#sff/h

[effusive-eschatologist]

I'm so excited to present the COVER REVEAL for my debut graphic novel, SN_33P'sCoolZine.pdf! It's the story of a spunky little AI who is making a punk zine to cope with grief for its creator. It's Adventure Time meets I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream!

You can pre-order it here: https://fifthwheelpress.myshopify.com/products/sn_33pscoolzine-pdf-by-tenacity-plys

And if you want to support me and my small indie press, reblog me so the whole world can meet SN_33P!

[uwmspeccoll]

Staff Pick of the Week

First serialized in Pearson’s (UK) and Cosmopolitan (US) in 1897, H.G. Wells’s War of the Worlds wasn’t the very first alien story ever told, but it is probably the most enduring and culturally significant of those early tales. Wells wasn’t just drawing on the nascent genre of science fiction but also the (earthly) invasion literature that was first popularized by George Tomkyns Chesney’s The Battle of Dorking ( Blackwood's Magazine, 1871). Wells later wrote that War of the Worlds was inspired by the genocidal treatment of Aboriginal Tasmanians by British colonizers.

The Limited Edition’s Club edition of H.G. Well’s War of the Worlds was published in 1964. It is illustrated with ten color lithographs, drawn directly on the plates by Joeseph Mugnaini, as well as a number of smaller line drawings by the artist. We posted a few years ago about the Limited Editions Club edition of The Time Machine, also illustrated by Mugnaini. These two books were originally issued together in an ochre-yellow slipcase that matches the end papers; the linen-weave book-cloth bindings are dyed in an opposite color scheme (black with a red spine label for The Time Machine and red with a black spine label for War of the Worlds). The boxed set was designed by Peter Oldenburg and printed on white wove paper from Curtis Paper Company by Abraham Colish at his press in Mt. Vernon, NY. The lithographs were pulled by master printer George C. Miller. 

I love how Mugnaini’s colorful illustrations manifest a sense of unease: the yellow and red skies backing the alien invaders, the extreme heat of blue streaked flames, the kaleidoscopic ruins of a building. Mugnaini was best known for his many collaborations with another Science Fiction heavyweight: Ray Bradbury, including cover art for the first paperback and hardback editions of Fahrenheit 451. A previous Staff Pick featured Mugnaini’s illustrations for the Limited Editions Club of Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles.

You can find more posts on the work of H. G. Wells here.

Check out more from illustrator Joe Mugnaini here.

And here you can find more from Limited Editions Club.

For more Staff Picks here. 

-Olivia, Special Collections Graduate Intern

[dramyhsturgis]

Meet The Last Man!

In March 2024, I will be offering the module "Meet The Last Man" with SPACE (Signum Portals for Adult Continuing Education) online via Signum University.

Mary Shelley's novel The Last Man is one of the most relevant books we can read right now, and I'm really looking forward to exploring it with students!

Here is more information.

[thatemperor]

My potentially spicy take is that I truly think the future of creative writing & comics is in indie & self-publishing. I used to be super bitter about this (see: 5 to 10 years ago when I first started to notice this change) because I saw it as a death knell for Actually Good Stories. I operated on the assumption that: great ideas being only published by small press = quality of the work will suffer due to lack of $. Initially, I do think this was true, but currently, that is no longer the case (imo) for prose and comics, and I've grown to really enjoy it. I really hope this momentum continues, as I would love to see the death of big publishers/big Hollywood/etc having a monopoly on the mainstream market.

[lastseenleaving]

High above a jungle-planet float the last refuges of humanity—plant-made civilizations held together by tradition, technology, and arcane science. In these living cities, architects are revered above anyone else. If not for their ability to psychically manipulate the architecture, the cities would plunge into the devastating earthrage storms below. Charismatic, powerful, mystical, Iravan is one such architect. In his city, his word is nearly law. His abilities are his identity, but to Ahilya, his wife, they are a way for survival to be reliant on the privileged few. Like most others, she cannot manipulate the plants. And she desperately seeks change. Their marriage is already thorny—then Iravan is accused of pushing his abilities to forbidden limits. He needs Ahilya to help clear his name; she needs him to tip the balance of rule in their society. As their paths become increasingly intertwined, deadly truths emerge, challenging everything each of them believes. And as the earthrages become longer, and their floating city begins to plummet, Iravan and Ahilya's discoveries might destroy their marriage, their culture, and their entire civilization.

[songofwizardry]

belated Ramadan Mubarak!

I try to do a bit of reading every Ramadan, so, for accountability, and so that when I inevitably don’t get through them I can find my list next year—here's my (extremely very ambitious) reading list for this year!

