Speculative fiction in general:
- Jeff VanderMeer offers an overview of the rise of science fiction from pulp magazines to Cyberpunk.
- Adam Whitehead shares a list of the bestselling SFF authors of all time.
- The participants of this month's Mind Meld share books they'd like to bring into the spotlight.
- Leah Schnelbach shares 19 SFF works that feature a positive view of religion.
- Jeff Somers ranks fictional apocalypses on the plausibility scale.
- Carlie St. George talks about found families.
- Carl Slaughter chronicles Ray Bradbury's fights with idiots of various kinds.
- Steve Wright shares the 20 best SFF TV shows of 2016.
- Kirsteen Patterson reports that the Scottish textile company responsible for the costumes worn in the Outlander TV series has experienced a major boost as a result.
- Frank Wu discusses the decision of his wife Brianna Wu to run for US Congress.
- Writer Peter David has been hospitalised.
- Writer Eric Flint has been diagnosed with cancer and had his spleen removed.
- Singer George Michael died on Christmas Day aged 53.
- Richard Adams, author of Watership Down, has died aged 96.
- Ursula Vernon remembers Richard Adams.
- Chuck Wendig shares a special message for the new year 2017.
Tributes to Carrie Fisher:
- Actress and writer Carrie Fisher, best known for playing Princess Leia Organa in Star Wars, died aged 60, following a massive heart attack.
- Peter Bradshaw looks back on Carrie Fisher's other roles.
- Claire Landsbaum reports that Carrie Fisher struggled all her life against being viewed primarily as a sex symbol.
- Hadley Freeman remembers Carrie Fisher as a the funny and self-aware person she was off-screen.
- Glen Weldon also shares his tribute to Carrie Fisher's off-screen persona.
- Ross Johnson declares that Carrie Fisher was much more than just the galaxy's most iconic princess.
- Laura Bradley reminds us that Carrie Fisher's most meaningful heroics happened off-screen.
- The Cut shares 15 of Carrie Fisher's best and most memorable feminist quotes.
- Katharine Trendacosta remembers Carrie Fisher.
- Mike Glyer remembers Carrie Fisher.
- Cora Buhlert remembers Carrie Fisher and George Michael.
- Alexandra Erin shares a poem in memory of Carrie Fisher.
- Malcolm Sheppard shares a critical biography of Leia Organa, Princess and General.
- Ann Leckie talks about mourning public figures.
- Carrie Fisher's mother, actress Debbie Reynolds, died aged 84 only one day after her daughter.
- In happier news, Kelly West reports that Carrie Fisher's French bulldog Gary, who even has his own Twitter account, has found a new home with Carrie Fisher's daughter Billie Lourd.
Comments on Star Wars in general and Rogue One in particular:
- Carolyn Petit and Anita Sarkeesian declare that watching a diverse group of people fight fascist empire in Rogue One is awesome.
- Camestros Felapton calls Rogue One "fun in a Blake's Seven way".
- Aziz Poonawalla discusses Rogue One, the Force and gender.
- Mark Yon shares his thoughts on Rogue One.
- Maddy Myers wonders whether the character of Chirrut Imwe in Rogue One is a Force user or not.
- Allyson Gronowitz explains why Senator Bail Organa is the most underrated hero of the Star Wars saga.
- Dan Van Winkle explains why Rogue One's original ending would have been much worse.
- Ross Johnson declares the the Rogue One novelisation by Alexander Freed fills out some gaps in the movie.
- Kobo remembers the importance of tie-in novels and comics to the rise of the Star Wars phenomenon.
- Brian Fung wonders whether Disney might be creating a Star Wars fatigue with its yearly Star Wars films similar to the alleged superhero fatigue it created with its many Marvel movies.
- Brian Geddes declares that he is tired of Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, too.
- Emily Asher-Perrin declares that yes, Jedi can and did have sex.
Comments on the 2016 Doctor Who Christmas Special:
- Emily Asher-Perrin thinks that the 2016 Doctor Who Christmas Special was a lovely thing.
- Mark Lawson calls the 2016 Doctor Who Christmas Special great pantomine fun.
- Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on the 2016 Doctor Who Christmas Special.
Comments on Passengers:
- Vivian Kane declares that the Passengers twist people may have heard about is no twist, but the entire plot of the movie and that it is awful.
- Adam-Troy Castro shares his thoughts on Passengers.
- Brian Geddes actually enjoyed Passengers and considers a great addition to the canon of standalone science fiction movies.
- José Salis interviews Morten Tyldum, director of Passengers.
Comments on Assassin's Creed:
Awards:
- Sarah Kuhn shares her personal unconventional, not at all traditional and completely unscientific book awards for 2016.
- Steve Davidson wonders what the rise of original series on pay TV channels and streaming video platforms means for the dramatic presentation categories of the Hugo Awards.
- Camestros Felapton offers a timeline of the 2016 Hugo controversy.
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- Ron S. Friedman discusses creating believable villains and conflicts.
- Carl Slaughter discusses the power of the subconscious in storytelling, citing Ray Bradbury as an example.
- Catherynne M. Valente talks about writing The Refrigerator Monologues.
- Kyra Halland interviews her character Kaniev.
- Sam Sykes explains why he chose to write a tie-in novel.
- Neil Mosspark shares the results of a survey of 100 indie SF authors.
- Celina Summers details the problems surrounding the upcoming closure of AllRomance e-books.
- Lish McBride shares a step-by-step guide for new authors to preparing for their book events.
- Diana Urban shares some tips regarding how successful authors use social media.
Interviews:
- Carl Slaughter interviews Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
- Jody Neil Ruth interviews Yoon Ha Lee.
- David Barr Kirtley interviews Nancy Kress.
- Shellie Horst interviews Thaddeus White.
Reviews:
- Joshua S. Hill reviews The Burning Page by Genevieve Cogman.
- Mieneke van der Salm also reviews The Burning Page by Genevieve Cogman.
- Shana DuBois reviews Nine of Stars by Laura Bickle.
- Rob Bedford also reviews Nine of Stars by Laura Bickle.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews The Mystic Marriage by Heather Rose Jones.
- Mieneke van der Salm reviews Seriously Weird by Tina Connolly.
- Kelly Lasiter reviews Arrowood by Laura McHugh.
- Andrew Leon Hudson reviews Five Stories High, edited by Jonathan Oliver.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor.
- Paul Kincaid reviews The Big Book of Science Fiction, edited by Jeff and Ann VanderMeer.
Crowdfunding:
- Sisterhood of the Blade, an anthology edited by Hal Greenberg and Jonathan M. Thompson, is looking for funding.
- The speculative fiction magazine Metaphorosis is looking for funding to finance its second year.
- Neil Mosspark is looking for funding to carry out more in-depth surveys of indie SFF authors.
Science and technology:
- Astrophysicist Vera Rubin, who confirmed the existence of dark matter, died aged 88.
- Remembering the human computers of NASA.
- A giant manned robot has taken its first steps in Seoul, South Korea.
Free online fiction:
- "Caligo Lane" by Ellen Klages at Tor.com.
- "This Is as I Wish to Be Restored" by Christie Yant in Lightspeed.
- "The Death of Paul Bunyan" by Charles Payseur in Lightspeed.
- "Home on the Range" by Kyra Halland.
- Summer in Orcus, the complete serial, by T. Kingfisher.
- Part 3 of "Grandmother Blackmore" by T.S. Paul.
Odds and ends:
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