Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Robots The Recent A.I. by Rich Horton Strange at Ecbatan. The following is the introduction to my 2014 anthology Space Opera , which collected outstanding 21st Century short fiction in the Space Opera subgenre. Space Opera: Then and Now. It may have been Brian Aldiss who began the rehabilitation of the term with a series of anthologies in the mid 1970s: Space Opera (1974), Space Odysseys (1974), and Galactic Empires (two volumes, 1976). Aldiss, whose literary credentials were beyond reproach, celebrated pure quill space opera as “the good old stuff,” even resurrecting all but forgotten stories like Alfred Coppel’s “The Rebel of Valkyr,” complete with barbarians transporting horses in spaceship holds. Before long writers and critics were defending space opera as a valid and vibrant form of SF. (Coppel, by the way, reimagined “The Rebel of Valkyr” much later as a series of very enjoyable young adult books, undeniably Space Opera, beginning with The Rebel of Rhada (1968), under the pseudonym Robert Cham Gilman.) By the early 1990s there was talk of “the new space opera” at first largely a British phenomenon, exemplified by the work of Colin Greenland (such as Take Back Plenty ) and Iain M. Banks (such as Use of Weapons ) - both of those novels were first published in 1990. “The new space opera,” it seems to me, was essentially the old space opera, updated as much science fiction had been by 1990, with a greater attention to writing quality, and a greater likelihood of featuring women or people of color as major characters, and perhaps a greater likelihood of left-wing political viewpoints. Once one noted the existence of “the new space opera” it was easy to look back and see earlier examples, such as Melissa Scott’s Silence Leigh books (beginning with Five-Twelfths of Heaven (1985)), M. John Harrison’s cynical The Centauri Device (1974), and Samuel R. Delany’s Nova (1968). One might also adduce Earthblood (1966), by Keith Laumer and Rosel George Brown, which takes a somewhat more cynical view of its hero than most Space Opera up to that point. [I need to acknowledge here an observation that Cora Buhlert made, and I thank her for it. I completely dropped the ball by failing to mention the important (and very popular) work in this "pre-New Space Opera) time frame of two essential writers, both Grand Masters: C. J. Cherryh and Lois McMaster Bujold. Much of Cherryh's work is certainly Space Opera, and an exceptional example of it. Lots of people will cite the Foreigner books, or the Union/Alliance books, but I confess an abiding fondness for some very early novels: Brothers of Earth (1976), Hunter of Worlds (1977), and the Faded Sun trilogy (1978-1979). About a decade after Cherryh began publishing, Lois McMaster Bujold's Barrayar books started appearing, beginning with Shards of Honor (1986). These are often called Military SF, and certain cross all sorts of subgenre boundaries (as books should!) but books about a space-based empire involving wars between planets certainly fit the Space Opera mold. I feel sure that in addition to Delany, Scott, and Harrison the books of Cherryh and Bujold were part of the brew that "New Space Opera" writers were either extending or reacting to.] Nova is my personal choice as the progenitor of space opera as a revitalized genre, but that’s probably a largely personal choice. ( Nova is one of my favorite novels). Others could certainly point to something different: perhaps Barrington Bayley’s The Star Virus (1970 in book form, but a shorter version appeared in 1974). Even more sensibly one could say that space opera never went away—what about Alfred Bester’s The Stars My Destination (1956), to name just one seminal earlier work? Perhaps, then, The Centauri Device is in retrospect the key work. Harrison conceived it explicitly as “antispace opera,” and it was a reaction not just to the likes of Doc Smith, but to Nova , which Harrison had called “a waste of time and talent.” To quote Harrison himself, from his blog: “I never liked that book [ The Centauri Device ] much but at least it took the piss out of sf’s three main tenets: (1) The reader identification character always drives the action; (2) The universe is knowable; (3) the universe is anthropocentrically structured & its riches are an appropriate prize for people like us.” I