Cover of Loba, by Valentina Cano Repetto, featuring a lighthouse with waves crashing against it, against a green background.
Blog Posts

Book Review: Loba, by Valentina Cano Repetto

Loba, by Valentina Cano Repetto, is not quite what I was expecting, but I enjoyed it a lot anyway. The gothic horror novel’s supernatural elements were scary for the 1950s protagonist, but the abuse against her and the 1850s protagonist were far more horrific for me, along with the usual gothic elements of isolation and not knowing whom to trust — even whether to trust one’s own perceptions and memories. Each woman, however, was determined to keep striving for a better situation, and I found the resolution to be quite satisfying. From the publisher: … Delmira Torres knows fleeing to Brazil is the only way she’ll be free of her abusive husband. But to get there she’ll need money; it’s why she takes a posting at a lighthouse in Cabo Polonio, Uruguay, a small town where time doesn’t seem to move quite right.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

883. Gunfighter Paradise (2024; dir. Jethro Waters) — At the Movies

https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/sand-f-883-gunfighter-paradise/SandF_883_GunfighterParadise.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSSofa shenanigans, religious surrealism, and bullets, oh my! Shaun Duke, Trish Matson, and Paul Weimer join forces to talk about Jethro Waters’ Gunfighter Paradise! Together, they explore the film’s unusual humor and neo-surrealist imagery, its unusual interpretation of southern politics and 2nd Amendment ideals, and much more! Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy the episode!

Announcements and Errata, Blog Posts

Steve Davidson, Publisher Who Revived Amazing Stories, Dies at 67

Steve Davidson, publisher of Amazing Stories, science fiction fan, and longtime champion of the genre, died November 4, 2026. He was the brother of Andy Davidson and a beloved son, whose passing leaves a loss for his family as well as the science fiction community. Davidson acquired Amazing Stories in 2012, relaunching the historic publication as an online blog. Founded in 1926 by Hugo Gernsback, *Amazing Stories* was the world’s first science fiction magazine and played a pivotal role in establishing science fiction as a literary genre. In 2018, Davidson successfully brought the magazine back into print through a successful Kickstarter campaign A former Top 100 Paintball Player of All Time, Davidson came to science fiction publishing after retiring from active competition. He devoted himself to preserving the magazine’s remarkable history while ensuring it remained relevant to contemporary readers and writers. In an interview with author Jason Sanford, Davidson described his mission as publishing “new, ground-breaking science fiction from the current era.” He believed that Amazing Stories should do more than celebrate its past; it should provide a platform for new writers, encourage established authors to experiment, and help introduce readers to fresh ideas. Davidson was also an outspoken advocate for science fiction magazines and short fiction, recognizing the financial challenges facing genre publishing. He proposed greater cooperation among magazine publishers to promote short fiction and attract new readers. His ambitions extended beyond the magazine. He worked toward expanding the operation into book publishing, developing new imprints and exploring anthologies. He also took seriously the responsibility of protecting the Amazing Stories name and preserving its place in science fiction history. Davidson understood that a magazine was more than a collection of stories. As he told Sanford, it was an experience combining fiction, artwork, design, and editorial content into something unique. He believed magazines remained essential to discovering new talent and bringing writers and readers together. For more than a decade, Steve Davidson worked to ensure that Amazing Stories would not simply survive as a historic name but would continue contributing to the future of science fiction. Following Davidson’s passing, Amazing Stories will continue under the leadership of its new publisher, Kermit Woodall, who will carry forward Davidson’s commitment to publishing imaginative fiction, supporting writers and artists, and preserving the magazine’s historic place in the genre. Steve Davidson’s legacy is more than the revival of a legendary magazine. It is the opportunity he created for future generations of writers, artists, and readers to be part of its continuing story. As Amazing Stories enters its second century, the publication he worked so hard to restore will remain a lasting tribute to his dedication and vision.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

882. Labor and Unions in SFF w/ Olav Rokne — S+F Discusses

https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/sand-f-882-labor-unions-sf/SandF_882_LaborUnionsSF.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSUtopian futures, union clues, and technodystopias, oh my! Shaun Duke and Paul Weimer are joined by Olav Rokne for a wide-ranging discussion of labor and unions in SFF! Together, they explore some of the ways that unions appear in SFF (explicitly and otherwise), the imaginative ways that labor is imagined in the future, and much more! Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy the episode!

Seen through a sort of Art Deco doorway, a man with a guitar slung across his back, a short woman with a bob haircut and a taller woman with long hair and a scarf look at a spectral figure floating i a shimmering cityscape.
Blog Posts

Book Review: Dead New World, by Lin Darrow

It’s been rather timely to be reading Lin Darrow’s Dead New World leading up to Election Day in the U.S., because an election hinging on the rights of a specific group of people is a major plot element in the book. Whatever the results are in the real world, however, Dead New World will continue to resonate in a relevant way. The worldbuilding is creative, the characters are increasingly engaging, the mystery is intriguing, and the stakes are high; moreover, the resolution concludes satisfyingly and hopefully but with open endings for the characters to continue evolving. From the description on NetGalley: Spending her afterlife in a boarding house in Faraday City, Hildy is the least-requested flicker-ghost at Carlotta Sun’s Purgatory House for Spectral Services. … Hildy competes daily for ghost gigs against her more marketable housemates: the flighty musician Eyvind, desperate to compose the masterpiece he never got to in life, and Anjali, an imperious silent-film extra whose single surviving motion picture shot her to post-mortem stardom despite it being based on a lie. Meanwhile, a shadowy, headless ghost called the Graverobber has been spotted emerging from holographic billboards, snatching the resurrected from their so-called lives and sowing chaos throughout the city. ,,. With only two months to go before a crucial election that’ll decide the future of all specters, they must determine who the Graverobber is―and, more importantly, where they belong in this dead new world.

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