[SF/F/H Link Post] The Force Awakens Premiere; The Expanse Adaptation; Childhood’s End Reviews

Interviews & Profiles

• Brook Cottage Books interviews Mark Lynch, author of Insurgent Town.
• Ginger Nuts of Horror interviews Alison Littlewood, author of A Cold Season.
• Lawrence M. Schoen interviews Eric James Stone, author of Barsk.
• Melville House Books has an extract from Philip K. Dick’s Last Interview.
• Nocturnia interviews Paul Di Filippo, author of The Steampunk Trilogy (Scroll Down)
• NPR interviews Neil Gaiman, author of Sandman.
• Reddit recently held an AMA for Rick Remender, author of BLACK SCIENCE.
• SFFWorld interviews Patrick S. Tomlinson, author of The Ark.
• Vulture interviews Lawrence Kasdan, writer for the new Star Wars movies.

News

• Are books getting longer? A new survey says yes. One of the factors cited in increasing book length is the availability of short digital content, such as Kindle Singles or Serial Box (serial SFF). But many of those digital books are going unread after purchase. Meanwhile, the rise of e-books is costing jobs: warehouse jobs. (Charlie Stross once weighed in on Why books are the length they are.)
• Dark Horse to Publish Graphic Versions of Neil Gaiman Short Stories. [via PDF]
• No Star Wars: The Force Awakens Post-Credits Scene, Says J.J. Abrams.

Events & Event News

• Great sci-fi is steadily approaching as The Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival returns to New York City for its fourth annual event from January 14-17, 2016. The four-day festival, screening at the magnificent Village East Cinemas (181-189 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003), has announced its full schedule of events which includes a record 80 films from over 20 countries and several film premieres. So if you live in NYC or are planning a trip, make sure to attend the city’s first and only science fiction film festival and experience every bit of the thrill ride there is to offer.
• Liverpool horror writer Ramsey Campbell will be joined by Jeremy Dyson for a pre-show talk about The Haunting of Hill House at the Playhouse Studio. [via Paul Di Filippo]

Crowd Funding

• EMPIRES GALACTIC REBELLION! A board game homage to Star Wars – Fight for Galactic Control as a Rebel Leader and Mobilize your Faction to Defeat the Empire!
• Transreal Cyberpunk – Nine wild, weird and wondrous stories written together by cyberpunk masters Rudy Rucker and Bruce Sterling over thirty years.

Articles

• TV Review: The Childhood’s End Miniseries Is a Waste of One of Sci-Fi’s Greatest Tropes
• TV Review: Childhood’s End Storytelling Mastery is Must-See Sci-fi
• TV Review: Syfy Takes Liberties With Childhood’s End, but its Message Stays the Same.
• The 4 biggest takeaways from the Star Wars: The Force Awakens premiere.
• 10 spoiler-free reactions to Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
• The best science books of 2015, discussed on NPR’s Science Friday here.
• Doctor Who: Half Human or All Time Lord?
• Editors react: Was The Expanse’s first episode the space opera we’ve been looking for?
• The Expanse Book vs. TV Recap: “Dulcinea.”
• The Expanse: Syfy’s next big thing.
• How Childhood’s End Finally Made It to TV.
• January 2016 Must Reads in Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror.
• J.J. Abrams on going old school and how Star Wars differs from Star Trek.
• Narratives of Modernization: China’s History of Science Fiction.
• No Warp Drives, No Transporters: Science Fiction Authors Get Real.
• Parenting done right: Introducing your kid to horror.
• The Pros and Cons of That Star Trek Beyond Trailer.
• The Radicalization of Luke Skywalker: A Jedi’s Path to Jihad.
• Saving Humans From Themselves: Why the Overlords kill science in Childhood’s End.
• Sci-Fi/Fantasy Christmas Books That Are Naughty…and Nice.
• The Science of Life and Death in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Professor Sharon Ruston surveys the scientific background to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, considering contemporary investigations into resuscitation, galvanism, and the possibility of states between life and death.
• Star Wars: 16 Underappreciated Heroes Who Saved the Galaxy.
• Star Wars: Dissecting Leigh Brackett’s Rough Draft for The Empire Strikes Back. [via PDF]
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens premiere looks backward with nostalgia — and forward with a new hope, according to the L.A. Times’ coverage.
• There’s a raging controversy over Princess Leia’s bikini.

Art

• Jeff Carlisle created a series of AMAZING seek-and-find (Where’s Waldo) style posters for each of the major battles in the original Star Wars trilogy. He calls them the The Epic Battles series, and you can explore them in-depth on the Disney website.
• John Picacio writes about this weekend’s STAR WARS: THE FORCE OF ART extravaganza in San Antonio, where he unveiled a new drawing called “Feel The Force Flow.”
• This Lord of the Rings inspired custom Lightsaber with Crystal Focus would be perfect for your Legolas Jedi cosplay.
• Ralph McQuarrie Concept Paintings for BattleStar Galactica.

More Fun Stuff

• Captain Picard Sings “Let It Snow”!
• Computerphile explains Why Asimov’s Laws of Robotics Don’t Work.
• C-3PO is Star Wars‘ real hero. This video explains.
• If I fought this DS9 character, would I win? (Don’t do it. Don’t fight Sisko.)
• Ovadia & Sons, and Todd Snyder Reimagine Iconic Looks From Star Wars.
• Read an excerpt from The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson at Tor.com.
• Reddit considers The Fett jetpacks, a small plot point you probably didn’t notice.
• Star Wars Fan Explains What He Was Thinking in His Phantom Menace TV Interview.
• That awkward moment when you realize that Disney’s marketing has gone too far.
• Visual.ly imagines The Résumé Of Darth Vader.
• Watch a trailer for the Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts.
• Watch a trailer for Kubo and the Two Strings.