A Sense of Doubt blog post #2227 - SF NEWS - TOR - MIDDLEGAME SEQUEL and more

A Sense of Doubt blog post #2227 - SF NEWS - TOR - MIDDLEGAME SEQUEL and more

Another quick share as I catch up.

MAGIC & REPRESENTATION Representation Without Transformation: Can Hollywood Stop Changing Cartoon Characters of Color? When Andrew Tejada first saw the trailer for Pixar’s Soul in theaters, he was ready to give it a standing ovation, thrilled that one of the top animation studios in the world was committing to a movie with an African-American man as the lead character. But when the protagonist was transformed into a fuzzy blue…soul creature during the trailer, it became clear that Soul had already taken something away from its audience. Tejada explores the trend of turning Black lead characters into something other than themselves, and what it means for animated representation. [Read more] SHARE THIS:      SEANAN FOREVER! Roger and Dodger are Back in the Sequel to the Hugely Popular Middlegame Last month, Seanan McGuire’s epic modern fantasy Middlegame won the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel. We loved spending time with the twins so much, and it is with no small amount of alchemical skill that we have turned this pure form of love into another book in the series! Check out what the author has to say about the upcoming sequel! [Read more] SHARE THIS:      STORMLIGHT ARCHIVE Brandon Sanderson Has Finished the Final Draft of Rhythm of War Rhythm of War is officially done! Taking to Twitter over the weekend, Brandon Sanderson announced that he’s wrapped up the final draft of The Stormlight Archive Book 4, adding that fans can expect preview chapters soon. Click through to see his messages, and learn more about Rhythm of War! [Read more] SHARE THIS:      WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO PAY? Five Books in Which Magic Comes at a Price The existence of magic in a story offers so many possibilities for how characters might overcome obstacles, manipulate the fabric of their worlds, and express who they truly are. But magic has to have limits, too, The hardest thing about magic is the price you have to pay for it—whether that price was chosen freely, stumbled into accidentally, or inflicted against your will. Isabelle Steiger shares five books in which magic takes a heavy toll. [Read more] SHARE THIS:      BEYOND MARVEL A Brief History of Mexican Horror Comic Books While in the United States “comic book” can be read as a synonym for “superhero,” such a correlation has not traditionally existed in Mexico. When people in Mexico think about comic books, they probably think about historietas, monitos, una de vaqueros, all of which conjure something very far from Superman, Batman or the X-Men. Silvia Moreno-Garcia walks us through the history of horror comic books in Mexico, and what the comic scene looks like today. [Read more] SHARE THIS:      DIVING INTO THE UNMADE Everything We Know About the Unmade Welcome back to our detailed examinations of the Stormlight Archive! So far we’ve talked about history, the Heralds, the Knights Radiant, fabrials, worldhoppers, secret societies, and the Fused. This week, it’s time to turn our attention to those mysterious beings, the Unmade: Splinters of Odium and instigators of much mayhem. Megan Kanne and Alice Arneson take us through everything you need to know about the Unmade. [Read more] SHARE THIS:      MORE CHARLIZE, PLEASE The Old Guard Proves You Don’t Need Marvel Money to Make Superhero Magic The Old Guard is a roughly defined “superhero” film written by comics scribe Greg Rucka, and based on his own comic series of the same name. Following a group of immortals with regenerative capabilities who offer up their services to those who need them, The Old Guard is all about survival. Emmet Asher-Perrin digs into the film’s take on immortality, Big Pharma, and queerness. [Read more] SHARE THIS:      ARE YOU WATCHING? In This Life or the Next — Warrior Nun Season One Is Almost Great Based on a comic book called Warrior Nun Areala created by Ben Dunn that was published in the 1990s and 2000s, the first season of the new Netflix series Warrior Nun has a lot going for it, according to Keith R.A. DeCandido. Check out the full review here, but be warned - spoilers ahead! [Read more] SHARE THIS:      ORIGINAL FICTION “Juice Like Wounds” by Seanan McGuire In the course of every great adventure there are multiple side-quests. All too often these go unreported—perhaps because the adventurers in question fail to return to the main narrative due to death or other distractions, and sometimes because the chronicler of the events decides to edit out that part of that particular history for reasons of their own (historians are never infallible)—but occasionally we get another window into our heroes’ world. In “Juice Like Wounds” we once again get to meet Lundy, and some of her companions. Lundy’s main adventure is detailed in In an Absent Dream (nominated for a Hugo Award this year!), which you can read either before or after this tale—it’s up to you! [Read more] SHARE THIS:      ORIGINAL FICTION “Everything’s Fine” by Matthew Pridham Eric’s day is off to a rough start: his regional managers are in town, he’s running late to work, the moon seems to be falling apart, and he just can’t seem to get his tie right. At least he has his priorities straight: it’s the little things that matter. The world may be plunging into chaos, the neighborhood children might be mutating into abominations, but that doesn’t mean he can let his standards slip. If he and his co-workers can survive their nightmare walk to the office, then Eric has a plan for success… [Read more]