should note in this context that my suggestions that books like Nova and The Centauri Device were important to the development of "The New Space Opera", especially the British version of same, have been plausibly challenged by Ian Sales -- who certainly knows whereof he speaks. Sales suggest that both Nova and The Centauri Device were not widely available in the UK by the early 1990s, when books like Use of Weapons appeared, and suggests a closer link to "Radical Hard SF", as exemplified by British writers like Alastair Reynolds and Stephen Baxter (both of whom certainly have written Space Opera.) Even if The Centauri Device verges on parody, and explicitly disapproves of its subgenre, those three principles do suggest an alternate path for space opera, perhaps a truer definition of the “new” space opera: less likely to be anthropocentric in approach, less likely to accept that the universe is knowable, less likely to have the main character succeed (if he or she still does drive the action). And, anyway, Harrison returned to space opera with his remarkable recent trilogy, Light (2002), Nova Swing (2006) and Empty Space (2012). Those books certainly read like space opera to me, but they also certainly tick the boxes Harrison lists above (Harrison also, less importantly perhaps, started a trend for clever ship names in The Centauri Device , using phrases from the Bible and Kipling for spaceships named Let Us Go Hence and The Melancholia that Transcends All Wit . That led, it would seem, to Iain M. Banks’ famous names for his Culture ships, and to similarly cute names in the work of many other writers.) At any rate, once established as an essentially respectable branch of SF, space opera has continued to flourish. Some of it shows aspects of Harrison’s model, at least in parts, other stories are as triumphalist as anything that came before, more often we see a mix. A good recent example might be Tobias Buckell’s Xenowealth series, beginning with Crystal Rain (2006) - featuring heroes and heroines from nontraditional cultures, and somewhat ambiguous about the place of humans in a hostile universe, but also most assuredly featuring main characters with tons of agency and ability to drive the plot, and a general sense of cautious and perhaps conditional optimism. The list of enjoyable space opera novels in recent years is long - notable practitioners include Alastair Reynolds, Karl Schroeder, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Nancy Kress, John Barnes, Elizabeth Moon, and James S. A. Corey; and I could go on for some time. This book collects short fiction, however. One of the near defining characteristics of space opera is a wide screen, and this seems to drive longer works. It’s not nearly as easy to evoke the feeling of vastness, of extended action, that we love in space opera over a shorter length. But it can of course be done. Two of the best books of the past few years are original anthologies edited by Gardner Dozois and Jonathan Strahan: The New Space Opera , and The New Space Opera 2 . These are packed with delicious stories, undeniable space opera of a variety of modes and moods, and they show that you don’t need five hundred pages for a good space opera. I’ve chosen a piece or two from each of these books for this volume. I also must mention one newer writer in particular: the remarkable Yoon Ha Lee. He has yet to publish a novel [he has since, of course, with the outstanding Machineries of Empire books, certainly themselves very much space opera], but an array of striking stories has already established an impressive reputation. He has written work in multiple subgenres, but one of his continuing themes is war, and often war in space, between planets . . . which means, more or less, space opera. And in the briefest of spaces (see what I did there?) he can evoke a war extending across centuries and light years. So, this book, which collects twenty-two outstanding stories, some traditional space opera in flavor, others which look at those themes from different directions; some set across interstellar spaces, others confined to the Solar System; some intimate character stories, other action packed; some (perhaps most) concerned with war and the effects of war, but others more interested in the grand spaces of the universe. But all, above all, fun. [From the perspective of 2021, I will add, it's easy to see that just as I was writing (in mid-2013) we were beginning to witness a spectular explosion of wonderful new Space Opera. Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice appeared that year, and in 2016 came Yoon Ha Lee's Revenant Gun . Leckie won a Hugo for Ancillary Justice , and another excellent Space Opera, Arkady Martine's A Memory Called Empire (2019) also took that award. Add excellent recent work by Kameron Hurley, K. B. Wagers, Gareth Powell, Karen Lord, Aliette de Bodard, Tim Pratt, Elizabeth Bear, and many others, and it's clear we are in a great time for Space Opera.] Horton Hears a TCPA Loss: “America’s Largest Homebuilder” Stuck in Robotext Class Suit Arising from Use of CallFire Dialer. Just yesterday I reported on a big class action settlement involving a Plaintiff named Horton and this morning I get to report on a different Horton- D.R. Horton— losing a motion in a TCPA suit. In Davis v. D.R. Horton , C.A. No. 19-1686-LPS-JLH, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 189726 (D. Del. October 13, 2020) the court held that Plaintiff’s allegations of ATDS usage were sufficient at the pleadings stage and refused to strike the class alleged against it. D.R. Horton had allegedly made texts to consumers without their consent in an effort to pitch homes. It (allegedly) used the CallFire dialer to make these texts—a system that, according to the complaint, produce random numbers to be called. Given that the allegations squarely asserted the ability of CallFire to randomly produce numbers to be dialed there didn’t seem to be much reason to challenge the case at the pleadings stage. But D.R. Horton did it anyway- twice. As I reported back in March, the Magistrate Judge assigned to the case initially recommended denying the motion to dismiss given the well- pleaded allegations. D.R. Horton objected to those findings, forcing the district court to weigh in—which it did with de novo findings concluding that D.R. Horton’s motion lacked merit. Notably, the Davis court found allegations that D.R. Horton used texts that were “standardized, impersonal, and consistent in structure and format” compelling on the issue and also noted Call Fire’s own public statements indicating that its users could “send thousands of messages instantly” as “proof” that an ATDS was used. So “America’s Largest Homebuilder” can’t shake the big TCPA suit arising out of its (alleged) use of blast robotexts and the class action against it rolls on. Maybe it should try to stay the case instead…. Share this: Like this: Published by Eric J. Troutman. The Czar of TCPAWorld Eric Troutman is one of the country’s prominent class action defense lawyers and is nationally recognized in Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) litigation and compliance. He has served as lead defense counsel in more than 70 national TCPA class actions and has litigated nearly a thousand individual TCPA cases in his role as national strategic litigation counsel for major banks and finance companies. He also helps industry participants build TCPA-compliant processes, policies, and systems. Eric has built a national litigation practice based upon deep experience, rigorous analysis and extraordinary responsiveness. Eric and his team feel equally at home litigating multibillion dollar telecommunications class actions in federal court as they do developing and executing national litigation strategies for institutions facing an onslaught of individual TCPA matters. They thrive in each of these roles – delivering consistently excellent results – while never losing sight of the client experience. While many firms now tout TCPA expertise, Eric has been there from the beginning. He built one of the country’s first TCPA-only defense teams and began serving as national TCPA counsel for his clients nearly a decade ago. This perspective allows him to swiftly develop the right litigation strategies for dealing with recurring problems, without wasting time on tactics that are bound to fail. Eric’s rich historical perspective and encyclopedic knowledge of the TCPA landscape also make him an invaluable resource to institutional compliance teams struggling to comply with the shifting regulatory landscape. No task is too small – or too big. Indeed, Eric and his team have helped build TCPA-compliant systems and processes for some of the