What to read this weekend: Near-future dystopian fiction and a new approach to explaining life's origin

New releases in fiction, nonfiction and comics that caught our attention. Hum by Helen Phillips Robots have become a regular fixture of the workforce, and humans are losing their jobs to AI. Climate change is wreaking havoc on the planet. It’s getting harder and harder for the average person to make ends meet. Facial recognition technology is being used for surveillance. Sound familiar? In her new novel, Hum, author Helen Phillips paints a picture of what our near-future could look like. Its main character, May, has lost her job after technology made her role obsolete, and, desperate for money to support her family, she agrees to participate in an experiment that alters her face to make her undetectable to facial recognition. With the extra cushion from the payment, she takes her husband and children on a short, technology-free vacation to the Botanical Garden — but things go dangerously awry. Hum is a captivating, unsettling work of dystopian fiction that makes it impossible not to draw parallels with our current reality. Life as No One Knows It: The Physics of Life's Emergence by Sara Imari Walker There’s so much we don’t know about the origins of life on Earth, and how it could appear on other worlds. Arizona State University theoretical physicist and astrobiologist Sara Imari Walker tackles the enduring question, “What is life?” and so much more in her book, Life as No One Knows It: The Physics of Life's Emergence. It explores assembly theory, which, as Walker... Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2024-08-10 19:43:55 UTC ]

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Present Tense: Science Fiction and Fantasy 2019–2020

The future’s uncertain, and the end is always near. Here’s what new SFF has to say about it. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-09-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Who is ‘The Clockwork Man’? He may be literature’s first cyborg.

E.V. Odle’s 1923 science fiction novel stars a most unusual — and fascinating — character Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2019-09-25 20:52:59 UTC ]
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6 Science Fiction Books About Space That Are Out Of This World

Earth can be an exhausting place, so let's look beyond our planet and explore these science fiction books about space and other worlds. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2019-09-24 10:35:51 UTC ]
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Drawing Power review: a searing comics anthology on sexual violence

This searing new comics anthology edited by Diane Noomin shows us stories of sexual violence, harassment and – most critically – survival. Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2019-09-24 06:56:54 UTC ]
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Emmys ratings skid to an all-time low (and maybe that's not such a bad thing)

Ratings for Fox’s presentation of the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards plummeted to an all-time low Sunday night, but given that the broadcast now functions as a three-hour infomercial for the streaming services and premium cable networks that are gobbling network TV’s lunch, it’s perhaps for the best... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-09-23 22:17:27 UTC ]
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What to expect from FX’s ‘American Horror Story: 1984’

Ad Age’s Coming Attraction offers brief previews of TV shows, movies and more of interest to marketers and media people. Tonight at 10 p.m. ET, FX’s fan-favorite horror anthology series “American Horror Story” will kick off its ninth season, titled “1984”—a nightmarish string of episodes... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-09-18 16:35:40 UTC ]
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5 Great YA Science Fiction Series

If the idea of saying goodbye to epic sci-fi worlds fills you with sorrow, check out this list of great YA science fiction series and read on! Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2019-09-17 10:31:05 UTC ]
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Science fiction offers a useful way to explore China-Africa relations

Science fiction writing often serves as a thought experiment that explores shared and hidden beliefs whose material and political reverberations lie further in the future. Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2019-09-16 11:39:25 UTC ]
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Hulu's 'Castle Rock' season 2 teaser shows the origins of 'Misery'

Hulu is at last ready to offer a glimpse at Castle Rock's second season, and it's evident this won't be the feel-good hit of the year. A newly posted teaser for the Stephen King-based anthology focuses on the arrival of a younger version of Misery v... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2019-09-15 02:50:00 UTC ]
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The 1969 Neustadt Prize Charter

The Once Over The Editors of WLT Fifty years ago this week, Books Abroad editor Ivar Ivask traveled to Menton, Switzerland, to announce the establishment of the Books Abroad International Prize for Literature, the forerunner of the Neustadt Prize, at the... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2019-09-13 14:34:18 UTC ]
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Lyra McKee anthology to show 'subtlety and courage' of murdered reporter

Collection of the campaigning journalist’s work will be published next year to mark the anniversary of her killingAn anthology of work by the investigative journalist Lyra McKee, who was fatally shot by New IRA gunmen, will be published next year on the first anniversary of her death, Faber... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-09-11 10:16:33 UTC ]
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Faber to publish Lyra McKee anthology to mark anniversary of her death

Faber will publish an anthology of journalist’s Lyra McKee’s work to mark the anniversary of her death. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-11 00:46:39 UTC ]
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Blood Quantum injects zombie horror genre with an Indigenous perspective

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[ CBC | 2019-09-10 17:00:00 UTC ]
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Free e-book: Hidden Words Hidden Worlds

Contemporary Short Stories from MyanmarIn 2017 the British Council produced an anthology of short stories from Myanmar.    In 2012 the British Council sought to take advantage of new freedoms in literature and travel through a programme of workshops. The aim of the five-year literature... Continue reading at British Council global

[ British Council global | 2019-09-10 08:55:33 UTC ]
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Jhumpa Lahiri on Editing an Anthology of Italian Fiction

The Penguin Book of Italian Short Stories edited by Jhumpa Lahiri, is available now. * What was the genesis of this anthology? Three years ago, I began teaching creative writing at Princeton. I had just returned from Italy, where I had lived in Rome with my family for three years. During that... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2019-09-10 08:46:32 UTC ]
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Facebook is getting very, very good at faking your face

But just how “real” is it? Five years ago, Mark Zuckerberg stated in no uncertain terms that Facebook was going to build the metaverse, a digital world that’s a surrogate for our real one, predicted by science fiction for decades. That’s why he bought Oculus, and invested heavily in VR. But a... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2019-09-04 09:00:55 UTC ]
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Reading Women Discuss Indigenous Women Writers from Around the World

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[ Literrary Hub | 2019-09-04 08:46:57 UTC ]
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Stephen King's 'Castle Rock' returns to Hulu October 23rd

Who knew that the Maine woodlands could be so terrifying? Hulu has announced that the second season of Castle Rock, the horror anthology series based on the stories of Stephen King, will debut on October 23rd. Showrunners Sam Shaw and Dustin Thompson... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2019-08-29 18:12:00 UTC ]
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John W. Campbell Award Is Renamed After Winner Criticizes Him

Jeannette Ng, who won the prize this year, said the man it was named after “set the tone of science fiction that still haunts the genre.” Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2019-08-28 22:27:26 UTC ]
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Baen Books, RBmedia Partner On Audiobooks

Independent science fiction and fantasy publisher Baen Books has partnered with audiobook company RBmedia for an audiobook program. Under the agreement, the two companies will publish more than 170 audiobooks over the next three years. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-08-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
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