiction and Fantasy by James Davis Nicoll

Exploring the Genius of Ursula Le Guin’s Hainish Cycle by Charlie Jane Anders

At Dawn, Look to the East: The Riders of Rohan’s Timely Arrival and Other Tear-Inducing Moments in SFF by Samantha Edmonds

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Fixes a Critical Error in Revenge of the Sith by Emmet Asher-Perrin

22 Nerdy Things That Brought Us Joy in 2019 by Stubby the Rocket

Tue Dec 24

“I, Cthulhu, or, What’s A Tentacle-Faced Thing Like Me Doing In A Sunken City Like This (Latitude 47° 9′ S, Longitude 126° 43′ W)?” by Neil Gaiman

I Have Some Thoughts About Netflix’s The Knight Before Christmas by Ellen Cheeseman-Meyer

The Medieval Origins of Christmas Traditions by Michael Livingston

How Do You Visualize Stories? by Emmet Asher-Perrin

What Toys Tell Us About the Star Wars Universe by Jonathan Alexandratos

Mon Dec 23

His Dark Materials Rights Some of Its Previous Missteps in the Season Finale by Tyler Dean

The Wheel of Time Reveals Three New Cast Members by Stubby the Rocket

Reading Horses Part II: A Clean Horse Is (Sometimes) a Happy Horse by Judith Tarr

Adventures in Retail! 5 SFF Stories Set in Department Stores by James Davis Nicoll

To Prepare for The Witcher, I Read the Book. It Didn’t Help. by Sylas K Barrett

Announcing the Table of Contents for Some of the Best from Tor.com 2019 by Tor.com

Was 1999 the Year Modern Nerd Culture Began to Take Over the World? by Emmet Asher-Perrin

Hope & Peace: The Christmas Truce of World War I by Leanna Renee Hieber

Sun Dec 22

What’s the Deal With Rey’s Lightsaber? by Emmet Asher-Perrin

Sat Dec 21

Star Wars Documentary Looking for Leia Is Now Streaming by Andrew Liptak

Fri Dec 20

Hulu Has Passed On Its Adaptation Of Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles by Andrew Liptak

21 Things We Loved (and 5 Things We Hated) About Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker by Stubby the Rocket

New Star Trek: Picard Trailer Teases Tragedy On a Familiar Planet by Stubby the Rocket

Brandon Sanderson Updates Plans For Stormlight Archive, Mistborn, the Cosmere, and More by Stubby the Rocket

Hey Up, Boys, Nimue — Hellboy (2019) by Keith R.A. DeCandido

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Is the Spiritual Successor of Return of the Jedi, for Worse and for Better by Emmet Asher-Perrin

Thu Dec 19

“Go To Sleep Baby Yoda” Perfectly Captures the Torture of Putting a Toddler to Bed by Stubby the Rocket

Read Chapter One of The Queen’s Assassin, a New YA Fantasy From Melissa de la Cruz by Melissa de la Cruz

The Empire Just Won’t Quit: The Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn by Alan Brown

Revealing Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones by Tor.com

With a Mighty Bound: Imaro by Charles Saunders by Nisi Shawl

Watch the Enigmatic First Trailer for Christopher Nolan’s Tenet by Stubby the Rocket

Leia’s Bounty Hunter Disguise Brings My Favorite Fantasy Trope to Star Wars by Natalie Zutter

How We Live Now: The Expanse, “Saeculum” and “Cibola Burn” by Molly Templeton

Exploring the People of Middle-earth: Aulë, the Artist’s Pattern by Megan N. Fontenot

2010-2019: A Decade of Change in Science Fiction & Fantasy by Leah Schnelbach, Christina Orlando, Natalie Zutter and Renata Sweeney

Oathbringer Reread: Chapter One Hundred Nine by Lyndsey Luther and Alice Arneson

Read the First Three Chapters From Seanan McGuire’s Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire

