MCU's Weird Phase 4, Stanislaw Lem, and the Best Character in 1980s Film

Plus, Original Fiction from Silvia Park! To view this email as a web page, go [here.]( [Tor.com Newsletter]( [Forward to a Friend]( THE PATTERN [Reading the Wheel of Time: What it Means to Be Ta’veren]( Having just finished the third book in Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time, Sylas K Barrett takes a closer look at the concept of ta’veren and how it affects these beloved characters. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( LOOKING FORWARD [Phase 4 of the MCU is Finally Getting Weird]( With Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe announced, we can finally glean a trajectory for the franchise post-Infinity Saga: a weird one. Emily Asher-Perrin looks forward at Phase 4’s “interesting” choices and wonders if weirdness was where the MCU always had to go in order to stay “interesting”. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( QUESTIONABLE LEADERSHIP CHOICES [Five SFF Books With Bad Old Men]( The old man in science fiction and fantasy is multitudinous. He shows his age in ways physical and spiritual. He can be a wise old mentor or a forbidding elder. He can be a distant God or a loving grandfather. He can be a mad king or a cackling peasant. But sometimes he just sucks. Author Tamsyn Muir takes a look at five old men in fiction who are, shall we say, uh… not the best. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( LIKE SUPERMAN [20 Years Later, the Message of The Iron Giant Is More Urgent Than Ever]( “He’s a lot like you: crash-landed on Earth, didn’t know what he was doing. But he only uses his powers for good, never evil. Remember that.” While The Iron Giant may reach backwards to 1957, it has gradually become one of the most important superhero movies of the modern era. Joe George revisits the beloved film and what it means to be the good guy. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( BOOK LOVERS UNITE [Jo Walton’s Reading List: July 2019]( Need new books to add to your summer reading list? Author Jo Walton shares her latest choices, including books by Jordanna Max Brodsky, Ann Aguirre, Peter S. Beagle, and more. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( LOVE FOR LOVECRAFT [Celebrating the 250th Installment of the Lovecraft Reread!]( This week, Anne M. Pillsworth and Ruthanna Emrys celebrate their 250th Lovecraft Reread post by watching The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu, a 2009 comedy-horror flick directed by Henry Saine and scripted by Devin McGinn. Be prepared for bloody guts, hooded Cthuhlu cultists, and Lovecraftian-inspired weirdness! [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( CAN WE GET A DAY-O? [An Ode to Beetlejuice’s Otho, the Best Character in 1980s Film]( Is there a more wonderful goth icon than Beetlejuice’s Otho Fenloc? Otho alone embodies the fluidity that has come to characterize modern adulthood, contrary to other 80’s men on film. Leah Schnelbach writes an ode to Otho, and the admiration he deserves. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( HECK YEAH ALIENS [Embracing the Impossible Puzzle of Stanisław Lem’s Solaris]( Can a human ever truly understand an alien? To explore the intricacies and complexities of this key question, science fiction needs novels like 1961’s Solaris. Jonathan E. Hernandez reads the classic novel on alien cultures. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( ORIGINAL FICTION [“More Real Than Him” by Silvia Park]( The beginnings of a tentative friendship between two roboticists complicate over career envy, female beauty, and a stolen robot designed to resemble a famous Korean actor. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( Follow Tor.com to get updates on all of our original fiction. FOLLOW US: [Follow Us on Facebook]( [Follow Us on Twitter]( [Follow Us on Tumblr]( [Follow Us on Pinterest]( This email was sent by: Macmillan 120 Broadway New York, NY, 10271, US We respect your right to privacy - [view our policy]( Macmillan believes piracy hurts writers, readers and everyone who loves books. Learn more and report suspicious activity [here.]( To subscribe to this or other email communications from Macmillan, please click [here](. Visit our [profile center]( to update your email address and/or other information. If you no longer wish to receive this email communication, click [here]( to unsubscribe.