SF² Concatenation

Our home page colour this season is green now that we have the northern hemisphere summer. 
The fields and gardens are blooming....

July 2026 news

SF short film-maskers note:  Sci-Fi London's international 48-Hour Challenge will be back in 2027.  Expect news February/March for an April 2027 weekend competition. Entries from registered entrants can be submited digitally from anywhere.  Scroll down here to see previous winners.  The 2027 film fest itself will be held most likely in May.  You can see the 2026 Sci-Fi London festival trailer here.

June news

Doctor Who 2026 Christmas episode!  The BBC have cancelled it and, following Disney pulling out as a partner, they are seeking a new tender partner for the series. The show's viewing figures reveal that it has lost its way since the David Tennant and Matt Smith days.

The Nebula (SF) and Bram Stoker (horror) Awards have been announced!  Both have the equivalent of 'Best Novel' categories. And both these separately went to The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones.

New up...

A Best of Nature 'Futures' short story has gone up mid-July (2026).  This is the second of our four short, short stories that will be posted beteween our three seasonal, news, article and reviews editions of the year.  The science journal Nature posts these short, short stories roughly weekly, but they are behind a pay-wall. However, to enable a broader appreciation by the science community (not all of whom will have a Nature subscription) we have a long-standing arrangement with the journal to re-post four stories that we think are the best of the 60 or so stories from the previous year. (Subject, of course, to the permission of the stories authors' permission.)

There should be something for every SF enthusiast and/or science bod.

                ☺

For details of / links to the new content, scroll down to beneath 'Most recently added' below.

Forthcoming

Our 'autumnal'* season edition will be posted in September with its own seasonal news page, other articles and a tranche of standalone book reviews.
* 'Autumnal' season here being the northern hemisphere, academic year summer.

What's not to like?

Most recently added

v36(4) 2026.7.15 -- A new story from the Nature Futures series

• Medical records from the Center for the Study of Temporal Disorders, Pediatric Department (1-page PDF short story) - Diana Peterfreund
  Time travel is not just a way of getting about the space-time continuum... it can be a medical condition...
   
• The index to all of the Concatenation selection of Nature 'Futures' stories.
• The guidelines for prospective 'Futures' SF short stories authors.

v36(3) 2026.4.15 -- New Columns & Articles for the Summer 2026

• Newscast for the Summer 2026. This includes within it many key sections. See also the master newscast link index that connects to all its SF/F genre and science news sub-sections.  In the mix are its Film News;  Television News;  Publishing News;  General Science News  and  Forthcoming SF Books from major British Isles SF imprints for the season subsections, among much else.
   
• Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die – Jonathan Cowie
  Film that is a dark humorous, gritty SFnal adventure in which a wild-eyed man from the future warns that there's some shιt that's about to come down.  It's gonna try to give you everything you ever wanted.  But in the end, it'll all be a lie!…  Are any of you listening ?
   
• Is the speed of light an absolute limit?? – Steven French
  This is one for our physicist regulars but is genre-adjacent.
   
• Does life on Mars doom humanity?? – Jonathan Cowie
  We do not see alien civilisations, so a 'Fermi filter' may prevent their rise. If we find life on Mars then the rise of life is not the difficult evolutionary step. If the Fermi filter is not in our past, then it must be something in our future that prevents us going to the stars. Recent discoveries on Mars may therefore be worrying!
   
• Gaia 2026
  Annual oddities and whimsy
   
• Ten Years Ago Exactly. One from the archives.
  German Science Fiction since 1945 – Dirk van den Boom
  Germany has an extensive history of science fiction. Dirk van den Boom provides a summary review of some of Germany's landmark SF since the end of World War II.
   
• Twenty Years Ago Exactly. One from the archives.
  Where are the Robots? – Tony Chester
  'The future's here said the pioneer' but where are the robots? It's 2006 after all.
  (Summer edition Facebook alert for sharing/commenting etc)

