As the Cold War stalls and the threat of nuclear warfare dominates the news, small-town misfits Laurie and Fell bond over a shared love of music and the mystery of the erratic radio messages that hint at the existence of a future worth reaching out for.
For over 25 years, the Wild Cards universe has been entertaining readers with stories of superpowered people in an alternate history.
When a mysterious stranger approaches Wally Gunderson, a.k.a Rustbelt, about running for Jokertown City Council, he doesn’t think twice about it. His first move? Hiring an unlikely campaign manager – Mordecai Albert Jones, the Harlem Hammer. Together they’ll discover the ins and outs of local politics, and whether conspiracy theorist Sparkjob is actually crazy… or just on to something?
A man sets out to tell a story of his ex, which in turns becomes a story of the world. If only he could change that story—find the moment where it all began and alter the past. But what if he can’t find the beginning—or even the end?
An academic’s whimsical decision to take a DNA test leads her into uncharted territory, where she discovers some extraordinary truths about herself and new possibilities for her future.
No vampire is ever innocent…
The wandering Judge Dee serves as judge, jury, and executioner for any vampire who breaks the laws designed to safeguard their kind’s survival. This new case in particular puts his mandate to the test.
Every Halloween, an elderly woman hands out candy to a young trick-or-treater who’s dressed as a witch each time, looking exactly the same age. With each passing year, the woman grows more attached to the little witch and her odd nature. But she is no ordinary child, and an uncanny relationship develops between the two of them that may prove dangerous and deadly.
In this spell-binding tale, a Pakistani storyteller captivates a group of wide-eyed tourists with a nesting doll of interlocked stories about a trickster and a hidden city ruled by the Queen of Red Midnight.
In this biweekly series, we’re exploring the evolution of both major and minor figures in Tolkien’s legendarium, tracing the transformations of these characters through drafts and early manuscripts through to the finished work. This week’s installment takes a look at the story of Lobelia Sackville-Baggins, connoisseur of silver spoons and wielder of umbrellas.
Ah, Lobelia. When I first decided to write about the matriarch of the Sackville-Bagginses, I knew there wasn’t going to be much information to work with (turns out there was only a little more than I thought). She only makes a few appearances in The Lord of the Rings, and in most of these she and her family are presented in a fairly unpleasant light. To many, she comes off as snobbish, snide, and generally rude. It’s impossible to deny that she has a predilection for silver spoons and is…well, a bit of a kleptomaniac.
But Lobelia is one of only a few Hobbit women who are given more than a momentary glance in Middle-earth, and a compelling character in her own right. And what’s more, her narrative arc illustrates beautifully some of the more important lessons The Lord of the Rings has to teach, as she becomes an unlikely hero to those who had consistently refused to give her a chance.
After a painstaking process that apparently consisted of determining from which movie/comic books they wanted to lift a name, members of the US Space Force have officially been dubbed “Guardians.” Whether this is in reference to Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy or the interfering blue dome-heads from Green Lantern is unclear. Either way, please enjoy five exciting stories about space patrols patrolling… SPACE!
It’s strange to think that this is our first official Marvel Cinematic Universe story in roughly a year. After an empty 2020, Disney+ has arrived to alleviate that lack with their first television offering—WandaVision. And it started us off right, with two episodes to get fans hooked.
Spoilers ahead.
Before you ask, yes, what we need right now is another Nicolas Cage movie with dubious dialogue and powerful glowering. (No, I didn’t actually watch Jiu Jitsu. Life is short, ok?) Though in Willy’s Wonderland, Cage seems hardly to speak at all. He’s too busy absolutely going to town on a whole lot of creepy animatronic creatures. Is he living the dream of every child ever weirded out by the animatronics in a theme park? I’ll let you be the judge of that.
It’s strange to think that this is our first official Marvel Cinematic Universe story in roughly a year. After an empty 2020, Disney+ has arrived to alleviate that lack with their first television offering—WandaVision. And it started us off right, with two episodes to get fans hooked.
Spoilers ahead.
Apple is set to release the upcoming sophomore season of For All Mankind—it’s alternate history series where the Soviet Union reached the Moon first, rather than the US—on February 19th, and with just weeks to go, they’ve released a new trailer showing off how things are faring between the two superpowers.
The short answer? Not well.
Head below for the full list of horror and genre-bending titles heading your way in January!
It’s time to rejoin Séverin and his crew for the final adventure! We are thrilled to share the cover and preview an excerpt from The Bronzed Beasts, the third and final book in Roshani Chokshi’s epic fantasy The Gilded Wolves series. The Bronzed Beasts publishes September 21st with Wednesday Books.