Wed Dec 18

Lone Survivors, Telling Tales: S.L. Harris’ “Into the Eye” by Anne M. Pillsworth and Ruthanna Emrys

Read an Excerpt From Ilana C. Myer’s The Poet King by Ilana C. Myer

Revealing Alexis Henderson’s The Year of the Witching by Tor.com

The Mandalorian Gets in Over His Head in Chapter 7, “The Reckoning” by Emmet Asher-Perrin

QUILTBAG+ Speculative Classics: N.P. by Banana Yoshimoto by Bogi Takács

Netflix’s Shadow and Bone Adaptation Casts 7 More Characters As Leigh Bardugo Reveals Plot Details by Stubby the Rocket

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Reread — The Lives of Dax by Alvaro Zinos-Amaro

Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: Morfydd Clark Will Reportedly Play Young Galadriel by Stubby the Rocket

Father Christmas: Narnian Adventurer, Bringer of Gifts, and Jovial Prophet of Aslan by Matt Mikalatos

Unwrapping the Yuletide Dystopia of Brazil by Joe George

Meet Alex: Read Chapter Three of Docile by K. M. Szpara by K.M. Szpara

A Little More Time: The Expanse, “A Shot in the Dark” and “The One-Eyed Man” by Molly Templeton

Tue Dec 17

New Trailer for Pixar Film Onward Brings Your Dad Back For One Last Talk by Stubby the Rocket

Sleeps With Monsters: Compelling Queer Teenage Girl Protagonists by Liz Bourke

Lyra Earns a New Nickname in His Dark Materials, “The Fight to the Death” by Tyler Dean

Rereading The Ruin of Kings: Chapter 78 and a Note From Thurvishar by Leigh Butler

Meet Elisha: Read Chapters One and Two of Docile by K. M. Szpara by K.M. Szpara

I Made Binders Full of Star Wars Stuff as a Teen, While the Prequels Were Coming Out. I Just Found Them. by Emmet Asher-Perrin

There Will Be a Next Thing: The Expanse, “Oppressor” and “Displacement” by Molly Templeton

History and SFF: Historical Sources and N.K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth Trilogy by Erika Harlitz-Kern

Neil Gaiman Is Adapting His Norse Mythology Book for Dark Horse Comics by Stubby the Rocket

Read Chapter Two of A.K. Larkwood’s The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood

Reading The Wheel of Time: The True Weapons of the Dark One in Robert Jordan’s The Shadow Rising (Part 15) by Sylas K Barrett

Mon Dec 16

Weta Workshop and Legion M Option Brian Staveley’s The Emperor’s Blades For Television by Andrew Liptak

Neither Here Nor There: Andre Norton’s Operation Time Search by Judith Tarr

Predators, Prey, Honor: Linguistic Worldbuilding in C.J. Cherryh’s Hunter of Worlds by CD Covington

Grief, Loss, and Surviving Star Wars by Tessa Gratton

Star Trek: Picard Already Renewed for Second Season by Stubby the Rocket

The Cult of The Witcher: Slavic Fantasy Finally Gets Its Due by Teo Bileta

First Things Last: The Expanse: “Subduction” & “Retrograde” by Molly Templeton

Could Michael Burnham’s Father Still Be Alive in Star Trek: Discovery? by Ryan Britt

The Fear of Nostalgia: HBO’s Watchmen and African-American Genealogy by Sakena Jwan Washington

Jim Butcher’s New Novel Peace Talks Will Publish in 2020 for the 20th Anniversary of The Dresden Files by Tor.com

Download the Fall 2019 Tor.com Short Fiction Newsletter by Tor.com

Sun Dec 15

Watchmen Ends with Explosive Answers and Even More Questions by Leah Schnelbach

Fri Dec 13

Jumanji: The Next Level Is Fun But Ultimately Forgettable by Natalie Zutter

Back to the Drawing Board — Star Trek’s “The Girl Who Made the Stars” and “Ephraim and Dot” by Keith R.A. DeCandido

