#pat cadigan

[stephenist]

Rudy Rucker has posted free epub, mobi and webpage formats of the seminal sci-fi cyberpunk anthology ➡️ Mirrorshades. ⬅️

[benevolentlibraryghost]

I wish this were a movie

Dear reader, welcome to my TED Talk on why this book is in many ways better than the movie. And also that I can understand why it wasn't turned into a movie. Warning: I will be discussing spoilers. You have been warned.

The story begins a few years after the events of Aliens, the second movie in the spectacular Alien™ franchise. Ripley, Newt, Corporal Hicks and a badly damaged Bisschop have escaped LV-426 on the ship the Sulaco. They are all in cryo-sleep, well, except for Bisschop of course. Because he is an android.

Something goes wrong with the ship's navigation system, and the ship enters UPP borders: Union of Progressive Peoples. Well, so much for being progressive; they are socialists/communists who refuse to upgrade their technology because of their strong hatred towards capitalism. When the Sulaco floats by, they enter the ship, looking for something to steal from the capitalists. They find a sleeping pod with half an android and an alien egg growing from its abdomen.

Yes. You read that right. In this book, Xenomorph DNA can mix with android DNA. Mind = blown.

Anyways; where there is an egg, there is an idiot human who is going to hang directly above it to inspect it. A facehugger attacks and clings to one of the communists. Who is called Boris. Irony. He is shot by his crewmates, who flee with the android. They take it back to their space station "Rodina", where they start extracting information from the androids database in order to grow their own Ovomorph.

Meanwhile, the Sulaco floats further into space, until it reaches Anchorpoint, a huge space station. A few marines and a scientist board the ship. They are attacked by drones (the young adult form of Aliens). Which left me wondering where the chestbursting took place, because the people in the cryotubes are still okay. Apparantly, the aliens are evolving. A fight takes place. Luckily, our characters in the cryotubes survive, though Ripley is in a coma.

Newt is sent back to earth, to try and live a normal life with her family. And get some therapy, maybe. Ripley is also sent somewhere safe. Hicks is left alone. He picks up a job and tries to process what happened back on LV-426. Bisschop is fixed with some cheap materials and sent to Anchorpoint. All is well.

Or so we thought...

Both Rodina and Anchorpoint manage to create Ovomorphs, though they are different from the ones we know from the first two movies. A bunch of capitalist pricks try to make sure that the process goes smoothly, while Hicks and Bisschop try to sabotage the mission. Though they don't succeed, the pricks regret their decision quickly when everything goes wrong. During a meeting, a capitalist Barbie starts convulsing. A hybrid Xenomorph emerges from beneath her skin. No chestbursting. She rips away her skin, and BOOM: alien. She was not impregnated by a facehugger, but infected in a different way.

Hicks is forced to go on another bug-hunt (yay.) with some other marines, who quickly die since they don't have as much experience with the aliens as our precious husba- HICKS does. Eventually, they decide to nuke the space station. They evacuate as much people as possible, but most die on the way to the lifeboats because a large group of aliens is following them.

In the end, Hicks survives with Bisschop and a very cute female scientist. I was under the impression that Hicks was in some sort of a relationship with Ripley, but I must have been mistaken since he forms a very close bond with the scientist. Anyway, the three are saved by the only surviving communist (everything went to shit at Rodina space station, too). Hicks wonders if he is ever going to get some peace. And Bisschop tells him that he is not. Happy end :)

I love the movies and the video game, Alien: Isolation. So when I saw this book in the book store, there was simply no choice for me but to buy it. And the other alien books that were underneath it...

The first few chapters had a heavy focus on the socialists and Anchorpoint racing each other to see who can use the Xenomorph as a weapon, first. In the end, neither succeeds, but this mirrored the Cold War in many ways. I thought that was a pretty cool aspect.

After a while, this focus shifts to Anchorpoint and we don't hear much from Rodina anymore. At first I thought this to be strange, but I didn't mind anymore when shit went down and there was so much action I couldn't put the book down. At some point we went back to Rodina and everyone was dead. It felt weird to not read about them for so long and then have their story end, but I think having updates on them would've made the book too boring.

