November 2015 Science Fiction and Fantasy Stuff

If you have not dropped by the SF Fandom forums in the last week or two, you might want to check out this discussion on Tolkien's views on Nazism, Socialism, and Communism. I thought it was an interesting question from user badlands and I took a stab at explaining what I think Tolkien might have thought of these political ideologies. In fact, I could not rule out any possible connection to Tolkien's fiction. What do you think? Might Morgoth and Sauron have represented something more than just "dark lords"?

In other news, I have posted a convention report for HallowCon 2015, which was held in Dalton, GA.  I know it's "con report" but I just like to spell things out.  Anyway, I was able to drive up to the con(vention) on Saturday, October 31.  I had fun meeting and talking with people.  No, I was not a guest.  I did not sit on any panels.  I just had a great time being a fan (again) and listening to other authors pontificate.  You just meet really cool people at SF cons, don't you?

Elsewhere in the Fanverse, Legend of the Seeker fans celebrated #AllSeekersEve on Twitter and I was really pleased with the turnout.  Because of my work schedule last month (and being ill for over a week) I had very little time to organize that event.  I think I was able to cobble together some promos about two days before Halloween.  So I'm really glad the fans were there to make it more than just a "Michael Martinez tweeting his heart out" event.  I would very much like to see this become an annual event.  And if you're just a Sword of Truth fan, there is no reason why you can't tweet about the books, you know.  I'm sure Terry Goodkind would not have a cow if you did that.  :)

Anyway, hope you join in the fun next year.

Tolkien fans, did you see my latest post for the Tolkien Society?  If not then please do read "The Myth of the Tolkien Elf".  If you have ever had one of those conversations with a gamer who just thinks First Age Noldor are incredible -- well, I think you'll appreciate the humor in the article.  And for you Noldo fanboys, hey, it's a tongue-in-cheek poke in the nose between friends, okay?  Don't take it seriously.  I love The Silmarillion and the fully tragic history of the High Elves of the West.

Finally, I want to give a shoutout to my friends over at Comic-Book-Movies.com (not the well-known site, but a nice blog).  Check out "The Avengers and Agents of SHIELD Crossover Debacle" and see if you agree that fans are getting the short end of the stick on film/TV adaptations of the Marvel comic book universe.  I agree with at least some of the points in the article.
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