BBC’s Dracula Comes to Netflix January 4, 2020 by Stubby the Rocket

The Mandalorian Remembers Why Hanging Out With College Buddies Is a Bad Idea in Chapter 6, “The Prisoner” by Emmet Asher-Perrin

“His name is Captain Sparklefingers!” — Shazam! by Keith R.A. DeCandido

10 SFF Audiobooks for Holiday Traveling by Keith Rice

“What in the hell did you do?” The Expanse: “New Terra” and “Jetsam” by Molly Templeton

SFF Needs More Incompetent Autocrats by James Davis Nicoll

Thu Dec 12

Orbit Books Acquires Goldilocks by Laura Lam by Stubby the Rocket

Allow the Witcher Himself to Read You The Witcher by Stubby the Rocket

The Sword of the Lictor, Part 3: Weaponless in the Wilderness by Fabio Fernandes

Best Young Adult Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror of 2019 by Alex Brown

His Dark Materials Fails to Deliver a Much-Needed Update of the Original Books by Tyler Dean

Rey Should Choose to Adopt the Skywalker Name, Not Be Retconned Into the Family by Emmet Asher-Perrin

“Writing Saved My Life.” Highlights From Tochi Onyebuchi’s Tor.com Live Q&A by Stubby the Rocket

Revealing The Phlebotomist and The Rush’s Edge, Two New SF Novels From Angry Robot Books by Tor.com

The Final Witcher Trailer Brings Together Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri by Stubby the Rocket

Oathbringer Reread: Chapter One Hundred Eight by Lyndsey Luther and Alice Arneson

Wed Dec 11

Warner Bros. Sets Dates for The Flash and Matrix 4 by Andrew Liptak

The Self-Renovating Haunted House: Madeline Yale Wynne’s “The Little Room” by Ruthanna Emrys and Anne M. Pillsworth

Read an Excerpt From Strange Exit by Parker Peevyhouse by Parker Peevyhouse

Rereading The Ruin of Kings: Chapters 76 and 77 by Leigh Butler

Robin Hood Returns: Revealing Carrie Vaughn’s The Ghosts of Sherwood and The Heirs of Locksley by Tor.com

What is the “Foundational Scene” in Stormlight Archive Book 4? by Stubby the Rocket

The Future of Days Past: 10 Things Disney Could Learn From Claremont’s Run on X-Men by Jennifer Giesbrecht

Marvel Folds TV Division into Marvel Studios by Andrew Liptak

Superheroics is a Family Business in the First Trailer for The CW’s Stargirl by Andrew Liptak

Catching Up With Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children Series by Alex Brown

Doctor Who Season 12 Preview Shows Yaz and Ryan Going Undercover as Journalists by Stubby the Rocket

Discover a Land of the Lost in Sarah Tolmie’s Upcoming Novella The Fourth Island by Tor.com

Dislocation Space by Garth Nix

Tue Dec 10

The Battle of Bolvangar Rages in His Dark Materials, “The Daemon-Cages” by Tyler Dean

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay Is Heading to Showtime by Stubby the Rocket

The 4 Ways That Emperor Palpatine Engineered His Return in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker by Emmet Asher-Perrin

Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive Book 4 Arrives on November 17, 2020 by Tor.com

More Than 4.5 Million Votes Determined the Goodreads Choice Awards Best Books of 2019 by Stubby the Rocket

Karin Tidbeck’s Amatka and the Use of Language in Dystopian Science Fiction by K.W. Colyard

Reading The Wheel of Time: Elayne Discovers One Secret and Misses Another in Robert Jordan’s The Shadow Rising (Part 14) by Sylas K Barrett

Download a Free Ebook of Wild Cards I: Expanded Edition, Edited by George R. R. Martin, Before Dec. 14! by Tor.com

