SF² Concatenation

Our home page colour this season is blue now that we have the northern hemisphere winter.  Brrrr, it's a tad chilly....

Welcome to 2026          

Early 2026 news

QUICKIE ALERT FOR BUDDING WRITERS !  The deadline for the 2026 Odyssey On-line Workshop is 18th January 2026.  All classes are taught by guest professional writer and publisher tutors.  This year's classes include:
-  'Worldbuilding in Fantastic Fiction' (tutor Melissa Scott)
-  'All the World’s a Page: Adapting Acting Techniques to Strengthen Your Fiction' (Barbara A. Barnett)
-  'One Brick at a Time: Crafting Compelling Scenes' (Barbara Ashford)
          Odyssey's live, online classes combine deep focus, directed study, intensive practice, and detailed feedback to help students learn how to best use the concepts, tools and techniques covered to make major improvements in their work. Classes begin February 2026.
          There will also be a separate special live Webinar and Q&A this Spring: 'Story Openings That Engage', with editor and publisher Scott H. Andrews. Registration for this webinar is open until 1st April , 2026, or until all seats are filled!
          Key links:
odysseyworkshop.org/odyssey-online/upcoming-classes/
odysseyworkshop.org/odyssey-online
Odyssey Workshop Home Page

ONE FOR THE DIARY!  SF film buffs may want to make a diary note that the Sci-Fi London film fest will be held 13th - 17th May 2026.  This will be the 25th (if we've counted correctly) such fest.  The 2025 fest is reviewed here. Make the most of this event while we still have it; its leading lights are getting on.

New up...

Our 'spring'* season edition is now up with its own seasonal news page, other articles and a tranche of standalone book reviews.
* 'Spring' season here being the northern hemisphere, academic year spring

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 next Best of Nature 'Futures' short story will be up mid-March (2026).  This will be the first of four short, short stories that will be posted beteween our three seasonal, news, article and reviews editions of the year.

What's not to like?

Most recently added

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 Ruins - 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
  

v35(5) 2025.9.15 -- Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Reviews

• This Monster of Mine - Shalini Abeysekara
• A Rebel's History of Mars - Nadia Afifi
• Dark Diamond - Neal Asher
• Dark Diamond (2nd review) - Neal Asher
• The End of Eternity - Isaac Asimov
• Dissolution - Nicholas Binge
• Gifted and Talented - Olivie Blake
• The Illustrated Man (3rd review) - Ray Bradbury
• The Sun Blessed Prince - Lindsey Byrd
• Every Version of You - Grace Chan
• The Ragpicker King - Cassandra Clare
• Tomorrow Came - Edmund Cooper
• The Malevolent Eight - Sebastien de Castell
• The Enchanted Greenhouse - Sarah Beth Durst
• The River Has Roots - Amal El-Mohtar
• The Frozen People - Elly Griffiths
• I Kissed A Werewolf and I Liked It - Cat Hepburn
• The Gentleman And His Vowsmith - Rebecca Ide
• The Transcendent Tide - Doug Johnston
• Hemlock & Silver - T. Kingfisher
• The Stardust Trail - Yume Kitasei
• Morgana LeFay: New and ancient Arthurian tales - Pamela Koehne-Drube
• Some Body Like Me - Lucy Lapinska
• Sheridan Le Fanu Horror stories - Sheridan Le Fanu
• Incidents Around The House - Josh Malerman
• Black Friday: Speculative stories from Africa - Cheryl S. Ntumy
• Requiem - John Palisano
• The Cure - Eve Smith
• Dracula: A Mystery Story & Dracula’s Guest - Bram Stoker
• Bee Speaker - Adrian Tchaikovsky
• Alchemy and a Cup of Tea - Rebecca Thorne
• Aerth - Deborah Tomkins
• The Open Heart - Catherine Wells
• War of the Worlds - H. G. Wells
• Celtic Myths and Legends - intro' Juliette Wood (series ed J. K. Jackson)

v35(5) 2025.9.15 -- Non-Fiction SF & Science Fact Book Reviews

• Octavia E. Butler: H is for Horse - Octavia E. Butler
• Touching The Void - Joe Simpson
• These Strange New Minds: How AI Learned to Talk and What it Means - Christopher Summerfield
• How To Think About AI: A Guide For The Perplexed - Richard Susskind

Full 'What's New' list