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2 months ago | 
theportalist.com | Archita Mittra |Terry Pratchett |Arthur Clarke |Robin Hobb
Diving into a speculative novel might sound like the perfect cozy evening, but do you know what’s even better? Devouring entire science fiction and fantasy book series in a span of few days or weeks—getting lost in a magical universe so intricate, with characters you grow to love or hate, following the ups and downs of their lives through the course of several long novels.
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Nov 7, 2024 | 
theportalist.com | Archita Mittra
There’s something inherently magical about going on a road trip. You’ve got incredible scenery, delicious snacks, personalized playlists and plenty of laughter and banter with your loved ones to keep you company through the long drive. Maybe you’ll pick up a stranger or two, lose your map, stop at an eerie gas station at 2 a.m., or camp out in the country under starlight, marveling about humanity’s place in the cosmos.
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Nov 6, 2024 | 
lightspeedmagazine.com | Wendy Wagner |Archita Mittra
It is the year 3048 and you still hate your job. In the past eight hours since landing on this wasteland planet, you fended off two rogue mechas, hacked the building’s access code, and decapitated a droid—all to recover a rusty motherboard from the wreckage. The hazmat suit itches but the air is too poisonous to take it off. You glance at the circuit—an antiquated iridium-powered device that went obsolete at least two centuries ago—and feel a familiar sense of puzzlement.
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Oct 30, 2024 | 
theportalist.com | Archita Mittra
Death is one of life’s enduring mysteries. Though scientists are yet to prove the existence of an afterlife or find the secret to immortality, writers have already imagined the answers to some of these big questions. Narrating stories from the POV of dead people not only allows readers to approach the miracle of life with fresh eyes, but also offers a sense of closure to survivors grappling with grief and guilt.
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Oct 21, 2024 | 
theportalist.com | Archita Mittra
C.S. Lewis once said, “Two heads are better than one, not because either is infallible, but because they are unlikely to go wrong in the same direction.” Collaborations can be of many kinds—whether it’s a writer and artist teaming up for a comic, a patient editor or a translator bringing an author’s vision to life, or even two authors working together on the same novel.
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Oct 6, 2024 | 
theportalist.com | Archita Mittra
It’s not a secret that Jeff Bezos was personally involved with the Tolkien Estate in negotiating the rights to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (along with its appendices) for a multi-season television series. The directive to Amazon Studios was ambitious—develop the next Game of Thrones—and one might argue that it has been to its detriment.
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Sep 17, 2024 | 
strangehorizons.com | Archita Mittra |J.L. Akagi |Marie Brennan |Emily Liu
My first introduction to Tobi Ogundiran’s work was his short story “The Lady of the Yellow-Painted Library,” which appeared in the Africa Risen anthology. In this tale, an unlucky salesman is relentlessly pursued by an otherworldly librarian for failing to return on time a copy of Things Fall Apart. It’s a fiendishly funny tale about karmic justice and repaying debts that also manages to be enormously entertaining.
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Sep 17, 2024 | 
strangehorizons.com | Marie Brennan |J.L. Akagi |Emily Liu |Archita Mittra
Last week I had a word for it. That feeling when something goes well,really well,and you’re warm and bright inside—there’s a word—but it’s gone, stolen, seized in the raid;the others have it nowin the town across the bay,not the feeling, but yes the feeling,and the word. They came again this week,with those things in their hands—metal, sharp,you hurt people with them,we have them too,but not the word—not anymore—the sounds and the sensetaken back across the bay,a trophy of their triumph.
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Sep 17, 2024 | 
strangehorizons.com | J.L. Akagi |Marie Brennan |Emily Liu |Archita Mittra
A whale soars over Brooklyn. Clouds spread in streaks over the pale blue sky like cold butter. And the whale cleaves right through. Dar spots it from his perch on the rooftop, smoking a contraband cigarette. At first, it looks like the whale is just playing. Bobbing in and out of the clouds the way calves do during their migratory season. But the whale is too large to be a calf; it casts a shadow over the entire block as it glides directly overhead.
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Sep 16, 2024 | 
strangehorizons.com | Emily Liu |Marie Brennan |J.L. Akagi |Archita Mittra
time wrinklesa brief softeningand then a flood. raintinged with lavender, mild scentof rot and freshness. a decay and a blossom. shedding the old skin, again,studded with the last universe’s stars. rictus, squeezing — pain. the silent sound of tearing. blood becomes time. then a slinky of selves, wormholing haphazardbetween those spacesbetween our wordsbetween us,when i —when we —that lookbetween us, before i move all at once — we move — who first?
