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Question of the Week

? of the Week: SF/F TV Netflix Should Bring Back?

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The folks at Netflix are putting their hands in the production box and trying to bring back some favorite shows like Arrested Development.  But as Gamma Squad notes: You know what, Netflix? There’s no SF in that mix; let us help you out. They’ve listed Firefly, Reaper, Pushing Daisies, and Justice League Unlimited.  That’s an interesting list, but what we want to know is this: If Netflix could bring back any science fiction or fantasy television show, live action or animated, which one should they bring back and why? Me?  I’d love to see Firefly come back, but I’m smart enough to know that a reboot in any form would be disastrous.  How do you bring back a show when half the lovable characters are dead or changed for the good?  I don’t know.  I want a reboot so bad, but it will probably never happen… But there are other shows I’d love to see come back.  It would be amazing to have someone reboot Space: Above and Beyond.  Don’t start where they left off, but redo the entire concept a la Battlestar Galactica.  Why?  Because the show had so much potential when FOX produced it way back in the day.  It was one of the few shows I’ve ever seen that took seriously the idea of an interstellar war.  But it was flawed beyond reason.  The series had a lot of bad writing, some mediocre acting, and undeveloped plot points (the conflicts between humanity proper and the two versions of synthetic life could have been developed with more fervor). So that’s what I would like to see get a reboot.  For now.  In a week, my mind might change… Now it’s your turn!

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RIP — Realms of Fantasy, III

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SF Scope reports that Realms of Fantasy, which was previously purchased from Warren Lapine by the people behind Damnation Books (Lapine had purchased it from the original owners), is once more closing its doors.  Citing financial problems, the current owners said During our time with the magazine we picked up without missing a single issue and were lucky enough to produce the 100th issue. We were able to introduce poetry and bring back the table top gaming column. We have been truly amazed at the positive feedback on the issues we have produced from all of the fans. This is what makes this decision so painful for us. As we were considering closing the magazine we thought it was important for the October 2011 issue to be released in print for the fans. We did this knowing there would not be a return on the investment, but did it simply because we felt it was right. This does mean the October 2011 issue will be the last issue. The issue did go to newsstands and we have copies for those who are not active subscribers. Realms of Fantasy will be available for sale from the current owners, who can be reached here:  support [at] rofmag [dot] com.  Other inquiries can be sent to the same address.  Editors Shawna McCarthy and Douglas Cohen have posted their fairwells here and here. Needless to say, I’m quite sad about this.  I was excited when they announced they would open to electronic submissions in the near future, since it would make RoF top on my list for my fantasy work.  But now we’re one major market short in the short story world, which makes writing short stories with reckless abandon.  Something tells me that the future of the short story isn’t looking very good.  There’ll be plenty of places to submit to, of course, but the value of the short story in the SF/F field may fall to the wayside.  Then again, I may be a little pessimistic. What do you all make of the announcement?  

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Choose Your Own Adventure — Donating Books to Kids!

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If you remember your youth, then you might remember the Choose Your Own Adventure books.  You might also remember getting angry when you went the wrong way in the dungeon, which you countered by loudly proclaiming that you hadn’t completely turned the page…obviously.  Or was that just me? Well, the folks behind those books running a lovely promotion in which they will give up to 50,000 books to children for 50,000 likes on their Facebook page.  It’s never been easier to give a kid a reading experience! So what are you waiting for?  Armageddon?  The next page in your adventure?  Get off your butt and like their page, people!

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World Fantasy Award Winners Announced!

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We got these bad mummies from Tor.com: BEST NOVEL Winner: Who Fears Death, Nnedi Okorafor (DAW) Zoo City, Lauren Beukes (Jacana South Africa; Angry Robot) The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit) The Silent Land, Graham Joyce (Gollancz; Doubleday) Under Heaven, Guy Gavriel Kay (Viking Canada; Roc; Harper Voyager UK) Redemption In Indigo, Karen Lord (Small Beer) BEST NOVELLA Winner: “The Maiden Flight of McCauley’s Bellerophon,” Elizabeth Hand (Stories: All-New Tales) Bone and Jewel Creatures, Elizabeth Bear (Subterranean) The Broken Man, Michael Byers (PS) The Thief of Broken Toys, Tim Lebbon (ChiZine) “The Mystery Knight,” George R.R. Martin (Warriors) “The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers beneath the Queen’s Window,” Rachel Swirsky (Subterranean Summer 2010) BEST SHORT FICTION Winner: “Fossil-Figures,” Joyce Carol Oates (Stories: All-New Tales) “Beautiful Men,” Christopher Fowler (Visitants: Stories of Fallen Angels and Heavenly Hosts) “Booth’s Ghost,” Karen Joy Fowler (What I Didn’t See and Other Stories) “Ponies,” Kij Johnson (Tor.com 11/17/10) “Tu Sufrimiento Shall Protect Us,” Mercurio D. Rivera (Black Static 8-9/10) BEST ANTHOLOGY Winner: My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me, Kate Bernheimer, ed. (Penguin) The Way of the Wizard, John Joseph Adams, ed. (Prime) Haunted Legends, Ellen Datlow & Nick Mamatas, eds. (Tor) Stories: All-New Tales, Neil Gaiman & Al Sarrantonio, eds. (Morrow; Headline Review) Black Wings: New Tales of Lovecraftian Horror, S.T. Joshi, ed. (PS) Swords & Dark Magic, Jonathan Strahan & Lou Anders, eds. (Eos) BEST COLLECTION Winner: What I Didn’t See and Other Stories, Karen Joy Fowler (Small Beer) The Ammonite Violin & Others, Caitlín R. Kiernan (Subterranean) Holiday, M. Rickert (Golden Gryphon) Sourdough and Other Stories, Angela Slatter (Tartarus) The Third Bear, Jeff VanderMeer (Tachyon) BEST ARTIST Winner: Kinuko Y. Craft Vincent Chong Richard A. Kirk John Picacio Congrats to all the winners! ———————————————————– Shaun’s take:  I’m a little sad that Lauren Beukes didn’t win, but Nnedi Okorafor is amazing too (and she gets mad credit from me for being so willing to say what she feels and believes).  I just have a soft spot for Beukes, I guess.  Those South African writers are making me fall head over heels!

Question of the Week

? of the Week: Is Amazon Devaluing Books?

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Over at RT Book Reviews they’re wondering whether Amazon has an impact on how we value books.  Amazon is the premiere source for cheap books, as we all know, but is its aggressive practices to make books cheaper and more accessible to consumers good for writers?  From the article: But many authors and industry insiders worry that Amazon’s extremely low price scheme will end up devaluing authors’ work. Discussing Amazon’s low prices, Carina Press’ Angela James tweeted, “Don’t train readers to believe the full value of a book was in the paper it was printed on, not your creative content!” And author Moira Rogers replied via tweet, “Or the difference in prices between formats. I do think the devaluation of the story goes a lot deeper than e-books.” To piggy back onto their concerns, we’d like to know what you think.  Is Amazon devaluing books or the creative process?  Let us know in the comments.

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