Two Tie-In Books for “The Mandalorian” Canceled

In the summer of 2020, #LucasFilm announced new partnerships with a few different publishers to release new books inspired by the #StarWars streaming series #TheMandalorian. Some of the planned books would take viewers behind the scenes of the popular series, while others would tell new stories about the show’s title character.

However, at least two of two of the upcoming books have been canceled.

• DKPublishing has announced the cancellation of the behind-the-scenes book “The Mandalorian: The Ultimate Visual Guide”.
• Del Rey has canceled plans for author Adam Christopher’s original Mandalorian novel.

Both publishers announced the cancellations on Twitter:

Due to the ever-expanding world of The Mandalorian, we will no longer be publishing The Mandalorian Ultimate Visual Guide at this time, as the story continues to unfold on screen.

— DK Books US (@dkpublishing) March 9, 2021

Due to the ever-expanding world of The Mandalorian, we will no longer be publishing THE MANDALORIAN ORIGINAL NOVEL at this time, as the story continues to unfold on screen.

— Star Wars Books (@DelReyStarWars) March 9, 2021

It’s unclear whether the firing of Gina Carano, who played Cara Dune in “The Mandalorian”, is part of reasons for the cancelations.

Scene from the second season of “The Mandalorian”

References

• DK and Del Rey Scrap Plans For The Mandalorian Tie-In Books
• The Mandalorian Visual Guide and novel cancelled
• LucasFilm Fires Gina Carano From “Star Wars: The Mandalorian”

RIP Christopher Tolkien

#RIP: author & illustrator Christopher John Reuel Tolkien has passed away at the age 95. Born on Nov. 21, 1924, he was the third & youngest son of the author J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973), as well as the editor of much of his father’s posthumously published work. He drew the original maps for his father’s #TheLordOfTheRings books, which he signed as C.J.R.T.

From a child, Christopher Tolkien had long been part of the critical audience for his father’s fiction, such as listening to his father’s tales of Bilbo Baggins, which were published as #TheHobbit. As a teenager and young adult, he offered a lot of feedback on “The Lord of the Rings” during its 15-year development. He also had the task of interpreting his father’s sometimes self-contradictory maps of Middle-earth in order to produce the versions that were used in the books. He re-drew the main map in the late 1970’s to clarify the lettering and correct some errors and omissions.

J.R.R. Tolkien had written a large amount of material connected to the Middle-earth legendarium that was not published during his lifetime. He had originally intended to publish #TheSilmarillion along with “The Lord of the Rings”, and parts of it were in a finished state when he died in 1973; but the project was incomplete.

Once referring to his son Christopher as his “chief critic and collaborator”, J.R.R. Tolkien had named Christopher his literary executor in his will. With this authority, Christopher organized the masses of his father’s unpublished writings, some of which had been written on odd scraps of paper a half-century earlier. Much of the material was handwritten. Complicating matters, his father would sometimes write a newer draft over a half-erased first draft. Also, it was not uncommon for the names of characters routinely changing between the beginning and ending of the same draft.

Christopher worked on the manuscripts and was able to produce an edition of “The Silmarillion” for publication in 1977. His assistant for part of the work was Guy Gavriel Kay, who became a noted fantasy author himself.

“The Silmarillion” was followed by “Unfinished Tales” in 1980 and “The History of Middle-earth” in 12 volumes between 1983 and 1996. Most of the original source-texts have been made public from which “The Silmarillion” was constructed.

In April 2007, Christopher Tolkien published “The Children of Húrin”, whose story his father had brought to a relatively complete stage between 1951 and 1957 before abandoning it. This was one of J.R.R. Tolkien’s earliest stories. Its first version dated back to 1918, and several versions were published in “The Silmarillion”, “Unfinished Tales”, and “The History of Middle-earth”.

“The Children of Húrin” is a synthesis of these and other sources. “Beren and Lúthien” is an editorial work and was published as a stand-alone book in 2017. The next year, “The Fall of Gondolin” was published also as an editorial work. “The Children of Húrin”, “Beren and Lúthien”, and “The Fall of Gondolin” make up the three “Great Tales” of the Elder Days, which J.R.R. Tolkien considered to be the biggest stories of the First Age.

