Category: Critical Mass News

News items which go out to a monthly newsletter

Nova Mob March 6th: My Favourite Neanderthal in fiction

Critical Mass News, NovaMob

What’s your favourite Neanderthal-related film, novel, story, TV series? Please rummage your bookcases, hard drives, DVD storage for your answer, bring along that artifact or be prepared to wave it at your camera, and perhaps contribute to the general discussion at next Wednesday’s Nova Mob.

The Neanderthal-themed meeting will be run by Lucy Sussex and includes – 

  • Geelong author Melissa Ferguson, author of The Shining Wall (Aurealis nominated! Free download of first chapter!), 
  • General discussion “My Favourite Neanderthal fictions”,
  • “My favourite Neanderthal” commentary from two other Big Name Writers.

Melissa Ferguson is a scientist and Aurealis Award nominated author who writes fiction about Neandertals, cyborgs, cults, future science, evil scientists and infectious diseases. Her debut novel, The Shining Wall, and her eco-punk science fantasy novel, Star-Scorched Fingertips are both available now.

“A shining metal wall separates the wealthy, but highly controlled Citizens of LeaderCorp’s City 1 from the slum dwellers struggling for survival in its shadow. Gutsy slum-dweller, Alida, is forced into dangerous and illegal activities by her mother’s death and her sister’s illness. She befriends cloned Neandertal Security Force Officer, Shuqba, who tries to help Alida escape her dire circumstances. When their society, built on exploitation and inequality, tilts dangerously toward collapse Shuqba and Alida question their beliefs about justice and humanity and find reason for hope in each other.
Read Chapter 1

By Zoom – simulcast 8.00pm – 9.30 pm Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney time
7.30pm – 9.00pm Adelaide time
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4177583193?pwd=VjdPL1BhSTBNclN2YnRsejN3Y1hlUT09

Passcode: nova
Meeting ID: 417 758 3193

Wrong Turns on the Wallaby Track: Australian SF Fandom 1960-75 Pt2

Critical Mass News

Once again historian Leigh Edmonds and Perry Middlemiss take us to the heart of Australian fan history. This February 2024 zoom session begins with the events of 1960, and the origins of modern Australian fandom in Melbourne. Illustrated with photos and publications, Leigh tells the story of early fannish meetings, of Somerset Place, and of the competing visions of Australian fandom, from sercon to fannish. In this part 2, he covers how Science Fiction Review got started, the seminal influence of John Foyster, John Bangsund and Lee Harding, and the reason the Ditmar Awards are so named. (He also tells you what they are not named.) There’s the first APA in Australia, why it was started and what it became, the importance of comics fans in Australian fan history and Gelaticon. And Leigh conveys the reason why fans were so intent on getting together – “In this group, when you happen to say something about science fiction, people don’t look at you like you’re crazy.”

The zoom session is great fun and well worth watching. Leigh Edmonds is an Australian historian, and a very long-term science fiction fan. His history of science fiction fandom in Australia, “Proud and Lonely; a history of science fiction fandom in Australia 1936-1975 part 1”, will be published in 2024 by Norstrilia Press. Perry Middlemiss is a fanwriter, editor and podcaster as well as a former Worldcon chair. Many thanks also to Robin Johnson for providing tech support for Leigh.
(Part 1 is here)

Locus’ 2023 recommended reading lists

Critical Mass News

NOVELS – SCIENCE FICTION

from Locus magazines’ 2023 recommended reading list — see the article for fantasy novels, novellas and short fiction.

LA Times SFF finalists

Critical Mass News

The finalists for the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes were announced—the rare prize that includes a science fiction, fantasy, and speculative fiction category. The SFF finalists are:

  • Tananarive Due, The Reformatory: A Novel
  • Daniel Kraus, Whalefall
  • Victor LaValle, Lone Women: A Novel
  • V. E. Schwab, The Fragile Threads of Power
  • E. Lily Yu, Jewel Box: Stories

This year’s judges are Maurice Broaddus (author of Sweep of Stars), Craig Laurance Gidney (author of Sea, Swallow Me & Other Stories), and Lucy A. Snyder (author of Sister, Maiden, Monster).

Molly Templeton, Reactor

Critical Mass, Feb 28th: A Roundtable Discussion on Curation in the Age of Overwhelm

Critical Mass News, Snippets

curation: The process of selecting, organising, and looking after the items in a collection.
Formerly the domain of art galleries, the concept of “curating a collection” is now overused, and often in contexts bordering on the ridiculous (head online for pics of “curated salads’, “curated dog experiences” etc, etc).
But it is still a hugely important practice to help navigate a meaningful path through the ever-increasing amount of stuff — both high quality and rotten — out there.

This presentation will specifically reference the book “Curation: The Power of Selection in a World of Excess” by Michael Bhaskar

Kate Treloar will do an introductory overview (15mins) then throw it open to discussion. We will look at issues facing those looking to make meaningful selections (in general and with specific reference to SF) and how this has changed over time.

Those attending might wish to consider:

  • – how you choose what to read/watch/download/listen to
  • – how this compares to decades past
  • – whose recommendations you trust
  • – is more choice a good thing?
  • – the role of AI in making choices in the future

Critical Mass at kappy’s tea & coffee merchant, 1/22 Compton St, Adelaide.

Wednesday Feb 28th, 6:30pm Adelaide, 7pm Melbourne/Sydney

Zoom details:

Critical Mass: A Roundtable Discussion on Curation in the Age of Overwhelm
Time: Feb 28, 2024 06:30 PM Adelaide
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87224309964?pwd=pTIhAuiceNiJRIEKbikVJSAKmNQa1j.1

Meeting ID: 872 2430 9964
Passcode: 356300

Reactor arrives

Critical Mass News

The Tor.com site has now become Reactor (www.reactormag.com) on January 23, 2024, — with the launch of a completely redesigned website.

