All About Mistborn, Horror in Westeros, and Demonic Deals

To view this email as a web page, go [here.]( [Tor.com Newsletter]( [Forward to a Friend]( MISTBORN [Mistborn Era 2: Everything You Need to Know Before Reading The Lost Metal]( The Lost Metal is looming large on the horizon (it’s out November 15th!), but it’s been a hot minute since The Bands of Mourning was released. If you need a quick refresher course so you can dive into the new book with your metalminds clear, Lyndsey Luther is here to help remind you of who’s who, what’s what, and all the other info you’ll need to catch up with Wax and Wayne! [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( SNARKS AND GRUMKINS [A Song of Ice and Fire Is a Horror Story That’s Been Lost in Translation]( Typically, when talking about the sorts of horror to be found in Game of Thrones or House of the Dragon , the easiest things to point to are the Grand Guignol violence of its set pieces or the uneasiness produced by characters in power with a limitless capacity for vengeance. But the Song of Ice and Fire series is in many ways a horror fantasy, beyond all the political machinations, and, so far, this is something that neither series has been interested in fully engaging with. Tyler Dean explores the horror elements that are central in Martin’s books (but not so much in the TV shows–at least so far). [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( FOR YOUR BOOKSHELVES [Deals With the Devil: Five Stories About Bargaining With the Supernatural]( There are so many reasons a person might make a deal with a devil: for money, for fame, for love, for the ability to play guitar like a god. But of course, there are always unforeseen costs, fine print, or sinister loopholes involved. Nothing is that easy. James Davis Nicoll discusses five SFF books featuring deals with demons and other supernatural entities. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( MARK AS READ [A Horse Girl, a Hobbit, a Wanderer: On Picking Up Hobbies From Books]( If you are a reader, you know books make us who we are. It’s not always some lofty, high-minded notion about learning empathy or seeing the world or understanding how other people live. Sometimes, it’s much simpler than that. Sometimes it’s wanting to know the names of things, or using a car antenna as a magic wand, or a yearning to understand embroidery. Sometimes it’s fashion sense, or reading suggestions, or cocktail ideas. Books influence our lives in so many ways, and sometimes those develop into genuine hobbies. In a new Mark as Read column, Molly Templeton shares a few lifelong hobbies she picked up from books. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( HEY, SIRI... [Five Memorably Unique Takes on Artificial Intelligence]( Artificial intelligence has long been a favorite subject among sci-fi creators. The possibilities are seemingly boundless, giving rise to heady questions… Can a machine be truly sentient? What does a computer capable of beyond-human thinking mean for humanity, if we’re no longer the top dogs? Cole Rush recommends five SFF books and series that explore very different ideas about the future of A.I. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( RINGU & BEYOND [Dark Descents and Monstrous Bodies: Writing Under the Influence of East-Asian Horror]( “Growing up in Taiwan, the paranormal was a part of everyday life. There was the annual ghost festival where citizens were warned not to go near bodies of water for fear of drowning by spirits who want to return to the land of the living…” Author Judy I. Lin details how a lifelong love of East Asian Horror influenced her own writing. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( SPOOKY SEASON NEVER ENDS [Let’s Talk About What Makes Doctor Sleep Great]( When Mike Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep came out in 2019, Leah Schnelbach was startled and extremely pleased by how willing he was to make a movie that was somehow both an epic, decade-spanning work of horror, and an intimate story of addiction. Here, Schnelbach revisits the experience of watching The Shining during the pandemic and how Doctor Sleep honors its legacy. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( FINAL GIRLS [The Passion of Michael Myers: Slashers, Scapegoats, and the Lies We Tell Ourselves]( With Halloween Ends, director David Gordon Green brings to a close his commentary on the legacy of the first slasher: Michael Myers is undeniably a monster. But he’s our monster, and we exorcise him at our own peril. JR. Forasteros delves into how the figure of the slasher has evolved from the '70s into the post-#MeToo era, looking at the Halloween movies in terms of religious ritual, sacrifice, and the figure of the scapegoat. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( ORIGINAL FICTION [“The Sufficient Loss Protocol” by Kemi Ashing-Giwa]( When an alien entity sneaks aboard a corporate spaceship, with no motive besides sabotaging the mission and murdering those aboard, commander Uzoma Ifiok launches an investigation—despite knowing that the real danger isn’t the one picking off her crew. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( Follow Tor.com to get updates on all of our original fiction. 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