Christopher served as chairman of the Tolkien Estate, Ltd., which was the entity formed to handle the business side of his father’s literary legacy. He also served as a trustee of the Tolkien Charitable Trust until his retirement in 2018.

In 2001, Christopher expressed doubts over “The Lord of the Rings” film trilogy that was directed by Peter Jackson. He questioned the viability of a film interpretation that retained the essence of the work, but stressed that this was just his opinion. In 2008, he commenced legal proceedings against New Line Cinema, which he claimed owed his family £80 million in unpaid royalties. In September, 2009, he and New Line reached an undisclosed settlement. He also withdrew his legal objection to “The Hobbit” films. But, in a 2012 interview with “Le Monde”, he criticised the films saying, “They gutted the book, making an action film for 15 to 25-year-olds.”

Our condolences to Christopher’s family, friends and fans. May he rest in peace.

Christopher John Reuel Tolkien (1924 – 2020)

References

• Christopher Tolkien dead: Son of Lord of the Rings author JRR dies aged 95

2019 Sci-Fi & Fantasy Artist Deaths

We come again to that time of year when we honor and remember those #SciFi & #Fantasy artists that the world has lost over the past year. 2019 hasn’t been an easy year, as we lost 32 artists, which was more than 2018. While these artists may be gone, their legacies will never be forgotten for generations to come.

Most of the sci-fi & fantasy franchises impacted by these deaths are listed below.

• A Christmas Carol / Scrooge
• Airwolf
• Alf
• Babylon 5
• Battle Beyond the Stars
• Beastmaster
• Big Fish
• Bionic Woman
• The Black Hole
• Blade Runner
• Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
• Charmed
• Corpse Bride
• D.C. Comics (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman)
• Damnation Alley
• Dark Shadows
• Delivering Milo
• Doctor Who
• Dudes & Dragons
• Dune
• Earth 2
• Earth Final Conflict
• Excalibur
• Faerie Tale Theatre
• Fantasy Island
• The Fifth Element
• I Dream of Jeannie
• Joe 90
• Knight Rider
• Krull
• Logan’s Run
• Lost in Space
• Marvel Comics (Incredible Hulk)
• Men in Black
• Millennium
• My Favorite Martian
• Night Man
• The People that Time Forgot
• Planet of the Apes
• Power Rangers
• Quantum Leap
• RoboCop
• Singularity
• Six Million Dollar Man
• Sliders
• Smallville
• Space 1999
• Star Trek
• Star Wars
• Stargate SG1
• THX 1138
• Time Bandits
• Thunderbirds
• True Blood
• UFO (Gerry Anderson’s)
• Viper
• Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
• Warlords of the Deep
• Willy Wonka
• The X-Files

Our condolences to all of the families, friends & fans of the following artists that we lost in 2019.

January

Actor & director James Frawley died at the age of 82 on January 25, 2019. He directed episodes of #Smallville, #Earth2 & #FaerieTaleTheatre. He also played Mr. Frisby in #MyFavoriteMartian, Manolo / Semenev / Smiling Jack in #VoyageToTheBottomOfTheSea, Pvt. Renalto in #TheOuterLimits; & more.

James Frawley (1936-2019)

February

British actor Clive Swift died at the age of 82 on Feb. 1, 2019. He played Jobel / Mr. Cooper in #DoctorWho, Ector in #Excalibur, Tony Doran in #1990, Snug in #AMidsummersNightDream, & much more, including Richard Bucket in the long-running Brit-com #KeepingUpAppearances.

Clive Swift (1936-2019)

Actor Albert Finney died at the age of 82 on Feb. 8, 2019. He played Ebenezer Scrooge in #Scrooge, Elmore Dahl in #DeliveringMilo, Ed Bloom in #BigFish, Finis Everglot (voice) in #CorpseBride, & much more.

Albert Finney (1936-2019)

Actor Jan-Michael Vincent died at the age of 74 on Feb. 10, 2019. He played Stringfellow Hawke in #Airwolf, Tanner in #DamnationAlley, & much more, including playing Steve McKenna in the crime-thriller #TheMechanic with Charles Bronson among his many credits.