largest and most complex corporate entities in the country. He commonly works with in-house compliance counsel to build and implement enterprise and business-line specific TCPA solutions, performs TCPA audits and drafts and reviews proposed TCPA policies and procedures. He and his team also have the technical expertise necessary to assist call centers seeking to develop TCPA-resistant call path architecture or to modify existing telephony and software integration to better insulate from potential TCPA exposure. Eric has built a reputation for thought leadership. An avid blogger and speaker, he has been at the forefront of the industry’s effort to push for clarity and a return to sanity for the TCPA for years. He was selected to advocate for the financial services industry on important TCPA issues before the Federal Communications Commission and co-authored the nation’s only comprehensive practice guide on TCPA defense. In his spare time, Eric leads defense teams representing banks and other financial services companies in consumer finance litigation matters. He has experience representing clients in UCC, TILA, RESPA FCRA, CCRA, CLRA, FDCPA, RFDCPA and FCCPA claims, as well as in fraud and bank operations issues. View all posts by Eric J. Troutman. Leave a Reply Cancel reply. Eric’s Thought of the Day. Now we’re talking. WHY NOT SUBSCRIBE ALREADY? Our Amazing TCPA Defense Team. About TCPAWorld. TCPAworld.com isn’t just a blog, its a lifestyle obsession for those that eat, sleep, and breathe the TCPA like we do. We’ll break all the TCPA news–usually before anyone else does–with witty and informative articles that break the mold of stuffy law firm analysis. Yet the analysis you’ll find will always be dead on and steeped in our decades of combined TCPA defense experience. We do it all for free- no advertisements (other than shameless plugs for my law firm– Squire Patton Boggs). The opinions expressed in content on TCPAworld are solely those of the authors and contributors that share their content here. All content copyright Eric J. Troutman, except that contributors retain license to use and re-publish their works. All other rights reserved. Forever and ever, and all that. Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP. 555 South Flower Street, 31st Floor. Los Angeles, California 90071. Recent TCPA Filings. 12 cases filed today 5 of them class actions. TCPA Counter. 245 Federal TCPA Filings through February 25, 2021 with 139 class action suits. Robots: The Recent A.I. by Rich Horton. From Karel Čapek’s biotech machines of R.U.R . to Henry Kuttner & C.L. Moore’s “The Proud Robot”. to Isaac Asimov’s positronic robots. to the many stories, films, cartoons, and games that have come since featuring cybertronic sex toys, robotic rebels, grandmothers with artificial intelligence, automatons, bots, droids, and so many other variations—these machines have represented our dreams as well as our anxieties. We love these literary creations but fear them as well. Stories from the last decade by top science fiction authors representing the many facets of robots in the twenty-first century: beautiful, hideous, and everything in between. Table of Contents “Tideline” by Elizabeth Bear “A Jar of Goodwill” by Tobias S. Buckell “Balancing Accounts” by James Cambias “The Rising Waters” by Benjamin Crowell “The Shipmaker” by Aliette De Bodard “I, Robot” by Cory Doctorow “Kiss Me Twice” by Mary Robinette Kowal “Algorithms for Love” by Ken Liu “Alternate Girl’s Expatriate Life” by Rochita Loenen-Ruiz “The Djinn's Wife” by Ian McDonald “Houses” by Mark Pantoja “Artifice and Intelligence” by Tim Pratt “Stalker” by Robert Reed “Droplet” by Benjamin Rosenbaum “Eros, Philia, Agape” by Rachel Swirsky “Under the Eaves” by Lavie Tidhar (original) “Silently and Very Fast” by Catherynne M.Valente “The Nearest Thing” by Genevieve Valentine. This anthology spans a decade of robot literature, from “Droplet” (2002), Benjamin Rosenbaum’s story of two robots unexpectedly given their freedom with no idea how to use it, to Lavie Tidhar’s “Under the Eaves” (2012), a previously unpublished tale about a forbidden love between human and robot. In between, other stories explore the idea of djinns as artificial intelligences (Ian McDonald’s “The Djinn’s Wife”), pay homage to Isaac Asimov’s classic in an updated tale of robots, their duties, and their rights (Cory Doctorow’s “I Robot”), and more. VERDICT​ Lovers of all things robotic will enjoy this 21st-century collection of stories about the attempt to create an artificial human. Robby the Robot sells for $5.3 million – second most valuable movie prop in history. It is a sign of the times that one of the earliest and best known robots in movie history should move to the top of the list of the most expensive movie props ever sold. Now that robots have progressed from science fiction to reality, it isn't all that surprising that Robby the Robot's price has surpassed all but one of the most iconic movie props in history. The complete Robby suit, control panel, his jeep, numerous spares, alternate original "claw" hands, and the original wooden stage shipping crates, were sold yesterday (November 21, 2017 ) by Bonhams in New York for US$5,375,000 including buyers premium. The only purpose-built movie prop to have ever sold for more is Marilyn Monroe's "subway dress" from The Seven Year Itch (1955) which was sold by Profiles in History for $5,520,000 (inc. buyers premium) in 2011. Robby the Robot may have first appeared in the 1956 movie Forbidden Planet , but his film and TV appearances number more than 30, including movies such as The Invisible Boy , Phantom Empire and Gremlins , and his TV show appearances included episodes of My Little Margie , The Thin Man , Columbo , The Addams Family , Lost in Space, The Twilight Zone, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Mork & Mindy, Project U.F.O. and Ark II. Robby the Robot was also used in a well-known AT&T television commercial in 2006, and was inducted into the Robot Hall of Fame in 2004, so although Robby may look a little kitsch when viewed in an era where Toyota and Honda offer far more advanced robots to the public, he was on the bleeding edge of technological capability at the time he was built by MGM more than 60 years ago. In 1956, Robby's construction costs reportedly accounted for seven percent of the Forbidden Planet 's $1.9 million budget which calculates to $133,000 in 1956 dollars: roughly $1.2 million today. The full story of the robot is expertly told in the Winter 2017 edition of Bonhams quarterly magazine with the auction description adding more granular detail. To illustrate the significance of the sale, here's our list of the most expensive movie props ever sold, emphasizing Robby's exalted place among the icons of cinematic history. The most expensive movie props in history. We have only included two film cars in this listing because there are numerous instances of standard cars being used as movie props which were subsequently to become more valuable in their own right (and we keep a separate list of movie cars) with most of their value deriving from their worth as collectible automobiles. James Bond's weaponized Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger (1964) The Batmobile and James Bond's Aston Martin DB5 are different, at least in our opinion, because they were made specifically as movie props. There's only one Batmobile, and the Aston Martin DB5 was never sold with options such as retractable machine guns and ejector seats. Similarly, we haven't listed the Vickers-Supermarine Spitfire TR Mark IX which appeared in the 1968 film, Battle of Britain and sold for $2,527,204, because it would have sold for that much even if it hadn't been in the film. Nor have we listed Michael Jackson's $1.8 million red leather jacket worn in Thriller (1983), the most successful music video of all-time (9 million sold), mainly because it wasn't worn in a movie. As always, we have ordered our listing based on the total price paid by the buyer at auction (including the buyers premium) as opposed to the "hammer price". 1 | Marilyn's subway grate dress from The Seven Year Itch (1955) This rayon crepe halter dress with pleated skirt by Travilla is currently the most expensive item of clothing ever sold! It was worn in the 1955 movie The Seven Year Itch by Marilyn Monroe, who played the female lead role while Tom Ewell played the male lead. Tom now rates only a footnote in cinematic history, while Marilyn's subway grate scene became one of the most recognizable images in modern society. 