STORMLIGHT ARCHIVE Everything We Know About the Fused As part of our ongoing “Explaining The Stormlight Archive” discussions, Megan Kanne and Alice Arneson are breaking down everything you need to know about Brandon Sanderson’s epic series, from the Heralds to secret societies on Roshar. This week, they’re explaining the Fused! Warning — spoilers ahead! [Read more] SHARE THIS:            LET'S GO, GIRLS Five Young Adult SFF/H Novels About Women Reclaiming Their Identities Heroines in young adult fantasy and horror are often fighters, out to save the world, defeat the bad guy, and vindicate themselves in some way. But modern heroines are also finding ways to reclaim their own histories and identities over the course of the story. Estelle Laure shares five novels in which women own their pasts and reach catharsis. [Read more] SHARE THIS:            HEROES & LEGENDS Persian Legends and Their Western Counterparts Melissa Bashardoust has always found it both interesting and kind of magical the way similar characters, themes, and motifs appear in the stories of different cultures throughout the world. Here, she shares some favorite Persian legends that might feel a little familiar to Western readers. [Read more] SHARE THIS:            BACK TO NARNIA Who We Fight Against: The Silver Chair and Knowing Your Enemies Lewis tells us unapologetically that the core idea of The Silver Chair is “war against the powers of darkness,” but sometimes apparent allies and adversaries aren’t exactly what they seem. Matt Mikalatos delves into the origins of Lewis’ antagonists to get a better sense of who the true enemy is in The Silver Chair. [Read more] SHARE THIS:            BLAST OFF Five New Books for Fans of Spaceships, Rockets, and Occasional Explosions Listen, we love a good story, we love complicated plot and relatable characters and great lyrical writing. But sometimes we also like to see things get blasted off into space. Sometimes we love those classic science fiction moments of rocketing off into the great beyond. James Davis Nicoll recommends five new books for fans of rocket-fueled science fiction stories. [Read more] SHARE THIS:            WHEEL OF TIME Reading The Wheel of Time: Nynaeve Tries To Be Cautious in The Shadow Rising After a brief break, Sylas Barrett returns to the action in The Shadow Rising, book four of the Wheel of Time series! This time, we’re diving into big reveals for Nynaeve and Elayne, and some surprise cuteness between Egeanin and Domon. Who doesn’t love an enemies-to-lovers romance?! (Although it does raise some questions…) [Read more] SHARE THIS:            WATCH OUT! Jack the Ripper Is Probably the SFF Killer You’re Looking For People can’t get enough of an unsolved mystery—especially one far enough in the past to allow for wild speculation—and has there been a case that’s invited more outlandish theories than Jack the Ripper’s? Writers love to speculate about his story, especially in SFF. Leah Schnelbach and Emmet Asher-Perrin share a few favorite SFF tales featuring the Whitechapel Murderer. [Read more] SHARE THIS:            THE HONOR OF GRAYSKULL We’re Gonna Win In The End: The Subversive Queer Triumph of She-Ra Queer viewers might be all too familiar with an enemy who requires conformity, and who threatens to burn uniqueness out in service of enforced norms and intolerance. But She-Ra’s princesses thrive on their individual powers and design, their community, and how they constantly grow and learn from each other. For Maya Gittelman, the show’s queernormativity is exciting and revolutionary, and proof that queer love can save the world. [Read more] SHARE THIS:            ORIGINAL FICTION "The Necessary Arthur" by Garth Nix Some days you find out that the world is nothing like what you think it is. An archaeologist named Tamara working near Hadrian’s Wall is approached by a very annoyed-looking, silver-haired woman with an incomprehensible message: The game is moving on, the time has come to play a hand, and Tamara is on point. Time to find the Necessary Arthur and get down to business! [Read more] SHARE THIS:

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EN GARDE The Pen and the Sword: Learning Medieval Weaponry What makes a great fight scene? Is it down to well-matched foes, spectacular weapons, or intricate choreography? Christopher Buehlman knows better than anyone how tough fight scenes can be to master. It sure helps that he’s got a background in stage combat and Medieval weaponry! Buehlman takes us through how training with swords made him a better writer. [Read more] SHARE THIS:            ONCE & FUTURE Every King Arthur Retelling Is Fanfic About Who Gets to Be Legendary King Arthur stories are experiencing a recent resurgence in popular media, and with each announcement of a new Arthurian tale, there come inevitable calls for “authenticity.” But most fail to consider that Arthur’s myth has no single author or origin. Tracy Deonn takes a look at Arthurian history and how each version is, essentially, fanfiction. [Read more] SHARE THIS:            TIME TO TUCK IN Classic SF About Extremely Long Naps Sleep! How precious, how precarious! But sleep can be overdone. Sometimes unsuspecting characters wake to discover that decades or centuries have passed. James Davis Nicoll shares five classic science fiction books where a long sleep leads to adventure...or disaster. [Read more] SHARE THIS:            WAITING FOR ANSWERS Ten Questions We Hope to See Answered in Patrick Rothfuss’ Kingkiller Chronicle Book 3 The Wise Man’s Fear, the second volume of Patrick Rothfuss’ Kingkiller Chronicle, turned ten earlier this month, and we’re still waiting for news on book three—at this point, we have about as much information on the upcoming Doors of Stone as Kvothe has on the Chandrian. But has that stopped fans from speculating? Absolutely not. Michelle RJ lists ten burning questions that might be resolved in Book 3. [Read more] SHARE THIS:            CHOICES WERE MADE They Made a Whole New Justice League so We Don’t Have to Look at Superman’s Uncanny Face Did you take four hours out of your day to watch the Snyder cut this weekend? Well, Emmet Asher-Perrin did, and like many other SFF fans and critics alike, they have a lot of feelings. Mostly about Superman’s face. Because...that was weird to watch. Check out their full review of the film here. [Read more] SHARE THIS:            FOR YOUR BOOKSHELVES Five YA Fantasies for Lovers of Libraries For those of us who love to read, the library can be a place of wonder. There is something magical about libraries, as repositories of knowledge and story and hope. There’s even something magical about librarians, as the guardians or keepers of stories that hum with life. So it makes sense that libraries show up quite a lot in fiction. Intisar Khanani recommends five fantasy libraries to get lost in. [Read more] SHARE THIS:            WHAT HAPPENS AFTER Finding Comfort in Apocalyptic Stories It makes sense that a lot of us have been thinking about end-of-the-world stories in the past year, and about the kinds of hopes and anxieties that we’re expressing when we create and share narratives built around an apocalypse. But why do these stories feel so cathartic when we’re facing tough times ourselves? Rachel Ayers takes a look at what apocalyptic stories can teach us about survival. [Read more] SHARE THIS:            PASSING THE SHIELD Stumbling to Move Forward: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s “New World Order” The newest addition to the MCU, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier premiered on Disney+ last weekend, following Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes six months after the events of Avengers: Endgame. Keith R.A. DeCandido catches up on where our favorite characters are at the start of the show, and what we can expect going forward. [Read more] SHARE THIS:            ORIGINAL FICTION “Masquerade Season” by ’Pemi Aguda Pauly is a good son. When he brings home three beautiful Masquerades, he’s expecting that his mother will be proud of him. But when his mother begins asking favors of his Masquerades, he realizes that being a good son sometimes means disobeying. [Read more] SHARE THIS:          Follow Tor.com to get updates on all of our original fiction. FOLLOW US:               This email was sent by: Macmillan 120 Broadway New York, NY, 10271, US We respect your right to privacy - view our policy Macmillan believes piracy hurts writers, readers and everyone who loves books. Learn more and report suspicious activity here. To subscribe to this or other email communications from Macmillan, please click here.

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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2103.24 - 10:10

- Days ago = 2091 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.