Curtain up, it’s time for the only show that matters in Lancre—which brings us to the end Wyrd Sisters.
Ken Meyer and Ed Kemmer on the set of Space Patrol (ABC Television, 1954; public domain)
After a painstaking process that apparently consisted of determining from which movie/comic books they wanted to lift a name, members of the US Space Force have officially been dubbed “Guardians.” Whether this is in reference to Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy or the interfering blue dome-heads from Green Lantern is unclear. Either way, please enjoy five exciting stories about space patrols patrolling… SPACE!
Jess Brightwell and his friends and colleagues have rebelled against the Great Library, which controls access to and dissemination of all written knowledge in the world. Once a beacon of light, the Library has become a despotic and oppressive force controlled by despotic and cruel men who mean to hold onto their power by any means necessary.
At the end of book 3, Ash and Quill, Jess, his identical twin brother Brendan, Obscurist Morgan, and royal Dario make a secret decision to pretend to betray the other members of their group in a desperate gamble to infiltrate the Library’s home base. Jess and Brendan switch places (as identical twins can theoretically do).
JESUITS! IN! SPAAAACE!
Per Variety, Queen’s Gambit co-creator, director, and showrunner Scott Frank is adapting Mary Doria Russell’s classic novel, The Sparrow, for FX. Frank is said to be “writing every episode” of the limited series, with Johan Renck, late of Chernobyl and Breaking Bad on board to direct, and Better Call Saul’s Mark Johnson joining as executive producer.
The Emperor of Aria is dead, and three junior members of a street gang are unwittingly caught up in the ensuing struggle for the throne…
We’re excited to share an excerpt from The Moonsteel Crown, the first epic adventure in a new fantasy world from author Stephen Deas—publishing February 9th with Angry Robot.
The Wild Cards saga is vast at this point, and may seem like an intimidating fictional milieu to attempt entering. We fans have known for years that a deep dive into the series’ complex continuity is well worth the effort, and the rewards are myriad. Still, a stack of 28 novels (and counting) is surely daunting for even a more-voracious-than-average reader. A few notes might be helpful in removing the intimidation factor inherent to a continuing literary serial comprising more than 10,000 pages, featuring a couple hundred characters, and crafted by more than 40 different authors (collectively known as the Wild Cards consortium).
As far as anyone knew, Chris Evans’ Captain America permanently hung up—or rather, handed off—his shield at the end of Avengers: Endgame. Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson has the shield now, though Mackie has been cagey recently about whether that means he is Captain America.
But Evans may not be entirely done with the role: According to Deadline, he’s considering a return to the MCU.
Star Trek: Voyager Fourth Season
Original air dates: September 1997 – May 1998
Executive Producers: Rick Berman, Jeri Taylor
Captain’s log. Much like Deep Space Nine, its sister show, Voyager had its first major cast change in its fourth season, in this case with Jennifer Lien as Kes departing and Jeri Ryan joining the cast as the ex-Borg Seven of Nine.
If there was any kind of theme to the season, it was moving forward, most obviously shown when Voyager itself was thrown forward 10,000 light-years by Kes on her way out the door at the top of the season, and then the ship gaining another 300 light-years thanks to a juryrigged quantum slipstream drive at the end of the season. Just in general, Voyager emphasized making progress, not pausing long in any one place, and while there were recurring antagonists like the Hirogen, most of the nations encountered by the ship were left behind in short order. And even the Hirogen encounters were all bunched up.
Head below for the full list of SF/F Young Adult titles heading your way in January!
"Lobelia Sackville-Baggins," by Veronika Illu.
In this biweekly series, we’re exploring the evolution of both major and minor figures in Tolkien’s legendarium, tracing the transformations of these characters through drafts and early manuscripts through to the finished work. This week’s installment takes a look at the story of Lobelia Sackville-Baggins, connoisseur of silver spoons and wielder of umbrellas.
Ah, Lobelia. When I first decided to write about the matriarch of the Sackville-Bagginses, I knew there wasn’t going to be much information to work with (turns out there was only a little more than I thought). She only makes a few appearances in The Lord of the Rings, and in most of these she and her family are presented in a fairly unpleasant light. To many, she comes off as snobbish, snide, and generally rude. It’s impossible to deny that she has a predilection for silver spoons and is…well, a bit of a kleptomaniac.
But Lobelia is one of only a few Hobbit women who are given more than a momentary glance in Middle-earth, and a compelling character in her own right. And what’s more, her narrative arc illustrates beautifully some of the more important lessons The Lord of the Rings has to teach, as she becomes an unlikely hero to those who had consistently refused to give her a chance.
