[SF/F/H Link Post] Apocalypse Asteroids; Mars Isn’t Such a Crazy Idea; Star Trek House For Sale

Interviews & Profiles

• Blog Talk Radio interviews Russell Blake, author of Emerald Buddha.
• The Guardian interviews George Miller, author of Mad Max.
• The Qwillery interviews Stephen Moore, author of Graynelore.
• SingularityHUB interviews Ray Kurzweil, author of The Singularity Is Near.
• Space.com interviews Ridley Scott, director of The Martian.

News

• Earth surrounded by 10 times more ‘apocalypse asteroids‘ than we know about, NASA admits. We’re gonna need some more Bruce Willises here.
• Harrison Ford will be honored by BAFTA on October 30 at the Britannia Awards.
• The Martian is making a killing at the box office.

Events & Event News

• François Vigneault will appears at Floating World Comics in Portland, OR on Friday, October 16, 2015 from 6-8PM for the release of Titan #2 from by Study Group Comics! RSVP on Facebook

Crowd Funding

• Cultists & Cthulhu – a light, humorous “take that” card game about summoning dark gods and going insane. For 2-8 players.
• Fisk: The S.U.B.S.T.I.T.U.T.E. – a 96 page sci-fi/secret agent themed graphic novel.

Articles

• Book Review: Lightless offers an absorbing sci-fi tale with a scientific twist.
• The 9 Best Moments in Ridley Scott’s The Martian.
• The 13 best villain songs of all time, including everyone’s favorite, Dr. Horrible.
• 18 authors share a day in their lives. There’s a lot of bourbon involved.
• Abigail Nussbaum’s recent comments on The Martian mirror my own thoughts, but the discussion heats up in the comments, where commenters debate whether Mark Watney is the hero or the MacGuffin.
• Author of YA Star Wars novel, The Princess, The Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy, Alexandra Bracken shares a touching story of growing up with and remembering her father, an avid collector of Star Wars memorabilia.
• Don’t you think he looks tired? There are rumors Doctor Who is facing cancellation.
• Futurity explains Why going to Mars isn’t such a crazy idea.
• George R.R. Martin describes his fascination with the red planet for the Guardian in “Our long obsession with Mars.”
• The Guardian looks into urban fantasy and asks, “How long until it gives us the next Game of Thrones?” Chances are, a lot soon than George R.R. Martin. *Rim Shot*
• Heroes Reborn Just Became a Blatant X-Men Rip-Off, But Maybe That’s a Good Thing.
• Is Climate Fiction (Cli-Fi) the new Sci-Fi. (And check out these examples of YA Cli-Fi.)
• Joel Achenbach in the Washington Post says, Don’t worry. Matt Damon won’t get stuck on Mars. NASA can’t get him there. He explains why it’s highly unlikely that NASA will lead an expedition to Mars in the next 25 years. Two key points: we don’t have a rocket, and NASA has no plans to develop a Martian lander.
• Morgan Gendel, writer of the Star Trek TNG episode, “The Inner Light,” writes about it: “But now that I’ve begun speaking regularly about “The Inner Light,” questions about the episode that lay dormant for two decades like a Romulan Warbird waiting to de-cloak have suddenly shimmered into view. Fan questions and my responses have yielded up, in addition to the ‘Road Not Taken,’ Five Big Themes addressed in ‘The Inner Light.'”
• Motherboard lauds The Inevitable Triumph of The Martian.
• Shea Serrano at Grantland asks “Which Movie Astronauts Would You Want To Be Stranded With In Outer Space?”
• Six Reasons Serenity Was Better Than Firefly.
• There’s a fascinating article in Forbes about NASA’s Office of Planetary Protection. Not the Men in Black, the ones who protect Earth from stowaway alien organisms.
• “Where are the female Tom Ripleys – or even the Patrick Batemans – of YA?” The Guardian explores female antiheroes in YA.
• Who Will Become the First Martian? A Rundown of the Race to the Red Planet.

Art

• Deadpool Fan Art Gallery Part 1 and Part 2.
• Massive 6,389 square-foot Star Trek House for sale!
• Portraits of The Doctor by Rob Schamberger.

More Fun Stuff

• Felicia Day takes us behind-the-scenes on Con Man. Fun backstage discussion with Alan Tudyk and other cast-members. Plus where Felicia and Alan first met.
• Get your own set of Doctor Who Owl Hot Pads now!
• The Man Who Created Second Life Thinks We Can Make an Earth-Sized Virtual World.
• Neil deGrasse Tyson Tweets About The Martian.
• Our Star Trek-like Future Awaits on This Week’s Episode of Ask an Expert.
• Watch the deleted Thor cave scene from Avengers: Age of Ultron. The Blu-ray and DVD of the movie are out in the US on October 2nd.