Monthly Archives: June 2018
The Language of Memes: A Brief Explanation
Posted on June 30, 2018 38 Comments
Do you have any idea what this picture means just by looking at it? Yes, it’s some guy claiming there is free real estate to be had, but what does it all mean? This is something that can only be understood by someone well-versed in the language of memes. There are many memes that can be […]
Important Update: The Kitten Has a Name
Posted on June 30, 2018 40 Comments
And it is: Smudge, aka Lord Aloysious Smudgington III, aka Smudge the Mighty Toe Hunter, aka Smoooooooge. Please update all relevant records. Thank you for your attention.
New Book and ARCs, 6/29/18
Posted on June 29, 2018 20 Comments
As we come to the end of another June, here is a substantial stack of new books and ARCs that have come to the Scalzi Compound, calling out to be read and appreciated. What here is calling to you, specifically? Tell us in the comments!
And Now, This Important Kitten Update
Posted on June 29, 2018 104 Comments
Yeah, we’re gonna keep him.
What You Should Be Watching: YouTube Edition: Movies With Mikey
Posted on June 29, 2018 13 Comments
Hello, everybody and welcome to another YouTube edition of “What You Should Be Watching”! Today I’ll be talking about this awesome thing called “Movies With Mikey”. It is not a channel, rather a set of videos on a channel called FilmJoy. If you like movie reviews, “Movies With Mikey” is the perfect thing for you […]
RIP, Harlan Ellison
Posted on June 28, 2018 54 Comments
I have a piece on his passing over at the Los Angeles Times site. I should note an addendum here: I was in the audience at the 2006 Hugos when Harlan groped Connie Willis, and laughed because I thought it was a set piece between them. I later learned it was not and was embarrassed […]
Where I’ve Been the Past Ten Days
Posted on June 28, 2018 31 Comments
Okay, so, you may or may not have noticed I haven’t posted lately. This is due to laziness and to me managing my time poorly, both of which I got from my father. I have no excuse for the first couple days, but for the last week I’ve been busy in San Diego! So today […]
Surprise! Kitten!
Posted on June 27, 2018 66 Comments
Those of you who follow the Twitter feed know that a couple of days ago, just before we left for San Diego, in fact, Athena and her boyfriend Hunter found a small, defenseless kitten mewing helplessly in the field near our house. Well, they’re suckers for helpless kittens that come bounding up to them wanting […]
The Big Idea: Jeremy Finley
Posted on June 27, 2018 3 Comments
What is truth? The question is an ancient, indeed, biblical, one, and more importantly for our purposes today, goes to the heart of Jeremy Finley’s new novel, The Darkest Time of Night. Does Finley have the answer? We’ve got the true news here. JEREMY FINLEY: It came, truly, from fake news. When I set out […]
Congratulations Deven and Claudia
Posted on June 26, 2018 11 Comments
If you’ve been wondering what we’ve been up to the last few days, it’s this: Two of our very dear friends, Deven and Claudia, got married to each other, and we as a family were there to see it happen. We also saw a number of other, equally dear friends at the wedding and generally […]
The Collapsing Empire Wins the 2018 Locus Award for Science Fiction Novel
Posted on June 23, 2018 41 Comments
I’m unimaginably thrilled. Here is the speech I sent to be read at the awards ceremony, which was read by my friend Olivia Ahl, who also took the picture above: So this is a thing I do: Whenever I am nominated or am a finalist for an award, I take a look at who else […]
View From a Hotel Window, 6/22/18: San Diego
Posted on June 22, 2018 13 Comments
“Aren’t you a little early for Comic Con?” One, I’m not going to Comic Con this year (I’ll be at home, not being crowded by 140,000 other people), and two, there are reasons to go to San Diego besides that convention. I’m in town for a wedding. Also, you know. Taking a few days in […]
And Now, Some One-Star Reviews of The Collapsing Empire
Posted on June 21, 2018 78 Comments
The Collapsing Empire has done very well for me: It sold the most in its first year of any book I’ve written to date, got excellent reviews in the trades and among critics, was optioned for television, and was a finalist for the Hugo Award, and also for the Locus Awards, the winners of which […]
New Books and ARCs, 6/21/18
Posted on June 21, 2018 21 Comments
Just in time for the solstice, a baker’s dozen of new books and ARCs that have come to the Scalzi Compound. Which of these would you enjoy reading on a short summer night? Tell us all in the comments!
The Big Idea: Daniel Godfrey
Posted on June 21, 2018
The saying “there’s more than one way to skin a cat” is a terrible expression (those poor cats), but makes the point that most problems have more than one solution. In the high-tech world of Daniel Godfrey’s novel The Synapse Sequence, there are very specific problems with more than a single solution, and as Godfrey […]
John and Athena Talk About Stuff, Episode 2: The Incredibles 2
Posted on June 20, 2018 13 Comments
Athena and I are back with our occasional podcast, this time going deep on Incredibles 2, which brought in more than $180 million on its first weekend. Is it better than the original? And what does it have to say about the world we live in right now? Athena and I explore it all, in […]
The (Reluctant) Endorsement: Freedom
Posted on June 20, 2018 31 Comments
As I’m sure most of you have figured out by now, the Trump era is one unending shit show after another, and for a lot of people in creative fields, it’s making it hard to focus on your work when you know that the world is on fire. In my case the problem is compounded […]
The Big Idea: Todd McAulty
Posted on June 20, 2018 13 Comments
For this Big Idea piece, author Todd McAulty explains his new novel The Robots of Gotham by interviewing one of our incipient robot overlords. Pay attention; what you learn here could save your life from the mechauprising! TODD McAULTY: Todd McAulty: First off, thank you so much for responding to my interview request, and taking […]
More on The Consuming Fire and Future Writing Plans
Posted on June 19, 2018 52 Comments
Now that I’ve had a day to sleep and reinflate my brain a bit, some additional thoughts about completing The Consuming Fire and my writing life in general at the moment: 1. I like it! I think it’s good! I also think it’s not quite the novel I thought I was writing when I started, […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying