Vulcans, Jedis, D&D, and Cursed Families

To view this email as a web page, go [here.]( [Tor.com Newsletter]( [Forward to a Friend]( [A collage of book covers]( PRACTICAL MAGIC [Five Books Where Curses Are Magically Inherited]( Sometimes we inherit our mother’s laughter or our father’s long toes. Other times one of our ancestors angered the wrong witch and ended up on the wrong side of a generational curse. Hey, it happens! And we love to watch characters deal with the consequences. Vanessa Montalban recommends five books where curses are magically inherited. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( [a photo of a white robot with large, cartoonish eyes]( WALL-E AND MORE [Why Do We Still Love Robots in Fiction When They’re Taking Our Jobs IRL?]( In terms of humankind’s relationship with AI and robots, we’re firmly in a phase where techbros and dysfunctional regimes are happily planning to replace huge chunks of humanity with sinister clunky robots and incompetent AI. And guess what, no one’s bothered to arrange the post-capitalist utopia where humans live lives of pleasure and leisure while machines do all the boring work. But where AI and robots are threatening in real life, we still seem to enjoy them in science fiction. Here, author Samit Basu discusses why robots are still so prevalent in stories, and how that compares to our feelings about them in our daily lives. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( [Van Gogh's Starry Night]( WHITE PICKET FENCES [Five Horror Books Set in Seemingly Idyllic Small Towns]( Small-town settings are popular in many literary genres, from cozy murder mysteries to spicy romances. In the hands of horror authors, these towns often feel cheerful and charming to begin with, but they always end up showing their true dark colors. Lorna Wallace recommends five horror novels set in small towns with scary, sinister secrets. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( [The cover of Stardust by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess]( GAIMAN THE GREAT [Adventures Beyond the Wall: Stardust by Neil Gaiman]( There’s no question that Neil Gaiman is one of the masters of the fantasy genre, but Stardust is something special—a fairy tale, adventure yarn, and romance all rolled into one. In a new Front Lines and Frontiers column, Alan Brown revisits Gaiman’s work and the enduring enchantment of Stardust. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( [a collection of book covers]( BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS [Five Classic Retrospective Anthologies Worth Tracking Down]( The history of the SFF magazine trade is littered with many excellent titles that have come and gone over the years. However, it is possible to revisit some of these lost titles with a retrospective anthology, collecting the best stories for readers to discover and enjoy long after the magazine has ceased regular publication. James Davis Nicoll shares five recommendations. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( [screenshots from Baldurs Gate 3 and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves]( ROLLING NAT 20 [How Baldur’s Gate 3 and Honor Among Thieves Finally Captured the Soul of D&D]( This year saw two huge milestones in the world of D&D—the release of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and Baldur’s Gate 3, both of which manage to succeed in capturing everything that makes the original game great, but in very different ways. Tyler Dean dives into these two recent works and how they’ve managed to replicate the heart and soul of the D&D experience for old and new fans alike. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( [A photo of Obi Wan Kenobi and a photo of Spock]( FROM CHARLIE JANE [Jedi Knights and Vulcans Both Suck Now — What Happened?]( About 25 years ago, something strange happened to both Star Wars and Star Trek: both franchises suddenly became disillusioned with their spiritual, selfless bands of heroes. The Jedi Knights and the Vulcans had been an essential part of these iconic universes from the very beginning. That changed drastically in the late 90s, when both Trek and Wars started portraying their respective bands of detached, disciplined seekers of truth as uptight jerks. Charlie Jane Anders takes a look at how our understanding of both the Jedi and the Vulcans has shifted over time. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( [a screencap from Flanigan's Fall of the House of Usher]( HORROR LOVERS [This Raven’s Got a Hold on Me: The Fall of the House of Usher]( Mike Flanagan is back with another thoughtful, sometimes gut-wrenching adaptation of classic horror! And this one’s mostly just gross, bloody, visceral, eat-the-rich-type fun! Mostly. Leah Schnelbach reviews the new Netflix series here. [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.