Lose yourself in realms of myth and mystery in these Dark Horse graphic novels featuring the stories of New York Times best-selling author Neil Gaiman! Discover gorgeous adaptations of celebrated novels like American Gods and Norse Mythology. Explore twists on fairy tales (Snow, Glass, Apples) and legends from classic literature (A Study in Emerald). Add a treasury of timeless tales to your digital collection, and help support USA for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, with your purchase.
Two books will be set in Lackey’s beloved fantasy world of Valdemar, while the other three will continue her long-running Elemental Masters novels. Lackey is a New York Times-bestselling author and was named a Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association in 2022.
The first of the new Valdemar novels, written in collaboration with her partner Larry Dixon, is scheduled for Spring 2024. Lackey’s expansive fantasy world of Valdemar includes over thirty novels that span the history of the kingdom. Her most recent books explore the long-awaited story of the founding of the nation by the legendary Baron Kordas Valdemar.
Polák’s pioneering and much-imitated feature IKARIE XB 1 is one of the cornerstones of contemporary sci-fi cinema. It predates Star Trek and Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey and was clearly an influence on both – and on almost every other science-fiction vehicle that followed.
Adapted from Stanislaw Lem’s novel The Magellanic Cloud , the film is set in 2163 and follows a mission deep into space in search of alien life. On their journey the crew confront the effects of a malignant dark star, the destructive legacy of the 20th century and, ultimately, the limits of their own sanity. IKARIE XB 1 is imbued with a seriousness, intelligence and attention to detail rarely seen in science-fiction cinema of the period.
From the DVD liner notes…
For our November meeting, we’ve decided to screen the black and white 1963 Czech film Ikarie XB 1, which won joint first prize at the first Trieste Science+Fiction film festival. Warning: do not confuse this with the recut/trashed American release version, called Voyage to the End of the Universe
Critical Mass meets at Kappy’s 6:15 for a 6:30 start. Best seen in person, but we’re happy to talk about the film with zoom attendees — zoom in after the film screening at 8pm Adelaide time:
Critical Mass Time: Nov 23, 2022 8:00 pm Adelaide / 8:30 Melbourne
Kim Stanley Robinson’s 2020 sci-fi novel The Ministry for the Future imagines a not-too-distant world where central banks worldwide come together to create a carbon coin, a monetary-policy-based solution to the climate crisis. The idea has been sparking real word debate in policy circles. What can a novel teach us about the role of central banks in addressing the climate crisis?
The new companion for The Doctor, Ruby Sunday, will be played by Millie Gibson.
Gibson said in a statement, “Whilst still being in total disbelief, I am beyond honored to be cast as the Doctor’s companion. It is a gift of a role, and a dream come true, and I will do everything to try and fill the boots the fellow companions have travelled in before me. And what better way to do that than being by the fabulous Ncuti Gatwa’s side, I just can’t wait to get started.”
Gibson’s The Peripheral (2014) was a novel based around immersive virtual reality, which makes you feel like you’ve been transported to another place and even another person’s body. The book is set in 2032, in an age where it’s possible to move from one version of time to another. It’s not a kind of time travel, it’s a point in time where you can move backward, change the events of the past, and create two or more different branches of time. One might go on to become reality, and the other might disappear as a truncated “stub” of time.
Flynne Fisher (played by Chloe Grace Moretz), her Marine veteran brother, Burton (Jack Reynor), and their dying mother live in a small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains in 2032. As their mother’s health deteriorates and the medical bills add up, Flynne and Burton make extra money playing simulations (Sims). When Burton is offered a chance to beta test a new Sim, it’s Flynne who ends up playing, pretending to be her brother. The Sim takes place in London and it involves Flynne breaking into a corporation known as the Research Institute to steal a valuable secret. When the assignment goes badly wrong, Flynne begins to realize the Sim might be more real than she thinks.
Some of the strange additions to a future London in the Prime Video adaptation of the William Gibson novel The Peripheral.
The Best of World of World SF is back in a second glorious volume containing twenty-nine new short stories representing the state of the art in international science fiction.
The annual Arthur C. Clarke Award is given for the best science fiction novel first published in the United Kingdom during the previous year.The award judges are a voluntary body with members nominated by the award’s supporting organisations, currently the British Science Fiction Association, the Science Fiction Foundation and the Sci-Fi-London film festival.