(suggestions are very welcome, with the warning that I very much may not get through them. this year, I’m trying to learn more about Islam and liberation theology and I’m trying to read more abolitionist texts, and of course my standard queer Muslim books, I’m trying to read more poetry by Muslim poets I don’t know well, and every Ramadan I try and only read fiction by Muslim authors, so there’s some sff on here too!)

non-fic:

memoirs:

We Have Always Been Here by Samra Habib (reread)

Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H

The Colour of God by Ayesha S Chaudhry

Love is an Ex-Country by Randa Jarrar

A Dutiful Boy by Mohsin Zaidi

other nonfic:

Islam and Anarchism by Mohamed Abdou

We Do This Til We Free Us by Mariame Kaba (reread-ish? I never fully finished it)

Let This Radicalise You by Kelly Hayes and Mariame Kaba

Qur'an and Woman by Amina Wadud (which I also never finished)

The Women's Khutbah Book by Fatima Seedat and Sa'diyya Shaikh

Qur’an of the Oppressed: Liberation Theology and Gender Justice in Islam by Shadaab Rahemtulla

With Stones in Our Hands: Writings on Muslims, Racism, and Empire by Sohail Daulatzai and Junaid Rana

fiction:

The Candle and the Flame by Nafiza Azad

Mirage by Somaiya Daud (yes I still have not read this)

The Light at the Bottom of the World by London Shah

Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion by Bushra Rehman

A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faisal

poetry:

Halal If You Hear Me (anthology)

If They Come For Us by Fatimah Asghar (reread)

Hagar Poems by Mohja Kahf

Bad Diaspora Poems by Momtaza Mehri

The Fortieth Day by Kazim Ali

Black Seeds by Tariq Touré

Postcolonial Banter by Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan

[brundledfly]

Has it been long enough that I can say tumblr’s obsession w/ Guillermo del Toro was fucking torturous for me even in 2013. Taika Waititi was his successor in the sense that he occupied that same space in the tumblr consciousness until recently. Even del Toro is fine compared to Waititi tho. Who will be the next token director who does really fucking boring sff/h movies that tumblr likes? Will he be even worse? Or will this be a she…perhaps a they

[chimaerakitten]

Why isn’t It’s a Wonderful Life a more popular hurt/comfort fic inspiration? Most canons with significant fandoms will offer at least some events that can have the same function as the first hour and a half of the movie, and there’s a million ways to contrive the last half hour in SFF settings. It’s like. A ready made structure for h/c

[misforgotten2]

I've been SFF&H collecting paperbacks for more than most of you were alive and haunted book store up and down the west coast and I never saw any of these books before finding them on Ebay. I'm guessing these had little distribution west of the Mississippi. I paid $5 & free shipping total for the set.

A book you very likely don’t have on your shelf #601 - 605

All covers by Hinck -- all 1978

[kadoore]

March 2023 Queer Adult SFF Books!

THE MIMICKING OF KNOWN SUCCESSES by Malka Older 3/7/2023

f/f

gaslamp mystery, but make it Jupiter

platform-livin' on a gas giant

cozy Holmes/Watson vibes

ARCA by G.R. Macallister 3/7/2023

sapphic MCs, pan and nb side characters

picks up where SCORPICA left off

that is, a matriarchical society where politics and magic clash and a fragile peace might soon come undone

THE FAITHLESS by C.L. Clark 3/7/2023

f/f

sequel to THE UNBROKEN

those ARMS

found family vs found my family

the queen might be hot af but she's still trying to conquer your people

it's time for a revolution

PROUD PINK SKY by Redfern Jon Barrett 3/14/2023

m/m

the alt-historical, glittering queer metropolis of Berlin draws two fleeing gays toward (supposed) sanctuary

but even in a queer utopia, there's strife and division amongst the gays

FEED THEM SILENCE by Lee Mandelo 3/14/2023

f/f established couple

hey we can translate wolf speak!

oh, what they're saying is pretty interesting

let's just be wolves

well that escalated quickly

BITTER MEDICINE by Mia Tsai 3/14/2023

bi MCs in a m/f relationship

xianxia-inspired romantic fantasy between a descendant of the Chinese god of medicine and an elf security expert

magical calligraphy, cursed children, & murderous younger brothers

WE DREAM OF GODS by Devin Madson 3/21/2023

m/m, plus bi characters

puts the epic in epic fantasy

necromancy & tasteful beheadings & empire building, yesss

4th & final book in the REBORN EMPIRE, which started with WE RIDE THE STORM

THE BLOOD HOURS by Ann H. Fox 3/21/2023

bi MC

magic-users are marked with how long they're allowed to live before they're hunted by priests as sacrifice