I loved how the author took the time to let the characters reflect on what was happening. For example, in the final scene, where they fly away from the nuked station; normally, you hear some orchestra playing and you see tired characters wrapped in blankets, battered with bruises, half-sleeping and ready to go home. And as viewers, you would have to imagine what they were thinking, what this scene meant. I didn't have to do any of that with this book, because this final scene was an entire chapter of the characters reflecting on what had happened to them and what their future would look like. This reflection was a perfect ending to the book and left room for future books or movies.

Now, I will quickly reflect on my problem with the third movie. It is the fact they spent the entire movie Aliens saving Newt, even going so far as to enter the nest for her, but they kill her off-screen during the opening credits. WTjklfjdlfjd. Newt might not have a big role in this book, but her story was ended properly, with a little girl going home to her family, finally save from all the horror. Don't get me wrong, I do like the third movie. It's just that her death doesn't sit right with me and makes me annoyed every time I watch the movie.

Despite all the great points of this book, I have one major issue. The authors have tried to introduce so many new types of aliens: hybrid aliens, aliens bursting from your leg instead of your chest, multiple aliens bursting and aliens from lemurs (who would actually look very cute imo). There is nothing wrong with these types of aliens, it's just that so many are introduced in one story that it's hard to keep up. Especially when it is turned into a two-hour movie.

Well, to answer that one question; is the book better than the movie? Signs point to yes. It is hard to compare such different stories, but I am happy that both exist. I would have liked to see this book turned into a movie. It would treat us to a lot of action and badassery.

Rating: 4/5 Lemur Xenos

[atomic-crusader]

Ultraman and Ultraseven Official Novelisations

I was browsing Amazon for books and came across this:

Haven't seen an announcement of these anywhere, but the author is interesting. She's won a Hugo Award, two Arther C. Clarke awards an three Locus awards among others. She's been fighting cancer since 2014 and had this to say about it:

“I swear they told me I was terminal...but that was back in December 2014. What can I say? Heaven doesn’t want me and Hell’s afraid I’ll take over.”

I like her.

[kjudgemental]

It's not a proper 80s/90s cyberpunk novel unless you have to read it five times just to work out what the fuck's going on with the plot and it still gives you whiplash even then

[watchingbehindtheeyes]

Holy moly does this novelization fragment confirm Alita wasn't in the Scrapyard for those whole 300 years?

( @imgonnachangemyusername here is one of these things)

So, one of the big mysteries around Alita is how she got in the Scrapyard and how long she was there before Ido found her. Maybe Alita lied inactive there since The Fall, for 300 years.

But the official novelization seems to hint at something different:

Nova heard her.

Chrome optics weren't his only enhancements, and there had been many upgrades since the young battle prodigy had first spotted him watching her spar with her sensei Gelda in the zero-g sphere.

That hadn't been the first time he had watched her, nor the last. He had kept track of her over the years—the centuries—and when she had finally fallen, he'd thought she had met her end.

(let's ignore Nova saw her spar with Gelda, this is a topic for another post)

The last sentence is constructed in such a way as if centuries passed before Alita ended up in Scrapyard.

While the war was long, for sure it didn't last for centuries. This indicates Nova had an eye for Alita after The Fall, until something happend, and then she fell.

But what would happen between The Fall and Ido discovering Alita? And would that make sense?

Idea #1

Alita could survive the Fall and remain active for centuries, maybe even still taking actions against Zalem after the Fall and eventually she clashed with Nova/got caught.

However, according to Ido, Alita's brain was biologically between 14-18, a teenager's brain. Even 25 years old brain is different than 18. It shouldn't remain a teenager brain if she was active for longer. It makes more sense that she went into statis when she was 18. Until URM bodies didn't allow the brains to mature frontal cortex so the soldiers would be more willing to do extreme stuff 🫠 overthinking much

Idea#2

Nova caught Alita when URM lost during The Fall and experimented on her for centuries, then threw her to the trash.

But it doesn't make sense how Nova wants her anti-matter heart, if she was in his hands before. Unless he only uses this as an excuse to tell his subordinates when in fact he is hunting her purely for fun.

OR, Alita wasn't discarded by Nova, she fell while trying to escape from his lab

Idea#3

Nothing happened. She was in the Scrapyard and Nova was aware of it, keeping an eye on her, and centuries passed like that.