v36(3) 2026.4.15 -- Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Reviews

• Stone and Sky (2nd review) - Ben Aaronovitch
• Brigands & Breadknives - Travis Baldree
• Raft - Stephen Baxter
• Robots: Past & Future Short Stories - Chris Beckett
• If we Cannot go at the Speed of Light - Kim Choyeop
• The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World - J. R. Dawson
• Hell’s Heart - Alexis Hall
• Fateless - Julie Kagawa
• The Menu of Happiness - Hisashi Kashiwai
• Wolf Worm - T. Kingfisher
• Always Coming Home - Ursula K. LeGuin
• Thirsty - Lucy Lehane
• The Blackfire Blade: The Last Legacy - James Logan
• The Secret of Life (3rd review) - Paul McAuley
• This Bursted Earth - Garth Marenghi
• Cinder House - Freya Marske
• Fever Dreams - Mark Morris
• Buried Deep and Other Stories (2nd review) - Naomi Novik
• The Affirmation - Christopher Priest
• Tailored Realities - Brandon Sanderson
• Crossroads of Ravens - Andrzej Sapkowski
• Monday Starts on Saturday - Arkady & Boris Strugatsky
• Daedalus Is Dead - Seamus Sullivan
• Children of Strife - Adrian Tchaikovsky
• Made Things - Adrian Tchaikovsky
• Fallen Gods - Rachel Van Dyken

v36(3) 2026.4.15 -- Non-Fiction SF & Science Fact Book Reviews

• George Orwell: Life and Legacy - Robert Colls
• Shaking Hands With Death - Terry Pratchett

v36(2) 2026.3.15 -- A new story from the Nature Futures series

• Future Legal (1-page PDF short story) - D. Thomas Minton
  Changes to society and law aee to be expected when awaking from cryogenic suspended animation after over 300 years...
   
• The index to all of the Concatenation selection of Nature 'Futures' stories.
• The guidelines for prospective 'Futures' SF short stories authors.

v36(1) 2026.1.15 -- New Columns & Articles for the Spring 2026

• Newscast for the Spring 2026. This includes within it many key sections. See also the master newscast link index that connects to all its SF/F genre and science news sub-sections.  In the mix are its Film News;  Television News;  Publishing News;  General Science News  and  Forthcoming SF Books from major British Isles SF imprints for the season subsections, among much else.
  (If you are on Facebook and wish to comment/like/emoji any of the following articles then you can do so here.)
   
• Best Science Fiction of 2025: books and films – SF² Concatenation team
  Each Christmas, the team puts forward their suggestions as to the best SF of the year and we list the most suggested. – It is just a bit of fun but scroll down and you'll see, with past years' performance, that it has form.
  (Facebook Alert specifically for this post here)
   
• 2025 SF Film Top Ten Chart and Other Worthies
  (All past annual film charts are archive indexed here)
   
• Sinners – Jonathan Cowie
  Sinners, part historical US racial emancipation story, part blues musical and part traditional vampire offering, is set to take the 2026 cinematic awards scene by storm. It could even possibly get short-listed for some SF/F awards?
   
• Glasgow – The 2024 SF Worldcon – Peter Tyers
  Our previous reviews of the physical convention as well as the online virtual convention (and also here) were covered by newcomers to the Worldcon.  Conversely, this review is by a seasoned veteran of several Worldcons over the decades.
   
• Glasgow 2024: Publications Policy Part 2 - What actually happened – Peter Tyers
  Following on from the 2024 Glasgow Worldcon, and a report on how they were planning to deliver their publications, what actually happened: what worked as they promised, and what did not!
   
• Has the Science Fiction Worldcon shot itself in the foot? – Jonathan Cowie
  The past half-decade the Worldcon has seen multiple failures of adherence to its own constitution. This breakdown in good governance is undermining credibility in the Worldcon brand. The recent history of governance collapse is recounted step-by-step.  It reveals that enough is enough and that many fans may now be withdrawing tens of thousands of pounds worth of financial support!
   
• To Mask or Not to Mask, That is the Muffled Question – Peter Tyers
  Following vaccine roll out four years ago, the worst of the CoVID-19 years are very much over. So what of masking policies at SF conventions?
   
• SF Convention Listing & Film Diary with links to con sites and film trailers
  The list of the major, fan run, national and international level, SF cons and British Isles general release film diary.
   
