Sauron, Stephen King, and Southern Dark Academia

To view this email as a web page, go [here.]( [Tor.com Newsletter]( [Forward to a Friend]( COMFORT & CATHARSIS [Finding Comfort in the Horror of Stephen King’s Maine]( "The monsters on the page mirrored the monsters in my head." In this moving personal essay, writer Elizabeth Austin recounts the experience of reading Stephen King’s horror novels while her child goes through cancer treatment during the pandemic. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( MIDDLE-EARTH [Sacrifices Must Be Made in The Rings of Power Finale, “Alloyed”]( Well, dear Harfoots and Elf-friends, we have made it to the season finale of The Rings of Power. It ties up some key storylines while leaving others tantalizingly hanging, and we finally get the reveal we’ve been waiting all this time for—which one of these people is really Sauron. Sylas K Barrett reviews the episode here. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( SFF CLASSICS [Five SFF Stories Set in Academia]( The university is an institution cloaked in prestige and mystery, so it’s no wonder that speculative fiction writers often choose colleges and universities as settings (not to mention the allure of big campus libraries). James Davis Nicoll highlights five SFF stories set in academia. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( GETTING HOT IN HERE [Sexuality and Southern Dark Academia in Lee Mandelo’s Summer Sons]( Lee Mandelo’s Summer Sons has been categorized as “dark academia” with good reason: the novel is set in the land surrounding a prestigious southern university, overflowing with menacing history, occult knowledge, and the attractive trappings of prestige. Here, Em Nordling explores Mandelo’s subversion of dark academia through expressions of queer sexuality, discussions of race and class, and a look at the realities of academic life in the South. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( MIRROR, MIRROR [The Three Types of Magical, Mystical Fantasy Mirrors]( Sprinkle magic onto the surface of a mirror, and you can explore the darker side of seeing yourself in a different light, sometimes warping reality, sometimes revealing hidden truths. Mirrors in fantasy beckon characters into sinister worlds. They imprison malevolent forces. They show us what we aren’t meant to see. Cole Rush dives into three categories of fantasy mirrors and all that they hold. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( MARK AS READ [If You Are a Big Horror Baby, Come Sit By Me]( Do you love horror conceptually, but hate—like really, really, really hate—being scared? Good news is, you’re not alone. In a new Mark as Read column, Molly Templeton discusses that sweet spot that lies in finding not-so-scary things while still maintaining perfect horror vibes. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( THE SCARE IS OUT THERE [Six Episodes of The X-Files That Are Perfect for Halloween]( The X-Files is known for its sci-fi storylines but every so often it reaches out a toe and dips it squarely into the horror genre. The more horror-focused episodes tend to be the self-contained monster-of-the-week outings, largely separate from the series’ overarching alien mythology story arc. This makes them perfect to view as standalone stories—and also perfect to watch on a crisp October night in the lead-up to Halloween. Lorna Wallace recommends six delightfully spooky episodes of The X-Files. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( ORIGINAL FICTION ["Of all the New Yorks in all the Worlds" by Indrapramit Das]( A student of multiversal time travel slips from one version of New York to another, discovering that love may transcend timelines, but so too can heartbreak… [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.