W5A1

Since Week 1, I have been following three science fiction web sites: SF Site, Locus Online and Tor - Affliction.

SF Site:

This site used to be a major reference for the science-fiction genre. Twice a month, news, interviews, reviews and fiction excerpts were posted on the website. Unfortunately, in December 2013, it stopped being updated regularly, due to the lack of funding and the decline of advertising revenue. Now, it remains on artificial life, the website is still up with its archive, but new links and news will seldom be posted. Nowadays, the main feature is precisely its archives: more than 100 interviews with science fiction writers, a list of authors with biography and bibliography, topics and awards lists and book reviews going back to 1999. For those reasons, SF Site is not the best site to access new trends and books in the science fiction world, but it is a good reference site to get familiarize with the big names and stars of science-fiction literature.

The main founder of the SF Site, John O’Neil, ended up starting a different webzine: Black Gate. In the same vein of SF Site, Black Gate focuses on fantasy literature instead of science fiction.

Tor – Affliction:

Contrary to SF Site, Tor is alive and well. Tor- Affliction basically consists of monthly releases by Suzanne Johnson. Every month, she posts lists of the newest publications in Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, Genre-Benders, Science-Fiction and Fantasy genres. Little bit like our own BCPL Collection Blog but more specialized, we can learn the latest news in science-fiction in a single page, she even divided the list in 4 weeks so we know what to weekly expect. I really like this format. It’s fast and easy. One can find the book title, its author and a small summary; just enough to know about it, without being too much particular. She usually put the cover of the four most anticipated books, but I would like to see the other covers as well. Or maybe I am just used to the Collection Blog approach. Because Tor – Affliction focuses on the upcoming books, I feel it is more geared toward professional and diehard fans.

Tor also offers numerous other functions. One can learn about the latest book in a series (God knows science-fiction had countless series; one book is never enough to describe a new imaginary world). The forum section is very active. And the site is full of creative writing. There is a section of excerpts from published books, most of the time the first chapter is available to give us a taste of the book. There is also a fiction section where one can find original short stories, novellas and non-fiction texts. Tor is thus more than a book reviews website, it’s a hub where science fiction fans can exchange ideas, books, and texts.

Locus Online:

Locus Online is definitely the best of the three websites. It just has everything one can ask about science-fiction literature. In a way, it is a little bit like the SF Site and the Tor combine together. It includes news, upcoming releases, books, TVs and movies reviews, editorials and resources like bestsellers and awards lists or links toward more science-fiction websites. It even has an obituary section!!! Active since 1997, the website is a “semi-autonomous” version of the print magazine Locus, which has been around since 1968. They even award a 15 Locus awards every year. The website is easy to use and not too cramped (for some reasons, science-fiction website are often text heavy). Locus is good for upcoming books and for reference about science-fiction. There is so much information that it took me a while to be familiarize with the website and know how to move around. The website is helpful for the science-fiction novices, like myself, as well as experts in the field.