Mon Dec 9

Remembering René Auberjonois: 8 Essential Odo Episodes of Deep Space Nine by Ryan Britt

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 3 Arrives January 24 by Stubby the Rocket

SFWA Names Lois McMaster Bujold Science Fiction Grandmaster by Andrew Liptak

Reading Horses, Part I: Being With the Horse by Judith Tarr

Looks Like Gozer Is Back? 7 Questions We Have About Ghostbusters: Afterlife by Stubby the Rocket

Grief, Trauma, and Space Adventure: Down Among the Dead by KB Wagers by Liz Bourke

Eight Ways to Approach the Work of K.J. Parker by Jared Shurin

On the Origins of Modern Biology and the Fantastic: Part 15 — Star Wars and Polymerase Chain Reaction by Kelly Lagor

Peter Sarsgaard Joins The Batman Cast by Stubby the Rocket

Get Ready for the Women of The Witcher by Rachel Ashcroft

Watch the First Trailer for Ghostbusters: Afterlife by Stubby the Rocket

Alix E. Harrow Wakes All the Sleeping Beauties: Announcing Two New Novellas by Tor.com

Sun Dec 8

This Week’s Watchmen Chills Out in the Dot on the Eye by Leah Schnelbach

Watch the First Trailer for Wonder Woman 1984 by Andrew Liptak

Hugh Laurie Captains a Doomed Space Cruiser in a New Trailer for HBO’s Space Comedy Avenue 5 by Andrew Liptak

Sat Dec 7

Ryan Reynolds Discovers He’s an NPC in the First Trailer for Free Guy by Andrew Liptak

Watch the First Trailer for the Next Season of Amazon’s The Boys by Andrew Liptak

Disney is Developing an Aladdin Spinoff for Disney+ about Prince Anders by Andrew Liptak

Fri Dec 6

The Mandalorian Makes a Detour on Tatooine in Chapter 5, “The Gunslinger” by Emmet Asher-Perrin

John Crowley’s Reading Backwards Offers More Than a Decade of Brilliance by Matthew Keeley

The Calm After the Storm — Spider-Man: Far From Home by Keith R.A. DeCandido

To Understand Anakin Skywalker’s Full Story, You Need to Watch the Star Wars Animated Series by Emmet Asher-Perrin

Watch a New Trailer for HBO’s Adaptation of Stephen King’s The Outsider by Andrew Liptak

Venom 2 Adds Stephen Graham to Cast by Stubby the Rocket

Jo Walton’s Reading List: November 2019 by Jo Walton

Brandon Routh Is an Alternate Universe Mr. Rogers in the Legends of Tomorrow Season 5 Trailer by Stubby the Rocket

Creating Gods Through Science and Magic by James Davis Nicoll

Thu Dec 5

Sympathy and Murderbots Come For The Robinson Family in New Lost In Space Trailer by Stubby the Rocket

Read an Excerpt From The Monsters Know What They’re Doing, a Guide to Battle Tactics in D&D by Keith Ammann

Serial Box’s Orphan Black: The Next Chapter Is a Mostly Successful Experiment in Transmedia Storytelling by Natalie Zutter

Looks Like We Probably Aren’t Getting a Poe or Finn Spin-Off On Disney+ by Stubby the Rocket

Hard-Boiled Fantasy: Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny by Alan Brown

Orbit Books Acquires Debut Fantasy Trilogy from Author Andrea Stewart by Stubby the Rocket

Hometown Horrors: The Blair Witch Project, and the Legend of Corpsewood Manor by S.A. Hunt

Exploring the People of Middle-earth: The Many Faces of Finduilas by Megan N. Fontenot

Must-Read Speculative Short Fiction: November 2019 by Alex Brown

Oathbringer Reread: Chapter One Hundred Seven by Lyndsey Luther and Alice Arneson

Wed Dec 4

The Puppy’s Revenge: George R. R. Martin’s “Sandkings” by Anne M. Pillsworth and Ruthanna Emrys