2 | Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet (1956) Robby the Robot may have first appeared in the 1956 movie Forbidden Planet , but his film and TV appearances number more than 30, including movies such as The Invisible Boy , Phantom Empire and Gremlins , and his TV show appearances included episodes of My Little Margie , The Thin Man , Columbo , The Addams Family , Lost in Space, The Twilight Zone, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Mork & Mindy, Project U.F.O. and Ark II. Price: $5,375,000 | Auctioneer: Bonhams. 3 | The Batmobile from Batman (1966) The Batmobile appeared not just in the Batman movie (1966) but in the television series which repopularized the superhero. It sold for $4,620,000 at a Barrett-Jackson auction. Price: $4,620,000 | Auctioneer: Barrett-Jackson. 4 | James Bond's Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger (1964) The best known Aston Martin in history. James Bond's Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger (1964) sold for $4,595,998 at an RM (now RM Sothebys) auction. Price: $4,595,998 | Auctioneer: RM Sothebys. 5 | Audrey Hepburn's Ascot dress from My Fair Lady (1964) The magnificent dress worn by Eliza Doolittle (Hepburn) in her "coming out" moment at the Ascot races in the film adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play Pygmalion. Pygmalion became a smash hit musical stage play in 1956 as My Fair Lady and subsequently enjoyed even more success as a 1964 movie in which this dress appeared. Profiles in History auctioned the dress in 2011 for $4.4 million. 6 | The Maltese Falcon from The Maltese Falcon (1941) The power of the silver screen has never been more evident than at the auction at which the Maltese Falcon prop from The Maltese Falcon (1941) was sold. Worth just a few dollars for its lead content, the prop sold for $4,085,000 at a Bonhams auction. Price: $4,085,000 | Auctioneer: Bonhams. 7 | The Piano from Casablanca (1942) The Piano from Casablanca (1942) upon which Sam plays "As Time Goes By" sold for $3,413,000 at a Bonhams' auction. Price: $3,413,000 | Auctioneer: Bonhams. 8 | Cowardly Lion Costume from The Wizard of Oz (1939) The Cowardly Lion Costume worn in The Wizard of Oz (1939) fetched $3,077,000 at a Bonhams auction. Price: $3,077,000 | Auctioneer: Bonhams. - | Dorothy's Ruby Red Slippers from The Wizard of Oz (1939) The slippers which Judy Garland wore in 'Wizard of Oz' haven't been given an official position on the list because the price cannot be verified. The price was never disclosed but is rumored to be in the vicinity of $3 million. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio, director Steven Spielberg and other anonymous benefactors purchased the slippers for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences museum. Price: approx. $3 million | Sold privately. We've shown the slippers which Judy Garland wore in the movie without an official number because the price cannot be verified. The price was never disclosed but is rumoured to be in the vicinity of $3 million. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio, director Steven Spielberg and other anonymous benefactors purchased the slippers for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences museum. 9 | Judy Garland's 'Dorothy' dress from The Wizard of Oz (1939) There have been several Dorothy Gale dresses from the 1939 movie sold in recent years, some of them were "test" dresses and didn't even appear in the movie, but they all sold for astronomical figures, with the most valuable being sold for $1,565,000 by Bonhams in 2015. We have removed the other versions from the list, but different versions have also sold for $910,000, $666,000, $480,000 and $266,638 plus Dorothy's ruby red slippers and the Lion's costume have both sold for more than $3 million, so the appeal of this dress appears to be based partially on the landmark movie, and . whatever it is about the dress, it clearly resonates with the public on a very powerful level. Price: $1,565,000 | Auctioneers: Profiles in History. 10 | Wardrobe from The Sound of Music (1965) Do-Re-Me is a song that has been sung countless times by billions of children and it's arguably the most watched instructional clip of all time. It was written for the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music and when the movie of the same name came out in 1964 and became a smash hit, the song was a radio hit. This is the dress Julie andrews wore in the filming of this timeless classic. It sold for $660,000 at a Profiles in History auction in 2013. The rest of the wardrobe for the film sold for $1.56 million. 