This weekend saw the second iteration of the Dragon Awards, a cross-media celebration of science fiction and fantasy held by Dragon Con in Atlanta. Decided through a free online poll, the awards purport to represent the tastes of SF/F fandom as a whole. Despite their recent vintage, the Dragon Awards already have a rocky history. Last year, the…
2017 Hugo Awards Presented Amid Puppy In-Fighting
The eyes of many a science fiction and fantasy enthusiast were turned on Helsinki today, as the annual Hugo Awards were handed out at the 75th Worldcon. For their 2017 iteration, the Hugos introduced a few changes. Starting this year, each category will now typically contain six, rather than five, finalists. Authors can no longer have more…
2017 Hugo Reviews: Novels
Short stories, novelettes, and novellas have been dealt with. That leaves just one more major prose fiction category at the Hugo Awards: Best Novel. Here are this year’s finalists for the title…
2017 Hugo Reviews: Novellas
Welcome to the third part of my 2017 Hugo Awards reviews. With the Best Short Story and Best Novelette categories covered, it is time to move further up the wordcount bracket. Whether you view them as long short stories or as short novels, here are the finalists for Best Novella.
2017 Hugo Reviews: Novelettes
With my previous post having covered the Best Short Story finalists, it is time to move on to the category for stories between 7,500 and 17,500 words: Best Novelette.
Dragon Awards Reviews: Stories in Pictures
We have previously taken a look at the games, novels, and more novels that won the inaugural Dragon Awards. Now, WWAC concludes its overview by examining the winners in the comic and moving pictures categories. Join Ardo Omar, Megan Purdy, and Doris V. Sutherland as they take a closer look at a batch of fan…
2017 Hugo Reviews: Short Stories
It’s that time of the year again: the latest Hugo finalists have been unveiled, and enthusiasts across the net are picking their favourites and not-so-favourites. I shall begin my own four-part take with the Best Short Story category.
Dragon Awards Reviews: Fantasy Worlds
Having covered games and three of the novel categories, WWAC continues analysing the winners of the inaugural Dragon Awards. Join Doris V. Sutherland, Andrea Smith, and guest contributor Jennie Rigg as they review the winners of the Best Science Fiction Novel, Best Young Adult/Middle Grade Novel, Best Fantasy Novel, and Best Alternate History Novel categories.
The Mummy Is Dead On Arrival (Review)
The Mummy Director: Alex Kurtzman Starring: Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis, Russell Crowe Universal. June 9, 2017 Shared universes are an area of interest in Hollywood right now, and while superheroes are leading the charge, it was inevitable that monsters would not be far behind. After all, Universal started mashing its horror pantheon together back…
Hollers and Amazons: Leo Baxendale’s Bad Girls
When British comic legend Leo Baxendale sadly passed away last month at the age of 86, he left behind a rich legacy of truly brilliant characters. The “enfant terrible” Sweeney Toddler, the affable archvillain Grimly Feendish, the blundering Three Bears–each of these left their mark on generations of comic-readers in the United Kingdom. But out…
Fascist Ghosts: Racism and the Far Right in British Horror, Part Three
Content warning: this article discusses fictional portrayals of racism, including usage of racial slurs.
Fascist Ghosts: Racism and the Far Right in British Horror, Part Two
Content warning: This article contains excerpts from explicitly racist material. In the first post of this series, I discussed portrayals of race and racism in British horror fiction from the earlier half of the twentieth century, particularly in the work of Sax Rohmer, Bram Stoker, Nigel Kneale, and Dennis Wheatley. In this post, I will look at…