Jared Shurin's Blog, page 31
July 22, 2016
Friday Five: 5 Fantastic Flicks at the BFI
One perk of being a Londoner? The BFI Southbank. Anne and I were there recently for an Indiana Jones marathon (all three films!), and I was reminded - for the 857th time - what a wonderful place it is.Pros: an unbelievable selection of movies from thetimeless tothe trashy. Cons: they don't sell popcorn (heathens!)
Smuggle in some Haribo and check out the website,because there's an amazing line-up for the rest of the summer. A few highlights below.
2001: A Space Odyssey (22 July, 24 July)
So...
July 19, 2016
Gail Carriger on "The Traveling Writer: A Tip Sheet"
I started attending conventions as a fangirl long before I was a professional writer. I knew what to expect and when I got my first Guest of Honor invitation I was over the moon. I still get a little thrill at the very idea that someone wants me to attend a convention... as a guest!
But it's not the same thing. Whether heading out on a book tour or invited as a guest to a small local sci-fi convention, attending programming at a larger conference, or visiting one of those monster book festiv...
July 14, 2016
#SPFBO - First Round Wrap-up
Well, the first round iscomplete!
Over the course of... some period of time... I checked out 30 self-published fantasy books for #SPFBO, reading the first 3 chapters of each.
Based on that (results and mini-reviews here), I earmarked six for detailed perusal:
Josiah Bancroft - Senlin Ascends K.M. Carroll - Malevolent Alessandra Clarke - Rider's Revenge Richard Crawford - Traitor Blade B.T. Narro - Kin of Kings Phil Tucker - The Path of FlamesThe links all go to the complete reviews. If yo...
July 12, 2016
Fiction: "Zombie Hitler vs Neil Armstrong" by Marie Vibbert [Audio!]
The first to hit the news, of course, was Zombie Elvis. To the delight of loyal fans and conspiracy theorists, he emerged from his Memphis tomb looking very well-groomed for a corpse, hips dipping and swaying as he tried to walk. Security cameras and cell phones caught his first steps, right up until he began feeding...
July 11, 2016
World Fantasy Awards: Congratulations!
The World Fantasy Award finalists are out. Although all the shortlists are, of course, amazing, we're particularly glad to see two of our contributors - Selena Chambers and Silvia Moreno-Garcia - on the list!
Selena's "The Neurastheniac", from Cassilda's Song, is up for best short story.
Silvia's She Walks in Shadows, co-edited with Paula R. Stiles, is competing for best anthology.
You can find the complete lists here.
Selena is currently hosting a Mary Shelley read-along for us, while Silvia...
July 9, 2016
DGLA! Shortlists and Reactions!
We have shortlists! I have thoughts!
Legend (Novel):
The Dread Wyrm by Miles Cameron Son of the Black Sword by Larry Correia Gotrek & Felix: Slayer by David Guymer Ruin by John Gwynne The Liars Key by Mark LawrenceMorningstar (Debut):
Battlemage by Stephen Aryan The Traitor by Seth Dickinson The Fire Sermon by Francesca Haig Starborn by Lucy Hounsom The Vagrant by Peter Newman An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa TahirRavenheart (Art):
Kerem Beyit for The Dread Wyrm by Miles Cameron Jason C...July 7, 2016
Frankentales and Frankensongs
Youve probably seen the #Frankenstein200 tag floating around:Mary Shelleys seminal gothic horror novel Frankenstein is celebrating its bicentennial.
And by that, I mean a bunch of people around the world are celebrating a book they love, a book they find important and a book that brought a bunch of us to a little estate near the Swiss village of Hermance to talk about Frankensteins echoes through history, pop culture, bioethics, artificial intelligence, science fiction, film and well life.
On...
July 6, 2016
Sophie Mayer on Gwyneth Jones��� Bold as Love (2001)
At the end of this year, three hundred years of history would be undone. The Act of Union would be dissolved In London the law and order crisis was going to keep Parliament from its summer recess; that, and the struggle to make the process of dissolution look organised. Meanwhile, the Counterculturals had gathered in Hyde Park, at Glastonbury, at all the traditional sites around the country, and, notably, here at Reading. It was supposed to be a peaceful two-week rock festival. The media peo...
July 5, 2016
The Long Way to a Small, American Paperback
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planetis out in the US in paperback today!
My opinion of this book is pretty well-documented by this point (tldr;one of my favourite books of all time, and the sort of joyous science fiction that makes you believe in a better future), but just in case you need further encouragement:
Here's theGuardianstory on how this kickstarted debut novel became one of Hodder & Stoughton's summer blockbusters.
And here are some the awards that have recognised it: Baileys, A...
June 30, 2016
Beyond Prometheus: Reading the Other Works of Mary Shelley
Manuscript of Frankenstein (Vol. 2, Chapter 1) Two hundred years ago, in the Cologny manor known as the Villa Diodati, five young Romantics gathered for a summer so rare and beautiful that it has transcended the ages from literary anecdote into pop culture lore. Full of sex, drugs, and the nineteenth century equivalent of rock and roll, the discussions and adventures experienced by Lord Byron, Mary Shelley, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Dr. John Polidori, and Claire Clairmont during the summer of 1...