2022 Deep Wheel Orcadia by Harry Josephine Giles – WINNER Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine A River Called Time by Courttia Newland Wergen: The Alien Love War by Mercurio D. Rivera Skyward Inn by Aliya Whiteley
2021 The Animals in that Country – Laura Jean McKay – WINNER The Infinite – Patience Agbabi The Vanished Birds – Simon Jimenez Vagabonds – Hao Jingfang Edge of Heaven – R.B. Kelly Chilling Effect - Valerie Valdes
Mondiale – Ian Mond’s best books not packaged as genre
One of the pleasures of the Nova Mob is Ian’s annual talk on the year’s best SF, fantasy, and horror books, selected from those that aren’t marketed as genre but instead typically have the words “A Novel” somewhere on the cover for the discerning book shop browser to be absolutely certain as to what it is they are buying. We welcome Ian again this year, and he has selected 10 books for your reading delight. Hear about them, and why #10 is good and his #1 pick is better, at our meeting on 2 November. As usual with Nova Mob talks there’s lively discussion, so attendance in person is recommended, however the Zoom option is available, it’s part of how we do things now.
Face to face
You are invited to an in-person Nova Mob meeting: Wednesday 2 November 8.00pm – 9.15 pm or so, first floor Conference Room
Kensington Town Hall, 30 – 34 Bellair St
Kensington Melbourne VIC 3031
By Zoom – simulcast
For those who prefer not to travel or are unable to attend face-to-face. This’ll be close to a webcast or radiocast in style, emitted electronically from the Kensington Town Hall. Questions or comments typed into the Zoom chat will be passed through to Ian as the opportunity permits.
Ian writes for Locus as well as being a Nova Mob member and enthusiastic viewer of Dr Who (and occasional writer of Whovian fiction), so I’ll quote from Locus by way of bio and an example of his work:
“Ian Mond loves to talk about books. For eight years he co-hosted a book podcast, The Writer and the Critic, with Kirstyn McDermott. Recently he has revived his blog, The Hysterical Hamster, and is again posting mostly vulgar reviews on an eclectic range of literary and genre novels. You can also follow Ian on Twitter (@Mondyboy) or contact him at mondyboy74@gmail.com.
“The year was 1994 and I was attending the monthly meeting of the Melbourne Horror Society at the Māori Chief Hotel in South Melbourne. Issue #3 of Bloodsongs – Australia’s first professional horror fiction magazine – had just been released, and the members, which included the periodical’s two editors, were poring over copies and discussing the content.
Sitting across from me at one of the tables was a new member, a young woman around my age dressed mostly in black. Before I had a chance to introduce myself, she asked me what I thought of “And the Moon Yelps”, one of the stories featured in the issue. I told her that I loved it, that I thought it was one of the best, if not the strongest piece, in the magazine. “I’m glad you thought so,” she said, “because I wrote it.” This is how I met Kirstyn McDermott. Twenty-eight years later and we remain close friends; we even host a podcast together (it’s called The Writer and the Critic; I may have mentioned it a few hundred times in this column). I’ve never really given much thought to what might have happened if I’d told Kirstyn that I didn’t like “And the Moon Yelps”. But then, I can’t imagine a possible universe where I didn’t love that story or the horror and dark fantasy she has written since. Now, with the publication of Hard Places, a curated collection of her short fiction, I have the pleasure of revisiting her work.”
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Pre-Mob dining – at the Doutta Galla Hotel
November 2. Booking made. Hats and fascinators optional.
The usual booking has been made at the Doutta Galla for those who enjoy good pub fare. Usual story – arrive when you like and as a Mob member there’s a seat for you and any friends you bring along. Most folk arrive about 6.30p.m.
339 Racecourse Rd, Flemington. Corner of Eastwood St, next to the railway bridge immediately south of Newmarket Station.
Booking for: NOVA MOB REGULAR BOOK CLUB Booking on: Wednesday, 2nd of November (2/11/22) Area: Dining Time: 6:00pm onward
I’m not aware of any alternative dining locations or groups being arranged. Cheap eats in Melbourne are a confusing picture at the moment.
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Nova Mob Calendar
November 2 – Ian Mond “Mondiale – best books of 2022”. In person and Zoom.
December 7 – Chris Flynn “Here Be Leviathans”. In person and Zoom.
December 14 – end of year celebration event. In person only. Post Office Hotel, Coburg, 6.00pm until late (pub closes at 11.00pm)
1st February 2023 – First meeting of the new year. Topic to be finalised, as well as suggestions for the 2023 program.
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Shelley Parker-Chan wins Astounding Award
We rather like how the publicity was handled in Australia
“Hugo Award for Best New Writer” said the news release.
“Parker-Chan wins Hugo Award for Best New Writer“
9 September 2022
“Australian writer Shelley Parker-Chan has won the Best New Writer category at the Hugo Awards for science fiction.
“Parker-Chan’s debut She Who Became the Sun was first published in the US by Tor Books in 2021 before being published by Pan Macmillan Australia. The novel is a genderqueer reimagining of the Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang’s rise to power in 14th-century China. Zhu, a peasant assigned female at birth, assumes their deceased brother’s identity as they begin their path to unifying China under native rule and becoming the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
“She Who Became the Sun was also nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel, which was won by Arkady Martine for A Desolation Called Peace (Tor).”
The Adelaide Fan Review 
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