Genre Fiction

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My Superpower: James L. Sutter

My Superpower is a regular guest column on the Skiffy and Fanty blog where authors and creators tell us about one weird skill, neat trick, highly specialized cybernetic upgrade, or other superpower they have, and how it helped (or hindered!) their creative process as they built their project. Today we welcome James L. Sutter to talk about how the power of talking about the important things relates to The Redemption Engine. —————————————— When asked what my superpower is, I’d usually talk about sneezomancy. For reasons unbeknownst to me, my sneezes are a reliable indicator of my general health. One sneeze means I’m getting sick. Two sneezes means I’m fine. Three or more sneezes means “wow, it’s dusty in here!” Not exactly the sort of thing that gets one onto the X-Men, right? So in getting ready for this article, I started rifling frantically through other powers. The ability to bend my thumb back, like, really far. The ability to eat several pounds of blueberries in a sitting without Serious Gastronomic Distress. The ability to consistently hit the high note in “Take On Me.” And then I realized that I actually have a superpower that permeates every aspect of my life. I can talk to people about things that matter. In fact, I adore it.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

204. Caribbean SF w/ Karen Lord, Tobias Buckell, and Stephanie Saulter — #WorldSFTour

http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode204CaribbeanSF/SandF%20–%20Episode%20204%20–%20Caribbean%20SF.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSHistories, languages, and micro-states, oh my!  Authors Tobias Buckell, Stephanie Saulter, and Karen Lord join Julia and Shaun for an in-depth but wholly unfinished discussion about Caribbean sf.  We cover the sf/f community in the Caribbean, Caribbean literature and culture, growing up in the Caribbean (and living abroad), and much more! We hope you enjoy the episode! Note:  If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Here’s the episode (show notes are below): Episode 204 — Download (MP3) Show Notes: Tobias’ Website Tobias’ Books Tobias’ Twitter Tor Books “I was recently invoked by The Abyss and Apex, and would like to talk to you about me, dialect, and Caribbean stories” by Tobias Buckell Stephanie’s Website Stephanie’s Books Stephanie’s Twitter Jo Fletcher Books Karen’s Website (books and podcasts are listed on the right hand side!) Karen’s Twitter Small Beer Press You can also support this podcast by signing up for a one month free trial at Audible.  Doing so helps us, gives you a change to try out Audible’s service, and brings joy to everyone. Our new intro music is “Time Flux” by Revolution Void (CC BY 3.0). That’s all, folks!  Thanks for listening.  See you next week.

Awards Season

Thoughts on the Hugo Nominated Short Stories by Adam Callaway

(Edit:  this post was actually written by Adam Callaway.  I forgot that WordPress would use my ID to indicate the author if I was the one who created it.  Sorry for any confusion.) I am both pleasantly surprised and just a little disappointed with this year’s batch of nominees. There were no short stories I found to be of poor quality. In my opinion, there was one mediocre story, two good ones, and one very good one. I wish there had been a full ballot of short stories to read through. I also wish there had been more diversity in terms of theme and content. In the end, I feel like these are incredibly mature stories that show the changing face of speculative literature in the 21st century. In many ways, they share more in common with fiction published in the New Yorker than Amazing Stories. Instead of ray guns and magic swords, you have metafiction and magical realism. Regardless of the quality of these stories, this is a Good Thing for the future of the genre. But are these really the best stories genre produced last year? Hmm… Here are my brief thoughts on each of the nominees:

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

#20. Captain America: the Winter Soldier (2014) — A Shoot the WISB Subcast

http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/ShootTheWISB20CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier2014/Shoot%20the%20WISB%20%2320%20–%20Captain%20America%20-%20%20the%20Winter%20Soldier%20%282014%29.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSShields, concussions, and giant floating fortresses, oh my!  Shaun, Stina, Mike, David, and Jen join forces to tackle the latest entry in Phase 2 of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe, Captain America: the Winter Soldier (2014).  They certainly had a lot to say about this one! We hope you enjoy the episode! Spoiler Alert:  the following podcast contains spoilers for the film being reviewed; if you wish to see the film without having it ruined for you, download this podcast and save it for later. Download the episode here. [audio http://archive.org/download/ShootTheWISB20CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier2014/Shoot%20the%20WISB%20%2320%20–%20Captain%20America%20-%20%20the%20Winter%20Soldier%20%282014%29.mp3] Show notes (info about our contributors can be found on the about page): Captain America: the Winter Soldier (2014)(IMDB) Comment away!

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

#19. Babylon 5 (S1D5&6: Eps 17-22) — A Shoot the WISB Subcast

http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/ShootTheWISB19Babylon5ReWatchEps1722/Shoot%20the%20WISB%20%2319%20–%20Babylon%205%20re-watch%20%28Eps%2017-22%29.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSTime traveling space stations, psychics, and metamorphoses, oh my!  Shaun, Mike, and Paul join forces to discuss the final episodes of the first season of Babylon 5.  In other words, we’ve covered the entire first season.  Phew!  Hopefully, you enjoy our thoughts as much as we enjoyed watching the show! We also really want to hear what you think!  So feel free to watch along with us! Spoiler Alert:  the following podcast contains spoilers for the film being reviewed; if you wish to see the film without having it ruined for you, download this podcast and save it for later. Download the episode here. [audio http://archive.org/download/ShootTheWISB19Babylon5ReWatchEps1722/Shoot%20the%20WISB%20%2319%20–%20Babylon%205%20re-watch%20%28Eps%2017-22%29.mp3] Show notes (info about our contributors can be found on the about page): Babylon 5 (IMDB) Episode 17:  Legacies Episode 18:  A Voice in the Wilderness (Part 1) Episode 19:  AVoice in the Wilderness (Part 2) Episode 20:  Babylon Squared Episode 21:  The Quality of Mercy Episode 22:  Chrysalis Comment away!

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