Jan-Michael Vincent (1945-2019)

Actor Carmen Argenziano died at the age of 75 on Feb. 11, 2019. He played Gen. Jacob Carter / Selmak in #StargateSG1, Urza Jaddo in #Babylon5, Damien Walsh in #Singularity, Mr. Corleone in #NightMan, King Kusari in #BionicWoman, & much more.

Carmen Argenziano (1943-2019)

Actor Morgan Woodward died at the age of 93 on Feb. 24, 2019. He played Capt. Tracy / Dr. Simon van Gelder in #StarTrek #TOS, Cayman in #BattleBeyondTheStars, Old Harry Cokely in #TheXFiles, Iron Lung Man in #Millennium, Sheriff Winston in #KnightRider, Uncle Jack / Nick Hall / Tribal Elder / Marshall Victor Grennan in #FantasyIsland, Martin in #PlanetOfTheApes (TV series), Morgan in #LogansRun (TV series), Carlton Tanner in #ProjectUFO, Ben Madrid in #TheIncredibleHulk, & much more.

Morgan Woodward (1925-2019)

March

Actress Katherine Helmond died at the age of 89 on March 2, 2019. She played Mrs. Ogre in #TimeBandits, Caroline Bellefleur in #TrueBlood, Dr. Harkens in #BionicWoman, Laura Walters in #FantasyIsland, & much more, including two well known TV sitcom roles: Jessica Tate in #Soap, and Lois Whelan in #EverybodyLovesRaymond.

Katherine Helmond (1929-2019)

Actor Luke Perry died at the untimely age of 52 on March 4, 2019. He played Billy in #TheFifthElement, Pike in #BuffyTheVampireSlayer, Lorash in #DudesAndDragons, & much more, including his very long run of playing Dylan McCay / Billy McCoy / Peter Brinkley in romance-drama “Beverly Hills, 90210”.

Luke Perry (1966-2019)

Actor Shane Rimmer has died at the age of 89 on March 29, 2019. Born May 28, 1929, Shane Rimmer voiced the character of Scott Tracy in #Thunderbirds. He also played an InCom Engineer in “#StarWars IV: #ANewHope”, Hogan in #ThePeopleThatTimeForgot, Capt. Daniels in #WarlordsOfTheDeep, Seth Harper in #DoctorWho, an Eagle Pilot / Maintenance Section Voice / James Kelly / Voice of Bannion in #Space1999, a CIA agent / Lt. Bill Johnson / an alien / Seagull X-Ray co-pilot in Gerry Anderson’s #UFO, Older Gotham Water Board Technician in #BatmanBegins, Colonel in #AlienAutopsy, Board Member 1 in #DarkShadows, E. J. Saggs in #SpaceTruckers, Naval Transport Commander in #Superman (1978), Controller #2 in #SupermanII, state policeman in #SupermanIII, voiced several characters in #CaptainScarletAndTheMysterons, voiced several characters in #Joe90, played Rusty / team executive in #Rollerball (1975), played Redneck (Melvin) in #MoronsFromOuterSpace, & much more, including playing Cmdr. Carter in the James Bond movie #TheSpyWhoLovedMe.

Shane Rimmer (1929-2019)

April

#SciFi author Vonda N. McIntyre died on April 1, 2019, at the age of 70. Her works include the following sci-fi novels:

• “The Exile Waiting” (1975)
• “Dreamsnake” (1978)
• “Superluminal” (1983)
• “The Bride” (1985)
• “Barbary” (1986)
• “The Moon and the Sun” (1997)

She also wrote the “Starfarers” series of novels:

• “Starfarers” (1989)
• “Transition” (1991)
• “Metaphase” (1992)
• “Nautilus” (1994)

She wrote the novelizations for the several #StarTrek movies:

• “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn” (1982)
• “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock” (1984)
• “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home” (1986)

She also wrote the #StarWars novel “The Crystal Star” (1994). “Fireflood and Other Stories” (1979) is a collection of her short stories.

She won the Nebula Award & was nominated for the Hugo Award for her 1974 short story “Of Mist, Grass and Sand”. She won the Hugo Award & Nebula Award both for Best Novel for “Dreamscape” in 1979. Robert A. Heinlein in part dedicated his novel “Friday” to Vonda in 1982. She won the Nebula Award for her novel “The Moon and the Sun” in 1998.

