The Doctor & Donna, Dinosaurs, and Why We Love Middle-earth!

To view this email as a web page, go [here.]( [Tor.com Newsletter]( [Forward to a Friend]( [A photo of David Tennant as the Doctor]( OI, SPACEMAN! [Doctor Who Celebrates 60th Anniversary by Reuniting One of Its Greatest Teams in “The Star Beast”]( The DoctorDonna is back! With Donna’s family to meet and new aliens to defend the Earth against, the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary special cannot be missed. Emmet Asher-Perrin discusses all the new friends, old faces, and the Russell T. Davies’ "agenda." [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( [a photo of handprints in paint on a cave wall]( CLASSIC SFF [Five Books With Highly Imaginative Takes on Prehistoric Existence]( The fact that much of human and pre-human history is poorly known, and much of it lost entirely, is a tremendous advantage to speculative writers. Where a lot of SFF writers tend to look forward, it can be really fun to look back–way back. James Davis Nicoll shares five novels that paint a very creative picture of prehistoric life. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( [a collage of book covers]( READING RECOMMENDATIONS [A User’s Guide to Michael Swanwick: Short Fiction, Novels, and Beyond]( Fans of Michael Swanwick know that he’s been a productive writer in every prominent market of the last four decades, publishing speculative novels and short fiction along with non-fiction and criticism. Here, Alvaro Zinos-Amaro shares recommendations for anyone looking to explore Swanwick’s impressive body of work, starting with ten essential short stories and five novels (plus some bonus picks)! [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( [photos of Doctor Who characters]( FROM CHARLIE JANE [Doctor Who Spinoffs I’d Love To See]( Returning Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies has said that one of his goals is to make more Who spinoffs (like Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures), and as someone who thinks about Doctor Who a lot, Charlie Jane Anders has some suggestions—check out her thoughts here! [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( [a collection of Kelley Eskridge book covers]( MASTERS OF SFF [Dangerous, Hopeful Futures: Celebrating the Visionary Stories of Kelley Eskridge]( Along with her novel Solitaire, Kelley Eskridge’s short stories are marvels of character-focused SF, where speculations are explored through the interactions of everyday people—but while she’s hardly an unknown within the SFF community, her work deserves to be far more widely read and discussed. Here, Jonathan Thornton delves into the major themes of Eskridge’s fiction. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( [art from the cover of Why We Love Middle-earth (Illustration by Emily Austin, used with permission)]( TOLKIEN TIME [Eärendil, Éowyn, and Prancing Ponies: Why Shawn Marchese Loves Middle-earth (and Arrakis, Prog, and Archaism)]( From etymology and Tolkien’s inspired use of language (and words like “dwimmerlaik” and “attercop”) to picking Morgoth’s greatest monsters and the best characters from every Age in the legendarium, fans of Middle-earth will not want to miss this free-ranging interview between resident Silmarillion expert Jeff LaSala and Shawn Marchese, the co-creator of the The Prancing Pony Podcast. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( [A photo from Jurassic Park]( CINEMATIC HISTORY [Spielberg’s Jurassic Park Reshaped Our Dance With the Dinosaurs]( There’s no doubt that Jurassic Park brought a new level of cultural attention to dinosaurs. Even if you’re not the world’s biggest Spielberg fan, our first glimpse of dinos running free—framed by John Williams’ beautiful musical theme, with Sam Neill and Laura Dern mirroring the audience’s amazement—changed everything. Here, Dan Persons dives into the making of a science fiction masterpiece and how dinosaurs became the heroes. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( [a screencap from Scott Pilgrim takes off]( IN LESBIANS WITH YOU [Scott Pilgrim Takes Off Sends a Familiar Story Into the Stratosphere]( Scott Pilgrim creator Bryan Lee O’Mally and his co-showrunner BenDavid Grabinski have been notably tight-lipped about their anime adaptation on Netflix. What happens here is new, and fresh, and deeply resonant for fans who have been following this story for nearly two decades. It’s also a brilliant example of what adaptations do at their best: find new depths and new meanings in a story we think we know. Molly Templeton reviews the new 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.