• Ten Years Ago Exactly. One from the archives.
  British Fantasycon 2015 – Ian Hunter
   
• Twenty Years Ago Exactly. One from the archives.
  Accelerando by Charles Stross (book review)

v36(1) 2026.1.15 -- Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Reviews

• Stone and Sky - Ben Aaronovitch
• A Rebel’s History of Mars (2nd review) - Nadia Afifi
• Extremity - Nicholas Binge
• A Crime Through Time - Amelia Blackwell
• A Crime Through Time (2nd review) - Amelia Blackwell
• Girl Dinner - Olivie Blake
• The Society of Unknowable Objects - Gareth Brown
• An Echo of Children - Ramsey Campbell
• Damned - Genevieve Cogman
• The Works of Vermin - Hiron Ennes
• The End of the World As We Know It: Tales of Stephen King's The Stand - Christopher Golden & Brian Keene
• The Tower of the Tyrant - J. T. Greathouse
• Exodus: The Archimedes Engine - Peter F. Hamilton
• A Hole in the Sky - Peter F. Hamilton
• The Everlasting - Alix E. Harrow
• Darker Days - Thomas Olde Heuvelt
• King Sorrow - Joe Hill
• Lucid - Oraine Johnson
• Saltcrop - Yume Kitasei
• Awake in the Floating City - Susanna Kwan
• Cixin Liu: The Collected Short Stories - Cixin Liu
• All That We See or Seem - Ken Liu
• All That We See or Seem (2nd review) - Ken Liu
• Opposite World - Elizabeth Anne Martins
• Where the Axe is Buried - Ray Nayler
• Where the Axe is Buried (2nd review) - Ray Nayler
• The Two Lies of Faven Sythe - Megan E. O'Keefe
• The Time Hop Coffee Shop - Phaedora Patrick
• Halcyon Years - Alastair Reynolds
• The Shattering Peace - John Scalzi
• A Sword of Gold and Ruin - Anna Smith Spark
• The Poet Empress - Shen Tao
• Lives of Bitter Rain - Adrian Tchaikovsky
• Spiderlight - Adrian Tchaikovsky

v36(1) 2026.1.15 -- Non-Fiction SF & Science Fact Book Reviews

• Positive Tipping Points: How to fix the climate crisis - Tim Lenton
• Doctor Who: The Official Guide - Justin Richards & Julian Richards

v35(7) 2025.12.15 -- A new story from the Nature Futures series

• Customer reviews for Mystery Gadget 1.0, sorted in chronological order (1-page PDF short story) - Alex Shvartsman
  That ideal, cheap Christmas present for that one you feel obligated to...
  (And don't forget to scroll down below the end of the tale to get 'the story behind the story'.)
   
• The index to all of the Concatenation selection of Nature 'Futures' stories.
• The guidelines for prospective 'Futures' SF short stories authors.

v35(6) 2025.11.15 -- A new story from the Nature Futures series

• Carousel (1-page PDF short story) - Liam Hogan
  Suspended animation enables those who can afford it a somewhat different perspective. Have a good day.
  (And don't forget to scroll down below the end of the tale to get 'the story behind the story'.)
   

v35(5) 2025.9.15 -- New Columns & Articles for the Autumn 2025

• Newscast for the Autumn 2025. This includes within it many key sections. See also the master newscast link index that connects to all its SF/F genre and science news sub-sections.  In the mix are its Film News;  Television News;  Publishing News;  General Science News  and  Forthcoming SF Books from major British Isles SF imprints for the season subsections, among much else. (Facebook alert here)
   
• Designing Terry Pratchett’s Discworld – Peter Tyers
  Peter's illustrated review of the new Paul Kidby book
   
• Windycon 50 – Sue Burke
  A report from last year's Chicago-based convention
   
• Contabile – The 2025 UK Filkcon – Peter Tyers
  The 35th Annual UK Filk Music Convention
   
• Reconnect – The 2025 British Eastercon – Arthur Chappell
  For the first time, the British Eastercon was held in Northern Ireland
   
• The Sci-Fi London 2025 Film Fest – Jonathan Cowie
  This year it is a return to the usual three-and-a-bit day format
   
• Ten Years Ago Exactly. Some from the archives.
  Science Fiction Club Deutschland - 60th anniversary retrospective – Thomas Recktenwald
  How Might the World End? 200 years on from penning Frankenstein – Ted Nield
  Eurocon 1 – The First Eurocon in 1972 – Dave Rowe
  Archipelacon: A Scandinavian convention through Swedish eyes – Karl-Johan Norén
  Archipelacon: A Scandinavian convention through British eyes – Peter Tyers
   
• Twenty Years Ago Exactly. One from the archives.
  The 2006 European SF Convention – Ukraine – Jonathan Cowie
  

Full 'What's New' list