Every month at The Ansible, we gather the articles that caught our eye, sparked our curiosity, or challenged our thinking about the worlds of fantasy and science fiction. August featured retrospective looks at classic works, author profiles, scientific studies on reading behavior, and well-crafted analyses of SFF. Consider this transmission your shortcut to the best conversations happening across the genres right now.
The Black Cauldron turns 40 this year. Here’s why the famous flop is worth a second look.
I adore The Chronicles of Prydain, Lloyd Alexander's five-book children's fantasy series inspired by Welsh mythology. The series was my gateway to fantasy and yet I've never seen the adaptation of the series' second book: The Black Cauldron. After reading this article I've moved it to the top of my to-watch list.
The 30 Greatest Fantasy Books of All Time
In one way this list is no different than any other list of this sort: it's easy to cry shame at the compiler for not including books in your personal canon. However, in two other ways this list offers something different.
- It is exceedingly rare for these lists to contain a novel I've never encountered. This list has two: Julian May's The Many-Coloured Land and Alan Garner's Elidor by Alan Garner. Both novels are out of print in the US and appear to have been so for a few decades.
- Rather than focus on The Lord of the Rings and its many inspired works, this list highlights Conan and its influence in the genre pointing to works such as Slaine.
The list is worth a browse. You might well add to your TBR.
We All Miss Mass Market Paperbacks
Templeton's article for Reactor strikes a good balance between nostalgia and analysis of the industry trend toward trade paperbacks and away from mass market paperbacks.
Women Have Always Written SFF — But It Wasn’t Always Easy to Find
An essay on one readers awareness of women SFF authors in the 1970's, a time when, the author notes, "anthologies consisted almost entirely of stories by men (or in the case of James Tiptree, Jr., stories that were thought to be written by men)."
Silvia Moreno-Garcia: Strange Vanishings
An interview with speculative fiction and horror writer Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Moreno-Garcia details her background and upbringing regarding speculative fiction. Most interestingly she discusses being raised in Baja California and compares the Mexican and American markets. You can read the full interview in the August edition of Locus.
Editor's Desk: The Future of Dealing with AI Submissions
August's editorial in Clarkesworld provided an update on how the publication vets submissions for AI. I appreciate Neil Clarke's transparency and his openness to discuss their ongoing process. His work to protect the creative process will only get more difficult.
How Harry Potter Fans Are Driving the Romantasy Trend
An intriguing read if you are a fan of romantasy or are at all curious about its recent surge in popularity.
One of AO3's (Archive of Our Own) most famous fanfics is Manacled, a reimagining of Harry Potter lore wherein Harry Potter is dead, Voldemort has won, and the main romance is between Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger. Mancaled is wildly popular with over 100,000 five-star reviews on Goodreads. This fall, Manacled's author, SenLinYu releases an adaptation of their story Manacled titled, Alchemised. Published by DelRey, the novel is receiving an astonishing print run for traditionally published debut author: 750,000 copies.
In addition to jaw-dropping publication numbers the article provides a reasonable overview of the draws of fanfiction, how fanfiction engaging with the original works, and the increased market power of romantasy.
The Otherworldly Ambitions of R. F. Kuang
A profile on highly successful author R. F. Kuang. Her newest novel, Katabasis, is available now.
The decline in reading for pleasure over 20 years of the American Time Use Survey
This new study on reading habits was published in iScience, an open access journal. You do not need a subscription or institutional access to read the article in its entirety. Some key takeaways from the study:
- Rates of daily reading for pleasure have declined over the past 20 years in the US. In 2023 16% of adults read for pleasure on a given day, down roughly 40% from 2003
- Rates of reading for pleasure differed between population groups
- Disparities across racial groups, levels of education, and income increased over time
- Reading with children daily is less common but has not changed over time but participants only spent an average of one minute per day reading with children
- This study supports NEA's conclusion that increased book sales during the height of COVID was simply due to people buying more books. People did not, on average, increase their reading time
How Cuts to Library Budgets Will Impact Publishers
As a former library director I'm well aware of how budget constraints affect public service. This article, via Publishers Weekly, opened my eyes to downstream affects of cutting library funding, including negatively affecting the bottom line of already struggling small presses.
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