Vonda N. McIntyr (1948-2019)

Actor Peter Mayhew died at the age of 74 on April 30, 2019. He played the iconic #StarWars character #Chewbacca in the films #ANewHope (Ep. IV, 1977), #TheEmpireStrikesBack (Ep V, 1980), #ReturnOfTheJedi (Ep. VI, 1983) & #RevengeOfTheSith (Ep. III, 2005). He also appeared in the #HolidaySpecial (1978) and voiced Chewbacca in the film #TheForceAwakens (Ep. VII, 2015), as well as voicing Chewbacca in 1 episode of #TheCloneWars. He also appeared as the Minoton in #SinbadAndTheEyeOfTheTiger (1977).

Peter Mayhew (1944-2019)

May

Actor Pua Magasiva died at the age of 38 on May 11, 2019. He played Shane Clarke / Red Wind Ranger in “#PowerRangers Ninja Storm” & “Power Rangers #DinoThunder”; & more.

Pua Magasiva (1980 – 2019)

June

Actress Stephanie Niznik passed away at the age of 52 on June 23, 2019. She played Lt. Peril in “#StarTrek IX: #Insurrection”, the Wraith in #Enterprise; Dr. Evelyn Ariza in #Lost; Lena Weisinger in #Viper; Debra Carbol in #Sliders; & much more, including playing Nina Feeney in 82 episodes of the drama TV series #Everwood.

Stephanie Niznik (1967-2019)

Actor Max Wright died at the age of 75 on June 26, 2019. Born in 1943, he played the main character Willie Tanner in the long-running TV sitcom #Alf. He also played Robin Starveling in #AMidsummersNightDream (1999), Berger in #TheShadow, Doc Kinman in #QuantumLeap, Prince Heinrick in #FaerieTaleTheatre, Dick Stetmeyer in #MisfitsOfScience, & more.

Max Wright (1943-2019)

July

Actor Rip Torn passed away on July 9, 2019 at the age of 88. He played Zed in #MenInBlack I & II, large headed alien at funeral in “Men in Black III”; Larraby in #Zoom; Maax in #Beastmaster; Bob Diamond in #DefendingYourLife; Bud Kruger in “#Airplane II: The Sequel”; Nathan Bryce in #TheManWhoFellToEarth; the CEO in “#Robocop 3”; & much more.

Rip Torn (1931-2019)

Actor Freddie Jones died at the age of 91 on July 9, 2019. He played Thufir Hawat in #Dune, Ynyr in #Krull, Dr. Charles Logan in #Space1999, & more, including playing Sandy Thomas in the long-running British TV series #Emmerdale from 2005 to 2018 (for a total of 632 episodes). He also appeared in the drama #TheElephantMan (which received 8 Oscar nominations) and the action-thriller #Firefox.

Freddie Jones (1927-2019)

Actress Diane Nickerson passed away at the age of 62 on July 11, 2019. She played Violet Beauregarde in #WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory, Amy Collins in #DarkShadows (71 episodes), & more, including playing Pamela Harris in an episode of #TheBradyBunch and as Allison in the educational comedy TV show #TheElectricCompany (130 episodes).

Denise Nickerson (1957-2019)

Actor David Hedison has died at the age of 92 on July 18, 2019. He played Capt. Lee B. Crane in #VoyageToTheBottomOfTheSea, Ed Malone in #TheLostWorld, Andre Delambre in #TheFly (1958), Evan Robly in #WonderWoman (TV series), Frederick Flanagan in #ProjectUFO, Daniel Garman / Phillip Camden / Captain John Day / David Tabori / Karl Dixon / Claude Duncan / Carlyle Cranston in #FantasyIsland, Theodore Cooper in #KnightRider, & much more, including playing Felix Leiter in 2 James Bond films: #LiveAndLetDie & #LicenseToKill.

David Hedison (1927-2019)

Actor Rutger Hauer died at the age of 75 on July 19, 2019. He played Roy Batty in #BladeRunner, President of the World State Federation in #ValerianAndTheCityOfAThousandPlanets, Niall Brigant in #TrueBlood, Earle in #BatmanBegins, Morgan Edge in #Smallville, King Vortigern in #Merlin, Bog in #Lexx, Lothos in #BuffyTheVampireSlayer, Navarre in #Ladyhawke, & more.

