"McLuhan predicted the Global Village, but neglected to mention that the village in question is Salem, Massachusetts in 1692." 😂🏆 In all seriousness though there's a pretty good argument in this piece I think we could extrapolate it into a discussion of the ethical basis of Nazi kitsch and AI slop

Nominations for a related work next year…? An excellent essay.

This thread reminds me of the GEnie message boards of a previous millennium. Which is intended as a compliment.

There’s an old phrase: “the golden age of science fiction is twelve.” And the same thing could be said about the nationalism underpinning fascism. It’s a movement looking back at how they perceived the world when they were young and wanting to reshape the future in that neoteny-fuelled vision 3/

The hottest of hot takes: A blog post that compares a conservative backlash against abstract art in the 1920s to a more recent conservative backlash against literary speculative fiction. Come at me bro, if you take umbrage at technological determinism. Post: hugoclub.blogspot.com/2025/08/hot-...

Which is your favourite current TV show in which a resident of a gigantic nuclear bunker becomes disillusioned with the status quo, questions commonly accepted history, and by doing so uncovers a shadowy conspiracy? Blog post: hugoclub.blogspot.com/2025/09/bunk...

When allegiance to a multi-media franchise brand eclipses critical engagement, even the most idealistic communities risk being co-opted by forces that run counter to the values they once championed. Star Trek is now owned by problematic people. New blog post: hugoclub.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-...

I'm insufferably pleased with a line in this blog post: "Despite relatively solid special effects in the movie Ghost, we found the idea of a Wall Street investment banker who is ethical to be largely unbelievable."

This Bluesky post is eligible for Best Related Work.

The 1992 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation is hard to argue with. Just non-stop greatness from beginning to end. What were your favourite SFF movies of 1991? Could anything have bested Terminator 2? Blog post: hugoclub.blogspot.com/2026/05/a-ye...

Ode to the Half-Broken by @zanzjan.bsky.social is an engaging read that could be described as being like Unforgiven by way of Clifford D. Simak. It's a very fine addition to the growing sub-genre of post-apocalyptic robot books, and one we recommend highly. hugoclub.blogspot.com/2026/06/half...

The cutest kitten.

THE NEXUS IS A PRISON!

I genuinely think Michael Fouccault would have loved Zardoz. Having a giant screaming head as a fake god is one of the great ideas in 1970s cinema. It represents all kinds of ways in which society keeps order; both the threat of violence (guns), but through myth (religion), and ideology.

I Love Boosters is the best science fiction movie of 2026, and it's not even close.

Me, the DM: “An ent has been through the area having illegitimate children. Now there’s a small group of evil trees causing chaos for the villagers.” The players: “is this a stupid pun-based adventure again?” Me: “All copse are bastards…”

Emu night (1/2)

There are different ways for a movie to be "bad." It can be bad due to inept filmmaking, but there are far worse ways for a movie to be "bad." Films can celebrate unkindness, or promote any one of thousands of odious worldviews.

What happens when we consider a proposed solution to the Fermi Paradox in light of the genetic woes of cheetahs? @jdnicoll.bsky.social shares some thoughts on Percolation Theory, inbreeding, and interstellar colonization...

Is it too early to start talking about what we're excited to nominate for next year's Hugo Awards? Recommendations List: hugoclub.blogspot.com/2026/03/open...

Just want to remind all y'all that there is a Bsky starter pack of the 2026 Hugo Award finalists so you can follow them all with relative ease. Handy tool that I hope @montrealworldcon27.bsky.social and @brisbane28.org will emulate.

The Ascendancy of Science Fiction Cinema. A new blog post about the first truly great year in Hugo Dramatic Presentation History: hugoclub.blogspot.com/2024/02/the-...

Alternate history about the Second World War has often been criticized as being fiction for Nazi fetishists. But the best such fiction doesn’t ask “what if the Nazis won,” but rather asks a far more discomforting question: “what if fascism was always present in some part of my own national myth.”

The Demolished Man won the first Hugo Award despite being ineligible. Alfred Bester's novel was published in three parts over the months of January, February and March of 1952. The Hugo rules that year state that the award is for "Works first published between August 1, 1952 and August 1, 1953."

"As the iconic left-wing magazine The New Statesman (a magazine founded by H.G. Wells) puts it: Britain must now unite behind Count Binface."

Fun fact: you can follow @countbinface.bsky.social. And watch this interview: www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGOm...

There is a subtext in the post-apocalyptic robot novel that the worst parts of capitalism — alienation of the worker from their labour, power imbalances, hierarchy — will survive the extinction of humanity. The purpose may end, but the labour will carry on.

Is Tenet secretly the best Christopher Nolan movie?

The cutest kitten.

A new printing of The Quatermass Experiment is now in stock, @tobyhadoke.bsky.social's immersive account of the making of TV's first sci-fi classic, illustrated with rare photographs from the archives of writer Nigel Kneale. Order now from tenacrebooks.co.uk

Fun fact: the pop band Chumbawamba recorded a song about the Peasants Revolt of 1381. I hope they use it in the soundtrack.

Another historical inaccuracy from Nolan—IMAX had not yet been invented in the Mycenaean period, so this is not the aspect ratio that people saw in! Smh

I don't know that I'm coining "sloppycats" as a term with this piece but I believe we're going to be seeing a lot of them www.avclub.com/ai-rip-off-f...

Gonna be real here: The @aptshadow.bsky.social RPG sourcebooks I want to own would be for the Tyrant Philosophers world. There's so much glorious and interesting worldbuilding. I want an atlas of the Pallesand archipelago. I want to read a (biased in-world) history of Perfection.

More of this type of live action remake please.

There may be a problem. I think Elsie can vote for the Hugos. It's like this, she's going to be on programing, so I registered her for Worldcon. As an attending child. She's 8. (They didn't require that, fyi.) Then I looked at the WSFS constitution. It doesn't say anything about being human.

really thinking about this tweet as i’ve been struggling to breathe through nausea for the last 5 hours

One person in my book club has seen Odyssey and swears it is the best movie of the year. I can’t wait.

I'll be at WorldCon this year!

Martha Wells is one of those panelists who gives everyone else time to speak, and makes the conversation better by dragging everyone else in. When she speaks up, it's always with something insightful. Genuinely one of the best panelists to go see, and not just because she's an ultra-famous author.

OK. I'm doing this. One like = one opinion about either Trek or Zardoz!

Just encountered this entirely without context out in the wild but it seems like this is a part of the internet we should be plugged into

Vote for who I get to hand a trophy to!

Name a non-LOT4 character that could resist the One Ring.

Alternate History argues that that nothing is inevitable … an idea in direct opposition to a fascistic idea of a national destiny. Such critical reflection is rarely a bad thing, even — or perhaps especially — on national holidays. New blog post: hugoclub.blogspot.com/2026/07/the-...

Anyway I did a story awhile back on wildfire smoke is bad and why wildfire smoke from far away (i.e. aged smoke) is weirdly bad for us - it has to do with particle size.

A true gentleman with a razor sharp wit, @scalzi.com brings energy and joy to every convention he attends. We're thrilled to welcome him as a featured participant at #LAconV. The Hugo-winning novelist, burrito enthusiast, and notorious DJ has been honored by having an asteroid named after him.

The Hugo, Lodestar, and Astounding Awards voting is still open until August 8th at 12 pm Pacific! Don't forget to submit your ballots if you're an Attending, Virtual, or WSFS member. If you don't have a membership yet, you can sign up through our site now: lacon.org/register