Magnificent. No other word for it.

Another thing that I really appreciated was Mamdani's get out the vote efforts. I was reading somewhere that it became something of a social thing for a lot of people, and it got them out into the city and meeting their neighbors in ways they wouldn't have otherwise.

Ugh. Social media really cooked people’s brains. This week is the anniversary of the 1927 flood in Vermont, and there’s been no shortage of these snotty, passive aggressive posts from boomers trying to start an argument online.

Book 45 of 2025: The Shattering Peace by @scalzi.com. I’ve enjoyed the entire Old Man’s War series and this is a nice installment: I like how we’ve returned to some things from earlier in the series (the Consu) but not retreading over old ground while also playing with some bigger picture stuff.

Book 44 of 2025: All That We See or Seem by @kyliu99.bsky.social. This was really great: a slick thriller loaded with commentary about social media, AI, and creativity.

November is upon us, and that brings a whole new crop of books to check out: transfer-orbit.ghost.io/sci-fi-fanta...

One of the regular features I run on Transfer Orbit is a roundup of the latest short fiction that's coming out month-to-month. It's updated twice a month: once in the beginning, and at the end, when magazines have published all their stories. Here's the newly-updated TOC for October 2025:

November is upon us, and that brings a whole new crop of books to check out: transfer-orbit.ghost.io/sci-fi-fanta...

Hey there astronomy community! If anyone has any information or new footage of that impact flash on the Moon, please let me know—I’d love to see it/hear about it. 📸: @dfuji1.bsky.social

Making a move to Ghost and launching with the first newsletter on Monday. If you want to visit: www.itsthepictures.com

I moved Transfer Orbit from Substack to Ghost a couple of years ago, for the same reasons that most of these authors have cited: www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/top-...

It finally happened!

Susana Morris's Positive Obsession is an intimate and tragic look at the life of Octavia Butler, exploring how she observed the world and imbued her books with her principles and insights, resulting in a stunning body of work that remains relevant, decades after they were written.

Susana Morris's Positive Obsession is an intimate and tragic look at the life of Octavia Butler, exploring how she observed the world and imbued her books with her principles and insights, resulting in a stunning body of work that remains relevant, decades after they were written.

R.F. Kuang's Katabasis is a gripping quest about the pitfalls of academia and finding one's true self. Here’s my review: transfer-orbit.ghost.io/rf-kuang-kat...

R.F. Kuang's Katabasis is a gripping quest about the pitfalls of academia and finding one's true self. Here’s my review: transfer-orbit.ghost.io/rf-kuang-kat...

I know for a fact that a whole bunch of people bought Cosplay (or were interested enough to pick it up) because @asavage.bsky.social did the foreword!

Last week, word broke that Adam Driver and director Steven Soderbergh had put together a new Star Wars film: The Hunt for Ben Solo. It appears to have been pretty far along before Disney canceled it. transfer-orbit.ghost.io/star-wars-hu...

I’m wrapping things up at the museum and will head over in a moment.

I bought this today for an upcoming newsletter thing, and when I showed my daughter, she said with a tone of disgust: “letters??? Why did you get letters?”

Netflix’s A House of Dynamite begins streaming today. It’s pretty terrifying, and it reminds me quite a bit of Annie Jacobsen’s Nuclear War: A Scenario. Here’s my review of it from last year: transfer-orbit.ghost.io/nuclear-war-...

TBH, I suspect it would be easier to list the people who *haven’t” pitched a Star Wars project at this point.

A few thoughts on Philip Pullman's new book THE ROSE FIELD (minor spoilers) www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

Tonight! The Traveling SFF Book Festival is heading to Norwich Bookstore in Vermont!

Hey, I’m going to be on @ctpublic.bsky.social to talk about horror and spooky stories!

Book 43 of 2025: King Sorrow by @joe-hill.bsky.social. Ever read one of those books where you finish and want to start again? I think this is Joe’s best one: a sprawling opus about revenge and rage and dragons. There’s so much stuffed into this book, it’s like a full-course meal. 🐉

October has been jam packed with new books. Here’s a final list from Transfer Orbit for the month: transfer-orbit.ghost.io/sci-fi-fanta...

Here's some really cool news: The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens has acquired Kim Stanley Robinson's papers, manuscripts, and journals! transfer-orbit.ghost.io/kim-stanley-...

Here's some really cool news: The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens has acquired Kim Stanley Robinson's papers, manuscripts, and journals! transfer-orbit.ghost.io/kim-stanley-...

I’ve always found it super weird that a) foundation was voted the best science fiction novel of all time back in the day and 2) people still say it is.

🤯

The Martian is getting a new deluxe edition, but I can't help but think that these sorts of "special edition" copies are quickly becoming the new cover art refresh. If you're going to release a premium edition of a book, maybe you should be more than just porting the layout into a new package?

J.R.R. Tolkien published The Return of the King, the final installment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, on October 20th, 1955. I re-read the book back in January, and jotted down some thoughts about Denethor, the Palantírs, and propaganda: transfer-orbit.ghost.io/tolkien-retu...

The Martian is getting a new deluxe edition, but I can't help but think that these sorts of "special edition" copies are quickly becoming the new cover art refresh. If you're going to release a premium edition of a book, maybe you should be more than just porting the layout into a new package?

The Green Mountain Book Festival has kicked off in Burlington! Our first session was a small writer’s workshop/Q&A with @scalzi.com.

Book 42 of 2025: Physics for Cats by @tomgauld.bsky.social. This volume of his latest cartoons is delightfully nerdy.

Link’s Awakening.

October is packed with books: I've got another SF/F book list out to subscribers: transfer-orbit.ghost.io/sci-fi-fanta...

October is packed with books: I've got another SF/F book list out to subscribers: transfer-orbit.ghost.io/sci-fi-fanta...

Hey, if you're in the area, I'll be on @vermontpublic.org's Vermont Edition to talk about this week's Green Mountain Book Festival in about 20 minutes! www.vermontpublic.org/show/vermont...

It's launch day for the US edition of ALL THAT WE SEE OR SEEM! What is the future for human art in the age of AI? What kind of AI is actually helpful? These are some of the questions driving this techno-thriller. Get it from wherever you prefer to get your books. @sagapressbooks.bsky.social

Hm.

This exists: www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/fc.cgi

Yup.

Inseparable.

Please don’t actually step into someone else’s skin to cosplay. Accuracy is great and all, but there *are* limits.

Pre-order your copy of @ABRAMSbooks’ The Art of Star Wars: Andor (The Complete Series) today! Featuring artwork from all 24 episodes, plus extensive interviews with creator Tony Gilroy, star Diego Luna, Emmy-winning production designer Luke Hull, and many more! (May 19, 2026)

I liked the first and second Tron films (need to see 3 soon), but I always feel like they leave so much on the table. They need to hire a philosopher or someone to help consult on the scripts and story to think over the implications of what’s there so that it goes beyond glowy neon lights.

249 years ago today: the Battle of Valcour Island took place in Lake Champlain in 1776. It was the first naval battle during the Rev War, in which Benedict Arnold led a small fleet of ships against a larger British flotilla, and fended them off after a heated battle.

This is a drum that I've been beating for a while: it's *okay* to bring a story / show to an end, especially if it's reached that point, narratively.