Rutger Hauer (1944-2019)

Actor Jeremy Kemp died at the age of 84 on July 19, 2019. He played Robert Picard (Jean-Luc’s older brother) in one of the most memorable & powerful episodes of #StarTrek #TNG, Dr. Ernst Linden in #Space1999, Hissah Zul in #Conan (TV series), & more, including playing PC Bob Steele / vagrant in the British police drama TV show “Z Cars”.

Jeremy Kemp (1935-2019)

August

Actress Barbara March (a.k.a., Barbara Scarfe), died on Aug. 11, 2019, at the age of 65. She played Lursa of the House of Duras in #StarTrek #TNG, #DS9, & “Star Trek VII: #Generations”; & more, including work on stage. She was also a writer.

Barbara March (a.k.a., Barbara Scarfe; 1953-2019)

September

Actor Robert Axelrod has died at the age of 70 on Sept. 7, 2019. He voiced Lord Zedd in “#MightyMorphinPowerRangers: The Movie”; Lord Zedd / Finster “Might Morphin #PowerRangers” (TV series), “Power Rangers #Zeo”, “Power Rangers in Space”; Mutantrum in “Power Rangers #LostGalaxy”; Thin Man in “Power Rangers #TimeForce”; played Egrid in #StarTrek #Voyager; racially confused veteran in #TheRevenant; Shimazaki (voice) in #Akira; Frank in #AmazingStories; & more, including a lot more voice work.

Robert Axelrod (1949-2019)

Actor Aron Eisenberg at the age of 50 on Sept. 21, 2019. Born on January 6, 1969, he played Nog & a newspaper vendor in “#StarTrek #DS9”, Kar in #Voyager; Aaron in #TalesFromTheCrypt; & more.

Aron Eisenberg (1969-2019)

Actor Sid Haig has died at the age of 80 on Sept. 21, 2019. Born on July 14, 1939, he was best known for his work in horror, but he did perform in several #SciFi & #Fantasy works, including playing the First Lawgiver in #StarTrek #TOS (ep. #TheReturnOfTheArchons), Royal Apothecary in #Batman (1966 TV series), guard / Bruce / Turk in #GetSmart, NCH in #THX1138, Dragos in #JasonOfStarCommand, Pratt / Spirot in #BuckRogersInThe25thCentury, Otto / Harlen / Hakeem in #FantasyIsland, 1st gang member in #Automan, Swarthy Man in #MisfitsOfScience, 3rd passenger in #TheSixMillionDollarMan, the genie in #ElectraWomanAndDynaGirl, & more, including an appearance in the James Bond film #DiamondsAreForever. He also played Texas in the nighttime soap opera #MaryHartmanMaryHartman, as well as Captain Spaulding in the horror flick #HouseOf1000Corpses.

Sig Haig (1939 – 2019)

Actor Jack Donner died on Sept. 21, 2019 at the age of 90. He played Romulan Subcommander Tal in #StarTrek #TOS, a Vulcan priest in #Enterprise; Commander Kinwon in “#PowerRangers in Space”; Joe in #IDreamOfJeannie; the courier in #GetSmart; master of ceremonies in #MyFavoriteMartian; man in hospital room in #GhostWhisperer; in #IDreamOfJeannie, Judge Renault in #Charmed; Morris in #TheInvisible; Clayton Wheeler in #Roswell; cleric #1 in #BuffyTheVampireSlayer (TV series); blind man in #Conan (TV series); & more.

Jack Donner (1928-2019)

October

Actress & singer Diahann Carroll died at the age of 84 on Oct. 4, 2019. She played the hologram Mermeia in “The #StarWars #HolidaySpecial”, Grace Willis in #TouchedByAnAngel, & more.

Diahann Carroll (1935-2019)

Actor Robert Forster has died at the age of 78 on Oct. 11, 2019. He played Capt. Dan Holland in #TheBlackHole, Arthur Petrelli in #Heroes, Robert Bold in #Automata, Frank Shepherd in #Intruders, Sheriff Frank Truman in #TwinPeaks (2017), Sergeant Volkom in #GhostsOfGirlfriendsPast, Yates in #Peacemaker, Gary Cooley in #TalesFromTheDarkside, & more.