MC got 72 years; his sister only 10

So when his sister enters the hunt, so does he

LOKI'S RING by Stina Leicht 3/28/2023

many queer POV characters

a crisis team of middle-aged folks are stranded on a planet under quarantine

adopted AI children & alien-made solar systems

same universe as PERSEPHONE STATION

BLACKHEART GHOSTS by Laure Eve 3/30/2023

f/f

queer Arthurian urban fantasy with motor bikes?? And illegal magic???

illusionists, betrayal, and half-drowned strangers 🧑‍🍳🤌

sequel to BLACKHEART KNIGHTS

More queer 2023 books: January | February | April

[effusive-eschatologist]

Moodboard for Family Curse - Field Notebooks (1880 - 2020)

“A monster is a shadow cast by a human.”

out 10/1; follow for an order link~~ 

[flameswallower]

If I were ever to take on the work of editing themed anthologies, here are some I'd really like to do:

an anthology of fiction and poetry by people who experience hallucinations, exploring that type of experience from an unconventional, non-medicalized perspective (along the lines of the Hearing Voices Network, you dig)

an anthology of SFF-H queer stories where each story is inspired by one of the stripes on the original Gilbert Baker rainbow pride flag, both the color and the symbolic meaning (eg pink for sex, turquoise for magic, green for nature, etc.)

an anthology of SFF-H about labyrinths/labyrinthine spaces

[bookcub]

reread nimona by nd stevenson in prep for my sff class and oh i think it is a fantastic addition to the the class!! a. obviously it has scifi and fantasy elements b. the characters are the best c. we can talk about graphic novels as a form of media d. we can talk about the history of media placing queer people and disabled people in the role of the villians e. it asks the question of what is good and what is evil f. it encourages people to question authority g. it has one of the best friendships at its center and h.

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

Unsung Stories Haul!

I got THE most delightful box stuffed FULL OF BOOKS yesterday, because I really wanted UNEXPECTED PLACES TO FALL FROM, UNEXPECTED PLACES TO LAND after supremely enjoying the author's other book (AND THEN I WOKE UP).

Turns out the publisher was closing up shop, so they were offering deep discounts on all their paperback stock to clear it out. I figured what the hell, I can always use more weird fucked up SFF/H, so here we are.

[lastseenleaving]

Illustrated book covers 2023

(artist: Leo Nickolls)

[albertserra]

at risk of sounding like one of those people, do you have any recommended films for someone who wants to look into horror but doesnt know where to start? Everywhere I've seen just recommends the same 4 or so 80s slasher movies. Or an anthology of some kind that showcases the different subgenres, ik things like that exist for SFF but I dont know enough about the horror genre to know where to look for stuff there

hmmm ill try, just know these will be biased towards my tastes which wont always align with yours. also im too lazy to add warnings for everything - please research for your safety if you're concerned abt triggers/disturbing content

sci-fi horror

event horizon (1997)

alien (1979)

the thing (1982)

the fly (1986)

phantasm (1979)

monsters/creatures/etc

godzilla (1954)

jaws (1975)

the descent (2005)

it follows (2014)

hellraiser (1987)

frankenstein (1931)

zombies

train to busan (2016)

28 days later (2002)

night of the living dead (1968)

the return of the living dead (1985)

horror comedy

one cut of the dead (2019)

the old dark house (1932)

house (1977)

fight night (1985)

gremlins (1984) and gremlins 2 (1990)

all cheerleaders die (2013)

slasher/giallo/killers etc

tenebre (1982)

black christmas (1974)

the house on sorority row (1982)

suspiria (1977)

a nightmare on elm street (1984)

the texas chain saw massacre (1974)

ghosts and hauntings

pulse (2001)

under the shadow (2016)

pengabdi setan (2017)

the blair witch project (1999)

the uninvited (1944)

psychological horror

invasion of the body snatchers (1978)

images (1972)

cure (1997)

let's scare jessica to death (1971)

the cremator (1969)

carnival of souls (1962)

vampires

ganja & hess (1973)

a girl walks home alone at night (2014)

let the right one in (2008)

thirst (2009)

gay!

the hitcher (1986)

the haunting (1963)

a nightmare on elm street 2 (1985)

la región salvaje (2016)

bride of frankenstein (1935)

titane (2021)

la morte vivante (1982)

anthology

kwaidan (1964)

v/h/s (1 and 94 are the best imo. skip viral.)

tales from the crypt (1972)

tales from the hood (1995)

dead of night (1945)