Happy Tuesday, and I’m unspeakably excited about the new Hobbs & Shaw trailer…which might technically not look particularly SF, but I would argue that the entire Fast and Furious franchise is actually an original working-class superhero mythos (Hobbs has super strength! Dom has super car driving powers! Idris Elba is playing Black Superman!) that went straight to film without ever stopping first in comics and is remarkable both for its level of racial diversity and its dodging of toxic, gatekeeping geek fans. My name is Alex; welcome to my TED Talk.
Just kidding. Mostly. It’s Tuesday, so let’s get some new releases!
This newsletter is sponsored by Dynamite Entertainment.
Underpowered and overwhelmed, Kenton tries to hold the Sand Masters together as forces political and personal conspire against them. Now, in one final push, Kenton must tap the most dangerous depths of his own abilities to combat the enemies within his own guild, and discover the truth behind the ambush that killed his father and almost destroyed the Sand Masters for good.
New Releases
Note: it was a very limited pool in terms of author diversity for the new releases this week.
Sealed by Naomi Booth – A pregnant woman, concerned by rumors of a “skin sealing” epidemic in the city, moves to the mountains with her husband. But the remote mountains hold different kinds of danger…
The Beckoning Shadow by Katharyn Blair – A girl with the power to bring someone’s worst fears into reality competes in the fighting competition called the Tournament of Unraveling for a chance to rewrite the mistakes of her past.
Wanderers by Chuck Wendig – A strange epidemic of sleepwalking, from which people cannot be awakened, hits America–and the sleepwalkers are all headed to a mysterious destination. Family and friends become “shepherds” who try to protect the sleepwalkers as society collapses around them. The source of the epidemic is a terrifying secret that can save the sleepwalkers…and may finish destroying the nation in the process.
Dragonslayer by Duncan M. Hamilton – With the dragons all dead, Dragonslayers have become redundant. Most are gone, and the one that remains is a disgraced drunkard. And then it turns out that there might be a dragon left…
Aftershocks by Marko Kloos – In a six-planet system struggling to recover from an interplanetary war, Aden Robertson, who picked the wrong side of that war, just wants to move on with his life and survive. But a brutal insurrection threatens the fragile system, and Aden has a chance to pick the right side this time… if he can figure out what it is.
News and Views
Congratulations to the winners of the 2019 Locus Awards! Of particular interest to us:
- Science Fiction Novel: The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
- Fantasy Novel: Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
- Young Adult Novel: Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
- First Novel: Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse
You can read an excerpt of Nnedi Okorafor’s upcoming comic LaGuardia.
Ken Liu’s short story The Message has been acquired by the same people who brought us Arrival (adapted from Ted Chiang’s Stories of Your Life).
Tor.com has a great list of short fiction to read from June.
Looking for magical girl books? Here’s a list of 5 YA novels that fit the bill.
An acapella cover of the Star Wars cantina theme.
In infuriating news, Riz Ahmed wasn’t able to get to Star Wars Celebration because Homeland Security wouldn’t let him get on his flight.
Daisy Ridley shares a story about Carrie Fisher that, if you’re like me, will make you laugh and tear up at the same time.
Microsoft is closing its ebook store and will be removing purchased book from devices. At least it’s refunding the money? Not science fiction, but feels like it should be.
These are cool as heck: Popmuertos. Black Nerd Problems has a great interview with Aaron, the creator.
George R.R. Martin talks about his successes and the coming spin-offs of Game of Thrones.
Here’s a bonus SFF Yeah! podcast about Game of Thrones read-alikes.
If you’re curious about the new footage tacked onto the Endgame release but not curious enough to shell out to see the movie again, spoilers for you here.
Into the Spider-Verse is on Netflix now, by the way! And if you’ll be in the right bit of California (Alhambra), there’s a tribute art show under way.
Zendaya had a great dress at the Spider-Man: Far From Home premiere. And there’s a bunch of other great pics of her fashion in the link.
io9 has a round-up of all Dark Crystal-related stuff we’re getting in 2019.
Not sci-fi but cool: A new study of teeth finds that some ancient crocodiles might have been vegetarian.
Not sci-fi but worrying: A drone with a projector fooled a self-driving car.
You can use this neat tool courtesy of the LRO to tour the first Moon landing, step-by-step.
See you, space pirates. You can find all of the books recommended in this newsletter on a handy Goodreads shelf. If you’d like to know more about my secret plans to dominate the seas and skies, you can catch me on the (Hugo-nominated!!!) Skiffy and Fanty Podcast or over at my personal site.