A Military Historian Breaks Down the Siege of Gondor in Peter Jackson’s The Return of the King by Stubby the Rocket

Storm’s Coming. Initial Impressions of The Expanse Season 4 by Molly Templeton

Read an Excerpt from Kelly Braffet’s The Unwilling by Kelly Braffet

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Reread — Mission Gamma, Book Four: Lesser Evil by Alvaro Zinos-Amaro

Apple TV Announces Five New Series Regulars for Their Foundation Adaptation by Stubby the Rocket

Sailor Moon and the Gorgeous Meditation by Ryan La Sala

Wheel of Time TV Show Adds Thom Merrilin, Loial, Padan Fain, Logain by Stubby the Rocket

We Finally Know When Netflix’s Locke & Key Debuts by Andrew Liptak

Matrons, Monsters, Children: Femininity in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by Matt Mikalatos

J.J. Abrams Confirms No Finn/Poe Romance in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker by Stubby the Rocket

The Name of All Things Expands Jenn Lyons’ Fantasy in All the Best Ways by Sylas K Barrett

All of Tor.com’s Original Short Fiction From 2019 by Tor.com

James Bond Meets the New 007 and a Mysterious Villain in the First No Time To Die Trailer by Stubby the Rocket

The Time Invariance of Snow by E. Lily Yu

Tue Dec 3

Disney is Developing a New Planet of the Apes Film by Andrew Liptak

Baby Yoda Could Eat a Porg by Stubby the Rocket

Jeff VanderMeer’s Borne and Dead Astronauts Are Heading to TV by Andrew Liptak

Sleeps With Monsters: An Impossibly Good Book to Choose by Liz Bourke

Fabulous Magic and Personal Truths: Reverie by Ryan La Sala by Alex Brown

D. C. Fontana, 1939-2019 by Tor.com

For That Was What Bodies Wanted: Dead Astronauts by Jeff VanderMeer by Lee Mandelo

Broken Families Abound in His Dark Materials’ “The Lost Boy” by Tyler Dean

The Making of a Cavalier: Meet the Actual Rude Lesbian Swordfighter Behind Gideon the Ninth by Lissa Harris

The BBC Will Release Dracula on New Year’s Day, Alongside Doctor Who by Stubby the Rocket

How to Recover From Reader’s Block by James Davis Nicoll

Read Chapter One of A.K. Larkwood’s The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood

Reading The Wheel of Time: Men and Women Quarrel Until the Stone Shakes in Robert Jordan’s The Shadow Rising (Part 13) by Sylas K Barrett

All of Tor.com Publishing’s Books From 2019 by Tor.com

Agent Romanoff Gets in Touch With Her Roots in First Black Widow Trailer by Stubby the Rocket

Mon Dec 2

Andre Norton Goes Historical in Shadow Hawk by Judith Tarr

The Price of Perfection in Alice Waddington’s Paradise Hills by Katherine Connell

Jay Kristoff’s Nevernight Is Now a YouTube Mini-Series by Stubby the Rocket

How Patricia McKillip’s The Riddlemaster of Hed Let Me Write Fantasy by Julie E. Czerneda

The Magicians’ Fifth Season Debuts on January 15th by Andrew Liptak

Read the First Two Chapters From Tessa Gratton’s Lady Hotspur by Tessa Gratton

I Have Some Concerns About Netflix’s The Knight Before Christmas by Ellen Cheeseman-Meyer

Rian Johnson’s Looper and the Art of the Supervillain by Leah Schnelbach

Doctor Who Teases a “Big, Serious Crisis” In the New Trailer for Season 12 by Stubby the Rocket

Five ’70s SF Cover Artists Who Stay True to the Story by James Davis Nicoll

Some of the Best Articles on Tor.com in 2019 by Tor.com

Sun Dec 1

Watchmen Asks, Is There Life On Mars? by Leah Schnelbach