“Everyone loves an underdog, and nothing defines an underdog like success in the face of constant rejection. Philip K Dick, one of 20th century’s biggest names in science fiction, once received 17 rejection letters in a single day. According to urban legend, he wallpapered half of his study with rejection slips during the 1950s.

He was far from the only one. Here’s the surprising list of famous, well-respected, even award-winning science fiction and fantasy novels that triumphed over an avalanche of antagonistic editors.”

9 Awesome SF/F Novels That Were Almost Never Published

madddscience:

Science fiction history has its share of disputes and disagreements, but there’s only one that left a plane crash, untold awards ceremony speeches, and the world’s first combination war treaty/book dedication in its wake. Today, in honor of the light-hearted tomfoolery April Fool’s Day inspires in us all, I’m taking a look at the rivalry behind two of the 20th century’s undisputed masters of science fiction: Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov, SF history’s greatest insult battlers.

The Decades-Long Flame War Between Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov

Happy April Fools! Here’s my latest post on science fiction history for Barnes and Noble.

“Interesting how many of these films are from the 1970s, but I suggest to you that if you can look past the question of whether a film has state-of-the-art special effects, the 70s were a golden decade for deep, thoughtful science fiction films that hold up well to time.“

~Dave Taylor,  5 Underrated Sci-Fi Movies To Watch

Blomkamp’s decision to include Weaver and Biehn in the initial art for his title-and-release-date-TBD Alien flick, plus his own comments, seem to indicate the movie will be a mulligan—not a reboot, but a rewind to where Aliens ended. (Ripley, the moppet Newt, the wounded Hicks, and the bisected-but-still-operational android Bishop, all snoozing their way home aboard the Marine troop-transport Sulaco.) Blomkamp has since said, “I’m not trying to undo Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection.” But if Ripley and Hicks are alive in his movie, and it’s set after Aliens, then Ali5n has to be a retcon-job, assuming the later movies weren’t all just a hypersleep dream.

I have one word for this guy who thinks he can just saunter in and violate the established continuity of the benighted Alien franchise: “Phew.”

Film franchises shouldn’t be afraid of the rewind button, from Chris Klimek at The Dissolve

themindhut:

Chris Foss and two other sci-fi book cover artists that were as important as the stories they illustrated. 

Biggest Worldbuilding Mistake Made By Isaac Asimov And Frank Herbert?

The author of Adam Link, Robot, Eando Binder isn’t very well known today. But the pulpy 1940’s writer paved the way for the golden age of science fiction, pioneering original concepts such a robot grappling with its own sentience. It isn’t as nonsensical a nom de plume as it seems: The real authors were Earl and Otto Binder—they settled on a single first name by combining their initials into a phrase, “E and O,” which became the appropriately futuristic-sounding “Eando.”

A Weird History of Science Fiction Pen Names

madddscience:

“The name H.P. Lovecraft typically dredges up images of unspeakable horror: Fishmen. Cthulhu. Eldritch geometry. Gibbering phantasms of doom. Yes, H.P. deserves his reputation as the father of ancient terrors for 1930s-era stories of occult space alien demigods, but he had a budding second career: accidental matchmaker.”

That Time H.P. Lovecraft Played Cupid

I’m a contributing writer at the Barnes and Noble Sci-Fi and Fantasy blog now! Here’s my first post.

madddscience:

From an unpublished Ray Bradbury essay on his adventures in architecture: 

A renowned architect named Jon Jerde came to me and said, “Have you seen the Glendale Galleria?”

I said, “Yes, I have.”
“Did you like it?” he asked. I said, “Yes.” 
He said, “That’s your Galleria. It’s based on the plans that you put in your article in the essay in the Los Angeles Times.” I was stunned. I said, “Are you telling me the truth? I created the Glendale Galleria?” 
“Yes, you did,” he said. “Thank you for that article that you wrote about rebuilding L.A. We based our building of the Glendale Galleria completely on what you wrote in that article.”

Give the essay a read and learn about Bradbury’s guiding influence on everything from 221B Baker Street to World Fairs to Hollywood itself.

Flavorwire’s Alison Nastasi on the 10 Science Fiction Illustrators You Should Know

Flavorwire’s Alison Nastasi on the 10 Science Fiction Illustrators You Should Know