New Books (May-June)

Witchfinder-CityOfTheDead-01-Art crop

Featuring: Ramona Ausubel, Stephen Baxter, Peter S. Beagle, Matthew Blakstad, Marie Brennan, Gail Carriger, Joe Carter, Wesley Chu, Richard Cohen, Catherine Coulter, Justin Cronin, Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, Mark de Jager, Cindy Dees, Matthew Dunn, Brian Evenson, Bill Flippin, Frederick Forsyth, Tod Goldberg, Michael Hjorth, Jon Hollins, Emmi Itäranta, Cassandra Khaw, Jay Kristoff, Travis Langley, Alex Marshall, Hollie Overton, Terry Pratchett, Tim Pratt, Hans Rosenfeldt, Anthony Ryan, Jamie Sawyer, Adam Sisman, Martin Cruz Smith, Cass R. Sunstein, Michael Swanwick, K.B. Wagers, Ren Warom, Chris Whitaker, Walter Jon Williams

Above artwork: Witchfinder: City of the Dead #1 (crop), by Julian Totino Tedesco (Dark Horse Comics)

Continue reading

Excerpt: STAR WARS PSYCHOLOGY (Sterling)

LangleyT-StarWarsPsychologyToday, we have an exclusive excerpt from Star Wars Psychology, edited by Travis Langley (Sterling, 2015). Specifically, a section by Jim Davies about droids. First, the synopsis for the book:

STAR WARS PSYCHOLOGY: Dark Side of the Mind explores the various psychological aspects of the beloved series, giving fans a better understanding of the motivation and mental states of their favorite characters.

A group of expert contributors, led by Travis Langley, explore the “Big Five” personality factors and the characters who embody each major trait. Get to know the major players a little better leading up to the new movie coming out this December… How does anxiety disorder explain the transformation of a character’s psyche from good to evil and back to good? Can robots feel pain and suffering? How does limb amputation and neuroprosthesis impact the brain? Does music influence our emotional reading of the entire saga?

And now, on with the excerpt. Continue reading