Robert Forster (1941-2019)

November

Actor Michael J. Pollard died at the age of 80 on Nov. 20, 2019. He played Jahn in “#StarTrek: #TOS”, the boy in #LostInSpace, Herman in #Scrooged, Aeolus in #TheOdyssey (1997 miniseries), & much more, including Bug Bailey in #DickTracy. His breakout role was playing C.W. Moss, the accomplice-turned-snitch, in the 1967 film #BonnieAndClyde that starred Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. He also played Stucky in the 2003 horror film #HouseOf1000Corpses.

Michael J. Pollard (1939-2019)

December

Writer & story editor D.C. Fontana died at the age of 80 on Dec. 2, 2019. She was one of the key writers who worked on “#StarTrek: #TheOriginalSeries” in the 1960s, helping to bring Gene Roddenberry’s vision to life. She also worked on later “Star Trek” TV series. A full list of her episode writing & editing credits follows:

TOS:

• “Charlie X”
• “Tomorrow is Yesterday“
• “The Side of Paradise“
• “Friday’s Child“”
• “Journey to Babel“
• “By Any Other Name“
• “The Ultimate Computer“
• “The Enterprise Incident“
• “That Which Survives“
• “The Way to Eden”

TAS:

• “Yesteryear”

TNG:

• “Encounter at Farpoint”
• “The Naked Now”
• “Lonely Among Us”
• “Too Short a Season”
• “Heart of Glory”

DS9:

• “Dax”

She also wrote 3 episodes of #Babylon5; 2 episodes of #TheSixMillionDollarMan; 1 episode of #LandOfTheLost; 3 episodes of #LogansRun (TV series); 1 episode of #BuckRogersInThe25thCentury; 1 episode of #WarOfTheWorlds (TV series); 1 episode of #EarthFinalConflict; & much more.

D.C. Fontana (1939 – 2019)

Actor Robert Walker, Jr. passed away at the age of 79 on Dec. 5, 2019. He played Charlie Evans in “#StarTrek: #TOS”, Cloche / Bell in #TheSixMillionDollarMan, Billy the Kid (William H. Bonney) in #TheTimeTunnel, & more.

Robert Walker, Jr. (1940-2019)

Actor René Auberjonois died at the age of 79 on Dec. 8, 2019. He played Col. West in “#StarTrek VI: #TheUndiscoveredCountry”, Odo / Douglas Pabst / Curzon Dax in #DS9, Ezral in #Enterprise; Dr. Burton in #BatmanForever; Dlavan in #TheOuterLimits; Hugo Miller in #Warehouse13; Alar in #StargateSG1; Artemus Bradford in #InspectorGadget (1999 movie); King Boris / King Ulrich in #FaerieTaleTheatre; Kimbal in #WonderWoman (TV series); Havergal in #ManFromAtlantis; Pierre Lambert in #TheBionicWoman; Bagley in #KingKing (1976); William Sharstead in #NightGallery; & much more, including voice work for many animated series. (His 1st major role was playing Father Mulcahy in the 1970 movie #MASH. He also played Paul Lewiston in the comedic crime-drama #BostonLegal alongside William Shatner.)

René Auberjonois (1940-2019)

Visionary conceptual futurist artist Syd Mead passed away on Dec. 30, 2019 at the age of 86. He worked in the art departments for a number of #SciFi & #fantasy films, including “#StarTrek: #TheMotionPicture”, #BladeRunner, #Tron, #2010, #Aliens, #Timecop, #MissionToMars, #Elysium, #Tomorrowland, #BladeRunner2049, & more.

Syd Mead (1933 – 2019)

References

• 2018 Sci-fi & Fantasy Artist Deaths

J.K. Rowling Confirms Harry Potter Fan Theory

#HarryPotter author J.K. Rowling was done with fans mispronouncing the first name of her character Hermione Granger, but how to solve the problem?

J.K. Rowling cleverly decided to make the pronunciation crystal clear in the fourth book series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which was first published in 2000.

In Chapter 23, “The Yule Ball”, Hermione teaches Bulgarian Quidditch star Viktor Krum the correct way to articulate her first name (Her-My-Oh-Nee). By doing so, the fans would get it right too!