Since its founding in 2008, Tor.com has become a leader in coverage of science fiction and fantasy books and popular culture, with over 3 million visits per month. As an online magazine, Tor.com has won countless awards and has been the Locus Award winner for Best Magazine for 7 years running. In addition to its coverage of all things SFF, the site is also home to an award-winning short fiction program, which has published works by Seanan McGuire, E. Lily Yu, N.K. Jemisin, and scores of first-time authors, and which have gone on to win several Hugo Awards, Nebula Awards, and World Fantasy Awards.

Devi Pillai, President and Publisher of Tor Publishing Group, remarked, “I am very excited to introduce Reactor to the world! We have always been the place to come to for science fiction and fantasy—but with a new name, a new design, we are going to have a magazine that will be more of a pop culture hub for people who love genre of all types. We want to expand the audience and the community that Tor.com has built over the past 15 years.”

Poor Things

Critical Mass News

From filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos and producer Emma Stone comes the incredible tale and fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter (Stone), a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). Under Baxter’s protection, Bella is eager to learn. Hungry for the worldliness she is lacking, Bella runs off with Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), a slick and debauched lawyer, on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, Bella grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation. Based on the book by Alasdair Gray, the screenplay was written by Tony McNamara, making this the second collaboration between Lanthimos and McNamara (THE FAVOURITE). The movie was produced by Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Yorgos Lanthimos, and Emma Stone.

synopsis from Silverscreen notes at The Mercury

Screening at 2pm, Tuesday 13th Feb at The Mercury

This film is an interesting variant on Frankenstein, but this time the monster is female (Emma Stone) with a child’s brain in an adult body. Beautifully filmed by Lanthimos in colour and black and white, set in a turn of the century steampunk world. Bella doesn’t hide her enjoyment of sex, and is happy to demand her fair share…
A very interesting revamp of the Frankenstein story, well worth catching on the big screen.

Nova Mob, Wed 7th Feb: Bruce Barnes on Brick Bradford, intrepid explorer for science

Critical Mass News, NovaMob

Brick Bradford – Pilot Hero

Nova Mob member Bruce Barnes notes:

“Brick Bradford is a science fiction comic strip created by writer William Ritt, a journalist based in Cleveland, and artist Clarence Gray. It was first distributed on August 21, 1933 by Central Press Association, a subsidiary of King Features Syndicate which specialized in producing material for small-town newspapers. The strip ended in 1987. 

“Brick Bradford achieved its greatest popularity outside the United States. The series was carried by both newspapers and comic books in Australia and New Zealand.

 “In France the strip was known as Luc Bradefer (“Luke Ironarm”) and was published in many newspapers. The strip was also widely published in Italy where it was known variously as Giorgio Ventura and Marco Spada and in Greece in the newspaper Ethnos (as Princess Palona) during the 1960s. 

“Brick Bradford was an athletic and adventurous redheaded (later blond) aviator from Kentucky who continually encountered fantastic situations. … As the strip developed, Brick Bradford increasingly featured fantastic elements in the manner of Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon.

“Ritt was an admirer of science fiction writers H. G. Wells, Edgar Rice Burroughs and Abraham Merritt, and drew on some of their ideas when writing Brick Bradford. Brick Bradford now became more of a space opera/adventure story, with its tales of dinosaurs, lost civilizations, intergalactic villains, robots and subatomic worlds.” [Wikipedia]

Face to face :
You are invited to an in-person Nova Mob meeting at: Wednesday 7 February 2024, 8.00pm – 9.15pm or so,
first floor Conference Room Kensington Town Hall,
30 – 34 Bellair St, Kensington Melbourne VIC 3031

By Zoom – simulcast 8.00pm – 9.30 pm Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney time
7.30pm – 9.00pm Adelaide time
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4177583193?pwd=VjdPL1BhSTBNclN2YnRsejN3Y1hlUT09

Passcode: nova
Meeting ID: 417 758 3193

Lost Doctor Who episodes found…

Critical Mass News

For Doctor Who-lovers they are the missing crown jewels: lost episodes of the first series of the TV sci-fi drama, shown in the 1960s. But now film recordings of not just one, but two of the early BBC adventures, both featuring the first doctor, William Hartnell, has been found in Britain by amateur sleuths.

The episodes, one featuring the Daleks, would offer viewers a chance to travel back in time without the use of a Tardis. But the Observer has learned that the owners of the rare, rediscovered footage are not prepared to hand it over to the BBC, even as the clock ticks down to the 60th anniversary of the show’s launch this month.

Veteran film collector John Franklin believes the answer is for the BBC to announce an immediate general amnesty on missing film footage.

Vanessa Thorpe, The Guardian

Seven episodes from 1963 have been colourised and woven together into a 75-minute long monster show, The Daleks in Colour, which will be shown on BBC Four on 23 November.

The Lesson That Superhero TV Shows Keep Learning

Critical Mass News, Snippets

I feel like studios keep learning the same lesson over and over again: shared universes are great for movies, under the right circumstances—but they tend to drag TV shows down a bit, over time. And a TV show that exists in the same universe as movies will always be secondary at best to the bigger budget, higher-stakes films. At worst, TV shows that tie in with movies will tend to become glorified bonus material for fans of the film franchise.

Charlie Jane Anders, tor.com