11 | Marilyn Monroe's's red sequinned showgirl gown from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) The red sequined showgirl gown Marilyn Monroe wore alongside Jane Russell in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, fetched $1,476,000 at a Profiles in History auction in June, 2011. Buy January 2013. The January issue features interviews with Delia Sherman and James S.A. Corey (Daniel Abraham & Ty Franck) , a new column by Cory Doctorow , an obituary of Boris Strugatsky , and reviews of short fiction and new books by Nick Harkaway , Rudy Rucker , Steven Gould , Tad Williams , and many others. Table of Contents: January 2013 • Issue 624 • Vol. 70 • No. 1 46th Year of Publication • 30-Time Hugo Winner Cover and Interview Designs by Francesca Myman. INTERVIEWS. James S.A. Corey (Daniel Abraham & Ty Franck): Lurid Tales of Space Adventure / 6 Delia Sherman: Historical Dimensions / 56. PEOPLE & PUBLISHING /8. Notes on milestones, awards, books sold, etc., with news this issue about Madeleine L’Engle , Gene Wolfe , Angela Carter , Cecelia Holland , Michael Moorcock , Ted Chiang , and many others. MAIN STORIES /10. World Fantasy 2013 Judges • 2012 Sunburst Awards Winners • First Annual Copper Cylinder Awards • Gaiman Foundation Gives to CBLDF • PW Radio. thE datA file /11. Best of the Years Lists • Bookscan Bestsellers of 2012 • Most Powerful Authors in Hollywood • Albee Agency Controversy • Scalzi Writes Morning Star • Tolkien Estate Sues Filmmakers • Magazine News • Bookstore News • World Conventions News • Awards News • Publishing News • Announcements • Legal News • Financial News • International Rights • Other Rights • Publications Received • Catalogs Received. commentary /29. Cory Doctorow: Where Characters Come From. listings. Magazines Received: November / 30 Books Received: November / 31 British Books Received: October / 44 Bestsellers / 46. FEATURE /51. Sail to Success 2012. EDITORIAL MATTERS /53. Hello, 2013 • Holiday Party • Visitors • This Issue/Next Issue. ObituarieS /5&54. Boris Strugatsky • Sir Patrick Moore • Jeff Millar • Death Noted: Michael Embden. locus looks at books. Gardnerspace: A Short Fiction Column by Gardner Dozois / 14. Robots: The Recent A.I. , Rich Horton & Sean Wallace, eds.; War and Space: Recent Combat , Rich Horton & Sean Wallace, eds.; Armored , John Joseph Adams, ed.; Rock On: The Greatest Hits of Science Fiction and Fantasy , Paula Guran, ed.; Under My Hat: Takes from the Cauldron , Jonathan Strahan, ed.; Epic: Legends of Fantasy , John Joseph Adams, ed. Short Fiction Reviews by Rich Horton / 15. Asimov’s 1/13; Phantom Drift #2 Fall ’12; Eclipse 12/12; Strange Horizons 11/12; Strange Horizons12/12; Beneath Ceaseless Skies 11/15/12; After , Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling, eds.; Stranded , Anne Bishop, James Alan Gardner, and Anthony Francis; Bloody Fabulous , Ekaterina Sedia, ed.; Rip-Off! , Gardner Dozois, ed. Reviews by Gary K. Wolfe / 16. Angelmaker , Nick Harkaway; Blood Oranges , Caitlín R. Kiernan writing as Kathleen Tierney; Salvage and Demolition , Tim Powers; Son of Destruction , Kit Reed; SHORT TAKE: John Brunner , Jad Smith. Reviews by Faren Miller / 18. Turing & Burroughs , Rudy Rucker; The Folly of the World , Jesse Bullington; Six-Gun Tarot , R.S. Belcher; At the Edge of Waking , Holly Phillips. Reviews by Stefan Dziemianowicz / 20. As If , Michael Saler; The Book of Cthulhu II , Ross Lockhart, ed.; Black Wings II , S.T. Joshi, ed.; Vlad , Carlos Fuentes; Above Ker-Is and Other Stories , Evangeline Walton. Reviews by Russell Letson / 22. Impulse , Steven Gould; American Science Fiction: Nine Classic Novels of the 1950s , Gary K. Wolfe, ed. Short Reviews by Carolyn Cushman / 23. Steel’s Edge , Ilona Andrews; Charlotte Markham and the House of Darkling , Michael Boccacino; Ironskin , Tina Connolly; The Midnight Game , Cecilia Dart-Thornton; The Silvered , Tanya Huff; Polterheist , Laura Resnick; Fire Season , David Weber & Jane Lindskold; The Dirty Streets of Heaven , Tad Williams; The Far West , Patricia C. Wrede. Divers Hand: Reviews by Richard A. Lupoff, & Gwenda Bond / 24. A Niche in Time and Other Stories: The Best of William F. Temple, Vol 1 , William F. Temple; Shadow and Bone , Leigh Bardugo; The Raven Boys , Maggie Stiefvater; The Crown of Embers , Rae Carson. Locus Looks at Art Books: Reviews by Karen Haber / 26. Brian Froud’s Trolls , Brian & Wendy Froud; Exposé 10: Finest Digital Art in the Known Universe , Ronnie Gramzaio, ed.; In Wonderland: The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists in Mexico and the United States , Ilene Susan Fort & Tere Arcq, with Terri Geis, eds.; SHORT TAKES: Frank Reade: Adventures in the Age of Invention , Paul Guinan & Anina Bennett; The Arctic Marauder , Jacques Tardi; Six Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm with Illustrations by David Hockney , David Hockney. Locus Listens to Audiobooks by Amy Goldschlager / 28. The Diviners , Libba Bray; The Girl of Fire and Thorn , Rae Carson; The Crown of Embers , Rae Carson; Methuselah’s Children , Robert A. Heinlein; The Privilege of the Sword , Ellen Kushner; Every Day , David Levithan; Days of Blood & Starlight , Laini Taylor; Nine Princes in Amber , Roger Zelazny; Trumps of Doom , Roger Zelazny. Terry Bisson: This Month in History / 15, 17, 19, 23. Magazine Issues reviewed in this issue (indicating reviewer) — Asimov’s January 2013 (Rich Horton) Beneath Ceaseless Skies November 2012 (Rich Horton) Eclipse Online December 2012 (Rich Horton) Phantom Drift Fall 2012 (Rich Horton) Strange Horizons November 2012 (Rich Horton) Strange Horizons December 2012 (Rich Horton) Books reviewed in this issue, listed by author (indicating reviewer) — Adams, John Joseph, ed. • Armored (Gardner Dozois) Adams, John Joseph, ed. • Epic (Gardner Dozois) Andrews, Ilona • Steel’s Edge (Carolyn Cushman) Bardugo, Leigh • Shadow and Bone (Gwenda Bond) Belcher, R. S. • The Six-Gun Tarot (Faren Miller) Bishop, Anne, & Anthony Francis • Stranded (Rich Horton) Boccacino, Michael • Charlotte Markham and the House of Darkling (Carolyn Cushman) Bullington, Jesse • The Folly of the World (Faren Miller) Carson, Rae • The Crown of Embers (Gwenda Bond) Connolly, Tina • Ironskin (Carolyn Cushman) Dart-Thornton, Cecilia • The Midnight Game (Carolyn Cushman) Datlow, Ellen, & Terri Windling, eds. • After (Rich Horton) Dozois, Gardner, ed. • Rip-Off! (Rich Horton) Fort, Ilene Susan, & Tere Arcq, eds. • In Wonderland: The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists in Mexico and the United States (Karen Haber) Froud, Brian, & Wendy Froud • Brian Froud’s Trolls (Karen Haber) Fuentes, Carlos • Vlad (Stefan Dziemianowicz) Gould, Steven • Impulse (Russell Letson) Gramazio, Ronnie • Exposé 10 (Karen Haber) Guinan, Paul, & Anina Bennett • Frank Reade: Adventures in the Age of Invention (Karen Haber) Guran, Paula, ed. • Rock On: The Greatest Science Fiction & Fantasy Hits (Gardner Dozois) Harkaway, Nick • Angelmaker (Gary K. Wolfe) Hockney, David • Six Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm with Illustrations by David Hockney (Karen Haber) Horton, Rich, & Sean Wallace, eds. • Robots: Recent AI (Gardner Dozois) Horton, Rich, & Sean Wallace, eds. • War and Space: Recent Combat (Gardner Dozois) Huff, Tanya • The Silvered (Carolyn Cushman) Joshi, S. T., ed. • Black Wings 2 (Stefan Dziemianowicz) Lockhart, Ross E. • The Book of Cthulhu II (Stefan Dziemianowicz) Phillips, Holly • At the Edge of Waking (Faren Miller) Powers, Tim • Salvage and Demolition (Gary K. Wolfe) Reed, Kit • Son of Destruction (Gary K. Wolfe) Resnick, Laura • Polterheist (Carolyn Cushman) Rucker, Rudy • Turing & Burroughs: A Beatnik SF Novel (Faren Miller) Saler, Michael • As If: Modern Enchantment and the Literary PreHistory of Virtual Reality (Stefan Dziemianowicz) Sedia, Ekaterina, ed. • Bloody Fabulous (Rich Horton) Smith, Jad • John Brunner (Gary K. Wolfe) Stiefvater, Maggie • The Raven Boys (Gwenda Bond) Strahan, Jonathan, ed. • Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron (Gardner Dozois) Tardi, Jacques • The Arctic Marauder (Karen Haber) Temple, William F. • A Niche in Time and Other Stories: The Best of William F. Temple, Volume 1 (Richard A. Lupoff) Tierney, Kathleen • Blood Oranges (Gary K. Wolfe) Walton, Evangeline • Above Ker-Is and Other Stories (Stefan Dziemianowicz) Weber, David, & Jane Lindskold • Fire Season (Carolyn Cushman) Williams, Tad • The Dirty Streets of Heaven (Carolyn Cushman) Wolfe, Gary K., ed. • American Science Fiction: Nine Classic Novels of the 1950s (Russell Letson) Wrede, Patricia C. • The Far West (Carolyn Cushman)