J.K. Rowling confirmed a fan theory on Twitter Tuesday, after a user suggested that the scene was included solely “to school all of us who were saying HER-MY-OWN like Viktor Krum.”

References

• J.K. Rowling confirms Harry Potter fan theory about Hermione once and for all
• The Harry Potter Reread: The Goblet of Fire, Chapter 23
• J.K. Rowling’s Tweet Confirmation

RIP Harlan Ellison

#RIP #ScienceFiction author Harlan Ellison, who wrote the Emmy Award-winning #StarTrek episode “The City on the Edge of Forever”. He was also a creative consultant on #Babylon5 and wrote 2 of its episodes, as well as #TheTwilightZone TV series and #TheSixthSense TV series. (He also wrote several Twilight Zone episodes.) He also created the short-lived TV series #TheStarlost under the name “Cordwainer Bird” and wrote one of its episodes. He also wrote several comic book issues of #Daredevil along with an issue of Detective Comics, and contributed ideas to several #Avengers stories written by Roy Thomas. He also curated Harlan Ellison’s Dream Corridor, a comic book anthology series which adapted his short stories.

May he rest in peace.

Harlan Ellison (1934-2018)

References:

• Science Fiction Author Harlan Ellison, Who Wrote Iconic ‘Star Trek’ Episode’ Dies at 84: Report

RIP Ursula K. Le Guin

#RIP: the incredible #SciFi & #Fantasy author Ursula K. Le Guin has died at the age of 88. She wrote more than 20 novels (including her acclaimed novel “The Left Hand of Darkness” & the #Earthsea series), as well as a dozen books of poetry, over 100 short stories (collected in multiple volumes), seven collections of essays, 13 books for children & five volumes of translation, including the Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu and selected poems by the Chilean Nobel Prize winner Gabriela Mistral. He works also include a guide for writers.

Her novels were translated into more than 40 languages and often delved into themes of sorcery & dragons, or spaceships & planetary conflict. Her novels include the following:

From the Earthsea series:

• “A Wizard of Earthsea”, 1968 (Lewis Caroll Shelf Award list in 1979)
• “The Tombs of Atuan”, 1971 (Newbery Silver Medal Award)
• “The Farthest Shore”, 1972 (National Book Award)
• “Tehanu: the Last Book of Earthsea”, 1990 (Nebula Award)
• “Tales from Earthsea”, 2001
• “The Other Wind”, 2001 (World Fantasy Award)

From the Hainish science fiction series:

• “Rocannons World”, 1966
• “Planet of Exile”, 1966
• “City of Illusions”, 1967
• “The Left Hand of Darkness”, 1969 (Hugo Award, Nebula Award)
• “The Dispossessed”, 1974 (Nebula Award)
• “The Word for World is Forest”, 1976 (Hugo Award)
• “Four Ways to Forgiveness”, 1995
• “The Telling”, 2000

Miscellaneous:

• “The Lathe of Heaven”, 1971
• “The Winds of Twelve Quarters”, 1975
• “Orsinian Tales”, 1976
• “The Eye of the Heron”, 1978
• “The Beginning Place”, 1980
• “The Compass Rose”, 1982
• “Always Coming Home”, 1985
• “Searoad: Chronicles of Klatsand”, 1991
• “Animals of the Western Shore”, 2004-2007 (Nebula Award)
• “Lavinia”, 2008

This is a more complete bibliography.

Author Stephen King tweeted: “Usula K. LeGuin, one of the greats, has passed. Not just a science fiction writer; a literary icon. Godspeed into the galaxy.”

Author Neil Gaiman tweeted: “I just learned that Ursula K. Le Guin has died. Her words are always with us. Some of them are written on my soul. I miss her as a glorious funny prickly person, & I miss her as the deepest and smartest of the writers, too. Still honoured I got to do this:”

He was referring to presenting Ursula K. Le Guin with a lifetime achievement award at the 2014 National Book Awards:

Our deepest condolences to her family, friends & fans. May she rest in peace.

Ursula K. Le Guin (1929-2018)

References:

• Ursula K. Le Guin, Acclaimed for Her Fantasy Fiction, Is Dead at 88
• Wikipedia: Ursula K. Le Guin
• Wikipedia: Ursula K. Le Guin Bibliography