[SF/F/H Link Post] Unfriended Reviews; Orphan Black Interviews (and Catch-Ups!); Space Elevators; Exploring Social Change Through Sci-Fi

Interviews & Profiles

• Electric Literature interviews Colin Barrett, author of Young Skins.
• Las Vegas Review-Journal interviews Marie Lu, author of Legend.
• My Bookish Ways interviews Tom Pitts, author of Knuckleball.
• The Mary Sue interviews Greg Weisman, author of the Rain of the Ghosts Kickstarter.
• Paul Feig explains the strange saga behind his buzzy sci-fi sitcom Other Space
• Suvudu interviews Frank Portman, author of King Dork Approximately.
• Time.com interviews R.L. Stine, author of Don’t Stay Up Late.

News

• Alien Supercivilizations Absent from 100,000 Nearby Galaxies …oooor so-called supercivilizations have evolved the intelligence to turn off all the lights and pretend not to be home when lesser civilizations come looking for help moving.
• The Power Is Set To Turn Back On: Revolution Will Return As A Digital Comic, which is probably where it’s stilted dialog and overblown core concepts belonged all along, like most NBC sci-fi series.

Events & Event News

• Forbidden Planet is stoked to announce a Troma signing on Thursday April 30th at 7:00 PM in New York City! Meet Lloyd Kaufman (Troma President and creator of The Toxic Avenger), Ethan Hurt (Composer of the Class of Nuke ‘Em High Theme), and Lisa Gaye (star of Class of Nuke ‘ Em High 2 & 3, Toxic Avenger 2-4, and many more classiscs!
• The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) announces a new regional reading series, SFWA Southeast Reading Series at the Bostock Library on Duke’s campus on Friday, April 24. This event is free and open to the public. More on Facebook.

Crowd Funding

• BROKEN SAVIORS: Alien Invasion Comic Book – Aliens invade claiming they need to save us. Check out the FREE first issue to see what happens. Are you a rebel or a savior?
• Omega Virus: Revisited – Fiction. Its been sixteen years since the Omega Virus was unleashed introducing the world to zombies. now a new group must revisit the land.
• Posthuman – Only four days left in this KickStarter for one of the most amazing survival boardgames in recent memory! The video is a must-watch. You are one of the last humans on earth, trying to reach a rumored fortress. Will you survive, or evolve?
• Watch Out! Book 1 – We’re turning the webcomic Watch Out!, a story about inter-dimensional thieves traveling to Earth, into a physical comic book!

Orphan Black

• Interview: Ari Millen on the ‘Fight for Survival’ as the Clone War Begins
• Interview: Ari Millen Talks Scary Clone Brotherhood, Following In Maslany’s Footsteps
• Interview: Co-creators Graeme Manson and John Fawcett Discuss Delphine’s ‘Conundrum’ and the Threat Rachel Still Poses
• Interview: Creator John Fawcett promises “we get a lot of answers this season”
• Interview: Evelyne Brochu (A.K.A. Delphine) talks Loving Cosima, and Breakup Hair
• Interview: John Fawcett and Graeme Manson creators break down surreal premiere.
• Interview: Orphan Black’s Tatiana Maslany Is the Voice of the People
• Interview: Tatiana Maslany talks choking and spanking in the season premiere
• Review: Cheaper By the Dozen: Maslany’s magnificent sister act on Orphan Black.
• Review: Orphan Black clones itself, embracing the comedy
• Review: Orphan Black Returns and Reveals Who’s the Kinky Clone
• Review: Orphan Black Returns Crazier, More Confusing, and Better Than Ever
• Review: Orphan Black Season 3 premiere featured a crazy good clone impersonation
• 7 great Orphan Black scenes with commentary from the creators
• The Genetic Literacy Project offers Reflections on reproductive cloning and eugenics.
• Here’s what you need to remember before you watch Orphan Black‘s premiere.
• The History Lurking Behind Orphan Black
• Orphan Black Season 3 premiere: Producers answer 10 burning questions
• The Robots of Orphan Black: Throughout pop-culture history, clones and robots have served similar purposes, exploring anxieties about class and labor.
• Waiting For Answers? Season 3 Will Provide Plenty, Introduce More Questions
• What your favorite Orphan Black character says about you
• Would Maslany’s multiple personas get more cred if the show was a different genre?

Articles

• Movie Review: Unfriended takes place on a single computer screen — and it works
• Movie Review: Unfriended Almost Says Something Profound About Tech
• 13 Star Wars Questions We Want Answered in the New Books
• Can androids pray for digital salvation? Yes, but robo-Jesus is NOT getting his own holiday, no matter what the greeting card companies say.
• Did the 1970s Kill Science Fiction? More importantly, is literary necrophilia a thing?
• The Guardian asks What are the best novels about the politics of technology?
• Hard-wired for love: the ethics of robot sex. ummmm… ewww?
• Michigan Radio on Exploring social change through science fiction
• Moving to Mars: Preparing for the longest, loneliest voyage ever.
• Real science is Putting a New Spin on Space Elevators out of science fiction.
• Science fiction meets physics facts in talk by visiting NASA scientist
• Science Fiction’s White Boys’ Club Strikes Back: The New Republic looks back at diversity issues in the science fiction genre.
• Tomorrowland: Our Journey From Science Fiction To Science Fact
• Unfriended and Horror’s Long Tradition of Fearing New Tech
• VIDA Wants Writers to Create “Important” Female Characters, but the New Republic’s Phoebe Maltz Bovy calls that Bad Advice.
• WUWM Milwaukee Public Radio on Science Fiction Is Now Science Reality
• The YA Adaption Split – Why It’s Good, Bad, and Why We’ve Been Lucky So Far

Art

• Call of Cthulhu by Ozakuya
• Fan Art Friday: Star Wars: BB-8
• Fan Art Friday: Gen13

More Fun Stuff

• How An Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Novel Imagined The Future 122 Years Ago. Turns out that we were Jonesing for big screen TVs even back then.
• How to Clone a Mammoth: Biologist separates science from science fiction
• Matthew McCounaghey weeps while watching new Star Wars trailer. Memes incoming.
• Scientists (who clearly haven’t spent a lot of time around college campuses) are trying to figure out If Humans Can Hibernate, and it turns out that Cryosleep isn’t just science fiction anymore. Putting astronauts into short-term hibernation could make space travel more efficient, but if those college kids are a representative sample, space travel is going to require a lot more beer than previously expected.
• Watch a live-action Attack on Titan trailer.