Buut that's not how the sentence sounds like

Idea#4

Some shit related to Jeru/what is above Zalem

***

Soo... any thoughts?

[morganhopesmith1996]

My alita book :) I am hoping to get the prequel book also hopefully.

[downthetubes]

International Association of Media Tie-In Writers' 2024 Scribe Award winners announced

The winners of the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers' 2024 Scribe Award were announced at San Diego Comic Con this weekend - Doctor Who and Star Trek tie-in writers among them

The winners of the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers’ 2024 Scribe Award were announced at San Diego Comic Con this weekend – Doctor Who and Star Trek tie-in writers among them. The IAMTW is dedicated to enhancing the professional and public image of tie-in writers, working with the media to review tie-in novels and publicise their authors, educating people about who the writers…

[azazel-dreams]

Mad Love - Harley Quinn by Paul Dini & Pat Cadigan

Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[texasthrillbilly]

I'm reading a Lost in Space novel by Pat Cadigan (the queen of cyberpunk according to the back of the book) and I'm loving this description of Smith...

"Sleazel indeed, Major!"

[kevynthedevylman]

This one I managed to notice.😀

[spaceintruderdetector]

https://archive.org/details/ylem-journal-v26i12/mode/2up

interviews with former, repentant (asking for absolution for their synths) baby boomer cyberpunkers. Or - ‘’no los queremos, no los necesitamos’’ 

[jaysterg5]

Wild Cards V: Down and Dirty

Editor: George R. R. Martin

Authors: John J. Miller, Roger Zelazny, Leanne C. Harper, Arthur Byron Cover, Melinda M. Snodgrass, Edward Bryant, Stephen Leigh, Pat Cadigan, and Walter Jon Williams

Cover: Michael Komarck

As a gang war breaks out across the Jokertown ghetto, a new mutated version of the wild card virus strikes New York causing more deaths and transformations. Now the local Aces and Jokers find themselves fighting on two fronts just to stay alive. After the globe-trotting escapades of the previous volume, Martin and friends return us to New York and some fan favorite characters. It's great to see the Sleeper, Turtle, Bagabond, and others take the stage again. Like that earlier installment, this is a series of inter-related short stories, this time detailing the events around the gang war. We actually pick up with some characters during the events of the last book before everything moves forward in the timeline. Continuity is becoming a big part of this series now and each story builds on the previous like a literary house of cards. There are a number of stories that are serialized throughout this book, meaning they're kind of broken up in chapters between other stories. We've seen a little of that previously in the series, but this time Martin intertwines three different stories throughout the book. Disappointingly, the gang war story is really more of a background to this overall mosaic. Only a few stories really spotlight that storyline. The good news is the wild card virus outbreak and the escalating political intrigue more than make up for any lack in the gang war story. I found myself more interested in those plotlines as the book went on. There are also some very personal journeys for the Turtle and Dr. Tachyon in this book that really had me looking for the next chapter relating their stories. Most of the stories were very engaging and kept me actively turning pages. I felt Edward Bryant's "The Second Coming of Buddy Holley" was a bit of a weak point for me. Not only did the story not really fit into any of the storylines, but Cordelia Chaisson doesn't seem to make for a great protagonist. This is two books in a row where I hit a bump on stories focusing on her. I didn't think I was going to enjoy "Jesus was an Ace" by Arthur Byron Cover, but it really did give me a great insight into Reverend Leo Barnett. I'm sure there are bigger things in store for that character in future books. Overall, this was a better and more interesting read than the last one. While there was a bit of jumping around between stories, it still kept me interested and wanting to read more. My head was spinning at possibilities and I can't wait to see what the gang has in store for the future! 

[amzamiviram]

If you like science fiction, there’s a lot of really really good ones that are Hugo Award winner and nominees that are freely available on the internet. i highly recommend “The Girl-Thing Who Went Out For Sushi” by Pat Cadigan and “Folding Bejing” by Hao Jingfang, but many more can be found by searching lists of free Hugo award stories!

We need to be more focused on fucked up short stories as a society. We've all read the yellow wallpaper, the lottery, lamb to the slaughter in middle school but then we never talk about fucked up short stories outside of "haha remember when Ms Johnson made us read that story about the lady killing her husband with a leg of lamb then feeding the murder weapon to the police?"

That ends today!! Appreciation for fucked up short stories time!! Comment your favourite weird story your English teacher made you read that still sticks with you to this day PLEASE I need to read more fucked up short stories

I'll start- the veldt by ray Bradbury, rappachini's garden by nathaniel hawthorne, and this one is a little bit of a cheat because it's a graphic novel but The Nesting Place by Emily Carroll still haunts me (every story in her through the woods collection really, but nesting place especially)

[lizabethstucker]

The Year's Best Science Fiction, 12th Annual Collection

3.5 out of 5

A collection of twenty-three of 1994's best science fiction stories as selected by editor Gardner Dozois.

The book begins with Dozois' extensive summary of the year in science fiction and his concerns for the future of science fiction as a genre. Reading his 1994 observations in 2024, thirty years later, is both jarring and sad when you consider how many of the magazines mentioned no longer exist. I know most genre fiction (mystery, science fiction, fantasy in particular) go through moments where writers, critics, and anthologists are worried/predicting its destruction. I can remember hearing that worry in the late 1960s (science fiction), the 1970s (fantasy), and pretty much every decade for mystery. It never really happened, although there were always growing pains as the tropes changed. I've stopped worrying about it.

There's a fair mix of humor and angst, tragedy and farce within these pages, which I personally appreciate as it keeps the reading experience from becoming monotonous.

Contents

"Forgiveness Day" by Ursula K. Le Guin, 4 out of 5. "The Remoras" by Robert Reed, 4.5 out of 5. "Nekropolis" by Maureen F. McHugh, 3 out of 5. "Margin of Error" by Nancy Kress, 4.5 out of 5. "Cilia-of-Gold" by Stephen Baxter, 2.5 out of 5. "Going After Old Man Alabama" by William Sanders, 3.5 out of 5. "Melodies of the Heart" by Michael F. Flynn, 5 out of 5. "The Hole in the Hole" by Terry Bisson, 3.5 out of 5. "Paris in June" by Pat Cadigan, 2 out of 5. "Flowering Mandrake" by George Turner, 3 out of 5. "None So Blind" by Joe Haldeman, 3 out of 5. "Cocoon" by Greg Egan, 4 out of 5. "Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge" by Mike Resnick, 4.5 out of 5. "Dead Space for the Unexpected" by Geoff Ryman, 3 out of 5. "Cri de Coeur" by Michael Bishop, 3 out of 5. "The Sawing Boys" by Howard Waldrop, 2 out of 5. "The Matter of Seggri" by Ursula K. Le Guin, 4 out of 5. "Ylem" by Eliot Fintushel, 3 out of 5. "Asylum" by Katharine Kerr, 4.5 out of 5. "Red Elvis" by Walter Jon Williams, 3 out of 5. "California Dreamer" by Mary Rosenblum, 3 out of 5. "Split Light" by Lisa Goldenstein, 3 out of 5. "Les Fleurs du Mal" by Brian Stableford, 3 out of 5.

Some of my favorites include: "Margin of Error" which had a particularly satisfying revenge; "Melodies of the Heart" almost killed me emotionally; and "Asylum" which is frighteningly close to what we are facing in 2024.

A few of the stories disappointed me greatly, having such wonderful plots, terrific flow, and interesting characters, only to crash and burn the endings. No matter how great a story might be, if you can't stick the ending, it's all for nothing. Despite that, I'm still glad that I picked up this collection at the Friends of the Library store.

[watchingbehindtheeyes]

What Chiren thinks about Ido, Vector and love (from the prequel book)

When I mention that Chiren at some point sees Ido as weak, and Vector as the more manly one (that is, possessing qualities like assertiveness, leadership etc), this is what I'm referring to, among others.

Also, wtf Chiren you expected Dyson to do to change Nova's mind?

Like she blames Dyson for their exile because apparently he didn't act like a man, thus sees him as a "screw-up".

Oh yes if he was manly enough he'd just walk into the autocratic leader's office and look him manlily in the eyes and have a manly talk because that's what men do, right.

( @imgonnachangemyusername because you wanted to see bits from the books)